Chapter 18: Bear touch touch, let the bear touch.(part 1)

“The black bear is furious. If it’s given to you, just eat it!”

“Hahaha, look at the little black bear beside it, it’s completely stunned.”

“Little black bear: If another fish is thrown down later, should I eat it?”

The bears in the zoo looked very clear in terms of rank, probably due to the dominance established by fighting.

They stood in a row, with the black bear at the front much taller than the others.

“Don’t fight, don’t fight, everyone gets a share.”

Wen You Ning said as she continued to toss fish down.

The zoo’s meals were quite good, and looking at these bears, well-fed and shiny, you could tell.

But who could resist a fresh fish meal?

“Argh!” The black bear pushed the brown bear away and grabbed a fish to eat.

The black bear ate the fish as if it were soft cotton candy, with the raw fish bones much softer than cooked ones, biting into it, filling its mouth with both fish and meat.

The fish had just been taken from the small garden’s pond and placed in a box with a layer of ice to cool it down.

Eating a bite of cold, fresh fish on a hot day felt as refreshing as eating an ice lolly under the sun.

The black bear held the fish with both paws, devouring it bite after bite.

Everyone got a share of the fish, and there were no more disputes.

They all quietly ate their own, and for a moment, the low growls from earlier were replaced by the sound of chewing.

Wen You Ning took off her gloves and leaned against the railing in front of her, looking down, “They’re eating so happily.”

When Qian Nuo returned, he brought with him a man wearing the zoo staff uniform.

“Hello, you must be Teacher Wen, right?”

Wen You Ning: “Hello.”

“This is the administrator and keeper of Bear Ridge, Chen Feng.”

Qian Nuo smiled and said, “We mentioned to him that we wanted to talk to the black bear, and he was quite interested, so he came with us.”

After that, he leaned toward Wen You Ning and whispered, “He’s mainly worried that we might hurt the bears.”

He smirked, “He’s a bit… well, you know.

He’s concerned about something happening. After all, these are artificially raised bears, not as strong as wild ones.

But… after actually talking to them up close, I think he’s over-worrying.”

The chances of the bears hurting them would likely be smaller.

After all, it was a black bear, and even if there was a glass barrier between them, just watching it pounce could make one’s heart skip a beat.

Chen Feng glanced at the box of fish and walked up, leaning against the railing.

“Have you started asking yet?

If you want, we can go inside.

The bears’ resting area is quieter.”

The indoor and outdoor areas were for visitors to watch the bears, but the resting area was the bears’ private domain, off-limits to tourists.

Wen You Ning said, “No trouble, just a quick chat will do.”

“Ow!” The brown bear chewed on the fish, looking up.

‘Chat… chat…’

The black bear nimbly approached and gently pushed.

‘Move away!’

‘Let the bear talk!’

The brown bear was pushed into the nearby cooling pool, stood up, shook its head, and clicked its mouth.

The half-eaten fish was gone. “Woof!”

Fish!

The bear immediately dived into the pool, trying to find the fish that was left with only half a tail.

The black bear, having done something bad, patted its belly and innocently called out to Wen You Ning, “Argh!”

“Alright, I’ll talk to you.” Wen You Ning asked, “Have you encountered any strangers in Bear Ridge recently? At night, not including tourists.”

There were security cameras in the visitor areas, so the egg thief avoided them.

Chen Feng: “…?”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Chen Feng said with a polite smile.

“This is Bear Ridge. Even though the zoo raises them, their wild instincts remain. We occasionally release live animals to help them practice hunting. So…”

Even if someone were a thief or robber, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to run into Bear Ridge.

Bears may look cute and docile, but with a swipe of their paw, they could crush a person’s skull.

Let’s take it a step further, even if the zoo’s bears were as gentle as kittens, with so many black bears around, if they each got a bite, they could easily overpower a person.

Who would be crazy enough to run into Bear Ridge?

“Roar!”

While Chen Feng was still talking to Wen You Ning, he suddenly caught a black object in his peripheral vision.

Before he could focus on it, smack — something cold hit his face.

Frowning, he took it off and realized it was the very tip of the shortest fish tail.

“…?”

Looking down, he met the angry stare of the black bear.

Seeing him look down, the black bear stepped forward, raising its roar to show its dissatisfaction, “—Roar!”

