Apocalypse: Last Traveler

Lu Xi'an knew that brown bears were large, but he had never seen a brown bear this huge.

If this creature could even still be called a brown bear.

Its eyes were swollen, its nose was peeling, its teeth jutted out, and its visage was hideous. The brown fur on its body was like spikes, and Lu Xi'an wondered what would happen if a car hit it.

Lu Xi'an saw beneath its fur various festering wounds, as if decayed flesh had scabbed over, hidden by the fur.

One or two scabs were even raised, forming tumors that reminded him of the eyes of that fish in the river.

"Yao Wei, get out of the car and run far away!"

Lu Xi'an shouted loudly.

As he spoke, he threw the lock body of the padlock at the brown bear with a "whoosh", while his eyes glanced at the Liang River.

Then he sharply noticed that faint ripples were gently spreading across the Liang River, which was utterly abnormal in the stillness without wind or waves.

It's that weirdo!

That person indeed has not given up!

Considering that person's ability, Lu Xi'an could instantly analyze what they intended to do.

This brown bear was indeed under the control of that Fish Rider!

Just like taming a large fish and using it as a mount, he also controlled this gigantic brown bear through pheromones, making it his henchman.

Having settled in this place for years, this person had plenty of time to use pheromones to train the mutated animals here, turning both the fish and the bear into his allies.

Damn, do all Type C Neo-Humans love to be Druids so much?!

The one in Mengxin City controlled wolf packs, and this one here is even more extraordinary with both fish and bears.

Luckily, there aren't many animals here; otherwise, if he stayed here long enough, just with a sweat, it would be like a raving herd of horses, turning quantity into quality, and Yao Wei and I probably couldn't handle it.

Lu Xi'an was amazed and even forgot that this river dweller wasn't classified as a Neo-Human by the Resonant Gene Scanner.

The brown bear was just a frontal attack method, what the person wanted was to use the bear to distract Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei while secretly lurking underwater near them, surfacing unawares to use his abilities to stir their emotions.

No matter how strong and large the brown bear was, it was just a bear after all, but the Type A Neo-Human strength exhibited by Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei was far from ordinary humans.

With an overall enhancement in physical fitness, extraordinary strength, and two of them, this brown bear might not necessarily be able to handle it.

So a combo of sneak attacks and frontal assault might be able to have an effect.

——Just like that Neo-Human in Mengxin City once did, releasing pheromones through sweat, causing Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei to suddenly lose the will to resist, while letting the wolf pack attack and tear.

The only flaw in this method was that to let the sweat's pheromones take effect, there was a range limitation.

Therefore, either kill the person in the river quickly or put distance in between, otherwise, once under his control with the brown bear present, death was certain.

The car was too close to the riverbank, closer than near the reservoir, and the Fish Rider was lurking underwater. If anything went wrong and he surfaced, he'd be able to sweat and control the people in the car.

With the speed of the big fish in the water before, Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei couldn't shake off the Fish Rider in the river, even if they reversed and fled.

Therefore, as Lu Xi'an attacked the brown bear, he leaped off the car and ran in the opposite direction of the riverbank.

Yao Wei also acted decisively, quickly turning off the car and jumping out.

The brown bear adjusted its body, facing the car, opened its bloody mouth, and roared in fury. It intended to pounce on the car but had to retreat and sidestep to dodge after being struck by a hidden weapon from Lu Xi'an.

Seeing this, Yao Wei knew the car was unharmed and felt slightly relieved.

She was equally agile and, coupled with Lu Xi'an's previous analysis on the car roof, she also observed the ripples on the river and deduced the critical point of their situation.

Her long legs took large strides, rounding the car, quickly distancing herself from the riverbank while looking back at the river, firing a shot with a flick of her hand.

"Bang!"

The gunshot sounded. The bullet crashed into the water, and the faint ripples quickly spread.

"Roar!!!!"

The massive brown bear howled in anger again, turned its bulky body, and fixed its hideous face on Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

This creature was so overweight, yet it moved with such agility, even dodging Lu Xi'an's hidden weapon.

Whether it was frightened by Lu Xi'an's previous lock attack or not, it seemed wary and dared not recklessly charge forward again, pacing left and right on the highway with its vicious bear face always turned towards Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei.

Lu Xi'an had already regrouped with Yao Wei, positioning themselves at the same distance from the riverbank as the Fish Rider was from their car previously at the reservoir.

"This blind bear is quite formidable. I doubt bullets will affect it,"

Lu Xi'an assessed the situation quickly, making up his mind, and told Yao Wei, "I'll handle this bear, you keep an eye on the water. The moment the Fish Rider surfaces, shoot immediately."

"Got it."

Yao Wei remained calm, agreeing quietly.

She held her handgun level, her eyes intently fixed on the river beyond the bank.

Far in the Liang River waters, the surface calmed for a moment and then faint ripples reappeared.

