Taking another look at the innocent smile of the girl in the photo, Kurd suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his chest - the emotion that had long been wiped out by politics seemed to well up from the deepest part of his heart.

But then, he quickly closed his eyes, suppressed the surging emotions, and took a deep breath.

"This is just a temporary difficulty, Kurd, isn't it always like this along the way?"

*

*

04:15 PWeather/Overcast.

New York, Northern Manhattan.

The weather was gloomy, drizzle was falling, and the dark clouds seemed to blend into the depressive atmosphere on the ground.

The northern section of Manhattan in New York City was once an old industrial area, but after large-scale urban transformation, it has now become a high-tech entertainment and sports center in New York City.

Under the rain curtain, the splendor and desolation of the city presented a sharp contrast.

In the urban green space, a modern stadium with avant-garde shape and smooth lines has risen from the ground.

The New York High-Tech Park next to the stadium has become a landmark building in the city with its futuristic design.

Bright neon lights and floating holographic projections add endless vitality and a sense of technology to this area, and rainwater slides down the surface of the giant building.

However, behind this luxurious arena, there is another forgotten world.

Different from the prosperity of the green space, that area is tightly surrounded by high walls and has become a dark and isolated area in the city.

The buildings in the quarantine area form an extreme contrast with the gorgeous buildings of the stadium and high-tech park.

Residential buildings in disrepair, temporary shacks, and abandoned factory buildings are scattered here and there.

Each building looked bleak, with cracks and peeling paint on the brick walls, and broken windows that revealed the darkness inside.

These buildings do not have modern facilities, the power supply and water supply systems are often interrupted, and the corridors are filled with stagnant water and a musty smell.

In the small room, the infected people were barely crowded together, and the living area of ​​each family was extremely limited.

The house is simple, cold in winter and hot in summer. Rainwater drips through the damaged roof and forms cold water stains on the ground. You can even see plastic sheets swinging in the wind on the ground, acting as substitutes for broken windows.

And right between the quarantine area and the luxurious arena, a huge steampunk-style Zeppelin slowly sailed through the sky.

The outer shell of the airship is covered with complex copper pipes and gear structures, enveloping it with a mechanical and classical aesthetic.

These steampunk airships are equipped with a device that is completely contradictory to their style - a large virtual projector.

They cast huge virtual projections in the air, and the projections staggered in the dark gaps between the quarantine area and the arena.

Several huge fonts flashed on the projection:

[Break through the limits and witness the unyielding will——]

Then, the screen switched to the competition field, where the contestants were fighting hard on the difficult track.

Every obstacle crossed and every cry expressed through thaumaturgic special effects is presented as an epic heroic feat. Accompanied by the shocking background music, the picture sparkles with brilliance, creating endless magnificence and heroism.

The glorious scene in the stadium was spread to every corner of the quarantine area through virtual projection. However, these quarantined people could only look up at the untouchable picture through the dilapidated windows.

The rain slid down their hair and cheeks, reflecting the glory in the virtual world. The infected people's lives were still difficult, as if it had nothing to do with them.

This is not the hub, this is the real world - the status gap experienced by infected people between the hub and the real world is worse than anyone imagined.

Within the Level I quarantine area.

The drizzle fell from the gray sky, gently hitting the plastic roof of the old awning, making a subtle rustling sound.

The rainwater dripped along the eaves of the shed and gathered into small streams, flowing slowly along the ground.

Lina was huddled in the corner of the awning, holding an exquisite card tightly in her hand.

Printed on the card is a horse and a girl with horse ears with a bright smile, from which you can vaguely see a few lines of words - [Silver Moon Hoof·Alicia].

This is one of the racing girls that Lena admires the most.

She raised her head and looked through the gap in the awning at the Zeppelin floating slowly not far away.

The huge projection cloth of the airship shimmered in the gray sky, projecting the ongoing horse racing competition.

Lina's eyes were fixed on the projection screen, and several children around her were also watching intently, with a trace of desire and envy shining in everyone's eyes.

