The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
This reaction is uncontrollable; the body makes a judgment before the brain does.
The Kodiak brown bear king, weighing over 600 kilograms, stands upright on its hind legs with its forepaws raised high above its head.
The ten toe bones are spread out, and the claw grooves at the ends of each one are empty, but your brain will automatically fill in those missing claws.
And now, it has eyes.
It's watching you.
Su Wei's Adam's apple bobbed slightly.
He stood in the temperature-controlled room for an unknown amount of time—maybe five seconds, maybe fifteen seconds.
Until I heard a heavy breathing sound behind me.
Old Hope.
Su Wei turned his head.
The old man had somehow gotten up from the folding chair.
His 1.9-meter-tall, hunched back leaned forward, his two rough, large hands resting on his knees, his neck stretched out long.
His cloudy, gray eyes were fixed intently on the bear king's head.
The lips were moving, but no sound came out.
Su Wei had never seen Old Hope look like this before.
This old taxidermist, who had been arrogant his whole life, this fanatic who would only criticize a 500-kilogram brown bear skeleton as unqualified, was now frozen in place.
The heaving of his chest became increasingly pronounced.
The old bloodstains and grease on the leather apron trembled as it shook.
Su Wei remained silent.
He turned his gaze away from Old Hope and back to the Bear King.
Just then...
Golden characters surged in from the edge of his vision, line after line, so fast that Su Wei's eyes couldn't keep up.
[Process manufacturing assessment complete.]
[The use of substandard materials ( Dragon's Fury Master's Limited Edition Handmade Prosthetic Eye) has been detected; the quality assessment standard has been raised.]
[The host personally completes the final shaping process: eye socket filling and adjustment (micro-sculpting level) + prosthetic eye angle calibration (7° abduction, error <0.3°) + embedding pressure distribution (99.2% uniformity).]
The golden characters paused for half a second.
Then, when the next line pops up, the font size is one size larger than all the previous content.
[ Kodiak Brown Bear King – Complete Skeleton Specimen – Quality Rating: Above Perfect.]
Su Wei's breath hitched.
Beyond perfection.
Not perfect.
It surpasses perfection.
He knew the system's quality grading system by heart.
There are five levels: Common, Good, Excellent, Top Quality, and Perfect, with Perfect being the highest.
The Deer Antlers were perfect, the Moss River Valley was perfect, and the Tidal Pool was perfect.
But this bear defied the hierarchy framework.
The gold panel continues to refresh.
[Trigger Conditions: Old Hope's Master-Level Skeleton Processing (Perfect Base) + Host's LV2 Texture Reshaping and Refinement (Zero Hollow Areas) + Super-Spec Material Dragon's Fury (Master's Legacy) + Host's Nimble Hands Passive Bonus. Multiple buffs stack up, breaking through the quality ceiling.]
[ Crafting Module LV2 Experience Gain: +186. Current progress (473/300) is full!]
[ Crafting Module Breakthrough to LV3! (173/800)]
A new panel popped up, but Su Wei didn't bother to look at the specific effects of LV3.
The line below immediately captured his attention.
[ Crafting Module LV3 Core Effect – Blessing – has been triggered!]
[ Blessing type determination in progress...]
The gold characters flashed for three seconds.
[ Blessing assessment complete.]
[ Silent Fear (Enhanced): This specimen permanently exudes the aura of the brown bear king's former peak territory. Within a radius of thirty meters, the aggressive desire of all invasive wild animals is reduced by 40%, and their tendency to flee is increased by 60%.]
Su Wei could understand this Blessing.
Territorial markings by apex predators serve as a natural deterrent to other animals.
But the panel didn't stop.
[ Crafting Module LV3 Hidden Effect -Attribute Bestowal, Triggered!]
here we go again.
Like the antlers of the Deer King, this Hidden Attribute.
Su Wei stared at the panel, waiting for that line of text to appear.
[Unlock exclusive Hidden Attribute: Silent Roar.]
[Attribute: Mental Intimidation]
[This specimen permanently preserves the Kodiak brown bear king's peak killing intent and domineering oppression during its lifetime. Anyone with malicious intent or an unstable mental state who enters within ten meters of it will suffer a strong psychological impact: palpitations, fear, rapid breathing, and weakness in the limbs will be triggered in sequence.]
[Note: This effect is ineffective for those with a strong will or a clear conscience.]
Su Wei read the last line of the comment twice.
Harmful intentions, or mental instability.
This criterion is quite interesting.
It doesn't attack indiscriminately; it doesn't startle anyone who gets close.
Only those with malicious intentions, or those who are mentally fragile, will fall victim to this.
In other words, this bear can recognize people.
Su Wei turned off the system panel.
The golden characters faded from view, and the cool white light of the temperature-controlled room once again filled my vision.
He turned to look at Old Hope.
The old man had already walked to within a meter of the bear king's skeleton.
Su Wei didn't know when he had come over.
Old Hope's face was bloodless, not from fear, but from a hollowed-out pallor.
A few strands of gray, messy hair peeked out from the hair tie and fell across her forehead.
Two burnt brown flames were reflected in his gray, cloudy eyes.
That is the Dragon's Fury.
Old Hope raised his right hand.
Rough fingers reached towards the bear king's lower jawbone, stopping less than two centimeters from the bone surface.
He didn't touch it.
The finger hovered in the air for five seconds before being pulled back.
Old Hope turned around.
He looked at Su Wei.
Su Wei couldn't decipher that look in his eyes.
His eyes were filled with rare excitement and fervor, but deep down there was also a hint of melancholy.
After a while.
Old Hope managed to squeeze out a few words.
You created a monster.
I paused for a moment.
"A perfect monster."
Su Wei did not respond.
Old Hope's gaze suddenly tightened, then slowly relaxed.
He looked down at his hands, which were covered in calluses and corrosive marks from the chemicals.