What a bear-like thing!

Chapter 4 004. What a bear!

"Why are you dawdling?" Kureha walked over when she saw Mercer squatting on the ground, doing something. "Huh?"

"This is quite rare."

Kureha saw the animal cub in Mercer's hand and narrowed her eyes. "A red panda? No, that's wrong, it's a panda."

Red pandas and pandas have opposite black and white fur colors.

The red panda's head fur looks like a black bandit mask, somewhat ugly, while the panda looks like it has two black eye circles, appearing rather cute and cuddly.

Although they have two different names, they are actually the same species. Pandas are just rarer, with perhaps only one panda born among hundreds or thousands of red pandas.

Just like the famous clothing brand, DOSKOI PANDA, at Headquarters East Blue. The brand's pandas represent rarity. It's said that the cheapest t-shirt costs ten thousand Belly.

Mercer raised his head, lifted the cub in his hand, and said to Kureha, "Can it be saved?"

Kureha pointed her index finger at the panda cub's heart, feeling its extremely weak heartbeat. "What? You want this defective product that's about to die, abandoned by its mother beast?"

Yes, when red pandas give birth, if there are multiple cubs in a litter, they often only nurse the strongest one, abandoning the rest.

And abandoned cubs often have only one fate: either they die and become fertilizer for nature, or they become a refreshing meal for other creatures.

"Doctor Doriel, can it be saved?" Mercer's eyes showed hope. "I want this bear."

Kureha originally didn't want to interfere with the law of the jungle, but seeing the hope in Mercer's eyes, she softened.

Mercer was precocious. This was the first time he had asked her for a request since he could remember, so Kureha chuckled and said, "If you want to raise him, you'll raise him yourself. His food, drink, and waste are all your responsibility. I won't be responsible."

After all, this little guy couldn't afford the medical expenses.

Mercer blinked and nodded gently, agreeing for now. Once they got familiar, he didn't believe anyone could resist a panda's cuteness.

Seeing this, Kureha took the cub with her left hand and, from somewhere, produced a cow hair needle with her right hand, precisely poking it into the panda's navel.

Gently massaging with a special method, Kureha chuckled, "The bodies of these mammals are not much different from humans. The acupoints inside their bodies are also interconnected.

Like the navel here, using a special acupuncture method can stimulate the latent vitality within the life form, just like this."

In less than a minute, even Mercer could sense with his Observation Haki that the cub's heartbeat had become stronger. Immediately, a sharp, crisp cry rang out, and it came back to life.

She pulled out the fine needle.

She tossed the revived little creature to Mercer and chuckled, "Put him in your arms to keep him warm. We still have some leftover milk powder from when you were younger. Go back and feed him."

Mercer quickly took the cub, not minding the cold, and tucked him into his embrace, listening to the cub's weak cries through his clothes.

Seeing Mercer's attention diverted, Kureha took a few steps to deal with the rabbit. A few seconds later, as if thinking of something, her expression suddenly soured.

Her face was a mix of sunshine and clouds.

But in the end, she glanced at Mercer and simply sighed softly, "What a sin."

She could imagine that for the next six months, she might not have a peaceful night's sleep again.

Maybe I should throw Mercer and the little panda cub out together when I sleep at night?

She immediately shook her head, denying the negative thoughts that arose in her heart.

For the next period, Kureha silently picked and processed herbs. When she felt it was enough, she took Mercer home.

That night, as expected, a sharp "Ghostly Scream" in the middle of the night woke the two of them. In her sleep, Mercer sat up abruptly, groggy, and then fell back asleep heavily.

For the following time.

It was set in stone.

Under the incessant howling of the cub, Kureha had no choice but to get up and deal with it. Looking at Mercer, who was sleeping soundly, her eye twitched constantly.

"Grandfather is a scoundrel, and his grandson is also a scoundrel. They just like to cause trouble for people. Mercer, you little brat, just you wait until I deal with you tomorrow."

The next day.

She still didn't punish Mercer, but her face was very sour.

Having some memory of what happened last night, Mercer breathed a sigh of relief subtly. It seemed Doctor Doriel still loved him.

He immediately became much more well-behaved.

Life is like a play!

Accompanied by the cub's howling, Kureha, with a cold face, taught Mercer. From this day on, Mercer's Nutritional Meal became more than a little unpalatable. Life passed by day by day.

Although there was an extra mouth to feed at home, nothing else changed. Mercer grew day by day, and the little panda, from looking like a mouse, grew to the size of a basketball.

Benefiting from Mercer, Kureha also added a lot of suitable "Seasoning" for growth to his milk.

As a Medical Expert, Kureha handled these small matters with ease.

