HLM – Chapter 192 Hunting the Wilderness

Watching his men chatter away excitedly, Wang Bo was genuinely impressed. “You guys are amazing. So, the guns are all in order, right? Nothing missing?”

Bowen did a quick inventory. “Two-year maintenance card, 200 rounds of ammo, scope, fingerless gloves, gun oil under warranty, and 500 rounds for the Glock. Yup, all here.”

Wang Bo snapped, “Fuck, if everything’s fine, what are you all babbling about? Pack up, get in the truck—let’s move!”

The two pickup trucks pulled away. On the road, Eva called. “Hi, Wang, did you come to Oak City today?”

Wang Bo slapped his forehead. He’d been so excited about buying the gun that he’d completely forgotten to check in with Eva about the relocation.

Eva had called for that exact reason. “I spoke with the school after I got back—no issues. We’re willing to move to your town. So from now on, I’ll be relying on you.”

Wang Bo was delighted. “We’ll support each other. So, when are you moving?”

Eva’s clear voice replied, “You know there’s a lot of stuff at the school. It’s not easy to move everything. We’ll need to make a plan, so I hope you can be patient. I wanted to talk to you in person, but I’ve been too busy these last couple of days.”

Wang Bo understood the subtext—this trip to Oak City was the perfect chance to meet. But he was already halfway to the town and couldn’t just turn back. That would have to wait.

Besides, he was itching to try out the SL8. Since his teenage years, he’d been obsessed with firearms. The Glock 18 was fine, but it just didn’t have the same thrill. A rifle like this? Much better.

When they arrived at the town, Wang Bo spit into his palm and called out, “Alright boys, check your ammo. We’re going hunting—hooah!”

Juan asked, “We heading to the ranch?”

Wang Bo rolled his eyes. “What for? The ranch is ours! I’m talking about the wilderness. I think I spotted wild boars out there. If we run into one—we bag it!”

There are quite a few wild boars in New Zealand. Every spring, local governments organize hunting teams to control the population. If not, they wreak havoc on farmlands.

Wild boars aren’t native to New Zealand either. They’re descended from domestic pigs brought by Europeans that escaped and reverted to their feral instincts.

These wild boars are not like the savage, battle-hardened ones in China’s deep forests. They’re less aggressive, and a few good hunting dogs can take them down. Shooting them is even easier.

Using the surveillance system over the ranch, Wang Bo had seen wild boars several times. They were probably drawn in by the Heart of the Ranch.

Once the target was set, the group switched vehicles and drove the Predator out into the wild. The vehicle’s suspension was excellent—even with the bumpy terrain, it barely shook inside.

Bowen began teaching Wang Bo how to use the SL8. “It’s a civilian semi-automatic rifle. No full auto—one trigger pull, one shot. Not the most thrilling, but safer. It also has dual safety locks to prevent accidental fire.”

Wang Bo paid close attention and soon got the hang of it. Then, staring out the window, he suddenly yelled, “Stop the car! Get out!”

“Did you see a wild boar?” Everyone instantly perked up.

But once they jumped down, all they found were a few startled rabbits dashing into the underbrush—no boars in sight.

Charlie looked at Wang Bo suspiciously. The latter spoke with righteous confidence: “You guys are idiots. How’re we supposed to find wild boars with a big ol’ truck like this? Even if there were any, the noise would’ve scared them off from ten kilometers away. We need Zhuang Ding and the Queen to sniff them out!”

He pointed to a pile of dried dung. “This is why I stopped—look at this. Wild boar poop. Alright, Zhuang Ding, Queen, get up there and sniff—Hey! Zhuang Ding! Sniff it, don’t eat it!”

As soon as he pointed, Zhuang Ding rushed over and opened its mouth to eat the dried droppings. Wang Bo quickly yanked him back. Queen gave him a look of pure disdain before going over to sniff it properly, then scanned the surroundings.

Compared to Zhuang Ding, Queen’s sense of smell was much worse. Zhuang Ding sniffed around, then gave Queen a look of disdain right back before taking off southwest—it had caught the trail.

Wang Bo signaled Juan to drive slowly behind while the rest followed on foot.

Zhuang Ding kept sniffing and adjusting direction as it ran. After two or three kilometers, it finally slowed down and crouched low, glancing back at Wang Bo.

At that point, only Wang Bo and Queen were still keeping up. Charlie and Bowen had already dropped far behind—Charlie being the first to give up, and Bowen still trailing five hundred meters behind.

With no other armed backup, Wang Bo, a total rookie, didn’t dare confront a wild boar alone. He waited for them to catch up, but the two were panting like dying birds—not much help even if they did arrive.

So, Wang Bo looked at Zhuang Ding and the fierce Queen and figured the three of them could probably take a boar.

He raised his arm dramatically to shout a battle cry, “Brothers, let’s—”

Before he could finish, Zhuang Ding and Queen had already charged ahead like arrows from a bow.

A black-furred wild boar was nestled in a shrub up ahead, happily gnawing on some roots—until, out of nowhere, two canine reapers descended from the heavens.

You could instantly see the difference between a Tibetan Mastiff and a Rottweiler. Zhuang Ding showed no fear—mouth shut, charging straight for the boar’s head. The Rottweiler, Queen, barked first: “Woof! Woof! Woof!”

The boar looked up warily at the noise, and Zhuang Ding pounced—its front paws slamming into the boar’s neck. Its mouth opened, revealing razor-sharp fangs, and went straight for the throat.

If it had been a domestic pig, it would’ve been over already. But this was a seasoned wild boar.

Despite the sudden attack, it wasn’t panicked. It ducked its head to avoid the throat bite and then slashed upward with its tusks toward Zhuang Ding.

Zhuang Ding latched onto its face instead, refusing to let go, using its powerful claws to pin the boar down like it was trying to choke it. It tore savagely at the boar’s face, ripping off a chunk.

The boar screamed in pain and tried to roll away. But Queen was already there, cannonballing into it and flipping it back over. Zhuang Ding took the chance to bite its neck again.

This time, the boar wasn’t quick enough. Zhuang Ding’s jaws clamped down and with a vicious twist, ripped its throat wide open!

Blood gushed out. The boar wailed in agony, legs kicking wildly. Queen immediately backed off to avoid the dying thrashes, waiting for it to bleed out.

But not Zhuang Ding. It was all rage and fire. It lunged again, jaws wide, this time tearing into the boar’s belly.

The boar kicked once, landing a hoof on Zhuang Ding’s shoulder blade. Zhuang Ding staggered back a step, then charged again and tore open the boar’s gut in one savage bite.