An Lan was still worried. She bit her lip, gripped the hem of her clothes tightly with both hands, and frowned deeply.
"No, no, it's too dangerous. How about I go with you? It'll be good if there are two of us to look after each other."
Lu Fan gently patted An Lan's shoulder, his eyes firm yet tender.
“You stay at the shelter to look after the animals. They need your care, and you can also protect our home should any other unexpected situations arise. I promise I will come back safe and sound.”
Seeing An Lan's still worried expression, Lu Fan smiled and said, "You're my support."
Seeing Lu Fan's confident expression, An Lan could only nod helplessly: "Then you must be careful. If there is any danger, run away immediately. Don't try to tough it out!"
Before leaving home, Lu Fan carefully selected his equipment, like a general preparing for battle.
He brought explosives, which were his secretly developed "secret weapons" with considerable power.
And then there's the sweet honey, a "super bait" that attracts brown bears.
Big Black seemed to sense that an exciting adventure was about to begin, and excitedly hopped around Lu Fan's feet, its tail wagging like a propeller.
Lu Fan set off with Dahei. The morning sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting patches of light on the ground.
Lu Fan carefully examined the blurry traces left by the brown bear when it left last night. Sometimes the traces were flattened grass, and sometimes they were huge footprints left on the muddy ground.
Big Black ran around excitedly, sniffing the ground constantly, and glancing back at Lu Fan every now and then, as if urging him to hurry up.
"Big Black, don't go too far, follow the scent!" Lu Fan called out to Big Black in a low voice while keeping an eye on the surroundings.
Brown bear footprints found, extending to the right.
They wandered through the mountains and forests for a long time. As they went deeper, the surrounding environment became more and more tranquil, and the occasional bird calls seemed particularly abrupt.
Suddenly, Big Black stopped in front of them, its nose pressed against the ground, and a low growl came from its throat.
Lu Fan strode forward and found a narrow path in front of him. The grass on the path was flattened, and the bushes on both sides showed signs of being scraped by heavy objects.
"Looks like this is the way, Big Black, well done!" Lu Fan patted Big Black's head, a hint of excitement on his face.
After walking along the path for a while, the terrain ahead gradually became steeper.
In a mountain hollow, Big Black suddenly sped up and rushed towards a dense thicket of bushes.
Lu Fan followed closely behind, bypassing the bushes, and a small, hidden tree hole appeared before him.
There were many messy footprints on the ground around the tree hole, as well as some gnawed branches and leaves, which clearly indicated that this was the brown bear's den.
It is extremely difficult to find unless you are specifically looking for it.
The entrance to the cave was partially hidden by layers of intertwined shrubs and leaves. The leaves were lush and thick, intertwined, like a natural barrier, blocking outsiders from peeping in.
Lu Fan approached the tree hole cautiously, trying not to make a sound.
He lay on the ground and peered through the crack in the cave entrance. He could only see that it was pitch black inside, and he could faintly smell a strong bear odor.
He secretly calculated in his mind that brown bears are huge and incredibly strong. If they were to fight them head-on, he and Big Black would be no match for them.
After a moment of thought, a plan gradually took shape in his mind.
He decided to lie in wait around the tree hole and wait for the brown bear to leave.
So, Lu Fan found a secluded patch of grass and hid with Da Hei, their eyes fixed on the tree hole.
Time passed by, and the sunlight grew stronger, warming our bodies.
Lu Fan's eyes never left the tree hollow for a moment, sweat pouring from his forehead and sliding down his cheeks.
Big Black lay quietly beside him, occasionally twitching its ears and alertly listening to the sounds around it.
After an unknown amount of time, a deep roar came from the depths of the tree hole, and then a huge figure slowly emerged from the tree hole.
It was that brown bear!
It stretched and yawned, shook its fur, and then trudged heavily into the depths of the forest.
Once the brown bear had completely disappeared from sight, Lu Fan quickly got up and quietly approached the tree hole with Big Black.
Upon entering the cave, a strong smell of bear odor assaults the senses—a unique stench mixed with animal hair, dirt, and food scraps, so overpowering it almost makes one want to vomit.
The cave was not spacious. The ground was covered with a thick layer of dry grass and leaves, which served as the brown bear's "bed." The grass was flattened and mixed with some of the bear's shed fur, making it look messy.
He took out the explosives he had prepared in advance, made from bamboo tubes. These explosives contained a lot of scrap iron slag, and if they exploded on someone, they would definitely tear their skin apart.
He carefully dug small pits around the tree hole, buried the explosives one by one, and then gently covered them with soil, leaving only the fuses exposed.
After doing all this, he took a jar of honey out of his backpack and went into the tree hollow.
A pungent smell permeated the tree hollow, and some dry grass and leaves were spread on the ground.
Lu Fan carefully poured the honey into the center of the tree hole, and a rich, sweet aroma instantly filled the air.
After setting the trap, Lu Fan and Da Hei quickly retreated to a safe distance, found a big tree, and hid behind it, waiting for the brown bear to take the bait.
His heart was pounding uncontrollably, a mixture of nervousness and excitement coursing through his fingers as he gripped the tool for lighting the fuse, his eyes fixed intently on the direction of the tree hole.
As darkness fell, Lu Fan's heart pounded even higher.
The long fuse he had prepared wound its way through the grass like a snake ready to strike, ensuring he could ignite the explosives from a safe distance.
Just in case, he also applied the herbal medicine that Anlan had carefully prepared to his body.
The unique herbal scent gradually spread, successfully masking his human presence.
Big Black lay quietly beside him, its eyes fixed on the direction of the tree hole, occasionally twitching its ears to catch the slightest sounds around it.
The man and his dog lurked in the darkness, the tense atmosphere like an invisible net, tightly enveloping them.
Anlan was restless in the shelter.
She paced back and forth in the room, her eyes glancing from time to time in the direction Lu Fan had left. Her hands unconsciously clutched the hem of her clothes, which had been neatly folded and were now wrinkled and crumpled.
"Why isn't he back yet? Could something have happened to him...?" she murmured to herself, her voice full of worry.
The chirping of insects outside rose and fell, like a restless nocturne.
An Lan walked to the door and looked up at the dark night sky. The stars twinkled, but they could not dispel the gloom in her heart.
She recalled the resolute look in Lu Fan's eyes when he left, and silently prayed for his safe return.
At this moment, Lu Fan was staring intently at the tree hole.
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