The colossal Ethereal gnawed away at the enormous Ether crystal like a ravenous demon.
When Zhong Yan emerged from the Kamui space, this was the scene that greeted him.
It appeared the crystal orb wasn't only useful in drawing out members of the Exaltists — it was also immensely tempting to Ethereals who needed vast amounts of Ether to sustain themselves.
"Too bad there was only one..." Zhong Yan muttered with some regret. If there had been more of those orbs, they could have been used for weapons research.
Weapons born from such research might even make him wary — at the very least, he'd need to go all out to contend with them.
Now, with knowledge of the Exaltists' plan weighing on him, Zhong Yan felt a growing urgency — though there was little he could do immediately.
The massive Ethereal before him wasn't worth engaging. This was the heart of Hollow Zero. Who knew how many more creatures like it lurked nearby? If enough of them gathered, even with his Perfect Susanoo, it'd still be a nightmare.
"Hmm?" Just as he was about to use Kamui to leave, he caught sight of something ducking behind a building in the distance — half a head pulling back quickly.
Someone was there.
Zhong Yan's expression instantly grew alert.
This deep in Hollow Zero, no ordinary person should be able to reach, not even the elite members of the Hollow Investigative Association.
He briefly suspected the figure might be from the Exaltists — but their experimental subjects were usually part-Ethereal, part-human. That person clearly wasn't.
So Zhong Yan didn't immediately move to kill. Instead, he silently activated Kamui, creating the illusion that he had left the area.
Meanwhile, behind the building, the person who had been spying on him breathed a long sigh of relief upon seeing Zhong Yan vanish.
"That guy... he must've been the Uchiha. To be this deep inside Hollow Zero, it's almost certainly him. But he didn't even attack that massive creature... that doesn't really match his profile. Maybe even he can't handle it?"
The speaker was a young man who looked no older than his early twenties, mumbling as he tried to make sense of Zhong Yan's intentions.
But the Uchiha was far too mysterious. In the public eye, no one knew his origin — known information was scant, and seeing him even once was pure luck.
Trying to guess the thoughts of someone like him was little more than fantasy.
What he couldn't imagine was that Zhong Yan hadn't left at all — he was still locked onto his position.
Just as the youth was contemplating his next move, a spatial vortex suddenly appeared above his head.
Before he could react, a hand shot out from the vortex and yanked him inside.
Darkness overwhelmed his vision. When he came to, he found himself in a strange new place — and standing in front of him was the very man he thought had disappeared.
"You..." The youth's first instinct was to attack. But as an Ether blade slowly pressed against his neck and the threat of death became very real, he immediately froze.
He turned his head — and found himself face-to-face with a pink-haired girl glaring coldly at him.
"Start talking. Who are you, and why were you there?" Zhong Yan asked calmly, looking down at the now-powerless youth.
Only now did he take a good look at the boy's appearance.
Rather than a young man, he actually looked more like a boy in his early teens — but with the way he carried himself, there was a sense of maturity that made guessing his age easier.
His short teal hair and the ragged, half-covering clothes made it obvious he wasn't from New Eridu proper — at least not from the inner city. Dressed like that, anyone walking around the city would've been arrested by the Public Security Bureau.
"I... no comment!"
Zhong Yan was surprised by the boy's defiance. But then again, to make it this deep into Hollow Zero, you needed more than just strength — guts and willpower were just as important.
Still, defiance wasn't something that troubled Zhong Yan — especially not from a human.
In the end, Zhong Yan used his Sharingan to extract the boy's memories — and finally uncovered his background.
"A kid from the Outer Ring, huh..."
In his memory, the boy — along with his companions — lived in the Outer Ring of New Eridu, an area beyond the control of the authorities. A haven for criminals, but also a region technologically lagging far behind.
While New Eridu had already entered the age of Ether-powered technology, the Outer Ring was still using oil — a stark contrast that showed just how far behind they were.
Zhong Yan also learned his name: Chi.
"Wait... what's this?"
Halfway through reading his memory, Zhong Yan stumbled upon something startling — the reason Chi had ventured so deep into Hollow Zero.
His companions had been ambushed. Of the five of them, only Chi had escaped — the remaining four had been captured and taken into Hollow Zero.
In an effort to rescue them, he had braved the dangers and come all the way here.
But what shocked Zhong Yan wasn't the act of bravery — it was the identity of those who had captured Chi's companions.
They were members of the Exaltists.
Two of the Twelve Shields had carried out the ambush. Under surprise conditions, they had successfully abducted Chi's friends — likely destined to become the next batch of experimental subjects. Once brainwashed, there'd be no turning back.
"The Exaltists' reach... has spread to the Outer Ring?" Zhong Yan muttered, realization dawning. "No wonder they've been so quiet lately — not a single lead."
Only now did it make sense. The Exaltists hadn't gone dormant — they'd just shifted their operations.
Ever since the incident with the three thousand bombs, they'd vanished from New Eridu entirely. Most had assumed things would calm down for a while — no one expected them to have moved to the Outer Ring.
With the Outer Ring's chaotic state, it was no surprise the Exaltists had slipped in unnoticed.
But for Zhong Yan, this was actually great news.
He'd been racking his brain for a way to find the Exaltists — and now he'd stumbled upon a lead entirely by chance.
Compared to New Eridu, the Outer Ring was also a much more suitable place for him to act freely.
This Chi kid... really did just do something fantastic.