Chapter 263: A nice bear house.
Sunshine tilted her head. "No way....." she shook her head. "It cannot be. It would show up in White’s fur or something. Besides, even if he is the father, he is also the bad monster that killed his mother so it doesn’t matter.
You should have seen that sweet bear asking me to save White. And the little one that was lifeless beside her. She hated that monster more than me." She sighed. "I have fulfilled my promise and avenged her."
Nimo smiled gently. She thought to herself that mama bear had found the right person, one who avenged her and was raising her child. It was the hope of every parent that their children are loved and protected if they happened to die before them. "Should we have brought White over to strike the last blow?"
Sunshine frowned. On one hand, maybe White should have been allowed to join their fight but on the other hand, she did not want to expose him to violence. The bear lived with them in the house after all. She had her own children to protect. If he got a taste for blood who knew how things would end.
Also, the thought of White’s dead sibling made her uneasy as she pictured White as the dead cub. If he joined them in the fight and ended up dead, all mama bear had endured to protect him would have been for nothing.
"No, it was not necessary." She shook her head. "Help me drag the bear out and set it on fire."
Nimo nodded. Using ropes, they tied the feet of the bear and pulled it out of the cave to a spot under a tree. Sunshine poured flammable acid over the body and Nimo threw a match on it.
"Do not rest in peace." Nimo gave the foot one last kick. She winced loudly and said in a pained voice, "Suni, I think my fingers are broken."
Sunshine hurried to Nimo and pulled her friend to sit down. Nimo’s fingers were mangled and dripping with blood. How her friend had endured the pain was surprising.
"Ooh....my fingers, my pretty fingers." Nimo cried.
"Don’t look." Sunshine told her as she knelt and started treating her friend. She poured water over the hands and then poured some of the nanite water from the river in her space over them. The system had been right, because she was not a repairman the water did not close up the wounds completely in Nimo’s case.
Sunshine poured some liquid that had been squeezed from croast leaves over the fingers and injected Nimo with a painkiller. "I am going to realign them now."
Nimo winced. With one eye, she peeked at her fingers again. The bones were wrong, some jutting, broken. "That stupid bear." She growled angrily.
Sunshine pressed the fingers gently into alignment. "We won."
Nimo smiled. "Yes we did. And this does not hurt at all."
Sunshine wrapped the fingers in bandages and then sat on the ground, exhaling loudly. "Next time, I am bringing a nuke."
Nimo laughed.
They sipped some water and ate some crackers and fruits, watching the fire burn in the silence of the forest.
It was so peaceful, if one ignored the eyes in the leaves and behind trees. Others were in bushes, grass and openings of holes in the ground.
"If I had access to this place, I would live out the apocalypse here." Nimo said.
Sunshine snorted. "I am not so sure that I would want to live with monsters the size if that bear. This forest is dangerous. "When I first came here, I spent at least forty minutes being hunted. The second time I came, I turned into the hunter. This is my third trip. I can only spend an hour on each visit. Any extra time must be paid for."
Nimo looked around for an office, a toll booth or something. Who was Sunshine paying money to?
[Five minutes left.]
She dusted her hands off. "Use points to exchange for one hour."
[As you wish host.]
She stood up and then helped Nimo up. "We are now using extra time that I have paid for. Lets get those coconut bean fruits and..." Sunshine looked back at the cave where the bear had been living. "Perhaps a trip into the bears house should be our first stop. There could be treasure hiding inside."
Nimo’s eyes twinkled. "A cave, a bear and loot. This almost seems like a game I would stay up playing all night."
"You would like Warren." Sunshine laughed as she walked ahead of her friend.
Laughing, they ventured into the cave once again.
"These purple rocks are bound to be treasures, we should take some." Nimo suggested. "Maybe we can pave them into the walkways of the base. Or we can use them in the construction of the outside market after winter. They are probably more resistant to acid rain and other harsh weather conditions."
Sunshine’s face lost most of its smile. She had noticed something off about the rocks in the cave. "They are not rocks, they are fossilized remains of bear eyes, like White’s."
Nimo stepped away from the wall, shuddering. "Oh no! you don’t think they are all baby bear eyes, do you?"
Sunshine shrugged. "I don’t know but I hope not. That would make me go on rampage in the forest and slaughter every bear like that one."
"Give me an invitation." Nimo said.
Their steps echoed through the cave as they continued to the depths of the cave the black bear had called home. It was cooler, the further they went and the insides were lined with fur in some places.
In one corner, bodies of prey the bear had killed were piled high. In random places, there were plants growing out of the ground and above them, transparent crystals provided light light hundreds of chandeliers dangling from a ceiling.
"His house is nicer than mine." Nimo said.
Sunshine laughed.
"He has plants and crystals. This killer bear was living fancy. Look at all that white fur which he was sleeping on." Nimo pointed to what looked like the bed.
Sunshine did not have time to admire the cave. "System scan for anything valuable."
[The fur.]
"No." She replied instantly. "I am not selling fur that looks like White’s. It’s like telling me to sell human skin."
[Cindermoss: A natural air purifier whose scent is similar to that of cinnamon. It can be used as a spice.
Bloodspine: When boiled releases a vapor that suppresses pain and enhances reflexes for several hours. It can only grow in land that has been soaked in blood for a long time.
Dream seeds: When roasted, the emit a gas that gives one happy visions. Can accelerate cellular growth but also cause cell mutation in cases of long term use.
Graveberry: They can be planted near mass graves to detoxify the air or absorb radiation.]
Sunshine moved like a machine, up rooting everything the system was pointing out. And when they were finished, she threw some grenades on a timer into the cave.
Thirty seconds after they left, it exploded.
The rest of the time was spent on harvesting coconut bean fruits and uprooting trees. Nimo was unwilling to leave a single one behind that she was forcefully dragged into the door and thrown out of the space.
As she sent her friend away, Sunshine knew that this would not be their last trip to Veldek.
The doorbell rung before she could turn around. Assuming that it was Nimo, Sunshine rolled her eyes and opened it.
"Neems, come on...." She drew her head back. "Lisha!"
It was Lisha and White. With a smile, she extended her hands to hug the little bear.
White opened his mouth, baby like growls came from him, scaring both ladies.