Volume One, Chapter Nineteen: The Hunter’s Pack

The best way to eat sparrows is definitely deep-frying.

But in these times, such a luxurious method is out of reach. Most people either roast or stew them.

So it goes.

Eager to taste the delicacy, Lin Hu and Black Egg picked out more than a dozen sparrows and, in front of the stove pit, tended the fire while roasting them.

Granny Li plucked the feathers off the rest, saving them for stewing. Stews lasted longer, and she could add wild greens and potatoes, stretching the meal over several sittings.

The firewood crackled noisily in the stove pit.

Lin Hu and Black Egg each took a skewer, propping the iron rods with sparrows inside the stove. The flames licked the skin, fat sizzling and bubbling, soon turning a tempting golden color.

“Hu, look, the oil’s coming out! They’re almost done!”

Black Egg stared intently, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed repeatedly. His saliva pooled in his mouth, and though he reached out several times to touch the sparrows, he managed to restrain himself.

Finally, when the bird feathers were perfectly crisped and the meat had turned golden and slightly charred, the sparrows were thoroughly cooked.

“Hehe~ We can eat now!”

Without caring about the heat, Black Egg took a bite, hissing and smacking his lips, savoring the flavor.

Watching wasn’t enough to satisfy him.

He grabbed a dry leaf, used it as a pad, pulled off a sparrow and shoved it into his mouth, chewing in big mouthfuls… His cheeks puffed up high, and his small mouth soon gleamed with grease.

He gnawed while blowing on it, sucking every bit from the bones.

“Slow down,” Lin Hu said.

“There’s more, you roast some for your granny. I’m going outside to eat.”

Lin Hu didn’t plan to linger.

This skewer of five sparrows was also for gaining some Spirit Tempering proficiency points.

“Let Black Egg and his granny enjoy the treat,” he thought, patting his stomach.

He felt that even if he ate all the meat himself, it wouldn’t solve the underlying problem.

His empty belly needed a real feast to be satisfied.

As the sun dipped toward the west, only a streak of fiery clouds remained above the horizon.

A hint of worry crept into his heart.

With Ma Biao and Li Dali’s dominance in the village, they wouldn’t let him off so easily.

“I’ll have to be on guard tonight,” he mused.

Thinking this over, he grabbed the trap from the yard and headed home.

His appearance now resembled a wild man—baggy shorts, a horn bow and quiver slung across his back, a bird trap in hand, and a slingshot hanging from his neck.

Fortunately, it was dinnertime; nobody paid attention to what was happening outside.

After finishing his sparrow skewer, he gained 15 proficiency points as hoped.

“Since there’s a daily limit for each skill, I have to max them out today.”

“But first, I need to fill my belly.”

Lin Hu returned home, changed into a set of clothes, and just as he was about to leave, noticed the neatly folded outfit he’d once given Shen Youyu at the bedside.

Checking the wardrobe, he realized his mother’s clothes were indeed missing a set.

He couldn’t help but shake his head and smile.

That girl was truly pitiful—without parents, who would dote on her? No matter how close, nothing compared to the love of one’s own mother and father.

“How did I get carried away and offer to help her repay her debt?” Lin Hu felt a little annoyed.

But on reflection, it wasn’t a loss. The girl’s figure was genuinely attractive; if he could marry her someday, it wouldn’t be bad.

Hehe~

Lin Hu recalled the scene and felt a bit excited, but soon returned to his usual composure.

For now, his focus was on strengthening himself—matters of romance could wait!

He wouldn’t allow any woman to become a hindrance on his path to vengeance.

Panel~

With a thought, his talent panel appeared before his eyes.

[Awakened: Lin Hu]
[Talent Skills: 6]
[Arm Strength (Beginner 10.1%)]
[Hunting Trap (Uninitiated 41%)]
[Spirit Tempering (Beginner 1.8%)]
[Precision (Beginner 10.2%)]
[Hand Strength (Uninitiated 5%)]
[Underwater Breathing (Uninitiated 5%)]

“Hmm… Arm Strength and Precision have reached today’s limit. Hunting Trap, Spirit Tempering, and the newly awakened Hand Strength and Underwater Breathing haven’t. I have to max out these four skills today!”

“Can’t let any progress slip!”

Lin Hu double-checked, then decided to start leveling up Hunting Trap.

[You skillfully set a small bird trap. Hunting Trap proficiency +1.]
[You deftly set a bird trap. Hunting Trap proficiency +1.]
...

Set the trap, disassemble it. Set it again, disassemble it.

Though there was some chance of failure, setting bird traps was relatively easy, and proficiency increased quickly.

In less than an hour,

59 points of proficiency, and Lin Hu had maxed it out.

Without any incident.

With growing anticipation, he finally heard the most melodious sound in the world.

[Ding~]
[Your talent skill Hunting Trap (Uninitiated) proficiency reached 100%, upgraded to: Hunting Trap (Beginner)]

“Oh yeah!”

“Upgraded!”

Lin Hu wiped the sweat from his brow, gulped down a big ladle of cold water to temporarily fill his empty stomach.

Even though he was extremely hungry, he didn’t rush to eat, but summoned the Hunting Trap panel to check its effects.

[Hunting Trap (Beginner)]
[Proficiency: 0/1000]
[Effect 1: Beginner trap, can automatically identify terrain and recommend the optimal hunting coordinates. Trap success rate increased by 100%.]
[Special Effect 2: Hunting Pouch, provides a one cubic meter third space, usable only for storing non-living items.]
...

“????”

Lin Hu wasn’t overly excited by the first effect, but the second one left him utterly speechless!

“What!”

“Hunting Pouch?”

“A one cubic meter third space?”

“Damn!”

His eyes widened in disbelief, excitement overwhelming him to the point his breathing felt labored, almost dizzying.

He leaned against the windowsill and sat down.

Rubbing his head, he tried to digest the unexpected surprise.

“A third space!”

“This is the biggest bug in this world!”

Lin Hu was an adult; he knew exactly what this meant.

It was simple.

As long as the Hunting Trap skill level was high enough, the Hunting Pouch’s space could be infinitely expanded—how much depended entirely on his own effort!

“Fantastic!”

“Heaven has not forsaken me!”

Lin Hu clenched his fists in excitement. In these times, a hunter’s yield depended not only on how much game he could catch.

Sometimes, it depended on how much he could carry away.

“This is efficiency!”

With his heart racing, Lin Hu endured his hunger and, with a thought, placed all his animal traps inside.

After finishing the test, he was even more amazed.

It turned out that the one cubic meter space wasn’t fixed in shape; he could arrange things however he liked and even partition it by thought!

“Wonderful!”

Lin Hu busied himself a bit more, sorting the animal traps, slingshot, clay pellets, and quiver into the tools section.

The game section was empty for now, but he wasn’t in a hurry to fill it.

Then, he quickly left home.

He headed for the supply and marketing cooperative.

“Tonight, I’m going to feast, eat up all of Wang Ergou’s stock—haha…”