American Landowners: Starting with Hunting in Alaska

The darkness came suddenly, catching Su Wei off guard.

The only remaining light in the room was the stubborn orange glow of the fireplace, flickering gently.

The shadow of Su Wei cast on the wall appeared particularly distorted.

Su Wei was stunned for a moment and stood still.

He remained calm, without panicking or shouting.

In this wilderness, power outages are common, and making a fuss won't solve the problem.

This is the wilderness.

The wilderness of Alaska.

Here, a power outage is a minor issue.

Sometimes, I even wake up to find myself opening the door.

You might find a brown bear watching you from outside.

This is no joke.

That's what makes Alaska special.

Wilderness, pure wilderness.

He turned his head and walked to the entrance.

He pulled a powerful flashlight out of the drawer of the entryway cabinet.

Click.

A beam of light pierced the darkness, illuminating the tiny dust particles floating in the air.

The beam of light swept across the wall clock, the hands still moving due to inertia, emitting a slight mechanical sound.

Next is the thermometer.

The room temperature is still around 20 degrees Celsius, which is quite comfortable.

The heater had stopped, leaving only the faint sound of charcoal burning and the wind outside the window.

They kept banging on the window.

"Ooh...slap..."

"dynamo."

Su Wei made a judgment in a low voice.

The cabin's electrical system relies entirely on an old-fashioned diesel generator in the garage.

Since coming down from the mountain, Suwei hasn't refueled it, probably because he's already drained the tank dry.

I've been so busy digging for ginseng, hunting, and dealing with debts that I completely forgot to refuel this oil-guzzling behemoth.

This was truly an oversight that shouldn't have happened.

Startled by the darkness, Cotton Candy jumped off the sofa, let out a short cry, and then rubbed against Su Wei's trouser leg.

"fine."

Suwei bent down and rubbed its fluffy head; it felt very warm to the touch.

"Stay home, I'm going to the garage."

He pulled a thick down jacket off the hanger and wrapped it around himself, then put on the leather hat with ear flaps, leaving only his eyes showing.

Suwei picked up the garage key from the hook, took a deep breath, and turned the doorknob.

Click.

The door lock popped open.

A tremendous force slammed into the door panel, nearly knocking Su Wei off balance.

"call--"

A strong wind, carrying ice shards, lashed out and struck Su Wei's face.

The wind and snow that had been howling outside the window were now fiercely rushing towards us.

Su Wei squinted and subconsciously raised his arm to shield his face.

The snow was too heavy.

It's bigger than ever before.

The snow on the ground had been blown into various shapes by the wind, and the steps in front of the door had almost disappeared, nearly buried by the wind and snow.

Suwei was so engrossed in his call with Emily that he completely ignored the increasingly heavy snow outside.

He never expected the weather to change so quickly in just a few hours.

It's snowing so heavily.

This is Alaska; the weather at the end of October always starts to become unpredictable.

In particular, he lived in the suburbs.

Whoosh.

A white shadow darted out from beside Suwei's feet.

Marshmallows are clearly not afraid of this extreme weather.

As the original inhabitant of this place, its genes have been awakened.

The little guy plunged headfirst into the soft snowdrift and disappeared instantly.

Then, a cloud of white mist exploded in the snow two meters away, and a white fox's head, covered in snowflakes, emerged. It spun around twice, its tail wagging rapidly.

If it weren't for the exploding snowflakes, Suwei wouldn't have been able to see the cotton candy at all.

Its snow-white fur blends perfectly into the snowy weather.

It darted back and forth through the thick snow, having a great time.

This immunity to cold is truly enviable.

"Marshmallow!"

Su Wei had to raise his voice, but half of his voice was blown away by the wind as soon as it came out.

"Don't go far! Be careful!"

Hearing its owner call, the little fox stopped what it was doing, tilted its head to look at the light source by the door, and whimpered twice in response.

Then it continued its snow exploration, but it didn't dare to go out of the range illuminated by the Soviet flashlight.

Suwei ignored it; the little guy was very clever.

He tightened his collar and stepped into the wind and snow.

The snow was already up to my calves, and I had to pull my boots out with force with every step.

This resistance makes progress very difficult.

The distance from the main house to the garage was only twenty meters, but it took Suwei almost a minute to walk it.

Reaching the side door of the garage, he shook the snow off his gloves and inserted the key.

The lock cylinder was frozen and felt a bit stiff.

Su Wei had no choice but to take off his gloves, warm the keyhole with the warmth of his palms for a while, and then twist it a few more times.

Click.

The latch pops open.

Pushing open the iron gate, a blast of cold air, mixed with the smell of engine oil and old dust, hit me.

The garage was pitch black, with only the beam of a flashlight flickering.

The old Dodge pickup truck sat quietly in the middle, with snow still piled up in the bed from before.

Beside it was the snowmobile that looked dilapidated.

In the corner, the dark green diesel generator lay lifeless.

This machine is older than Suwei; it's an old relic left by the previous owner. Although it's noisy, it's simple in structure and sturdy and durable.

Su Wei walked over and reached out to touch the hood.

It's still a little warm.

He unscrewed the fuel tank cap and shone a flashlight inside.

It was spotless, with even the filter at the bottom showing.

It really is out of gas.

"Old friend, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

Su Wei patted the machine's cold exterior and turned to walk towards the storage shelf in the corner.

