Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Zhou Rui's face instantly darkened, and he slammed his axe into the ground, his voice chillingly cold.

"Don't move, stay where you are, and don't venture any deeper."

He bent down and picked up the rifle leaning against the tree stump; the click of the bullet being chambered was particularly clear in the quiet forest.

Big Yellow was lying under the tree roots gnawing on a rabbit leg when it heard the noise. It jumped up, the fur on the back of its neck stood on end, and a low growl rolled from its throat.

"It's Huang Jianming's voice." Chen Zhejiang's face turned pale, and he subconsciously took a step in the direction of the voice, but Zhou Rui grabbed his arm.

"Don't go." Zhou Rui's eyes swept over the swaying shadows of the trees deep in the dense forest.

"There aren't many wild animals in this area normally, but since they've called for help, it means they can't handle the animals that came."

Su Yuanyuan's face turned pale instantly, and the machete she was holding clattered to the ground. "Then... what should we do? They don't even have anything to defend themselves."

On her first day there, Su Yuanyuan saw several villagers being carried back at the village entrance; some had broken arms and legs, and others were dead.

The thought of the consequences made her tremble uncontrollably.

Yu Sitian gripped He Wei's arm tightly with both hands. Not out of fear, but out of concern for her companion's fate.

Last year, during a picnic in the canyon, she witnessed Zhou Rui's marksmanship and knew that even a wild boar would only take one shot from him.

"I'll go take a look." Zhou Rui pulled off the hemp rope around his waist, then pressed on his lower back; the pistol was still there.

"Dahuang, come with me. Chen Zhejiang, you stay here and keep an eye on them. No one is allowed to leave this deadwood area."

"If I don't come back in half an hour, you take your men and retreat towards the village, then go to the brigade headquarters to call for reinforcements."

"I'll go with you." Chen Zhejiang picked up a thick wooden stick from the ground. "More people means more strength, and they can lend a hand if something happens."

Zhou Rui glanced at him, then raised his chin and gestured to the surroundings: "No, you're the leader of the educated youth team. If you leave, this place will lose its backbone."

There were only four people in danger over there, while there were eight on this side. It's obvious which situation is more serious.

Zhou Rui turned and ran, because he heard cries for help again. Although they were intermittent, they seemed louder, as if the person had been pushed to their limit.

The decaying leaves under Zhou Rui's feet rustled under his feet, and Da Huang, like a yellow arrow, clung to his side, its nose close to the ground, sniffing the scent rapidly.

Before he had run two hundred meters, the fishy smell in the forest was so strong it was choking, and mixed with the hissing sound, Zhou Rui immediately knew what it was.

He suddenly stopped, leaned to the side behind an old pine tree, and looked up to see the current state of the open space in front of him.

A large, solitary boar was chasing a male educated youth, while three other people were climbing the same small tree, with Huang Jianming shouting at the top of his lungs.

The female educated youth at the bottom had blood flowing down her leg; her trouser leg was torn open, and blood was seeping out.

"Da Liu, turn left, turn left, there's a big tree over there, you can go around it." Meng Huaiyuan sat on a branch, directing the educated youth who were running away on the ground.

The guy named Da Liu had lost his shoes while running, and he was gritting his teeth and desperately trying to move his legs, but he couldn't even say a word.

Zhou Rui's finger instantly pulled the trigger, his gaze fixed on the lone pig.

This beast was a size bigger than the one he had taken down in the canyon last year, and its mane stood up like steel needles on its neck.

Its fangs protruded from its lips, stained with blood and foam, and its hooves raked through the mud, about to knock down the panting Liu.

Big Yellow couldn't contain itself any longer and let out a low howl as it tried to charge forward, but Zhou Rui reached out and held its collar down.

He couldn't let the dog go first; this wild boar was so crazy it would fight even a bear, and Big Yellow, a hunting dog, wouldn't be able to hold it in place.

Zhou Rui took a deep breath, the rifle butt firmly against his shoulder, and the crosshair aimed at the soft flesh below the pig's eye.

This beast's hide was so thick it was like it was wrapped in cowhide. Zhou Rui was afraid that shooting elsewhere wouldn't be safe; only the small area below its eyes could disable its mobility with a single shot.

"Bang!"

The moment the gun went off, Lone Pig turned a corner with Big Liu in front of it. The bullet grazed its ear and exploded into a pile of wood chips on the tree trunk.

Although the beast was not injured, it seemed to be completely enraged by Zhou Rui's shot.

It turned its scarlet eyes and charged straight at the old pine tree where Zhou Rui was hiding. The tree trunk vibrated and trembled from the impact, and pine needles fell all over the ground.

Zhou Rui had anticipated its momentum, so he leaped to the side and used the tree trunk as cover to get behind it.

Before Lone Pig could turn around, he slammed the rifle to the ground, pulled out the axe from his waistband, and used the momentum of his forward charge to chop it down hard.

The axe blade precisely embedded itself in the bone crevice of the lone boar's neck, and dark red blood instantly spurted out, splashing onto half of his arm.

The lone pig let out a scream that made people's eardrums ache, and kept twisting its body as it lunged forward.

However, Zhou Rui suddenly grabbed its ear and wouldn't let go, and Da Huang also pounced on it, biting the big lone pig's hind leg.

The lone pig, in pain, shook its head wildly, its heavy body slamming against the tree trunk with tremendous force, trying to crush Zhou Rui, who was tightly gripping its ear, into the bark.

Zhou Rui's feet seemed to be nailed to the ground, he didn't move an inch, and half of his body was almost pressed against the pig's back.

Big Yellow held on tightly, refusing to let go. When the pig's hind leg rubbed against it, the whimpering in its throat turned into a muffled growl, but it still didn't loosen its teeth even a little.

Zhou Rui gripped the axe handle tightly with his other hand and pulled it out. He then swung the axe several more times along the wound, almost severing half of the pig's head.

The three people in the tree were stunned. Huang Jianming's hoarse voice suddenly stopped, and even Meng Huaiyuan, who was directing Da Liu, forgot to speak.

Having only run a few steps, Da Liu leaned against a tree trunk, panting heavily. His legs were still trembling as he watched the scene of the man, the dog, and the mad pig locked in a life-or-death struggle.

The lone boar's struggles gradually weakened, the mud ditch it dug with its limbs became shallower and shallower, and finally its huge body sank heavily onto the decaying leaves.

Zhou Rui let go and took two steps back, shaking his arm, which was numb from being shaken by the pig's head. Sweat dripped down his forehead and down his jawline, hitting the blood-stained fallen leaves.

Big Yellow opened its mouth, shook the mud off its head, and nuzzled Zhou Rui's hand with its head. The mane that had been standing on end for a long time slowly softened.

"What are you all standing there for? Get down." Zhou Rui bent down, picked up the rifle from the ground, and pulled the bolt to eject the empty cartridge case.

"The smell of blood dissipates quickly, and if it stays hanging on the tree, it will attract other things and cause more trouble."

The female educated youth was the first to come down, her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground.

Meng Huaiyuan then slid down the tree trunk, supporting himself on his knees with both hands to barely keep from kneeling on the ground.

Huang Jianming climbed down the tree branch, but his foot slipped and he tumbled and fell into the haystack.

He ignored the pain and immediately ran to the female educated youth with an injured leg under the tree.

"Lin Xiaotang, how are you? Does it hurt?"