American Landowners: Starting with Hunting in Alaska

The water flow in the sink is very fast.

The red blood swirled along the white porcelain countertop before finally flowing into the dark sewer.

Suvi squeezed out a pump of hand sanitizer; before him, Aruk had already used it three times.

The guy, who was as big as a brown bear, had his face buried under the dryer, making strange whimpering noises as the machine roared.

"The flavor seems to have seeped into the skin."

Aruk complained loudly, rubbing his flushed cheeks vigorously.

Su Wei ignored him and carefully cleaned the dark red marks remaining under her fingernails.

The cold water rinsed his fingertips, cooling down his joints, which had been burning from holding the knife for so long.

The sticky feeling disappeared.

Instead, it has a dry, refreshing feel.

Blake stood in the doorway, his fingers rhythmically tapping on the doorframe.

"If you plan to shower here, I can call the water authority and have them send the bill to your home."

Aruk immediately shut his mouth, turned off the dryer, and obediently shrank behind Suvi.

Su Wei shook the water droplets off his hands, grabbed a rough paper towel, wiped his hands casually a couple of times, and threw the crumpled paper into the trash can.

"Let's go," he said.

The three walked through the long corridor and returned to the warm and bright service hall.

The heating here is on very high, making it feel even a bit hot.

Sarah, who was typing away at her computer screen, heard footsteps and pushed up her glasses.

"Mr. Blake, has the list of candidates for retaking the exams been released yet?"

Sarah habitually took out a stack of documents titled "Hunter Qualification Retraining Application Form".

Based on past experience, whenever Black is proctoring, it is usually necessary to prepare a lot of comforting words and retake forms.

"unnecessary."

Blake walked straight to the counter and threw the black notebook on the table.

"Three."

Sarah paused for a moment.

Instead of reaching for the notebook, she repeated somewhat hesitantly, "Three?"

"Three failing grades? Or...?"

"Three passes."

Blake revealed bloodshot eyes. He looked somewhat tired, perhaps because of the poacher who was still on the run, or perhaps because today's assessment had taken too much of his energy.

"Dennis, Aruk, Suvi Yang. Make them certificates."

The hall was silent for a few seconds.

Apart from Eric, who had long since left dejectedly in the corner, the pass rate for this batch of candidates was a staggering 75%.

This is a rare occurrence in the history of the Fish and Game Bureau on Kodiak Island.

Sarah's mouth dropped open in surprise, but she quickly displayed her professionalism.

She quickly put away the stack of useless forms and opened the document production system.

Congratulations!

She gave Su Wei a professional smile and then pointed to the camera.

"Stand up straight, tuck your chin in a little. Yes, like that."

The flash went off.

The intense white light made Su Wei squint slightly.

Then came the hum of the printer running.

A minute later, a still-warm plastic card was handed to Suwei.

The card was light and had somewhat sharp edges.

It had his photo printed on it and was stamped with the seal of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

In the "Job Level" section, there is a black "LV1" printed on it.

[Professional Hunter License (Lv1)]

[Holder: Suvi Yang]

[Permissions: Allows legal possession of hunting firearms throughout Alaska; allows hunting designated quotas of wild animals during specified seasons; allows selling game and related products at the Guild Exchange.]

Suvimo stroked the raised stamp on the card.

This thin piece of plastic can fetch up to $20,000 on the black market, and even then, you need connections to buy a fake document.

And now, it is legal.

This card is the cure for the $160,000 debt and the key to the Roosevelt deer herd.

Besides the system, this was also his first talisman in this cruel wilderness.

Hey! Look at this!

Aruk, holding his identification documents, jumped up and down excitedly.

The floorboards creaked under the strain.

"Aruk, the professional hunter! How does that sound? Pretty exciting, right?"

The big man held the document above his head and shone it under the lights in the hall, as if it were some rare treasure.

"I need to call my dad. No, I need to go straight back and slap this thing on his perpetually stern old face."

Aruk spoke incoherently, then turned and grabbed Suvi's shoulder.

"Brother, we did it! I knew we could!"

The faint smell of blood that lingered even after the wash, mixed with the distinctive pine scent of Aruk, assaulted Suvi's nostrils.

Suwei did not push him away.

Although this guy was as noisy as a rutting moose, in that snowy valley, when Eric mocked him, it was Aruk who was the first to stand up and want to throw a punch.

"We were lucky," Suwei said.

"It's not just luck."

A steady voice broke in.

Dennis was packing his backpack.

The old hunter had changed back into his civilian clothes, and the somewhat worn leather jacket made him look like any ordinary retired worker.

He slowly and solemnly sheathed the skinning knife that had been with him for decades.

"Luck is part of ability, but in the wilderness, only calmness can save your life."

Dennis slung his bag over his shoulder and walked up to Suwei.

He stretched out a hand, a hand covered with calluses and old scars, with large, deformed knuckles.

"I spent forty years in Kodiak and saw many brilliant sharpshooters. Some became legends, and some became 'bear dung' (meaning they were useless)."

Dennis gripped Suwei's hand tightly.

"Your hands are steady, and your heart is steady. Keep it up, and you'll go further than me."

Su Wei nodded, feeling the rough texture of the hand.

"I will. Thank you."

Dennis waved his hand and didn't say anything more.

He pushed open the heavy glass door, and a little bit of the wind and snow outside rushed in, only to be blocked by the door again.

The old hunter's figure quickly disappeared into the swirling snowflakes.

"He's a strange old man, but a good one."

Aruk made a comment, then immediately turned his attention back to Suvi.

"Hey, Suwei. Forget about that old man. We need to celebrate!"

Aruk pointed to the pickup truck outside.

"How about we go to the best bar in town, or to my place? My mom's smoked salmon is amazing. Now that we've got our licenses, how about we team up?"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, gesturing a huge circle in the air with his hands.

"You're in charge of finding the prey; your eyes are practically radar. I'll handle carrying the supplies and clearing the way; you know I'm strong. We'll split the profits fifty-fifty—no, you get six and I get four!"

This is a very tempting offer.