Chapter 656: Neither of the two chapters are ready today...
Finish the edits by two o'clock.
Hunters in the hunting season, fishermen in the pork season, Étienne flying to Tokyo, Morishita Suji arriving in Alaska, Bosen walking out of Taiji Town Police Department, and Jerret busily producing the final cut of the film.
Everyone was headed towards their goals.
Huge footprints were imprinted in the deep furrows of the track, fresh enough to suggest the Black Bear must be nearby.
Sato's muscles bulged as he ran through the woods, giving it everything he had, fighting for every breath.
The forty-something Sato felt a resurgence of youthful vigor, even as his lungs burned like they were on fire, he was determined to get ahead.
Sato leaped onto a large rock, rolling as he landed.
The surrounding leaves rustled in the breeze.
Bi Fang released his grip, and the scattered Black Bear fur floated away with the wind; he had memorized the scent.
That Black Bear had to be nearby.
"Clearly, when it comes to the topic of whaling, it's easy for everyone to get emotional. We have never been given a compelling reason to prove that these species are in any way special."
Morishita Suji, unruffled by the reporters' barrage of questions, even had time to adjust his tie while walking.
A few reporters trotted alongside, mics in hand, questioning as they ran, "Do you mean... Is that true?"
"Yes, it's true."
"Mr. Morishita, I hear that this year Japan plans to resume its Antarctic whaling program. Is this true? Does Japan really kill far more whales than its quota each year for scientific research? Can you explain the abundance of whale meat in Japanese supermarkets?"
Morishita Suji abruptly stopped, staring at the questioning reporter for several seconds before responding, "Regarding that, I will provide an explanation at the conference in a few days."
"I heard that Mr. Richard has gone to Taiji Town, intending to reveal the truth about Taiji driving dolphins into a cove and slaughtering them. Could Mr. Morishita address whether this description is accurate?"
Though slightly surprised, Morishita Suji, experienced in handling such matters, retorted, "This is nothing but the hysterical behavior of animal rights activists, a highly unethical defamation, and an individual attempt to garner attention for personal gain."
"Are you suggesting that Richard is deliberately slandering for money?"
"I did not say that," Morishita Suji shook his head, then continued without waiting for the reporters to speak, "Alright, such questions will also be addressed at the conference. That's it for now. If you have any more questions, gentlemen of the press can wait until the conference on the twenty-third. As for me, I'm going to rest at the hotel now."
Morishita Suji pushed past the encircling reporters and entered the hotel.
The reporters wanted to follow but were stopped by the security at the door, left to watch Morishita's retreating figure.
In the dim room, the door lock clicked shut.
"Let's go."
Richard slung his backpack over his shoulder, exchanged a look with the electrical expert, and without further disturbing Jerret, they left the creaking house.
They needed to get to Alaska ahead of time, in case they missed the completion of the documentary film.
Community members, blatantly shadowing them outside, watched Richard disappear down the alley, then made a call. After several relayed messages, the information finally arrived at the office of the police department.
"They're leaving?" Matsumoto Kiyotaka was surprised.
"Yes, they took their luggage and went to the airport by taxi."
"What about the others?"
"Still here, only Richard has left. It seems he was picked up by the Ugly Country's embassy car."
To let him go or not, in that moment, Matsumoto Kiyotaka considered quite a lot.
"Chief, they're on their way to the airport!"
"Forget it, let them go."
Matsumoto Kiyotaka sighed; directly detaining someone would still be Taiji Town's affair, but arresting a person sent by the Ugly Country's embassy could lead to an international dispute.
The interests of a regional government could never compare to the entire nation of Japan.
Matsumoto Kiyotaka, after all, was the chief of the department. He knew the severity of situations and how to downplay major issues instead of exacerbating minor ones.
If the other party really did record a video, with the internet being so developed, there was no way he could keep it under wraps.
In the forest.
Sato lay prone in the bushes, his chest heaving violently. He hadn't exercised this strenuously in a long time, and now he even felt a bit dizzy from lack of oxygen to his brain.
But as expected, about thirty meters in front of him, a black bear lay on the ground, resting and leisurely nibbling on the small flowers.
