A bear knocks on the door at night
Ling Zhan's figure quickly disappeared into the vast forest, continuing his search for food to survive.
The thatched houses at the foot of the mountain in Kaoshan Village are relatively peaceful during the day.
The injury to Shenyan's buttocks still aches faintly.
But having been given the order to "guard the house," and with the children becoming unusually docile after witnessing his "misery," they managed to maintain order.
He, along with Hu Zi and Dou Ya, reinforced the barricades and used the remaining pig tendons and sharpened sticks to set up several rudimentary tripwire traps around the house. These were adequate for dealing with rabbits and pheasants, but against larger predators, they could only delay them for a moment or cause some trouble. With Ling Zhanling's beginner-level instruction, at least they could follow suit.
Da Ya, along with the little ones, carefully treated the meat left by Ling Zhan with salt and smoke, and then hung it in a well-ventilated place in the house for storage.
We can also dig up some wild vegetables nearby, which will be enough for the family's daily meals.
However, as the last rays of sunlight were greedily swallowed by the mountains, and the inky darkness completely enveloped the surrounding area, an invisible, suffocating sense of oppression began to permeate the air. The children were quickly ushered into the relatively safe new house by Chen Yan.
The thick thatched walls and pigskin lining blocked out most of the biting cold wind, but they also acted like covering one's ears, blocking out the sounds of the outside world.
Inside, the campfire flickered, its orange glow reflecting the barely concealed unease on the children's faces.
Shen Yan held a sturdy, heavy wooden spear with a sharpened tip that had been hardened by fire, his back pressed against the only door, his ears like those of a most alert hunting dog, catching any unusual sound outside.
The energy depletion of the star core has a silent but deadly effect.
Ling Zhan is currently traveling through the deeper mountains and forests to the southwest.
Without zero-depth scanning and accurate prediction, she could only rely on her five senses and the fighting instincts of the Asura Star warriors, which drastically reduced her efficiency.
Previously, Ling could easily mark hidden animal trails, water sources, and lurking dangers, but now she needs to expend many times more effort to observe, judge, and probe them.
[Energy critically low: 3%. Deep scan: Offline. Dynamic prediction: Performance degradation 65%. Weakness marking: Accuracy decreased.] Zero's electronic voice, carrying an unprecedented sense of weakness, as if the signal was about to be interrupted, rang in Ling Zhan's mind like a candle flickering in the wind.
Ling Zhan frowned.
She had just tracked down the entrance to a valley that seemed to be emitting energy fluctuations, but due to a delayed prediction, the soft, decaying leaves under her feet collapsed instantly, almost causing her to step into a poisonous miasma swamp perfectly disguised by fallen leaves! The close call left her with lingering fear, greatly reducing her speed and safety.
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain in Kaoshan Village.
"Woo-woo-woo-!!!"
A deep, resonant roar, like muffled thunder rolling in the chest, suddenly erupted from the pitch-black depths of the forest!
It instantly shattered the deathly silence of the night!
The children inside shuddered in fright. The youngest girl burst into tears, but the eldest girl quickly covered her mouth, choking her sobs into terrified whimpers. Shen Yan's heart was instantly gripped by an icy hand, leaping into his throat!
That sound... deep and heavy, full of primal pressure... it's definitely not a wild boar or a wolf!
It's a bear! And a gigantic bear of absolutely terrifying size!
It's here.
A ferocious beast, a black bear (also known as a bear) of unusually large size.
Like a ghost congealed by the night, it appeared silently in the darkness surrounding the new house. It was almost waist-high at the shoulders, its body covered in glossy black fur, its bulging muscles rolling beneath the fur, and its small eyes gleaming with a ghostly green, hungry and cunning light in the darkness.
It stood upright, its massive body casting a chillingly large shadow in the pale moonlight, almost covering half of the hut.
This black bear clearly possessed a level of intelligence far exceeding that of ordinary wild animals. Instead of rashly attacking the strange "nest" that exuded the tempting aromas of "smoked meat" and "snacks," it slowly paced around the new house, its heavy breaths exhaling puffs of white mist, seemingly carefully assessing the situation.
