Reborn in 80: Starting with hunting in the mountains to get rich

Chapter 374 A Bear Knocks on the Door in the Dead of Night

Li Ju'an's heart skipped a beat, and he decided not to go any further. To rescue the people, he had to ensure his own safety first. Even an experienced hunter wouldn't fight a wild bear that wasn't roaming freely alone.

He continued searching for Chen Xiangqian. The fighting at the hydroelectric power station had ended, and Chen Xiangqian's whereabouts were unknown. If Chen Xiangqian was also lured towards the hydroelectric power station, it would be disastrous.

He thought of the shot Chen Xiangqian had fired earlier, the loud bang of the cannon, and the direction seemed to be not far from the dam. He became more and more anxious, and hurriedly turned on his flashlight, wanting to find Chen Xiangqian by following the hound's tracks first.

The hunters came out in pairs; there was no reason for one to stay in the mountains while the other went back. He led the horse and the ibex and strode onward.

At this time, Chen Xiangqian was cold, hungry, and very sleepy in the dugout. He was so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyelids open. He huddled against the dugout door, shivering on the ground. His headlamp had run out of power, and he could not see any direction in the dark. He could only use his Seagull camera and the flash to look at the objects inside the house.

Click! The Seagull camera shutter clicked, flashing, and a dazzling light appeared in the darkness, allowing him to finally see the furnishings inside the room.

The dugout was dilapidated and ravaged. There was no warm kang (heated brick bed), not even a simple wooden table or bench to be found. Scattered pieces of old wood, their surfaces etched with the sharp teeth marks of wild beasts, seemed to tell a terrifying story of how this place had been completely ransacked by some unknown monster.

Fear froze in his heart like ice, rendering him immobile. He couldn't help but curse aloud, "Damn it, they won't even leave me a tattered quilt! They're trying to kill me!"

He still clung to a sliver of hope, looking around in delusion that he might find a barely usable old quilt among the ruins, but it was all in vain. The dugout was as empty as a deserted wasteland, devoid of any life.

Just when despair was about to be felt, a heavy breathing sound suddenly came from outside, like the low growl of an ancient beast, making one's heart tremble.

Chen Xiangqian's heart skipped a beat, followed by a surge of inexplicable joy. He almost thought it was a signal that Li Ju'an was coming to his rescue.

He was about to get up and call out, but his voice choked with emotion.

He was about to shout, "Li Pao!" when he suddenly realized that Li Ju'an couldn't possibly be breathing so heavily.

Li Ju'an usually walks briskly, and hunters, who brave wind and rain on the mountaintops, shouldn't be panting like bellows even after a long sprint. Could he be the owner of this dugout? Or a forester, or another hunter?

Chen Xiangqian thought to himself, "If anyone shows up, that would be a blessing." He hurriedly and cautiously peered out of the cellar window, trying to see in the direction of the door.

He was cunning and meticulous in his actions. If the visitor were the Tiger King or some other ferocious beast, he could see them clearly through this window. He secretly planned that once the beasts appeared, he would let them taste the roar of cannons and experience the power of modern firearms.

He slowly peeked out, cautiously peering through the window frame. Suddenly, a huge black shadow loomed over him like a dark cloud, rapidly approaching from a distance, as if Mount Tai were collapsing, aimed directly at his exposed forehead, so close it was almost within reach.

This was quite a shock.

Chen Xiangqian's heart tightened suddenly, and he was so frightened that he rolled on the spot, quickly pulling his head back from the window and rolling to the corner of the wall, where he curled up into a ball. Large beads of sweat fell from his forehead like raindrops, and the hairs on his back stood on end.

"Holy crap! Holy crap!"

Chen Xiangqian's chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath, the muzzle of his musket pointed at the window. He was ready to fire at the slightest movement from the shadowy figure, letting that big guy experience the power of a gun.

The surroundings were quiet, with only his heavy breathing as the only sound.

Even the heavy breathing he had heard earlier had disappeared. It was deathly silent outside the dugout; the sounds of insects, birds, and small animals had all vanished.

He was timid, but also cunning. He patiently lay on the ground for half an hour until he felt safe. Then he slowly pressed his body against the ground and crawled forward until he reached the window, curiously wanting to take another look.

What was that thing just now?

Grandpa was so scared he almost peed his pants. Luckily, Li Ju'an wasn't there, or he would have been mortified and become the laughingstock of the surrounding villages for years.

He cursed under his breath as he cautiously looked up.

Upon seeing this, he suddenly shrank back.

Holy crap! That huge dark figure was actually leaning out of the window and staring at him?

Now that things had come to this, even Chen Xiangqian, who was easily frightened, understood. This dark shadow wasn't alive at all; it was something that couldn't move. Otherwise, how could it have maintained that posture for half an hour?

Chen Xiangqian took a deep breath, mustered the courage he had never had before, even when arguing with his father, and with trembling hands, raised his Seagull brand camera, aimed it at the large dark figure, and pressed the shutter.

Click! The flash of the camera pierced the darkness, making a very loud noise.

Under the dazzling white flash of the light, he was finally able to see what the large black shadow was.

It turned out to be a tattered rag hanging from a branch of a large jujube tree. The wind blew the rag open, casting a tall, dark shadow. In the darkness, it looked like a massive mountain pressing down on you.

Chen Xiangqian was both angry and amused. He let out a long sigh and cursed himself for being so useless.

"What is this thing? It's just a tattered coat, and it scared us like we were country bumpkins."

He leaned against the windowsill, feeling a sense of relaxation and exhilaration.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door of the dugout.

Boom, boom, boom.

The knocking wasn't fast, nor was it very regular. The series of knocks made Chen Xiangqian instinctively call out, "Who is it?"

He was thinking to himself that someone had finally arrived. Feeling so relieved, he stood up and ran over happily, cursing, "Li Ju'an, why the hell did you take so long to come? This wretched place almost scared me to death!"

He walked to the door, and just as his hand touched the wooden door of the cellar, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

It can't be Li Ju'an. If it were Li Ju'an, wouldn't there be a lot of dogs around him? Even if the hunting dogs don't bark, they'd still be squabbling and panting, but the silence outside the door doesn't sound like someone is knocking. It's like the knocking came out of nowhere.

Chen Xiangqian's hand was already on the doorknob, almost ready to open the door. A thought suddenly struck him, and he strode over to the window he had just been looking at, peering towards the other side of the front door.

That one look almost scared him out of his wits.

"Fuck!"

A bear stood up straight on its two legs, pretending to be a person knocking on the door of a dugout.

In the dead of night, a bear knocked on the door.