The fighting prowess of this bear aside, its sheer size alone would be overwhelming for anyone to deal with directly.
Although there was a strong smell of fresh blood, the forest was shrouded in the former ruler’s scent, which kept both animals and plants at bay. Even though they could detect the scent of blood, they dared not come out to investigate.
Mother Xu held one of her children and felt her heart pounding as if it was still “thumping.” She couldn’t regain her composure for quite a while, and the two children were wide-eyed in shock.
Even Abu and the ostriches remained still near the RV, not daring to move around. Only Xiao Shu, looking left and right, sensing the strong scent of blood on the ground, stealthily extended some roots, reaching out through the window, probing and absorbing… Not bad, the scent was rich and nutritious, making it good food!
Typically, animals like bears are fattest in the fall and leanest in early spring. This bear was no exception, having spent the winter sleeping off its excess weight. It had only come out to hunt recently due to the warming weather, though it hadn’t regained much. Given its size, it still looked slightly better than the emaciated appearance it had a few days ago.
Since it was dark, after Yue Zheng cut off the bear’s paw, they didn’t delve further into processing it. The weather was still quite cool, and leaving it for the night wouldn’t spoil it.
Inside the RV, many things had shifted due to the previous two massive shocks. Tianyou had accidentally bumped his elbow, and now he was in Mother Xu’s lap, seeking a massage and a little rub.
After Yue Zheng and Xu Song returned to the RV, Mother Xu asked, “Are there more of these things in the woods?” My goodness, no matter how powerful their supernatural abilities were, they didn’t have a good way to deal with a monstrous attack like this bear.
Xu Song explored a bit and said, “There shouldn’t be. With that bear outside, I don’t think anything else will come out tonight, right?”
“That’s not certain,” Mother Xu considered, “How about having Xiao Shu keep watch?” Although Xu Song and Tiancheng Tianyou had sensing abilities, their reaction speed slowed down when they slept. Only the tree that didn’t need sleep could stay alert all night without fatigue.
Everyone quickly looked at Xiao Shu standing nearby. They discovered that some of its roots had extended quietly through a certain open window into the blood-soaked soil. The entire tree was shaking rhythmically from the bottom to the top, as if it were being electrified.
This appearance was just like when it usually absorbed various nutrients from the soil.
Yue Zheng glanced outside and saw that Xiao Shu had extended its roots into the blood-soaked soil. He raised an eyebrow and said, “Tonight, you’re on watch duty. Don’t let any animals get close to the RV, and you can have that blood.”
Xiao Shu trembled more, tapping its canopy vigorously. It realized that its clandestine eating had been officially authorized, so it no longer held back. It shrank its size and crawled out of the window directly.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Cigluta, klat la xffqlcu kjamt, kf rtbeiv rajs nlulijca, jcv atfgf rtbeivc’a yf jcs qgbyifwr abcluta.”
Coafg tjnlcu vlccfg, Zbatfg We rabgfv atf obeg wjrrlnf yfjg qjkr lc atf ogffhfg jcv gfoglufgjabg. Ktfs kfgf qijcclcu ab qgbmfrr atfw ribkis ijafg. Cr obg atf yfjg bearlvf, atfgf kjr cb kjs atfs mbeiv ajxf la jii klat atfw—la kjr abb wjrrlnf, jcv fnfc jii atgff nftlmifr mbwylcfv kbeivc’a yf fcbeut ab jmmbwwbvjaf la.
So they decided to wait until the next day, cut off some needed parts, and then leave the rest.
After one sleepless night, none of them had rested soundly. It was just impossible for anyone to sleep peacefully after experiencing the intense shaking the night before.
They climbed down from the large bed, and seeing the bear still in the same position as the previous night, they went to freshen up before heading outside to deal with the giant bear.
Bear fur, especially in the autumn and winter seasons, has the best color and is rich in oils. Although it may not be in its prime right now, it’s still a very effective insulating material.
Other things could be left behind, but bear fur couldn’t be discarded.
Xiao Shu used its roots to wrap the giant bear, Yue Zheng was in charge of skinning, cutting meat, extracting the gallbladder, and taking care of the bear’s paws. Mother Xu set up two large pots and stewed a couple of days’ worth of food for Abu. They left behind a large skeleton with plenty of meat. Then, they hit the road once again.
In the forest, many animals had hidden overnight, and it was only after the group that killed the giant bear the previous night left that the carnivorous animals emerged from the woods to fight over the leftover bones and bear meat.
The bear gallbladder was quite large, about the size of a man’s palm. Not to mention the bear bile, which could be brought back to the base and exchanged for bullets and common medicines.
As for the massive bear fur, Mother Xu decided to make a bear fur hat for each of them. The remaining fur could be used to make coats, shoes, and other items. When the winter season arrived this year, their cold weather protection would be significantly upgraded—bear fur provided a higher level of warmth compared to the fur of other animals.
