Chapter 790: Ten Minutes of Terror!

Li Long never dreamed that while soaking in a hot spring, a bear would pounce on him!

In past hunts, whether it was small roe deer, large red deer, fierce wild boars, cunning wolves, or even fellow brown bears like this one, Li Long had almost always been at a distance, from a highly advantageous position and posture, aiming and firing from afar.

Except for that one time when he had to flush a bear out of its hibernation cave in Shi Dong, which was slightly dangerous, he had hardly ever encountered danger.

This made Li Long feel that hunting was nothing special; he believed that the most important thing in hunting was simply finding the prey, and the rest was just about how to aim and shoot—it all came down to marksmanship.

Only now did he truly feel the danger posed by wild animals!

When he first spotted the bear, it was still over twenty meters away, a distance Li Long considered quite safe, enough for him to react and raise his gun to counterattack.

However, just as Li Long reached out, the bear also reacted; it swiftly charged at Li Long, moving so fast that Li Long even thought the creature had defied gravity—how could such a massive body move with such speed and agility?

This was the first time Li Long experienced what true ferocity meant!

He felt the bear merely bent its waist slightly, thrashed its four paws, and closed half the distance between them; with another thrash, it was already right before his eyes!

Li Long's hand had only just managed to touch his rifle when the bear reached the edge of the hot spring pool!

He no longer had time to raise and aim his gun; he could only grab the weapon and dive sharply toward an adjacent hot spring pool—as he plunged in, he silently cursed, "Damn it, the water in this pool is much hotter!"

A scald was one thing, but the bear didn't hesitate at all, following Li Long straight into the plunge!

Li Long, stark naked, flailed about in these few pools; the safety on his rifle was not off, no bullet was chambered, so in his hand it was at best a fire poker—he had been too careless!

Moreover, the bear was determined to get him, giving him not a moment's respite and pursuing relentlessly; if not for Li Long's great strength and regular exercise, he would likely have already been slashed open by the bear's claw, bleeding profusely!

He could already see the claw tips on the bear's two front paws, sharp as small daggers; if that thing struck him with full force, Li Long would either die or be crippled!

For the first time, he faced his prey in such a ragged state; while fleeing desperately, he still had the presence of mind to think that once he found an opportunity, he must kill this bear, and instead of selling the hide, he would tan it himself and keep it at home as a trophy!

Just this momentary distraction caused the bear to suddenly roar, startling Li Long; the bear's claws extended and swept across Li Long's chest, and as Li Long desperately contracted his chest, the claw tips left four marks on his left chest and left arm!

Blood droplets instantly flew out!

Smelling the blood, the bear became even more excited and charged fiercely at Li Long again!

Li Long let out a painful groan, his body toppling backward!

The bear missed its pounce; its paw stepped on the edge of the hot spring pool, lost its footing, and slid into the pool ahead.

Li Long's legs were still in this pool, but his body had fallen into another pool behind; the hot spring water rushed over his wounds, causing him to jerk in pain; he rolled away from the bear, then noticed his rifle was covered in mud and dared not handle it further; instead, he lunged forward and grabbed the knife he had previously placed beside his clothes.

This knife had been forged for Li Long by Li Jianguo; its material was shrapnel from artillery shells at the Nanshan Artillery Range, and its quality was excellent!

By now, the area around the hot spring pools was in complete chaos; the edges of some pools had been crushed and collapsed by the bear, the water was turbid, and it would be difficult to soak here again unless the area was repaired!

After being slashed by the bear's claw, Li Long felt no fear; instead, his ferocity was aroused; holding the knife, he crouched low and darted forward, slashing upward; as the bear struggled to rise, he stabbed straight into its belly—a vital spot even for the fiercest animals!

Seeing Li Long actually counterattack, the bear let out a furious roar, bringing its left and right claws together to crush the arm Li Long had extended, while leaning its body forward to try and pin Li Long down.

Li Long crouched even lower, thrust the knife forward to leave a wound less than ten centimeters long on the bear, then pulled back and dove to the left; he rolled in the mud, and although somewhat ragged, he successfully dodged the bear's attack!

