Chapter 151: Gathering Allies

While Zhong Yan was securing the cooperation of the Public Security Bureau, elsewhere, at the headquarters of Belobog Heavy Industries—

In the office, Koleda was sorting through recent documents. Most of the content concerned the subway renovation project—currently the biggest headache on her plate.

"Little one, still not asleep?" At that moment, Grace walked in without knocking, pushing open the office door.

In her hands were two steaming cups of coffee. The smudges on her face showed that she had only just finished her shift as well.

"You're one to talk. Aren't you still up?" Koleda pouted, then took one of the cups from Grace.

Grace chuckled lightly. "Oh, I was just installing the latest firewalls I developed for the kids—ran a little late. What about you? What's keeping you busy?"

As she spoke, Grace glanced at the documents on the desk and quickly realized Koleda was being troubled by the subway renovation project.

She had no solution to offer—after all, she was just a regular techie. Outside of mechanical engineering, she had no particular skills.

"Those bastards are still trying to suppress us. Now every step we take has to be cautious. And that damned old man... even in death, why did he have to leave behind the prototype..."

Halfway through her sentence, Koleda suddenly fell silent—and Grace did too.

Ever since Zhong Yan brought back the prototype, Koleda had been investigating what had happened to Khors. In the end, she discovered it involved a whole chain of interests.

Khors himself had been executed in secret for getting too deeply involved. The only thing left behind was that prototype.

When Koleda found out, her heart sank—but she quickly pulled herself together. After all, as the leader of Belobog Heavy Industries now, she couldn't let personal emotions affect her.

"Uncle Khors must've gone through things we can't even imagine. I'm sure he never meant to abandon us," Grace said, reaching out to gently ruffle Koleda's hair.

In all of New Eridu, she was probably the only one who could do that without upsetting Koleda.

They were sisters after all, raised together. Their bond was unshakable, and playful squabbles were just part of the package.

"I get that he had his reasons... but he could've said something back then..." Koleda looked down, clearly recalling some painful memories.

Seeing this, Grace was about to say something comforting, when suddenly, a spatial vortex opened up—and Zhong Yan, in his Tobi persona, emerged from it.

"You're... Obito?" Koleda immediately went into battle mode at the sudden appearance—but stopped the moment she saw who it was.

They had only recently formed a partnership, and Koleda held him in high regard—not just for his abilities, but also because he had genuinely helped her in the past.

"Long time no see, President Koleda." After arriving, Zhong Yan greeted her and got straight to the point. "There's something I need help with from Belobog Heavy Industries. Would you be willing to assist me?"

When Koleda realized he was coming to ask for help, her eyes widened in surprise. In her mind, someone with Zhong Yan's capabilities shouldn't need help from anyone.

Still, they owed him a great debt for all the assistance he had given them before. It would be wrong not to repay it.

So once she snapped out of it, Koleda responded immediately, "Of course. As long as it's something Belobog Heavy Industries can do, I won't say no."

...

With both the Public Security Bureau and Belobog Heavy Industries now on board, the next faction Zhong Yan aimed to recruit would be much harder to approach.

Fortunately, he knew a highly respected leader among them. As long as he agreed, the rest would follow.

The scene shifted to an office inside the Public Security Bureau headquarters.

"What did you say? Three thousand bombs have been hidden in New Eridu?" Zhao Anmen nearly leapt from his seat when he received the call from Zhu Yuan and Qing Yi.

Once he confirmed that the information came from Uchiha, he didn't doubt its validity for a second.

"Mobilize all available security forces. We must locate every one of those bombs," Zhao Anmen ordered firmly after regaining composure.

They only had three days. To find all the bombs in that time, they needed manpower to match the scale—or progress would be far too slow.

As for informing the general public, that wasn't an option. It would only cause unnecessary panic and chaos.

"This city just can't catch a break lately," Zhao Anmen muttered after hanging up. Just as he thought he might be able to rest for a moment, an unexpected visitor appeared.

One of Zhong Yan's shadow clones entered Zhao Anmen's office via Kamui.

His first instinct was to reach for the pistol in his drawer, but he quickly realized a gun wouldn't do much against this man.

With a resigned breath, he let go of the weapon and sat back down, his tone trying to sound composed. "Uchiha, breaking into the Public Security Bureau's headquarters like this... that's enough to land you a few years in prison, you know."

Zhao Anmen found Zhong Yan's methods intrusive and overbearing, but there was little he could do—Zhong Yan never cared much for formalities.

"You're here to ask me to mobilize the Bureau to help you deal with the bombs, aren't you?" Zhao Anmen said. He had figured out Zhong Yan's intention the moment he showed up.

By informing Zhu Yuan and Qing Yi about the bombs, Zhong Yan clearly meant for them to assist. Anyone could see that.

What Zhao Anmen didn't expect was that Zhong Yan was here to ask for help—but not from the Public Security Bureau.

Instead... he was here for the Nin-Village.