His size changed day by day, and the annoying days of being woken up from sleep lessened after three months. It had to be said that the animals in this world were particularly intelligent and very human-like.

From the first time he opened his eyes, the first time he pooped, the first time he played, and in many, many firsts, he also grew bigger and bigger.

Animals grow very quickly. His nickname was Bear Cub, and his real name was Winter, a homophone for "winter," taken from the "Winter" of Winter Island.

Sea Year, 1502, January 1st.

Merit Points: [730]

Mercer was two years old, and the red panda cub was half a year old. This day, Mercer, carrying a back basket with the bear cub inside, followed Kureha to the Purple Bamboo Forest once again. After all, bamboo was the main food for pandas.

However, in this world, although red pandas were still omnivores.

Their digestive systems had also become extraordinary.

Hunting ability greatly increased.

They could eat more meat.

The snow today was quite heavy.

Pure white snowflakes fell into the back basket. The bear cub's head poked out, its front paws gripping the edge of the basket. It looked at the snowflakes falling from the sky, opened its mouth, and stuck out its pink tongue to lick them.

It whimpered, occasionally nudging Mercer's nape with its head or licking it with its tongue.

Mercer giggled, tickled by the licking. "Don't rush, you can eat as much as you want when we get to the bamboo forest. Be quiet now."

He reached back with his right hand, pushing the bear cub's head back, ruffling its head and pinching its chubby cheeks.

Ying~

The bear cub whimpered contentedly.

Two-year-old Mercer was nearly a meter tall. In the bamboo basket on his back was a black and white panda. Even carrying a "heavy load" of fifteen jin, he still followed Kureha nimbly over mountains and across ridges.

In his hand, he carried an axe made entirely of iron, like one used for chopping firewood.

The axe was a bit strange. Where one end should have been a hammer, it was a sharp, wolf-tooth-like pickaxe, serving the function of an ice axe.

The axe blade was sharp, and the pickaxe tip was pointed.

The axe had three blades, combining the functions of a sickle, an axe, and a shovel. The pickaxe was also double-edged. The axe handle was treated with a matte finish to prevent slipping.

It was a multi-tool axe.

At this moment, Kureha's voice came from ahead. "Today is another first. If you want to eat meat, you'll hunt."

"Do bamboo rats count?" Mercer asked with a grin. "I haven't eaten them before."

Kureha paused, then explained, "The bamboo rats on this island aren't fat; they're very tough to eat. If you catch one, you can eat it yourself."

This was a lie!

Mercer had seen in the Purple Bamboo Forest that the white-haired bamboo rats there were large and fat, with the biggest ones being at least as big as rabbits.

As one could imagine.

It's just that some people don't like to eat it.

Seeing this, Mercer said with a hint of fear, "Alright then, what about reindeer?"

This time Kureha didn't object, after all, venison was very nutritious.

Yam Stewed Deer Leg, Deer Antler Bone Soup, Braised Deer Kidney, Stir-fried Deer Heart, Chopper must have never eaten these.

Chopper?

That kid might still be Deoxyribose right now.

Regarding hunting, or killing, Mercer didn't feel any inner burden, because in the past six months, Mercer not only studied, but also was asked by Kureha to dismember the prey she caught.

After handling so many prey, he didn't feel that way anymore. Humans are very adaptable, and bipeds are also omnivorous creatures.

Stepping on the snow, "crunch, crunch," accompanied by Kureha's gulping of Alcoholic Beverage, and the occasional "whimper" from the Back Basket.

Walking in the quite familiar Snow Forest, blowing in the icy Cold Wind, with the passage of time, Drum Mountain appeared, and at the same time, a large bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain came into view.

Rustle rustle!

Moving through the bamboo forest, Mercer cut down a tender bamboo as thick as a little finger with an Axe Blade.

As the tender bamboo fell, he grabbed it with his left hand and handed it back, Bear Cub reached out with his right paw and grabbed it, eagerly stuffing it into his mouth.

The sound of bamboo strips breaking continued, chewing, swallowing, and making "whimpering" sounds in his mouth.

This dish is good.

Kureha saw this scene and was already used to it. Bear Cub had been brought here to eat tender bamboo two months ago, and the taste of tender bamboo had long made him salivate.

Bear Cub would not be polite.

After finishing his Snack, he flipped out of Mercer's Back Basket, landing in the snow with a "thump," splashing a handful of Snowflakes. He twitched his black nose and crawled forward, rolling once with each step.

Mercer followed with a chuckle. In just a few seconds, he saw Bear Cub digging into the snow. With a few swipes of his paws, a Bamboo Shoot Tip emerged.

Digging for food in the snow, being able to find something to eat, is also a kind of instinct activation.

