King of the Wilderness

Perhaps it was precisely because this dead tree fell that it tore a skylight into this forest, allowing sunlight to pierce the dense canopy and shine onto the ground.

This small birch tree, which came after, seized this precious opportunity, desperately growing upwards to be as tall as it is today.

”This is the place.” This location provided all the natural ”components” needed to set up the trap.

He first forcefully bent the elastic birch tree downwards, feeling the powerful elasticity it contained. Then he temporarily tied it with a piece of rope to a hanging dead branch, which was the ”power core” of the trap.

Next, he began constructing the main body and trigger of the trap.

He took out the Y-shaped support stick, not inserting it into the ground, but tightly securing its trunk against the wrist-thick trunk of the birch tree, with the Y-shaped opening facing the rabbit path.

Then, he took out a piece of spare steel tripwire and, using a small section of string or thin wire, firmly bound the support stick to the trunk of the birch tree, locking them as an inseparable whole.

A sturdy support structure, fully utilizing natural materials and leaving almost no human traces, was thus completed.

Next came the most intricate part of the entire trap, setting the ”trigger” mechanism.

He carefully set up the shorter, thinner ”trigger” stick, one end propped in the pre-carved groove of the Y-shaped support stake, the other connected to the tension-laden rope of the bent sapling.

Finally, he found a very slender yet resilient small branch, just the right length to span the entire rabbit path.

This is the ”trigger rod,” whose one end, with the lightest of touches, was lodged at the fragile balance point between the Y-shaped support stake and the horizontal trigger stick.

This process required the sensitivity of a watchmaker’s touch, adjusting it several times until the slender trigger rod lay perfectly across the snow-covered center of the rabbit path, almost without any pressure.

It appeared just like an ordinary branch naturally extending from the nearby shrubs, or one blown off by the wind and casually resting here.

Finally, the Steel Wire Lasso Loop gleaming with a metallic chill was spread out and hung vertically, positioned just about a fist’s distance behind the horizontal trigger rod.

He began camouflaging by carefully using a twig to sweep in some dry snow to lightly cover the root of the Y-shaped support stake. He tore off some bark and moss from the fallen dead tree, which matched perfectly with the surrounding environment, and scattered them randomly on top.

He stepped back a few paces, squatted down, and re-examined his finished masterpiece from the perspective of prey. The deadly mechanism was completely integrated into the surrounding dead wood, saplings, and shadows.

Having done all this, he slowly straightened up, realizing that setting up just the first trap had taken him nearly half an hour.

For a rabbit used to traveling through here every day, it would only see a familiar path slightly blocked by an inconspicuous small branch.

”Now, let me demonstrate how this mechanism works for you.” He lowered his voice, as if afraid of startling the nonexistent prey.

He picked up a half-meter-long dead twig from the side and said, ”Imagine this as our target, a snow rabbit running along the rabbit path.”

Lin Yu’an aimed the end of the twig at the trigger rod lying across the rabbit path.

”When the rabbit runs here, its chest or head will inevitably hit this seemingly harmless trigger rod lying in the middle of the path.”

As he spoke, he gently pushed the horizontal trigger rod forward with the twig.

”Click!”

A faint but clear mechanism sound rang out in the otherwise silent forest! It was the crisp disengagement sound made when wood loses balance!

In a flash, the chain reaction occurred!

The trigger rod at the final balance point was pushed forward only a few centimeters, instantly collapsing the entire trigger structure! The rope tied to the trigger and pulled by the bent sapling was released instantly!

”Whoosh—! SNAP!”

With a sharp whistle as the air was torn and the branch snapped back with a crisp sound, the silently suspended Steel Wire Lasso Loop behind the trigger rod shot upwards at a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye!

The Lasso Loop instantly tightened, swinging violently back and forth in the air!

If caught, a real rabbit’s neck would be strangled and lifted off the ground in an instant, dying within seconds from suffocation or a broken neck.

The entire process, from triggering to completion, was as fast as lightning, clean and quick, leaving the prey no chance to react or escape.

”Did you see?” Lin Yu’an walked over to the still slightly shaking lasso loop and began resetting the trap.

He reset the trap into a ready-to-fire perfect state with methodical meticulousness and even more proficiency.

Carefully recording the trap’s location, he then turned to continue his next plan, the proactive hunt.

He took the Recurved Bow from his back, its body sturdy and exuding an icy texture in the cold air.