Deep affection knows no origin; remember the polar bear's love for you.

Chapter 178 You are a Brown Bear
Coincidentally, the sweet, fishy smell of fresh blood, carried by the wind after several days of hunger, appeared out of nowhere, as if it were there specifically to solve Guo Mi's problem.

Unfortunately, by the time they found the source of the smell, another uninvited guest had already arrived.

Two male bears were locked in combat, their rough roars, like those of a tractor, were deafening. There was also a "veteran bear" among them!
The earless male bear with a red bloodstain in its eye was aggressively preparing to claim the other bear's hunting spoils for itself.

He was not as "gentle" as Guo Mi.

Guo Mi only sought food; she did not kill the bears outright, nor did she inflict too much harm on them so that they would not survive the winter.

As a qualified professional working in the field of wildlife, she strictly adhered to the principle of "not interfering unnecessarily, resolutely refraining from causing harm other than self-preservation, and striving to protect the natural ecological environment."

Even now that she is in the midst of it, she still does her best to avoid the killings that are only for obtaining food and self-defense.

This is a bottom line etched deep in her soul, one that she can never cross.

But the male bear didn't have the same sense of responsibility as Guo Mi.

He tore at the food mercilessly, unlike Guo Mi who deliberately attacked with his paw pads. The other bear was already covered in bite marks and claw marks, and he was soon forced to retreat and abandon his food to flee for his life.

The bear with the missing ear chased after him, roaring continuously, until the injured bear was far away from its prey. Then it stopped, turned back to the prey, and pressed its paw heavily onto the seal's mangled body.

He had already spotted Guo Mi and the two bear cubs. Their strange eyes looked straight at him, a thoughtful expression on their faces.

Guo Mi only watched from a distance and did not approach.

The male bear, whose food had been stolen, returned. Having finally hunted a seal, he was unwilling to simply "give up his paws."

The male bear limped around, tentatively closing the distance between itself and its prey.

Once the male bear with the missing ear roars, he quickly retreats and stands further away, calling out again and again.

He had given up hope of driving away the bear with the missing ear and now only wanted to settle for second best, pleading with the bear to let him share the food.

His eyes were dim and weary, yet they held a hidden longing.

Guo Mi's gaze fell on his stomach, which was already stained red with blood and was dry and shriveled.

It seems he hasn't eaten anything in a long time, otherwise he wouldn't have risked coming back despite being so badly injured.

The prey that was finally caught has now lost control, and can only beg another bear to let him enjoy the fruits of his labor. How frustrating is that?
However, defeat always comes at a price, and being able to escape with one's life is already a great stroke of luck.

The injured male bear's behavior of constantly approaching its prey is seen as a provocation by the earless male bear. A domineering and powerful bear like him would never accept sharing food with other bears!

An impatience flashed in his eyes as he charged at the injured male bear and knocked him to the ground!
The heavy bear paws pressed down on him firmly, biting down mercilessly on his vulnerable neck!

The injured male bear cried out in panic!

Another tragedy of killing one's own kind is about to unfold. The two bear cubs took two steps back, half-hiding behind Guo Mi, awkwardly leaving her sight, their little bodies tense.

They've passed the age where they were so scared they didn't dare move, but they still can't look at things without feeling anything.

Suddenly, the space in front of him was empty. The little bear looked back in a panic and found that Guo Mi, who had been acting as a shelter, had already walked forward.

The little bear felt a pang of panic and couldn't help but wonder, was Guo Mi going to save that male bear?

Guo Mi took two steps, then suddenly remembered something, turned back, and calmly instructed the little bear:

"Wait for me here." The bear hesitated, then the salmon finally couldn't help but ask in a hoarse voice:

"Guo Mi..., do you want to save him?"

Guo Mi didn't answer, but just smiled at the little bear and continued walking forward with her paw raised.

She didn't approach the direction where the male bears were fighting; instead, she walked towards her prey.

Two male bears not far away had already noticed her, but she made no attempt to dodge or sneak closer. Instead, she openly approached her prey, lowered her head, and sniffed it a few times.

The bear with the missing ear released the neck of the other bear, raised its head, and squinted at Guo Mi.

The dying male bear was dumbfounded. The gruesome bite marks on his neck, where the flesh was torn apart, were exposed to the air, and he was in so much pain that his whole body stiffened.

In fact, he was more bewildered than in pain!

That mother bear!

He had heard that she seemed to be stealing food from other bears, but he really didn't expect that she would dare to approach after witnessing the brutal face of the male bear that was pinning him down.

It even stood next to its prey to sniff the prey that already belonged to another bear!
He couldn't help but look at the earless male bear pinning him down with an inquisitive gaze, hoping that it would quickly vent its anger on the audacious female bear and save his own life.

The bear with the missing ear didn't move, just watched quietly until Guo Mi licked a mouthful of fresh blood stuck to the seal meat!
Suddenly, the weight lifted off its body. The severely injured bear didn't even have time to catch its breath before it rolled to its feet and fled for its life without looking back.

The bear with missing ears glanced at him indifferently, did not chase after him, and instead turned his head, his interested gaze still fixed on Guo Mi.

Guo Mi lowered her head and took a bite of the seal meat, glancing out of the corner of her eye at the badly injured male bear, now shrunken into a tiny dot, its body stained crimson with blood.

To say that she intentionally tried to save the male bear's life would not be entirely true.

She merely gave this poor male bear a glimmer of hope. If a bear with a missing ear were to abandon its prey and kill him instead, then he would simply be extremely unlucky.

As for the male bear with the missing ear...

Guo Mi looked up and saw that he had already raised his paw and was walking towards her.

The male bear with the missing ear stopped about twenty meters away from Guo Mi. Compared to Guo Mi, he seemed more concerned about the two bear cubs in the distance. He looked at them for a while, then looked at Guo Mi with a strange gaze.

Guo Mi was chewing on the seal meat in her mouth when she heard the male bear opposite her ask her:

"Is that your little brat?"

She swallowed the meat, turned to look at the two bear cubs, and answered him calmly:

"Correct."

"wrong!"

The male bear rejected her answer. He seemed to strongly disagree with Guo Mi's response, looked her up and down for a moment, and then said:

“They are two pure polar bear cubs, but you, you are different…”

His voice was very firm, and he said, word by word:

"You are a brown bear."