“A-A bear?” Ai bit her lip and exhaled a breath of white mist, her face clearly showing deep concern.
This time, she wasn’t faking it.
Although she had seen videos online of people wrestling bears barehanded, she knew her limits.
For an ordinary person to actually take down, or even kill a bear with their bare hands, was far too difficult.
She, of course, couldn’t do it either.
Close-quarters combat with a bear?
Wouldn’t that just be providing it with a little snack?
“Don’t worry too much,” Sento comforted her.
“In the game, the bears’ spawn points are relatively fixed.
I still have a vague memory of them.
If we’re careful and avoid them in advance, it should be fine…
probably.”
After all, a game is a game, and reality is reality.
Sento didn’t know how much his memories of the game would still apply, so he didn’t dare speak with absolute certainty.
“Hehe, Sento-kun really is reliable~” Ai let out a cute giggle and quickened her pace to keep up with him.
The two were currently crossing a small hilltop.
The snow here was incredibly thick; with every step, about half of their calves would sink into the snow, and a bone-chilling cold immediately seeped in.
Before transmigrating, Sento had been a true northerner, perhaps from the far north, but even so, he had rarely seen such exaggerated snow and such frigid weather.
He turned his head to glance at Ai, and noticing his gaze, the girl immediately flashed him a smile.
However, Sento could clearly see that her small face was several shades paler than it had been in the cave.
Clearly, this temperature was too cold for her.
Sento had originally intended to collect some small twigs and bark along the way to use as kindling, but he had to give up on that.
If they delayed any longer on the road, they might actually collapse in the snow.
As they climbed to the top of the small hill, their field of vision suddenly opened up.
Ahead was a relatively open forest clearing.
To the right stood a dilapidated wooden shed, with a withered tree beside it.
The edge of the shed extended into a circular valley.
They could just barely see several gray Snow Rabbits hopping around inside, seemingly foraging for food.
And towards the left was the wooden cabin they had seen earlier—Trappers Home.
From its appearance, the structure was still relatively intact, much like in the game.
It stood on a relatively high point, like a lonely tower overlooking its surroundings.
Sento nodded.
“That’s it, this is the place!”
“This is a good starting point.
The roof and walls can provide decent shelter, and there’s a stove inside.”
“We should be able to find some supplies inside—both food and clothing.
If we’re lucky, there’s even a very low chance of finding a Hunting Rifle.”
“Alright, Mr.
Guide, stop talking.
I can’t wait anymore!”
Although she was shivering slightly from the cold, Ai still put on an energetic smile.
She poked Sento’s arm and pointed at the cabin, urging him to keep moving.
As they continued forward, Sento scanned the surroundings warily.
Seeing this, a sharp glint flashed across Ai’s face, but she asked in a light tone, “By the way, Sento-kun, what are you looking at?
Could there be danger nearby?
Wolves?”
Sento whispered, “In my memory, there’s a Bear Cave not far from here.”
“In the game settings, a bear spawns in the den every once in a while.
Also, there’s a chance for Moose to spawn nearby.
Both are considered very dangerous creatures in this world.
I think it’s better to be careful.”
In Sento’s memory, he had indeed seen on the map that bears and Moose spawned here.
While he personally had encountered these two creatures very few times in this spot, he felt it was better to observe the surroundings more closely.
Hearing this, Ai wrinkled her nose and quickened her pace slightly.
Sento also hurried to speed up.
As they passed the entrance to the circular valley, Ai couldn’t help but take a few extra glances.
“There are rabbits!
That’s great~”
Her voice held a hint of pleasant surprise.
“They’re a food source, but catching them barehanded would be too difficult.
And in our current state, we probably couldn’t catch them anyway.”
“That’s good.”
“What’s good?”
Sento deliberately put on a look of relief and remarked, “Fortunately, Hayasaka, you’re not the type who sees a rabbit and says ‘Bunnies are so cute’ and then refuses to eat rabbit meat.”
“I do think bunnies are very cute, but my own tummy is more important, you know~” Ai said, putting on her best’squeaky’ cute voice.
The two were lucky; no bears or Moose appeared nearby.
After spending a bit of stamina and time, they finally arrived in front of the cabin.
Sento placed his hand on the wooden door handle and gave it a tentative, forceful push.
As the hinges let out a tooth-grinding creak, Sento’s heart finally settled back into his chest.
Fortunately, this key building was just like the game setting—it could be opened directly.
There was no situation where the door was locked tight; otherwise, they would have had to break the glass or find a way to pick the lock.
As soon as they stepped inside, a scent mixed with dust, old wood, and the smell of aged animal fat hit them.
The smell made both of them frown involuntarily, but they didn’t hesitate.
They hurried inside and immediately closed the door.
The heavy wooden door blocked out the freezing air outside.
Although it was a far cry from a heated room and the cabin still felt icy cold, it was much better than being outdoors.
At least now, both of them could actually feel their body temperatures beginning to rise.
The light inside was dim.
Relying on the light filtering through the blurred windows, the two could barely make out the interior.
The cabin wasn’t large; standing at the door, the two could see the entire environment at a single glance.
There was a square stove with a small wooden basket next to it containing a few pieces of firewood and two pieces of coal underneath.
A single bed was covered in dust and cobwebs.
At the foot of the bed was a sheet-metal table.
In the game, this kind of metal workbench could be used to craft many things, but in reality, one probably couldn’t easily hand-craft equipment.
Next to the table was a wooden shelf with some items on it.
Sento immediately spotted two tin cans; it seemed today’s food was sorted.
Besides that, there were some wall shelves with miscellaneous items.
Near the door stood a slightly narrow metal locker.
“Anyway, let’s get a fire started first.”
He could feel that although his body temperature was recovering, it was still very slow.
The chill was still constantly invading through his clothes, so Sento put down his backpack, took out the matches, and walked toward the fireplace.
Ai followed.
“I’ll help too~”