Wounded, the bear roared again; this time it was truly enraged; clearly it had held a overwhelming advantage just moments ago, so how had it suddenly been stabbed in return!

The brown bear suddenly straightened up, and as it looked at Li Long, it abruptly thrust both paws forward, scooping up two handfuls of muddy water and flinging them at Li Long; as it threw, its body also charged toward Li Long!

Damn it, it even knows tactics! Is this still a bear?

Li Long raggedly dodged the splash of water; he rolled through the muddy water toward the side, wiping water from his head and face with his arm to avoid blinding his eyes, which would have been a huge trouble!

So you know how to use water, do you?

Li Long darted to another hot spring pool and also scooped up water to splash at the bear, but he found the bear was covered in fur and didn't care at all; it charged straight through the water toward Li Long!

After dodging, Li Long unwillingly grabbed a large clump of mud and flung it at the bear's face; the bear still charged through the mud, which splattered upon impact, blinding one of the bear's eyes!

The bear suddenly panicked, shaking its head left and right to fling off the mud; some of the mud flew off, but part of it went directly into its eye, and the bear's movements immediately slowed down!

Now is the chance!

Li Long again held his knife, crouched low, and charged at the bear; the blade plunged deeply into the bear's lower abdomen, carving out a gash; the bear reacted quickly, and just as the knife entered, its claw swiped at Li Long, forcing him to abandon the knife and roll to the side!

The bear roared once more, but just as Li Long prepared to meet its attack, the creature actually turned its head and ran into Lin Zi!

Li Long paused for a moment, spat, and took off running in pursuit, but he stopped after only a couple of steps as pain shot through his foot; only then did he realize that while fleeing barefoot and fighting the bear, his feet had been cut, each bearing a gash that was bleeding.

Li Long hurried over, put his already wet shoes back on his feet, picked up the Type 56 Semi-Automatic Rifle, vigorously rinsed it in the water, confirmed no mud had entered the muzzle, and then, carrying it, chased in the direction the bear had fled!

He didn't even have time to put on any clothes!

Once inside Lin Zi, Li Long slowed his pace; while engaging the safety, pulling back the bolt, chambering a round, and loading a bullet, he listened carefully for the bear's movements.

The bear was running through the woods on the left side of Hot Spring Gully, heading diagonally southeast; it seemed intent on crossing the forest to reach the mountain to find a place to nurse its wounds.

At this moment, the bear's movements had also slowed; after all, there was a knife stuck in its lower abdomen, and it hadn't had the chance to pull it out yet.

About twenty meters behind the bear, Li Long panted heavily as he chased, constantly closing the distance!

In just this short while, Li Long felt that the extreme tug-of-war, lasting no more than ten minutes, had exhausted most of his strength.

If he hadn't taken a brief rest just now to put on his shoes and handle the gun, Li Long felt he might not even have had the strength to chase this bear.

Running now, he suddenly realized that the bear had probably dared to chase him because, in the pool, only his upper chest and above were exposed, making his body appear relatively small.

If his entire body had been outside, standing upright, his stature would have been comparable to the bear's, and the bear would surely have hesitated before attacking him.

Watching the bear not far ahead, its movements somewhat clumsy, completely lacking the agility and ferocity it had shown when pouncing on him earlier, Li Long figured that after those few exchanges, the bear must be nearly exhausted as well.

Seeing a gap ahead with only a few trees between him and the bear, Li Long immediately stopped, aimed at the bear, and fired with a "Bang!"

The bullet struck the bear's right shoulder and back; the bear collapsed, then struggled to rise, turned its head to roar at Li Long, and plunged back into the forest—this time on all fours, its body much lower, causing Li Long's subsequent shot to miss.

The fact that the gun fired relieved Li Long considerably—he had heard before that this series of guns was rugged, but when he caught up earlier, he had been slightly uneasy, worried something might go wrong; now it seemed he had worried too much.

This gun is good to use!

