Arknights Is Real

On the streets of Chernobog, every Ursus man wore a fearless expression. Their demeanor screamed “We are the bear people, afraid of nothing.” But when they heard the cry, “Run, it’s the Infected,” panic washed over their faces.

Ursus people are known for being sensitive, irritable, and possessing innate strength and boldness. They have an extreme aversion to the Infected. In Ursus cities, if an Infected person is exposed, their fate would be extremely harsh.

No living being willingly awaits death. Survival is the most basic instinct. Just as the Infected fear the Ursus, to the Ursus, the Infected are synonymous with danger.

Upon hearing the call, the fruit vendor swiftly packed up his stall and shouted to the people on the street, “Women and children, leave the street immediately! Someone notify the police!”

Grabbing an iron rod from behind his stall, the fruit vendor, along with a group of burly male residents, charged aggressively towards the source of the commotion.

Xia Feng smirked. It seemed that such occurrences were not uncommon in Chernobog; the residents had well-rehearsed responses.

A little girl with bear ears, holding her mother’s hand, asked, “Mom, what are the Infected? Are they bad people?”

With a grim expression, her mother replied, “The Infected are the most evil people in the world. They will hurt your friends and family, and spread the terrible Oripathy disease to us. Remember, never go near them.”

“Oh.”

Xia Feng overheard their conversation. The mother was right—the Infected were dangerous to this world. However, she hadn’t told the whole story. People feared the Infected and wanted to eradicate or expel them. But before they became Infected, they could have been your friends or family.

From the distance, the men’s shouts reached Xia Feng’s ears.

“There’s more than one Infected! They ran away!”

“Quick, chase them! They’re wearing clothes from other countries! Search everywhere!”

Xia Feng had initially planned to stay out of it, but these shouts made him uneasy.

He had no animal ears on his head, no tail on his behind. He was human, a new species in this world. Crucially, he had no identification to prove his identity.

Though he could assure he had no Oripathy, if he were mistaken for a suspect and detained, he wouldn’t survive the “care” of the Ursus people before the medical examination.

Xia Feng rubbed his numb feet. He needed to avoid two things:

First, he couldn’t be mistaken for a suspect and caught before this incident settled.

Second, in his attempt to evade capture, he had to avoid running into the actual Infected. He wasn’t sure if the pathology of Oripathy was the same as he understood.

He started running towards the other side of the street.

After crossing the street, Xia Feng found himself in a relatively spacious area. The news about the Infected had already spread, and the residents of this street were equally on high alert.

Elderly people closed their windows, mothers hurriedly pulled their children home, and men, their eyes glinting with aggression, began searching the streets and alleys for any suspicious individuals.

Xia Feng snuck into a narrow alley. At the end of the alley, he saw a person lying there.

The person had a big belly, a flushed face, and held an empty wine bottle in his hand. Judging by his content expression, he was probably having a nice dream.

A drunk!

Seeing this soundly sleeping drunkard, Xia Feng almost found him adorable.

Without hesitation, Xia Feng quickly pulled off the man’s shoes. Though they were a bit large, they were certainly better than going barefoot in this freezing weather.

After putting on the shoes, Xia Feng started stripping the man of his fur coat, muttering to himself, “Why is an Ursus man wearing so much?”

Wearing the shoes and the fur coat, Xia Feng felt alive again.

The drunkard, with his exposed belly, continued to sleep soundly. Given his layers of fat and thick chest hair, Xia Feng thought he would probably survive until morning without freezing to death.

Suddenly, footsteps approached from behind.