Otaku Translation: Honey Badger's Streaming Life C129

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Chapter 129: Mutual Destruction

Wang Ping wasn’t entirely sure where the bear’s weak spots were. But after following him all day and engaging in two fights, it was hard to miss the glaringly obvious one: its groin.

As much as he didn’t want to revisit that memory, Wang Ping (or rather, the honey badger) knew exactly how he’d won their first encounter. If this black bear got hit there by a shotgun, there was no doubt it would drop dead from the pain.

It was impressive, really, how Damuge could spot such details even in near-total darkness. When someone puts everything on the line, their potential becomes limitless.

Naktu was already losing his mind at this point, swinging burning pine branches wildly at the bear with reckless abandon. The bear had noticed Damuge sneaking up behind him but was enraged again by Naktu’s relentless assault, roaring furiously as it charged forward.

Meanwhile, unnoticed, the honey badger crept along the riverbank and approached the chaos unfolding between man and beast.

Just as the bear lunged once more—only to be driven back by flames—Damuge spotted an opening. He quickly raised his shotgun.

Bang!

A burst of fire erupted from the barrel, followed immediately by Damuge cursing under his breath.

The reason? At the exact moment he pulled the trigger, a powerful kick landed squarely on his ankle. His footing faltered, his aim wavered, and the shot went wide.

“Roar!”

“Hah!”

The shotgun pellets sprayed across the bear’s side, some ricocheting off and hitting Naktu’s arm. Both man and beast let out simultaneous bellows of pain.

The flaming branch fell to the ground. Naktu staggered backward, clutching his injured arm, his face twisted with fury and despair. But the wounded bear paid him no heed. Startled by the gunshot, it reared up onto its hind legs, then swung around and delivered a crushing blow to Damuge’s chest.

Damuge barely had time to bring the shotgun up defensively before he was sent flying into the river with a blood-curdling scream.

“Roar!”

The bear dropped back onto all fours, snorting loudly as it turned. Baring its teeth, it prepared to lunge again.

By now, Naktu’s entire right arm looked like a sieve, blood pouring out uncontrollably. Seeing the bear charge again, he rolled on the ground, grabbing the still-burning branch. Flames licked his skin, sizzling audibly as the smell of charred flesh filled the air. Crying out in agony, he refused to let go.

The injured bear, eyes blazing red, charged without hesitation this time, undeterred by the flames. Naktu shouted defiantly, gripping the burning branch with both hands and holding it horizontally beneath the bear’s paws. He tilted his head back just enough to avoid the snapping jaws.

For a brief moment, they remained locked in this deadly stalemate. Then came a sharp crack—the branch snapped. The bear’s massive paw slammed into Naktu’s chest, reopening the wound it had inflicted earlier. Blood gushed from his mouth; internal injuries were clearly severe.

But animals aren’t the only ones capable of fighting back when cornered.

Perhaps realizing he wouldn’t make it out of this valley alive, Naktu roared through gritted teeth. With his burnt, blistered hands, he clutched the broken halves of the branch and threw himself at the bear’s leg, clinging tightly as the flames engulfed them both.

Black bears living in coniferous forests often have thick layers of pine resin coating their fur, making it nearly impenetrable to bullets during summer and autumn. And nothing sets pine resin ablaze faster than fire. Now, with the flames licking at its fur, one of the bear’s front legs caught fire instantly.

“Roar!”

Enraged, the bear thrashed violently, trying to dislodge Naktu. Blood streamed from the man’s mouth as he continued to shout hoarsely, refusing to release his grip even as the flames consumed him too.

Wang Ping’s emotions were mixed.

He harbored zero sympathy for Naktu—a suspected poacher who had likely crossed over from a neighboring country. In fact, he despised him so much that he wouldn’t have minded seeing him dead. Yet, as a former human himself, Wang Ping couldn’t help but feel a grudging respect for this stubborn, dying man.

There was no need to wait for the outcome. This battle between man and beast was a textbook case of mutual destruction—except that Naktu was paying with his life, while the bear might not.

“You’ve got guts,” Wang Ping muttered begrudgingly.

At that moment, the sound of splashing water drew his attention. A few meters downstream, a shadow emerged silently from the riverbank and began crawling toward a backpack lying under a tree farther away.

Compared to Naktu, Damuge suddenly seemed even more detestable.

The bear, still entangled with Naktu’s lifeless body wrapped tightly around its leg, rolled into the river. The flames hissing out sounded like whispers against the night. Onshore, embers from the fallen pine branch flickered briefly before being extinguished by stray droplets of water. Darkness swallowed the scene once more.

The bear, drenched and presumably scorched, lay panting in the shallows, whimpering softly. As for Damuge, who had crawled ashore, Wang Ping neither saw nor cared what he did next. Either way, the man grabbed his backpack and sprinted westward.

Reflecting on the events, Wang Ping realized he hadn’t helped anyone—not the endangered bear, nor stopped the poacher. Frustrated, he cursed inwardly, blaming the useless bear for everything, then took off after Damuge along the sandy riverbank.

Meanwhile, Gu Lang clung to a tree trunk, trembling as he watched the drama unfold on the opposite bank. Fear and confusion paralyzed his mind. Oddly enough, Gu Lang wasn’t afraid of poachers—even when faced with a gun, he’d dare to charge with nothing but a stick. But bears? That was a different story entirely. Even though this particular bear had nearly died at the hands of a poacher, Gu Lang’s fear of it remained overwhelming.

So when the last flames disappeared and silence returned to the riverbank, his terror only intensified. He didn’t dare look down, terrified of seeing a dark, furry face staring back at him.

Wang Ping chased Damuge for nearly two kilometers, but the gap between them kept widening. It was no surprise—Damuge was running for his life.

Up ahead, the river curved sharply. Here, the water carved out a wide expanse of gravel before veering south, skirting the slope jutting out from the northern bank. Suddenly, Damuge stopped short, crouching low. He shuffled forward cautiously, peeking around a tree trunk.

Wang Ping twitched his ears, hearing faint sounds of footsteps and heavy breathing coming from the other side of the bend.

“This is my chance! Time to finish you!”

Frustrated from the chase, Wang Ping didn’t care anymore whether it was a person or another animal blocking his path. Spotting Damuge pause, he scrambled up the embankment and charged toward him.

But at that very moment, Damuge spun around and bolted back the way he’d come. Catching sight of Wang Ping’s glowing eyes in the dark, he hesitated briefly but dismissed it. Clutching his backpack protectively to his chest, he hurried to the river’s edge and waded in.

Standing on the shore, Wang Ping watched as Damuge cautiously moved deeper into the water, finally crouching down until only his nose and mouth remained above the surface.

“What the… What’s going on?” Wang Ping stared, utterly baffled.

Then, from the far side of the river bend, several flashlight beams sliced through the night sky.

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