In this moment, Sato truly felt what aging had brought him: he had gained experience and cunning, but lost his once robust body.
Twenty years earlier, he could have crossed three mountains in one go, but now, climbing half a mountain nearly cost him his life.
Thinking of Bi Fang, who was still a pressure on him, jealousy flashed again in Sato's eyes.
If he could have his current experience with the body he had at twenty, he might not be inferior to that young man, perhaps even better.
Unfortunately...
That guy was really a freak!
Sato couldn't help but curse internally when he thought of Bi Fang's youth and skill level. If that guy were Japanese, his own master would probably praise him as a rare talent of a millennium.
Alas.
Casting aside the stray thoughts in his mind, Sato wanted to retreat and set up traps. He knocked his head on the ground, panting heavily, and a bout of dry heaving surged up his throat.
This is bad, the physical exertion was too great.
Meanwhile, the black bear that was nibbling on flowers suddenly lifted its head and looked in Sato's direction.
Sato's heart skipped a beat.
"Run!"
Experience tales with My Virtual Library Empire
...
"Last one."
Bi Fang scratched his head, looking at the little black bear in front of him that was just over a meter tall, without any fear.
The audience even wondered if the black bear weighed as much as Bi Fang.
Now, Bi Fang was in first place, with no need to take risks. Just one more kill and a mere five points would make it almost impossible for anyone else to surpass him.
The black bear in front of him didn't seem to have fully grown yet. Given its size, it could be considered an adolescent.
Faced with the 185 cm tall and physically fit Bi Fang, the black bear kept backing up on its hind legs, growling fiercely.
Bi Fang gripped the spear tightly, inching closer. Just as he was about to make his move, a wail of agony echoed throughout the forest.
Even the audience was taken aback.
The cunning black bear had taken advantage of Bi Fang's distraction, slinking into the undergrowth with a swift motion, and soon, thanks to its small size, it had disappeared without a trace.
[Why does it feel like someone's calling out?]
[It does sound like a person, "ao" that shout, scared me so much my hand shook]
Bi Fang held his breath and listened intently. Before long, screams of agony rang out again.
The audience was stunned. What had happened?
When Bi Fang followed the sounds to the place of incident, the air was thick with a smell of blood that was enough to make one sick.
A huge adult brown bear stood with its back to Bi Fang, tearing at the carcass lying on the ground.
Is... is that a person?
The audience, apprehensive, almost didn't dare to watch, afraid of witnessing a scene against humanity. But Bi Fang saw clearly – the brown bear wasn't biting a person, but a still twitching sika deer.
Was that not a human scream just now?
Bi Fang pondered for a while, the brown bear nearby still feasted happily, unfazed by the newcomer.
But when Bi Fang stood up, he suddenly noticed specks of blood on the branch next to him.
Bi Fang reached out and measured the height, finding it at the level of his waist.
Upon closer inspection, there weren't just bits of flesh but also extremely fine strands of fiber.
Clearly, they had been scraped off a person.
It was certain that someone had encountered something here, and in their panic, had been cut by the sharp branches, leaving behind deep bloody traces.
It was just unknown what the situation had become.
However, having come all this way.
Bi Fang narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixing on the brown bear not far away.
The black bear from before had run away, it's your turn to be the offering.
The viewers watched as Bi Fang crouched down, the contours of his muscled back visible through his thin shirt.
He was like a tiger, fully prepped for the attack, his back muscles spread out like a net, encompassing his entire skeleton.
The familiar silhouette carried a spear horizontally, body pressed to the ground, yet his head was held high, staring straight ahead.
He was lean and powerful, like an unshakable ancient tree.
Distantly, a snake lay coiled, its sinuous muscles tense, ready to unleash its most formidable strength, like a spring compressed to the limit.
The rat, blissfully unaware of the impending danger, nibbled on a corn kernel with its tiny fingers, savoring every bite.
Opportunity was fleeting, the snake sprung forward, its mouth gaping wide as it lunged at the rat!
Pebbles were scattered by the flick of the snake's tail.
The rat's natural instincts made it drop the corn kernel, instinctively jumping away, its slender tail waving in mid-air, trying to dodge the snake's attack, but it was too late.
