Chapter 116

The half-upright bear stood over ten meters tall, extending two thick forelimbs as its massive paws swiped toward the supply vehicle.

Li Daoran, however, remained calm at this moment. He drew his energy pistol, ready to leap from the vehicle to engage in combat. He had no confidence in a close-quarters brawl with such a beast; given the creature's immense power, a full-force strike would certainly carry the impact of over a dozen tons. Although his exoskeleton armor could withstand the blow, it was unnecessary; with the energy pistol in hand, the beast could not stir up much trouble.

Yuan Muye, seeing Li Daoran draw his weapon, quickly interjected, "Don't kill it! Don't kill it! It’s fine, it doesn't eat people."

"It doesn't eat people? Our vehicle wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between its teeth. You mean to tell me this bear is a vegetarian?" Li Daoran retorted.

"Yes, it is a vegetarian; otherwise, how could it grow to such a size? You really need to study more if you don't even recognize a Great Bear. As a unique species of the Milan Star, it is famous throughout the White Deer Republic. Rest assured, if it were truly dangerous, I wouldn't have brought you here. You really cannot kill it; if you do, you won't be able to move an inch on Water Blue Star," Yuan Muye explained.

"So, it’s a national treasure? A 'life-sentence-in-prison' kind of animal?" Li Daoran understood. This Great Bear was much like a giant panda—one looked terrifying but was harmless, while the other looked adorable but possessed explosive combat power. Yet, their status was the same. If one were to kill a giant panda in the Rabbit Kingdom, a life sentence would be the least of their worries; they would likely face a boycott from the entire nation, which would be far more troublesome.

"Don't speak," Yuan Muye said, having no time to answer further. Despite their diet, the sheer mass of the creatures made their threat level constant.

It must be said that while the Great Bear looked fierce and majestic, its vision and coordination were rather poor. It swiped its paw at where the vehicle had been, but the car had already sped behind it. Missing its mark, the Great Bear landed heavily, creating two deep craters in the ground. It exhaled a heavy, ragged breath, opened its mouth, and then collapsed onto the ground, lying still.

After landing the vehicle safely, Yuan Muye drove it without hesitation into a narrow opening next to the Great Bear's cave. It was "small" only in comparison to the main tunnel used by the bears; it was still large enough, though a bear certainly couldn't fit its head inside.

As the vehicle came to a steady stop, Li Daoran opened the door and found the cave fully equipped with pots, pans, and bowls, along with some dried mushrooms and several simple beds made of branches and leaves.

"What is this?" Li Daoran asked.

"When I first came to Milan Star, I was naturally very curious and interested in the Great Bears. I had to study them, so I lived here at the time. It’s been over a decade since then; it hasn't changed much. It seems many others have visited since," Yuan Muye said, lost in reminiscence.

Looking around, Li Daoran noticed the cave was quite deep, extending far beyond the outer chamber. He began to walk along the crevices, wanting to explore further.

Yuan Muye didn't object. He had long since mapped the cave. The small paths were designed to lead to the depths of the Great Bear's den, with many side tunnels allowing for close observation of their habits. In short, the cave was built for the bears and contained nothing else of note.

Only then did Yuan Muye remember the students in the cargo hold. He hurried to open the door, only to find them bruised and battered, the contents of the hold a chaotic mess as they lay in a heap like a pile of acrobats.

Seeing the door open, they looked up to see Yuan Muye. Their eyes were filled with misery, yet they dared not speak. The trauma they had suffered during the car's sudden braking, airborne flight, and heavy landing was beyond words.

Initially, they had been loudly praising their teacher for his steady and swift driving, but they hadn't expected such an ordeal. Of course, they had already cursed him enough in their minds; but now that Yuan Muye stood before them, they simultaneously forgot all their previous complaints, including their own.

Ke Jin crawled up from the floor, clutching the door frame with a pale face. "Teacher..."

Before he could finish, he jumped out of the vehicle and began to retch in a corner. This opened a Pandora's box; one after another, the students scrambled out to vomit. The most miserable ones were those running while retching, as they could no longer bear to stay inside the vehicle.

Yuan Muye stood frozen in place. Was it really that exaggerated? He wanted to ask why he, the oldest person there, was perfectly fine, while the young people were overreacting. He failed to understand that the experience of the driver and the passengers was entirely different.

The sour, pungent stench quickly filled the cave. Then, they vomited again and again until they were dry-heaving bile. It is a rare sight: even if one could hold back, seeing others vomit makes it impossible to resist. Vomiting is contagious. And if you are already vomiting and see someone else doing it, you only do so more violently. It was a vicious cycle from which no one could escape. In the end, even Yuan Muye, who had been fine, was stimulated by the stench and began to vomit as well. He wasn't motion-sick; he was simply overwhelmed by the smell.

Li Daoran, unaware that he was standing at the threshold of a vomit-filled hell, had been walking deep into a side tunnel. Slowly, his brow furrowed. His exoskeleton's night-vision scanner seemed to be malfunctioning; his display showed countless red streams, like a flood, flowing past him toward the exit. Yet, he saw nothing with his naked eye and felt nothing when he reached out to grasp the air. He was convinced, however, that something invisible was surging toward the exit.

"It's bacteria," David's voice came through. "I don't know what happened at the exit, but this cave is teeming with countless bacteria, and they are surging toward that side frantically. You might be in trouble. Do not remove your exoskeleton. Go to the exit and see what's happening."

"Bacteria?" Li Daoran asked, his expression shifting.

"Yes, it must be. There are too many of them. I don't know how such a massive concentration of the same strain could exist here, but regardless of whether they were originally beneficial or harmless, at this density, they are dangerous. Let us hope the exoskeleton's filters can handle it." David’s voice was filled with doubt and worry; these unforeseen accidents were exactly what they feared most.

Li Daoran suddenly felt his whole body itching. He didn't know if it was psychological or not, but he ran quickly toward the exit, needing to know what was happening.

What met his eyes was pile after pile of vomit. Everyone looked deathly pale. Li Daoran's expression changed several times.

There was no need for words. The white vomit and yellow bile on the ground were turning red at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"Elder Yuan!" Li Daoran shouted.