Chapter 132: Ancient Ferocious Beast

Our Apartment Complex Transmigrated… Again

After distributing the cards, they were just about to head down the mountain.

Du Yu suddenly drew the monk's knife from his waist.

Yang Cunshen, at some unknown moment, had raised the longbow in his hand.

"Be careful."

"It's too quiet around."

Qin Ziwen also sensed a feeling of danger.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."

The forest above rustled incessantly. A massive black bear, taller than a single-story building, was hiding behind a tree, stealthily peeking out half its head. However, its bulky and towering frame was completely unable to stay hidden, fully exposed.

This bear had a peculiar physique, different from common bears. Not only was it significantly taller, but its arms were also very long.

The most unique feature was its somewhat flattened head. Its eye sockets and pupils were large, its nose was short and upturned, and its mouth was very wide, making its face appear quite short.

But its limbs were extremely long and slender, like a giant draped in a bear skin, staring eerily at the group.

"Damn, that's a huge bear," Li Yue raised the wooden spear in his hand.

He felt he should be able to stab it, but whether he could survive a single swipe from the other side was another question.

Wang Yun observed the bear, thought for a moment, and then exclaimed in a low voice, "Careful, this seems to be a short-faced bear."

The short-faced bear, seemingly having never seen these strange humans before, stood behind the tree, silently observing these little beans who weren't even half its height.

Qin Ziwen said, "Fall back to the cave, retrieve the Molotov cocktails."

Everyone faced the short-faced bear, slowly retreating backwards.

Beside his ear, Du Yu whispered, "If we can hit both its eyes, blind it, we might have a chance."

The distance between both sides was too close, less than thirty meters.

No one knew when this short-faced bear had arrived.

Qin Ziwen narrowed his eyes. "Its eyes aren't that big; hard to shoot."

A bear's attack method was completely different from a toad's, and their ferocity also differed.

The short-faced bear just stared at the group, not initiating an attack for a long time, but also not leaving.

Suddenly, it turned its head, looking behind it.

It let out a low growl, seeming somewhat irritated, then turned and ran away.

Soon, everyone understood why the short-faced bear had run.

Further back, the forest shook violently.

A creature with an even more massive body, covered in long brown fur, moving slowly, resembling a sloth, slowly emerged through the dense forest.

It glanced at the group, then completely ignored them.

Walking up to a small tree, it slowly stood upright.

When it stood up, its height exceeding two stories was like a small mountain.

Its thick claws grasped the tree trunk, shaking it continuously, then, as if snapping a sugarcane, it directly broke the tree. Holding the branch, it sat on the ground and began slowly nibbling.

"Megatherium," Wang Yun recognized this creature already extinct on Earth. It was a creature weighing over five tons, its forelimbs not only strong but also flexible, with claws exceeding fifteen centimeters in length.

However, with the short-faced bear already appearing, having a Megatherium also seemed acceptable. Both animals had gone extinct over ten thousand years ago.

Their timeline highly overlapped with the period when early ancient humans were active.

It's said the extinction factors for both these animals were related to humans—partly due to climate reasons, partly due to human activities compressing their living space.

(Picture: Megatherium)

Wang Yun told the group what he knew about the Megatherium.

"So, it's just a defeated foe our ancestors hunted before," Yuan Ming was somewhat excited. "Captain, we have bows and Molotov cocktails. Should we give it a try?"

Qin Ziwen observed this Megatherium and discovered a fatal weakness: its movements seemed somewhat sluggish. This was a common flaw of many large creatures.

The larger the volume, the more sluggish the movements.

Of course, he absolutely wouldn't underestimate it because of this. Elephants also looked slow, but when enraged, their short-distance sprint speed far surpassed humans.

Qin Ziwu murmured, "Looks pretty big. Wonder if the meat is tasty."

After observing for a while, Qin Ziwen said, "We can attempt to hunt it."

For the short-faced bear, this Megatherium was massive; in close combat, it would be at a significant disadvantage in terms of size.

But they had long-range attack methods. Against such slow-moving prey, bows and arrows and long spears were the best weapons.

However, they needed to guard against the short-faced bear trying to steal the prey after hunting the Megatherium.

If it ambushed them in the dark, without forming a defensive formation, they could easily be routed.

"Captain, should we use the Molotov cocktails?" Wang Yun inquired.

Qin Ziwen was conflicted. "If we use Molotov cocktails, its meat will basically be wasted. Let's assess the situation first."

He looked at Wang Yun. "Doctor Wang, could this Megatherium be deceptive? Looks slow, but actually fast as hell?"

Wang Yun was also conflicted. "I'm not sure either. No one has seen a live one. We're probably the first people to see a live Megatherium."

Saying this, Wang Yun hesitated. "However, it does look... its movements are relatively sluggish. Its speed probably won't be that fast... right?"

Qin Ziwen scanned the surroundings, looking for a suitable environment for a siege.

If they couldn't win later, they at least needed a place to buy time.

The thick fur on the Megatherium's body would be the best fuel once a Molotov cocktail was thrown.

But unless absolutely necessary, he really didn't want to waste such a large prey. Just the several tons of meat on its body would be enough to complete the goal of gathering meat.

Li Yue suggested, "How about we hide in the mountain cave later? Deep inside that cave, there's a narrow opening. We can use Molotov cocktails to block the entrance. And further in, there's a water channel, very narrow. This Megatherium probably can't get in."

"Agreed."

As the group finalized their plan, the Megatherium, leisurely eating leaves, sensed the unusual atmosphere.

It turned its head and let out a dissatisfied cry at these humans approaching it. "Roar~"

Everyone took a few steps back.

Seeing the humans retreat, the Megatherium slowly turned its head back and continued nibbling on the branch in its hand.

The branch, as thick as an arm, was held in its claws. Its sharp teeth bit into the branch, its long tongue curled around it, and the leaves on the branch were stripped clean.

Qin Ziwen, Du Yu, and Yang Cunshen simultaneously raised their bows and slowly approached.

When they were twenty paces away, the Megatherium turned its head again, growling impatiently. It had decided: if they came any closer, it would smash these humans into pulp. Although it was herbivorous, it occasionally ate meat.

It was just too lazy to move because fighting consumed a lot of energy. It preferred to continuously eat tender leaves and sweet fruits, occasionally stealing others' prey to supplement protein.

Due to its massive size and inability to rely on hibernation like toads to reduce consumption, it spent most of its waking hours each day eating.

"Aim for the eyes. Blind it, and it'll be easier to deal with."

"Three, two, one."

"Shoot!"

As the words fell.

Three arrows arrived in an instant.

The Megatherium, which had been facing sideways to the group, froze, then suddenly roared towards the sky, its cry shrill and frenzied.

A pitch-black carbon fiber arrow was embedded in its right eye. In its left eye socket, two arrows, one long and one short, had pierced deep.

Its claws loosened, and the branch it was holding fell to the ground.

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