There were several spare red oil drums there.

He picked up the outermost one.

Light and airy.

empty.

Su Wei's heart sank.

He picked up the second one.

It's still empty.

It wasn't until the third one that I felt a heavy weight in my hand.

But there was only half a bucket.

Su Wei shook the oil drum, listening to the sloshing sound of the liquid inside, and frowned.

This is the only bucket left.

Everything else had been used up before this.

This half-bucket of oil can only power the generator for a maximum of ten hours.

Of course, this is under full load conditions.

If used sparingly, about 100 liters of diesel can last for about two days.

In other words, if he cannot replenish his diesel fuel tomorrow, he will lose his sight tomorrow night.

Without electricity, the water pump won't work, and there will be no water to drink.

Without electricity, the electric heater stopped working, so we had to rely on the fireplace to keep warm.

In this godforsaken place, without energy reserves, people can't survive for long.

Without further hesitation, Su Wei unscrewed the oil drum cap, aimed it at the generator's fuel filler neck, and poured in the murky, pale yellow liquid.

Gumbling.

The sound of diesel fuel being swallowed echoed in the empty garage.

Only after the last drop of oil had dripped did Suwei put away the oil drum and casually toss it into a pile of empty drums to the side.

Clang.

The crisp sound of the empty barrel hitting the ground was a bit harsh.

He closed the generator fuel tank cap and located the starter rope.

This old machine has no electric start; it's all manually operated.

Su Wei adjusted his posture, put on his gloves, gripped the handle with one hand, and stepped on the base.

Take a deep breath and gather your strength.

Suddenly pull backward!

*Pfft pfft...* *Pfft*

The machine coughed twice, emitted a puff of black smoke, and then went silent again.

It's too cold; the cylinder temperature isn't high enough.

Su Wei didn't stop, he pulled again, then a second time.

He gritted his teeth and pulled the rope hard again and again.

On the fifth attempt, with a muffled bang, the machine began to shake violently.

rat-a-tat ...

A rough, powerful roar instantly filled the entire space.

The ground trembled slightly.

A thick plume of blue smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe, which quickly faded.

It is operating smoothly.

Suwei looked towards the main house through the garage window, which was covered in frost.

The warm yellow light in the living room windows on the first floor was turned on again.

Power has been restored.

Su Wei breathed a sigh of relief, took off his gloves, and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.

As long as the machine can still run, I can get a good night's sleep.

He locked the garage door again and turned to face the swirling snow.

The footprints that had just been left have now been filled in again.

"Marshmallow!"

Su Wei shouted.

A small head popped out of a snowdrift not far away, with a dry twig that had somehow appeared in its mouth.

Seeing Suwei beckoning, it dropped the branch and came running over, leaving a trail of plum blossom-shaped footprints on the snow with its four legs.

The man and the fox braved the wind and returned to the main house.

The moment the door closed, the world instantly became quiet.

The whistling wind was shut out, and the electric heater started working again, emitting a slight electrical hum.

Although the temperature hasn't risen yet, a sense of security has already filled the room again.

Su Wei took off his snow-covered down jacket and hung it on the hanger.

The marshmallow shook itself vigorously, sending out a ring of water droplets.

Then, with practiced ease, he jumped back onto the sofa, curled himself into a ball, and continued the dream he hadn't finished.

Suwei did not go to rest immediately.

He walked to the window and reached out to wipe away a patch of fog from the glass.

The outside world was a vast expanse of white.

Outside the window, snowflakes were falling heavily onto the ground.

This amount of snowfall is very abnormal.

Even on Kodiak Island, such a blizzard that occurs in such a short period of time is rare.

Combined with the two previous blizzards, plus this one.

Suvy was almost certain of the winter on Kodiak Island.

Perhaps the real one has arrived.

His gaze fell on the path leading to the highway.

That road was originally a dirt road that his parents had cleared, and it wasn't paved at all.

At this moment, the road surface has completely disappeared, blending into the surrounding wilderness.

If it snows all night...

Su Wei glanced down at the time on her phone.

One o'clock in the morning.

There are still six hours until dawn.

At this rate, the snow depth may exceed one meter by daybreak.

Although his old pickup truck was four-wheel drive and had been fitted with snow tires, it certainly couldn't overcome such a thick snow wall.

By then, let alone going to town to buy diesel, pay off the loan, or treat Emily to braised pork.

He can't even get out of this door.

And there was also that half-empty barrel of diesel fuel.

If the road is impassable, even if he has money, he won't be able to buy supplies.

Something has to be done.

Or perhaps we should pray that the snow removal teams, who are paid by taxpayers, will be more diligent.

Do not make jokes.

Instead of relying on them, we should hope that Cotton Candy learns to operate an excavator.

Suwei walked to the fireplace and added two thick birch logs inside.

Sparks flew everywhere.

Since we can't change the weather, we can only prepare for a tough battle.

If the road is really blocked tomorrow...

Suwei's gaze fell on the dusty toolbox in the corner.

Looks like I won't be getting a good night's sleep tomorrow morning.

He turned off the main light in the living room, leaving only a dim wall lamp on.

Outside the window, the wind and snow grew increasingly violent, crashing against the wooden house's exterior walls with a dull thud.

On this deserted island night, locked down by a blizzard.

This small wooden house became their only refuge.

But it's also possible that it will prevent him from ever leaving again.