Chapter 3: Running Late

Having seen Zhu Yuan and Qing Yi off, Zhong Yan gently closed the door to his apartment.

At the very moment the door shut, the anger and indignation still etched on his face instantly dissolved into a calm as smooth as still water.

He returned to his computer, but staring at the unfinished manuscript on the screen, he no longer had the heart to write.

The time had quietly crept past 12:30 a.m.

"I'm late..." Zhong Yan muttered, glancing at the clock as a memory surfaced—he had made a promise with someone earlier that day.

He was supposed to arrive precisely at midnight at an accompanying Hollow that had branched off from the Original Hollow [Lemnian].

Within that Hollow lurked a giant Ethereal. If eliminated, half of the accompanying Hollow would collapse in on itself.

Zhong Yan had accepted the commission to slay the giant Ethereal because, upon completion, the authorities would reward him with a generous sum of money.

Of course, as a notorious Hollow Raider, the officials would rather capture or recruit him than ever agree to a formal collaboration. That kind of partnership was basically impossible.

So, to receive that payment, he had to rely on others to take the commission on his behalf—and afterward, he'd give them a cut of the reward as compensation for helping him.

Under normal circumstances, everything should have gone smoothly. But who could have predicted that the Security Bureau would come knocking at his door, causing him to miss the appointed time?

If nothing unexpected had happened, those who took the job had probably already engaged the giant Ethereal by now.

While their strength wasn't weak, taking down a giant Ethereal was another matter entirely. It wasn't something they could handle alone. Which meant Zhong Yan had to move—immediately.

In the next instant, his pupils morphed into a vivid crimson, adorned with three rotating Tomoes. Within a heartbeat, they shifted into a complex lotus-like pattern.

A spatial vortex began to swirl from his right eye, eventually pulling his entire body into its spiral.

...

At the same time, inside the Companion Hollow connected to [Lemnian]—

What once was a bustling commercial street had long been overrun by Etheric matter due to the Hollow's expansion. The vibrant urban scene was now lost beneath a layer of corruption.

Many who failed to escape in time were assimilated, turned into Ethereals—mindless and monstrous, wandering the Hollow. Any intruder would be attacked immediately.

And now, three terrified figures were sprinting desperately across the ether-covered streets.

"Boss! Isn't the backup here yet? We're gonna be wiped out at this rate!" shouted a robot clad in a red jacket, wielding twin pistols. Despite his mechanical design, his face displayed unmistakable panic.

His yellow-lit eyes turned toward a pink-haired woman beside him, silently pleading for a way out. But she too seemed completely at a loss.

"The [Carrot] we got from the Hollow Investigation Association isn't working anymore—we can't even find the exit!" added a white-haired girl dressed in a black-and-green combat suit, clutching a small device.

[Carrot] was a time-sensitive map commonly used in Hollows to help agents navigate their way out. But its effectiveness was easily compromised by Etheric interference.

Unfortunately for them, their [Carrot] had just been rendered useless, and to make matters worse, a giant Ethereal was hot on their heels.

Despite their high Ether Compatibility scores, they had been in the Hollow long enough that even they were starting to feel the effects of corruption.

At this rate, the Ethereal wouldn't even need to reach them—they'd succumb to corruption first.

The pink-haired leader was clearly nearing her breaking point. She threw her head back and shouted in exasperation, "Uchiha! What the hell are you doing?!"

Her voice didn't travel far before being drowned out by a thunderous explosion behind them. Smoke billowed as a massive figure, soaked in concentrated Etheric energy, lunged at them with terrifying speed.

"Boss! It's catching up!" the robot yelled.

"I can see that! Shut up!" she snapped.

As the gap between them and the creature closed rapidly, the pink-haired woman made a split-second decision and abruptly stopped running.

The other two skidded to a halt beside her, gripping their weapons tightly, ready to fight to the death.

"If we can't outrun it, then we make our stand here!" she shouted, eyes flashing with grim resolve.

Ether energy began to surge visibly from the case in her hands, as though anticipating a final, explosive confrontation.

Seeing their leader's determination, the others followed suit without hesitation, bracing for combat.

The giant Ethereal drew nearer—and just as the clash seemed inevitable, a spatial vortex suddenly swirled into existence between the two sides.

"Fire Style: Gale Flare Dance!"

A deep, commanding voice rang out from the vortex, and a spiral of flames burst forth like a serpent, twisting along the vortex's path and slamming into the Ethereal with immense force.

The moment the fire struck, an explosion ripped through the air. The sheer impact blew the massive creature away, sending it crashing through countless blocks of Etheric stone before it finally came to a halt—temporarily incapacitated.

The three, still bracing for death, froze in shock.

Then, through the still-spinning vortex, a figure slowly emerged.

A deep-blue robe. A white mask patterned with black spirals, revealing only two eyes. A massive war fan on his back. And the devastating fire technique just used...

This was Zhong Yan's other identity in this world—the legendary Hollow Raider whom the Hollow Investigation Association had tried everything to recruit or capture.

Uchiha.

***

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