Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

"See them? They're all over there."

Shortly after dawn, Zhou Rui and his group arrived at their destination.

After going around that small hill, there was a cliff on the other side. It wasn't very high, but the terrain was quite dangerous.

There used to be a small puddle between the mountain and the cliff, but it has now frozen over. Because the area is lower in elevation, the temperature is much higher than at the original mountaintop, so there is still some moss, lichen, and other food.

However, there weren't many of these things, and a considerable amount of withered grass under the snow had also been dug up. The flock of blue sheep was so large that this wasn't a place to linger. If Zhou Rui and his group had arrived a few days later, the flock might have already migrated.

The group lay prone on the snow, camouflaging themselves with white cloths. Below the cliff, sheep were divided into several groups, scrambling for the only food available under the snow.

Some, unable to find food, gnaw on the dry bark of trees.

Actually, the distance to the sheep flock is about two miles, so people can't see very clearly. They can only see tiny, dark brown specks, about the size of ants, dotting the white snow.

Wang Shouye was holding a telescope, aiming around, sometimes lingering for a long time in one direction.

This was the only thing Zhou Rui and Gu Shaofeng managed to keep during their last raid on the spies.

Zhou Rui and his companions didn't care about money or anything like that, because they could earn much more by hunting. But this telescope was different; it was extremely rare, something that money couldn't buy. Even on the black market, you might not find one for several years.

At that time, there were no civilian telescopes in China. Any telescopes available must have been military-grade, and most of them were exported from overseas.

"Master, please let me take a look." Gu Shaofeng saw Wang Shouye put down the binoculars in his hand and was very envious, so he asked for help.

Although I played with it for a while when I first got it, it was already dark by then, and I only glanced around. It's nothing compared to the thrill of spotting your prey in real combat.

Unexpectedly, Wang Shouye did not give him the binoculars, but instead walked around him and handed them to Zhou Rui over his head.

"What are you going to watch? Just watch the show. Let Ruiwa see first, so she has a general idea. You can play later."

Gu Shaofeng was a little annoyed as the binoculars passed by, but he didn't dare to argue, so he could only mutter to himself.

"How am I just playing around? I'm an experienced hunter, you know. I can observe the terrain, and I can also..."

"They'll just charge straight in," Wang Zhen casually added.

This senior brother always calls him ruthless, but doesn't he know his own reckless nature? He has no plans or strategies, he just grabs his gun and charges forward. If he weren't a slightly better shot than me, would he even want to be my senior brother?

Wang Zhen was somewhat disdainful.

"You..." Gu Shaofeng was speechless, and almost couldn't catch his breath.

That damn hater, his mouth is getting sharper and sharper.

Undisturbed by their bickering, Zhou Rui quietly observed the distance. In addition to peering through his binoculars, he also activated his senses.

The threads formed by his sixth sense spread out like a fine rain, covering everything in front of him. Zhou Rui observed for a full five or six minutes, then put down the binoculars and hung them around his neck, without handing them to Gu Shaofeng.

Zhou Rui crawled up to Wang Shouye, handed him the binoculars again, and gestured a direction with his hand.

"Uncle Wang, look over there."

Although Wang Shouye was puzzled by Zhou Rui's behavior, he did not ask any questions. Instead, he followed the direction Zhou Rui was pointing and looked into the distance through the binoculars.

At first, nothing was noticed, but as the camera slowly moved, a pale gray shadow appeared in Wang Shouye's eyes.

Wang Shouye carefully turned the dial on the binoculars, and the image became clearer and clearer. He saw a gray-white leopard lying in the snow, moving slowly and carefully.

Ahead of it was a small group of about ten blue sheep.

Before Wang Shouye could put down the binoculars, Zhou Rui pointed in another direction.

"And there, that pile of rubble."

Wang Shouye turned the telescope in another direction. This time, he quickly found the target.

Because the goal is very large, it's not for a single individual, but for a group.

"A pack of wolves?"

Zhou Rui nodded: "Yeah, it's not very big, only about ten horses. But it's a bit troublesome."

"It seems we're not the only ones eyeing these blue sheep; other animals have their eyes on them too. But it doesn't matter, as long as we're not being watched by anyone else."

Wang Shouye spoke casually. In his eyes, beasts were much easier to deal with than humans.

"That leopard is alright; it will only hunt one or two blue sheep at most, which is not a big deal and won't disrupt the blue sheep's original plan. The blue sheep will only leave when they run out of food here."

But this pack of wolves is different. If a dozen or so wolves were to charge into the sheep flock, not only would a large number of sheep be lost, but the entire flock would also panic. I'm afraid the sheep will quickly flee this place.

Zhou Rui's analysis of the entire situation was straightforward and devoid of any emotion. But Wang Shouye could sense the possessiveness in his words. Now that they had their eyes on this flock of sheep, they were determined not to allow any other person or beast to touch it.

"What are your thoughts?" Wang Shouye asked instead of offering a solution directly.

"We'd better set off immediately and form an encirclement. Even if the wolf pack suddenly attacks, we should cover both ends and leave them nowhere to escape."

Without a second thought, Zhou Rui blurted out. What they needed now wasn't a perfect plan, but speed—to cut off the sheep's escape route before they could flee.

"Don't forget, the blue sheep can scale walls and roofs. Those steep cliffs might be insurmountable for other animals, but they're not for the blue sheep."

"That's just a narrow path for escape, not a highway. With such a large flock of sheep all crowding towards the cliff, they're like sitting ducks."

In his previous life, Zhou Rui had seen animals such as serows and goats running and leaping between cliffs to escape predators, like dancing sprites.

However, they cannot maintain high-speed operation indefinitely; careful observation is still required, and they must sway their bodies to maintain balance after the jump.

In other words, the flock of blue sheep cannot escape through the cliffs in a short time. And the blue sheep hanging on the cliff are like balloons hanging on a curtain in a park, easy targets.

"Alright, let's split up now. I'll take Shaofeng and Lucheng uphill, and you take Zhenzi and Shitou downhill. Gouzi, half for each of us."

"I'll go upstairs, I'm younger and have better stamina. But I'd like to take Third Senior Brother with me, he's from the mountains and he's fast. But I have to have all the dogs."

Wang Shouye understood Zhou Rui's meaning after a moment's thought. Zhou Rui, along with Zhang Shitou and the hunting dogs, was fast and could quickly block the escape route of the blue sheep herd.

Because the wolf pack was below where Wang Shouye was going, the sheep would naturally have to run upwards when the wolf pack attacked.

Bringing all the hunting dogs was certainly in order to intercept the blue sheep as much as possible.

Wang Shouye turned to look at Zhou Rui, a half-smile on his face: "Are you trying to trap the leopards and wolves all in one pot?"

"Heh... well, let's see if they know what's good for them. If these beasts catch their prey and leave now, they're lucky. If they're greedy and stay there, I won't mind killing them all."

Zhou Rui inadvertently revealed his fangs at this moment, showing his position at the top of the food chain.