3: Chapter 3 Porridge Escape - Porridge hinders Zhenxing!

The black-furred nose also pulled away from the hole.

Su Mo squinted his eyes, trying to see the outside world through the piercing sunlight.

"Is it leaving?"

Before he could adapt to the sunlight streaming in through the widened opening, the hollow suddenly plunged back into darkness.

A bloodshot, crimson eye was staring greedily at the two little foxes.

That eye was like a copper bell with a vertical pupil, emitting the distinct, predatory light of a hunter.

After just a moment, light returned to the hollow once more.

But Su Mo's fur was standing on end, and his heart was pounding uncontrollably.

"Boom!"

A giant paw covered in black, bristly fur tried to reach in through the opening, only to be blocked by the tangled network of roots.

"Crack!"

The Black Bear was clever; it changed its strategy and began digging at the outside of the entrance, wanting to widen the opening further.

The wood of the old tree, having grown for who knows how many years, was very hard. Coupled with the freezing weather, it had become as tough as steel, yet it still couldn't withstand the Black Bear's sharp claws.

Every time its heavy paw swept past, deep gouges appeared in the bark, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

The roots were starting to loosen, and dirt and debris kept falling from the ceiling of the hollow. The opening was expanding at a rate visible to the naked eye!

"I'm afraid this won't hold for much longer..."

Su Mo felt the little one's body trembling incessantly. He made a split-second decision to push Su Su toward the deepest part of the tree hollow while he cautiously crawled toward the entrance.

He held his breath, advancing slowly while staying close to the ground.

With every step closer, the temperature dropped, and that foul, stench-filled odor grew stronger, making his eyes sting.

After a few breaths, he finally crawled to a position about a dozen centimeters from the opening, where he could clearly see the full appearance of the Black Bear.

This Black Bear stood a full five meters tall, its body covered in needle-like black fur. Snowflakes clung to its coat, and the tips of every hair were encrusted with white ice crystals that glinted with an eerie light in the sun.

"Roar!"

Seemingly frustrated with digging, it let out a furious roar toward the sky and directly bit down on the roots at the edge of the tree hollow.

Its sharp fangs sank deep into the hard wood, producing a tooth-gritting "creak" as its limbs suddenly exerted force to pull back.

The entire tree hollow began to shake; the roots were actually being pulled out bit by bit from the rock-hard, frozen soil.

Su Mo was shaken back and forth. He really couldn't help but want to ask this Black Bear something.

"The calories you're burning to dig this hole are probably more than what you'll get from eating the two of us!"

"Did you come here just to lose weight?!"

As the outermost roots of the opening were pulled out, Su Mo's petite figure appeared before the Black Bear, forming a stark contrast with the mountain-like beast.

Seeing a delicious meatball appear, a hint of human-like bewilderment flashed in the Black Bear's crimson eyes, followed immediately by excitement as it reached out to grab Su Mo.

Su Mo knew he couldn't wait any longer. In this critical moment, his mind was racing.

Right now, he only had one talent and one skill.

The talent, Savage Growth, was clearly something that would only be powerful in the Late Stage; he couldn't count on it at all right now.

And the skill, Infinite White Porridge, didn't have much lethality either. At most, it could balance the Black Bear's diet and provide some sugar.

Wait... who said white porridge has no lethality?

In a flash, he recalled the System's description of the Infinite White Porridge skill.

Within sight... unlimited quantity... A crazy idea suddenly formed in Su Mo's mind. Seeing the giant paw close at hand above him, he retreated rapidly.

Fortunately, having eaten two bowls of white porridge earlier, his physique had been slightly strengthened, allowing him to barely dodge the bear paw's grasp.

The Black Bear raised its hand, and seeing it empty, it let out an unwilling roar.

Hearing the roar, Su Mo poked his head out of the hole.

"It opened its mouth?! Now's my chance!"

He activated his skill and began continuously summoning white porridge into the Black Bear's mouth and nostrils, not even sparing its eyes.

The Black Bear's roar faltered as it frantically shook its head, splattering thick white porridge everywhere.

Su Mo didn't stop. Instead, he increased the intensity of the congee infusion, with white porridge continuously surging into the Black Bear's oral and nasal cavities.

Amidst the violent struggling, the white porridge entered its lungs along with its breath.

"Awooo—"

The Black Bear let out a cry of agony, its paws constantly clawing at its nose, trying to get the thick white porridge out.

But the more it clawed, the more white porridge appeared, plastering its entire face.

It seemed to be terrified as it stumbled back a few steps, accidentally tripping over a rock. Its entire body slammed heavily onto the ground, making the earth tremble.

The Black Bear rolled over in pain and, on all fours, ran off into the distance without looking back.

However, with its eyes gummed up by white porridge, it would occasionally slam headfirst into a tree, causing large amounts of snow to crash down onto it.

Although this Black Bear was massive, its escape speed wasn't slow. In the blink of an eye, it had run dozens of meters away.

After waiting for a moment, Su Mo estimated the distance was about right. A wicked smile appeared on his small, dark face.

"Hungry, aren't you? Then I'll let you eat your fill!"

Immediately after, he clapped his paws together in front of his chest.

"Congee Release—Congee-structional Star!"

In an instant, a massive sphere of congee appeared in the sky, blocking out a large portion of the sunlight. A giant shadow covered the forest for a hundred meters around.

Due to the cold weather, signs of freezing were already appearing on the surface of the congee sphere, reflecting glints of silver light.

"My treat!"

Su Mo slammed his paws downward.

The congee sphere fell on command, crashing down precisely onto the Black Bear like a meteor.

Tons of white porridge exploded instantly, forming a sea of thick congee that completely submerged the Black Bear.

However, because the terrain in this part of the forest was relatively flat, the sea of congee couldn't accumulate. It dispersed into various streams, revealing the struggling black figure.

"This thing is really hard to kill!"

He said this, prepared to fire another one, but after thinking it over, he eventually gave up.

He wasn't familiar with this forest at all. If he made too much of a commotion, he didn't know if it would attract something even more powerful than this Black Bear.

This congee only slightly hindered the Black Bear; it didn't cause any real damage, nor could it stop its progress.

Even though its body was covered in frozen white porridge, it only slowed its escape speed slightly. In the time he spent hesitating, the Black Bear's figure had already vanished from his sight.

Su Mo slowly came back to his senses. Looking at the tree hollow that had been ravaged beyond recognition, he realized they could no longer live there. He cursed inwardly.

"Just wait until I've developed! When that time comes, I'll see if your bear paws are tasty!"

He returned to the hollow once more and pulled Su Su out. Her white fur was now stained with patches of black and white from the dirt, and her face was also quite smeared.

This comical appearance made Su Mo unable to help but cover his mouth and laugh.

Su Su, completely unaware, leaned in, wanting to see what kind of delicious food her cheap brother was hiding behind his paws.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't come over here! You're so dirty..."