Although faint, the ripples spanned a slightly larger range, allowing Yao Wei to ascertain it was indeed the Fish Rider and the large fish.

The Fish Rider, strange as he was, was clearly influenced by some strain, already beyond ordinary, capable of staying underwater for extended periods, which was quite normal.

As for herself, holding her breath underwater for a good while wouldn't be an issue either.

Of course, she had no such need, and she hadn't tried it, so she didn't know exactly how long she could last.

The scene seemed to fall into a stalemate for the moment.

The Fish Rider refused to surface from the water, and after her shots earlier, Yao Wei confirmed that bullets fired underwater would lose accuracy and speed, allowing the Fish Rider to easily evade them.

So she could only wait patiently for the Fish Rider to emerge.

Meanwhile, Lu Xi'an was also facing off against the brown bear.

The brown bear was wary of the concealed weapon in Lu Xi'an's hand, but what Lu Xi'an feared wasn't the bear, but the Fish Rider in the water.

He was somewhat confident in his strength and skills, but he didn't dare to recklessly approach. Once he moved forward into the Fish Rider's pheromone range, he might immediately have his emotions controlled by the pheromones, which would only lead him into the brown bear's gaping maw.

He didn't waste the small blade in his hand. Given the right conditions, with dirt and rocks all around him, he bent down to pick up a few stones, attempting to throw them at the brown bear. However, despite its massive size, the bear was extremely agile, as it had already demonstrated earlier. Now, avoiding the rocks was also effortless.

He also tried tossing a rock into the river, but the splashes were high and the ripples strong, with no blood surfacing.

The Fish Rider seemed to have become an aquatic creature, completely at ease underwater.

"Are they planning to drag this out with us?"

Lu Xi'an stared at the brown bear, saying to Yao Wei while facing off against it.

"No idea."

Yao Wei's response was as usual, concise and direct.

Lu Xi'an said, "I hope he doesn't have control over other animals."

Yao Wei replied, "Probably not."

"True."

Lu Xi'an commented.

If this person had tamed other beasts, how could they not have been summoned by now to deal with us together?

Their standoff had already lasted so long, but no other beasts had appeared. It was likely there were none.

After all, the world was so barren, and Jianshan City was even more peculiar compared to other places. It was normal for the available animals to be scarce for this person to manipulate.

"This standoff isn't ideal. I wonder if he has any tricks left up his sleeve..."

Lu Xi'an said another sentence.

As if in response to his words, just as he finished speaking, there was a change in the brown bear.

Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei noticed the brown bear's pacing quickening, it tossed its nose aside, continuing to spray heavy breaths, its massive maw emitting deep panting noises, and saliva dripping from its mouth.

It seemed to be gradually losing its mind, yet its focus became scattered, pacing left and right, incredibly agitated, as if searching for something unknown.

"What's wrong with it?"

Yao Wei glanced at the brown bear, frowning and asking. Her attention remained primarily on the river's surface, only sparing a glance at the brown bear.

But Lu Xi'an, observing the changes happening with the brown bear, had already discerned the situation and said, "It's about to go berserk."

Precisely why it was going berserk was something he couldn't address with Yao Wei.

What exactly did the Fish Rider in the river intend to do?!

Was it a good thing that the brown bear was driven to madness and lost focus?

But the next moment, Lu Xi'an knew whether it was a good thing or not.

The bear, full of drool and frantically circling, suddenly stopped, its bloodshot eyes turning toward the car Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei had left on the road.

"Huff... Huff..."

The brown bear's breathing grew even more rapid, as if the sound was directly booming into Lu Xi'an and Yao Wei's ears from nearby.

Then that massive creature stood up on its hind legs, letting out a roar, and after landing on all fours, it madly charged toward the car.

The thick fat trembled violently as the bear transitioned from stillness to motion, allowing anyone from a distance to feel its terrifying power.

If it were to crash into the car, even once, the bumper might not withstand it.

"Not good!"

Lu Xi'an was taken aback and exclaimed, "That person controlled it to mistake our car for a female bear, making it aroused!"

This brown bear's thick skin and flesh made it irrational. Even if he threw a concealed weapon at it, it might cause a wound, but under the control of pheromones, the maddening lust, how could a mere wound stop it?

If it continued like this, the car would be unsalvageable!

"Keep an eye on the water's surface. The moment that person surfaces, shoot immediately."

Lu Xi'an instructed Yao Wei, immediately springing into action, disregarding the distance to the riverbank, and darted toward the brown bear.

"Hmm."

Yao Wei's responding sound synchronized almost perfectly with Lu Xi'an's movements.

The next moment, ripples appeared on the surface of the Liang River, and a head popped up.

Yao Wei fired three consecutive shots toward the water's surface.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The bullets exploded into a spray of blood, and Lu Xi'an had already sprinted to position himself between the bear and the car, delivering a powerful punch.

"Boom!!!!"