Arknights: I became an NPC in the online game

Most ordinary towns in Ursus, as mentioned before, aren't mobile cities. They remain rooted in place for years, tucked between mountains and rivers. Some sit beside mines and never move at all. Nobles avoid such towns—living there is practically gambling with one's life.

The absence of a mobile city meant Felix and the Yeti Squad didn't have to trace a moving target. Following the coordinates on their map, they reached the outskirts by early afternoon the next day. From a distance, Felix's drone relayed images of the town's edge.

"These people… patrol team, right?"

Felix pointed at the young men on the screen wearing Ursus military uniforms, then glanced at Frostnova beside him.

She pressed her lips together and nodded. "Worst case scenario. I thought they'd just been delayed, but running into a patrol team… that's trouble."

"Trouble meaning… we'd have to fight them?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Frostnova's voice was quiet, but firm. "If they find us, more will come. Even if Father were here, we couldn't withstand a constant stream of patrol squads. And if the nobles catch wind of it, they'll send their own forces. They won't tolerate a strong infected colony making waves right under their noses."

"So… infiltration?"

Frostnova picked up her telescope and leaned against a small rise, focusing on the town's gate. "…Strict checks at the entrance. We can't go in that way. Which means the only option is through the sewers."

"We need their location. If we can rescue them, we will."

"Until I see their bodies," Frostnova murmured, "I'll believe they're alive. And I'll do everything I can to save them."

Petrova shrugged. To her, that kind of conviction was just plain cool.

Felix couldn't help thinking his kind wasn't built for stealth. Unlike the Yeti Squad, he practically had a neon sign over his head. In the daytime it was bad enough—at night he'd be a walking beacon.

It wasn't as if the patrols ignored the sewers either. Infected tended to hide there more than anywhere else. The town's population barely reached the five digits, yet finding a missing squad among them was still no easy task.

From a distance, Felix crouched low, watching Frostnova and Petrova approach the sewer entrance. Both wrinkled their noses at the stench. The patrol team stationed there had the same reaction.

"Cyka Blyat!—why are we stuck down here looking for runaways while Team One sits in a café sipping tea? I'm about to lose my lunch."

"Save it. I can barely breathe. Honestly, any infected hiding here would've suffocated by now."

"Let's go. I can't take this smell anymore."

The two patrolmen trudged away, still grumbling, heading deeper into the city's sewers. It didn't mean they were gone for good, but for the moment, the outer tunnels lay unguarded.

Felix stepped up beside Frostnova, guiding his prototype drone over the city wall. It slipped into the airspace above the town, invisible unless someone happened to scan the sky with purpose. Stealth modules were no longer a problem for him—being a rare mechanical engineering expert as a secondary profession had widened his entire technology tree.

There were only a handful of places that could hold prisoners: police stations and jails. But in a town this small, a fully equipped jail was unlikely. That left the police station as the most probable location.

The squad moved quickly through the sewer. The stench was unpleasant, but at least it masked their own scent—useful if the patrol had trained dogs on their side.

Once they reached the section of the sewer under the city, faint footsteps echoed from above. Voices followed—the same two patrolmen from earlier. They hadn't left after all, only returned with masks.

Knocking them out wouldn't be hard; there were only two. But this wasn't a game where you could trick a commander by answering their calls. If a patrolman went missing, the whole town would be on high alert.

Frostnova chose not to strike. Instead, she waited in the shadows for them to pass before signaling the group forward.

At the stairs, she removed her hood and looked over the Yeti Squad. "Time to change clothes. We'll locate them first, then move at night."

"I've already found them," Felix said, raising his hand like a student volunteering in class. His tone was calm. "My drone's identified three police stations in town. Two of them have patrols out front. That's where your people are."

Frostnova blinked—she hadn't expected him to work that fast. The drone really was impressive.

The clothing change came next. Marching around in jackets styled like military uniforms was asking for trouble. Even with a cover story, the patrol wouldn't believe it. The Yeti Squad had prepared civilian clothing before departure for this exact reason.

Greg and Big Bear moved fast, transforming from disciplined soldiers into unremarkable slum-dwellers in minutes. Still, their bearing gave them away; neither could convincingly pass as wealthy folk.

Frostnova's own disguise was simple—an ordinary Ursus girl. But her unique constitution meant she rarely wore heavy layers, and in this weather, her bare legs drew too much attention.

After some thought, she switched to trousers. Her top was long-sleeved and warm, hiding the Originium shards embedded in her arms. At camp, no one cared, but in town, a single glance could brand her as infected. If that happened, the mission would be over before it began—and she'd be in danger herself.

As someone uninfected, Felix carried the least psychological burden. Dressed in his usual traveler's attire, he strolled openly down the street beside Frostnova without a hint of caution.

