Casually knocking Silver unconscious, Zhong Yan easily accessed his memories. The safe's location—and its password—were now fully known to him.
Just to be safe, he also removed the necklace from Silver's neck. It was a small data storage device. Letting it fall into the wrong hands would only cause more trouble later.
With the safe in his possession, his mission was complete.
After this operation, the Red Fang Gang would be thoroughly wiped from New Eridu's underworld. The remaining gangs, seeing their downfall, would likely behave more cautiously from now on.
This kind of justice-serving purge wasn't some grand vision of Zhong Yan's—just something he'd done along the way.
With everything wrapped up, he was just about to leave and regroup with Anby and the others when he noticed something through his Sharingan—the Ether activity in the area was rapidly surging.
In mere moments, the Ether levels were nearing Hollow outbreak thresholds.
That was not a good sign.
Based on his judgment, a Hollow disaster was imminent. In the game's storyline, Fourteenth Street suffered a Hollow bloom incident at the start, triggering the main plotline.
It seemed that timeline had accelerated.
Zhong Yan had to leave—now.
"I hope Anby and the others are alright..." he muttered. If they came upstairs and found nothing but corpses and lost contact with him, clearing things up afterward would be... tricky.
But then, an idea struck him.
A way to explain the carnage and his communication blackout... and, perhaps more importantly, a way to throw off any suspicion that he might be Uchiha.
Of course, to pull it off, he'd need a little posthumous "help" from the Red Fang Gang.
...
At the same time, on the other side of New Eridu—
"Given the scale of casualties, you only got suspended for a week. That's actually a pretty decent outcome," Qing Yi sighed, watching Zhu Yuan, whose expression was steeped in quiet disappointment.
Zhu Yuan's one-week suspension had begun that afternoon. As someone who had always taken her duties seriously, it was hard to accept being sidelined due to a subordinate's mistake.
She didn't fight the decision—after all, rules were rules in the New Eridu Public Security.
The rookie who bore the brunt of the failure had been dismissed on the spot.
Qing Yi, her long-time partner, had come over right after work to check on her. She had expected Zhu Yuan to be in this state.
"You don't have to say it, Senior. If I had been more precise in my judgment, maybe those suspects wouldn't have escaped," Zhu Yuan murmured.
Curled on the sofa, she wore a light white shirt, her skin faintly visible beneath it. Her arms were wrapped around her knees, head buried between them.
It was clear—she wasn't blaming the rookie. She was blaming herself.
If only she'd caught the gaps in their perimeter, the outcome might've been different.
"You're too softhearted. If that kid had kept his cool, we wouldn't be in this mess. Taking the blame like this—isn't that a little much?" Qing Yi shook her head. No wonder Zhu Yuan was so beloved by juniors—she always protected her team.
Just as she was pondering how best to comfort her, Qing Yi's radio buzzed.
"Captain Qing Yi, we received an anonymous tip—Red Fang Gang activity detected in the Fourteenth Street. After some... persuasive methods, one of the detained gang members confirmed it: the gang's HQ is in the Fourteenth Street!"
Both women froze.
Zhu Yuan lifted her head slowly, eyes wide in disbelief.
Even Qing Yi was stunned—the Red Fang Gang's base? Now?
And an anonymous report?
That smelled... suspicious.
Qing Yi immediately pressed her comms button. "Assemble a small team and prepare an Air Patrol Chopper. I'm going to the Fourteenth Street personally."
She wasn't naïve. This could easily be a trap—Red Fang Gang luring them into a setup. So, she wasn't about to mobilize a full assault team just yet.
But she wasn't brushing it off either. It needed confirmation.
"Looks like I won't be keeping you company tonight," Qing Yi said as she clicked the radio off—then turned toward Zhu Yuan and saw it: the hunger in her eyes.
Zhu Yuan wanted in. Badly.
But she couldn't. She was suspended. No weapons. No authority to act.
"Don't give me that look," Qing Yi sighed. "You're suspended. If I bring you along, I could get hit with disciplinary action too."
The dimming light in Zhu Yuan's eyes told her she understood. Still—it stung.
Qing Yi watched her a moment longer, then smirked. An idea hit her.
"But hey—you could always go as a civilian."
Zhu Yuan blinked.
"If you're caught, just say you were out shopping in the Fourteenth Street. You're not banned from public movement, and as long as you're not carrying weapons or wearing a badge, they can't do a thing to you."
Zhu Yuan's eyes lit up. It was just sneaky enough to work—and still within regulation.
Only problem: she didn't have a weapon.
Going in barehanded against the Red Fang Gang? Suicide.
Qing Yi already knew. Without missing a beat, she reached to her waist and pulled out her service pistol, holding it out.
"Take this. Keep it hidden, use it only if necessary. It's registered to me—so if anyone checks, it won't trace back to you."
She said it like it was no big deal.
But lending someone your registered weapon was a serious offense—worse than suspension.
Still, she didn't hesitate. Even when Zhu Yuan tried to refuse, Qing Yi forced it into her hands.
After all... she was the one who always called her senior.
And when it came to the one protégé she truly cherished—Qing Yi was more than willing to bend the rules a little.