After finishing their noodles, Zhong Yan was ready to head back. Belle, however, insisted on escorting him to the subway station.
"Thanks again for the meal today. The noodles here are definitely better than the ones at Lumina Square." On the way to the subway, Zhong Yan casually compared the two noodle shops.
'General Chop truly lives up to his name. His culinary skills are far superior to Chop Junior's.'
"I told you so! Next time, if we get the chance, I'll treat you again. You can eat as much as you like." Belle was overjoyed by Zhong Yan's praise. The only downside was that they were about to part ways.
It was the first time she wished she could see the subway entrance just a bit later.
Still, since she now knew where Zhong Yan lived, she could simply drop by next time. The only question was whether he'd mind.
"If we get the chance next time, we don't have to just stick to noodles. There are plenty of other things we could spend time doing, don't you think?" Zhong Yan said calmly.
As he spoke, he tilted his head slightly toward Belle, a faint curve forming at the corner of his lips. Even his peripheral gaze shifted in her direction.
Belle was momentarily stunned by his response, then beamed with delight and nodded. "Sure! As long as it's something I can do with you, Zhong Yan, I'm all in."
The wording sounded a bit odd, but in her excitement, Belle didn't seem to notice.
Soon, they arrived at the subway station. Belle was only supposed to walk him this far, but just as Zhong Yan was about to descend the stairs, she suddenly called out to him.
"Zhong Yan!"
Hearing his name, he paused and turned back with a puzzled expression.
Then he saw Belle biting her lip, clearly wanting to say something but feeling too shy to speak.
'With this kind of atmosphere… don't tell me I'm supposed to pretend I don't get it? That's just not possible.'
Besides, wasn't this the very reason he came to this world?
With that thought, he stepped forward, reached out, and placed his hand on Belle's hair. Seeing that she didn't resist, he gently stroked the strands near her ear.
"Next time, let me be the one to call you out."
Just a few words, not explicitly stated, but with the help of the atmosphere, the message behind them was crystal clear.
"O-okay." Belle clearly hadn't expected him to be so forward, and she fumbled a bit in response.
Thankfully, she hadn't instinctively pulled away earlier—otherwise, the moment would've been ruined.
Passersby nearby couldn't help but glance over at the scene. Some looked on with envy, others with a sour expression. One thing was certain—they all felt a little bitter.
'Cruelty to single dogs shall be punished by the heavens.'
"Let's leave it at that for today. If you get bored, I can text you tonight—or call, or even video chat." As he spoke, Zhong Yan withdrew his hand.
Looking at the bashful Belle in front of him, a flicker of emotion stirred inside him. Fortunately, this wasn't his first time in such a situation, so he managed to keep his cool.
At least for now, things between them weren't quite at that point yet. Being too rash would only unravel the web he'd so carefully built.
Sure, he could just use genjutsu to manipulate their thoughts—but that was definitely not what Zhong Yan wanted.
Back in the real world, Zhong Yan had already stepped into the subway station. The two had bid each other farewell just before, and once he was gone, Belle couldn't hide the excitement welling up inside her.
"Today was amazing!" On her way home, joy was written all over Belle's face. She glanced at the strands of hair Zhong Yan had touched and couldn't help but lean in, trying to feel the warmth he left behind.
In the end... she felt nothing at all.
But that didn't matter. What mattered was—today, she had won.
...
At the same time, in the newly formed Hollow at Fourteenth Street.
Over the past few days, the Hollow Investigation Association had been carrying out rescue operations, paying the price with the lives of several investigators.
Fortunately, the mission had been a great success. According to post-rescue reports, over seventy percent of the civilians trapped inside had made it out alive.
As for the remaining few who hadn't been rescued, they had likely already turned into Ether Mutants or Corrupted Entities over time—making further rescue unnecessary.
That didn't mean the Hollow was completely abandoned, though. New Eridu Public Security, for example, still had business there.
In order to uncover the Red Fang Gang's current status, they planned to send a squad into the building inside the Hollow. The operation was scheduled to start in about two days.
But before that, another group had already made their way in.
Inside the Hollow, the sky was cloaked in thick black clouds. It seemed there had been a drizzle earlier, making the air damp and a thin mist obscuring vision.
A lone figure appeared outside the building that once served as the Red Fang Gang's headquarters.
Just then, a faint rumble of thunder rolled by, and it began to drizzle again. The ground was soaked almost instantly.
Strangely, even without an umbrella, the figure remained completely dry as they entered the building.
Inside, two other figures had already been waiting.
"Dammit, the Red Fang Gang members in this building were completely wiped out. And by just one person, too. That guy must be seriously strong."
One of them had already scouted the area and, upon discovering the massacre inside, couldn't help but marvel at the culprit's strength.
"According to Aka, the New Eridu Public Security's report on this Hollow Disaster mentioned they found signs of the Uchiha in the building," said the person who had just entered.
"The Uchiha, huh? Now that's interesting. Word is that guy come and go like shadows. Didn't think he'd be into that kind of stuff too." The other raised an eyebrow, clearly wary at the mention of the Uchiha.
Then the first man looked over and asked, " Ao, did you find the item?"
Ao shook his head. "Nope. Didn't Oren just say it? If the Uchiha was here, he probably took it."
The room fell silent.
If the Uchiha really had gotten involved, things were about to get messy. That legendary Hollow Raider… even they were afraid of him.
To the three of them, the Uchiha was an insurmountable obstacle.
"Shiro, what do you think? This was a direct order from Kuro. If we go back empty-handed, we're definitely getting an earful," Oren said. They were here on orders, after all—even if they couldn't complete the task, they had to bring back something.
"What do you want me to do? You think you can snatch that thing from the Uchiha? If you've got that kind of power, why not go pick a fight with Chairo while you're at it?" Shiro rolled his eyes at Oren, clearly exasperated.
Still, despite his sarcasm, he needed to come up with a good excuse.
The punishments in their organization... were far from pleasant.