The surface of the fallen log was curved and covered in a thick layer of snow. Zhao Jun’s foot slipped, and his whole body slid down the log.

Zhang Yuanmin and Li Baoyu watched from behind. Seeing Zhao Jun raise his gun, they both thought that with Zhao Jun’s Spear Technique at such a close range, the Black Bear was as good as dead the moment the gun went off.

But in the next second, Zhao Jun vanished from the log.

Immediately after, a gunshot rang out.

The problem was, the shot had gone off in mid-air.

"It’s over!"

"This is bad!"

Zhang Yuanmin brandished his Large Axe and Li Baoyu raised his Invasion Blade as they charged toward the fallen log. With his long legs, Li Baoyu was faster, leaving Zhang Yuanmin behind.

As for Zhao Jun, he had slid off the log. The repeated thumps against his back on the way down made it painfully clear what was happening.

When Zhao Jun’s feet hit the ground, the impact sent a jolt through his legs, causing him to buckle and drop lower.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was the Black Bear, which had turned around and was now lunging straight for him.

One step!

Just one!

In a single bound, the Black Bear was in front of Zhao Jun, its massive Bear’s Paw swiping down at his head.

Zhao Jun was stunned, a cold sweat breaking out all over his body. His mind went blank, but upon seeing the crescent-shaped white mark on the Black Bear’s chest, he instinctively thrust his gun forward, pressing it against the beast’s torso.

"BANG!"

"BANG!"

...

Zhao Jun’s right index finger kept pulling the trigger, the gunshots echoing through the mountains.

Nine shots in a row!

In less than three seconds, all nine rounds were spent!

Including the wild shot he’d fired into the air earlier, Zhao Jun had emptied his gun.

When Li Baoyu scrambled onto the fallen log, he saw Zhao Jun on the other side, lying flat on his back in the snow.

Zhao Jun’s eyes were wide open, staring blankly at the sky. His dog-fur hat had been knocked off and lay to the side.

Zhao Jun’s padded jacket and pants were covered in blood!

And the Black Bear had collapsed right on top of him.

"Brother!" Li Baoyu leaped down from the log. Frantic, he didn’t even check if the Black Bear was truly dead. He tossed his Invasion Blade aside, grabbed the scruff of the bear’s neck with one hand and a fistful of long fur on its back with the other, and single-handedly dragged the animal off Zhao Jun.

This Black Bear wasn’t particularly large. Having hibernated in a tree hollow for two or three months, it had burned through much of its fat reserves and now weighed just over two hundred pounds.

Li Baoyu rushed forward and cradled Zhao Jun’s head. Seeing Zhao Jun still staring blankly into the distance, Li Baoyu let out a "WAAAH" and burst into tears.

"Oh, Brother..."

"What’s wrong? What happened?" Zhang Yuanmin, with his short legs, couldn’t climb the log and had to go around it.

He reached Zhao Jun’s side and checked him. There was breath, a pulse, and both were surprisingly steady.

Zhang Yuanmin moved in front of Zhao Jun, looked into his eyes, and patted him down. He was surprised to find that Zhao Jun didn’t seem to be injured. The blood on his jacket and pants appeared to be from the Black Bear.

"Stop your bawling!" Zhang Yuanmin shoved Li Baoyu lightly, then knelt, grabbed a handful of snow, and rubbed it on Zhao Jun’s face.

"Nngh..." The cold shock on his face slowly brought Zhao Jun back to his senses. He still looked dazed as he stared at Zhang Yuanmin and Li Baoyu. "Baoyu!" he managed.

"Brother!" Seeing Zhao Jun come to, Li Baoyu couldn’t hold back anymore and burst into loud sobs, hugging him tightly.

Zhang Yuanmin sighed softly and took Zhao Jun’s hand. "Brother, you scared me to death!"

"Brother, what did you say?" Zhao Jun’s ears were ringing. He could faintly hear Zhang Yuanmin speaking to him, but he couldn’t make out the words.

Zhang Yuanmin gave Zhao Jun a helpless look, then glanced back at the Black Bear. He immediately understood. The close-range gunshots must have deafened him.

But seeing that Zhao Jun seemed to have no other injuries, Zhang Yuanmin was relieved.

It was already past noon. Seeing the state Zhao Jun and Li Baoyu were in, Zhang Yuanmin drew the Invasion Blade from his waist and went to cut open the Black Bear to retrieve its gall.

After extracting the Bear Gall, Zhang Yuanmin brought it to Zhao Jun and said, "Brother, you take this."

Even though Zhang Yuanmin was much older than Zhao Jun, among the three of them, Zhao Jun was like their Leader. Once they were in the mountains, Zhao Jun’s word was law on all matters. Even the Bear Gall from a kill had to be kept by him.

But right now, Zhao Jun was just sitting there, dazed. He looked at Zhang Yuanmin, then glanced down at the Bear Gall in his hand, but made no move to take it.

Seeing this, Zhang Yuanmin knew Zhao Jun was still badly shaken and would need some time to recover.

So, he reached into the pocket of Zhao Jun’s padded jacket, took out a white cloth pouch, and placed the Bear Gall inside it.

Then he unbuttoned Zhao Jun’s jacket, tucked the Bear Gall into an inner pocket, and buttoned the jacket back up for him.

"Stop crying," Zhang Yuanmin said, nudging Li Baoyu after he was done. "I’ll go start a fire. You get out the rations and have him eat a bite to get something in his stomach."

Li Baoyu wiped his tears with the sleeve of his padded jacket. Seeing that Zhao Jun was truly unharmed, he got to his feet.

Li Baoyu spotted a large green boulder nearby. He swept the snow off it, then went back to help Zhao Jun up, seating him on the stone.

At this point, Zhao Jun was slowly coming to his senses. He began to recall what had just happened.

He had pressed his gun against the Black Bear and fired nine shots in a single burst, nearly turning its chest into a sieve.

With each shot, large, bloody holes had appeared on the Black Bear’s back, sending jets of blood spurting out.

By the fourth shot, the Black Bear was already dead.

And that swipe from the Bear’s Paw, aimed at Zhao Jun’s head, had lost all its strength as the bear’s life force drained away. By the time it reached him, it was powerless, merely knocking the hat from his head.

He was safe!

Zhao Jun was, for the most part, completely unscathed... except for a few ruffled hairs. But he was scared stiff and only now slowly starting to recover.

Zhao Jun tried to get up from the green boulder, but he was dizzy and his head throbbed. He staggered and had to quickly grab the stone to sit back down.

Just then, Zhang Yuanmin and Li Baoyu returned, each carrying an armful of dry branches, and lit a fire in front of Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun had just broken out in a cold sweat and was now feeling a bit chilled, so sitting before the fire to warm up was perfect.

Li Baoyu was toasting some rations by the fire while Zhang Yuanmin sat next to Zhao Jun, talking to him.

In truth, Zhang Yuanmin was just rambling about nothing in particular.

But he was doing it on purpose, trying to distract Zhao Jun. After such a terrifying ordeal, however, you can’t just choose not to think about it.

The perilous scene replayed over and over in Zhao Jun’s mind, flashing before his eyes again and again.

"Brother, you eat first." Li Baoyu handed a toasted flatbread to Zhao Jun, who took it and subconsciously took a bite.

The piece of bread entered his mouth, but Zhao Jun didn’t chew. He just sat there with his mouth open, and the bite he’d taken fell out and landed in the snow.