There were no airports amidst Prince Snow Mountains.
As such, the route which Zhongheng planned for Wang Kui was first to fly to Shangri-La City in Yunnan, and then take a bus to Deqin County, which meant one full day of travel. Since means of transport from Shenyang were limited, most flight routes required transit flights.
It was 10 pm by the time Wang Kui had arrived at Shangri-La city airport.
The second he left the plane, he could slightly feel the effects of high-altitude sickness due to being in an elevated location.
It was fortunate that Wang Kui had been an active child from a farm village, and he had also gained a decent physique thanks to the outdoor photography job he had had with his previous company, making him very adaptable.
Still, even if it was July and the middle of summer, the cool air that came from being 3,000 meters above sea level as well as it being nighttime meant that temperature was a little more than ten degrees.
After fetching his luggage and Big Butt from the luggage conveyor belt, he hurried to the washroom and got changed.
To maintain coldproof and lightness, he had not brought heavy cotton pants. Instead, he had opted for a T-shirt matched with a softshell sweater as well as thermal trousers.
After all, he had the military sweatproof long pants that he had recently obtained from his System as well as a heavy jacket to withstand the cold. Even expert mountain climbers would rarely wear bloated clothes as they consumed stamina excessively.
He checked into a hotel to rest and prepare himself.
By the next morning, both Wang Kui and Big Butt had adapted considerably to the environment, and they promptly took a bus traveling from Shangri-La to Deqin County, a journey that took around three hours.
He finally arrived at his destination around noon.
In the distance, Wang Kui could see the white chain of mountains connected to each other over the horizon. It was an ancient, serene sight beneath the vast, blue skies. At this location of elevated sea level, one would seemingly reach the pure blueness by reaching out with their hands, allowing one to forget their troubles and sadness.
Aside from the thirteen peaks of the Prince Snow Mountains, one of the most famous Snow Mountain in China was there as well: Meili Snow Mountain.
Summer could be considered one of the best seasons to enjoy the mountain scenery, which was why there were a lot of tourists in Deqin County.
People were not able to resist sliding a few glances at Wang Kui as they walked past him, and some even lifted their SLR cameras to take photos of him.
The main reason was because his clothes were really attention-grabbing.
His jet-black heavy jacket was matched with a pair of yellow-green military cargo pants. There was a black sheathe tied to his right thigh as well as his Zero Tolerance-brand composite hunting knife that was held atop.
His black snow boots with shoelaces looked stalwart, just as the twin-strapped backpack over his back had a carbon fiber recurve hunting bow holstered over one end and a quiver over the other. Holding the leash of a Laizhou Hong, he appeared ready for an invasion.
The fearsome aura of a hunter was overflowing from his figure!
[No problems?]
Wang Kui messaged Zhao Zhongheng on WeChat, and the latter replied: [All clear!]
Taking a deep breath, he took out his 360-angle camera, turned on his network, and logged on to his stream channel.
At the same time, Zhao Zhongheng, who was far away in Shenyang, was watching his computer from his home. After receiving the livestream notification, he immediately entered the backstage of the stream channel as the content director.
[It's finally starting!]
[It's here! Has Old Kui gone up the mountain yet?]
[Whoa, is that him? Why does he look so cool now?]
[I'm calling dibs, sister!]
[If my man were this handsome, I would raise even his mistress's children!]
***
Thanks to Zhao Zhongheng's hyping ahead of time and the fan circles' notifications, almost three hundred people were watching the moment he turned on his stream. Various mini gifts were being spammed, and the trending rate reached up to a hundred thousand.
"You guys are early! Do subscribe if you're new here—I'm an outdoor streamer of the wild with three years of wildlife photography experience and two years of service with the Armed Police. Currently, my profession is a hunter, and this dog beside me is Big Butt, my hunting dog."
"This time, we're going up the third highest peak of the Prince Snowy Mountains to recover two Sake Falcons that have been poached by a ring of illegal hunters. Right now, I'm at the Yunnan Diqing forestry department."
"A while ago, I reached out to the Yunnan Animal Rescue Center and Wildlife Conservation Association, and they will be giving me an assessment."
"If I pass and our filing is complete, we can enter the mountain legally."
Just as Wang Kui and the audience were interacting, a man stepped out from the doors of the forestry department. "You can come in now, but you're not allowed to bring your blade and dog inside!"
"Will do, sir. Please help me look after them!"
Wang Kui instructed Big Butt to keep quiet before taking off his weapons and entering the forestry department.
The Deqin county had placed high importance on the falcons poaching case with the local police, forestry department, and the forest firefighters jointly blockading the mountain. The National Wildlife Conservation Association had even sent people down south to personally recruit people.
"You're Wang Kui?"
As Wang Kui entered the Wildlife Conservation Association office on the second floor, he saw a rather pudgy middle-aged man wearing a white formal shirt sitting behind a desk. He appeared a little surprised when he saw Wang Kui enter.
"Yes!" Wang Kui answered.
"You are much younger than I imagined! Your physique and experience are not bad either…"
The middle-aged man read through the electronic file on his computer which contained the personal data Wang Kui had sent in. "It's a shame… you would have been able to help our officers capture the poachers if you had a gun permit, but that is fine since protecting the Saker Falcons are equally important."
"We must do our best to ensure the birds survive. Once you recover them or run into any surprises, call this number immediately—we have people in the mountain who can provide support. Remember, safety first, and here are some photos of those thugs and a map of their heading. Flee immediately if you run into them and contact the police!"
With his filing done, there was a van waiting from the forestry department to bring them up the mountain. It was an old white Fujian Benz van, and it would be a three-to-four-hour journey up the mountain.
However, before they went up the mountain, they needed to talk to the police at the foot of the mountain. The entirety of the third peak had been fully blockaded in order to capture the poachers, and a pass from the forestry department was required.
Along the way, the driver kept asking endless questions about Big Butt with his Yunnan accent.
Wang Kui answered while he had a light meal.
Interestingly, he was also eating several pieces of raw garlic.
[Old Kui, why on earth are you snacking on garlic from your own fingers?]
[Carsickness?]
[Old Kui, could you be intending to kill those thugs with your garlic stink?]
***
Wang Kui choked his food out of his nose when he saw the bizarre guesses. "It's not as complicated as you're thinking. The garlic stabilizes my blood pressure and promotes secretion of androgens, increasing my testosterone levels and strengthening my immunity, and that helps me adapt to the high altitudes."
"Of course, while garlic increases testosterone levels, Big Butt can't eat it since it is excessive for canines, which could cause chronic anemia. That is no different from excessive salt intake. In fact, most of our consumption standards tend to be damaging, even lethal for canines!"
[Got it! I'll have my hubby eat more garlic tonight!]
[One kidney supplement trick per day!]
[Bunch of perverts. Stop being degenerates, please?]
[A gentleman on the internet, finding tissues in the sheets?]
***
Just as the viewers wisecracked against each other…
[Beep! You have entered the hunting range. Quest timer started!]
[Beep! Modern vehicle detected within hunting range. Disembark immediately or the hunt shall be ended immediately!]