Chapter 290: A Great Addiction to Being Mediocre
Eric, Chris, and Carl, all in matching camouflage hunting gear and boonie hats, stomped around in a pair of tall military boots.
Over their jackets, they wore tactical vests equipped with radios, magazine pouches, hatchets, and hunting knives.
Around their waists was a multifunctional tactical belt, hanging a large-caliber M500 revolver and a decorative water bottle that was more for show than practical use.
Eric carried a large-caliber 'CheyTac M200' rifle.
Chris cradled his own WA2000.
Carl carried a modified Sako TRG-42 rifle with a spiraled barrel.
Prince Sayyid, who had excitedly changed into his hunting attire, had just approached when he was struck by the 'killing aura' emanating from the three of them.
After comparing his equipment and glancing at the hunting rifles carried by his two attendants, he gritted his teeth and left a message, "Wait for me a few minutes," before turning and quickly heading back to his vehicle.
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Seeing Prince Sayyid come back wearing a tactical vest and carrying an unusual 'Hunting Point Waypoint' shotgun, feeling both amused and annoyed, he said to the others, "Since we're all prepared, let's make this clear, whatever we hunt doesn't matter, but each has to carry his own gun. Whoever can't keep up is the loser."
This time, Eric, usually a softie, toughened up and, with a swipe of greasepaint across his face, said seriously, "No problem, whoever loses sleeps outside tonight."
Joe Ga understood immediately that they were planning to drive Prince Sayyid out of his 'mobile palace'.
Technically speaking, this was not meant in malice, because Sayyid truly hadn't realized, and his people wouldn't have alerted him...
A prince living in a 'mobile palace,' while the princesses stayed in shabby tents – word of that getting out would ruin the guy's reputation completely.
Once Eric issued the challenge, Sayyid also caught on.
Not entirely selfish, he paused before seriously responding, "The stake is too low; that large tent was originally prepared for the ladies.
Let's raise the stakes: whoever loses will be on guard duty tonight!"
The prince's realization eased the tension, but our chubby Eric, always serious about bets and able to stir up anyone's competitive spirit with his natural performance, sneered at Sayyid's two tall attendants, then said in a strange voice, "I think in the end, they'll be carrying you home because you are their precious baby."
Joe Ga saw Sayyid indeed seemed a bit irritated, so he decisively gestured for Karman to lead the way, yelling, "Alright, alright, let's get moving. Hunting is not as easy as you think, we have a long way to go."
As Karman led the party forward, it didn't take long for the group of pampered men to sense something was amiss.
Joe Ga said it would be a long walk, but he didn't say it would be this long...
Karman faithfully fulfilled his boss's orders, taking the group across the grasslands for almost seven kilometers before finally stopping at the edge of a thicket under an acacia tree on a hill.
Prince Sayyid, aside from complaining about the ineffectiveness of his mosquito repellent the entire way, surprisingly kept up just fine.
Prince Carl was also doing alright, but Eric and Chris, the two unlucky ones, were struggling.
The WA2000 and the M200 rifles were heavy, and with the additional load they carried, including 100 bullets each for hunting, it's no wonder they were exhausted.
Stopping at the edge of the thicket, Karman motioned for everyone to halt before sniffing around in the bushes and murmuring to Joe Ga, "There are lions nearby, probably Namo and Arthur."
Parting the thicket, he pointed across the grasslands and instructed, "Gazelles, we can't get any closer.
The direction of the wind on the grasslands changes fast; if we want to shoot, we have to be quick."
Upon hearing of the prey's presence, Prince Carl rushed over excitedly and whispered, "Yes, those are them."
As Carl took out a pair of binoculars and observed closely, he muttered nonstop, "Don't move, don't move, let me get a good look..."
Joe Ga, with a smaller pair of binoculars, tried to discern, but couldn't tell which were male and which were female even if his life depended on it.
Watching Eric argue with Chris while both peered through their binoculars, Joe Ga shook his head and said to Karman, "Mark the targets they can shoot for them; they only get one shot each. If they miss, we have to move again."
Joe Ga then simply sat down on the ground and whispered to Karman, "650 meters, I bet they won't hit even one."
Karman glanced at Prince Sayyid, who lay on the ground with a waterproof mat beneath him and two attendants waving off insects, then nodded in agreement and said, "I don't think they'll hit anything either."
As he observed through his binoculars, Karman directed, "The male on the far left with the thin stripes on its belly, and 15 meters in from him, a male with an almost completely black face.
On the far right, a male with its head down grazing, and 30 meters ahead of it, a male with a wounded chest.
Aim for them; you only have one chance!"