Li Long resumed his vigorous pursuit, even as branches scratched numerous red marks on his body; the mountain breeze occasionally blew past, feeling chilly, but he could not worry about that now.

Seizing an opportunity, he raised his gun to fire again; since the bear had closed the distance after being shot earlier, this bullet struck near the bear's left ear.

Even after being shot, the bear still hadn't died!

This creature's vitality is truly strong!

Li Long felt that if things continued like this, the bear hide might not even be salvageable; he had to finish it off quickly!

Sprinting a few more steps, ignoring a bloody gash sliced into the outer side of his right thigh by a branch, and seeing a relatively open area where the bear's entire back was visible, Li Long raised his gun and fired steadily:

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three shots in succession; two struck the bear's head, one missed, and the bear plunged face-first to the ground, motionless.

Li Long exhaled deeply—finally killed it!

Damn, that was hard to kill!

Only now did Li Long feel the stinging pain all over his body!

First checking the places torn by the bear's claws, what surprised Li Long was that the wounds on his left chest and left arm had already clotted; the movements while running and firing earlier had pulled them slightly, causing a little blood to seep out, but it was no major issue.

Aside from there, the other injuries were minor; feeling no serious trouble, he deployed the bayonet on his rifle, held the weapon ready, and headed toward the bear.

A large pool of blood had soaked into the ground, likely flowing from where he had stabbed the bear's belly; not only there, but the spots where the bear had been shot were also bleeding.

Li Long could hear no breathing from the bear, but he dared not be careless; at a distance of three meters, he aimed at the back of the bear's skull and fired another shot.

When the bullet struck the bear's head, the animal merely twitched its head, appearing thoroughly dead.

Only then did Li Long relax; carrying his rifle, he walked over, prodded the bear's body with the bayonet, then set the rifle down, grabbed the bear's left side with both hands, and struggled to roll the carcass over.

"Damn, it's really dead heavy," Li Long grumbled.

This bear must weigh over two hundred kilograms; judging by its appearance, it wasn't very fat, likely having awakened from hibernation not long ago, having consumed most of its fat reserves, and now urgently seeking to replenish energy, which was why it had targeted him.

He found that knife—the blade had fully entered the bear's lower belly, with blood gushing out in spurts.

It carried a strong fishy, foul odor.

Li Long sat beside the bear, carefully examining the animal.

It was a big brown bear, about one meter eighty from head to tail; though its body wasn't very plump, it was still stronger than him in every way.

Its fur was smeared with quite a bit of mud and grass leaves, making it look unsightly.

Spring pelts aren't as good as winter ones; at this time many animals begin shedding, resulting in mixed, dull fur colors that aren't very attractive.

After resting for about ten minutes, Li Long felt a chill rising on his body; he knew he couldn't stay here long, but his clothes had gotten wet during the earlier fight; thinking it over, he simply took his knife and began skinning the bear.

With the bear so heavy, dragging it from Lin Zi to the jeep would be difficult, so he decided to skin and gut it first; taking the important parts away meant that even if something ate the rest later, it wouldn't be a pity.

Skinning and gutting were second nature to Li Long; he quickly removed all four bear paws—though the paws weren't very fatty at this season, they were just right for him.

Bear paws in autumn and winter are too fatty, making them inedible.

Next came the bear gallbladder; when he opened the cavity and removed it, Li Long discovered the thing wasn't as large as imagined, feeling about the size of his own fist.

But it didn't matter; having something was better than having nothing.

With four bear paws and one bear gallbladder secured, Li Long had originally intended to remove the hide as well, but feeling tired now, he decided to go back and put on clothes first.

In Lin Zi he found some vines to tie the bear paws together; then, holding the rifle in one hand and the bear paws in the other, he had nowhere to put the gallbladder, so he simply clenched it between his teeth.

A little hardship was fine; who asked him to be completely naked at this moment?

Taking one last look at the bear's body, Li Long strode back.

At this moment, his rifle's safety was still off, just in case something else suddenly appeared like before.

From now on he would remember: in the mountains, one truly cannot relax for even a single moment!

