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

Chapter 98 The Human Town Crossed by the Black Bear

However, Guo Mi didn't say anything about this strange thing in the eyes of animals; she just wanted to change the subject.

She asked the question she most wanted to know:
Did you come to this place alone?

The black bear answered matter-of-factly:

"That's natural!"

He suddenly raised his chin, his tone very proud:

“Every summer I travel through the mountains and wade through the river to get here, and this is the third year!”

Guo Mi was very surprised. She had thought that the black bear had come here by chance, but she did not expect that he had a purpose.

Most importantly, however, her guess was correct!

She is not on an isolated island, but connected to other landmasses.

The black bear was also not a good swimmer, but he still made it here. Although he mentioned "wading through the river" in his words, this precisely shows that he did not have to cross the sea.

In other words, as long as she chooses the right direction and keeps going, she will definitely be able to leave the cold Arctic Circle and return to a warm place!

Guo Mi felt a surge of joy.

She could already imagine that once she returned to the warm forest, the prey would multiply, and the lush vegetation would provide cover and increase her hunting success rate.

Not only that, there will be other delicious wild fruits, and you will no longer have to worry about the cold wind. It is much better than staying in the Arctic!
Seeing Guo Mi's bright eyes and slightly open mouth, the black bear thought she had changed her mind and wanted to try black bear meat today. Alarm bells rang in its mind, and it took two steps back without making a sound.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of rustling leaves in the berry grove behind me, followed by the sound of chewing.

The black bear then remembered that there were two bear cubs watching him intently from behind.

Although the two cubs are currently distracted by eating berries, the black bear is certain that they will pounce immediately if they make any rash moves!
Guo Mi snapped out of her reverie about the wonderful life she would have after returning to the warmer climate and saw a black bear standing guard with one paw raised, its two eyes apart, one eye on her and the other on the cub, cautiously taking a small step forward!

The moment the bear's paw touched the ground, its bright eyes darted left and right.

Very well, the two silly cubs are still eating berries, as for the mother bear...

The black bear rolled its eyes, meeting Guo Mi's bright, piercing gaze.

The black bear instantly froze:

"..."

Guo Mi chuckled inwardly, but feigned curiosity and asked:

"what are you doing?"

"Uh."

The black bear retracted its second paw, which was about to step out, and obediently sat back down. Under Guo Mi's probing gaze, it braced itself and said:
"My legs are numb from standing, so I'm just moving my arms around a bit, hahaha."

Guo Mi:

"Oh--"

She deliberately dragged out her words, secretly chuckling as she looked at the black bear's bristling fur.

Despite the psychological pressure, Black Bear sat upright with his chest out and head held high, exuding an air of self-confidence that was both righteous and without any sense of guilt!
Guo Mi's eyes fell on his slightly trembling ear tips, and she gave him a thumbs up for his mental fortitude, which was at least much stronger than Slok's.

However, she was quite curious about this guy. If he were to come to the Arctic alone, he should at least be an adult bear. He had been coming for three years, so she asked, "How old are you?"

The black bear wondered why she asked that, but out of guilt, he answered honestly:
"I am twelve years old."

Guo Mi was somewhat surprised. The black bear's fur was shiny and its body had a rounded and clear outline. Coupled with its courage to cross mountains and rivers to the Arctic, she thought it was a young black bear that had just started out.

I never imagined that this bear was already at the "uncle" level.

The black bear was not surprised by her astonishment and simply snorted:
Isn't it boring to stay in one place for a long time?

Guo Mi's interest immediately grew even stronger:

"So you've been to a lot of places?"

He gets really excited when he talks about this black bear:

"Of course! I not only left the mountains and forests, I also passed through human towns! I got here by passing through towns!"

"A human town?" Guo Mi was somewhat surprised:
"Do I have to walk through this town to get to the forest where you used to live?"

This is not good news. Although she was also curious about how humans lived here, she was afraid that humans would not want to entertain a "bear" guest.

But the black bear's words shocked her once again:

"If we don't go through the human town, we'll have to cross the entire tundra, which is a very long detour."

He glanced at Guo Mi and suddenly said:

"Do you want to leave here? Actually, you don't need to be so careful to avoid humans. That town is frequently visited by bears; polar bears are practically regulars there."

really?
But Caesar and Slok don't look like polar bears that often go looking for humans.

Guo Mi finally realized that she had gone too far in search of food, completely detached from the original area. The "polar bear visiting the human town" mentioned by the black bear was probably a polar bear living in another area that had no connection with Caesar and his group.

She looked at the black bear and tentatively asked:
"You mean... the humans there are friendly towards polar bears?"

"of course not!"

The black bear looked at her inexplicably:
"They don't really like bears. Every time they see a bear, they yell and scream and scatter. Some humans even pull out a black tube!"

He described it vividly:
“If that black pipe is pointed at us, it will start smoking, and we will immediately feel a lot of pain and suffer serious injuries. Some bears will even be killed.”

Guo Mi fell silent. That probably wasn't some black pipe, but a hunting rifle.
If she was somewhat tempted just now, she has now completely given up the idea of ​​passing through the human town. Bears and humans can only coexist peacefully when there is a thick glass between them; close contact is really unnecessary.

...They weren't very friendly to each other.

Of course, it's not good for the bear to see through thick glass either; if possible, it would be best to see through a videotape.

The black bear's story continues:
“Those black pipes are dangerous. My friend was so frightened that he left that place. I finally managed to find out that he ran north. I’ve come to find him!”

He sounded very frustrated when he got to this point, and his voice became much lower:
"The temperature rose very quickly this summer, and the climate was much warmer than usual. I originally wanted to take this opportunity to cross the tundra and head north, but I still couldn't do it."

Guo Mi guessed correctly. This was the black bear's limit; if it went any further north, its fur wouldn't be able to withstand the cold there.

Wait, Black Bear's friend, went north?

If they were both black bears, they certainly wouldn't be able to withstand the Arctic cold... so?
Guo Mi craned her neck, looking up at the black bear, and slowly asked:
"Your friend is a polar bear?"

(End of this chapter)