A rare weekend.
With no missions to carry out, Zhong Yan slept from the early hours of the morning all the way into the following afternoon. If it hadn't been for Pei waking him up with lunch already prepared, he probably would've slept for several more hours.
It had to be said—after Uncle Enzo's modifications, Pei had become a truly all-purpose Bangboo.
It could venture into Hollows for combat exploration and handle household chores like cooking, cleaning, and laundry. If Bangboos like this were sold on the open market, they'd easily go for hundreds of millions of Dennies.
So how did Zhong Yan end up with such a priceless companion for free?
Because… he was kind.
"Ehne-ehne! (Today's lunch is stir-fried pork with green peppers, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and a bowl of winter melon soup—you must finish everything!)"
While Zhong Yan washed up, Pei had already set all the food on the table, not forgetting to remind him not to waste food.
"Alright…" Zhong Yan replied weakly.
After freshening up, he sat down to eat the homestyle dishes prepared for him.
Meanwhile, Pei thoughtfully picked up the remote and turned on the TV to keep him entertained while he ate.
The moment the screen lit up; A breaking news segment flashed before Zhong Yan's eyes.
"With the municipal re-election approaching, the highly anticipated public infrastructure project—the Old Capital Metro Renovation—has officially begun!"
A reporter in a gray suit stood before the camera, microphone in hand, delivering an update on one of New Eridu's major developments.
Hearing the report, Zhong Yan's hands froze mid-meal, nearly dropping his chopsticks.
Municipal elections. Old Capital subway renovation. This was the beginning of the main storyline in the game.
To secure its place in the TOPS financial alliance, the Vision Corporation had taken on the high-profile subway renovation project that most contractors would kill to win.
Thanks to significantly lower costs and faster timelines, Vision Corporation won the contract.
Among the many defeated competitors was none other than Belobog Heavy Industries—a major player in the game's lore.
What no one expected was that Vision had slashed costs and timelines using methods far from legal.
One of the blast zones for the renovation included a neighborhood near the Old Capital called Canvas Street. It was geographically isolated from New Eridu due to the presence of a Hollow known as the Dead End Hollow.
The only way to travel between New Eridu and Canvas Street was through the Hollow itself.
But Dead End Hollow was no ordinary companion Hollow—it was one of the rare few home to a named Ethereal, a powerful one known as the Dead End Butcher.
Its strength was monstrous, reaching the level of a giant-class Ethereal.
The entire Hollow was named after it.
Under normal circumstances, an Ethereal of that caliber should have prompted an immediate extermination operation.
However, because the Hollow Investigation Association had redirected all resources toward investigations inside Hollow Zero, most veteran investigators weren't assigned to companion Hollow clean-up missions.
That included even the famed Sixth Division. With their strength, the Dead End Butcher would've been no problem.
But their duty was to locate and eliminate giant and ultra-giant Ethereals within Hollow Zero, maintaining the etheric stability of that volatile zone.
To put it simply: the strong wouldn't go, and the weak couldn't handle it.
Back to the issue at hand—Vision Corporation's planned blast zone included Canvas Street.
Under proper procedure, they were supposed to evacuate the residents beforehand. Vision had promised as much to the authorities.
But in truth, they had no intention of relocating anyone. They were planning to use the blast to wipe out the neighborhood entirely.
No evacuation. Just elimination.
This would save time and costs in one fell swoop.
And if every resident in Canvas Street died, no one would be left to expose them.
In the game, the first main chapter revolved around exposing Vision's plot and defeating the Dead End Butcher.
But now, thanks to Zhong Yan's presence altering the timeline, neither the Phaeton siblings nor the Cunning Hares would be coming to the residents' rescue.
Which meant that if he didn't act—everyone in Canvas Street would die at Vision's hands.
It reminded Zhong Yan of the thousands of innocents injured or killed by his errant arrow.
Over two hundred people had died. Many more were severely injured. The lightly wounded? Countless.
He'd already admitted—half the city block had been destroyed by his hand, even if that wasn't his intent.
He had made financial amends as best he could.
But money alone could never truly atone for such a mistake.
Zhong Yan wasn't some saintly do-gooder from a novel or TV show. But he had to admit—some things had been his fault.
Even if the Nin-Village had been the cause of the conflict, and even if the arrow was meant to strike down the retreating Shadows, the explosion still would have claimed lives.
That arrow had come from him.
Now, seeing Vision Corporation's executive on the news spouting lies and deception, Zhong Yan realized—this was his chance to make things right.
If he could take down the Dead End Butcher, the Hollow would shrink significantly. That would allow the residents of Canvas Street to escape through the tunnel and reach New Eridu—where the truth could finally be revealed to the public.
To Zhong Yan, it was a chance at redemption.
To the Uchiha… it was an objective that barely qualified as a warm-up.
As for the plan itself, Zhong Yan kept it simple.
He would anonymously tip off New Eridu Public Security about Vision's conspiracy. Once they investigated Canvas Street, they'd immediately discover the residents hadn't been evacuated.
Meanwhile, Zhong Yan would eliminate the Dead End Butcher, shrinking the Hollow's domain and clearing a path for safe passage.
The Uchiha hadn't appeared publicly in a long time. Even during the Fairy heist, while New Eridu Public Security mentioned his name in internal reports, they had not made it public knowledge.
To the masses, the Uchiha remained a mysterious powerhouse who hunted powerful Ethereals.
That mystique had earned him a cult-like following.
Now, when he reappeared before the public—he would undoubtedly trigger a new wave of fanatical admiration.