The RV continued eastward. Xu Song and his mother, along with the two children, arranged the furniture that had shifted due to the bear’s tremors the previous night.
The ostrich eggs the children had made earlier had suffered some damage during the shaking, but they had plenty of these, so it wasn’t a big loss. As for the other items, there didn’t seem to be much damage at the moment, although some things in the container truck had collapsed.
After a long day of travel and another sleepless night, they noticed the presence of buildings around 9 or 10 in the morning. Xu Song had spotted these buildings, as even with Yue Zheng’s excellent vision, there was no way he could see the original appearance of the buildings completely wrapped in various types of vines.
“Is this… it?” Xu Song hesitated as he looked at the map in his hand and then at the nearby buildings completely enveloped by various types of vines. It had only been a few days since the snow melted, and these mutated plants had already grown to this extent? They were growing quite rapidly.
However, when they thought about it, when they first arrived in the post-apocalyptic world, in just one night, the plants on that mountain had completely transformed into a primeval forest. So, what could they expect now?
“I think this is it,” Yue Zheng confirmed after checking the terrain. Although they couldn’t discern the terrain now, the condition of the road had been confirmed by Xu Song’s scanning.
“Do those houses up front have bugs?” Mother Xu’s biggest concern at the moment was this. For a homemaker, there was nothing more challenging than pest control. Fortunately, the bugs in the post-apocalyptic world had all grown larger in size, making them more visible and easier to deal with than the pre-apocalyptic pests.
“Let me check…” Tiancheng and Tianyou had scanned earlier, but they couldn’t clearly determine what was there. There were definitely signs of life, but what exactly those signs represented was currently undetermined.
After activating their skills, Tianyou suddenly raised his hand and pointed in a certain direction. “There’s something over there, observing us!”
Xu Song quickly released his psychic power, but unfortunately, his range was smaller than that of the two children’s sensing abilities.
Seeing Xu Song shaking his head, Yue Zheng knew it was beyond his exploration range. He confirmed with Tianyou, “What is it? How many are there approximately?”
“There are about five or six, and they seem… like humans?” Living in the base for a long time allowed Tianyou to differentiate between humans and mutant animals to some extent. Although he couldn’t identify their appearance or identity like Xu Song, he could distinguish them based on his feelings.
“But it seems a bit different…”
“I can feel it too, and it’s in that direction,” Tianyou suddenly raised his little hand, pointing in the same direction.
The group raised their eyebrows in surprise. “People? With mutant plants?”
Could it be that besides them, there were people keeping mutant plants as well?
Looking at Xiao Shu, Yue Zheng also looked in the direction indicated by the two children. His vision was excellent, and in the relatively flat road ahead, he could vaguely see several green buildings standing there.
Yes, those should be several high-rise buildings, also completely enveloped by green plants. However, due to the distance and the tight coverage of vegetation, the situation there couldn’t be confirmed.
“It’s also possible that they are plant-based ability users, like Tiancheng here, who carry mutant plant seeds with them and cultivate them nearby,” Xu Song analyzed, looking at Yue Zheng. “What do we do now?”
City C was not a very large city, and while the urban area was not small, the distances between buildings were relatively spacious. Except for the area near the city center, where buildings were more tightly packed, the rest of the buildings were widely spaced.
The location they were looking for, where they might find salt, was also in a relatively open area.
“Let’s go in and check,” Yue Zheng considered for a moment and said, “The place we want to reach is some distance from those high-rise buildings. We’re here to find salt; we don’t need to provoke any conflict with them. We just need to stay alert and prevent any surprise attacks.”
The number of people on both sides was about the same, and as long as the other party didn’t cause trouble, they wouldn’t intentionally start a fight. Since Tianyou could sense the presence of those people, it indicated that they were all ability users capable of surviving in this environment. Whether there were ordinary people among them was not a concern at the moment.
After making the decision, the group drove in the direction they had previously confirmed and remained vigilant about their surroundings.
In this city, although there were some mutant creatures and insects, their numbers were not too high, and the group easily dealt with them as they headed straight to a salt flat.
On the top floor of one of the high-rise buildings, the group stood expressionless by the window, observing the situation below through gaps in the overgrown vegetation and using binoculars.
“There are people.”
One person suddenly spoke, and the other figures in the room looked at him in silence.
When that person saw the plants in the RV controlled by Tiancheng wrapping around the two attacking birds, he spoke again, “Ability users.”
“Kill.”
Plants taking on human shape so they can blend in and kill humans. I feel this is what they are! Thanks for another chapter!!
Triffids? Thank you
I can’t help feeling extremely repulsed by the thought of chopping off a bear’s paws. So many bears are illegally slaughtered, just to cut off their paws and their gallbladder, even endangered populations. Even more horrific, in terms of cruelty, are the bear gallbladder farms. I guess it’s a knee-jerk reflex to find it disgusting, even in story.