“Did I say anything to you?! Shut up!!”

“Stop doing things like this!”

“Hahaha, the fish was stolen by the brown bear, and now the keeper steals the conversation, poor bear brother.”

Qian Nuo tried not to laugh as he handed Chen Feng a tissue.

Chen Feng took the tissue and absent-mindedly rubbed his face.

Having fed these bears for so long, he had a good idea of what the black bear’s actions meant.

Especially now that its emotions were so obvious, “It seems like it likes you.”

Bears have good memories, and they often visit the zoo.

Chen Feng thought that, though it was just food, the black bear seemed to have a strong impression of him.

After the black bear finished roaring at Chen Feng, it turned its face, licked its nose, and looked towards him.

“Your turn,” it seemed to say.

Chen Feng: “?”

He gave him a look as if saying, “You’re not worth my time.”

Wen You Ning cleared her throat and asked differently, “Can you smell bird eggs?”

The black bear might not understand what a “warty-necked swan” is, but it would understand the mention of bird eggs.

Wild black bears sometimes even dig up and eat bird eggs.

The black bear tilted its head, its semi-circular ears twitching, and it stared at her as if pondering the question.

Meanwhile, the brown bear had managed to salvage the remaining fish from the water, lounging by the shore, relaxing with its hind paws raised, sunbathing while eating.

For a while, there was silence.

Chen Feng also held his breath, focusing intently, but after standing with his back to the sun for some time, feeling the heat on his back, he still couldn’t make sense of it.

He had never really believed in it, and now he was more convinced that they were just messing with him.

“Alright, alright, there’s no one here you’re looking for.

Bear Ridge can’t hide people,” Chen Feng waved his fan, though there was no breeze, and said, “As for the egg thing, maybe you should ask someone else.”

You couldn’t just assume that because Bear Ridge is near the bird park, the black bear had encountered a thief.

Besides, if a thief had crossed a bear, there would surely be traces—blood, clothes, something.

A person couldn’t just vanish, and the clothes wouldn’t be eaten.

There would be some evidence left behind.

Since the keeper didn’t know anything about it, it simply didn’t happen.

Chen Feng, standing guard, didn’t want them messing around.

Seeing that the conversation wasn’t going anywhere, he said, “Let’s go.

Don’t stand here soaking up the sun.”

Qian Nuo didn’t want to leave yet and was about to discuss other options with Wen You Ning when, suddenly, the black bear, which had been quiet for a while, got up.

The black bear licked its paws, turned, and began walking back into the enclosure.

“Woof…”

‘What is the bear…’

Qian Nuo: “Hey… why did the black bear leave?”

“Maybe it’s going somewhere.”

Wen You Ning wasn’t sure what the black bear was up to, but she was listening to it.

The fish in the box had been tossed into Bear Ridge, with the uneaten fish left on a rock.

As the black bear left, Wen You Ning noticed some yellow fur behind the fake mountain rocks.

As the fur moved upward, she could see a pair of fluffy ears followed by a pair of bright, focused eyes.

When the brown bear saw the food, its gaze was more determined than ever.

Its snout reached the rock first, and with a tilt of its head, the bear used its paws and mouth to grab the fish’s tail.

With a swift motion, it disappeared behind the rock.

Even from a distance, they could hear the sound of chewing from behind the rock.

It was like a buffet for the bears.

“Woof!”

The black bear roared, and the chewing sound stopped for a moment.

But the black bear didn’t come to eat the fish. Instead, it awkwardly ran out, one leg trailing behind.

As it ran, it seemed uncomfortable with its posture, so it got up and started running properly.

It ran in a wobbly manner, with one of its front paws held inward as it raced.

It seemed like it was showing something, and as it got closer to the wall, it raised the object and shouted, “Woof!”

‘Bird egg!’

‘For you.’

“!!!”

“Could it be—?!”

“Ah, it looks like a warty-necked swan egg! We found it!”

“Why is there only one?

Aren’t there supposed to be at least two?

Don’t tell me the bear ate the others?”

Wen You Ning was stunned.

She had only wanted to ask for some information, but she hadn’t expected to have an unexpected discovery.

Qian Nuo’s mind went blank, accompanied by a loud ringing in his ears.