Upon reaching the hot spring pool, Li Long set down the bear paws, retrieved his clothes from the muddy water, and emptied their pockets, mainly ensuring the car keys weren't lost.

Setting the items aside, he rinsed the clothes in the now-clear water, wrung them out, and put them on—cold or not, it was still better than wearing nothing.

People are accustomed to wearing clothes; even in the wild with no one around, being naked feels extremely uncomfortable.

Dressed again, carrying both rifle and bear paws, he quick-stepped out of the gully—within less than half an hour, he reached the jeep.

The sun had risen, yet Li Long felt not a trace of warmth; he quickly opened the jeep, rummaged out his spare clothes, and changed—though it was only an outer jacket, putting it on immediately brought warmth.

Finding some branches, he draped his removed clothes over the side of the vehicle to dry; then he placed the bear paws and gallbladder inside the car, took out two bags, locked the doors, reloaded his rifle with fresh ammunition, and headed back.

Having worked so hard to kill a bear, he couldn't just casually abandon it.

He felt the pain in his wounds subsiding—Li Long thought his recovery ability was quite good, stronger than an ordinary person's.

When he returned to the bear, Li Long saw several small animals scattering and fleeing upon hearing the noise.

Not bad; no big creatures had been attracted.

Now, skinning the bear was much more leisurely.

The bear hide had several holes; the earlier knife stab was manageable, allowing him to cut along it, but the later gunshot wounds offered no such convenience.

Still, for such a large bear hide, a couple of bullet holes didn't matter much.

Li Long spent nearly an hour skinning the bear, meanwhile butchering the meat into chunks and packing them into bags.

As for the bear's internal organs, he left them there—there wasn't much fat in the belly, but he scraped what little there was into a bag as well; anyway, taking it back to stew would count as a meat dish.

Two bags: one holding the bear hide, the other the bear meat; fortunately, Li Long had earlier carried back the four bear paws, otherwise, while ensuring his wounds didn't reopen, he might not have been able to carry everything back.

Li Long slung one bag over his back, carried the other in his hand, and could only hang the rifle upside down across his chest as he walked back.

There were still plenty of things left on the bear's body; they would remain here.

Dust to dust, earth to earth.

Returning to the hot spring, Li Long rested a while and took the opportunity to find a relatively clean puddle to wash his head again.

Earlier, during the fight with the bear, he had been covered in mud and water; when he changed clothes earlier, he had only briefly rinsed the mud off his body; now with some free time, he properly cleaned up.

He didn't want his family to see him in such a wretched state.

Fortunately, the wounds had mostly clotted now, so he wasn't worried about them being discovered; if he was careful over the next few days, he could probably bluff his way through.

He absolutely did not want his family to know he was injured.

After washing his head clean and looking at the messy hot spring pool before him, Li Long smiled bitterly; he would have to find time to come back and repair this place, otherwise future soaks would be quite troublesome.

Fortunately, applying mud was no big deal for him; it wouldn't take much effort to fix.

When he returned to the jeep, his clothes were half-dry; Li Long simply packed them away and drove the jeep to the wooden cabin.

It was already noon; rushing back for a meal would be too late, so he might as well make do with a meal here, taking the chance to rest and nurse his wounds.

The area around the wooden cabin was still somewhat messy; the original wooden floor in front of the house was covered entirely with dust, weeds, and rotten leaves; the two stoves also showed signs of damage—fortunately, they hadn't been completely destroyed.

The wooden table that served as a cutting board was also covered in dust, bearing several Zhao Yin; who knew what had jumped up and strolled around on it.

The door to the wooden house, however, was securely locked, showing no signs of forced entry.

After Li Long got out of the car, he went into the shed, grabbed the large broom that no one had stolen, swept the wooden floor in front of the house, then opened the door to air out the dampness while preparing to set up the pot and light the fire.

He did not move quickly, intending to work while recovering his energy.

Thinking back on what had just happened, he truly felt a chill of fear.

Had his reaction been even slightly slower, he would likely already be food for the black bear.

That creature eats anything, raw or cooked. (End of Chapter)