Chapter 94: Chapter 93: Hunter, Prey, Roles Reversed

A thunderous roar echoed through the forest.

The three Yukon Wolves right in front of him flinched, their ears flattening back as they retreated several meters.

The two wolves sniffing the wicker basket also jumped in fright, looking around in confusion.

Seizing the opportunity, Lin Chen tossed the Engineer Axe to his right hand, quickly grabbed a crevice with his left, and swung the axe hard into the tree trunk above his head.

As the axe bit deep into the bark, he pushed up with both hands, kicked off the trunk with his dangling right leg, and managed to scramble a few centimeters higher.

In the blink of an eye, his right hand securely gripped a branch just within reach, followed by his left. He was left dangling in mid-air, swinging back and forth.

THUD!

The Engineer Shovel fell from the tree trunk, hitting the ground with a muffled thud.

...

"Oh my heavens! My God!"

The thrilling scene made the viewers watching their screens gasp collectively.

The camera feed was blurry from the frantic movement, but it didn’t stop anyone from understanding the situation.

"Lin Chen is surrounded by Yukon Wolves?"

"I knew he shouldn’t have risked going out! He should’ve stayed inside this afternoon to dry his boots. It’s not like he’s short on food!"

"Why on earth did he haul a basket of mud all the way from the river? He’s not thinking of firing bricks, is he?"

"That’s not very realistic. Firing bricks is a complex process, and he doesn’t even have a basic kiln. What’s he going to fire them in? I think he wants to use the mud to make some kind of tool."

"Now his Engineer Shovel is gone, too. All he has is his hunting bow and nineteen arrows. What if he uses them all and the pack still won’t back down?"

"This is so intense! I’ve watched so many seasons and I’ve never seen anything this exciting!"

"A few days ago, when he shot that Black Bear at close range, I was sure he was a goner. I can’t believe how much his archery has improved. He even exploited the Black Bear’s poor turning ability to slowly wear it down. But now he’s facing an agile wolf pack, and I’m getting that ’he’s a goner’ feeling all over again!"

"What’s there to be afraid of? Don’t forget he’s still carrying Bear-Repellent Spray. One puff of that stuff, and it’s not just wolves—even a bear couldn’t take it."

A flood of exclamation points and comments spammed the chat box. Most of the viewers’ hearts were in their throats, terrified that any second they would see Lin Chen fall from exhaustion right into the wolves’ jaws.

If they were honest with themselves, had they been trekking through mountains and streams since morning, carrying a heavy load until dusk, they would have passed out from exhaustion long ago. They wouldn’t have had any strength left to climb a tree.

「In her living room.」

Angelica pulled her wailing little daughter into her arms, comforting her softly.

"It’s okay, it’s okay~"

"WAAAH!! Mommy, I’m scared! I don’t want to see the wolves bite him! I still want to watch him make lots and lots of yummy food."

"He won’t get bitten. Lin has Bear-Repellent Spray, and that’s made from chili peppers. Our sweetheart knows how spicy peppers are, right?"

"Chili peppers?"

The little girl sobbed, tilting her head. She thought for a moment, then nodded. "Chili peppers... spicy... scary..."

"The wolves will be scared of it too. As soon as he sprays them, they’ll run away. So calm down, and let’s watch together to see how Lin gets away from these scary wolves, okay?"

"Okay! You can do it! Drive those bad guys away!!"

...

"HUFF... HUFF..."

Lin Chen panted heavily, his arms wrapped around a thick branch. He could feel his forearms starting to give out, his strength slowly draining away.

’If I fall now, I’ll probably get torn into before I can even pull out the Bear-Repellent Spray.’

His eyes scanned the area, and he quickly formed a plan.

He put a burst of strength into his right arm, using his last reserves to pull his left arm higher, trying to wedge the branch between his wrist and forearm. Then he readjusted his right hand’s position.

Once he had a stable grip, he engaged his core and began to swing his body back and forth.

At his movement, the wolves below seemed to catch on. Their gazes grew sharp, and they quickly gathered beneath him.

As his feet swung through the lowest point of the arc, one wolf leaped high into the air, trying to bite his foot.

From his angle, Lin Chen couldn’t see what was happening below. He just instinctively pulled up his legs and heard the SNAP of jaws biting on empty air.

He pulled his knees to his chest and used the momentum to push off, increasing the arc of his swing.

As if energized by the challenge, three of the wolves leaped up, but their timing was off; they only grazed his toes as they shot past.

He didn’t give them a third chance. On his next swing, Lin Chen hooked the branch with his legs, immediately transferring his entire weight onto them.

He pushed up with his arms, carefully climbing up on the side where his quiver was to avoid spilling any arrows.

Once his butt was firmly seated on the branch, the world spun around him and his vision started to go dark.

With a wry smile, he aimed the camera down at the five ferocious Yukon Wolves and muttered, "I’m a real glutton for punishment. I was perfectly fine in the shelter, why did I have to go out for a stroll?"

"Looks like I really need to fix this restless habit of mine. Lady Luck won’t always be on my side."

He rested for a long while before he finally recovered, strength flowing back into his limbs.

Sitting there, his back pressed tight against the tree trunk, he drew a fletched arrow from his quiver, nocked it, and aimed down at the wolf pack.

His movement brought a flicker of caution back into the eyes of the five Yukon Wolves. But, having learned from their last encounter, they didn’t retreat. Instead, they began to pace back and forth below him.

They didn’t waste energy trying to climb the tree. A height of nearly five meters was well beyond their reach; even an alpha wolf would have trouble with that.

This was the very reason Lin Chen had been so determined to climb the tree.

’According to the information in my head, wolves, regardless of the species, aren’t good jumpers. An ordinary wolf can only jump one or two meters high. A powerful alpha might clear three, but that’s an extremely rare, one-in-ten-thousand case.’

’What they excel at is the long jump; they can easily clear a distance of four or five meters.’

After aiming for a moment, Lin Chen showed no intention of firing. His gaze shifted to the surrounding area.

"They sent five wolves to hunt me down? They sure think highly of me..."

’In the wolves’ minds, they probably see me as the same kind of creature as the Black Bear,’ he mused. ’Or maybe even stronger, since I must still reek of the Black Bear’s blood.’

’A human might not be able to smell it, but an animal with a keen sense of smell definitely could.’

"If the alpha wolf isn’t coming, then I’ll gladly accept this generous gift!"

Seeing no sign of other wolves in the surrounding bushes, Lin Chen decided not to overthink it. Operating on the principle of taking them out one by one, he drew the bowstring taut.

This time, as if sensing the danger, the Yukon Wolf in his sights immediately leaped two meters away.

Before it even hit the ground, Lin Chen’s hands shifted sideways in a smooth motion—a perfect flick shot.

WHOOSH—