At this moment, while happily digging up fireweed roots, Chen Wen was unaware that his home had almost been robbed.

"Goodness, almost two pounds of fireweed roots!"

Glancing at the dwindling supply of fireweed roots, Chen Wen stopped digging.

He displayed his harvest in front of the camera: "At least two pounds!"

"Fireweed is a clumping plant; it grows in patches. We can dig up about 80%, and what’s left will regrow next year, ensuring these fireweeds don’t disappear."

Don’t exhaust the resources, but develop sustainably.

This concept has run through Chen Wen’s survival strategy.

"Let’s go, let’s go, this time we hit the jackpot!"

Chen Wen said cheerfully, packing the fireweed roots into his hat.

On the way back, Chen Wen’s steps were light and brisk.

But this excitement and relaxed mood didn’t even last an hour before vanishing completely.

"Humans! Humans!"

Just as Chen Wen was returning to the shelter.

Overhead, an anxious cry from Eagle echoed.

Chen Wen was taken aback and looked at the despondent Eagle.

"What’s wrong? Why so panicked?"

Chen Wen couldn’t help but ask.

After awkwardly landing on a branch near Chen Wen, Eagle quickly recounted the recent events.

Having finished recounting the events, Eagle exclaimed in fear, "Hurry back! Otherwise, our food will be eaten by that big fellow!"

The grizzly bear I scared away hasn’t hibernated yet?

After hearing Eagle’s story, Chen Wen was initially dumbfounded, then a bit furious.

Alright, alright, alright!

I was planning to spare this guy, wait until it hibernated, and then deal with it.

Who would have thought it would actually come to my shelter to steal!

This time, you must die!

Chen Wen couldn’t help but curse under his breath.

He originally planned to have Eagle lead the way and rush back to the shelter to assess the situation.

But upon reconsidering, Chen Wen realized Eagle had already spent considerable time finding him.

It would also take a fair amount of time to get back now.

Not enough time.

It would be better to return at a steady pace to avoid arousing suspicion.

With this in mind, Chen Wen didn’t rush back.

Instead, he slightly quickened his pace, making his way back to the shelter.

...

Upon returning to the shelter.

Chen Wen saw the Wolf Mink.

At that moment, the Wolf Mink was standing on the roof beam, warily watching the surroundings.

Seeing Chen Wen return, the Wolf Mink immediately said, "Human! You’re back! Thankfully, our food wasn’t stolen!"

Hearing the Wolf Mink’s words, Chen Wen was rather surprised.

The food wasn’t stolen?

Was that grizzly bear so benevolent?

But upon seeing the state of the shelter, Chen Wen’s face turned dark.

Damn it!

The fireplace was dismantled!

The brute force of this grizzly bear is truly immense!

Chen Wen came to the fireplace edge and carefully inspected it.

Since he had previously shoveled all the burnt ash outside the shelter, there were now very clear grizzly paw prints on the ground there.

Moreover, Chen Wen took a rough look at the state of the shelter.

The fireplace had collapsed, the pot seemed to have toppled, the fire was mostly out, with just a few small flames stubbornly burning.

He went to the entrance of the storeroom.

After sliding away the board blocking the door, Chen Wen’s heart finally relaxed completely.

The food was all there!

Based on what he saw, Chen Wen could roughly infer the sequence of events.

"It looks like my shelter was attacked by the grizzly bear while I was away!"

Chen Wen stated seriously at the camera, "But from what I’ve observed, aside from the fireplace being destroyed by the grizzly bear, the rest of the shelter is intact."

"Moreover, none of the food was lost. I suspect this grizzly bear is the same one I previously drove away."

"Last night, I brought back a musk ox, and the scent left along the path probably attracted the grizzly bear. After all, the route extended from the grizzly’s territory, so it likely picked up the scent and tracked it to my camp."

"However, I got lucky, and so did this grizzly bear in a way. While searching for the musk ox meat, it mistook the fireplace for the shelter’s entrance and attacked the fireplace, attempting to break in."

"The fireplace couldn’t withstand the grizzly’s assault and collapsed, but the pot of boiling water inside spilled, conveniently drenching the firewood beneath it."

"At the time, smoke must have filled the air. Having experienced forest fires, this grizzly has developed a strong fear of flames and smoke, which frightened it, causing it to flee. That’s how my food and shelter were preserved."

It really was a stroke of luck!

Plus, having the foresight.

Chen Wen couldn’t help but think.

When he was building the shelter, he intentionally positioned the entrance against a small hillock.

Later, he piled firewood there, making the area particularly narrow.

This was to prevent animals from finding the shelter’s entrance.

Now it seems that the initial design successfully thwarted the grizzly’s attack.

Also, my luck was indeed on my side.

If it had been a grizzly bear that hadn’t experienced a forest fire, the odds of preserving my food would’ve been slim.

And the shelter would likely have been destroyed by the grizzly bear.

However, regardless of how things turned out, my losses are not particularly significant and remain within an acceptable range.

Upon reflection, Chen Wen noticed.

The fireplace was utterly destroyed and needed clearing and repairs.

But all the materials were still there and just required some clay to rebuild.

If all goes well, the fireplace could be repaired by tonight.

"Let’s repair the fireplace first; also, let’s get the fire going. If the fire goes out, I’d be at a loss for what to do."

Chen Wen shook his head.

This matter is far from over!

The grizzly bear must pay for its actions!

But I currently lack a solid strategy to deal with the bear. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The grizzly’s massive size means confronting it head-on would likely cause injury to myself.

Impacting my survival is a minor issue, but lowering my survival evaluation is the real concern!

And relying on speed to outmaneuver it isn’t feasible either.

The grizzly bears are not like elephants or hippos.

They are top predators on land, with hardly any weaknesses.

They’re fast, powerful, highly perceptive, and agile.

Having once taken the form of a grizzly, Chen Wen naturally knows their abilities.

So, rushing into vengeance isn’t prudent.

Shaking his head and setting aside these complicated matters, Chen Wen focused on repairing the fireplace.

Making adjustments to the chimney as well.

Although the previous chimney was decent, while using the fireplace, Chen Wen realized it couldn’t fully vent out the smoke.

When it was windless outside, the shelter still had some smoke inside.

Taking advantage of the fireplace being dismantled by the bear, Chen Wen intended to fix this minor shortfall.

By evening, when it was completely dark.

The hunting group returned to find that Chen Wen had entirely rebuilt the fireplace.

The fire was burning again.

The small flaws in the shelter had also been fixed by Chen Wen.

The Wolf Mink and others didn’t even notice the shelter had suffered an attack.