Chapter 2: Ferocious Beast in the Forest
Three o'clock in the afternoon.
It was about two and a half hours before dark in late autumn.
The off-road vehicle was driving on the dirt road in the forest, rolling up scattered dead branches and leaves, and the birds in the forest were startled and scattered.
Yu Ke controlled the steering wheel with one hand, took out the USB flash drive from the Forest Protection Bureau from his pocket and inserted it into the car computer.
Enter the password, and the prompt sounded immediately,
"Danhang Forest Protection Bureau, No. 281, Patrol Hunter Yu Ke, identity verification completed!"
"Check the map and find the hunting area."
Yu Ke paid attention to the road conditions ahead and issued a voice command. The car computer immediately loaded the forest area he was responsible for, and there were various special points marked by the previous patrol hunter.
The total area of Jinghu Forest is about 80,000 square kilometers.
As a patrol hunter, Yu Ke is responsible for the northeast corner of its periphery, an area of about 100 square kilometers.
The area is not large, but it is the limit for low-level patrol hunters.
You should know that the Jinghu Forest after the disaster is full of dangers. The Forestry Bureau has arranged more than 200 patrol towers in the half of Jinghu Forest near Danhang City, including large military camps.
Not to mention those mutated beasts, even the squirrels in the forest have appeared as big as wild boars. Even the fully armed special forces dare not go deep into the Jinghu Forest.
Even in the outer area, you can often encounter various beasts foraging, and accidents will happen if you are not careful.
It is precisely because of this that the patrol hunters can have such special treatment.
The area that Yu Ke is responsible for is relatively peaceful.
"Search for the small hunting spot closest to the camp."
Today is Yu Ke's first day of work. The Forestry Bureau has not arranged any tasks, and he does not plan to walk far. He just wants to catch two rabbits, pick up some mushrooms, wild fruits, etc. to solve dinner.
After the voice command was issued, the map on the screen suddenly appeared with multiple light red logos.
These signs are the valuable experience left by the previous rangers in charge of the southeast corner of Jinghu Forest. Each ranger will update the forest situation before leaving normally, so as to facilitate the successor to take over.
As for why it is emphasized that it is a "normal" departure.
The reason is very simple. So far, the mortality rate of rangers in their first term has exceeded 10%, and injuries are commonplace. In order to prevent rangers from being injured too frequently, the Forest Defense Bureau has even set up a special medical department at the transfer station.
Yu Ke glanced at the map and found the nearest hunting point named "Rabbit Nest". The voice prompt sounded immediately, but this time it was no longer a mechanical prompt, but the description of the previous hunter:
"Six kilometers southeast of the sentry tower, Road 03, Rabbit Nest, a source of meat, there are several wild fruit trees nearby, which mature in autumn."
"It's you!"
Set the navigation route and the end point, and let the off-road vehicle drive by itself.
It is now 2036. Disasters have not only not stopped human development, but have even promoted technological development to a certain extent. Unmanned driving technology has long been popularized.
Yu Ke turned to the news channel on the car computer and sorted out his hunting equipment while listening to the recent news.
After training by the Forestry Bureau, each forest ranger can receive a set of equipment for free before officially taking office, including combat uniforms that change with the seasons, off-road vehicles, and customized hunting equipment.
Leaving aside the complicated small items, Yu Ke's customized hunting equipment mainly includes three items:
Black Front series recurve bow, Thunder series double-barreled shotgun, and Gurkha saber, commonly known as "dog leg knife".
Among them, Yu Ke's favorite is the Gurkha saber, and he is best at the Black Front recurve bow. As for the Thunder double-barreled shotgun, it is, to some extent, the last trump card or a helpless choice.
Under normal circumstances, Yu Ke would not use a gun when hunting. After all, this is the Mirror Lake Forest. No one knows what is hidden in the dense forest. The hearing and smell of the beasts are extremely sharp, and the sound of gunfire and smoke will easily attract their attention.
Of course, these are only Yu Ke's current equipment. If he needs it later, he can apply to the Forestry Bureau at any time. Even if it is not free, he can get an internal discount price.
"The latest news from the Danhang City Disaster Prevention Bureau is that a strange bird attack occurred in the Tianbaoshan Forest District in the city. The local police have intervened in the investigation. People nearby should try to avoid traveling alone in the short term. If you find danger, please go to the nearest house for shelter immediately."
The on-board computer is playing the current things that are getting more attention in Danhang City.
The Forestry Bureau is a subordinate agency of the Disaster Prevention Bureau. Relevant news will always appear in the news channel of the forest ranger hunters as soon as possible.
'Hasn't the forest area in the Tianbaoshan Forest District been carpet-cleared by multiple civilian hunting groups after taking on the task? Are there foreign fierce birds settling in again? ’
Yu Ke sorted out his quiver and frowned as he thought.
“According to the Meteorological Bureau, Huijiang Province will face a cold wave in half a month. By then, there is a high probability of blizzards in Danhang area. Please take precautions against the cold and keep warm in advance!”
‘Okay, okay, you’re giving me a hard time right after taking office, right? I’ll have to apply for subsidies when there’s a blizzard.’
In recent years, catastrophic weather has occurred frequently, blizzards, floods and even typhoons are part of the annual program, and the intensity is almost increasing year by year, and each year is stronger than the previous year.
For ordinary people, blizzard days may mean holidays.
