Chapter 375: Chapter 223: Extremely Thorny

He spoke in a barely audible voice to the GoPro on his chest, demonstrating live, "When tracking a porcupine, you can’t rely solely on footprints."

"Their footprints can sometimes be erased by their own fur or dragging bodies. What you need to look for is a system of traces."

His gaze swept over a patch of snow and suddenly halted. He extended his gloved finger, pointing to a barely noticeable detail.

"Look here."

The camera zoomed in; it was a small cluster of black particles, like crushed wood chips scattered on the pristine snow.

"This is its droppings, fresh and not yet frozen solid. This indicates that we are very close to it."

"And there’s urine traces there. The scent is still very clear." He pointed to another spot. By a low bush, there was a small yellowish mark on the snow.

Through these continually appearing physiological traces, Lin Yu’an quickly constructed in his mind the rough movement path and direction of this porcupine.

It was like playing a "connecting the dots" game, and the end of that line would surely be its nest.

He soon found the decisive evidence he was looking for.

On a flat snowfield blown over by the wind, he discovered a string of footprints. It was a peculiar kind, moving forwards sluggishly.

"The footprints are deep, indicating that this creature is heavy. Its gait wobbles, with the front and rear paws almost landing in a straight line. This is a typical energy-saving characteristic of rodents during movement."

Most notably, there were parallel drag marks on either side of the footprints.

Lin Yu’an crouched down, softly analyzing, "These are the traces left by its long quills dragging through the deep snow."

"Observe, the drag marks are continuous and uninterrupted, suggesting that as it passed through here, it was walking slowly at a fixed pace, rather than running or jumping."

"This further confirms my judgment; it’s not afraid and may even have a touch of pride because this is its territory."

He gently touched the edge of a footprint, feeling the texture of the snow.

"The footprint is fresh; the edges of the snow have not crystallized or hardened, nor have new fallen snowflakes drifted in from the breeze. I estimate it passed through here less than an hour ago."

He stood up, his gaze like an arrow, following the chain of clear footprints, looking deeper into the forest.

The footprint chain was like a silent guiding line, leading straight to a large pile of granite rocks.

He didn’t let excitement overtake him and follow directly. Instead, he immediately halted all forward movement, first slowly dampening his palm to sense the wind direction.

The wind was gently blowing towards him from the direction of the rock pile.

"Perfect downwind," he thought to himself.

This meant he could approach most closely without worrying that his scent would prematurely announce his arrival like a loudspeaker.

He did not proceed along the footprints. For any experienced prey, the marks they leave behind are the most natural alarm lines.

He chose to circle in a huge arc, approaching from the side, completely against the wind, using the terrain’s undulations and the cover of trees, stealthily moving towards the rock pile.

When he reached about ten meters from the rock pile, he stopped, crouching behind a thick spruce tree.

This was a perfect vantage point, allowing him to see the entire rock pile while remaining completely hidden.

He slowly removed the windproof mask from his face, closed his eyes, and concentrated all his senses on his sense of smell.

The wind blew towards him from the direction of the rock pile, carrying a plethora of scent information.

It was a strong composite odor, initially the damp earthy and rocky scent akin to a basement. Beneath these was a hidden stench similar to ammonia.

"Finally found you!"

Lin Yu’an knew that this tracking had entered its final and most dangerous stage.

He did not rush to act; the thrill of the hunt was always founded on absolute patience.

The first rule of any hunt is to ensure one’s own safety first, before delivering a fatal blow to the prey.

He glanced at the sun’s position; the white disk was already noticeably setting, and the sunlight’s color shifted from the bright white of noon to a warm golden hue.

Time was running out; at most he had another hour and a half to finish the hunt and begin his return.

Bow and arrow or spear? He rapidly simulated the tactics in his mind.

The bow and arrow could allow him to launch an attack from a safe distance of dozens of meters.

But the risk was that most of the porcupine’s body was covered by hard quills, leaving a very small effective shooting window.

If he missed, the arrow could bounce off the quills, alarm the prey completely, and drive it back to the burrow, never to come out again.

The spear carried higher risk, requiring him to take personal risk and enter the porcupine’s attack range.

But the reward would also be substantial. Once close, he had absolute confidence in his strength and skill, able to deliver the most direct penetrating damage with the spear, ensuring a kill.

"High risk, high reward. Use the spear for a swift decision."

With his right hand, he firmly grasped the resilient and flexible birch spear, the flint tip reflecting cold light in the sun.