While we were waiting for rescue, a small cub wandered into our camp.
Everyone instinctively recoiled from the bear.
Only my girlfriend Brittany’s friend, Derek, stepped forward, scooped up the cub, and glared at us with open disdain:
“You uninformed fools. Bears are our friends. What are you so scared for?”
My girlfriend, Brittany, echoed, “Derek’s got guts. Bears on TV even protect the forest with people!”
Seeing Brittany, the CEO’s heiress, speak up, the others eagerly chimed in, sucking up to her.
I immediately tried to stop their reckless behavior, even pulling up bloody videos of grizzly bear attacks on humans to try and shake some sense into them.
Only because of my insistence did they finally release the cub.
After we were rescued, everyone joked about Derek, saying he acted like he knew it all when he clearly didn’t.
To prove them wrong, Derek went back to hug a grizzly. He was mauled to death.
Brittany was heartbroken. She kicked me out of the car.
“It’s all your fault for running your mouth! Otherwise, Derek wouldn’t have died. I want you to die with him!”
Ultimately, the grizzly bear caught up to me and tore me to shreds.
Then I opened my eyes again. I was back to the day Derek wanted to befriend the grizzly.
…
“Are you kidding me? You’re calling this adorable little cub vicious?”
“You’re not only ignorant, you’re utterly heartless. Anyone with an ounce of human decency wouldn’t use such a word to describe this cute animal.”
Derek’s cold mockery rang in my ears, and I jolted awake.
I pinched my thigh, the sharp pain confirming that I had indeed been reborn.
“Julian, if you don’t know, don’t pretend you do. Is Derek ever wrong?”
“And spouting nonsense about a mother bear attacking if we took the cub!”
“We’re taking care of its baby, it should be grateful! Why would it attack us?”
“Don’t you watch TV? Bears on TV protect the forests with humans. Bears are our friends, don’t you get it?”
Brittany’s eyes were blazing with anger, as if disagreeing with Derek was a death sentence.
The others, seeing the CEO’s daughter speak, immediately piled on, glowering at me with hostile eyes.
I merely smiled.
“I was truly shallow just now. You’re right, bears are our friends. They would never harm us.”
“This cub wandering into our camp means we’re connected by fate.”
“Let’s raise it well. Who knows, its mom might even come to thank us!”
Hearing me say that, Brittany’s expression softened considerably.
“Good that you realize your ignorance. Otherwise, I’d really want to smack you!”
I couldn’t be bothered arguing with these idiots. My mind raced, figuring out how to ditch them and escape on my own.
Our trip to this remote mountain region involved two cars and six people.
Originally, Brittany and I were in one car, and Derek was in the other with three others.
But then Brittany insisted on catching up with Derek and moved to his car.
Because of the weight difference, my car was stuck less deeply.
If I just cleared some sand, I could drive out.
In my previous life, I told them that if there was a cub around, the mother bear had to be nearby, and we couldn’t just wait here to die.
I asked them to help me clear the sand, but they were reluctant.
They said rescue would arrive soon, and there was no need to work themselves to the bone.
Knowing how critical the situation was, I didn’t argue. I cleared the sand pit by myself.
They stood by, not only refusing to help but also eating all my emergency rations.
The moment I got my car out, the mother bear showed up.
Leaving me to escape while hungry and thirsty.
This time, I couldn’t care less about these pathetic fools. Let them go befriend the grizzly bears.
2.
All I had to do was quietly clear the path for my car while these morons weren’t looking, then drive to the nearest rescue station. That would be my escape.
Since this place was so remote, it would take two days to reach the rescue station.
To be safe, I activated the specialized GPS tracker my dad had given me and sent him a distress signal.
That way, I’d have an extra layer of protection, even if something unexpected happened on the way, I’d have backup.
Watching them happily playing with the cub, I prepared to get in my car, grab my tools, and quietly clear the sand from under my wheels.
Just as I reached for my tools, Derek came over, cradling the cub.
He slapped my trunk, yelling, “The cub’s hungry! Open the trunk and get something out to feed it!”
The moment I heard that animal wanted my emergency food, I became instantly wary.
I only had three bottles of water and four packs of crackers in my car, barely enough to get me to the rescue station.
If that animal took them to feed the cub, my whole plan would be ruined.
I put down my shovel, walked over to Derek, and gave him a glacial stare.
“I don’t even have enough food for myself. Where would I get food to feed a bear?”
Hearing that, Derek’s face twisted in contempt.
“You’re seriously heartless! I clearly saw you had a big bag of crackers. How is that not enough for you?”
“Are you really going to let this adorable little guy starve?”
I smirked.
“If you’re so caring, why don’t you feed the cub your own food? Why do you have to take mine?”
“If I remember correctly, your car is stocked with enough food and water for five people. Much more than mine.”
Just then, Brittany walked over.
She held out her hand to me, looking impatient.
“Give me your car keys.”
I knew she was going to back Derek up again.
Though fury raged inside me, I had to suppress it.
