Universe Infinite Canteen

Chapter 530: Jumping Through the Ring of Fire

"But your hands are stronger," Ma Lu said.

"This is a zoo, not the Ancient Roman Colosseum, so strength isn't much use," the Black Bear paused to think, "Well, it's not completely useless. At least I can protect my chastity when that female bear is in heat."

Thinking back to that scene, Ma Lu also felt awkward, "I actually thought she was a relative or friend of yours."

"Except for the King, all my relatives and friends are humans."

"Alright—but wait... You're saying all your relatives and friends are humans? So one of your parents is a human," Ma Lu gasped.

"Both of them are humans," the Black Bear explained, "The King is my friend and partner; we used to work together in a circus."

"I see. So, do circuses in your universe also have performances?" Ma Lu took another sip of Coke.

"Dude, I'm from the same plane as you. I've always been in this plane; I've never left."

"..."

"Let me get this straight," Ma Lu said, "You're a native of this plane like me. Your parents and all your relatives are human. You worked in a circus and had a bear as a partner. So why are you a bear?"

"I'm not a bear," the Black Bear sighed, "At least I wasn't originally a bear. It was an accident. That day, after the performance, I was bathing the King and said how envious I was of it for just having to perform every day to get food and drink without a care in life.

"And then I just passed out. When I woke up, I saw myself riding a unicycle."

"What?"

"After that show, the ringmaster had it sent to a mental hospital. They wanted it to get treated there. I heard they force-fed the poor guy loads of psychotropic drugs daily, even subjected it to electrotherapy.

"They forced it to admit it was human, but the problem was the King was a bear through and through. No matter how much chlorpromazine, fluoxetine, or alprazolam you feed it, it couldn't turn human. The poor thing... I heard it didn't last three months before it died.

"They said it couldn't take the mental torture. One night, it somehow took apart the anti-theft netting and jumped from the fourth floor to its death. Later, I had someone check it out and take photos. Guess what.

"Underneath was a bike shed. It probably just wanted to ride a bicycle again. It's too cruel—I still can't forgive those quacks."

The Black Bear placed the Coke bottle to its mouth and squeezed it with its paw, downing the entire contents in one go.

"But back then, I had my own problems and couldn't look out for it. It took almost two months to convince the ringmaster that I was human, just swapped bodies with the King.

"That bastard verbally comforted me, claiming he would find a way, but in reality, he just wanted to use me to make money. He scheduled lots of acts for me, including multiplication tables, puzzles, and he even planned to have me play blackjack with the audience.

"Basically, he ambitiously wanted to utilize me as the world's smartest bear—as a gimmick to attract the audience. I saw through his façade, but it was of no use; I had become the King."

"Moreover, from then on, he strictly forbade any circus colleagues from approaching me to prevent them from discovering my true identity.

"I was in utter despair, believing I'd be exploited as the ringmaster's cash cow forever, until one day a Pigeon appeared before me and told me they'd made a mistake. A very dangerous individual had escaped their surveillance.

"It was that individual's escape that led to me and the King swapping bodies. They had it under control, but the King was already dead, and the wish we had made could no longer be undone."

"They said it was their negligence and would compensate me for my loss as much as possible, even though it likely meant nothing compared to what I'd lost.

"Anyway, they gave me a large sum of compensation, both in RMB and something called Star Currency—about several hundred thousand, I don't really grasp that stuff.

"They also rescued me from the circus and, after consulting me, arranged a new job for me in the zoo. Since then, I've played the role of a bear here."