Chapter 300: Let’s Play With Higher Stakes
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"The stakes are more than just winning or losing?" Mr. Martin frowned.
Harris replied indifferently, "That"s too boring, let’s add more danger: say, the loser has to give the winner 10,000 dollars?"
Li Du smirked. This guy apparently looked down on him for using a crossbow and was certain that they would win. Of course, Harris was full of confidence in Hugo as well.
Hugo held the gun proudly and said, "If you’re afraid, you can quit. I don’t like to compete with cowards."
Li Du smiled. "No, I am not afraid. I just feel that the stakes are too small. How about 20,000 dollars?"
The group of old fellows gasped. Many of them had a monthly salary of around 2,000 to 3,000 dollars. Twenty-thousand dollars would mean a year of their income.
The crowd was also alarmed and gasped. A wager of 20,000 dollars was too ma.s.sive for them.
Harris hesitated for a moment. He recalled the fear of how he had been dominated and played by Li Du at the casino.
He also noticed Li Du and Hans were communicating via their eyes, and were smiling sneakily. He began to have doubts.
He suspected that Li Du was using higher stakes to scare him off. He would often do this when he gambled.
Although he was skeptical about it, when he looked at his men, who had their attention on him, he gritted his teeth and decided to go ahead. "Okay, deal!"
Terry whispered to Mr. Martin, "Sophie"s little boyfriend is aggressive."
Mr. Martin did not have much confidence in Li Du. But it was too late to back out now. He could only offer Li Du his full support: "Young men should know when to go all-out and be aggressive! That’s how a man should behave!"
The Native Americans had enough cash on them. When two stacks of green dollar bills were thrown out, it immediately attracted many other hunters to check out what was going on.
Li Du and his group did not have that much cash on them. Hans said, "I’ll get someone to bring the cash over. You can go ahead and start."
"Let’s start the time now. We’ll see the result in half an hour’s time!"
Li Du and Hugo’s eyes met for a moment, and then they both sprinted toward the forest.
Many Native Americans took pride in hunting as a form of respecting their ancestors, and had been taught how to hold a gun since childhood.
Hundreds of years ago, when the Europeans first set foot in North America, most of the Native American population had been wiped out at the hands of the white men due to their advanced weaponry and the diseases they brought along with them.
Even so, the Native Americans had fought the Europeans for centuries. If both sides had carried advanced weaponry and spread epidemics, the end result of all the fighting would have been hard to tell.
Hunting was a type of knowledge: the most important part was to search and find the prey; hitting the prey was second.
People like Hugo and Harris had faith in their hunting skills. They did not believe that a Chinese man could surpa.s.s them in this area.
The onlookers did not believe that either. The people present there were gun enthusiasts; many of them knew nearly everything about firearms in the United States and other countries.
China had very strict control over firearms, and there were few places in China that could be used for hunting—everyone here clearly knew that.
It seemed practically impossible for a Chinese man to be able to hunt better than a Native American.
"Unless this young lad belongs to the mysterious Chinese Commandos," someone commented. "Those guys are said to be good at combat and warfare."
Another immediately laughed at the comment: "A commando so young? He looks like a college student."
"Anyway, a good show’s going to start. Ladies and gentlemen, why not also place some bets?"
"Okay, I bet on Hugo winning. What are the odds? I bet a hundred dollars!"
"I bet 50 dollars. On Hugo winning."
"I’m betting on Hugo winning too, regardless of the odds."
In the midst of voices of people believing Li Du would lose, two different voices sounded out almost simultaneously:
"I bet 200 dollars. On Li winning."
"I bet 1,000 dollars. On my brother winning."
Hans and Mr. Martin glanced at each other and laughed.
Li Du glanced at his watch while running and at the same time, instructed Ah Meow and Crispy Noodles: "Go look for prey, then come back to me!"
Ah Meow and Crispy Noodles immediately split up. Not long after, Ah Meow’s cries were heard. "Meoow! Meoow!" The ocelot immediately ran back to him.
Li Du loaded the crossbow and followed Ah Meow, advancing the path carefully.
In just a few steps, Ah Meow stopped and looked up. Li Du followed Ah Meow’s line of sight and saw a few greenish-grey birds perched on a tree.
These wild birds had horizontal lines on their wings and black stripes on their tail feathers. Their heads and chests were a s.h.i.+ny-looking purplish-green. They were rather pretty.
Upon seeing the birds, Li Du immediately removed the bolt cartridge and loaded the steel b.a.l.l.s. That was the rock pigeon, the most common pigeon in the United States. They were considered to be the ancestors of the domestic pigeon.
He gently lifted the crossbow, aimed at the pigeon, the three points in one line. And at the same time, he used the "Time Deceleration" ability, pulled the trigger and fired a shot.
The steel b.a.l.l.s were powerful enough to kill eagles and other birds of prey, let alone pigeons.
Thud! A sound was heard and a pigeon suddenly fell from the branch.
At this moment the b.a.l.l.s were reloaded, and Li used the ability to slow down time again. The other pigeons were frightened by the first shot and all started to fly away. He quickly targeted the closest pigeon and pulled the trigger. Thud!
Two pigeons fell consecutively to the ground. Ah Meow leaped to get the birds for Li Du so he need not pick them up, which saved some time for him.
After getting the pigeons, Li set the target game of this hunt: the wild birds. The birds were small and there were a lot of them, so they would be easier to hunt.
The racc.o.o.n"s food included bird eggs and small birds. Therefore, racc.o.o.ns had knowledge of how to look for wild birds.
This time Crispy Noodles appeared. It cooed to Li Du, before turning around and leading him toward the southwest.
In a meadow, a flock of wild birds was looking for food.
They encountered the grey turtle doves, which were small but had a large population. They had a black and white patch on their necks.
Mr. Li hated himself for not having a machine gun—all these birds would be dead meat. And he would have undoubtedly won the challenge.
The turtle doves were not as aware and guarded as other birds. Li Du hid behind a tree and pulled the trigger. After a row of three successful shots, the flock of doves were alert and flew away.
After getting the turtle doves, Ah Meow came running back again. This time it had a possum in its mouth.
Mr. Li decided to cheat. He shot the possum on the neck to conceal the wound, as its neck had been bitten by Ah Meow.
They hunted six animals in just a few minutes. Just then, a gunshot was heard in the distance.
He guessed that it had been Hugo"s first shot, and so his level of confidence increased.
"Come on, little ones! Continue the search for prey, let’s go!"