After all, she was the company’s nominal successor and the financier of this whole trip.
If I started a fight, these people would definitely side with her.
“Brittany, it’s not that I don’t want to. I truly don’t have much left. I barely have enough for myself…”
“I think you’re just selfish and inhumane! The rescue vehicle will be here any minute. Are you really going to be short a few crackers then?”
Derek sharply cut me off before I could finish.
The others chimed in, echoing him.
“This small incident just shows how incredibly selfish Julian is. He’s arguing over a few crackers like this; imagine if there were real conflicts of interest, he’d probably kill us!”
“He’s not just selfish, he’s inhumane. The cub is starving, and he won’t even give it a few crackers.”
“Besides, are these crackers even his? He’s a leech who lives off women. Every penny he has comes from Brittany’s family!”
“If it weren’t for Brittany’s family paying his salary, how would he afford a car, or even crackers? And now that Brittany’s asking for the keys, he’s dragging his feet. What a pathetic jerk!”
Me, a leech who lives off women? Every penny I have comes from Brittany?
If my dad hadn’t been secretly funding the Hao family, they would have gone bankrupt centuries ago.
How else would they have money to pay for these freeloaders to go on vacation?
To protect Brittany’s pathetic pride, I lowered myself to work as a junior employee in her company.
And they thought I was dependent on her?
Fine. Once I get out of here, I’ll show them how miserable they’ll be without this ‘useless’ me.
Seeing I had no intention of handing over the keys, Brittany gave them a look.
“Since he won’t listen, just take them.”
At Brittany’s words, Derek and his three useless friends became even bolder. They lunged at me, trying to grab me.
I quickly dodged, warning them with a stern face.
“This is robbery! It’s illegal! Aren’t you afraid I’ll report you?”
Derek scoffed, pointing at the surrounding wilderness with a chilling smirk.
“Report me? Take a look at where we are!”
“Out here in the middle of nowhere, forget robbing you. I could kill you, and no one would ever know.”
Hearing him, his three useless friends became even more reckless, rushing forward and pinning both my arms.
3.
Derek sneered as he patted me down and snatched my car keys, muttering curses under his breath.
“Such a pathetic jerk, always needing a firm hand.”
He opened the trunk, grabbed a bottle of water, twisted it open, and poured it right into the cub’s mouth.
Gulp, gulp, gulp…
The cub greedily lapped at the water Derek was pouring, but most of it just spilled onto the ground.
Seeing my survival supplies being wasted like this, I felt a surge of panic.
I struggled to break free and stop that bastard Derek, but his three disgusting friends held my arms in a death grip.
After one bottle, he grabbed another, ready to continue.
The fury building inside me made me want to tear that animal Derek limb from limb.
But my strong will to survive forced me to humble myself and plead.
“Derek, that’s my food and water for the next few days. Please, stop feeding it, okay?”
“I have no quarrel with you. Why are you making this difficult for me?”
Derek stopped, his face twisted into a dark scowl.
“No quarrel? If you hadn’t seduced Brittany while I was abroad, she and I would be married by now.”
“I was generous enough not to confront you. Now you’re arguing with me over two bottles of water? You’re truly ungrateful!”
Me, seducing Brittany while he was abroad?
It was him who fled the country and dumped Brittany when her family faced bankruptcy and debt, terrified of being entangled.
Now that the Hao family was rich again, he wanted to come back and spend their money, and he was slandering me, claiming I seduced Brittany?
Hearing his words, Brittany not only didn’t defend me but even looked smug.
As if being fought over by two men was the ultimate validation of her boundless charm.
As he spoke, he tore open another pack of crackers and started feeding them to the cub.
Watching my escape provisions being wasted by that animal, my anger shot up, and I didn’t care about anything else.
Using the two cronies’ support, I flew my leg up and kicked Derek hard in the waist.
“Don’t you dare touch my supplies again, or I swear I’ll fight you to the death!”
Derek’s face contorted into a vicious snarl, and he raised his fist, ready to punch me in the face.
*Howl!*
Just then, the howl of a fierce beast echoed from nearby.
Derek, who had been looking so ferocious and was about to punch me, stopped dead in his tracks at the sound.
Everyone’s gaze snapped towards the source of the noise.
A massive, dark-furred creature suddenly appeared on a nearby slope.
It bounded towards us.
Seeing the grizzly bear charging, Derek shouted excitedly at his two idiotic friends.
“Look, everyone! That’s a grizzly bear! Our country’s wild treasure!”
At Derek’s shout, the three of them grew excited and unconsciously loosened their grip on me.
I already knew how dangerous grizzlies were and immediately ducked into the car.
Derek waved at his three foolish friends.
“Come closer, I’ll take a picture of you with our national treasure.”
The three of them actually walked towards the grizzly. One of them even turned back and shouted at us.
“Get a clear shot…”
*Splatter!*
He didn’t finish his sentence before the grizzly pounced on him, sinking its teeth viciously into his face.
