NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 398 - 396: Reserving a Spot
Chapter 398: Chapter 396: Reserving a Spot
Chapter two is not finished; I’m just staking a claim.
Edited in the wee hours.
The waterfall in the mountain stream surged violently.
The bear’s roar thundered and tumbled through the forest, exploding in everyone’s ears.
Goulbin’s legs went soft, and the weight on Bi Fang’s shoulders grew heavier by a fraction, his face turning beet red from the strain. Seeing Goulbin let go, he flared up with anger.
Damn it.
He had nothing to say about running away at the first sign of trouble; it was human nature, and besides, it was Bi Fang who had told Goulbin to run. But now to be so frightened by the bear’s roar that his legs gave out, showing not an ounce of courage—where did he get the confidence to sign up for this?
How had this mentality and psychological quality not gotten him eliminated in the past few days?
Luckily, Goulbin wasn’t a complete idiot. Stupid he might be, but not terminally so. He scrambled to his feet in a panic and continued to carry the tree.
The three of them carried the same large tree, erecting it bit by bit, and finally, with a vigorous shove from Bi Fang, the tree tipped over to the opposite side under the force of gravity.
With a loud crash, dust billowed up.
“Quick, get over here!”
Bi Fang called out to the two behind him, then held the tree in place to prevent it from rolling and immediately let them cross over the tree.
Looking at the rushing water in the mountain stream, his companion swallowed hard. He had no idea how high the stream was, but it was certainly more than ten meters, and the edges were all huge rocks. A fall would mean certain death.
The noises behind them grew louder and closer, making even the spectators sweat bullets.
Taking a deep breath, his companion decided not to look down any longer. He looked straight ahead and quickly crossed over, then like Bi Fang, held the tree to prevent it from rolling.
“Quick, it’s your turn!”
Bi Fang called out to Goulbin once more.
Gulp.
Trapped between a mountain stream in front and a huge bear behind, the thought alone made Goulbin feel an unstoppable urge to urinate. He shakily extended one foot onto the log, immediately feeling as if it were wobbling and he might roll and slip off, though it was all an illusion.
“Hurry up, Goulbin, hurry!” his companion on the other side urged impatiently.
“Don’t look down!”
Bi Fang didn’t rush him. The more he rushed, the more panicked he would become, so he could only roar a reminder as the sounds behind them seemed to be right at their ears as though the bear was right beside them, licking their earlobes, ready to open its maw and devour them.
If it weren’t necessary, Bi Fang truly didn’t want to confront the brown bear head-on, not even with a tranquilizer gun.
This was not the first time he had faced such a perilous situation. Bi Fang could tell that for the moment, the brown bear was just eyeing them, seeking an opportunity. Otherwise, it would have pounced from the start, rather than having a standoff for so long.
Once a gun is fired, in the eyes of an animal, it’s seen as a provocation, and confrontation is inevitable.
Even if you use a tranquilizer gun against a brown bear, no matter how fast it takes effect, within the range of the firearm, the bear has enough time to charge at you before succumbing to the sedative and slap your Heavenly Spirit Cover.
And that’s even putting into question whether it would take effect at all. A brown bear just out of hibernation often has fur longer than ten centimeters – a natural armor woven from layers of hair.
Goulbin spread his arms like wings and moved his feet bit by bit, advancing at a pace that had the spectators cursing out loud. They were so frustrated they couldn’t jump through the screen to beat him up and then drag him by the neck across the river.
“Faster!”
His companion on the other side urged vehemently, filled with contempt for Goulbin’s cowardice. If it weren’t for the need to stabilize the tree to prevent rolling, and the fact that Bi Fang was still on the other side, he would’ve turned around and left. As he raised his head, intending to urge him again, a familiar color in the forest on the opposite side struck his eyes like needles.
He was stupefied, pointing behind him: “Bear, bear!”
Startled, Goulbin instinctively crouched down and grabbed onto the protruding branches on the tree.
“Quick!”
Now even Bi Fang began to urge him on as he glanced back, the brown silhouette rapidly closing in, the distance practically under a hundred meters.
The Brown Bear’s speed wasn’t fast, undoubtedly confirming his conjecture; the bear was still looking for an opportunity. Otherwise, by now, it should have been sprinting forward—in a hundred-meter dash, a Brown Bear can run even faster than Bolt, and it wouldn’t even take ten seconds.
“Relax!”
Seeing Goulbin squat down, Bi Fang nearly died of frustration.
After much encouragement, Goulbin finally stood up, got his posture right, and started walking toward the ground with a speed that was noticeably faster than before, as if he too knew the bear was about to arrive.
The Bear kept closing in, eighty meters, fifty meters, thirty meters.
By the time Goulbin reached the opposite shore, Bi Fang could even smell the stench from the bear’s mouth.
Only when the distance narrowed to less than ten meters did the audience truly realize just how immense the Brown Bear was—it was not just “huge.”
It was clearly a mountain, a mountain made of defense-layered thick fat and convoluted muscles!
Its body was robust, with muscles bulging on its shoulders and back of the neck. The muscles raised on its shoulder made its forearms appear exceptionally powerful, with claws reaching 15 centimeters long that resembled iron daggers rather than calcified talons, and its entire body covered in brown fur that shimmered with a hint of gold under the sunlight!
Seeing Bi Fang isolated, the Brown Bear no longer suppressed its hunting instinct and pounced towards him aggressively, its body of muscle and fat—a mountain in its own right—charging with an unstoppable momentum. It appeared as if the heavens themselves were collapsing, ready to crush down upon you!
The pupils of the two on the opposite shore contracted sharply, and they almost screamed out in unison.
Feeling the fierce wind from behind, Bi Fang threw himself forward, rolling and standing up on the log with an alarmingly balanced posture. The gasps from the audience grew louder with each wave, such balancing skills were simply unimaginable!
Rolling on the log and still keeping one’s balance required immense control over all the muscles in the body, as well as terrifying balance—it was frightening!
Even those who knew nothing of such feats felt utterly thrilled by this scene!
With one roll, Bi Fang arrived at the center of the log, and just as he was about to rise and rush out, the log beneath him suddenly began trembling violently, like a rope being shaken.
It was the Brown Bear!
It dared not come closer but stepped onto the tree, pressing down uncertainly, using its own body weight to shake the large tree!
What a clever bear!
Such anthropomorphized behavior made it feel like this wasn’t just a wild beast living in the forest, but a cunning and experienced Hunter!
The audience, having seen Bi Fang reach the center of the tree, had just breathed a sigh of relief, only to have their hearts suspended once more.
But now was not the time to discuss whether the bear was clever or not—the chat in the livestream had already descended into chaos, with comments flying in rapid succession!
Jerry couldn’t wait to kick the helicopter pilot out of his seat and take over himself.
[Holy shit, that scared me to death!]
[Damn, this bear’s IQ is about to surpass mine!]
[Be confident, it already has.]
[In my life, I’ve played like this too, now I’m in line waiting for soup]
The audiences’ hearts were almost hanging from the ceiling, with many familiar viewers preemptively reaching into their chest pockets to pull out their emergency medications.
The tree had been hastily constructed and wasn’t very sturdy. The quick-eyed companion on the other shore noticed the pebbles starting to loosen, but before he could warn anyone, it was already too late.
The massive tree suddenly slid down from the opposite shore!