Chereads / Why does the world show a health bar? ! / Chapter 9 - Chapter 9: Blood stained snow

Chapter 9 - Chapter 9: Blood stained snow

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The world often has a way of surprising people.

One moment, Li Mo was standing in his genkan, about to change into his indoor shoes, thinking about what anime or video to watch while eating his dinner. The next moment, he found his vision distorted in a bizarre way.

In one second, his gaze fell on his shoe cabinet, filled with his shoes, many of which were covered in dust. Li Mo was the type to rotate between just one or two pairs of shoes for long periods.

In the next second, pitch-black darkness and pale moonlight rushed toward him. After a brief pause, he realized he was standing in a dark forest. The north wind howled, and the temperature plummeted, bringing with it a biting cold.

Upon closer inspection, through the gaps in the leaves, he could see the snowy ground below.

"Did I transmigrate again? And why is this place still winter? It's freezing."

Fortunately, Li Mo hadn't taken off his coat when he got home. Before arriving here, it had been spring on campus, and the weather had started to warm up compared to winter. Walking outside still required a jacket.

"If I were only wearing a short-sleeved shirt, I'd probably freeze to death. Even so, it's still a bit chilly."

Li Mo suddenly felt that he had a strong heart. Even in this unfamiliar environment, he wasn't too scared, and his breathing remained steady.

The snow on the ground wasn't too deep, suggesting it was either early winter or early spring. A quick glance around revealed no new buds on the trees, making early winter more likely.

"Thinking about it, this is probably the work of that damn system. It's the only thing that could do something like this."

"The top priority is to find signs of human activity. Let's see where this place is..."

—A sound!

Li Mo, holding his lunchbox, sensed movement around him. In this desolate place, even the slightest noise was amplified.

More importantly, the sound didn't seem like it came from a human.

"Roar—"

The sound came from behind—a beast's roar. Turning around, he saw a massive black shadow. The shadow moved swiftly, closing the distance between them in just a few breaths.

It was... a bear!

The bear's massive paw swung toward him, the wind pressure hitting his face. In that split second, Li Mo crossed his arms in front of him, bracing for the impact.

The bear's strength sent him flying, his arms twisted unnaturally. He soared through the air for a moment before crashing to the ground.

"That hurts a bit."

For an ordinary person, such a blow would have left them half-dead. But Li Mo quickly reset his dislocated arms and, taking advantage of the distance created, climbed up the nearest tree.

**"Dissipating Force"**

It was a technique that could nullify the impact of a strike. Just as strong winds couldn't uproot grass that lay flat on the ground, and a sharp kitchen knife couldn't cut a piece of paper floating in the air, the technique from the *Baki* world was truly unbelievable. By dislocating his joints, Li Mo dissipated all the force from the bear's strike. Taking a direct hit from a brown bear left him with only minor injuries.

This was despite Li Mo's lack of mastery. If it were the "Sea King," that single strike would have killed the bear.

The situation had turned into a standoff.

The black bear, seeing that its prey hadn't died from its attack, became cautious.

Animals have an innate sense of danger. They weigh the pros and cons of their actions. Just as bears in Siberia wouldn't easily attack an adult male tiger, preferring to hunt female tigers or cubs, they avoid risks that outweigh the rewards.

Instincts are truly marvelous.

But... there are always exceptions.

The black bear showed no intention of leaving. The emptiness in its stomach made it reckless.

It charged toward the tree, ready to climb and catch its prey.

This was trouble.

Li Mo assessed the situation.

From the brief encounter earlier, he knew he couldn't kill the bear without a weapon. The bear's thick hide and his lack of mastery over the advanced applications of **"Dissipating Force"**—such as using the interplay of relaxation and tension to unleash devastating power—left him at a disadvantage. During his training, he had only learned how to take hits.

"Then I'll just run away."

Humans can't outrun bears. Li Mo knew that the massive creature before him wasn't just large but also incredibly agile. However, humanity's strength lies in its intelligence.

In ancient times, when human ancestors couldn't fight beasts on land, they took refuge in trees.

So, it shouldn't be a problem for me, Li Mo, to take this bear for a walk, right?

Jumping, landing, dissipating force, climbing.

Li Mo didn't need to worry about the impact of landing. Jumping from a tree and hitting the ground, he could do it completely unharmed. The centenarian "Sea King" had taken a direct punch from Yujiro Hanma and emerged unscathed.