Petrova, Greg, and Big Bear split off toward another police station to scout. Felix's earlier drone sweep had confirmed that the captured squad members were being held in two separate locations, which meant their nighttime rescue would also require two teams.

Frostnova's gaze lingered on the passing Ursus civilians—faces worn with hardship yet still managing faint smiles. She had once lived such a life herself, and deep down, she still wanted it. Just living an ordinary life was already so hard; how could she dare hope for anything more?

Felix booked them a double room in a small hotel not far from the police station. Normally, he'd have paid for a presidential suite without a second thought, but here in this poor, remote place, even having a functioning hotel was fortunate. When asked why only one room instead of two, Frostnova explained they'd be operating together that night—better to rest in the same place before the mission.

Frostnova sank into the bed, feeling its softness for the first time in months. She pressed her face into the pillow. At camp, she didn't have anything close to this—yet compared to most infected, she was already a hundred times luckier to have a roof over her head at all.

After a short rest, she slipped out alone to survey the police station. At this stage, she trusted her own judgment most. She needed to assess guard numbers, memorize positions, and plan both attack and retreat routes. The mission might be infiltration, but Frostnova was clearly preparing for a fight if it came to that.

Felix stayed behind, eyes closed. He'd done his part. The rest was for the squad leader to decide—he was just following orders here.

If it were up to him, though, he'd take the most direct route: storm the police station with twin pistols, yell "Surprise, motherf—" and drop anyone in the way. Subtlety had its uses, but there was nothing in his goals that ruled out kicking the door down.

As they say, Stealth mission have more action when you go loud than normal mission. And he can goes full auto too!

After all, his enemy wasn't the patrols, the local police, or even ordinary Ursus citizens—it was the twisted system they all lived under. Changing that was far beyond his current reach.

"Are there many in the patrol?" Felix asked before dinner, as Frostnova returned from her afternoon reconnaissance.

"My drone spotted at least two squads in that station," he added. "Each has a captain."

"There's another patrol stationed at the other police station," Frostnova replied, lips pressed thin. "I can't rule out the chance it's a trap, but I think it's unlikely. Ursus doesn't believe infected would risk themselves to rescue others. Even within the infected settlements, unity isn't a given."

"On that subject…" Felix studied her. "What would you do if someone who joined you earlier left partway through—cut ties with the squad, or even became your enemy?"

"…There are infected like that?"

"I think you overestimate the infected, Frostnova."

Felix smiled faintly. "The infected are those who've long since lost hope in this land. Take Ursus, for example—if you handed an infected person an Originium weapon and set them in front of powerless civilians, do we really need to debate whether they'd use it to infect them all?"

"Terranity's innate cruelty can't be erased. Their hearts are full of resentment and malice. Oppressed now, they'd simply reverse roles if given the chance—oppressing Ursus civilians in turn. And because their strength isn't enough to shake Ursus itself, they'd settle for bullying the weak."

Frostnova frowned but eventually gave a small nod. What he said wasn't entirely wrong.

"Are you ready for tonight?" he asked.

"Yeah. Let's just find a way in. But… your light source is a little bright." Her eyes flicked to Felix's wings and halo, her tone blunt. "Bringing you along at night will draw too much attention."

"Don't worry about me. I won't slow you down. This is our rescue mission behind enemy line—and my first since joining the Yeti Squad. I intend to give it everything."

Frostnova hummed softly in response, but said nothing more.

By late night, Felix's alarm jolted him from a half-doze. He moved to the window, where a blast of frigid north wind stripped away the last of his drowsiness.

"Let's go."

"Lead the way, Mr. Pioneer."

Without another word, his drone lifted off, sweeping the area with a carpet-style thermal scan. Frostnova took point, silent, savoring the stillness of the last moments before the break-in.

The police station's exterior was unguarded—hardly surprising. No one had warned the patrols about a jailbreak tonight. In their minds, such a thing was impossible. Ordinary infected, selfish and fractured, wouldn't dare.

Frostnova, though an infected, had been raised by a good father and trained in the military. For her, the Yeti Squad was family—worth facing any danger for.

Felix followed as they circled around to a locked front door. Light flickered inside; a handful of night-shift officers moved about. They bypassed the entrance and slipped in through the toilet window.

Almost immediately, shouts rang out from the direction of the cells.

"You filthy infected! Just looking at you makes me sick. We'll have to scrub the place clean because you're so disgusting!"

A heavy thud—flesh meeting force—was followed by a woman's pained cry.

"It's Nova." Frostnova's eyes blazed with anger. Her teeth clenched, hands trembling as icy current spilled out uncontrollably.

Felix stepped forward, taking her hand, wrapping her cold fingers in his warm grip.

"…Pioneer."

"Leave it to me."