The snake opened its maw, its huge fangs bloody and ferocious, it missed the rat's soft belly and only bit its rear, but in the next instant, the snake's body recoiled like a released spring, twirling like a whirlwind, engulfing the rat entirely, tightening inch by inch.
The rat struggled with all its might, its beady eyes flashing in terror, but that light was quickly swallowed by the dark scales.
The battle had been decided.
After some time.
Sato checked his equipment one last time: armor, rope, machete, the dagger in his boots, the fire kindling sealed in a copper tube.
He touched the spear on his back, tied with a rope, ever ready to be drawn, just like the two knives at his waist.
So all the traps for the black bear were set.
Suddenly, he stepped forward, pivoting his body, drawing his sword with the rotational force of his waist.
Once he burst forth, all the soreness in his body disappeared, as if he were back to his younger days.
Sato bellowed, like a warrior clad in armor, unstoppable.
Evening.
When Bi Fang emerged from the woods with his spear, the setting sun draped over his shoulders.
Without a doubt, Bi Fang had won.
After he had successfully hunted the brown bear that was enjoying its feast, the outcome of the entire competition was no longer in question.
Even though Sato had lost an arm, he still lost.
All one hundred quotas were used up, and in this hunt, Bi Fang's total score was one hundred and three point seven, crushing everyone with a three-digit lead.
"Sigh."
Having won first place in the competition, Bi Fang felt no joy in his heart, only a deep fatigue. It was finally over, thankfully over.
He declined the staff's offer to escort him back to town and instead walked alone through the forest until he finally emerged from the mountains.
The setting sun cast oblique rays, and there were few pedestrians on the road, which was shrouded in a dark gold hue, the long shadows blending indistinctly with the earth.
Streetlights lit up one by one, wrapped in a grey mist, looking like pearls floating in a grey sea, each pearl imprisoning a sea nymph.
Bi Fang found a public bench and plopped down on it.
At this moment, he didn't want to say anything, nor did he wish to.
The water was crimson, boundless, slowly rolling its waves.
Richard had told Bi Fang that he often had a dream where he waded through water.
The water was the same crimson color, but where Bi Fang saw red-gold, Richard described it as red-blood.
Richard told Bi Fang that he couldn't remember when he started his treacherous journey, nor how long he had been wandering. It seemed endless, with nowhere to rest, not even a single rock in sight.
A faint firelight appeared ahead as if from a lighthouse. Accompanying the firelight was the sound of water, the gentle lapping of the waves interspersed with the splashes of frolicking dolphins.
When Richard reached the source of the light, he found no island or lighthouse, only a burning cross in the water, with rusty chains binding a man to it.
"Who's on top?"
Richard's gaze was distant as if he saw that scene once again, "It's me."
The dying sun blazed like fire.
[So beautiful!]
[First place!]
[Master Fang has always been amazing.]
[I feel like Master Fang has gotten stronger.]
The number of bullet comments in the livestream had lessened, as though many viewers were likewise immersed in the scenery.
[Taiji Town has issued a notice.]
[Hahaha, it must be those few people.]
[Old Fang warned them already, but they're lucky it only happened now.]
The screams and bloodshed had already made the viewers aware of the cause and effect.
Speaking of which, it was related to Bi Fang as well.
Before leaving, the staff told Bi Fang that the previous screams had come from a group of mountain people, the same ones who had seen Bi Fang and Mugalen carrying the jade down the mountain.
They entered the great mountains seeking a chance to strike it rich overnight but didn't expect to find a brown bear feasting instead of jade.
Had the bear not been well-fed, the situation might have been worse.
It seems they still didn't heed Bi Fang's advice.
Such is human nature.
Bi Fang sat on the bench, letting the sea breeze blow over him. Half an hour passed without him saying a word. Impressively, millions of viewers actually accompanied him watching the sunset for half an hour until the sky turned completely dark.
If he followed the plan, Bi Fang should be buying a ticket to leave immediately. Otherwise, a few days later at the Whaling Commission, the exposure of the Dolphin Bay documentary would put him in a highly disadvantageous position.
But looking at the pitch-black sea, Bi Fang suddenly changed his mind.
He was never one to play by the rules.
He wanted to stay, to do one last thing.