In early April, while people in northern China can already shed their thick down jackets, the climate in the Far East remains frigid, with the snow in the mountains only just beginning to melt.

Led by Sasha, I, Monkey, Song Laosan, Zhou Peng, and two security guards, a group of six, left the farm with a large amount of supplies, preparing to enter the uninhabited mountainous area of ​​hundreds of square kilometers to find the location of Hu Shahu's tomb.

As a veteran hunter with over twenty years of experience, Sasha knows every plant and tree here like the back of her hand.

After walking through the jungle all morning, he led us to a river that was more than ten meters wide.

Two-thirds of the river is still frozen, with only the central area having thawed and the water flowing continuously. The trees on both sides are covered with snow.

Sasha waved for us to stop, took the cooking pot off his back, fetched a pot of water from the river, and said, "Everyone, rest here for an hour, have lunch, and then continue our journey."

After listening to Sasha, we started gathering firewood around us, lit a campfire, and roasted our rations on the edge of the fire.

When Song Laosan went to buy supplies, he bought a lot of chocolate and dried meat at the village store, but Sasha picked out all the dried meat.

He said that wild animals in the primeval jungle have an exceptionally keen sense of smell and can smell the dried meat from two kilometers away. So all our food was naan bread without any cooking oil. It was as hard as a brick and tasted almost nothing except for being gritty.

Although Sasha was almost fifty years old, he was exceptionally energetic. After lunch, he only rested for about ten minutes before making us change into our waterproof suits. Then, he took a long spear and went to the ice, where he started smashing it against the ground.

Seeing his actions, Song Laosan asked Zhou Peng, "What is this old man doing? Is he preparing to take some ice away as a reserve water source?"

After exchanging a few words with Sasha, Zhou Peng shook his head and said, "Sasha is building an ice boat. He said we need to ride on ice floes and go downstream along the river."

"Why not walk on land? Is it just to save energy?"

Looking at the vast open space on the opposite bank of the river, Song Laosan said with a puzzled expression, "The river water here is running water and extremely cold. If someone falls into the water, it can easily cause muscle spasms. If they are swept under the ice by the undercurrent, it could be fatal!"

Sasha understood Song Laosan's concerns and responded, "The forest behind the open area opposite is where white-tailed deer often appear, and it's also a key hunting area for black bears. That's my hunting ground, and I know every single tree and blade of grass there very well. But the quarry you're looking for, I've never seen during my hunting trips, which only means it's outside my familiar area."

I asked, "Then how did you determine that the quarry was downstream, and not upstream?"

“I don’t know either. There’s a high peak that stretches for tens of kilometers downstream. If we climb to the top, we might find something. If we can’t find the quarry, we can continue drifting along the river. In about two or three days, we can reach the next logging area, disembark there, and take a vehicle back to the farm to continue searching upstream.”

I looked at Song Laosan: "What do you think?"

Old Song agreed: "The security company's equipment will be delivered in three days. There's no point in us waiting in the meantime. If we go downstream with Sasha, even if we can't find the quarry, we can still meet up with the support. If we can find it, that would be even better."

Just then, Sasha smashed a crack in the ice and waved to us, saying, "Come on up, we have to go!"

Upon hearing his call, the rest of us walked onto the ice with trepidation.

As Sasha broke the final connection, the ice beneath our feet began to float with the current.

I squatted on the ice, which was drifting with the current, my heart pounding in my chest. After all, the ice was only three or four centimeters thick, and it would crack at the edges if it collided with other ice blocks. It didn't look particularly sturdy.

Over the years, Sasha’s hunting grounds have continued to expand, so much so that even after we’ve been drifting for over an hour, he still shows no sign of coming ashore.

The further downstream I went, the more the river melted. As the collisions with the ice decreased, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just as I was about to take off my waterproof jacket to get my cigarette, I heard a "splashing" sound ahead. I looked up and was immediately startled: "Holy crap! Look ahead!"

"Splash!"

About twenty meters ahead, a brown bear with a shoulder height of over two meters was standing on the edge of the river, frantically slapping the water as if it were catching fish. The solid ice on the riverbank was as fragile as an eggshell under its paws.

Judging from the extent of the ice damage, this hungry brown bear must have been busy for a long time without finding food. When it saw our floating ice block, it immediately stood up straight.

"Splash!"

Sasha cocked his shotgun, keeping a wary eye on the brown bear: "Food is scarce this season, and wild animals are most aggressive. Everyone load your guns and prepare for defense!"

Song Laosan also shouted, "When you fire, follow my command. Don't fire in volleys to avoid accidentally injuring your own people. There's a shortage of medical supplies here, and if someone gets shot, it'll be a real problem!"

Upon hearing Song Laosan's words, I cocked my hunting rifle and lay down on the ice. The others also began to adjust their positions.

"roar!"

When the brown bear saw us moving, it roared and charged towards us.

Thump!

Sasha behind me fired first, the muffled bang making my ears ring and even causing the ice beneath me to tremble.

A barrage of steel balls shot out, creating numerous water jets on the surface of the water. The brown bear, though hit by the bullets, was completely unaffected; instead, the pain made it even more ferocious.

Thump!

I saw the brown bear accelerate and pull the trigger.

This was my first time using a hunting rifle, and I didn't expect it to have such a strong recoil. The butt slammed into my shoulder, and the pain made half of my body go numb.

Seeing such a large beast charging towards them, everyone panicked and stopped listening to commands, all starting to braze the fire.

Seeing the bear getting closer and closer, Song Laosan opened the hinge of his gun and took out a bullet from his pocket: "Bunch bullets won't work on it, switch to a slug!"

When Sasha trained us before, he said that there are several types of shotgun bullets. The first type is bird bullets, which have many steel balls and a wide dispersion area. These bullets usually have dozens or even hundreds of steel balls and can only be used to shoot small animals. If you shoot wild boars or other animals, it will only provoke them.

Secondly, there are the buckshot bullets we use now. These bullets contain anywhere from eight to thirty steel balls. This is the type of bullet used by American police. It's sufficient for dealing with humans, but it's still a bit weak against large, tough-skinned beasts.

The last type is the slug that Song Laosan mentioned. This type of bullet contains only a lump of lead. In reality, this is the type of bullet used to attack security door locks with shotguns. It is also specifically designed to deal with wild boars, bears, tigers, and other ferocious beasts. Its power can be understood as a high-speed flying weight.

When I heard Song Laosan shout, I instinctively reached for my bullets, but as I reached out, I realized that I was wearing a waterproof suit and all the bullets were inside.

"roar!"

In the blink of an eye, the brown bear had rushed to the edge of the ice block and slapped me with its paw.