Lu Yu could sense the scent of danger.
Zhang Tao and his companions also started to feel uneasy, inexplicably tense.
“Mr. Lu, did you notice something wrong?” Zhang Tao asked anxiously.
Though they lacked Lu Yu’s acute perception, they too vaguely sensed something.
“Have you seen that bear? How much do you know about it?” Lu Yu asked Zhang Tao.
If it was indeed on par with the Demon Ape, then hundreds of Star Spirit Pearls wouldn’t be enough to deal with it.
Zhang Tao thought for a moment and replied, “That bear seems normal. Its build isn’t much different from regular bears. It stays alone over there and rarely moves. Even when it does move, it’s only when wolf demons bring food to it.”
Zhang Tao pointed northward and said, “See that small hill over there? It stays there most of the time and rarely appears elsewhere.”
About two kilometers away from where they stood was a small hill surrounded by thick grass.
Near the hill stood dozens of small trees.
Between them and the hill, however, stretched an unharvested field, now overgrown with crops and weeds, some of which had grown taller than a man.
Zhang Tao continued, “My brothers have been watching around here for the past few days. This area where we’re standing is the Demon Ape’s territory. In the center of this field is usually where the wolf demons reside. We’ve always kept our distance and never dared to provoke them.”
“Yeah. If the wolf demons woke up that bear, we’d be in serious trouble,” others around Zhang Tao nodded in agreement.
If not for that bear, they would’ve already attacked the wolf demons.
“Then let’s give it a try,” Lu Yu nodded and said, “If I’m right about this bear, you won’t be able to take it down.”
“So powerful?” More than ten people looked at Lu Yu in disbelief.
“Maybe I’m wrong,” Lu Yu smiled.
“Alright then, we’ll take action.” Zhang Tao and his companions began to sneak into the bushes.
They had already mapped out the wolf demons’ positions.
They eliminated the wolf demons, but two companions were injured, and one wolf demon let out a dying shriek, drawing attention.
Zhang Tao and the others immediately tensed up.
This was their greatest fear.
If the bear got alerted, they would be in serious trouble.
But after holding their breath and listening carefully for a while, they heard nothing and finally relaxed.
“Mr. Lu, that’s the last one,” Zhang Tao exhaled deeply, wiping sweat from his forehead. “We won’t follow you any further. We just hope you can successfully retrieve the monster’s data.”
“Fine. Since I’ve accepted the payment, I’ll do my job,” Lu Yu said with a smile, waving his hand. He then crept forward toward the hill, using the tall grass for cover.
The closer he got to the hill, the stronger the aura he felt.
“Damn, it’s definitely on par with the Demon Ape,” Lu Yu inhaled sharply and stopped just before reaching the hill.
From here, he could already see a dark shadow lying in the weeds, snoring loudly.
Lu Yu’s eyelid began to twitch slightly.
He stared at the black shadow, sleeping soundly and motionless.
But he didn’t dare to be careless, slowly approaching.
When Lu Yu was less than three meters away, he could clearly see the black bear’s entire figure.
It indeed looked like an ordinary bear.
Even curled up, its massive, muscular body was evident.
Its four large paws resembled giant fans.
Lu Yu was certain that if hit by one of those paws, it would shatter half the bones in his body.
Lu Yu lowered his breathing as much as possible, steadying his heartbeat while inching closer to the bear.
With experience fighting the Demon Ape, he knew creatures like this had thick hides.
So, as he spread his right hand, his fingers tensed with bulging veins.
The black bear was right in front of him. Just injuring it slightly would be enough.
The bear continued snoring, completely unaware of the approaching danger.
Lu Yu’s hand, which had been moving slowly, suddenly accelerated, reaching toward the bear’s neck.
He intended to do more than just collect data.
More importantly, he wanted to temporarily disable the bear’s movement.
If it was on par with the Demon Ape, even escaping wouldn’t be easy.
Just as Lu Yu’s hand was about to touch the bear’s neck, the bear’s large eyes suddenly snapped open, and its massive body sprang up violently.
This wasn’t the speed of a bear at all—it was faster than a leopard.
Lu Yu saw no way to dodge and grabbed the bear’s neck.
Bang!
His chest was struck, and he heard the sound of bones breaking.
Lu Yu’s body flew backward.
His hand still gripped the bear’s neck, using the force of the impact to tear off a palm-sized piece of fur and skin.
“Roar!” The bear roared furiously, charging toward Lu Yu.
As Lu Yu landed several meters away, he immediately pushed himself up with both hands.
He had already obtained the bear’s data.
…
Blood Demon Bear: Adult.
Level: 1.
Attributes: Maximum HP 6000, Attack 2400, Constitution 3000.
