Volume One, Chapter 7: I Haven't Had Enough of the Fight Yet

"Who cares," he thought. "It can't be too bad, whatever happens. If this theory holds up, then even without a hunting rifle, he'll be able to hunt. That would be incredible."

With these thoughts racing through his mind, Lin Hu could no longer restrain his excitement. He aimed directly at Da Maitai's chest and let fly.

Whoosh—

"Get down!" Seeing the mud pellet shoot from Lin Hu’s slingshot, Da Maitai and his crew ducked low in unison to dodge.

"Damn, I missed!" Lin Hu realized he hadn't hit his target and immediately turned to run.

It was clear these guys had planned it out: as soon as they saw any movement from his wrist, they'd drop down preemptively to avoid getting hit. That shot had been rushed. The next one needed to be steadier.

Taking advantage of the brief moment as his opponents straightened up, Lin Hu widened the distance again, then quickly crouched and steadied himself. He anchored the slingshot beneath his collarbone and drew it back to its limit, both hands steadying it with all his strength—no more shaking.

"Squat down!" Da Maitai barked, and all five of them hit the ground at once.

"Will that help you?" Lin Hu couldn’t help but grin.

Whoosh—

This time, he fired at a tricky angle, only about fifteen meters away. With such a cluster of people, it was hard to miss.

A sudden cry rang out.

"Ah—ah! Damn it, my ass!" Da Maitai had been struck squarely on the backside, clutching at the spot in pain. "Damn you, I'll get you for this!"

He was truly furious now.

"Stop dodging, go after him! I'm going to skin him alive today, crush him underfoot!"

"Ha—ha! Come after me! Try and catch me!" Lin Hu shouted provocatively as he dashed away.

The others no longer dodged or ducked. Lin Hu couldn’t slow down either—he kept running, firing shots at random. Even if his aim was off, the threat was still there.

A chase ensued: he ran, they pursued; he fired, they defended.

They kept a safe distance between them at all times.

After a full circle, Lin Hu’s lips curled into a sly smile—his pursuers had stumbled right back into his trap zone.

"Dare to chase me, do you?" Da Maitai, too focused on running forward, failed to notice the bird trap underfoot. With a yelp, he was caught by the ankle.

He tumbled to the ground, writhing in pain and tossing aside his hoe.

Seeing his skill proficiency rise, Lin Hu taunted loudly, "Ha! Da Maitai, got you at last! Weren’t you always the loudest? Look at you now—rolling on the ground like a dying mutt!"

Ma Erlu and Ma Sanlu, seeing two of their brothers fall into traps, flew into a rage.

Ma Erlu brandished his pick handle and roared, "Lin Ninth, using dirty tricks—what kind of man are you? Fight us face to face if you’ve got the guts!"

But he was clearly wary, taking each step cautiously, afraid of more traps.

Noticing their hesitation, Lin Hu quickly readied his slingshot again.

"Face you head-on? I’m not that stupid! You bullies have preyed on people long enough. Today’s your reckoning! Go on, charge ahead—see how many more surprises await you!"

With these words, he let another pellet fly, striking Ma Erlu in the waist.

"Lin Ninth, I’ll kill you for this!" Ma Erlu gritted his teeth, glaring with pain and hatred.

"You think I’m scared of your lousy slingshot? I’ll break your legs today!"

But the next moment, with a sickening snap, he stepped right into a large animal trap.

Agonized screams filled the air. Even Lin Hu felt a pang of pity—those traps could snap a wolf's leg in two.

"Tsk, tsk... I warned you not to rush in, but you just had to. Serves you right!"

For a moment, as Ma Erlu screamed more miserably than a pig at slaughter, Lin Hu almost felt sorry for him. But then the notification flashed before his eyes, and all sympathy vanished.

[Your trap has successfully captured an enemy. Hunting Trap skill proficiency +5.]

"Five points! Excellent! If I catch them a few more times, my trapping skill might level up!"

Ma Sanlu and Ergai, seeing three of their brothers now caught, stopped in their tracks, too afraid to move forward.

"Second Brother, are you alright?"

"What do we do? There must be more traps around here, and we didn’t bring any slingshots."

Ma Erlu, writhing in pain, cursed, "Quit yapping and help me pry this trap open!"

"Sanlu, are you chickening out? Come and get me—or I’ll just keep hitting you!"

Lin Hu continued his taunts as he readied his slingshot again.

Ma Sanlu dared not advance, his eyes full of hatred as he glared at Lin Hu. "Don’t get cocky, Lin Ninth! If you don’t let us go today, you’ll never leave this ravine alive. I’ll go home and get my hunting rifle!"

A hunting rifle?

Lin Hu snorted, "You? In your state? You came with five, three are down, and you’re still threatening me? Let me tell you, nobody can save you today! The debt your Ma family owes—I'll start collecting from you lot right here!"

Ergai, frightened but not wanting to lose face before his friends, mustered up his courage and shouted, "Lin Hu, don’t push your luck! There’s more of us than you—what can you do, kill us? As long as we draw breath, you’ll pay for this!"

"Threatening me?" Lin Hu sneered at Ergai. "Look at you—can barely walk, still pretending to be tough! Save that brick for bashing your own head—maybe you'll wise up a bit!"

Ergai, face red with fury, raised the brick to throw. Lin Hu, quick as a flash, fired a pellet that struck Ergai’s wrist.

The brick tumbled to the ground as Ergai cried out in pain.

"You really shot me! Damn you, Lin Hu!" Ergai clutched his wrist, cursing as he ducked for cover.

[You hit your target’s wrist. Precision skill proficiency +5.]

"Lovely! Just marvelous!" Lin Hu watched his proficiency bar rise, eagerly raising his slingshot to aim again. With such willing targets, how could he resist?

Meanwhile, Da Maitai, the first to fall into a trap, had lost all feeling in his leg and lagged twenty meters behind the others. Seeing his brothers caught one after another, he realized too late that they’d waltzed into an ambush.

"Fall back, brothers! Forget about him today—get out of here!"

He was rattled, but still tried to sound tough. "This isn’t over, Lin Hu!"

"Trying to leave?" Lin Hu laughed loudly. "Didn’t you just threaten to kill me if you survived? You think I’m scared of you? None of you are getting away today!"

With that, Lin Hu advanced, firing at the uninjured Ma Sanlu and Ergai.

"Stop, stop—no more!"

"Ah… we surrender, alright?"

The pellets sent them scrambling, covered in bruises before long.

"Surrender? Not good enough! I’m not done yet!"

[You hit your target’s leg. Precision skill proficiency +4.]
[You hit your target’s hip. Precision skill proficiency +5.]
…