King of the Wilderness

Chapter 97: Chapter 95: Brothers-in-Law’s Recognition

The next morning, a green pickup truck with the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) badge slowly drove into the driveway of the Wyatt farm.

A tall, middle-aged white man with sun-bronzed skin got out of the car.

He was wearing a khaki uniform, with a gun and various gear hanging around his waist, but his expression was not serious, instead carrying a hint of rural charm.

”Wyatt, you troublemaker, got yourself into trouble again?”

The man stepped forward and shook hands with Wyatt, his tone like a tease between old friends.

”Thompson, this time it wasn’t me causing trouble; trouble came to me.”

Wyatt pointed toward the barn, ”The bodies are over there, the video evidence is ready too.”

It was none other than Tim Thompson, the senior enforcement officer of the FWP, and an old acquaintance who had worked in this area for nearly twenty years.

He nodded and followed the group of McKinley men to the barn.

In the snow, three wolf corpses lay neatly side by side, with wounds clearly visible.

Thompson did not immediately inspect the wolf corpses, but first took the tablet handed over by Wyatt to watch the drone footage.

He watched very carefully, occasionally pausing, zooming in on the footage to observe the timing of the wolf pack’s attack and when everyone opened fire.

Throughout the process, he didn’t say a word, making the atmosphere a bit tense.

After watching the video, he squatted down, put on gloves, and began examining the wolf corpses one by one.

He parted the fur on the she-wolf’s rib area, looked at the clean bullet hole, then looked at the wounds on the male wolf’s leg and chest, and finally checked the wolf hit by the shotgun.

”Bo, your AR-10, Kley, your Remington 870.”

Thompson said without looking up, very familiar with their firearms.

”So, the .300 Winchester Magnum shot, was it you, young man?”

”Yes.” Lin Yu’an calmly replied.

Thompson stood up, took off his gloves, and showed a hint of an approving smile.

”Well done, also quite smart, the video evidence is flawless, the on-site ballistics and wolf wounds completely match.”

”Your actions comply with every provision of the Property Defense Act.”

He turned to Wyatt: ”These wolf carcasses are for you to handle as per regulation, but the skull and pelts need to be registered and filed at our office.”

”I’ll give you a tag, it’s procedure, you know.”

”No problem, Tim, thank you for coming out.” Wyatt let out a sigh of relief.

Thompson waved his hand, ”Just doing my job.”

”To be honest, wolf packs have been getting bolder in recent years, your ability to settle the matter legally is a service to the community.”

”Alright, I’ll handle the report, you guys go ahead.”

The official’s friendly closure dispelled the last bit of doubt weighing on Wyatt’s mind.

After seeing Thompson off, Wyatt, as the host, clapped his hands to draw everyone’s attention.

”Alright, gentlemen, don’t idle.”

As a farmer, Wyatt’s voice was loud and strong.

”Let’s not waste these things, skin these pelts carefully, make sure they’re intact.”

At this moment, footsteps and the playful laughter of children came from the barn door.

Wyatt’s two wives, Sarah and Amy, came in with their sons Jack and Kyle.

The two blond little boys, wearing tiny cowboy overalls, saw the wolves on the ground and were not afraid, but rather excited with wide eyes.

”Wow! Big doggies!” Little Jack pointed at the lead wolf’s body, calling out in a childish voice.

”That’s not a dog, Jack, it’s a wolf, a bad one, they’re trying to eat our calves.”

Amy gently corrected him; she was a typical Montana beauty with blonde hair and blue eyes and an outgoing personality.

The other wife, Sarah, appeared more quiet, and she brought the men a large pitcher of lemonade.

”Great job, guys. The kids wanted to see the heroes’ trophies.”

She said, smiling as she nodded to Lin Yu’an.

Wyatt and the other brothers were busy handling the black alpha wolf pelt.

The wolf hit by the shotgun, whose fur was most damaged, was temporarily set aside.

The two little ones curiously circled that wolf’s corpse, wanting to touch it but not daring to.

Lin Yu’an noticed them, put down his tools, and walked over with a smile, squatting down to make eye contact with the children.

”Do you want to know how to take out its teeth and make a necklace?”

Their eyes instantly lit up, and they exclaimed in unison, ”Yes! Yes!”

”Then will you be my assistants? First, we need a small knife.”

He took a leather processing knife from the toolbox, skillfully cutting open the edges of the wolf’s lips to reveal the complete dentition.

”These are the canines, longest and sharpest, used to give a deadly strike to enemies. Those smaller ones on the side, they’re called carnassials, don’t they look like little scissors?”

He explained in a way children could understand, lively and interesting, enchanting the little ones who occasionally exclaimed in amazement.

”Alright, now comes the crucial moment.”

Lin Yu’an picked up a pair of small pliers, ”I’m going to remove its teeth. Jack, Kyle, help me keep its mouth open a bit wider.”

The two kids immediately felt involved, their faces full of excitement as they became his assistants.

Lin Yu’an used the pliers to grip the root of the canine tooth, gently wiggled it left and right, then gave a strong pull, and a complete, slightly blood-streaked wolf tooth appeared in his hand.

