The next day arrived in the blink of an eye.
After school in the afternoon, Zhong Yan didn't head straight home. Instead, he got off at the Sixth Street Station halfway through his commute, intending to stop by the Turbo Remodeling Shop and check on the freshly restored Ninja Bangboo.
Ellen hadn't shown up to school again today. Her absences were becoming more frequent, which clearly suggested that the situation at Victoria Housekeeping Co. was growing more dire. There was no other explanation for her constant busyness.
Zhong Yan was curious about what was going on, but since Ellen was still keeping her identity as a combat maid a secret, there wasn't much he could do.
Thankfully, they were still chatting via messages, which meant she was just busy—not in danger.
If there ever came a day when Ellen completely disappeared, Zhong Yan wouldn't waste time with speculation. He'd break into Victoria Housekeeping HQ himself to find out what happened.
"Zhong Yan, over here!"
Lost in thought, Zhong Yan suddenly realized he was already at the doorstep of the siblings' home—and had run right into them just as they returned from Uncle Enzo's with the Bangboo.
Seeing Zhong Yan still looking down, completely unaware of their presence, Belle called out loudly.
Snapped out of his thoughts, Zhong Yan looked up and saw the fully revived Ninja Bangboo in her hands, visibly relieved.
After all, he was the one who carried the little guy out of the Hollow. Of course he wanted to see how it was doing.
"Looks like Uncle Enzo really knows his stuff. This little guy looks like he's been reborn." Zhong Yan approached and gently patted the Bangboo on the head.
Apparently recognizing Zhong Yan as the one who had rescued it, the Bangboo exclaimed excitedly, "Ehn-neh! (Thank you, lifesaver!)"
Zhong Yan simply responded with two light pats on its head, then turned to the siblings. "So, what are you planning to do with it? Try to find its original owner and return it?"
At that, the cheerful expressions on the siblings' faces immediately dimmed.
Zhong Yan sensed something wasn't right.
After a pause, Belle spoke in a slightly uneasy tone. "While repairing it, Uncle Enzo discovered a self-destruct mechanism inside its body. If its owner had activated the trigger, it would've died instantly."
Wise quickly added, "Thankfully, that mechanism was already damaged by a Corrupted Entity in the Hollow. It never activated, and Enzo managed to remove it completely."
A self-destruct device... something like that had no place inside a legally registered Bangboo. That meant this Ninja Bangboo had been modified—and in a very extreme way.
Whoever its owner was, they had gone to lengths to prevent its data from leaking—even if it meant destroying it entirely.
Returning it wasn't going to be an option.
"So, what are you planning to do? You're not just going to leave it homeless, right?" Zhong Yan asked. He knew the siblings too well—they wouldn't let a Bangboo just wander the streets alone.
Wise gave a firm answer. "We're keeping it at the video store. Until we figure out who its owner really is, we're not handing it over to anyone."
A textbook protagonist answer. Even Zhong Yan had to admit—Wise had that main-character aura.
Finding out the Bangboo's identity wouldn't be difficult. Fairy had the capability to access Bangboo systems without restriction. With a simple scan, all its hidden data could be exposed.
That's exactly what Zhong Yan thought—and exactly what the siblings decided to do.
Soon, the three of them brought the puzzled Ninja Bangboo back to the video store, where Fairy performed a full system scan.
It didn't take long. Once completed, Fairy began reporting the key information.
["Manufacturer: Unknown. Codename: Unit 27. Classification: Hollow reconnaissance and combat-type Bangboo. Extracted Keyword: Nin-Village."]
The moment Nin-Village was mentioned, Wise and Belle's expressions grew grim. Zhong Yan, who had never heard the term before, looked puzzled.
Nin-Village... could it be that Nin-Village?
"A Bangboo from Nin-Village... no wonder it had a self-destruct mechanism," Wise muttered, deep in thought.
Belle noticed Zhong Yan's confused expression and quickly explained, "Nin-Village is an organization that emerged after the founding of New Eridu. Its members are all highly trained Ninjas—their combat power rivals that of a full-scale military force."
"Unlike the Red Fang Gang, Nin-Village doesn't bother with small-time jobs. Every contract they take is high-risk and high-reward. Some even involve entering Hollow Zero to hunt colossal Ether Mutants."
Zhong Yan's brow twitched.
If they were taking on colossal Ether Mutants, then yeah—these guys were definitely legit. And clearly, they were a faction that didn't even appear in the original game.
Keeping this Bangboo could easily bring them trouble.
Still, they needed to hear more from Fairy.
["Additional keywords found: Celestials, Red Fang Gang, Shadows..."]
Fairy continued its analysis, and soon the group realized Nin-Village had also been pursuing Fairy, though for some reason their plan had failed—and Zhong Yan's team had beaten them to it.
As for the "Shadows," Fairy offered a simple explanation:
The nine most powerful individuals in Nin-Village.
Zhong Yan had no interest in picking a fight with Nin-Village—at least not without good reason.
But then, Fairy dropped something that made his pupils constrict.
["Ding—New Keyword Found: Victoria Housekeeping Co."]
["Objective: Capture and eliminate all Victoria Housekeeping members"]
["Phase One – Corin Wicks; Assigned Operatives: Aka, Oren; Status: Captured"]
["Phase Two – Von Lycaon; Assigned Operatives: Midori, Shiro; Status: Failed"]
["Phase Three – Ellen Joe; Assigned Operatives: Murasaki, Ao; Status: In Progress"]
["Phase Four – Alexandrina Sebastian; Assigned Operatives: Kuro, Kiiro; Status: In Progress"]
Seeing all four of the Victoria Housekeeping squad members listed in front of him, Zhong Yan stood frozen.
In the next moment, as every piece of the puzzle clicked into place in his mind, his expression darkened visibly.
It's time someone stood up... for the Bangboo left to die in the Hollow.