Volume One: Planet of Ten Thousand Beasts Chapter 21: Attrition

The gunshots were deafening. As the dark figure spun midair, it was struck by a bullet. Its massive body paused for a moment, its momentum greatly diminished, yet it still slapped the Bobcat with a powerful palm. The Bobcat was hurled like a stone from a catapult, flying five or six meters away, the dagger slipping from his grasp. In midair, the Bobcat drew a pistol from his waist and unleashed a furious barrage, emptying the magazine in one breath.

Firing the pistol like a submachine gun, the bullets struck the dark figure as if sinking into mud, not causing the slightest ripple. Instead, they only enflamed its fury.

Bang—

Another ear-splitting gunshot rang out. A spray of blood erupted from the dark figure’s forehead. Enraged, it changed direction and charged straight at Li Juxu.

Bang, bang, bang!

Three consecutive shots slowed the dark figure slightly, yet it still thundered forward relentlessly, breaking every branch and stalk in its path with force comparable to a tank. When it was within thirty meters, Li Juxu finally made out the creature—it was neither a leopard nor a tiger, but a bear. There was no time to ponder how the bear could run so fast.

The destructive aura unleashed by the charging black bear sent his adrenaline surging. His heart pounded like thunder, goosebumps rising all over his body. Faced with the choice between continuing to shoot or fleeing, he chose to keep firing. He assessed that if he ran, the bear would catch him within three meters of turning away, and even if he dropped the Exploder-002B sniper rifle, he could only gain an extra meter at best, so fighting was the better option.

The black bear’s colossal frame meant a sniper shot would hit 100% of the time, but with its thick skin and tough flesh, such wounds wouldn’t be fatal. Li Juxu took the risk and aimed for the head.

Bang, bang, bang!

Three more shots: one struck the face, another hit the nose, and one missed. The bear’s face became a bloody ruin, revealing white bone beneath, yet none of the wounds were lethal. At five meters, Li Juxu had only one shot left. His heart seemed to stop, the world momentarily falling silent. He thought of nothing but the bear’s furious eyes. As the massive paw rose high, the gun fired.

Bang—

The black bear trembled violently, a spray of blood bursting from the back of its skull. It let out a deafening roar that echoed through the forest and lunged forward. With no strength left to evade, Li Juxu was pinned beneath, groaning in pain.

The bear’s weight—over eight hundred pounds—combined with its charging momentum, would have crushed him, if not for the sniper rifle’s impact that absorbed much of the force. Otherwise, Li Juxu feared his bones would have shattered.

It took great effort, but Li Juxu finally wriggled free from beneath the black bear’s corpse. The Blackhead Wasp staggered to his feet, but the Bobcat did not rise.

“Careless!” The Blackhead Wasp threw his severely deformed shield to the ground and touched his chest. Thankfully, he had prepared thoroughly for this trip, wearing a bulletproof vest; otherwise, the bear’s charge would have likely ended him here. Even with double protection, the moment of impact had briefly blacked out his vision, and it took a long time to recover.

“Don’t move, your ribs are broken!” Li Juxu went to the Bobcat, ready to help him up, but the Bobcat quickly spoke.

“How many ribs?” The Blackhead Wasp staggered over.

“Not sure, at least five,” the Bobcat gritted his teeth against the pain.

“Damn it, running into a black bear—bad luck,” the Blackhead Wasp muttered through clenched teeth. The Bobcat had also been wearing a bulletproof vest; otherwise, with his build, one swipe from the bear’s paw would have been fatal.

“Careless!” The Bobcat forced a bitter smile. He had initially thought it was a leopard or something similar. Who would have expected a black bear? Bears can climb trees, yes, but only while chasing prey—they don’t normally climb trees. Thinking of prey, his expression suddenly darkened. He raised his hand, releasing a flash of white light.

Swoosh—

A dark shadow shot out from the treetops, nearly grazing Li Juxu’s head. It was struck solidly by a throwing knife, emitting a sharp, piercing scream. At that momentary pause, the Blackhead Wasp landed a punch that sent the shadow flying several meters away. Li Juxu drew a dagger from his waist and hurled it.

Clang—

The dagger embedded itself in the tree trunk, missing the target. The shadow twisted midair and vanished into the treetops. Li Juxu drew his pistol, disengaged the safety, and vigilantly scanned the canopy. The Blackhead Wasp drew a curved blade, eyes sharp and alert as he scanned their surroundings. After a moment of stillness, two of Pu Shaoyun’s trusted men arrived.

“What happened?” They were shocked to see the black bear’s corpse. They gave thumbs-up to the Blackhead Wasp, Li Juxu, and the Bobcat—killing a black bear was a rare feat.

With broken ribs, the Bobcat threw knives with all his strength, sweating cold from the pain. He could no longer continue the mission and had to follow the two men back. The bear’s corpse was also carried off by them. Li Juxu and the Blackhead Wasp pressed on.

“Though adding a silencer increases weight and can’t fully mute the gunshot, I still recommend you use one,” the Blackhead Wasp said.

“I’ll pay more attention next time.” Li Juxu had noticed the issue as well. In public missions, loud gunfire was acceptable, but for operations prioritizing stealth and safety, discretion was best.

As they ventured deeper, the light grew dimmer. The forest thickened, sunlight barely piercing through. Mosquitoes swarmed in greater numbers—dark, damp places were breeding grounds for insects, indeed. Li Juxu finally glimpsed a living gray-spotted orb-weaver spider. Pu Shaoyun had claimed they were the size of goose eggs, but that was nonsense. Their eight legs spread wide, bigger than Li Juxu’s palm, resting in the hollow of a tree trunk like a patch of bark. Without close inspection, it was nearly invisible.

“Don’t disturb them. There are too many; they can’t all be killed,” the Blackhead Wasp warned as Li Juxu seemed intent on striking it. Soon, Li Juxu understood why—dozens of gray-spotted orb-weavers clung to the trunk, some dozing, others moving slowly. That was just what could be seen; higher up, due to poor lighting, there were likely many more.

“Isn’t this mission too haphazard?” Li Juxu suddenly realized a problem. Not to mention the vast forest, just one tree had so many gray-spotted spiders. With crowns fifty or sixty meters high, whether the spiders were palm-sized or not, even a monkey hiding inside might go unnoticed. In such conditions, finding the red-spotted orb-weaver was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

“There’s only the dumb way,” the Blackhead Wasp said, having encountered this issue on his last visit.

“A hundred or a thousand people won’t help,” Li Juxu said. Seriously searching a single tree could take ages. Multiply that by the number of trees, and who knew how long it would take. The red-spotted orb-weaver was alive and mobile—it wouldn’t stay put waiting to be found. If it moved to an area already searched, it might never be found in a lifetime.