Its extremely sensitive nose easily detected the lingering, disgusting smell of lard and human sweat on the barricades and tripwires.
[Zero, insufficient energy, passive alert range reduced... Warning: High-threat life form approaching... Location: Main entrance... Slightly to the left... Scan... Interrupted...]
In Ling Zhan's mind, Zero's voice came intermittently, like a radio with a poor signal, and eventually disappeared completely.
She had to rely solely on herself, struggling to orient herself amidst the complex terrain, her nerves stretched to the breaking point—
Something bad has happened back home! A strong premonition made her chest tighten.
The black bear's eerie green gaze finally settled on the door of the new house, which was reinforced with heavy logs and tough vines.
It let out a low growl, and its thick bear paw slammed into the ground with tremendous force!
"boom!"
A deep, resounding thud, like the beating of a drum!
The entire thatched hut shook violently, as if struck by an invisible giant hammer! Dust fell from the beams!
The children inside screamed in terror! Shen Yan braced himself against the door with his shoulder and a wooden stick, his heart pounding like a drum, his palms instantly soaked with cold sweat! He could clearly hear the heavy, bellows-like breathing outside the door, and the teeth-grinding "scratching" sound of sharp claws scraping the ground!
The black bear did not directly ram the door.
It seemed to sense the resistance from humans behind the door.
Those tiny, eerie green eyes gleamed with a cunning light, and the massive body suddenly turned, heading towards a relatively weak section of the wall on the side of the new house, covered with vines and thatch! That was where Daya and the little ones were hiding!
"Oh no! It's going to the side!"
Shen Yan instantly understood the black bear's intention, and his scalp tingled with fear! He roared at the children inside, his voice splitting with extreme tension and force: "Tiger! Light the torch! Quick! Bean Sprout! Bang the copper basin! Bang as hard as you can! Daya! Take the little ones and hide in the middle of the room! Behind the pillar! Quick!!!"
His long years of street life gave him an amazing instinct for command when faced with a life-or-death situation!
Although the children were trembling with fear, they grasped at Shen Yan's hoarse and unquestionable roar as if it were their only lifeline!
Tiger was startled. He grabbed a torch soaked in lard, held it to the campfire, and lit it with a "whoosh"!
The leaping flames instantly illuminated his face, contorted with fear and resolve.
Bean Sprout grabbed the old copper basin and a thick wooden stick, closed her eyes, and started banging on it with all her might!
"Bang! Bang! Bang—!!!"
The harsh, chaotic, and erratic noise tore through the heavy night sky like a metallic storm!
Da Niu and Da Ya dragged and carried the terrified little ones away from the thin wall, scrambling and crawling behind the sturdiest load-bearing pillar in the center of the room, their tiny bodies trembling.
The black bear was startled by the sudden burst of intense fire and the piercing noise!
It growled irritably, and its pounding on the wall paused noticeably.
The leaping flames instinctively made it wary, and the ear-piercing noise further unsettled it, temporarily suppressing its ferocity.
But its insatiable craving for food quickly overwhelmed its instinctive discomfort! Its eyes blazed with ferocity once more, and it raised its massive, fan-like hand again, slamming it down on the thin wall with terrifying force capable of shattering rocks!
"BOOM—!!!"
Thatch fragments flew like snowflakes! The resilient vines groaned as they snapped under the strain! The pigskin covering them tore with a chilling sound! A huge crater sank into the wall! The wooden skeleton groaned! One or two more blows, and the wall would be completely smashed through!
"Hold on! Hold on!"
Shen Yan's eyes were bloodshot and bulging, yet he was unable to move!
He must be nailed to the back of the door to prevent this cunning beast from using a diversionary tactic!
Tiger looked at the crumbling wall that seemed about to collapse at any moment, and listened to the suppressed sobs of his younger siblings behind him. An unprecedented surge of passion mixed with his worship of his mother rushed to his head like magma!
