Chapter 95: Chapter 93: Wyatt’s Plea for Help

The fireplace was roaring, and the family was preparing to enjoy a sumptuous dinner.

In the farmhouse’s living room, the old satellite phone suddenly rang sharply, breaking the joyous laughter filling the room.

Robert walked over to answer the phone. After a brief “Hello,” his expression gradually turned somber.

The call was from his elder brother, Wyatt, whose voice, carried through the electricity, sounded deep and full of suppressed anger.

“Dad, those damned bastards are back again!”

“This morning, when counting the cattle, the numbers didn’t match up. In the northern valley of the ranch, I’ve discovered three more calf carcasses!”

“In a week, I’ve already lost seven of my best Angus calves!”

Robert asked in a deep voice, “Same as before? Only attacking calves?”

“Exactly!”

Wyatt’s voice carried a hint of helplessness.

“The wounds are all on the throat; they’ve eaten only a small part of the organs. It’s purely a kill for sport. These bastards are provoking me!”

“My snare traps were bypassed directly, and the buried traps were dug up by them. The earth overturned wildly, as if they were mocking me!”

“Is their pack leader still the same?”

“It’s still him! Yesterday, through the binoculars, I saw the leader, still that massive black Alpha male wolf.”

“It’s larger than a regular gray wolf; I definitely won’t mistake it! It’s highly experienced, and the other wolves absolutely obey its command.”

“If we don’t eliminate it, my herd won’t have peace this winter! Dad, I need the brothers’ help. We must thoroughly deal with this menace!”

Robert hung up the phone and informed the other sons present, as well as Lin Yu’an, of Wyatt’s predicament.

“Wyatt’s in trouble.”

Robert’s voice was low and serious, and the atmosphere around the dinner table instantly became solemn.

The leader of this large family usually appeared kind and gentle, but when needed to step forward, he turned into another person, exuding a commanding presence without anger.

“Kley, Bo, tomorrow morning, you along with Herman, take your gear and head to Wyatt’s farm.”

“Remember, your target is the leader wolf! Without taking down the leader, this won’t end!”

“No problem, Dad!”

The three brothers immediately put down their knives and forks, their relaxed expressions replaced by the focus and fierceness of hunters.

Robert’s sharp gaze swept across his three sons and finally rested on Lin Yu’an.

“But before you let your blood boil, listen closely.”

He tapped the oak dining table with his fingers, producing a dull sound.

“This is not about revenge. According to Montana law, if you now chase those wolves, it’s illegal poaching, followed by jail time, hefty fines, and revocation of hunting licenses.”

Garrett protested, “Dad! They’ve killed Wyatt’s cattle! Are we just going to sit back?”

Robert explained, “I understand your anger, but we must adhere to the rules.”

“I’ll contact FWP (Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks) and the USDA Wildlife Management Bureau for Wyatt; they’ll send people to investigate.”

“If confirmed to be the wolves, Wyatt can apply for compensation through the ’Livestock Loss Committee.’”

“But you know, that money might take months to come, and if this pack is labeled as habitual offenders, FWP might authorize us a timed hunting permit.”

“But all this is too slow! By the time the officials complete the process, Wyatt’s herd might no longer have calves!”

He changed his tone, a hint of cunning flashing in his eyes as he said, “However, while the law closes one door, it also leaves a window open.”

“Montana state law on ’property defense rights’ allows landowners or their employees to immediately fire if they witness the wolf pack actively pursuing or killing their livestock on their land.”

Robert looked around at everyone, “Understand? We can’t go to ’hunt,’ but we can go to ’guard.’”

“The wolves have savored their prizes, they’ll surely return! Your task is to have the legal firing right precisely the moment they launch their attack.”

“Swiftly and accurately eliminate the threat! Understood?”

“Understood, Dad.”

“Good, be cautious not to get injured.”

After the dinner, they began discussing the gear and ammunition each needed to prepare.

“Bo, I’ll bring my Remington 700, pairing it with the night vision scope that has ballistic calculation capabilities for long-range sniping. What do you think?”

“Sounds good, Garrett. Then I’ll bring the AR-10 with a drum magazine for ample firepower, ready to handle any sudden situations. How about Kley?”

“You’ve got it sorted; I’ll stick to my pump-action shotgun, loaded with large buckshot, just in case any wolves get close.”

Then the three turned their gaze simultaneously toward Lin Yu’an, seeming to await his input.

The silent Lin Yu’an calmly spoke, “I’ll bring my large-caliber Winchester Model 70 this time, keeping quiet and hitting them by surprise.”

“We’ll also need a high-performance drone for filming, ensuring we have indisputable video evidence that we only fired when the wolves ’actively attacked.’

Robert looked at this composed future son-in-law; in his eyes, there wasn’t the slightest hint of bravado—only pure confidence.

He nodded slowly, “Be careful, don’t get hurt. Let those damned wolves taste the strength of the McKinley family!”

At four o’clock the next morning, before dawn, the entire farm was brightly lit.

In the garage, Garrett, Bo, and Kley, the three brothers, were loading their gear into the Ford F-150 and Dodge Ram pickups.

They had meticulously cleaned and oiled their firearms; ammunition, thermal imagers, GPS, high power walkie talkies, and first aid kits were all ready.

Lin Yu’an, on the other side, quietly went about his preparations.

He put on a set of dual-function down jackets from Archaeopteryx for outdoor use.

Took out the Winchester Model 70 Rifle from the gun case in the car, along with an action camera and drone for filming.

He then sat at a workbench, took out professional gun maintenance tools, and began the final adjustments.

Using a slender cleaning rod and a fabric patch with cleaner, he carefully cleaned the interior of the gun’s bore and its components, removing any potential residue and oil stains.

Finally, he evenly wiped the gun body, with the classic walnut stock and deep blue blued barrel shining charmingly under the light.

After completion, he took a box of .300 WMG bullets from a hard ammo box and gradually loaded it.

He skillfully and steadily placed each golden bullet into the magazine.

Pulled the bolt back, the mechanism producing one of the two sounds all normal men find addictive, the “click” sound.

As for the other most addictive sound, those who know, know.

At five o’clock in the morning, a convoy of three heavy pickups headed into the biting cold wind departed from Robert’s frontier farm, speeding toward Wyatt’s farm on the snowy road.

Upon arriving at Wyatt’s farm, the group began inspecting the scene.

In the snow, the partially devoured calf carcasses had already hardened, the surrounding snow trampled into a chaotic mess, with a faint smell of blood lingering in the air.

The brothers-in-law were angrily cursing while Lin Yu’an opened his camera and squatted down, carefully inspecting the bite marks on the calves’ throats.

“The wound edges are neat, without excessive tearing marks, indicating a fatal strike, showing it is highly experienced and confident about itself.”

He stood up, then looked at the messy footprints in the snow, measuring the paw print size with his hand, estimating its approximate weight based on the pressure.

“This Alpha male wolf weighs at least 60 kilograms, very strong.”

He pointed to the distribution of tracks nearby, using a twig to draw a simple diagram in the snow.

“See, these two lighter sets of footprints on the flanks, they’re responsible for driving and harassing the adult cattle.”

“While the Alpha and another adult wolf attacked the isolated calf head-on. A very clear tactic.”

Lin Yu’an’s highly professional analysis made all the brothers-in-law put aside their last traces of contempt.

They started genuinely considering him as a professional expert in tracking and analysis.

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