But for forest rangers, the workload before and after blizzard days will increase sharply, such as snow volume detection in forest areas, investigation of beasts, equipment protection and repair before and after snowstorms are all their jobs.
Squeak~
Just as Yu Ke was thinking about the content of the snowstorm response regulations, the sound of the off-road vehicle stopping drew his attention back.
Unknowingly, he had arrived at the rabbit nest hunting point, turned off the engine and quickly opened the door to get out of the car.
Put on a wide-brimmed camouflage hat, hang the Gurkha saber diagonally on his waist, carry a hunting rifle and quiver, and hold the Black Blade compound bow in his hand ready to bend the bow and arrow at any time, then turn on the positioning device on the forest ranger watch, lock the hunting point, and step into the forest area.
Yu Ke, who was in the dense forest, looked around while stepping on the yellow and red dead branches and leaves.
He was surrounded by dark brown trees that were hundreds of meters high. The cries of birds and animals in the forest were endless. The cold wind was blowing through the forest. Looking up at the sky, he could only see the bare branches stretched out in all directions under the gloomy sky.
The sky, which should have been vast, became extremely narrow under the division of these branches. Yu Ke couldn't help but frown.
He took a long breath to calm his mind.
This was his first hunting in Jinghu Forest after taking office. If he couldn't bear even this little pressure, he shouldn't have signed up.
Thinking of this, Yu Ke turned on the miniature camera on his chest.
Patrolling in the forest is one of the tasks of the ranger hunter. Turning on the camera means entering the working state, so that the professional tag system can also gain corresponding experience.
No matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat.
You should know that the ranger hunter profession now only has a small amount of experience left to upgrade to the primary level.
Yu Ke estimated that the upgrade would be completed within two or three days.
If he could hunt the target beast of the Forestry Bureau, he might be able to speed up the progress.
The new ranger hunter trait made him look forward to it.
After walking for nearly ten minutes according to the route given by the previous ranger hunter, Yu Ke finally arrived at the rabbit nest.
It turned out that this hunting spot was named the rabbit nest for a reason. As soon as Yu Ke arrived, he noticed several gray-brown fur balls jumping back and forth in the woods not far away.
Judging from their size and movement, the hares outside the Mirror Lake Forest have obviously not been affected by the environment and have not mutated, and they still maintain their original state.
Rabbits are very cute and must taste good.
The training in the past six months, coupled with the enhancement of the [Well-informed and Strong Memory] trait, has made Yu Ke already proficient in hunting skills. What he lacks is a lot of hunting experience.
Although the hare in the forest cannot be said to be a valuable target, it is undoubtedly a qualified meat for dinner.
Crouching low, Yu Ke suppressed the sound of his footsteps as much as possible, drew an arrow from the quiver behind him, and drew his bow to shoot the arrow.
His footsteps stopped fifty meters away.
Yu Ke did not have the ability to shoot through the willows at a hundred paces at this stage. Fifty meters was the maximum distance at which he could maintain high accuracy. The Black Blade recurve bow he used was also very suitable for targeted sniping at this distance.
Taking a deep breath, Yu Ke restored his disordered breathing due to the long journey in the forest. He squinted his eyes to feel the wind direction in the forest and estimated the rough data in his mind.
He stood up, held the bow handle with his left hand, tightened the bowstring with his right hand, leaned forward slightly, and locked his sight on the target.
The bow was like a full moon, and the arrow flew like a meteor!
Facing a target like a hare, Yu Ke, as a professional forest ranger, would not have any surprises. The arrow directly hit the body of the target hare, nailing it to the ground, scaring the other hares to run around on the ground, and finally disappeared in the bushes.
Yu Ke stepped forward quickly and pulled out the rabbit along with the arrow.
After putting away the arrow, he stuffed the rabbit into the cloth bag he carried with him and tied it around his waist, which could prevent the bloody smell from leaking out to the greatest extent.
At this time of year, the hares were just fattening up in the autumn, and they were very plump. Yu Ke did not plan to spend more time hunting, as the meat of a hare was enough for his dinner.
Besides, it would be dark soon, and he would have to deal with the hare after he returned.
"While there is still some time, pick some more wild fruits, just as snacks for watching TV series at night."
After patting the cloth bag containing the hare, Yu Ke carried the Black Blade recurve bow and checked the route on his watch. He soon found the wild fruit trees, which were not far away, just a few hundred meters away in a depression.
Thinking that he was about to finish his work, Yu Ke walked briskly, humming a familiar ballad from his previous life.
"She is just my sister~ My sister said purple is very charming."
Yu Ke's luck was quite good. He quickly found the target fruit tree. Seeing the heavy wild fruits hanging between the branches, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and walked forward to pick them.
However, just as Yu Ke took a step closer to the fruit tree.
The strong sense of being watched and the sudden roar in his ears made his expression gradually stiffen.
Clutching the recurve bow in his hand, Yu Ke turned around and looked in the direction of the sound.
His pupils suddenly contracted!
A burly figure nearly two meters tall appeared behind the bushes.
The raised back was covered with black bristles, and the narrow face that looked like a human face had a bright red nose bridge, white lines on both sides, and the protruding lips of the mouth were turned up, revealing the sharp fangs underneath.
A pair of turbid yellow animal eyes locked onto Yu Ke, full of murderous intent.
Yu Ke knew that he had become the target of this monster.
His scalp was numb for a moment.
A chill rose from his back.