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

Chapter 183 A Rich Smell of Oil
Guo Mi went to pick up the little bear hiding not far away. The little guy buried his face in the fur on her chest. The three bears snuggled together for a while, and then left one after the other.

Caesar sat there, stunned, his mind filled with Guo Mi's words.

We're no longer friends... Yes, what does that mean?
Does that mean I can't go with her?
The male bear turned its head, watching the large and two small furry figures walk further and further away. Its nose twitched twice, and its gaze silently shifted to the piece of seal meat next to it that had been rejected countless times.

The long-neglected meat, left aside, had unknowingly become stuck to the ice, its surface covered with a thin layer of ice.

Caesar leaned in and sniffed twice, then opened his mouth to pick up the meat again. His teeth cracked the ice shell with a crisp sound, and the coolness traveled through his dental pulp into his mouth.

He let out a heavy breath, and for some reason, a sense of desolation suddenly welled up in his heart.

After trying to pull the meat off but failing, Caesar only made the already tattered pieces of meat look even worse. Frustrated, Caesar slapped it haphazardly with his paw and gave up trying to put it back on.

The footprints left by Guo Mi and the little bear still bloom on the thin snow of the floating ice, one after another.

Caesar pressed his claws onto the claw marks left by Gomi, and when he removed them, they became an even larger claw mark, the two claw marks merging into one.

He seemed to be in a better mood, and awkwardly raised his four paws, stepping one by one on the paw prints left by Guo Mi, and followed as usual.

It's just that we're not letting him follow us anymore, right?

Didn't they not let the round-faced bear come along before? It's no different.

Caesar secretly comforted himself, and his steps became firm again as he followed closely behind Guo Mi.

……

"Puff-"

A splash came from afar. The salmon turned its head and stretched its neck to look. It could only see ripples spreading outwards in circles on the water's surface, which were then ruffled by the biting cold wind in just a few seconds.

She leaned closer to Guo Mi and whispered:
"Guo Mi, he's been following behind us the whole time."

Guo Mi was focused on searching for that special smell of meat that was different from any she had ever smelled before, and when she heard this, she just hummed in response without turning her head.

It's impossible to tell whether they care or not.

The salmon hesitated, then looked back at the spot where Caesar had jumped into the water.

Yes, bounce.

Even though Caesar did such a terrible thing to Guo Mi yesterday, he still shamelessly pretended that nothing had happened and came over.

At first, he concealed his presence and followed from a distance. Then, he exposed himself as if nothing was amiss. He gradually got closer and closer, and finally, like now, he started trying every possible way to make noise and assert his presence.

It was as if he was afraid Guo Mi wouldn't know he had followed.

However, Guo Mi acted as if she hadn't heard him at all, not giving him a single second of attention. So far, she hasn't even turned around to look at him once.

Seeing Guo Mi's focused expression, Yu Gu lowered his voice and asked:
"Guo Mi, can you smell it too?"

The little male bear licked its lips vigorously, its eyes gleaming with excitement.

Guo Mi looked down at him, her eyes shining with the same excitement, and she licked her lips as well:
“I smell it.”

Although it's unclear what kind of meat it smells like, no matter how many times you smell it, the rich, unmistakable smell of fat won't fool the bear.

Guo Mi squinted her eyes, enjoying the scents in the air.

These past two days, by catching seal meat herself, she has replenished much of the fat she lost due to hunger at the beginning of winter. Now she needs one last big meal to store up the last bit of energy for her hibernation. After this final hearty meal, Guo Mi will lead the bear cub away from the ice floes, back to the island, and then into the hole she dug a couple of days ago to hibernate and survive the upcoming polar night.

That was the coldest time of year.

Guo Mi licked the little bear's ear and asked softly:
"Can you do it?"

Bears are extremely resistant to hunger, and polar bears are among the best.

After Guo Mi enters hibernation, she needs the bear cub to maintain her body temperature.

The little guy will also try to hibernate with her.

"We can do this!"

The salmon shifted its attention away from Caesar and sat down in front of Guo Mi with its small chest puffed out.

The little guy seemed very confident and said in a light tone:

"Fishbone and I have already tried to catch seals using your method. Besides, Guo Mi, didn't you already leave us some food?"

Polar bear cubs are certainly no match for adult bears in terms of strength or speed. Using traditional polar bear hunting methods, they must quickly and accurately bite the seals to prevent them from escaping back to the sea.

A slight error can lead to a huge difference.

While seals are not as large and heavy as walruses, they are still quite heavy.

In this situation, Guo Mi's method of hunting seals was actually more suitable for the bear cub, because once the seal entered the trap, the margin for error would be greatly increased.

The little bear will have many opportunities.

Of course, this is on the premise that they can close the distance with the seals without making a sound, but they are already very good at doing that.

However, considering the safety of the cubs, Guo Mi still wanted to prevent them from running onto the ice floes alone, so she dug a hibernation burrow for herself in the permafrost, and then dug another hole from the bottom to hide the two seals inside.

Thanks to the Arctic climate, they do not rot, and to obtain food, one must break through the slumbering fruit trees in the first hole.

This was the most thorough preparation she had ever made, to the best of her ability.

Now, they are going to find the last, and most crucial, food.

Caesar dived into the water, and like a hunter of seals, stealthily approached the edge of the ice floe where Gomi and the little bear were.

He swam to the bottom of the ice, slowly rose to the surface, and then suddenly burst out of the water, waving his two huge claws from side to side, baring his teeth and yelling at the floating ice!
But the next second, he froze!
There was no trace of Guo Mi and the little bear on the ice; only messy footprints remained.

Following the footprints, Guo Mi and the little bear had already walked quite a distance.

Caesar floated in the water, awkwardly raising his paws, spitting out two drops of seawater from his nose, silently climbing onto the ice floe alone, gazing mournfully at Guo Mi's disappearing figure.

Actually, after Guo Mi said those words yesterday, he still felt a little guilty following her around.

However, when he realized that Guo Mi had no intention of driving him away, he immediately reverted to his old ways, to the point that he is now even fearless and always trying to make some noise to attract Guo Mi's attention.

Even if they fail, they are only slightly disappointed and quickly forget about it.

The male bear naively thought that the round-faced bear was just throwing a tantrum and would soon calm down. He shook the water off his fur and followed after it with light steps.