Hunting, for most people, is most thrilling at the moment of firing the gun, and the Prince was no exception.
The precision of the 'Waypoint' shotgun that Sayyid held was extremely high, with the stainless steel barrel covered in a layer of carbon fiber material, and the entire gun was treated to reduce its weight, making it quite attractive in appearance.
Compared to Sayyid's 'Waypoint' shotgun, the Sako TRG-42 that Carl had boasted about seemed rather plain, the walnut stock fitted to his body shape for excellent ergonomics, and what was most important was that it had a spiral barrel.
Joe Ga, being a fine gunsmith himself, naturally scanned the two special rifles.
He soon discovered that Sayyid's 'Waypoint' was just high in craftsmanship and cool in design, but in terms of overall design, Carl's Sako was clearly superior by a wide margin.
The spiral of the barrel inside, with the rifling handcrafted, possessed a peculiar smoothness, a result of being polished with a lead rod at a later stage.
Moreover, the extended barrel length could effectively increase the range and accuracy of the bullets.
Whether one could hit the target still depended on the person, but judging purely on the quality of the rifles, Joe Ga thought the Sako was clearly superior, as his Omnipotent Toolbox indicated that the Sako had higher chamber pressure and the bullets would exit the barrel at a faster spin rate.
After comparing the two guns, Joe Ga didn't know the price of Sayyid's 'Waypoint' shotgun, but he felt that the Sako that Carl got for 46,000 was indeed worth the price.
While he was mulling over these thoughts, Eric suddenly started counting down from a distance...
"5, 4, 3, 2, 1, fire..."
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Four guns fired almost simultaneously!
Joe Ga picked up the binoculars and took a look, then noticed... hmm, the antelopes at a distance hesitated for a moment, then ran a few steps restlessly before stopping again.
Just as Joe Ga thought they still had a chance for another round, a tall antelope stepped forward, leading the others as they sprinted northward...
"I hit it, I hit it..."
Chris, as if he had won a prize, jumped up and chased after the antelopes, other people staggered for a moment then realized that Chris must have hit one, but because it wasn't a critical shot, the antelope still had the ability to move, and thus they no longer cared about their bet and scrambled up to follow the chase to the north.
It was just like fishing; it didn't matter if you didn't catch anything yourself, watching someone else make a catch was also thrilling.
Joe Ga, responsible for their safety, certainly had to follow.
The more experienced Karman shook his head and caught up with Joe Ga, saying, "It's just a scratch, nothing serious, we won't catch up with so many of us."
Upon hearing this, and seeing Chris running like a wild dog released on the plains, Joe Ga laughed and said, "Let them have their fun, sometimes I think this is where the joy of hunting lies."
Without uttering a word, Karman caught up to Chris and guided him in the right direction whenever he went off course.
The group ran for nearly 15 minutes before they started to run out of steam.
Karman, who hadn't even properly warmed up yet, shook his head in disdain. As the others rested, he crouched down to check the footprints and the direction of the broken grass blades.
Then, the old man knelt down, sniffed the ground, made a stopping gesture to Joe Ga, and said, "There are hyenas nearby, are you sure you want to take the risk and continue chasing?"
As Karman spoke, a ghostly howling came from the north, instantly putting the two companions behind Sayyid on alert.
Chris didn't care about that, jumping up and down, he shouted, "Chase it, we must catch up! I hit it, I need to take it back."
Joe Ga saw that the other 'hunters' clearly didn't want to give up either, probably hoping for another chance to fire a shot, so he nodded and said, "Then we chase, but this time slower, and no one is allowed to run off."
Seeing the four 'hunters' nod in unison, Karman finally turned and jogged slowly northeast.
Watching the few people who had not yet caught their breath, Joe Ga shook his head in disdain and said, "Keep up, if one person can't run, I'm giving up."
This time, with some preparation, everyone performed a bit better.
In just about 20 minutes, they saw Karman stop again upfront, then led them in a circle to gain the upper hand and bypass a small patch of bush. After overcoming the shrubbery, they witnessed a bizarre scene...
A majestic lion with a black diamond embedded in its forehead sat under an acacia tree; the injured antelope was surprisingly hiding behind the lion, borrowing its might to stand off with about twenty or more hyenas.
Whenever a bold hyena approached, Namo would let out a roar and strike the opponent with its paw. Any hyena struck would wail and roll on the ground before retreating timidly to the back of the pack,
At that moment, Namo looked like an unmatched master who could dominate the world even while seated; his demeanor was smug to the extreme.
Prince Sayyid watched Namo with fascination, just about to speak when Joe Ga noticed a new guest arriving from a distance...
"Damn, what's going on now?"