Overpowered Farmer

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Chapter 4

Jack's instinct was to turn and run — his legs had already started moving backward — but his brain caught up faster than his body.

He forced himself to stop. Experience told him something was off about that breathing. Too slow, too heavy, like something deep in hibernation.

Then a word flashed through his mind — hibernation.

November in Alaska. Any bear should have been hibernating by now.

Hibernation was the normal thing, and the red signal in his mind representing the brown bear was steady and calm.

Jack listened carefully for another ten seconds or so. The breathing didn't change — same rhythm, same pace.

He slowly let out a breath, but his hand never left the axe.

He glanced back toward the entrance. Outside, the temperature had already dropped to around -10°F.

Going out there meant death. Jack hesitated for two seconds, then made his decision — he wouldn't disturb the bear, and he wasn't leaving this cave.

His only option right now was to fall back. The cave entrance was far enough from where the bear was hibernating, and there were plenty of side passages in this cave. As long as he was careful — no more food with strong smells, no loud noises — the bear in deep sleep shouldn't wake up.

With his mind made up, Jack lowered the torch in his hand, letting it only light the ground at his feet. He pressed his back against the cave wall and moved heel-first, trying not to make a single sound.

After backing up several dozen steps, he finally slipped out of the narrow passage.

The tunnel opened up immediately. He slowly turned around and walked quickly back to the cave entrance.

Only when he was back by the fire did Jack let out a real breath. He dropped down onto the ground, put out the torch, and wedged it into a crack in the rock nearby.

Back in the livestream, viewers couldn't help but speculate after watching him.

"Oh my god, the way he looks — did he just find something deep in that cave?"

"Could be a bear. I've heard experienced hunters say big animals like brown bears love denning up in deep caves like this during winter."

"Looking at Jack's face, you guys are probably right."

"Don't scare me, I'm terrified of those things."

Jack couldn't see his viewers' concern. He sat by the fire for a moment catching his breath, took a drink from his water bag, and finally started to calm down from the tension.

Outside, the wind howled and ice pellets rattled against the tarp.

The blizzard clearly wasn't going to let up tonight. Jack jumped to his feet.

He packed up the simple bed he'd made earlier, bundled the extra firewood onto the sled, and kept only one wolf pelt to cover himself.

Then he gathered more rocks and reinforced the fire pit. In this cave, fire was his most powerful weapon.

Once everything was done, he eased himself down against the cave wall. He placed the axe to his right, keeping his hand resting on the handle. The two sharpened wooden stakes he'd prepared earlier went to his left, within easy reach.

Satisfied that everything was in order, Jack pulled the wolf pelt over himself, closed his eyes, and settled in to rest.

Not actually sleep — just resting with his eyes closed. His awareness stayed spread out, covering the narrow passage deep in the cave.

He couldn't reach as far as where the bear was, but the bear would have to pass through that passage to get out. The moment it got close, Jack would know.

After a while, Jack opened his eyes and stood up again. He shifted the sled a little closer to the entrance, making sure that if anything went wrong, he could grab everything and get out fast.

Just as he was about to sit back down, a yellow dot appeared in his mind.

Yellow meant supplies. Jack looked toward the corner of the cave.

The dot hadn't just appeared — it had been there the whole time. But when he'd first entered the cave, the golden glow of the mineral deposit had grabbed all his attention, and he'd completely missed this faint little light.

Jack focused and took a careful second look. A moment later, the information came through.

[Type: Honey, pine nuts, dried fruits, etc.]

[Status: Edible]

Jack blinked. Honey — in the Alaskan wilderness in November.

His eyes lit up, but he couldn't just walk straight over and dig it out. That would be too obvious. He thought for a second.

Then he picked up the torch, walked slowly to the corner of the cave, and pretended to keep collecting rocks. He let his foot "accidentally" kick a plain-looking stone.

The stone shifted, and a small hole appeared beneath it.

Jack pretended to be surprised, crouched down, and moved the surrounding rocks aside.

Underneath was a shallow pit, packed full of supplies.

On top were chunks of honey that had hardened into solid pieces — a little dark in color, dusty on the surface, but still carrying that sweet smell.

Beneath that was a pile of pine nuts mixed with some dried fruits he couldn't name, looking like they'd been stored there for quite a while.

Jack let his face show the excitement that was expected. He picked up a piece of honey, blew off the dust, and put it in his mouth.

The sweet taste hit him instantly, and his whole face relaxed.

The livestream chat exploded.

"Oh my god, he's eating honey!"

"How does he kick a random rock and find food? This guy's luck is unreal."

"How does a cave just have this much stuff in it?"

"Didn't someone just say there might be a bear in there? Brown bears usually store food before hibernating."

"Jack, you just robbed a bear's pantry. It's gonna be furious when it wakes up."

Jack finished the small piece of honey and stopped there. In the winter wilderness, high-calorie food like honey was worth more than meat — the kind of thing that could save your life when things got desperate.

He carefully gathered all the honey and packed it into the leather pouch he'd sewn.

Then he found another bag and started filling it with the dried fruits from below. But when he got to the very bottom, he found something unexpected — a tiny tunnel running beneath the pit.

The edges of the tunnel were scattered with bits of chewed-up dried fruit.

Around the scraps were two small tufts of brownish-yellow fur. Jack picked them up.

A message came through immediately.

[Animal fur detected. Species: Siberian chipmunk. Count: 2]

Chipmunks?

Jack suddenly understood. Turns out he wasn't the only thief here — a couple of chipmunks had been using the bear's food stash as their own personal hideout.

He leaned down and looked into the tunnel. The walls were worn smooth, which meant those two chipmunks had been coming here more than once.

Jack's mind started turning. If they liked coming here to steal food, why not set a trap? He might actually be able to catch them.

Chipmunks didn't have much meat on them, but out here in the snow, any food was worth having.

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