"Oh my, a furry!"

  Min takes a sudden half-step back and immediately passes judgement: 'And a drunkard at that!'

  It would have been heart-warming, or at least a pleasant surprise, to find a little animal lying on his front lawn after a walk in the park. Unfortunately, that's reserved for a real fox. What's lying on the lawn is merely a furry enthusiast: dressed in a fur suit, attended a party, drunk as a skunk, can't walk properly, and finally collapsed on his lawn. Who knows, maybe they even vomited on it. Min can easily imagine the whole plot at a glance.

  'Such a coat on top of a fur suit? It's a hot day. Maybe they had a heatstroke?'

  Whether he is there to rescue someone or remove garbage, Min can't help but frown as he approaches the furry figure. Although this country is often touted as open-minded, this is still the first time that a furry has landed on his doorstep since he immigrated here, years ago. Thankfully, he lives in the suburbs; otherwise, his social credit would have been ruined as well — being associated with a furry enthusiast...

  His footsteps seem to rouse the furry enthusiast, who slowly gets up and turns their head. That single glance sends Min stumbling backwards as his thoughts shatter, struck by lightning: it's a fox head — long snout, perky ears!

  Well, seeing a fox head hood isn't so surprising. But isn't that hood a bit too lifelike? Its colour and sheen look like they belong to a living creature. The ears twitch and the mouth opens and closes. Most crucially, there is no way a human head could fit underneath it!

  Like a drunkard, Min loses his balance and crashes to the ground. His fingers tremble as he points them roughly towards the "thing", yet inexplicably hesitates to aim precisely. In a flash, countless possibilities race through his mind. Can it be a fox spirit that hasn't fully transformed? A human-fox fusion like in Fullmetal Alchemist? A secret government bio-project? An alien landing on Earth...?

  Or maybe, it is just a prank show.

  The realisation calms Min instantly. His trembling hands steady, his breathing returns to normal, and his racing heart slows down. He scrambles to his feet, adopting a deliberately haughty expression, ready to launch into a tirade about privacy, rights, morality, and ethics —

  But before he can begin, the fox-human figure suddenly loses its footing and falls to the ground. The tables have certainly turned quickly.

  He wants to laugh, but the sound is caught in his throat, unable to escape. He hadn't had time to look closely before, but what he sees now is overturning his assumptions. If this really is a prank show, how on earth did they pull off this costume? Oh Fermi, the silver trousers and jacket of the fox-person are covered in scratches. Several spots of dark orange blood are visible on the exposed areas. Even the legs aren't structured humanly!

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Quickly scanning the surroundings, he sees nothing but emptiness — no trace of any camera crew. Still, he struggles to convince himself that this isn't a meticulously planned prank. As a serious biologist, he cannot imagine even in his unimaginative dreams that modern science might transform humans into fox-like creatures. Or foxes into human-like beings. As for aliens? Fox-like aliens who can breathe Earth's air? If this is a coincidence, it's far too coincidental. Barely more plausible than some parallel universe magic crossover or something.

  While Min is lost in wild speculation, the fox-person makes a move and reaches into its trouser pocket. Under his curious gaze, it pulls out—

  A pistol!

  Barrel, trigger, grip — all present and correct. Coils of blue wire wrap around the crimson barrel, reminiscent of electromagnetic weapons from movies. Its fingers tighten around the trigger, and the black muzzle is pointed at Min as if ready to take his life at any moment.

  Min flinches. This seems to further provoke the fox-person; its ears snap upright. He freezes, daring not to advance further or even to raise his hand, what if the fox-person mistakes that for an attack?

  In this life-or-death situation, retreat is the only way to defuse the situation. Like a sloth waking from sleep, Min lifts his left foot ever slightly —

  The sound is faint, yet Min closes his eyes in agony, preparing to meet his absurd and comical end.

  '...'

  'I'm not dead?'

  Opening his eyes, he freezes again. The fox-person freezes too. The imposing electromagnetic pistol lies shattered. Its hand remained clenched around the broken grip, and the body of the gun had fallen to the ground. The sound of plastic shattering makes the conclusion obvious. Even without specialising in weapons Min can tell clearly : this is a toy.

  The fox-person reacts first, tossing the broken grip aside as it rises to its feet in a threatening stance. Its limbs stretch out and its jaws open to reveal sharp teeth — a beast poised to strike!

  Its movements remind Min of a theory that one should make oneself appear larger when facing beasts to drive them off. This fox-person isn't particularly tall, but think about it: leopards can kill buffalo that are several times their size. Min doesn't dare bet that the creature's teeth are merely for show, especially since he isn't the fittest guy in the lab...

  ***

  Neither side dares to make a move; this standoff lasts for over half a minute. It is Min whose leg cramps up more severely, forcing him to try breaking the deadlock first: through communication.

  "你好？Hello? Kon'nichiwa? ?Hola?" Min's voice is barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.

  The fox-person remains unmoving, as if deaf to his words. Yet those large fox ears can't be mere decoration, it just didn't understand. That makes sense; it probably hasn't even seen a human before.

  Gritting his teeth, Min raises his arm again. Under the fox-person's intense gaze, he points at himself and says: "Min Ye."

  At the sound of his name, the fox-person's ears twitch again. It then points a single finger at Min and says: "Minb Y e."

  He doesn't know what sound a real fox would make, but surely it isn't so coincidental as to be his name? As he savours its twitching ears, an overwhelming sense of joy surges through him. This not only suggests the creature possesses some form of linguistic ability, but more importantly, it also uses pointing gestures to indicate targets!

  This will make everything much easier.

  After repeating his name once more and receiving a clearer response from the fox-person, Min turns his finger and points at the fox-person. The fox-person seems to understand the meaning, pointing at itself and says: "Xi P(u)e."

  Thanks to whichever scientist proposed convergent evolution, the syllables uttered by the fox-person are still within the range of human vocal cords. Though unsure if this is its name as an individual or species, Min points back and echoes: "Xi P."

  The fox-person — now to be called Xi P — seems satisfied. Names exchanged, both sides lock eyes once more.