[Historical Era] [Hunting in the Mountains] [Gun-Spirit Golden Finger] [Protecting Family] [Ensemble Cast at the Forestry Station] [Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army Spirit] [Action-Packed] [No Self-Sacrifice]
Su Xiaoman, a shooting-game streamer, lands a headshot in the final circle. The neighborhood loses power, and the screen goes black.
When he opens his eyes again, it's 1970, at the Red Pine Ridge Forestry Station in the Lesser Khingan Mountains. He's the third son of the Su family, thin as a stick.
His father broke his leg at the logging site. His mother coughs so hard she can barely stand. His little sister is so hungry she's chewing on a corncob, while his second uncle's family has their eyes on the forestry station's job openings.
From the start, all he has is a rusty old rifle.
And living inside it is an old anti-Japanese United Army hunter whose temper is harder than the barrel.
"You little brat, you don't even know how to line up your sights. What are you waving that thing around for?"
"Old-timer, it's called predicting the shot. You wouldn't understand."
Squirrels, pheasants, roe deer, wild boars, Asiatic black bears... With every animal he hunts, the old rifle recovers a memory and a skill.
Sights, trajectories, listening to the wind, a single shot that settles the mountain.
The forestry station kids laugh at him for carrying a fire poker. From a hundred paces, he shoots the pinecone off someone's hat.
The hunting team thinks he's too young to have grown his fur in. He uses the old rifle to outshoot a Type 56 semiautomatic, and the captain hands him bullets on the spot.
Later, the old rifle's memories come together to form a map. It shows a secret anti-Japanese United Army camp from years ago, along with a list of martyrs covered in names.
Later still, one shot rings out on a snowy night, and a tiger that has been attacking people falls dead beside the forestry station. The sound of drums echoes from the station all the way to the foot of the mountain.
The old rifle says, "From now on, you watch over these mountains for me."
Su Xiaoman says, "I saw this coming a long time ago."
