Boonie Bears: Another World Fantasy

"Sharp--"

The flames danced before his eyes, like a group of menacing demons, leaping and twisting, dispelling the darkness but also bringing endless fear and despair. The faint light illuminated his bloodless face, making his already pale skin appear even more sickly.

Sharp struggled to turn over and curled up under the tattered tent.

"Why did you leave me there? It's so cold there—" Her voice came through, carrying a chill that sent shivers down his spine. Sharp's chapped lips trembled slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only let out a hoarse sob. At this moment, he could no longer distinguish whether this was a terrible hallucination or cruel reality.

In the firelight, she stood there silently, like a soulless shell. Her face was ashen and expressionless, her eyes vacant and lifeless. And on her chest, a shocking hole was clearly visible, surrounded by deep red bloodstains, like a bewitching flower blooming on the edge of death.

“Don’t abandon me—” she tilted her head, staring at Sharp like a ghost.

……

At dawn, the sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of white.

Sharp wrapped himself tightly in his tattered coat, but it was still no match for the biting cold. He stood shivering outside the lumber mill, watching the snowflakes fall gently, covering the simple rooftops.

On the other side of the factory, a huge corporate promotional poster was pasted on a heavy wall. The woman on the poster was exquisitely made up, beautiful and charming, yet exuding an aloofness, which contrasted sharply with the dilapidated place.

"Sunset Group will bring you a better tomorrow."

The poster features a prominent caption at the bottom, while the woman referred to as the CEO, An Han, appears in the center of the image with an air of superiority.

Ha, just another pampered rich girl.

Sharp stopped looking in that direction and instead sat on the freshly sawn pine log, watching the passing loading trucks, a sense of peace washing over him. The noise of the machines seemed irrelevant to him; he simply sat there, lost in thought. After a while, he brushed the sawdust off his thick coat, picked up his axe again, and began chopping the cut timber.

The smell of diesel fuel filled the air. It was typical dry, cold weather here, unavoidable even in relatively warmer areas like the outskirts of Bear Ridge. At this moment, Sharp was temporarily working as a lumberjack. Compared to the thankless and arduous job of attracting customers to the café, this job was passable for him.

In the shadow of the giant steel smelting furnaces at the nearby steel mill, the temperature was so low it made them shiver. Fortunately, it was early morning, and the faint sunlight was shining in their direction. However, as dusk approached and they were about to leave work, they would be as if they had just stepped out of a frozen food warehouse.

In contrast, Sharp prefers this time of day in the morning.

Every morning at the assembly, the shift leader would launch into a long, rambling lecture. He would talk about nothing more than how to handle the waste timber from the cutting process and which types of trees would yield the highest profits. He would also ramble on about trivial matters such as when each task should be completed. To Sharp, a newcomer, these words were utterly boring, and he couldn't be bothered to pay any attention.

However, the somber atmosphere was soon broken when a skinny little fellow, whom everyone called "Big Monkey," suddenly became unusually fearful and started playing new tricks.

Sharp learned about his legendary experiences from his other coworkers, even though Sharp knew perfectly well what role the big monkey played in "Boonie Bears".

"Hey, fellow workers! Come on, gather around!" Big Monkey shouted excitedly, waving his arms. Several people present put down their work and quietly gathered together while the shift leader was away.

"Have you heard? It seems like the 'Sunset' Group in Shenzhen is going to acquire us! They're the top company in Shenzhen!" He described it vividly, as if he had seen it with his own eyes, successfully piquing the curiosity of the workers present, who immediately began to discuss it enthusiastically. Sharp, on the other hand, stood quietly not far from them. He had been engrossed in his work, but when he heard the words "Shenzhen," he instantly perked up his ears and listened intently.

"Are you talking about that company that suddenly rose to prominence after 'L' Day?" a worker with a round face asked. "I heard there's a conspiracy theory involved." "Ugh, where do all these conspiracy theories come from these days? Even the Deer Clan is jumping on the bandwagon—" someone chimed in.

Upon hearing the words "Deer Clan," Sharp's heart skipped a beat, and that slender figure reappeared before him. Her eyes were clear and bright, seemingly able to pierce through to the very core of his being...

"Oh my, speaking of the Deer Clan, they really wreaked havoc at Bear Ridge a few days ago—"

"I heard that even the army has been mobilized."

