Seeing soldiers stationed at a city's entrance was something Steven had only ever seen in period dramas and war films. But considering how this world was one that of a gacha game, he didn't dwell on it too much.
Watching the soldiers search each traveler for contraband, pat down their bodies, and demand bribes, Steven thought for a moment—then decided against waiting in line for a proper entry.
He could tolerate a bag check, sure.
But the idea of a two-meter-tall, thickly furred brute running his hands all over him?
Absolutely not.
Downing an invisibility potion, Steven casually strolled right through the main entrance, completely unnoticed.
Once inside, he ducked into an empty alleyway, dispelled the potion's effect, and finally took a moment to soak in his surroundings.
Up close, the city was nothing like he had expected.
The roads weren't jammed with cars the way cities in his old world were, but to his surprise—this world actually had automobiles.
They were few, but he could see several vehicles driving around that were mechanically similar to cars.
Judging by their design, they were likely powered by Originium energy.
Steven barely spared them a glance.
"Looks like another plaything for the rich," he mused.
And since these vehicles could only operate inside mobile cities, their actual practicality seemed rather limited.
As far as transportation went, Steven still preferred something more magical—like skeletal horses or dragons.
It wasn't that he disliked cars.
He just found them a little too basic for his tastes.
If it were something like a Goblin Glider from Marvel, now that would be interesting.
As for the city's residents, Steven found them indistinguishable from ordinary urban dwellers.
They dressed cleanly, their faces etched with exhaustion, weighed down by the burdens of daily work.
They looked exactly like the overworked corporate drones he used to see in his past life.
The only difference?
Most of them had some degree of non-human traits—a pair of bear-like ears, thick fur, or clawed hands.
In fact, the most common feature he had seen so far belonged to bear-type beastmen.
Compared to Rhodes Island, which looked more like an actual zoo, the population here seemed much less diverse.
To blend in, Steven made a minor compromise—he stuck two feathers on his head.
At the very least, this made him passable as a Liberi instead of… whatever unidentifiable species people always mistook him for.
He had been asked about his race so many times that even he was getting tired of it.
With that issue resolved, his outlandish outfit and armed appearance barely drew any attention.
After all, after just a couple of laps around the city, he had already seen that eight out of every ten people were carrying weapons.
Truly, Ursus was a land of simple and wholesome customs.
After casually wandering the city, Steven confirmed that it had most of the basic infrastructures necessary for daily life.
He scratched his head.
He had originally thought this world was in a constant state of chaos and suffering.
But now?
Things were starting to look a lot more complicated than he had expected.
Wandering casually around the city for a while, Steven confirmed that it had most of the basic infrastructure in place.
He scratched his head.
Originally, he had assumed that most people in this world lived in suffering. But now, things were turning out to be more complicated than he had expected.
At least in this Ursus city, he hadn't seen much disorder. The people, apart from their usual work fatigue, didn't seem oppressed in any obvious way.
Both their appearance and daily lives fit his general impression of ordinary civilians.
The only thing that puzzled him was that after walking around the entire mobile city, he hadn't seen a single Infected.
But according to Kal'tsit, Infected individuals made up a huge portion of the world's population.
So this superficial harmony in the city felt… questionable.
Thinking about it, Steven leisurely strolled toward the hospital.
Finding a specific location in a city without a proper map wasn't exactly easy.
But it wasn't that hard either.
As long as you had money, Steven was sure that plenty of locals would suddenly become "helpful"—especially if all they had to do was point in a direction to earn some quick cash.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for him to find the city's largest hospital.
He stopped at the entrance, taking in the scene.
The hospital was busy—even busier than Rhodes Island's medical facilities.
But strangely, even here, Steven still didn't see anyone displaying signs of Oripathy infection.
Most of the patients seemed to be suffering from regular illnesses or injuries.
The flow of people coming and going reminded him of the hospitals from his old world—it felt… almost too normal.
"Weird… This doesn't make sense. Is Kal'tsit messing with me? Or is this place actually some kind of utopia?"
Frowning, Steven rubbed his chin as he observed the hospital.
He had no intention of going inside.
He had already gotten more than enough exposure to the smell of disinfectants back at Rhodes Island.
He wasn't about to step into a hospital for no reason.
Thinking things over, Steven figured there was only one person who could answer his questions.
Opening his minimap, he scanned the city's layout.
Within seconds, he spotted a silver-haired cartoon-style icon—one he had marked long ago.
"She went into the sewer district? Is she a dragon or a rat? Why does it feel like she's definitely up to no good?"
Scratching his head, Steven couldn't understand why Talulah would be in a place like that.
From her clothing, demeanor, and overall style, she was clearly from a noble background.
Someone like that sneaking around in a sewer?
That just didn't fit her image at all.
With that thought in mind, Steven made his way toward Talulah's location.
Along the way, several police-like enforcers questioned him.
But the moment they saw he didn't have exposed Originium crystals, they let him go without issue.
They had dealt with enough weird-looking wanderers to know that most of them were at least a little unhinged.
As long as he wasn't causing trouble in front of them, they honestly couldn't be bothered.
Steven was more than happy to be ignored.
It saved him from a lot of unnecessary trouble.
<+>
Looking up at what was clearly the sewage system entrance of this mobile city, Steven wrinkled his nose at the odor drifting out from within.
Why do underground organizations always like to hide in places like this?
Or was it because they were called underground organizations that they had to set up their bases underground?
From his minimap, Steven could already tell that a large group of people was gathered ahead.
That made him even more curious about what exactly Talulah was up to.
With that thought in mind, he dug open the sturdy iron gate blocking the entrance and stepped into the dimly lit sewer tunnels.
Fortunately, the stench seemed to be mainly concentrated at the entrance—probably meant to discourage anyone from venturing inside.
After walking a bit deeper, the smell faded away.
However, what replaced it gave Steven a sense of inevitable confirmation.
It was the scent of blood—a mixture of fresh blood and Originium dust from infected bodies.
So this was where the Infected had been forced to live.
Hidden like rats, struggling to survive in the shadows.
Steven scratched his head.
Sure, it was sad, but at the same time… this was getting interesting.
Talulah's reason for coming here intrigued him even more.
Just as he was about to reach Talulah's marked location on the minimap, a noise from ahead in the darkness made him stop in his tracks.
"Halt! Who goes there?!"
A group of figures in eerie white masks suddenly emerged from a corner, blocking Steven's path.
At the same time, he noticed that the exit behind him had also been sealed off—more masked figures standing there, weapons in hand.
From them, Steven could clearly sense the presence of Infected individuals.
That alone confirmed his earlier suspicions—the Infected in this city were indeed forced into hiding.
And from the hostility in their eyes, it was obvious…
Being backed into a corner had made them much less friendly.
Seeing the cold glint of steel from their weapons, Steven let out a soft chuckle and calmly stopped in his tracks.
"Relax, I'm just here to meet a friend. No need to be so tense—though even if you were, it wouldn't matter."
He didn't even bother to put his hand on [Yamato].
Instead, he simply glanced over this ragtag group of Infected—aside from their matching masks, they barely looked different from common vagabonds.
They weren't even as well-equipped as the Infected Patrol Squad he had encountered before.
They were a little better than the helpless elderly and children from the village, but…
Only barely.
Honestly, even if he did nothing and just let them strike him, their arm would probably break after launching a punch once.
Of course, these guys didn't know that.
And they certainly weren't buying his words.
The tension in the air didn't ease at all.
None of them lowered their weapons—if anything, the moment he made a wrong move, they looked ready to stab him without a second thought.
<+>
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