Chapter 1067 - 86: Killing the Brown Bear

Chen Wen’s caution had still been necessary.

As if realizing it was about to die, the brown bear went berserk, trying to take Chen Wen down with it.

But unfortunately for it, Chen Wen had already backed off early and picked up the sapling he’d torn out before.

He used the small tree as a spear, keeping the brown bear from getting close.

The brown bear tried to push in once more, then finally collapsed weakly to the ground.

It no longer had any strength left.

Chen Wen didn’t go over immediately, but watched calmly for a while. Only after confirming that the brown bear was completely dead did he take up his weapon and walk to its side.

He jabbed the bear’s body with the sapling, and seeing that it really didn’t move at all—

Chen Wen stepped up by the bear’s head, and with a clean, decisive motion, sliced across its neck with his dagger, then immediately stepped back.

The brown bear was truly dead.

It didn’t show the slightest reaction.

Chen Wen let out a breath of relief. When he turned to look at Hua Yun, he found her collapsed sitting on the ground.

"How are you? Not hurt, right?"

Chen Wen walked over and asked Hua Yun.

Hua Yun shook her head. "I’m fine, just took a tumble. My knee hurts a bit, but overall I’m not injured, just a little drained. How about you? That bear’s paw did smack into you just now."

Chen Wen shook his head.

It had hurt at the moment of impact, but the feeling was more like someone had really hauled off and punched him hard. It stung for a short while and then was fine.

Chen Wen turned his back to Hua Yun. "Check my clothes—did they get ripped?"

Hua Yun had Chen Wen squat halfway down and reached out to feel the condition of his clothes.

After confirming there were no holes, she said, "It’s fine, the clothes are perfectly intact."

Chen Wen turned back around and sat down right in front of Hua Yun. "Looks like the quality on these is pretty good after all. Lv didn’t lie to me—this is the new outdoor line their company developed. Supposedly they’re using some new material that’s really tough."

Hua Yun answered with a soft "Mm." She was a bit exhausted now, even talking felt like it took effort.

The two of them just sat there in silence for a while.

Once she’d recovered more or less, Hua Yun said with a bit of emotion, "Twice now. I’ve gone out to survive with you twice, and you’ve saved me both times."

Hearing that, Chen Wen thought maybe Hua Yun couldn’t quite process it mentally.

He quickly tried to reassure her. "It’s fine, this time was pure accident. No one expected that brown bear to be moving in that stretch of time. Honestly, even from up in the tree I didn’t spot it. Getting ambushed by it was perfectly normal."

At that, Hua Yun smiled and said, "Relax, I’m not hung up on it. I’m just feeling a bit emotional, that’s all. And this time did give me some experience."

As she spoke, Hua Yun’s smile faded and she said more seriously, "Its target should’ve been that dead Siberian Roe Deer. If I’d waited a little longer, I might have avoided this ambush altogether. If there’s a next time, I definitely won’t give it the chance to attack!"

Seeing that Hua Yun seemed fine, Chen Wen patted her shoulder. "There won’t be a next time. This guy’s dead as a doornail now."

With that, Chen Wen stood up.

The process had been a bit twisty, but the outcome was still very good.

Not only had they completed their basic goal of hunting Siberian Roe Deer, they’d even taken out this brown bear as a bonus.

You had to remember, a big part of the reason they’d gone after the Siberian Roe Deer in the first place was to use it as bait to lure and kill that brown bear.

But now, the whole thing had been resolved perfectly!

Looking at the forest before him, Chen Wen’s lips curled. "From here on out, this is our hunting ground."

Hua Yun, hearing that, nodded excitedly as well.

She’d almost been injured in the bear’s surprise attack, but now that the brown bear was dealt with, it was time for her area of expertise.

Hunting.

She was still very confident.

...

Confidence was one thing, but first they still had to process their kills.

Chen Wen went back into the woods, dragged out the Siberian Roe Deer he’d killed with his spear, and laid it by the water.

Hua Yun brought her own prey over as well.

As for the brown bear, the two of them settled it onto the sled and slowly hauled it to the lakeshore.

Hua Yun took up a dagger and started gutting the two Siberian Roe Deer, opening them up and skinning them as she went.

Chen Wen pulled off the fresh roe deer legs, planning to roast two of them for lunch.

At the same time, to process the roe deer innards, Chen Wen planned to eat the canned fruit they’d brought and use the empty cans as pots and dishes to heat up the innards from both the roe deer and the brown bear.

When it came to eating, Chen Wen had everything clearly arranged.

On Hua Yun’s side, she finished processing one of the Siberian Roe Deer before lunch.

The two of them no longer cared about the smell of blood. The largest predator in this area was already dead; the smaller ones didn’t really amount to much.

So they casually left the carcasses at the lakeside.

Lunch was roasted roe deer leg.

It had to be said, Siberian Roe Deer at this time of year were fairly plump.

Even in the legs, where the fat content was extremely low, Chen Wen could still taste a hint of richness as he gnawed.

The texture was really quite good.

At noon, Chen Wen’s appetite was huge; he polished off an entire leg plus a can of fruit.

All the energy he’d burned in the morning was completely replenished.

Hua Yun ate a bit less.

At the same time, the Siberian Roe Deer also provided Chen Wen with a pretty decent trait.

[Run and Look Back (Purple): Over a very short distance, you can ramp your speed up to maximum, but once you’ve fled a certain distance, you’ll feel a strong urge to stop and observe the situation; while you’re observing, your speed drops sharply.]

This trait was interesting.

Chen Wen knew this characteristic of roe deer; it was why they’d earned the nickname "stupid roe."

When startled, the roe deer bolt away at speed.

But after running a certain distance, they’ll stop, or even come back a little, stretch out their necks and peer around, wanting to know what just happened.

This tendency to "look back" out of curiosity is exactly what Hunters call "stupid."

But this trait isn’t actually true stupidity.

If they were truly stupid, roe deer wouldn’t have survived to this day.

Over long evolution, their main natural enemies were wolves and lynx, predators that rely on ambush and short sprints.

So when the roe deer are startled, they first flee quickly, then stop to observe in order to confirm the type, direction, and distance of the threat, so they can decide whether to keep fleeing or return to normal activity.

It’s part of their particular survival smarts; turned into a trait, Chen Wen felt it was not bad.

After all, a roe deer’s acceleration really is quite something.

And he could keep his curiosity in check, so the downside wasn’t too serious.

With the trait matter wrapped up, Chen Wen joined in on processing the kills in the afternoon.

He needed to dress that brown bear.

...

While Chen Wen and Hua Yun were dealing with their prey—

On the other side—

Fred and Roland had given up the chase.

Roland glared gloomily at the stretch of forest.

After walking maybe a few dozen meters with Fred, Roland suddenly vented by roaring, "Have the Moose in this damn place grown a brain or something? How is every single one of them so damn perceptive!"