Chapter 38: Saving the Bear Cubs

Liu Heming realized that he was wrong, very wrong. He thought that being able to extort more from the System was the normal way to deal with it, but that turned out to be completely mistaken. The System was a little proud and a bit slow-witted, so he had to coax it along.

People said that without comparison, there would be no sense of harm, and he found that saying to be absolutely true.

The task he squeezed out of the System required him to plant and care for it, with a deadline of just three days and a penalty of a 30% reduction in yield. But when the System was in a good mood, what about the basic skill task for chefs—the knife skills task? The goal was to try to master the six knife techniques.

The key lay in the word “try.” It did not say he had to master them perfectly; it was enough if he got the hang of it. And then look at the rewards—bang, bang, bang, bang—he got four of them, all with a plus 5. Although he didn’t know what Agility and Stamina were for, he was sure they couldn’t be bad.

From then on, he needed to make a small adjustment in how he dealt with the System. He couldn’t confront it head-on. He should treat the System like his own child and take good care of it. Maybe if it got excited, it would give him more such economical tasks.

He regretted it deeply. If he had coaxed the System a bit more back then, he might have gained more benefits. But regret was useless; time couldn’t be turned back. He could only look to the future.

Having figured it out and settled on his future attitude toward the System, Liu Heming’s mood lifted again.

But the work still had to be done. There were some planks left over from before at the ranch, but he was reluctant to cut them up to make frames. So he turned his attention to the Forest. At the very least, the Tomato frames didn’t need to be very tall; he could just gather some tree branches and make do.

He went back to the house to get his Shotgun, then drove the Pickup Truck toward the Forest. He couldn’t go without the Shotgun; having it gave him some sense of security. Who knew if there were still wolves around?

To his surprise, there were many fallen branches in the Forest. He had brought a handsaw with him, treating it as pruning the trees, and in no time, he gathered a large bundle.

But that wasn’t enough. Back when he was in high spirits, he had sown a lot of sprouted Tomato seeds, and now there was a whole patch of Tomato plants.

The occasional bird calls didn’t give Liu Heming a feeling of peace and quiet; instead, they made him feel a bit creeped out. It was then that he realized he had unknowingly ventured deeper into the Forest, with piles of branches left behind him.

Now, as he looked around, he couldn’t shake the feeling that one or two wolves might jump out of the Forest at any moment to attack him. He tucked the handsaw into his waist, gripped the Shotgun tightly, and after carefully scanning the area, he finally felt a little more at ease.

He was just scaring himself; there was nothing around.

He hesitated. Carrying all these branches back would definitely be a hassle. If he trimmed the branches into sticks, it would be easier to carry them, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that the surroundings were giving him the creeps.

After a moment’s thought, to save time, he decided to trim the branches first. Otherwise, he would have to make multiple trips back and forth.

He sat on the ground, set the Shotgun aside, and began trimming the branches while keeping an eye on his surroundings. He had only trimmed a few when his movements stopped. It seemed, possibly, probably, that something was moving in a bush not far ahead.

Startled, he dropped the handsaw, grabbed the Shotgun, and quickly loaded it.

The quiet Forest, the crying sounds of birds, and the unknown dangerous animal made him feel sweat forming in his palms again.

After standing off for over ten minutes, the unknown animal still hadn’t come out, so Liu Heming’s courage grew a little. He couldn’t keep standing there like this; what if it was just a small animal? He cautiously took two steps forward, keeping the Shotgun aimed at the bush where he had seen movement.

Actually, what he feared most was encountering a snake; he had been afraid of snakes since he was a child.

“Whoa, what’s this? Bear Cubs?” he muttered to himself as he approached the bush.

They appeared to be two Bear Cubs, covered in dirt. He wasn’t sure if what was stuck to them was feces, but it didn’t smell good.

The condition of these two Bear Cubs wasn’t good. Whether they were hungry or something else was wrong, they were breathing heavily, with more air going out than coming in. Probably, the sound of him gathering branches had startled them, making them move. Now that he was closer, their lifeless eyes were staring at him pitifully.

He had only seen Bears in the Zoo and on TV; this was the first time he had seen Bear Cubs this small. They were really tiny, only about ten pounds or so. The claws on their paws were quite long, and their little mouths opened and closed weakly, unable to even make a sound.

He felt troubled. He was afraid of adult Bears, but the pitiful state of these two little ones made it hard for him to just leave them there.

These unlucky little ones were probably forgotten by their careless Mom. He even wondered if the three of them had encountered a pack of wolves while walking around here—hadn’t there been the roar of a Bear a few days ago?

But he was also a bit worried. What if the Mother Bear came back looking for her cubs? And then he took her cubs away, and she came to the Ranch to cause havoc? Would his house hold up? It was so frustrating.

He crouched down, ignoring the dirt on the Bear Cubs, and felt their little bellies. They were sunken. If he left them here, could they survive for two days? The leaves and tender branches of the nearby bushes had already been gnawed clean.

“Ah, you’re lucky. I’ll save your lives, even if it means your Mom tears my house apart,” Liu Heming sighed.

He took off his jacket, placed each Bear Cub on it, and only then did he realize how weak they were—their little bodies felt light as a feather.

Task Name: Save the Bear Cubs.

Task Deadline: Seven days.

Task Content: Rescue the two Bear Cubs and restore their normal vital signs.

Task Reward: Animal Favorability +10.

Task Penalty: None.

Animal Husbandry System activated. Special reward granted: obtain the title “Animals’ Good Friend” (to be awarded upon completion of the Save the Bear Cubs task).

Liu Heming, holding the Bear Cubs, was stunned. Was Comrade System being too good to him? Just picking up two Bear Cubs randomly could trigger a task and even give him a title?