They are all infected with strange hoof disease like Lena, a group of children who are excluded from the world.

On the projection screen, the racehorse girls were running hard, speeding along the complicated track.

The children watched the game with bated breath.

Lina was the same. She tightened her grip on the card in her hand with a little force. The thin piece of paper carried all her hopes and fantasies.

If you ask her why she likes to watch games?

She had imagined more than once that she could be like Silver Moon Hooves, running on the track, facing the wind and sunshine, and becoming the focus of the audience.

But reality doesn't shine as brightly as the racehorse gals on the silver screen.

Lina looked down at her horse ears, and gently touched her fingers on the pair of ears that were always laughed at in school and always asked to be hidden in the market.

She remembered her mother's advice - "Be low-key, people outside don't understand us." - Her mother always asked her to wear a wide hat to cover her ears, but Lina didn't like that hat because she

She thinks her ears are cute and they make her feel special.

"Why can't we be like them?"

Lena asked herself more than once. She looked at the racing girls on the screen, the girls who were loved and cheered by the world. They had ears like hers and even had tails.

But, why can they become heroes, while I can only hide under this dilapidated awning and watch the game?

Not long ago, Lina naively thought that children like her who were infected with strange hoof disease were just different, and that being as different as Silver Moon Lightning could be admired.

However, as she grew older, she gradually realized that the outside world did not accept their "differences".

Every time she walked into the classroom, she could feel the curiosity and alienated gazes of her classmates, as well as the low snickers and indifferent rejections.

She never played with other children, they would not sit with her and even stayed away from her during recess.

She tried to join their games, but was always rejected softly:

"You can't play with us, your ears are too weird."

The words confused her, but she didn't quite understand why.

Sometimes, Lina would think of the Wonder Hoof Festival that her mother told her, which was a "festival for infected people" like them.

It was a festival for those infected with horses. Everyone wore bright clothes, celebrated each other, and even sang and danced in the streets.

However, the Qi Hoof Festival was banned for several years.

She had been looking forward to this year's Curious Hoof Festival, but when she asked her mother when she could celebrate again, her mother's answer disappointed her: "It won't be held this year. They won't let us do it."

Her mother told her that the outside world didn't like their holiday and thought it was too "weird."

Lena doesn't understand why "they" don't let everyone celebrate their holidays together.

She thinks the Hoof Festival is very happy, why don’t others like it?

Lina once asked her mother why, they were just different from others, but her mother's answer was always the same: "People outside don't understand us."

"Why don't they understand?" Lina asked herself softly, looking at the flickering projection on the Zeppelin with confusion.

There were too many doubts and puzzles in her heart. The world was like a closed door to her. A faint light shone through the cracks in the door, but she could never push it open.

She likes her ears and thinks they are cute, and even often imitates a pony running in front of the mirror.

But whenever she runs freely at home, her mother's expression becomes serious: "It's okay at home, but not outside. Remember?"

As time went by, Lena began to realize that the outside world did not welcome people like her.

She has asked her mother countless times at home: "Why are we different from others? Can I go to the park to play and make friends with other children like them?"

Every time, her mother would tell her gently:

"Because we are special, you have to learn to protect yourself and don't let others hurt you."

However, this gentle protection confused Lina. She didn't understand why she was hurt, and why the world was so different just because she had horse ears.

She looked out the window, eager to play with other children, but afraid of being rejected again.

She has too many questions about the world and not enough answers yet.

For example, she likes horse racing girls.

Because of them, those classmates who had not communicated with her in the past began to surround her, ask her questions, and began to be willing to make friends with her.

But my father was very disgusted, even disgusted.

He did not allow himself to watch the game, and told himself sternly that when he grew up, he would never be like them, and he was not allowed to collect those cards about horse racing girls...

Lena remembers that the only time her father scolded her was because she collected a lot of horse racing cards.

Those cards... were all burned by my father.

She cried in pain and even cursed at her father: "You are the most annoying and incompetent father in the world!!!"

She still remembered the look in her father's eyes at that time.
Chapter completed!