Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 264: Chapter 254: Lin Yu in Danger

Although Tang Mo had never gone bear hunting with the people from Hulan Base, she still had a general idea of their typical routes.

After all, having been here for so long, this stretch of grassland was an area she couldn’t be more familiar with.

Tang Mo’s goal this time was crystal clear: she needed to find Lin Yu, dead or alive.

A perfectly healthy person went out, and now she couldn’t even find a body? She couldn’t just take their word for it that he was dead.

’After all, even if a bear ate him, it would still spit out some clothes and bones.’

But as Tang Mo walked, she spread out her spiritual power to scan the area. She still found no trace of Lin Yu, not even any signs of a struggle.

’How strange.’

’Didn’t they say Lin Yu was dead? How could there be no signs of a fight? Did he just vanish into thin air?’

Filled with questions, Tang Mo walked farther and farther, expanding her search radius until she finally reached the forest.

At the entrance to the forest, Tang Mo finally saw clear signs of a battle. The ground was in shambles. The nearby grass and trees looked as if they had been trampled, lying twisted and broken to one side, like plants that had witnessed a major event.

The blood on the ground was human...

Tang Mo crouched down, looking at the large amount of blood on the ground. It was all a testament to the brutal battle that had taken place here.

Following the trail of blood, she could see clear drag marks.

If this blood belonged to Lin Yu, then he had to be somewhere in this forest.

’But why would Lin Yu and the others fight at the entrance to the forest?’

Even the people from Hulan Base didn’t dare to underestimate a bear’s combat prowess. It took at least five or six adult men to surround and take down a single bear.

Everyone knew this forest was the Bear Clan’s territory. Weren’t they just asking for trouble?

’Unless...’

Tang Mo suddenly recalled that the people from Hulan Base had another, rather twisted hobby: stealing bear cubs to take back and torture.

Adult bears generally didn’t bring their young with them when they went out to hunt.

The young cubs, however, often played on the outskirts of this very forest. It seemed this group had likely come to steal cubs, deliberately stirring up trouble.

’Isn’t that just a death wish?’

Tang Mo mentally rolled her eyes. Looking at the blood on the ground, she thought, ’Serves them right!’

However, she knew Lin Yu well enough to know he definitely didn’t share that twisted hobby. He had probably just been unable to find any clues for so long and wanted to try his luck in the forest.

She never expected that in trying his luck, he would get himself trapped.

Tang Mo stood up. She thought of how Xianxian had sobbed her heart out in her arms. She thought of the few days she had stayed at Lin Yu’s home in Sand Town. She thought of how the entire town had been buried in ruins because she had taken the Master of Spiritual Power...

Lin Yu and Xianxian were the last embers of Sand Town.

’Perhaps the secret of the pattern is truly hidden in that forest?’

Tang Mo gripped her Wind Breaker and walked in.

The trees in the forest were all species that had grown since the apocalypse; Tang Mo didn’t recognize a single one. They were so tall you couldn’t see their canopies even if you craned your neck back.

The chorus of bird calls rising and falling around her put Tang Mo on edge.

It was too quiet here—so quiet it felt eerie.

Tang Mo carefully kept her spiritual power spread out around her, alert to the slightest sign of movement.

But soon enough, a knee-high little creature appeared in her line of sight.

It was a little bear, not long born, hiding its body behind a large tree. It peeked out with its big, fluffy head, looking at Tang Mo with timid eyes.

Tang Mo stopped in her tracks, meeting the little bear’s gaze from a distance.

Realizing it had been spotted, the little bear shyly hid its head again.

But after a moment, it couldn’t contain its curiosity and peeked out at Tang Mo once more.

Tang Mo didn’t just stand there; she began rummaging through her Space for something to give it.

After some searching, she finally found the High-level Exotic Beast Meat she had stored in her Space for emergencies.

Eating High-level Exotic Beast Meat had a strengthening effect on the body. It was good stuff, so even though Tang Mo never lacked for food, she still kept a stock of it in her Space’s storage.

”Look what I have. Do you want some?”

Tang Mo cut off a piece of the Exotic Beast Meat with her knife and held it out to tempt the little bear, looking for all the world like a kidnapper luring an innocent child.

The little bear tilted its head, its gaze wavering as it looked at the meat.

”Come on over. I’ll give it all to you, okay? I have plenty more!”

Tang Mo continued to coax the little one.

In the end, the naive little bear couldn’t resist the temptation of a delicious meal and waddled toward Tang Mo.

It wasn’t very afraid of humans, it seemed. It walked right up to Tang Mo, even standing on its hind legs and pawing at her leg, wanting the food.

Tang Mo tossed the meat to the little bear. The cub snatched it up and popped it into its mouth, chewing it piece by piece.

It was the most delicious thing it had ever eaten. The little bear’s face was a picture of pure bliss.

The small piece of meat was gone in no time. The little bear stood up again and stared at Tang Mo with pleading eyes.

Taking the hint, Tang Mo cut off an even bigger piece and tossed it over.

Tang Mo’s storage could keep things fresh. Ever since she gave all the agility attribute treasures and Crystal Cores to Da Jing, her storage had a lot more empty space, which she had been filling with Exotic Beast Meat on her journey.

The bears in this forest didn’t get to hunt many mutant beasts. Even risking their lives, they could barely manage to secure any.

With no other choice, the starving bears were now subsisting almost entirely on fruit from the trees, rarely getting a taste of meat.

After eating several pieces of meat in a row, the little bear was finally content.

The happy cub now completely trusted the human who had given it yummy meat.

’This human was willing to share her meat with me. How could humans be bad?’

In its heart, the little bear silently grumbled about its parents and older siblings, who always warned it to stay away from humans.

Tang Mo reached out and tried to pick up the little bear. To her surprise, it didn’t resist at all, simply snuggling into her arms, finding a comfortable spot, and closing its eyes.

Cradling the little bear, Tang Mo continued deeper into the forest. The drag marks stretched on, indicating Lin Yu was even farther inside.

However, she hadn’t gone much farther before she keenly sensed that she was surrounded.

Tang Mo stopped and stood perfectly still.

All around her, tall, dark figures slowly emerged from behind the trees and began to close in.

They were adult bears. At a rough count, there were at least a dozen of them.

Seeing the human holding a bear cub in her arms, the bears began to roar.

The combined roar of more than a dozen bears was a thunderous spectacle, startling countless birds into flight.