He recalled his mother's bravery and fearlessness when hunting wild boars, and the truth in her cold words—"Only strength matters!"
His eyes were bloodshot, and he roared, "Beast! Get out of my way!" With all his might, he hurled the burning torch in his hand through the hole in the wall! The target was the black bear's eerie green eyes!
The burning torches flew out with a whooshing sound!
The black bear clearly hadn't expected the little creature inside the house to dare to fight back!
The torch, carrying scorching heat and flickering flames of death, flew past its nose, and it instinctively jerked its head to dodge.
The slapping motion also paused for a moment!
Now!
Seizing this fleeting opportunity, bought with Hu Zi's courage, Shen Yan suddenly pulled open a narrow crack in the door! He forcibly ignored the excruciating pain in his buttocks, twisted his body violently, and poured all his strength, along with the pent-up fear and anger, into his arms!
The heavy, pointed wooden spear transformed into a deadly black shadow, tearing through the air and precisely piercing the relatively soft side of the black bear's belly, exposed as it dodged the torch!
"Give me the shot—!!!" A disgusted roar, his voice cracking!
Pfft!
The wooden spear, carrying immense kinetic energy, pierced the black bear's side! Although limited by the strength of the spear and its material, it failed to penetrate deep into the internal organs and cause a fatal wound, the sharp spearhead and heavy impact still caused it excruciating pain!
"Awoooooo—!!!!!!!!!"
The black bear let out a terrifying roar that shook the heavens and earth, filled with pain and rage! It was completely enraged!
The eerie green eyes were instantly consumed by a raging crimson!
It abandoned its pounding on the wall, and its massive body, accompanied by a foul stench, abruptly turned towards the gate, like a runaway steel chariot, crashing headlong into the gate where Shen Yan was! It wanted to tear this insignificant human who dared to harm it to pieces first!
Boom—!!!
The reinforced log door emitted a teeth-grinding, groaning sound, as if it were about to break!
Behind the door, Shen Yan felt an overwhelming force. His arms were numb and throbbing with pain, and he and the thick wooden stick supporting the door were thrown off the ground, sliding backward violently! The sturdy door bolt made a piercing metallic twisting sound, and it looked like it was about to break!
"father--!"
"Father—!"
The children were terrified when they saw Shen Yan being knocked away, but in reality, he was knocked back and slipped. Their screams were heart-wrenching!
Just when the door was destroyed and people were killed!
A figure appeared like a crimson lightning bolt tearing through the night, carrying an overwhelming stench of blood and a chilling killing intent.
It shot towards us rapidly from the direction of the mountains and forests!
It was Ling Zhan!
She heard the iconic bear roar and the sound of the copper basin piercing the night sky from miles away, and she was extremely anxious!
Zero's energy has long been exhausted, and it can no longer provide any directional guidance or warning of danger.
She sprinted back through the dark and rugged mountains entirely by relying on the sense of "home" that was imprinted in her bones and her will that burned to the extreme!
I saw that enormous black shadow frantically pounding against the already crumbling door—
The raging fury of the Asura Interstellar War God instantly ignited in Ling Zhan's eyes!
"You beast! You're asking for death!!!"
She had no weapons! Only a pair of fists stained with the grime of the mountains and forests!
In her frantic run, her eyes flashed like lightning, and she grabbed a heavy broken beam from outside the house—a beam as thick as an adult's arm, with jagged, sharp splinters at the break—that the black bear had snapped off earlier!
The black bear also sensed the deadly threat approaching from behind like a volcanic eruption!
It suddenly turned around!
But it was too late!
Ling Zhan's speed was incredibly fast!
Using the terrifying momentum of her charge, she channeled all the Asura Star Power of the Great Perfection of the Meridian Opening Realm, her surging blood and qi, and her all-consuming rage into her arms! She swung the heavy, broken log like a battering ram towards the black bear's relatively vulnerable ribs, exposed by its hasty turn—
The bear's famous "copper head, iron back, and tofu waist"—the tofu waist—was swung down hard!
Whoosh—Buzz! !!!