Skills: Blood Siphon—Each successful hit steals 50 HP! If damage exceeds 300 HP, 200 HP is restored.
Life Fury—When HP drops below 1000, Blood Demon Bear automatically restores full HP.
…
A creature whose hide was even tougher than its claws.
Lu Yu understood now—this beast had no Star Soldier abilities, yet its power rivaled the Demon Ape.
With Blood Siphon and Life Fury, it was a formidable opponent.
Capable of healing when HP dropped below 1000, it effectively had 11,000 HP—something even the Demon Ape couldn’t match.
“Damn, this time even escaping will be tough. Without a thousand Star Spirit Pearls, this mission’s a loss.”
The Blood Demon Bear ran at an incredible speed.
It was no longer a bear—it was more like a panther with a bear’s body.
As Lu Yu threw away the bear skin, the bear was already upon him.
“Aaaargh!”
Blood streamed from the bear’s neck wound, splattering everywhere as it ran.
Lu Yu crushed a mutated Star Spirit Pearl in his pocket.
A wolf shadow burst from his body, slamming into the bear.
A 0.1-second stun.
Lu Yu quickly stepped forward, activating ten more Star Spirit Pearls.
Lethal Strike!
One second of stun, 300 damage.
The bear froze in place, stunned.
Lu Yu swiftly retreated.
Though he coveted the monster’s skills, he was also a man of integrity.
Since he was hired, the data belonged to the client.
Therefore, Lu Yu had no intention of fighting the bear further.
If Zhang Tao and the others couldn’t handle it, he would step in again.
One second passed quickly.
Lu Yu had barely retreated six or seven meters when the Blood Demon Bear snapped out of its stun.
It glared at Lu Yu, lowering its body, its gaze even fiercer and more terrifying.
“Human, you carry the scent of the Demon Ape. That you killed it is sheer luck. But you shouldn’t have come after me,” the bear roared furiously, clawing four deep pits into the ground with its limbs, then charged like a war chariot.
In terms of size, it was a massive beast weighing over a thousand pounds.
Clashing head-on with such a creature would give Lu Yu no advantage.
As the bear charged, Lu Yu dodged sideways.
But the bear wasn’t as clumsy as it appeared.
Missing its target, its massive body twisted swiftly, its front paws striking like lightning.
Bang!
Lu Yu had no time to dodge and was struck on the temple by the bear’s paw.
He was done for!
In that instant, cold sweat poured from his body.
Such an attack to the head would crush his skull.
This speed—this wasn’t a bear!
The bear’s mouth curled into a snarl. No one could survive such a strike.
Its claws struck Lu Yu’s temple—
Suddenly, a white glow flashed from Lu Yu’s body, deflecting the bear’s claws.
“Critical damage received. Life Essence automatically negates this attack. Restoring 2000 HP. Warning: HP exceeds maximum limit. Excess HP automatically lost.”
“Damn,” Lu Yu muttered, not retreating but instead surging with fierce killing intent. His left hand slashed toward the bear’s eye.
“Aaaargh!”
A cold gleam pierced the bear’s right eye, causing blood to spurt out.
The bear, now with one eye, reared up on its hind legs.
Back in the bushes, Zhang Tao and the others had their hearts pounding the moment they heard the bear’s first roar.
Now seeing the bear standing upright with a bleeding eye, they couldn’t contain their joy and wanted to cheer.
“It worked! It worked!”
“Lu Yu is truly amazing. Hiring him was worth every penny!”
“Now that Lu Yu’s done this, if he brings back the data, we’ll have a way to deal with it later.”
The group whispered excitedly.
At that moment, the upright bear struck Lu Yu, sending him flying.
Mid-air, Lu Yu suddenly twisted his body, his right leg lashing out viciously at the bear’s injured eye.
“Aaaargh! Roar!”
The bear’s scream grew louder and more terrifying.
Lu Yu landed on the ground, his left ribs shattered by the bear’s strike.
“Damn,” Lu Yu stood still, but the bear, ignoring its injuries, charged furiously again.
“You think I’m scared of you?”
Repeated attacks from the bear enraged Lu Yu.
The bear charged fast, but Lu Yu was faster.
As the bear’s head slammed into his chest, Lu Yu’s right hand plunged into the bear’s eye again.
“Aaaaah!”
The bear screamed in agony, nearly fainting from pain.
It could see that Lu Yu’s chest had caved in slightly. Such an injury, if any worse, would be fatal.
Yet this human had risked his life just to hurt it once.
“Ha!” Lu Yu spat out a mouthful of blood, watching his chest heal.
That strike had cost the bear nearly 300 HP.
“If I don’t hit you, you’ll think I’m scared of you,” Lu Yu gritted his teeth. “Come on, try again if you’ve got the guts!”
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