Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 265: Chapter 255: Negotiation

"Calm down! I’m not here to steal your cub!"

Tang Mo immediately understood why these bears were so furious. It wasn’t just because she had invaded their territory, but also because of the little one she was holding in her arms.

Tang Mo quickly loosened her arms, trying to let the little cub out of her embrace. ’This isn’t my fault.’

But the little cub was sleeping soundly, even smacking its lips. Its two small paws were wrapped tightly around her, refusing to leave her arms.

Tang Mo was completely helpless. ’It’s easier to summon a demon than to banish it. Why did I have to go and mess with this little guy?’

"I swear to God, you see this, right? I’m not forcing him to stay. He’s the one who doesn’t want to leave."

’I’m being framed! Totally framed! I even fed him a few pieces of meat, and now I’m the one accused of being a cub-napper?’

’Why can’t this little cub talk? He should hurry up and explain for me! He can’t just eat my meat for free!’

Just as Tang Mo was despairing over her inability to communicate with the bears, an even larger bear appeared before her.

"Who are you? What are you doing in the forest?"

The largest bear spoke. The expression on its face was much calmer than the other bears’.

The cub in Tang Mo’s arms was his son. But being able to speak, he naturally understood that the human before him had no intention of harming his child.

"I came here looking for a friend of mine."

Tang Mo directly stated her reason for entering the forest. She found it somewhat surprising. Even though people from Hulan Base frequently hunted bears, these bears didn’t seem to want to kill her on sight. Instead, they were peacefully and rationally asking for her reasons.

"A friend? The one who tried to steal our cubs?"

Hearing that Tang Mo was looking for someone, the Bear Leader’s attitude instantly grew cold. He naturally had no goodwill for anyone who would harm them, let alone steal their cubs.

The reproductive rate of bears is very low. A mother bear almost always gives birth to only a single cub at a time.

Due to food scarcity, the survival rate of the cubs is also not high.

Every bear cub is the apple of the Bear Clan’s eye, but those detestable humans constantly hurt them, and many of their young have been stolen.

Because of this, many mother bears had fallen into depression, spending their days in tears.

Even bears have feelings. The word "mother" exists in this world without regard for species.

"I know he committed an unforgivable offense against you, but I believe he’s been punished enough. How about I propose a trade with you?"

Seeing the bear’s attitude, Tang Mo guessed that Lin Yu probably wasn’t dead, just hidden away by the Bear Clan.

Most importantly, this group of bears seemed open to communication.

"A trade? Can you bring our dead clansmen back to life? If you can, I’ll return your man to you immediately!"

The Bear Clan had lived in this forest for generations, and their bonds were incredibly deep.

"I’m sorry for your clansmen who have died. But some of the cubs you lost before are still alive. Perhaps I can bring them back to you."

Roars sounded once more, but this time they weren’t filled with anger, but with anxiety.

The roars came from the other bears. Apparently, the leader was the only one here who could speak.

The bears roaring impatiently were the mothers who had lost their cubs. Not a day had gone by since their cubs were taken that they didn’t miss them.

"They’re still alive?!"

the Bear Leader asked urgently.

They had never imagined their cubs could still be alive after being captured by humans.

"As of today, there are fifteen—no, sixteen little cubs still alive."

Tang Mo often went with Duoyang to feed the little cubs, so she knew their exact number by heart.

Counting the one in Duoyang’s hands, it was exactly sixteen.

"Sixteen cubs... sixteen..."

The Bear Leader muttered the number over and over. This wasn’t the total number they had lost, but it was still wonderful.

For sixteen cubs to be able to return alive... it was truly wonderful. It was something they had never dared to imagine before.

"Are they... okay?"

the Bear Leader asked cautiously. The other bears all stared at Tang Mo without blinking, each mother imagining her own cub among those sixteen precious ones.

They were desperate to know how their cubs had been faring since leaving their mothers’ arms.

"Um... they’re doing okay."

Tang Mo felt a pang of guilt. Although she wasn’t the one who had tortured the little cubs, she was still human, after all.

If these bears knew what kind of torture their cubs had endured, they would likely go insane.

’These beasts were so friendly to humans, so why couldn’t humans coexist peacefully with them?’ For the first time, Tang Mo found herself truly pondering the relationship between humans and beasts.

"Are you sure you can bring them all back?" This was the question all the bears were most concerned about right now.

If all the little cubs could come home, they couldn’t care less what happened to the injured man.

"If you cooperate with me, it shouldn’t be a problem. Now, can I go see my friend?"

At that moment, the little cub in Tang Mo’s arms opened its eyes. Having slept its fill, it opened its eyes to see its father standing right in front of it.

It happily leaped out of Tang Mo’s arms, scrambled onto its dad’s back, and from there, cheerfully waved at Tang Mo.

"How can we trust you?"

The Bear Leader had seen enough of the deceitful people from Hulan Base. At this moment, he couldn’t be certain if the human before him was telling the truth.

’Are those sixteen little cubs really still alive?’

They truly didn’t dare to believe it.

"I’ll just check if my friend is alive; I won’t take him yet. Then, I’ll return to the base and bring you some ’interest.’ Once I deliver that, I’ll take my friend, and then we can cooperate. How about that?"

Tang Mo needed to confirm if Lin Yu was still alive.

The proposal was very fair. The Bear Leader thought for a moment and finally nodded.

Tang Mo finally found Lin Yu under a large tree in the center of the forest. He had lost a lot of blood.

From being dragged over a long distance, the clothes on his back had been completely worn through.

But thankfully, he was still breathing.

For Tang Mo, as long as he was breathing, there was hope. If he had been truly and utterly dead, there would have been nothing she could do.

Tang Mo placed her hand on Lin Yu’s forehead and used her spiritual power to heal his wounds.

Lin Yu was also a Spiritual Attribute superpower user, so his recovery ability was very fast. Tang Mo only needed to heal him to about seventy percent to ensure his life wasn’t in danger.

After doing all this, Tang Mo left the forest alone.

Now she had to go back to get the ’interest’ for the bears before she could return to ransom her friend.