The workers continued their idle chatter, the topic gradually drifting away from work, but Sharp had no interest in listening. He shook his head slightly, as if trying to shake off the image in his mind. Then, he pulled down his goggles, swapped his axe for a chainsaw, and tried to use the sound of the chainsaw to drown out the surrounding noise. He hoped this would calm his troubled mood somewhat.

The deafening roar of the chainsaw echoed throughout the factory. Sharp was completely absorbed in his work, his hands gripping the chainsaw tightly as he cut pieces of wood into neat shapes. Sweat streamed down his forehead, soaking his work clothes, but he didn't stop to rest. Only in the midst of his busy work could he temporarily forget his worries and pain.

However, the big monkey's gaze pierced through the crowd, always hovering over Sharp, as if he were secretly plotting some kind of conspiracy.

After the wood was split, Sharp did not leave immediately, but waited for the quality inspector to come and check for any unusable wood so that rework could be carried out more effectively.

This was arguably the most arduous and strenuous work he had done since his transmigration. He kicked the timber support frame a few times—it was incredibly sturdy. After confirming everything was in order, Sharp tightened the straps of his work clothes again. Then, he slowly walked along the edge of the factory for about ten meters, finally arriving at the material preparation area. Not far away, the booms of cranes stood densely packed like a forest. And the big monkey that had been making a ruckus just moments before had somehow appeared there, now focused on repairing the interior of the wood-cutting machine, looking as if it had been waiting there for a long time.

"You must be Sharp?" the big monkey asked bluntly, raising an eyebrow.

Sharp slowly unloaded his heavy backpack, then stepped forward to check with the big monkey where the wood-cutting machine was malfunctioning.

"This guy's really long-winded!" Sharp thought to himself, but didn't dwell on how the other person knew his name. He simply nodded in response.

"I heard you know one of them." The big monkey didn't waste any words and got straight to the point. "Don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about."

Upon hearing this, Sharp gave a bitter smile, struggling to suppress the anger that was about to erupt within him.

"Perhaps..." His voice was slightly low, as if he wanted to hide something.

However, the big monkey easily saw through Sharp's lie, and sneered, "Heh heh heh, kid, do you think you've misunderstood my intentions?"

"Of course I know that the pain of losing a loved one is absolutely unbearable." These words lingered in my ears, breaking my heart.

"Bang!" Suddenly, a loud crash shattered the surrounding silence. It turned out that Sharp, in a fit of rage, had slammed the wrench he was holding against the casing of the wood-cutting machine, then turned and walked away, looking utterly annoyed. He knew perfectly well that the big monkey definitely had some other ulterior motive.

"Hey! Wait a minute—" Seeing Sharp about to leave, the big monkey hurriedly shouted and rushed forward to block his way.

“Kid…no, brother, don’t be so hasty…” The big monkey’s tone was somewhat ingratiating and pleading, as if trying to calm Sharp’s anger. However, Sharp did not stop; he stared wide-eyed at the big monkey.

"Yes, I have a favor to ask. I really, really want to know more about that girl named Naya... I wonder if you could tell me about her?"

The big monkey deliberately kept people in suspense, putting on a mysterious and unpredictable look, and then waited expectantly for Sharp's response.

However, Sharp completely ignored him, not even bothering to glance at him, and left without paying him any attention.

"Hey! Brother, don't rush off! How about this, you name your price, and if it's right, I'll pay you directly to buy all this information, okay?" Big Monkey shouted hurriedly upon seeing this.

Upon hearing this, Sharp finally lost his temper, turned around abruptly, raised his fist angrily, and was about to smash it down on the monkey's face.

"Hey, brother, don't do this! Let's talk this out! Please don't hit me!" Seeing Sharp get angry, Big Monkey immediately turned pale with fright and waved his hands repeatedly, begging for mercy.

"It's not that I want to provoke you, but... but the situation is really quite special!" He suddenly became stammering and incoherent, trying to find a suitable way to express his thoughts. At the same time, he seemed to be weighing the pros and cons of what he was about to say.

Finally, after much difficult thought, Big Monkey lowered his voice and continued, "Actually, it's because of one of my bosses, well... you could say my superior, he offered a high price to buy her remains..." As the conversation deepened, Big Monkey's voice grew softer and softer, while he carefully observed Sharp's reaction, afraid that he might say something wrong and offend the other party.

Sharp froze on the spot after hearing that.

"Get out of here! Get as far away as you can!"