The gunfire was deafening. As the dark figure spun mid-air, it was hit by a bullet. Its massive frame froze for an instant, its momentum weakening significantly—but it still slammed a paw into Wildcat.
Wildcat flew like a stone launched from a catapult, soaring five or six meters, his dagger flying from his hand. Mid-air, he drew his pistol from his waist and fired wildly at the dark figure, emptying the entire magazine in one breath.
He fired the pistol like a submachine gun, yet the bullets sank into the dark figure like mud into the ocean, leaving no effect at all—only enraging it further.
Bang!
Another deafening shot. A spray of blood burst from the dark figure's forehead. Furious, it changed direction and charged straight at Li Juxu.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three shots in quick succession. The bear's speed slowed slightly, but it kept rushing forward, smashing through every tree and bush in its path, its strength comparable to a tank. When it closed to thirty meters, Li Juxu finally saw it clearly: it was no leopard, no tiger—it was a bear.
He had no time to wonder why a bear could run so fast. The overwhelming, destructive aura of the charging black bear sent his adrenaline soaring. His heart thundered, and goosebumps erupted all over his body. Between continuing to fire and fleeing, he chose to keep shooting.
After judging their relative speeds, he knew that if he ran, the bear would catch him within three meters of turning. Even ditching his Burster-002B sniper rifle would only buy him one more meter. He might as well fight to the death.
The bear was huge; aiming for its body meant a 100% hit. But its hide was thick and tough, and such wounds would not cripple it. They solved nothing. Li Juxu took the risk and aimed for its head.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Three more shots. One struck its face, one its nose, and one missed. The bear's face was instantly mangled, bone visible through the flesh—yet none of the wounds were fatal.
Only five meters left. Just one shot remained. Li Juxu's heart seemed to stop. For a split second, the world went silent. He thought of nothing, his eyes locked only on the bear's enraged eyes.
As the bear's massive paw lifted high, the gun fired.
Bang!
The bear's entire body jolted. A wisp of blood mist sprayed from the back of its skull. It let out a roar that shook the mountains and lunged forward.
Li Juxu, unable to dodge, was crushed beneath it, a pained groan escaping his lips.
The black bear weighed over eight hundred pounds, compounded by the momentum of its charge. Luckily, the sniper rounds had absorbed much of that force. Otherwise, the impact would have snapped his bones instantly.
With great effort, Li Juxu crawled out from under the bear's corpse. Black Hornet staggered to his feet, but Wildcat did not rise.
"Careless," Black Hornet muttered, tossing aside his badly dented shield. He touched his chest. Thankfully, they'd come prepared—he was wearing a bulletproof vest. Otherwise, that slam from the bear would have finished him. Even with double protection, the impact had left him dazed, struggling to recover.
"Don't move. Your ribs are broken," Li Juxu said, moving to help Wildcat up.
"How many?" Black Hornet stumbled over.
"No idea. At least five," Wildcat gritted out through the pain.
"Dammit. Running into a black bear—just our luck," Black Hornet cursed. Wildcat had also been wearing body armor; otherwise, a hit like that would have killed him outright.
"Careless," Wildcat smiled bitterly. He'd assumed it was a leopard or similar predator. Who could have guessed it was a bear? Bears could climb trees, true—but usually only when chasing prey, not like this.
At the thought of prey, his face abruptly changed. He flicked his wrist, and a flash of white light shot out.
Sizzle—
A dark shape had burst from the treetops, nearly touching Li Juxu's head, when the throwing dagger struck it solidly. A sharp, piercing shriek erupted. For a split second, it froze—then Black Hornet punched it, sending it flying several meters.
Li Juxu drew his dagger and hurled it.
Clang!
The dagger embedded itself in the trunk, missing. The shadow twisted mid-air and vanished back into the canopy.
Li Juxu drew his pistol, flipped off the safety, and stared warily at the treetops. Black Hornet drew a scimitar, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings.
After a long silence, there was no more movement—but two of Pu Shaoyun's lieutenants arrived.
"What happened?" They stared in shock at the bear's corpse, then gave Black Hornet, Li Juxu, and Wildcat a thumbs-up. Three men taking down a full-grown black bear was no small feat.
The effort of throwing the dagger with broken ribs had left Wildcat sweating profusely in agony. He could no longer continue the mission and had to return with the two lieutenants, who also hauled away the bear's body.
Li Juxu and Black Hornet pressed on.
"Even though a suppressor adds weight and doesn't completely muffle the sound, I still recommend you use one," Black Hornet said.
"I'll keep that in mind next time." Li Juxu had already noticed the issue. On open missions, gunfire volume didn't matter much—but on a stealth-focused operation like this, staying low-key was critical.
Deeper in, the light dimmed further. The trees grew dense, barely any sunlight piercing through. Mosquitoes swarmed in droves; damp, shaded places truly bred pests.
Li Juxu finally saw a live gray-spotted crown spider. Pu Shaoyun had said they were goose-egg sized—total lie. With its eight legs spread, it was bigger than his palm, clinging to a tree hollow like a piece of bark, nearly invisible unless you looked closely.
"Don't touch it. There are too many; you can't kill them all," Black Hornet warned when he saw Li Juxu move to strike.
Li Juxu soon understood why. Dozens of gray-spotted crown spiders covered the trunk—some resting, some crawling slowly. Those were the ones he could see; higher up, hidden by shadow, there were surely more.
"Wasn't this mission rushed?" Li Juxu suddenly realized. Regardless of the forest's size, just one tree held that many spiders. A canopy fifty to sixty meters high—even a monkey hiding up there could go unseen, let alone a palm-sized spider. Hunting for the red-spotted crown spider was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
"Only the slow way works," Black Hornet said; he'd seen the same problem on his last trip.
"Even a hundred or a thousand men couldn't do this," Li Juxu replied. Carefully searching one tree could take half a day. With countless trees, how long would it take? The red-spotted crown spider was alive, mobile—it wouldn't sit and wait to be found. If it moved back into an area already searched, they'd never find it in a lifetime.