Chapter Thirty-Five: Snatching Food from a Bear's Mouth

As noon approached, the sun blazed ever more fiercely. The ground temperature soared, and Lu Chen felt warmth suffuse his entire body, revitalizing him once more. With nothing else to occupy him, he considered, Why not go fetch some honey right now? That wild beehive was the size of a washbasin, likely housing several thousand bees. If the hive were destroyed, the swarm would surely launch an all-out assault.

But Lu Chen was unafraid. His suit of scales served as the best shield; even the stingers of hornets couldn’t pierce it, let alone the tiny barbs of honeybees. He only needed to protect his eyes while harvesting the honey. The real challenge was that the hive hung six or seven meters above the ground, perched on a slender branch. Climbing up would not be easy.

Half an hour later, Lu Chen swam to the woods near the wild beehive. As he hauled himself ashore and crawled forward some distance, he suddenly lifted his head and drew in a deep sniff. Though not as keen as in water, his sense of smell on land was still formidable. Now, he caught a faint, unfamiliar scent in the air—a tang of blood and agitation. He’d never encountered such a scent here before; it must belong to a carnivorous animal.

Lu Chen grew cautious, his senses alert to every detail of his surroundings. At the slightest sign of danger, he was ready to bolt. Thanks to the system’s ongoing enhancement of his abilities, Lu Chen’s land speed now exceeded eight meters per second—a figure that, while not quite on par with national-level sprinters, was already above average for a human. In other words, should he ever encounter a person in the wild at a reasonable distance, there was a good chance he could kill them.

Of course, Lu Chen had no violent intentions. He certainly didn’t plan to kill for sport; such actions would only bring swift retribution. Human society never tolerates animals that turn man-killer. Besides, he was still a juvenile—caution was his best policy.

There was another point: that burst speed of eight meters per second couldn’t be maintained for long. Lu Chen had tested it; at best, he could hold out for about thirty seconds. Beyond that, his body would feel like a pressure cooker, boiling with unspent heat, as if his very frame might explode from within. Recovery took at least an hour or two.

When hunting small land animals from the water, Lu Chen aimed to finish in under twenty seconds. Any longer, and he would abandon the chase. In a true life-or-death emergency, though, he would push himself without hesitation.

The wild beehive was only four to five hundred meters from the riverbank in a straight line. Theoretically, even if danger arose, escape was possible. After a moment’s thought, Lu Chen decided to follow the scent. It wasn’t just about the honey; he needed to know what new predator had entered his territory, so he could be prepared.

The smell grew stronger and stronger as he drew near the wild beehive.

Ahead, bees swarmed around a tall tree, the air buzzing with their wings. Amidst the clamor, there was another sound—the scrabbling of something climbing. Crawling another twenty or thirty meters forward, Lu Chen finally saw the unfamiliar creature.

It was a large bear! Not the Kodiak brown bear, king of its kind, but an adult Asiatic black bear, likely weighing over two hundred pounds. The beast clung tightly to the trunk, climbing slowly, its bulky frame almost comical in its clumsiness. Bears love honey, and this one clearly had its eye on the hive overhead.

Seeing its prize being claimed by another, Lu Chen hesitated. If he were a fully grown saltwater crocodile, he’d have nothing to fear from a black bear. Even the strongest male black bears barely topped two hundred kilos—a mere nothing beside a two-ton crocodile, who could tear such a creature apart with one deadly roll. Even American alligators have been known to hunt black bears, as reported in the news.

But to Lu Chen, in his current state, this bear was still a giant. At close quarters, he had little option but to flee. Yet faced with the scene before him, he did not leave at once. The bear’s attention was wholly fixed on the hive above; for now, Lu Chen was safe. Maybe he could even snatch a morsel right under the bear’s nose. After killing that Burmese python a few days ago, Lu Chen’s confidence had grown.

Resolved, he crept close to the tree, hiding himself in the thick grass, watching intently. His dark brown scales blended perfectly with the soil, camouflaging him completely.

As the black bear neared the hive, the bees became ever more agitated, buzzing around in attack. The bear yelped as it was stung but refused to give up the treat within reach. It kept swinging its massive paws to drive off the maddening insects, then clambered another half-meter forward and struck at the branch supporting the hive.

A full-grown brown bear’s swipe is said to deliver more than sixteen hundred kilos of force, easily enough to shatter a bison’s spine. While the black bear wasn’t quite so fearsome, its claws could still exert half a ton of pressure. With a single blow, it snapped the branch as thick as a teacup, sending the huge hive crashing to the ground.

Lu Chen wasted no time, hurrying over and gulping down a chunk of golden honeycomb. The wax didn’t concern him—if his stomach couldn’t digest it, he’d simply regurgitate it later.

Delicious! So sweet! Scientists have shown that human craving for sweets is astonishingly strong; eating them triggers feelings of satisfaction and pleasure. From a biological perspective, sweetness brings comfort and joy.

For many people, even seeing pictures of desserts can make their brains light up. Lu Chen didn’t know if it was the crocodile’s sweet tooth awakening or if his human consciousness still held sway. Whatever the reason, after nearly four months without tasting real sweetness, he felt an indescribable happiness, as though he were floating on air.

What surprised him more was that eating honey actually granted him 0.6 energy points. On reflection, it made sense—honey is rich in nutrients and a valuable supplement.

Meanwhile, up in the tree, the black bear gazed longingly at the ground, a strand of drool hanging from its jaws, its eyes burning with desire and anticipation. All it needed to do was climb down, and the honey would be its reward.

Instead, it saw a long, four-legged reptile, black as night, stealing its prize.

The black bear roared in fury.

Come on, it’s just a little honey! Lu Chen flinched at the sound. He glanced up—the bear was still over seven meters above, so he could keep eating for a moment longer.

Lost in the joy of sweetness, Lu Chen forgot all about danger.

The bear roared again, and with a crash, began sliding rapidly down the trunk, its thick paws more than equal to the bark’s roughness.

Damn! Lu Chen looked up and saw the bear was now just three meters from the ground. He dared not linger—swallowing the last mouthful of honey, he darted away as fast as his four limbs would carry him.

The bear gave chase, howling with rage behind him. That damned little reptile had stolen the honey it had worked so hard to obtain. It would not rest until it tore the thief to pieces and swallowed it whole, to avenge the theft.