A deafening, thunderous roar, like the sound of a giant drum being struck, erupted! The sharp splinter at the tip of the broken log, amplified by the immense force, pierced the black bear's relatively vulnerable abdomen like a giant arrow fired from a crossbow!
Accompanied by a tooth-grinding sound of bones cracking and muscles tearing, foul-smelling blood mixed with fragments of shattered internal organs gushed out from the huge holes that were instantly ripped open in its mouth, nose, and abdomen! The enormous impact sent the black bear's massive body, weighing hundreds of kilograms, flying into the air as if it had been struck by a speeding steel behemoth, tracing a brief arc!
Boom—!!!
The black bear's massive body slammed heavily onto the frozen ground several meters away, like a tattered sack, kicking up clouds of dust and dead leaves! Its limbs convulsed violently, and copious amounts of blood and entrails spilled from its mouth and nose, emitting a few wheezing, dying "hoarse" sounds. Its crimson eyes quickly dimmed, and it completely lost its life.
Time seemed to freeze for a moment.
Deathly silence descended.
The only sounds were the crackling of the campfire inside the house and the children's suppressed, intermittent sobs, trembling in the air.
Shen Yan slumped against the door, his back against the cold wall, panting heavily. Each breath aggravated the pain in his buttocks and the dull ache in his chest. He stared at the figure standing beside the massive bear carcass, covered in blood, like a demon emerging from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood…
He felt his legs go weak, but his eyes inexplicably welled up with a sour, hot feeling.
Ling Zhan casually tossed aside the heavy, broken log covered in blood, flesh, and bone fragments, without even glancing at the bear carcass still twitching slightly. She walked a few steps to the door, pushed open the twisted, rickety door, and the bolt was completely broken.
We need to build a stronger stone wall!
The thought flashed through her mind with perfect clarity.
The firelight inside the room flickered, illuminating her still frosty face, but when it swept over the small, huddled figures behind the pillar, still shaken, the tension in her eyes eased slightly.
They're all confirmed to be alive!
Finally, her gaze fell on Shen Yan, who was slumped on the ground, looking utterly disheveled.
Right now.
Zero…core…overload…energy…depletion…
In Ling Zhan's mind, Zero's electronic voice was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, breaking off and continuing: "Core...function...offline...forced...hibernation...mode...activation...host...protection..."
The sound vanished completely from the depths of Ling Zhan's mind, like a kite with a broken string, leaving behind a desolate void.
A sudden, intense feeling of exhaustion, accompanied by a deathly silence in her mind, swept over Ling Zhan. Her body swayed almost imperceptibly, but she immediately tensed her muscles, standing as steady as a mountain. She took a deep breath of the cold air, thick with the stench of blood, and looked at the still-shaken Shen Yan and the children. Her gaze finally pierced through the open doorway, landing on the deeper, more mysterious outline of the mountains to the southwest. Her voice was resolute, carrying an undeniable determination:
"tomorrow."
“Build a stone wall, then go into the mountains.”
This time, the target was no longer food.
It is for survival, and for acquiring enough power to sustain everything.
Shen Yan struggled to get up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, glanced at the mountain of cold bear corpses outside the door, and then looked at the unwavering flame in Ling Zhan's eyes, a flame that seemed to ignite the night sky. All his words of advice and concern turned into a deep sigh in his throat.
He nodded resignedly, his voice hoarse: "Okay... repair the stone wall first... then leave the house to me."
He paused, then, as if trying to find something to do, muttered under his breath, "...The door needs fixing...and a few tiles have been loosened..."
Ling Zhan didn't speak, but silently walked to the campfire, picked up a piece of roasted meat, tore it off with his teeth, and chewed it heartily.
Deep within his cold eyes burned an almost greedy, survival-driven desire for the unknown energy source in the southwestern mountains.
The night was as dark as ink, and the doorway of the new house stood open, like a silent mouth.
Inside, the campfire flickered, barely maintaining a semblance of warmth.
Outside, the giant bear's carcass was cold and stiff, exuding the stench of death.
The star core is zero, completely silent.
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