Chapter 81: Xiao Yi Under Surveillance

‘Mm!’

‘Mm!’

As Xiao Yi left his camp, two large creatures deep in the dense forest were exchanging close communication.

Xiao Yi did not know that these two large creatures had been observing him from afar for a long time.

The Arctic ground squirrel on the tree spotted the two large creatures and fled in panic.

To the Arctic ground squirrel, these two large creatures were unquestionably its disaster.

The crow on the treetop, upon hearing the low growls of the two large creatures, scattered into the air in a flurry, occasionally letting out mournful cries.

For these crows, the Arctic winter was a true test of life and death; the barren land and icy cover made it nearly impossible to find berries, insects, or even carrion.

The two large creatures paid little attention to the escape of the Arctic ground squirrel and the crows.

In the past, they would have considered the Arctic ground squirrel their prey, but today they had a far more abundant target.

For several days, they had been watching and waiting, searching for the right opportunity to invade the human camp and feast themselves.

Yet until now, they had found no absolutely safe chance; even when humans left to hunt, one bear always remained to guard the prey.

As for a nighttime raid, the two large creatures had considered it, but the two black bears were far too alert at night.

Any slight approach would cause the two black bears to sniff their scent and immediately rush out to investigate.

But days of waiting had already made the two large creatures grow impatient.

The Arctic wilderness was growing colder by the day, meaning food would grow scarcer—this was now the harshest season in the Arctic wilds.

Without sufficient food, though positioned near the top of the food chain, the two large creatures would struggle to survive this freezing winter.

Worse still, they had a cub that required even more food; thus, despite knowing the danger posed by the two black bears and the human camp, they had no choice but to risk it and fix their greedy gaze on the human camp.

Yet as cautious wilderness hunters, even now desperate for all the prey in the human camp, they still dared not act rashly without ensuring they could escape.

But through days of observation, the two large creatures noticed that the human left with one black bear almost every day to hunt.

At such times, only one black bear remained guarding the prey.

Though provoking that one black bear still placed them in danger, the prey there was worth the risk.

But now, they needed to confirm that the human and the other black bear were far enough away.

So they could have a chance to flee after securing the prey.

‘Mm!’

At that moment, the male large creature glanced at the female, then turned and trailed far behind Xiao Yi and Heidan.

It needed to follow the human and track their footprints.

The female large creature also left the spot—her cub awaited today’s food, and she feared that if they stayed away too long, their cub might become prey.

‘Roar! Roar!’

At that moment, Xiong Zai suddenly opened its eyes, its pupils filled with fierce energy.

Just now, it had faintly smelled the scent of that annoying creature again.

In the past, such creatures dared not trespass into its territory, but now, in this life-or-death Arctic winter, all predators had grown restless.

Xiong Zai understood what the prey behind it represented.

It was hope for survival!

Yet that creature’s repeated provocations had stirred Xiong Zai’s anger—but now, it was no longer a free bear.

‘Sss! Sss! Sss!’

In fact, after days in the rabbit pen, the snow rabbits had gradually grown accustomed to the scent of the two black bears.

But that was only under calm conditions—not when the black bears were enraged.

Now, with Xiong Zai’s furious roar, the previously quiet snow rabbits instantly panicked, leaping wildly and bumping against every wall.

As for Xiao Yi by the lake, he too heard Xiong Zai’s roar from afar—his shelter was not far from Lake Lai’en.

But Xiao Yi paid no mind to Xiong Zai’s roar; that clumsy bear often roared to assert its dominance.

At this moment, Xiao Yi focused all his attention and gaze on the vast lake before him.

If he could catch two large fish from this lake, it would equal the food value of ten snow rabbits.

The only trouble was that the edges of the lake had begun to freeze.

These broken pieces of ice were the enemy of his fishing line, so Xiao Yi had to search for spots still unfrozen and with flat terrain for lure fishing.

Otherwise, if the fish didn’t bite but his line snapped—or worse, if he was dragged into the water—he’d truly be in tears.

‘Heidan, let’s go—find a better fishing spot!’

At that moment, Xiao Yi called out to Heidan beside him, but as he turned, he noticed Heidan staring toward the camp.

This puzzled Xiao Yi, so he too looked toward the camp.

Could it be that some large creature was actually targeting his rabbits?

Xiao Yi then shook his head; deep down, he wasn’t truly concerned.

That clumsy bear, though he thought little of it, was still somewhat powerful.

But to other animals in the wilderness, that clumsy bear carried immense deterrent power.

To steal rabbits from his pen past that clumsy bear, only a wolf pack could manage it.

Otherwise, as long as that clumsy bear stayed near the pen, no one could succeed.

Since Xiao Yi and the two bears had crippled that wolf pack, no wolves had dared appear near his camp.

Not even lone wolves—wolf packs had strong territorial instincts.

Any other wolf pack wishing to harass Xiao Yi’s camp had to first avoid detection by the crippled pack, and even defeat and drive them off.

And though the crippled wolf pack had lost many members, it was still a formidable pack.

As for whether the crippled pack had returned for revenge, Xiao Yi considered that even less likely.

Wolves were indeed vengeful, but they were also pragmatic and intelligent.

They knew whom to provoke and whom to avoid; when faced with danger, they knew how to bide their time.

To seek revenge against Xiao Yi and the two black bears, the wolf pack would need to grow stronger first.

But wolf pack growth was clearly not easy.

More importantly, after spending so much time with the two bears, Xiao Yi had developed some ability to recognize their roars.

That roar just now? It was nothing more than the clumsy bear sensing something and growling in caution.

If a wolf pack had truly appeared, the clumsy bear wouldn’t have roared like that.

Hearing Xiao Yi’s call, Heidan snapped back to attention.

It no longer looked toward the camp and followed Xiao Yi to search for a new fishing spot.

Heidan had great trust in its cunning brother.

After walking an unknown distance, Xiao Yi finally found a fishing spot he was satisfied with.

He then tested the ground with his feet to see if it was too slippery—if he slipped and fell hard here, he’d be in serious trouble.

Safety first was Xiao Yi’s first rule of wilderness survival.