The tree exploded!

The trunk shattered, sending splinters flying in all directions.

A Black Bear stood in the middle of it all.

The scene looked a bit like something out of a martial arts drama, when a master bursts out of seclusion.

Zhang Yuanmin and Chen Dalai were both completely stunned.

Zhang Yuanmin stood frozen in place, thinking, ’Wasn’t it just one shot? Even a Maze firecracker isn’t this terrifying, is it?’

Chen Dalai could barely hold his gun steady. ’Did my shot really have that much power?’ he wondered.

"ROAR..."

The Black Bear let out a strange cry and charged straight for Chen Dalai.

The bear’s roar snapped Chen Dalai back to his senses. But instead of instinctively reloading, he hurled his 16-gauge shotgun, already bent at a right angle, at the Black Bear.

Then, he turned and ran.

The gun slammed into the Black Bear’s chest, but it had no effect. In two bounds, it was behind Chen Dalai, tackling him into the snow.

It takes a while to describe, but in reality, the entire sequence—from the tree exploding and the Black Bear charging out to it tackling Chen Dalai—took only a few seconds.

Zhang Yuanmin still hadn’t fully processed what was happening, but hearing Chen Dalai screaming for help, he spun around and swung his Large Axe right into the Black Bear’s backside.

The axe bit deep, tearing open flesh and sending blood gushing out.

The Black Bear ignored Chen Dalai completely, whirling around to charge at Zhang Yuanmin.

At that moment, it finally dawned on Zhang Yuanmin. He didn’t know how things had escalated so badly, but he knew he was in trouble again!

So, Zhang Yuanmin, Large Axe in hand, turned and ran.

Before the shot, Chen Dalai had wanted to build a bonfire, but Zhang Yuanmin had said it wasn’t necessary.

Now, there were only two thigh-thick trees nearby. Zhang Yuanmin couldn’t even find a place to run circles around.

But in a straight line, how could a person possibly outrun a Black Bear?

He hadn’t made it five meters before the Black Bear caught up, swiped a paw, and clawed at his back.

As luck would have it, the bear’s claws snagged the chainsaw Zhang Yuanmin was carrying on his back.

The chainsaw was secured to his back with a shoulder strap. The bear’s swipe left the saw undamaged, but one end of the strap snapped instantly.

Without even looking at what it had grabbed, the bear flung the chainsaw away.

Meanwhile, Chen Dalai pushed himself up from the snow. The intimate contact between his cheek and the ice had shocked him fully awake.

He got to his feet just in time to see the bear toss the chainsaw and Zhang Yuanmin being chased down.

But right now, all he had on him was an Invasion Blade, about the length of a dagger.

There was no time to mount the blade on a pole now.

But trying to stab a Black Bear with such a short blade was a joke.

After a moment’s thought, Chen Dalai sprinted toward the spot where he’d thrown his gun. Sure enough, there it was, lying in the snow.

Chen Dalai picked up the gun and took one look. He was screwed!

Why?

The barrel was packed with snow.

If he fired it like this, the barrel would definitely explode.

A barrel explosion would inevitably injure the shooter—a minor injury at best, death at worst.

What could he do?

Chen Dalai could have cleared the snow out with something, but Zhang Yuanmin didn’t have that kind of time.

The gun was useless. Chen Dalai looked around. Because Zhang Yuanmin had said it wasn’t necessary, they hadn’t even cut a single pole.

What now?

Was Chen Dalai really supposed to fight a Black Bear up close with a dagger-like Invasion Blade?

But surprisingly, Chen Dalai was a man of principle. He lowered his head and charged after the Black Bear.

He wasn’t trying to get himself killed. He just wanted to buy Zhang Yuanmin a couple of seconds. If the bear came after him, Zhang Yuanmin could attack it from behind with the Large Axe.

But he stopped after only two steps, because Zhang Yuanmin no longer needed his help.

As Zhang Yuanmin ran, he came to the edge of a slope leading down to a gully. The crucial part was that the slope was quite steep.

He couldn’t outrun the Black Bear on flat ground, let alone downhill.

Zhang Yuanmin steeled himself and decided to copy Zhao Jun again.

He leaped into the air, spun around mid-flight, and swung the Large Axe in his hand back toward the bear.

But with a swipe of its massive paw, the Black Bear sent the Large Axe flying from Zhang Yuanmin’s grasp, soaring high into the air.

As for Zhang Yuanmin, he used the momentum to dive straight into the gully below.

Zhang Yuanmin fell from the air, thankfully landing in deep snow, but he immediately started tumbling down the slope.

The Black Bear took two steps down the slope, then suddenly felt its body sliding uncontrollably. It was too late to back up.

The Black Bear slid down. Unable to control its body, it somersaulted twice on the slope, rolling faster and faster until it finally slammed into a large tree and came to a stop.

The Black Bear tried to get up, but it was a bit dizzy.

Just then, Chen Dalai reached the edge of the slope and looked down. He saw Zhang Yuanmin lying sprawled out in the gully.

The Black Bear was about a hundred meters away from him, shaking its head and staggering around in circles.

"Big Pants! Big Pants!" Chen Dalai yelled at the top of his lungs. "Run! The Black Bear’s coming for you!"

Zhang Yuanmin wasn’t dizzy. He was in too much pain all over his body to pass out.

But hearing Chen Dalai yelling from above, he scrambled to his feet in fright, ready to run. He’d just started to move when he saw the Black Bear right in front of him.

He slammed on the brakes, spun around, and bolted.

Surprisingly, despite tumbling down the slope, he hadn’t broken any bones. His short little legs churned, and he actually ran quite fast.

At that moment, the Black Bear heard someone shouting from above and looked up.

However, Black Bears are infamous for their poor eyesight.

It couldn’t even see clearly who was up there, but it had just taken a shot from Chen Dalai to the gut and an axe from Zhang Yuanmin to the rear.

Filled with a furious rage it had no way to vent, it heard the sound of a human and knew it had to give chase!

Seeing the Black Bear start to climb the slope, Chen Dalai was so scared he turned and bolted.

Bear Gall? Bear meat?

None of it was as important as his own life.

Going down a slope is easy; climbing up is hard.

Especially since this slope was both steep and slippery.

The Black Bear kept slipping as it climbed. By the time it reached the top, Chen Dalai was long gone.

Chen Dalai and Zhang Yuanmin met up on the way home. If they hadn’t been surrounded by ice and snow, the two of them would have probably hugged and cried their eyes out.

Chen Dalai felt terribly wronged. If he had known it would turn out like this, he would have rather stuck to the old method.

If the first shot failed, they would run around a bonfire, reloading as they ran, and then take another shot.

It wouldn’t have been nearly this dangerous!

At this thought, Chen Dalai couldn’t help but start blaming Zhang Yuanmin.

’What kind of idea was that?’

’Foolproof? And he calls himself Yong’an Village’s Little Zhuge...’

"How did this happen? This isn’t how I planned it!" Zhang Yuanmin was grief-stricken, feeling as if all his brilliant intellect had been for naught.

Seeing him like this, Chen Dalai’s heart softened. He pondered as they walked.

Finally, Chen Dalai sighed and said, "There’s nothing to say. We just have bad luck!"

"How so?" Zhang Yuanmin asked.

Chen Dalai said, "It must have been a dead tree. The trunk must have been rotten!"