His entire face was ripped off in one bite, leaving a gaping, bloody cavity.
Seeing this, everyone finally understood the grizzly’s power and scrambled back into the car in terror.
Inside the car, we could still clearly hear the man who had been pounced on by the grizzly wailing on the ground.
“Help me… it hurts so much…”
“It’s eating me! Save me…”
After pinning the man down, the bear didn’t continue attacking his head but shifted its target to his stomach.
In a few swift movements, it shredded the man’s clothes and buried its head, tearing and biting at his stomach.
The man let out a final shriek, then fell silent, likely having passed out from the pain.
The grizzly didn’t care, it ripped open his stomach and began gnawing.
As we held our breath, watching the grizzly outside the car window, suddenly a “howl” erupted inside the car.
Only then did I realize that reckless idiot Derek had actually brought the cub into the car.
Wasn’t this just asking for death?!
4.
The mother bear, still tearing at its meal, heard the cub’s cry, immediately abandoned its food, and turned to walk towards our car.
I knew this was bad and quickly urged Derek.
“Let the cub go! Otherwise, the mother bear won’t spare us!”
Derek’s face twisted in fury.
“Shut your damn mouth, what the hell do you know?”
“Do you know how much this cub is worth? I finally caught it; how could I just let it go?”
So that animal’s motive for catching the cub wasn’t pure from the start. And he had been spouting so much moralistic nonsense!
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Seeing her cub inside the car, the mother bear began a frenzied attack on the vehicle.
Her massive paw slammed onto the car, instantly leaving a huge dent in the body.
Luckily, she didn’t hit the glass, or the consequences would have been unthinkable.
*Growl, growl, growl…*
After the first round of attacks failed, the mother bear growled at the cub inside the car.
Her bear eyes fixated on us inside the car.
The cub, seeing its mother, yelped in response.
Hearing the cub’s cries, the mother bear jumped in agitation, raising her huge paw and smashing it onto the car again.
*CRUNCH!*
With a resounding *CRUNCH*, a huge crack appeared in the car roof.
After this barrage of attacks, Brittany and the others frantically shouted at Derek.
“Let the cub go! Otherwise, we’ll all die here!”
Derek looked at the cub in his arms, hesitated for a moment, then finally chose to open the car door and let the cub out.
The cub ran out, yelping as it pounced on its mother.
The mother bear, seeing her cub, affectionately licked its fur, all the ferocity in her eyes melting into maternal tenderness.
Just when we thought we could finally breathe a sigh of relief, the mother bear slammed another paw hard onto the car roof.
*CLANG!* A huge crack appeared in the car roof.
It seemed this mother bear wasn’t going to let us off so easily.
Looking at the crack on the car roof, a wave of worry washed over me.
If it hit us again, this roof would definitely be totaled.
“Someone needs to go out and draw the bear away. Otherwise, we’ll all die here.”
Derek said this, his eyes fixed on me with a dark glare.
Before I could react, Derek had pulled out a cold knife and pressed it to my throat.
“Get out there, now! Draw the bear away, or I’ll kill you right here!”
Brittany also chimed in, persuading me, “Julian, you said you’d die for me. Now’s your chance to prove it. Go!”
As she spoke, Derek pressed the knife harder against my neck.
I felt a cold sensation on my neck, and a trickle of blood ran down my body.
“Get out there, now! Or the next cut will be straight through your throat!”
I had no choice but to follow his orders and get out of the car.
The moment I stepped out, the mother bear lunged straight for me.
I dodged with a quick move, and behind me, I heard the violent crash of the mother bear colliding with the vehicle.
I didn’t hesitate, bolting straight for the other car, hoping to take refuge inside.
Just as I reached for the handle, preparing to open the door, the headlights flashed, and the door locked.
Derek’s shout came from behind me, “The car’s locked! Run, hurry! Draw the bear away for me!”
I cursed his entire family to hell in my mind, but for now, I couldn’t act on it.
My priority now was to escape with my life.
I scanned my surroundings. There was no suitable cover anywhere. Trying to run in this situation would basically be a death sentence.
So I decided to circle between the two cars and try to outmaneuver the mother bear.
After all, it was clumsy due to its size; maybe there was still a sliver of hope.
Before I could even steady myself, the mother bear charged at me.
Seeing the mother bear lunging for me, Derek and the others, safe inside the car, actually cheered loudly.
I used my agility to circle the car, evading the mother bear for several rounds.
I actually managed to dodge the mother bear’s attacks several times.
Repeatedly outsmarted, the mother bear pounded its chest in frustration.
Suddenly, it bent down, lifted the car, and flipped it directly towards me. Too slow to dodge, I was pinned by the car, my leg trapped.
Watching the mother bear about to deliver a fatal blow, Derek and the others not only didn’t help but actually cheered loudly from inside the car.
Just as I thought I was about to meet my end.
The roaring of helicopter blades suddenly echoed overhead, and the entire ground shook from the fierce winds stirred up by the rotors.
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