Leshi and her party were on their way to Bearton.
"Hu Ji, what kind of village is Bearton? What’s it known for?" Leshi asked with a face full of excitement and curiosity.
"Because Kitsune Village is isolated and the villagers never travel far, I don't know for sure," Hu Ji answered carefully. "I’ve only heard it’s inhabited by bear-beastmen famous for their earth-attribute powers. It's said to be a bustling, prosperous place with rich resources and plenty of food."
However, when the two followed the signposts and finally arrived at Bearton, they were horrified by the sight before them.
The earth was cracked and parched, without a single blade of green grass in sight. Yellow sand drifted through the air, and the houses were broken and dilapidated. Scavengers and wild beasts roamed freely, and a pungent, nauseating stench of decay filled the air. There was no sign of life; the bear-beastmen children were emaciated, collapsing one by one.
If you want to know what true hunger is, it is the state where people are too weak to even search for food, forced to watch themselves starve while waiting for wild beasts to devour them. Despair is the feeling of watching death happen, knowing you are utterly powerless to change it.
The earth is supposed to sustain all living things, yet the heavens cruelly refused to grant even a sliver of mercy.
"Hu Ji, is this really the Bearton you talked about? It’s nothing like I imagined... Did we take a wrong turn?" Leshi kept using defensive lies to convince herself that this wasn't real.
"The signpost definitely points here as Bearton," Hu Ji said, gripping Leshi’s hand anxiously. "Something terrible must have happened to turn the village into a desert before we arrived. Let’s be careful and investigate what’s going on."
As they moved toward the center of the village, they saw an adult male bear-beastman sharing his last bit of honey with a child. Even though his own steps were heavy with hunger, his earthy-yellow paws remained steady as he comforted the exhausted, weakened cub.
"That bit of honey isn't enough!" Leshi cried out. She hurriedly opened her item slots and handed her rice balls to the bear-beastman and the child.
Seeing the food Leshi offered, the bear-beastman was so overcome with emotion that he ignored his own hunger to quickly feed the child in his arms.
"Don't rush, take your time. We have plenty more," Hu Ji said, noticing he was prioritizing the child and gently encouraging him to eat as well.
After watching the little bear eat his fill and fall asleep from exhaustion, the large bear thanked Leshi and Hu Ji, gesturing for them to follow as he took the cub home to rest.
雷希一行人在前往熊熊村的路途上。
狐姬，熊熊村是什麼樣的村落？那邊的特色是什麼？雷希一臉興奮好奇的詢問狐姬。
因為狐妖村與世隔絕村民從不遠行所以不知道，只聽說是個以大地屬性為名的熊獸人居住，物產豐饒糧食充足，是個熱鬧繁榮的村落。狐姬仔細回答雷希問題。
正當兩人沿著路牌成功抵達熊熊村，卻被眼前的景象嚇壞了。
那是個大地乾裂枯竭長不出半點綠地，空氣中飄泊著黃沙、房屋破損殘敗、飛鳥走獸到處橫行，空氣中瀰漫一股撲鼻令人作嘔的屍臭味，毫無生氣村里的熊獸人孩子面黃肌瘦一個個倒下。如果什麼是飢餓？恐怕是人們餓到無力找食物，只能眼睜睜餓死等待野獸吃掉自己。所謂的絕望正是看著自己無力改變，只能眼睜睜看著死亡發生。
大地養活萬物，可老天無情的連一絲慈悲也不願給予。
狐姬，這真的是你說的熊熊村嗎？怎麼跟想像中的不一樣，我們是不是走錯路了？雷希不停用防衛性謊言來說服自己這不是真的。
告示牌確實指著這裡就是熊熊村，恐怕在我們來之前發生了什麼恐怖的事讓村子荒漠，我們小心點查看村子到底發生什麼事？狐姬不安的緊握雷希的手。
兩人不安的往村子中心移動，只見一名成年雄性熊獸人正將自己僅剩的一點蜂蜜分給孩子。即便他自己也因為飢餓而步伐沉重，那雙土黃色的熊掌依然溫定地安撫著早已虛脫無力的幼崽。
那點蜂蜜不夠的，雷希流淚急忙的點開道具欄將飯糰優先交給眼前的熊獸人與小孩。
熊獸人看見雷希給予的飯糰激動的管不了自己是否挨餓趕緊給懷裡的小孩吃。
不用急慢慢來，我們還有很多。狐姬知道對方只想先餵飽小孩刻意請對方也一起吃。
看著小熊吃飽累的睡著，大熊像雷希與狐姬道謝後示意一同前往將小熊帶回家安置。
Baer and the Hungry Bear Cub貝爾與飢餓的小熊孩子