Using the terrain—specifically, the trees—Li Mo kept the bear at bay. The bear's strength, far surpassing that of ordinary beasts, was useless against him. Only its claws and fangs posed a threat. Li Mo's "purity" wasn't high enough yet.

Fortunately, Li Mo wasn't an ordinary human.

He was an expert at taking hits.

The training in his dreams had ingrained the memory of being beaten into his muscles. The centenarian master was at the pinnacle of "technique." Even though Li Mo couldn't remember everything, he knew that the old man had used martial arts during the beatings.

But taking hits was just the foundation. Li Mo himself didn't understand the principles of combat.

With his defenses maxed out but no offensive capabilities, Li Mo could rely on his extensive experience of being beaten to defeat a human opponent with wild punches.

But against a bear? No way.

"I've never practiced interspecies combat!"

If Li Mo could defeat a 100-kilogram mantis, he wouldn't be running away so disgracefully. He would prove to the beast that the human body has limitless potential.

But he couldn't prove it now.

Running, chasing, fleeing...

Using his agility, Li Mo moved between the trees. Adrenaline surged through his body, allowing him to perform at his peak.

The chase between man and bear wouldn't end anytime soon.

In the wilderness, such pursuits don't end quickly. The world around them was silent, with no new prey to distract the bear. From the bear's relentless pursuit, Li Mo could tell that it was hungry.

Hunger is a great enemy. For humans and beasts alike, hunger strips away reason. A hungry beast has little rationality.

To a hungry beast, anything that doesn't pose an immediate threat is food. Even if there's danger, it will take the risk.

Jumping down from a tree branch again, Li Mo used a strange posture to dissipate the impact of landing and quickly moved to another position.

The bear's paw slammed into the spot where he had just been, kicking up dust. But it found that its prey had climbed up another tree.

Li Mo was grateful that he was good at climbing trees. That was how he had lasted this long.

As before, he quickly scanned his surroundings, looking for the next landing spot.

—Then.

He noticed something else.

A bell and a rope.

These were man-made objects.

Distracted for a moment, Li Mo broke out in a cold sweat when he realized the bear had reached the tree. The beast swung its paw.

The tree would be snapped in half.

At the critical moment, Li Mo pushed off the tree trunk with his feet, launching himself into the air. At the same time, the bear destroyed the tree.

The margin for error was gone.

But Li Mo didn't care about that anymore. In a few breaths, he deftly dodged the bear's attacks and entered the area with the bells.

Entering the bell array, he inevitably touched some of the bells, causing them to jingle.

"Help is coming."

Man-made objects meant there were people nearby. Facing such a hungry bear, only an experienced hunter with a gun could handle it.

Climbing up another tree, Li Mo looked back and noticed that the bear hadn't entered the bell array.

It stopped at the edge.

It seemed... afraid?

What was so strange about this place that it could scare a bear?

Soon, Li Mo got his answer.

A figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

Under the pale moonlight, Li Mo could see what kind of person it was.

It was a man wearing a yellow-and-black checkered coat. He was thin, almost sickly, with sunken cheeks and lifeless eyes. His forehead bore a scar from a burn, and he wore earrings shaped like sun wheels.

This didn't look like a hunter.

Li Mo made a judgment. Fortunately, the man was holding an axe. With a weapon, Li Mo might be able to slowly wear down the bear.

Li Mo landed beside the man, his movements clumsy, almost falling to the ground. But he quickly stood up and said, "I'm sorry for leading the bear here. Let me make it right. If you have an axe, I might have a chance to kill the bear."

Li Mo didn't have many thoughts. He had led the bear to an ordinary person without combat skills. He could have shifted the danger to someone else and run away.

But he wasn't that kind of person. Besides, with a weapon, he wasn't completely helpless. After all the time spent running, he could probably wear the bear down.

But the man didn't respond. It was as if he hadn't heard Li Mo. He just stood there, unmoving.

The two of them didn't move, but the bear did.

Just as Li Mo was about to grab the man and dodge the attack, the man moved.

He ran, jumped, and swung his axe.

The man performed a simple set of actions right in front of Li Mo.

"No need."

The man, now back on the ground, finally responded to Li Mo.

Behind him, the massive black bear, standing as tall as a person, collapsed. Its head fell to the ground.

Under the moonlight, blood stained the snow.