”Wow!” The two kids exclaimed in awe simultaneously.

Lin Yu’an wiped the wolf tooth clean with a cloth, treated it simply with the barn’s grinder, then drilled a small hole at the root of the tooth and threaded a leather cord through it.

A primitive and powerful-looking wolf tooth necklace was made.

”One for each of you.”

He handed the necklaces to Jack and Kyle.

The two little boys, as if they had received a treasure, immediately asked their mom to put them on their necks, then ran around the barn showing off their new gifts to their uncles.

”Uncle! Uncle! I want more! Let’s make its paw into a keepsake too!”

Little Jack ran back, tugging on Lin Yu’an’s pant leg, eyes full of adoring stars.

”No problem, my little assistant.”

Lin Yu’an laughed and began teaching them how to process wolf paws.

Off to the side, Wyatt, Garrett, and Bo watched Lin Yu’an patiently and skillfully ”work” with the two kids, smiles of understanding on their faces.

They could tell that Lin Yu’an wasn’t just going through the motions but genuinely liked kids.

And he knew how to pass on these most primitive wilderness skills to the next generation in a safe and fun way.

Sarah and Amy, watching their sons quickly attach themselves to this new ”family member,” had eyes full of gratitude and recognition.

At that night’s bonfire banquet, the atmosphere was even more harmonious than before.

The little ones, Jack and Kyle, sat on either side of Lin Yu’an, with wolf tooth necklaces hanging from their necks, holding meat skewers that Lin Yu’an had grilled for them, practically becoming his little followers.

Garrett took a big swig of beer and loudly said, ”Herman, I have to admit, I used to think you were just a bookish nerd from the city.”

”But now it seems you not only have good marksmanship but are great with kids too. I apologize for what I thought before.”

”It’s nothing like that, Garrett, we’re family.”

Lin Yu’an responded with a smile, raising his glass while wiping the grease off Jack’s mouth.

Wyatt, cheeks slightly flushed from drinking, was in high spirits and looked at his sons, speaking to them.

”Speaking of hunting, I recall the first time I went hunting with your grandpa, I was about your size...”

...

Laughter and tales alternated by the bonfire.

Lin Yu’an listened to his brothers’ ”embarrassing stories,” occasionally responding to the chatter of the two little ones beside him.

Seeing their innocent and adoring eyes, he felt an unprecedented sense of peace and warmth.

Winning a family’s recognition sometimes doesn’t require earth-shattering feats, maybe just making a small wolf tooth necklace for the kids is enough.

Upon returning to the McKinley family’s frontier farm, Lin Yu’an sent the video footage of the wolf hunt to Old Mao, instructing him to cut out some potentially controversial content.

Old Mao and his team received the footage and reviewed and edited it almost overnight.

When they saw Lin Yu’an and the McKinley family brothers engaging in a tactical hunt with a cunning wolf pack on the twilight ranch, akin to a Hollywood blockbuster, the whole team was deeply shocked and thrilled.

”This isn’t just a survival challenge, this is a true modern wilderness war!”

Li Ang, the guy responsible for editing, got emotional watching the panoramic view of the wolf pack splitting into three paths from the drone’s perspective.

Old Mao pondered and said, ”This episode will be another significant upgrade to Brother An’s persona! But Brother An’s strategy of killing the she-wolf first might have some risk points.”

”Li Ang, during editing, you must highlight the calf killed by the wolves, Brother An’s strategic layout, and the wolves’ cunning and tactics.”

”Make sure to let the audience understand that the reason behind Brother An’s slaughter this time is protecting family and cattle! Avoid the influence of virtue-signaling causing public opinion impact!”

After two days of intensive post-production, a nearly twenty-minute-long video with an impactful title was officially released on Lin Yu’an’s Bilibili account.

”Protecting the Ranch Cattle, Fighting the Wolf Pack Alongside Family!”

As soon as the video was published, Bilibili’s official account once again gave it top-tier traffic recommendations, and millions of fans swarmed to the video page like a tide.

And the video’s content did not let them down at all!

Lin Yu’an’s calm and professional tactical analysis, arranging ambushes, to the wolves’ feints and splitting into three routes with cunning...

Each frame was filled with cinematic quality and breathtaking realism!

Especially when the battle reached a stalemate, and Lin Yu’an turned to shoot the she-wolf dead, eventually turning the tide, the entire comment section exploded!

[Holy crap!!!!]

[That shot... so cool! It flipped the wolf over in one go!]

[Brother An’s shot is so impressive! It’s like a rifle among rifles, the Winchester M70!]

[Disgusting! Why shoot the she-wolf first? Why not kill the male wolf first?]

[Wolves are as cute as puppies, why kill them? How can you bear to! Report this, sisters!]

[This is real cultural output! Calm, composed, diligent, responsible! This is what a good man from China should be like!]

Old Mao kept a constant watch on the public opinion; luckily it was still within controllable limits, and he made plans to minimize the traffic push to those below 30 years old.