Through the remaining fur, droppings, and gnawing marks,

Chen Wen determined the direction in which the herd of reindeer fled.

They seemed to have fled deeper into the forest more to the east.

As Chen Wen tracked the reindeer herd, the Golden Eagle also soared high in the sky.

Although the snowstorm obscured the view, it lowered its flight altitude and flew a bit further east, following Chen Wen's direction of progress.

Soon, the Golden Eagle discovered the distant reindeer herd.

By then, the herd had reached further east into the forest and was lingering at the bottom of a valley.

The Golden Eagle perched on a tree and observed briefly.

It noticed a significant amount of food in this valley, which was the main reason the reindeer stayed there.

The Golden Eagle glanced over the herd, noticing that the half-disabled reindeer was still present.

It shook its head, flapped its wings, and flew off to find Chen Wen.

However, the Golden Eagle had not been flying back for long before it encountered Chen Wen, who was heading in this direction.

It landed on Chen Wen's shoulder. Before it could speak, Chen Wen asked, "Did you spot the herd? They should be not far from here, right?"

The Golden Eagle looked at Chen Wen with surprise.

How did he know?

Chen Wen looked at the Golden Eagle's expression and chuckled.

"Looks like my skills at tracking prey have shot up! Before, I probably wouldn't have found them eight or nine times out of ten."

Chen Wen sighed and said, "But now it's different."

While tracking, Chen Wen successfully gauged his distance from the reindeer through their droppings.

The further he went, the softer the droppings became.

Even in such cold weather, a layer of ice formed on the outside of the droppings.

But by crushing them, one could tell the hardness of the droppings.

This skill of Chen Wen's amazed the Golden Eagle.

It nodded and explained, "They are not far away, and it's indeed the same herd we encountered before, with the half-disabled reindeer among them."

"Moreover, the place where they have stopped is a food-rich area, so they will likely stay there for a while."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wen was quite pleased with the Golden Eagle's reconnaissance.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "Let's go and have a look. If this place does make the reindeer stay, we three will come back tomorrow."

"I'll first try to approach the herd. If they allow me to get close, that's easy. But if they still remember me and won't let me near, or even try to run, then we'll have no choice but to use traps to capture one or two, achieving the aim of taming them."

Hearing this, the Golden Eagle couldn't quite grasp Chen Wen's idea but nodded anyway.

With the Golden Eagle leading, Chen Wen successfully got near the reindeer herd.

He observed the herd from a distance without getting closer.

As the Golden Eagle said, the reindeer were in a wide valley, much more fertile than the forest, but the only drawback was the lack of cover.

Chen Wen looked down from a high point in the forest, having a complete view.

He stood from afar, observing the situation of the herd.

The herd's behavior did not seem like they had lost their leader.

They quickly established a new leader in a very short time.

Furthermore, the herd did not become more vigilant after being hunted; they still seemed carefree, foraging in the valley.

It seems that this reindeer herd is not very alert, which is a good thing.

Chen Wen thought.

After observing the reindeer herd, he began to check the surrounding environment.

There weren't many places to set traps, and all were at some distance from the valley.

This left Chen Wen a bit helpless.

To make the traps effective, it seems he'll need to drive the reindeer towards the direction where the traps are set.

Simply waiting for the reindeer to walk that way on their own might take several days.

With the situation mostly understood,

Chen Wen patted the Golden Eagle's body: "Let's go, head back, there's plenty of food here; we don't need to collect food specifically."

...

At the camp.

Hua Yun was busy pounding leather.

The lynx lazed around on one side, watching Hua Yun work.

Just then,

the Golden Eagle let out a cry, announcing its return.

"So soon?"

Seeing the returned Golden Eagle, Hua Yun was a bit surprised.

She thought it would take Chen Wen at least three to four hours, or until dark to return after scouting.

But it had been less than two hours, and they found the reindeer?

Accompanied by the growing sound of footsteps, the lynx lifted its head to glance at the distant snowstorm, knowing Chen Wen was back.

Shortly afterward,

Chen Wen returned to the camp braving the heavy snow.

"Tsk, this heavy snow is quite troublesome."

Looking at the snowflakes swirling like catkins, Chen Wen felt a bit troubled.

Hua Yun nodded and said, "This snow is indeed quite heavy. Before coming, I checked the weather forecast; the local meteorological department estimated this snow might last for two or three days."

"By the way, did you find the reindeer?"

Chen Wen nodded and retreated into the shelter.

Holding his canned tea, he slowly said, "I found them, but they're a bit difficult to handle."

Chen Wen recounted how he tracked the reindeer, aided by the Golden Eagle, to find them at the bottom of the valley.

The situation around the valley also made Hua Yun sigh.

"The flat terrain, combined with sparsely distributed trees, is advantageous for hunting but not for laying traps. If our goal were hunting, it would be easy."

Hearing this, Chen Wen also sighed.

The terrain is indeed challenging.

"So tomorrow, I plan to try taking the lynx and the Golden Eagle to see if they can cooperate with me to drive the reindeer herd. I'll set the traps in that direction beforehand."

This perked Hua Yun up.

"Can the two of them carry out such a complex coordination?"

Chen Wen shook his head: "It's hard to say, but they probably can."

Mere acting!

The lynx yawned, choosing not to expose Chen Wen.

As long as Chen Wen is around, not to mention driving, even more complex tasks can be accomplished.

After all, they are two special animals with human intelligence.

Chen Wen, while talking, glanced at the Golden Eagle.

He added, "However, this heavy snow will cause several negative impacts; the Golden Eagle's sight will be partially obscured by the snowstorm, and its flight will also be affected."

This was informed by the Golden Eagle on the way back.

It didn't like heavy snow days.

Hearing this, the lynx added, "I'm not afraid of the heavy snow. If it's snowing heavily tomorrow, I can help."

Chen Wen nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Heavy snow is the lynx's main domain.

These creatures' feet allow them to walk on snow, and their fur provides camouflage in snowy environments,

except for the black one.

The blackened lynx is quite conspicuous in the snow.

But who knows if the reindeer are colorblind; if their world is gray, then the lynx would have much more space to play.

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