If he gets lost in the future, he won't starve to death.

The little guy was also not polite, opening his mouth, revealing small white baby teeth, crunching and swallowing the Bamboo Shoot Tip in a few bites, chewing with relish with his puffed cheeks.

Kureha walked to the side to collect Herbs, while Mercer observed the surrounding environment, looking for Feces, Footprints, or some irregular Stem and Leaf breakage traces.

Every step leaves a trace!

In the wild, only by observing carefully can one live better. The surrounding environment will tell you what has passed by, all thanks to Kureha's teach by example.

Of course, for Mercer, there was an even more convenient method.

His breathing slowed, and with each inhale and exhale, pale mist emerged. His thoughts calmed, and Observation Haki was released from his body.

The chaotic auras around him converged into his mind as he perceived them. The cold wind whistled, and the auras of different creatures were distinct.

After a moment, Mercer raised his arm, pulled it back, and exerted force, twisting his body slightly backward. He stepped back with his right leg, and with a whoosh! he spun his body, gripping the axe handle and throwing it towards the front left.

A silver plate appeared, carrying considerable strength, and with a crisp thud, the axe blade accurately hit the base of a thigh-thick purple bamboo about ten meters away.

With a whoosh, a white shadow darted out from a snow cave in front of the bamboo. Mercer's small face contorted in bitterness, not expecting to miss the target.

Heeheehee!

Kureha's slightly playful laughter echoed, "Little idiot, Observation Haki can let you capture auras, but it can't increase your strength."

"Also, you're just imitating my throwing technique, only learning the appearance, superficial, but not the internal posture, exertion, method, or turning. You're imitating poorly."

Mercer rubbed his nose, shook his right arm, and went to retrieve his axe, saying as he walked, "I learned it by myself. Besides, Doctor Doriel, you have to teach me first."

He forcefully pulled the axe out of the bamboo stalk, grabbed some snow with both hands, and rolled it into a snowball. Mercer walked to Kureha's side and handed her the snowball.

Seeing Mercer blinking at her, Kureha pouted, took it, and weighed it in her hand.

There was no such thing as teaching only females and not males.

"Throwing, in essence, requires eyesight, grip, stance, and strength. Of course, Human Exertion Technique also pursues only one goal: hitting the target."

"I didn't teach you before because your body wasn't fully developed. The human body is a complex piece of mechanical engineering, and exerting force is also a knowledge that is easy to learn but difficult to master."

"And now, although you're still immature, you can begin the most basic exertion training."

Seeing Mercer listening intently and using Observation Haki to sense his own body, Kureha first tapped Mercer's head with a bamboo stalk and then repeatedly pointed at the important nodes of force exertion on Mercer's body.

Toes, feet, legs, hips, pelvis, waist, spine, shoulders, head, arms, wrists, palms, fingers.

Muscle bundles.

Joints.

From breathing, stance, eyesight, arm swing, and wrist rotation in static throwing, to dynamic throwing that included footwork, she explained the techniques of throwing from the perspectives of human mechanics and medicine, from shallow to deep.

One taught meticulously, the other listened attentively.

With the participation of Observation Haki, coupled with Mercer's familiarity with the human body and himself, some detailed movements did not require Kureha to explain much.

It was understood in one go.

Soon it was time for the Practice Session. With Kureha's shout of "Attention!", she struck a very standard throwing pose.

The next instant, under Mercer's focused observation, a snowball precisely hit the spot where Bear Cub's front paw was about to land not far away.

Bear Cub, who was trotting forward on his short legs, suddenly found a snowball appearing beneath his feet. It struck his paw precisely, sending him face-planting into the snow. His round Bear Face plowed a shallow Gully in the snow due to the inertia.

The next second, a heart-wrenching "Ying" cry erupted from Bear Cub's Bear's Mouth. Bear Cub howled and, as if startled, ran towards the two on his short legs.

Mercer couldn't help but look at Kureha. She pouted, "I didn't even use any strength. That little thing is faking it. It's got a lot of tricks up its sleeve."

As she spoke, Bear Cub stumbled over. He stood up on his hind legs, hugging Mercer's calves with his front paws, the entire Bear hiding behind Mercer.

He continued to wail.

Mercer picked him up by the scruff of his neck. Instantly, Bear Cub stopped howling and just buried his head tightly against Mercer's neck.

Although he wasn't howling anymore, he still whimpered in his throat.

Kureha sighed and reached out to stroke Bear Cub's chubby ears, "What a bear."

As a result.

Mercer's first Hunting ended in failure.

Well, Mainly because there were no Reindeer in the bamboo forest.

He did manage to catch a Bamboo Rat, but Kureha threw it away.

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