Slowly turning around, the flashlight's beam followed the gun barrel, and Zhou Cang finally saw a dark mass of a creature not far away.
A Black Bear was curled up, its massive body like a small hill. Its fur was black and shiny, reflecting a distinct luster different from the surroundings in the dim light.
Zhou Cang took a deep breath, slowly raised the rifle in his hands, and gently rested his finger on the trigger.
Being in the Black Bear's den, even though he had been through countless battles in his previous life, he couldn't help but feel a little excited.
It wasn't fear or tension, it was excitement.
At this moment, he could feel his heart beating, involuntarily starting to quicken, each beat like a war drum pounding.
In such a dark environment, he couldn't even see the sights on his rifle.
Although at such close range, he could hit it even by feel, Zhou Cang decided to get a little closer.
Shoot at the closest possible range, aiming for a single fatal shot!
He cautiously moved a few steps forward, the small stones under his feet making a slight 'crunch' sound!
Damn it!
Zhou Cang cursed inwardly.
Sure enough, the Black Bear's ears twitched slightly, and its body also twisted.
Zhou Cang immediately stopped, not daring to breathe.
Time seemed to freeze. After a while, the Black Bear didn't seem to notice the presence of Zhou Cang and Xiao Bai (Little White), and resumed its previous posture.
Slowly exhaling, Zhou Cang continued forward, finally getting close to the Black Bear, reaching an excellent shooting position.
He slowly raised the rifle, covering the flashlight's beam with his finger. Just as he was about to aim at the Black Bear's eyelid, the Black Bear suddenly opened its eyes!
A pair of wild eyes stared intently at Zhou Cang!
It must have been the stimulation from the flashlight's light, or perhaps it smelled his scent, causing the Black Bear to wake up at the last moment!
Without time to think, Zhou Cang pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Bang!
Just as the Black Bear slightly twisted its head, this shot hit its neck, and a mist of blood exploded!
"Roar!"
This shot was not fatal!
The Black Bear let out a furious roar, the sound echoing in the cave, making Zhou Cang's ears ring.
Its huge paw slammed the ground, sending stones flying, and it suddenly stood up!
Standing up, the Black Bear was nearly two meters tall, its massive body looking three or four times as thick as Zhou Cang.
Zhou Cang's heart tightened, but years of battlefield experience from his previous life instantly calmed him down.
He understood in his heart that since the first shot didn't kill the Black Bear, he had already lost the best opportunity.
What was even worse now was that the flashlight bulb had been shattered!
Zhou Cang's vision was plunged into darkness!
Fortunately, the Black Bear's eyes were momentarily blinded by the flashlight's beam when it opened them, and there was also the flash of muzzle fire when he shot just now.
Coupled with its naturally poor eyesight, it was currently in a state of temporary blindness, so it couldn't see Zhou Cang either!
One man, one bear, fighting in the dark?
Zhou Cang suddenly recalled the Peking Opera 'San Cha Kou' (Crossroads) he had seen in his previous life.
But that was a theatrical performance; this was a real fight for his life!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Relying on his memory of the direction, he fired three shots forward in succession!
He couldn't worry about damaging the bear hide or gall now; the priority was to kill it!
"Roar!"
The Black Bear actually roared with full vigor!
"Damn it! How thick is this guy's flesh!" Zhou Cang cursed, and then felt a gust of wind rushing towards his head.
"Holy crap!"
Zhou Cang suddenly turned and rolled, dodging the Black Bear's enraged strike.
The huge bear paw swiped past Zhou Cang's scalp.
Zhou Cang stood up and quickly ran towards the cave entrance without looking back.
While running, he fumbled in his pocket for a small paper packet of chili powder, tore it open with one hand, and scattered it behind him!
"Taste this!"
The Black Bear had poor eyesight but extremely sensitive hearing and smell. A packet of chili powder sent the already severely injured Black Bear into a state of complete frenzy!
It roared wildly and ran around erratically, crashing into the cave walls several times, finally staggering to the cave entrance.
Zhou Cang had now regained his calm composure, standing about ten meters outside the cave entrance, holding his rifle with both hands, aiming towards the entrance.
Xiao Bai (Little White) squatted behind Zhou Cang like a lackey; it had also circled the Black Bear's hind legs just now, trying to take a bite.
However, its small mouth and teeth could only tickle the Black Bear. Besides biting off a mouthful of black fur, it had no effect.
It was almost crushed, so it had to follow Zhou Cang and run out of the cave.
"Xiao Bai (Little White), you useless troublemaker, who gave you the courage to go directly into the cave?"
At this moment, Zhou Cang finally had a chance to scold the Little Fox.
The Little Fox shook its head, not agreeing with Zhou Cang's accusation.
It had originally intended to go in and wake up the Black Bear, then lure it out of the cave, but Zhou Cang didn't understand and rushed in after it!
Xiao Bai (Little White) rolled its eyes helplessly and spat out the black fur in its mouth.
At this moment, the Black Bear, covered in blood, finally rushed out of the cave entrance. The sudden light made its eyes very uncomfortable.
The chili powder in its nose also made it lose its sense of smell.
Intense pain came from several wounds on its neck and chest.
The injury from the unknown source made it extremely fearful, and it kept roaring.
It wanted to tear apart the culprit who had harmed it, but it couldn't find its whereabouts.
Blood loss gradually decreased its physical strength, and the frantic running in the cave had consumed too much of its energy.
The Black Bear, which was originally very fast, now moved slowly, but it still refused to give up, trying hard to open its eyes and search for Zhou Cang's figure.
Zhou Cang raised his rifle, took a deep breath, and aimed at the Black Bear's eye.
Bang!
The Black Bear's left eye exploded, its large head tilted back, and the bullet drilled into its skull.
The huge kinetic energy of the flat-nosed bullet turned its brain into a mass of shattered tofu-like substance, lodged in its skull.
Brain matter mixed with blood flowed out of its eye socket.
Its huge body crashed to the ground with a thud, completely silent!
"Phew!"
Zhou Cang exhaled, looked down at the Little Fox, and saw it cleaning the bear fur from the corners of its mouth with its paws.
He chuckled, "Xiao Bai (Little White), you're fierce enough! A fox daring to bite a Black Bear, I can confidently say, you are definitely the first of your kind in the entire Greater Khingan Mountains!"
Zhou Cang walked to the Black Bear's corpse, poked its nose with the rifle muzzle, and there was no reaction at all; it seemed completely dead.
Zhou Cang flipped the Black Bear over, so its belly was facing up, feeling that this big guy weighed at least two hundred kilograms.
He pulled out his knife and plunged it into the Black Bear's belly with a 'plop'.
Slowly cutting open its upper right abdomen, after seeing the gallbladder, he took out a small piece of thin hemp rope from his pocket and tied the bile duct at the upper end of the bear gall tightly.
Then he used the knife to completely cut and remove the bear gall from beneath the liver.
Black Bear gall, also called 'Yun Dan' in the Yunnan-Guizhou-Sichuan region and 'Dong Dan' in the Northeast, looks like a small pear shape when just taken out.
Zhou Cang carefully wrapped the bear gall in a clean cloth and tucked it into his Pregnant.
He then went to drag the sled over. Bear gall was very valuable, and bear hide, bear meat, and bear paws were just as valuable.
He absolutely couldn't waste a single bit.
Zhou Cang grabbed the Black Bear's two front legs with both hands, lifted its upper body, and kicked the sled under it with his foot.
Standing in front of the sled, he gave a strong pull, and the entire Black Bear was dragged onto the sled by him.