Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

The mule was left behind and tied to a large tree.

Zhou Rui, leading Zhang Shitou, swiftly weaved through the pile of rocks. They didn't run, but their legs moved with incredible speed. They didn't detour; they went straight behind the leopard.

The stones scattered on the ground posed some obstacle for Zhou Rui and his companion, but they were no problem for the dogs. A group of dogs followed behind Zhang Shitou, restrained and unable to move forward.

"Junior brother, are we just going to swagger over like this? Aren't we going to try and avoid getting out of the way?"

"Who are you hiding from?" Zhou Rui asked without stopping.

"There's no need for the Qingyang to hide. With such a large number of them, we can minimize our losses by quickly plugging the gap."

"A leopard? It's not our target. If it's not greedy and just grabs its prey and leaves, we'll leave it alone. But if it's unlucky and gets cornered by us, then it's not going anywhere."

Zhang Shitou greatly admired Zhou Rui. His words were grand and imposing, as if they had blocked a valley, tightened a purse, and meant that whatever was inside was his.

Halfway through the journey, the leopard could no longer contain itself and pounced like lightning, scattering a herd of antelopes in terror.

The leopard relentlessly pursued one, following it like a shadow. Seven seconds later, the leopard clamped its jaws down on the hindquarters of the antelope.

The serow struggled with all its might, pushing forward with its forelimbs, while its hind limbs were somewhat weak due to pain, but it still dragged the leopard forward.

There was a drop in elevation in front of the rock. The antelope dragged the leopard forward and charged, and the two animals plunged forward at the same time.

The ibex instantly broke free of its restraints and immediately turned to run. The leopard tensed its muscles, and in a flash, it pounced forward, its massive jaws clamping down on the ibex's neck.

The antelope immediately lost most of its strength, leaving only a few hooves to paw at the stones, making a clattering sound.

Zhou Rui sensed the two beasts entangled and increased his speed, even Zhang Shitou, who often ran in the mountains, could not keep up and was left more than ten meters behind.

The journey downstream for Wang Shouye and his group was easier, but they were still much slower than Zhou Rui and his group. However, they weren't in a hurry, since the pass on this side was guarded by a pack of wolves.

The antelope in the leopard's mouth gradually stopped struggling, the white snow on the ground was already soaked in red, and only its limbs twitched from time to time.

The leopard didn't let go. It carried the ibex to a large rock, shook its head, and then began to devour it in front of the herd.

The other antelopes did not flee upon seeing this, but instead moved slightly away from the leopard and continued searching for grass roots under the snow.

The leopard's sharp teeth tore through the antelope's hide, biting into the flesh and tearing off a piece of tender meat with a swipe of its large mouth.

An enticing scent drifted down from the wind's edge, the stench of blood growing stronger, slowly enveloping the wolf pack.

The eyes of the wolves in the pack gradually turned red, and some of the more impatient wolves were already getting restless. A low howl rang out, and even the wolf king was finding it hard to contain himself.

Swish...swish...

The wolf king scratched its paws on the stone, its gaze fixed. Since it couldn't suppress it, it gave up, letting out low growls as it issued commands to all the wolves.

Two packs of wolves emerged from their hiding place, forming two arcs as they surrounded a small open area ahead.

Awooo...

The wolf king howled from behind, and the two neat lines suddenly broke apart, each weaving into the sheep herd. The herd of antelopes erupted in chaos, a commotion many times louder than that made by a leopard hunting.

The leopard had just swallowed a piece of meat when it heard the wolf king's long howl. It raised its head to look, then continued to gnaw on its delicious meal, seemingly uninterested in the wolf's hunt.

"Third Senior Brother, hurry up!" Zhou Rui called out without turning around.

The wolves began their attack, and the antelope had to flee; he didn't have much time left.

Zhou Rui ran very fast, but every step he took was firm, leaving deep footprints on the snow.

Zhang Shitou had it much easier; he only needed to follow Zhou Rui's footprints.

Two minutes later, Zhou Rui quickly got into position. He threw his bag aside and took out his ammunition belt, which would ensure he could fire continuously later.

Zhou Rui didn't wait for Zhang Shitou; he took his place as soon as he arrived.

Zhou Rui knelt on one knee and pulled the bolt with two fingers of his right hand. Click.

Hearing the noise, the leopard turned its head and glanced back, its eyes meeting Zhou Rui's. It immediately snatched its food, leaped under a large rock, and disappeared.

"Damn it, this leopard has become a spirit." Zhou Rui cursed under his breath.

The ibex ahead were already showing signs of joining the herd and were slowly moving toward him, but they hadn't started running yet.

Zhou Rui glanced at Wang Shouye's team again; they weren't in position yet. No rush. Firing now would only drive the antelopes downstream.

"Junior Brother."

Zhang Shitou arrived and called out softly.

"Third Senior Brother, get ready. Settle the dogs in; don't let them rush in yet."

"clear."

After a brief exchange, Zhang Shitou called Spotted Dog over and put a leash on it. As the alpha dog, as long as Spotted Dog didn't attack, the other dogs wouldn't move.

Zhang Shitou came to Zhou Rui's side and lay down beside him. His marksmanship wasn't precise enough, and he could perform better in a prone position.

With a whoosh, the herd of serows gradually accelerated, forming a powerful current. We must not let them gain momentum.

"Third Senior Brother, the Green Sheep are here. Aim at the ones in front and scatter them!"

bang... bang bang...

The largest ibex at the very front fell down, its crooked body immediately affecting the ibex on either side.

Immediately afterwards, another serow was shot dead three meters to the side. Zhang Shitou wasn't confident in his burst fire, so he fired two more shots.

Gunshots echoed through the valley, catching the herd of livestock below completely off guard. The antelope herd became increasingly chaotic, while the wolves were startled by the unexpected gunfire. Only the leopard remained hidden under a large rock, continuing to feed and preparing for its escape.

Bang... Crack... Bang... Crack...

Zhou Rui moved at a fast pace, one shot at a time. He wasn't aiming for a kill now, just to wound the target.

However, the most important thing is to keep an eye on the leopard under the rock. If you get too close, you don't want to be ambushed by it.

bang... bang bang...

Zhou Rui changed the magazine first.

boom……

boom……

Zhang Shitou slowed down the pace, filling in the gaps left by Zhou Rui.

Awooo... Awooo...

A wolf howl rang out, and the wolves in the herd of ibex immediately retreated, taking some of the ibex downstream with them.

Bang, bang, bang...

Gunshots rang out from a kilometer away from Zhou Rui, like a string of firecrackers being lit, making it much more lively than Zhou Rui's side.

The barrage of gunfire felled a group of ibex and wolves.

It should be noted that downstream, two Type 56 semi-automatic rifles, an old slide gun, and a double-barreled shotgun were gathered.

Especially Wang Shouye's double-barreled gun, when fitted with a shotgun, was a nightmare for pack animals.

A howl rang out again, but this time the sound lacked its former majesty and instead carried a hint of sorrow.