For a moment, he couldn’t quite make out the sounds around him. “Is… is that a warty-necked swan egg?”

Chen Feng looked confused for a moment, his face showing a look that clearly said, “What in the world is this black bear doing, bringing something out?”

The black bear’s usual food might include broken egg liquid, but it would never be given a whole egg to eat.

The size of that egg also seemed off.

Compared to the black bear’s paw, it was not a regular chicken egg—it was at least the size of a goose egg.

A goose egg wouldn’t typically be found in Bear Ridge.

In the quiet surroundings, Chen Feng could hear his own heart thumping loudly.

This… was unbelievable.

Whether or not that egg was truly a warty-necked swan egg, the fact that it was perfectly intact and appeared in Bear Ridge was simply beyond his comprehension.

“Thank you.” Wen You Ning stood above, but the position was too high.

Even if she crouched and tried to reach it from beneath the railing, she still couldn’t grab the egg.

The black bear, leaning by the wall, tried to lift its paw to hand the egg up, even trying to stand on tiptoe.

Unfortunately, its back paws weren’t flexible enough.

Even with the wall supporting it, it swayed and couldn’t stay steady. “Woof…”

It couldn’t deliver the gift to humans.

The black bear seemed very anxious.

“Just go below and get it.” Chen Feng wasn’t sure if the egg was a warty-necked swan egg, but seeing how excited Qian Nuo’s face was, he could roughly guess that, perhaps by accident, the warty-necked swan’s egg had ended up in Bear Ridge.

Regardless of the details, the egg had to be taken out first.

Chen Feng said, “Let’s bring it back inside first.”

The bears in Bear Ridge usually didn’t have to be forcibly taken back; when they were tired and found a comfortable spot, they’d just lie down and sleep.

Just like the current area with the fake mountain and landscaping where the black bear occasionally rested, if they wanted the area to be free, they’d need to lure the bear away. This was how it was done during regular cleaning.

Wen Youling had also worked in a zoo, so she was familiar with how her colleagues handled similar situations, though sometimes they wasted time.

She focused on the goose egg held in the black bear’s paw, and after listening closely, she could sense a faint reaction.

This egg was still alive, and there was a chance it could be hatched.

No time to waste, Wen Youling rolled up her sleeves and prepared to jump down.

“Too troublesome.

Just go down and take it.”

Chen Feng was scared, breaking into a cold sweat, and rushed over to grab Wen Youling’s clothes as she was climbing the fence.

“No!”

If she jumped down, whether anything happened or not, he would be in trouble.

Chen Feng said, “Stay calm. The egg has been found, that’s good.

It’s all under control.”

As Chen Feng held onto Wen Youling’s clothes, the black bear below growled impatiently, “Roar—!”

‘Let go!’

It angrily slapped the wall.

Wen Youling followed Chen Feng’s pull and slowly descended.

She leaned halfway out of the fence and called out, “It’s fine. Little bear, be careful not to break the egg.”

“Uh!”

‘Alright!’

Upon hearing this, the black bear changed its stance and carefully cradled the egg in both paws.

To the black bear, the egg was small, and its two paws enclosed the egg so tightly that it could no longer be seen.

“You… place the egg over there.” Wen Youling scanned the bear enclosure and pointed at a patch of grass below.

“Can you put it there? I’ll go get it.”

“Rawr!” The black bear raised its chin and obediently followed her directions.

However, before it could place the egg, a brown bear, having smelled the egg, approached and sniffed it.

As soon as the brown bear poked its head forward, the black bear’s paw swiftly slammed down on its head.

“Roar—!”

‘Go away!’

The brown bear, rubbing its head, snorted and moved back.

Each time the black bear tried to place the egg down, the brown bear would move closer, and the black bear couldn’t get it to stay put.

The other two black bears, curious, came over as well, seemingly to check out what was going on.

“Rawr!” The black bear, frustrated, shoved the brown bear away and decided to just hold onto the egg.

【The brown bear wants to eat the egg, but it’s bad! The black bear is protecting the egg, it’s a good bear!】

【Look at the black bear getting so angry. If it weren’t for the fear of breaking the egg, the brown bear would have been beaten by now.】

【Logically speaking, brown bears are stronger than black bears in a fight. What’s going on in this zoo?】