Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Rui didn't have time to grab his gun, so he could only twist his body and point the basket at the wolf's head in the air. The wolf's teeth gripped the basket tightly, and Zhou Rui seized the opportunity to give it a hard jerk, throwing the basket, the little yellow-haired wolf inside, and the wolf biting the edge of the basket all out of the air.

The basket he swung over hit the head of the second wolf that pounced on him, making it howl. Zhou Rui finally lightened his load, quickly picked up his rifle, and fired a shot at the still-howling wolf's head. At a close range of two meters, the outcome was almost certain; the bullet instantly pierced the wolf's head, creating a large hole.

Zhou Rui took a step back and pulled the bolt. Two more wolves charged, one in front and one behind. Zhou Rui had no time to think; relying solely on instinct, he pulled the trigger at the wolf in front, the bullet exploding in its back. The second wolf was already airborne. Zhou Rui didn't even have time to pull the bolt back; he gripped the barrel with his left hand, holding the gun horizontally in front of his chest. A sharp pain shot through his left hand. The huge wolf's jaws were clamped onto the gun, the hundred-odd-pound wolf hanging from the gun. Zhou Rui tried to shake it off twice but couldn't.

Three more wolves pounced, the one in front being significantly larger than the others, clearly the alpha wolf. Zhou Rui unleashed tremendous force, throwing the wolf and his gun together, knocking the wolf on the left away. Then, he opened his left hand forward, grabbing the alpha wolf by the neck, and with his right hand, he gripped the hilt of his knife at his waist, simultaneously thrusting it forward and to the right. The wolf on the right was pierced through by the knife; Zhou Rui's force was so great that his arm even reached into the wolf's belly, leaving the wolf clinging helplessly to his arm.

The wolf king, however, struggled incessantly after being choked, commanding the pack with low whimpers. Its sharp claws tore at Zhou Rui's clothes, leaving scratches on his arms and body. Zhou Rui prepared to take two steps back and draw his knife, but his right foot had barely moved half a step when his heel hit the rock, leaving him with nowhere to retreat.

Just then, four wolves attacked simultaneously, two from above and two from below. Zhou Rui couldn't defend against attacks from four directions at once, so he quickly crouched down, holding the wolf king in front of him. The two wolves that pounced into the air flew over Zhou Rui's head, bracing themselves on the boulders and leaping back. The two wolves attacking from below were blocked from their path by the wolf king in Zhou Rui's hand and had to stop and turn abruptly.

Taking advantage of the opening, Zhou Rui quickly rolled to the left with the wolf king, pulling his dagger from the wolf's belly in the process. As he rolled, Zhou Rui felt something slice across his back, and blood dripped down. Zhou Rui sprang to his feet, only to find a more agile wolf had already turned and was attacking his lower body. Zhou Rui had no choice but to throw his dagger like a throwing knife; the over twenty-centimeter blade instantly pierced the wolf and pinned it to the ground.

Zhou Rui freed his right hand, disregarding everything else, and scooped his palm back, pressing it against the back of the wolf king's head. With a violent roar, he twisted the wolf king's neck with both hands at the same time.

With a thud, the wolf king's body, weighing over 150 pounds, slammed heavily to the ground as Zhou Rui released his grip. The wolf pinned to the ground by the knife beside him was not yet dead, whimpering and struggling to get up.

The remaining three wolves looked at the dead wolf king and the ferocious-looking human in front of them, a hint of fear in their eyes. After hesitating for a few seconds, one of the wolves, seemingly unable to withstand the murderous aura emanating from Zhou Rui's continuous hunt of wild wolves, actually turned and fled with its tail between its legs.

This action immediately disrupted the balance. Seeing their companion flee and the wolf king dead, the other two wolves immediately lost their courage to attack and turned away.

Seeing the three wolves disappear into the bushes, Zhou Rui quickly went forward and retrieved the gun he had thrown earlier. He pulled the bolt; it wasn't damaged. Zhou Rui, expressionless, walked to the wolf still struggling under his knife, aimed at its head, and fired... bang... the wolf fell silent.

Zhou Rui staggered to the rock, leaned against it, panting heavily, and sat down weakly. All the potential he had unleashed while in danger seemed to have been completely exhausted with the wolf's departure.

As the moon rose, two figures appeared on the distant mountaintop, howling... seemingly mourning for the wolf king, or perhaps expressing their resentment towards Zhou Rui. As for the wolf that had fled first, it was likely utterly terrified and would never be accepted by the other wolves again.

Zhou Rui sat on the ground, pulled the bolt, bang, one shot, then bang, another shot—this was Zhou Rui's response to Wild Wolf.

Zhou Rui sat slumped on the ground for about twenty minutes before he gradually felt some strength returning to his body. If a slightly aggressive wild animal had come at this moment, Zhou Rui would likely have been powerless to resist. He searched his body and found that he had no food left. Zhou Rui had no choice but to get up, pull out the knife still stuck in the wolf carcass, find the wolf king, cut open its belly, and search for its liver.

Animal liver can quickly restore a person's vitality and strength, but Zhou Rui no longer had the strength to start a fire. With his hands covered in blood, Zhou Rui endured the nauseating stench as he ate the wolf liver. If someone were to walk by at that moment, they might very well be scared to death by Zhou Rui's appearance.

After eating half a wolf liver, Zhou Rui couldn't eat anymore and had to gulp down the last bit of water in his canteen. While waiting for his strength to return, Zhou Rui checked his injuries. His left palm was burned by the gun barrel, his left arm and abdomen had multiple bloody scratches from the wolf king's claws, and his back still ached from being cut by gravel while rolling. After checking, Zhou Rui was very relieved that they were all superficial wounds and didn't affect his mobility.

Another half hour passed, and Zhou Rui finally recovered about 60-70% of his strength. He looked at his watch and saw that it was already 7:30. He couldn't wait here any longer to avoid any other accidents.

Zhou Rui tidied everything up and reconnected the broken rope to the sled. But looking at the five wolves gathered together, weighing at least 500 pounds in total, Zhou Rui was at a loss. He glanced at the boulder behind him, reached out and grabbed one of the wolves, tentatively tossing it up. Thud! It actually went up there. It seemed that Zhou Rui's strength had increased after this struggle.

After throwing all five wolves onto the top of the rock, Zhou Rui finally dragged his tired body back home. The beam of his flashlight pierced the darkness of the night as he walked home.

Finally reaching the banks of Jiaolong Creek, Zhou Rui felt his throat was dry. He quickly threw down his sled and basket, lay down by the water, and drank the creek water in large gulps.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of water from the opposite bank. "Who's there? Who's there?"

At the same time, the flashlight shone on the stream, and a thin figure appeared on the opposite bank, wading in knee-deep water, futilely trying to grab something with both hands.

"I, I, I, it's me, I'm Xiaohuahua, boohoo..." The person was startled by Zhou Rui's sudden shout and almost fell into the water. Then, he was so frightened that he cried.

Xiao Huaihua, whose real name is Chen Huaihua, is 14 years old. Her parents have both passed away, and she is raising her 11-year-old brother, Chen Huaishu.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Rui breathed a sigh of relief and quickly put the flashlight on the ground.

"Don't cry, it's me, Zhou Rui." He scooped up a handful of water and started washing his face. He was covered in blood, and he didn't want to frighten the child.