TL: xDh20, LifeisaJourney
“Elder Liu, are you awake? Did the fall hurt? I’m very sorry, I couldn’t keep the stretcher steady…” Han GuangMing quickly went to help Liu Gan.
“No it doesn’t hurt, I don’t feel any pain” Liu Gan shook his head. At this point, his fever caused him to be drowsy and dizzy, the same effect as if he was intoxicated by alcohol. Even his words come out as a whisper and slurred.
“Elder Liu, I won’t let anything happen to you,” Han GuangMing started tearing up. Ever since Liu Gan had fainted, he picked up the role as the temporary leader with the decision-making. He was not ready for this position at all.
So he wanted Liu Gan to recover quickly, that way he could put down the burden in his shoulders. It didn’t seem like that would happen any time soon, Liu Gan looked a lot worse now than before. It seemed his condition had worsened.
“Squad leader Han, there’s a small cave ahead. It seems like it will rain again. Should we head over to the cave to avoid the rain?” said Jiang JinYuan and Young Gao, as they returned from scouting ahead.
“Ah…Let’s enter the cave” Han GuangMing put Liu Gan back on the stretcher. He and Zhao Meng continued carrying the stretcher.
“Cave? There might be a beast… let’s hope that it’s not the bear?” Liu Gan mumbled, but his voice was too low to be heard.
As they approached the cave, they were still a dozen meters away, when they smelled a fishy scent coming out from the cave. Then the Advanced Malevolent Bear rose up at the entrance of the cave.
Facing off against the Malevolent Bear, with its overwhelming size, reminded them of how Wei Liang and the female scientist had died. They were terrified.
“Battle formation! Protect Elder Liu!” Han GuangMing yelled. With their current condition, they won’t even be able to put up a fight against the bear. If they split up to run now, Elder Liu would definitely be the first to die. Surviving alone in the dark wilderness would be even harder.
The only question would be how would they die.
As the other three group members grouped up closer next to Han GuangMing, they had tree lances and torches aimed toward the bear. At the same time, they raised their voices. According to Elder Liu, bears were afraid of loud noises, so they had to try it to know if it worked.
As the Advanced Malevolent Bear took two steps forward, it roared at the group, both claws getting ready to strike what was in front of it.
It seemed like being loud was ineffective against it, and in fact made it angrier.
The four members were quaking with fear, they were just one intimidating move away from complete panic mode. As they watched the bear lift up its paw, they heard an angry growl from behind. When the Malevolent bear heard the growl, it displayed signs of fear as it took a few steps backward. Then it got on all fours, as it started frantically clawed at the floor.
As Liu Gan got off the stretcher, he was the one who growled. It used most of his energy to even produce a sound loud enough to be heard.
“Do you want to get beaten up again? Leave now! Before I get angry!” Liu Gan walked closer as he screamed at the Malevolent Bear.
The Advanced Malevolent bear didn’t retreat, it roared a even louder sound, but even deadlier was the bear’s breath. The smell was so obnoxious that Liu Gan couldn’t even get up properly.
“Target your attacks at the eye!” Liu Gan said as he used his [Psychic Shock] ability on the bear.
When Han GuangMing heard the command, he activated his own [Meteor Cannon] with a rock in hand at the Bear’s eye socket.
Zhao Meng and Young Gao’s ability weren’t fit for this type of attack. Jiang JinYuan had woken an ability [Exploding Fist], which would still work moderately against the bear. The ability struck the bear’s eye from afar.
As the Advanced Bear recovered from the [Psychic Shock], it felt the sharp pain in its eye. When it saw Liu Gan again, it remembered the fight the previous night. Taking another two steps back, the bear roared again as it abandoned its nest in the cave and dashed into the jungle.
When Liu Gan was able to confirm that the bear had left the vicinity, he couldn’t stand up anymore. Liu Gan was wobbling and Han GuangMing quickly ran over to help Liu Gan before he fell to the ground.
Today’s encounter was a lot deadlier than the previous night. Liu Gan’s condition couldn’t compete against the Bear’s strength. The dozen punches at the bear’s eye was a traumatic experience for the bear, so this bluff worked.
The bear was just still at the early stages of becoming intelligent. If the bear was a little smarter, the bluff wouldn’t have been effective.
Liu Gan spent the remaining strength and energy he had within him, and now was so weak he passed out again.
“Let’s enter the cave, we will find some nearby shrubs to create a barrier by the entrance of the cave. We will also need to make a bonfire, too…” Liu Gan stressed to Han GuangMing. Without some guidance, Han GuangMing might make another wrong decision.
“Stay in the cave? The cave is the Malevolent bear’s nest. It will definitely return. If it returns…” Han GuangMing didn’t finish speaking, but the idea was there. With Liu Gan’s current condition, when the bear returned, no one would be capable of withstanding the bear’s attack.
“It has intelligence, it has mistaken our presence as coming forth to attack it. As long as we maintain the cave, we will have the upper hand. If we run, it will think that we are timid and try to attack us again. As long as we strengthen our location here, it will think that we are strong, it won’t have any intention of attacking us…” Liu Gan explained.
This was the only thing they can do. Leaving the cave would be a sign of weakness. Everyone would die. As long as this bluff was maintained, at least there would be a chance for survival. As for how long it would work, it was up to fate.
“Brilliant, Elder Liu! Then we will stay at the cave.” Han GuangMing finally understood, and he carried Liu Gan on the stretcher into the cave.
The cave entrance reached from five to seven meters high, and was ten meters wide. With the torch, they could see bear fur all on the walls and floor. Without a doubt, this was the bear’s den.
Deep inside the cave, there were piles of bones. Aside from that, they found Wei Liang and the lady scientist’s clothes and remaining body parts. The cave was filled with an eerie feeling.
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