When Zhong Yan and Anby arrived at the meeting point, they happened to run into Zhu Yuan and her team, who had just gotten there as well.
Among Zhu Yuan's squad, aside from Qing Yi, there were a few unfamiliar yet distinct faces.
One of them was Zhao Anmen, a high-ranking officer within the New Eridu Public Security Bureau. Zhong Yan hadn't expected him to be leading this operation—meaning he was the supreme commander this time.
A member of the Nin-Village, once wanted by the New Eridu Public Security, now flourishing within its ranks... If that information were to leak, he couldn't imagine the kind of chaos it would spark.
The entire New Eridu Public Security Bureau might face an unprecedented purge.
Besides Zhao Anmen, there was also a white-haired cat-eared young man wielding a baton and a riot shield. He looked barely in his twenties, and just one glance told Zhong Yan he was a rookie.
The last one, supposedly a security officer, looked more like a criminal being escorted under guard.
His hands and feet were shackled, and his head was fitted with a special device to prevent others from seeing his eyes.
Zhong Yan found it strange. Why bring someone like him on a mission to eliminate the Mountain Lion Gang's base?
Before he could arrive at an answer, Zhu Yuan stepped forward, greeting them warmly: "Zhong Yan, Anby, this is the commanding officer of our operation—Zhao Anmen. And over there is the prisoner assisting us with the investigation. He was once a Shadow of the Nin-Village, but later betrayed the organization."
Zhu Yuan patiently introduced the key figures in the operation. Since Zhong Yan had only interacted with Zhao Anmen as Uchiha, the latter didn't recognize him at the moment.
He had simply been told by Zhu Yuan that two powerful allies were joining the mission, and for certain reasons, she couldn't go through formal channels to request approval—so exceptions had to be made.
Zhao Anmen didn't object, and it was only thanks to his consent that Zhong Yan and Anby were allowed to join.
"A member of the Nin-Village? A rogue ninja?" Zhu Yuan's explanation made Zhong Yan raise an eyebrow slightly.
So that guy must be someone Zhao Anmen personally brought in. If it were anyone else, he probably wouldn't have agreed.
"I-I-I'm here too, Captain!" a loud voice interrupted Zhong Yan's thoughts.
He looked up to see the white-haired cat-eared youth—previously ignored by Zhu Yuan—bounding over with an eager expression. "I'm Seth Lowell, patrol officer from the Janus Quarter Public Security Bureau. I've heard a lot about you two from Captain Zhu Yuan. Back during the Hollow Outbreak on 14th Street, you saved so many people!"
Without warning, the officer named Seth grabbed Zhong Yan's hand enthusiastically, looking like he wanted to devour him whole.
As expected, Zhong Yan thought, this guy really is a rookie.
"Seth, mind your image as a security officer."
Noticing Zhong Yan's awkward expression, Zhu Yuan cleared her throat. Only then did Seth reluctantly let go.
Afterward, the operation formally began. Led by a Public Security Bangboo named Officer Cui, they entered the Hollow in an orderly fashion and began advancing according to marked positions on the map.
Along the way, they encountered several Ethereals, but for the well-trained security officers, anything short of a high-threat classification was easily handled.
So, it didn't take long before they reached the Mountain Lion Gang's base—only to be met with a scene that made their eyes widen in disbelief.
The bodies of numerous Mountain Lion members were strewn across the ground like garbage. The stench of blood filled the air, so thick it even overpowered the Hollow's natural etheric pressure.
"Looks like someone beat us to it." Zhao Anmen stepped forward, attempting to find a survivor—but whoever had done this had been ruthlessly thorough, leaving behind no loose ends.
What was even stranger was the complete absence of any signs of battle. It was as if the entire group of Mountain Lion Gang had been erased in silence.
And who, Zhong Yan thought, could pull that off, especially against so many enemies?
"These guys were clearly hit with genjutsu. They didn't even know when they died." It was the rogue ninja—Shi—who spoke up.
He crouched beside one of the corpses, taking just a glance to determine that the victim had been under illusion before death.
"Except for what looks like the leader, the rest of them have blank, vacant expressions. No one would look like that in a real fight. So, the answer is obvious."
Shi's analysis left everyone stunned. Only Zhao Anmen understood that he was likely telling the truth.
After all, Shi was a master of genjutsu. Like Zhao Anmen, he had undergone special modifications, enabling him to emit etheric energy through his eyes and craft illusions that could deceive enemies. That's why he had to wear a protective device over his face.
"Genjutsu? Could it be someone from the Nin-Village? I can't think of anyone else who uses it," Seth broke the silence.
In his understanding, genjutsu was a unique skill exclusive to ninjas, and the largest, most powerful ninja organization in New Eridu was the very one they were hunting—the Nin-Village.
Seth's theory was widely accepted among the group—except by Zhao Anmen and Shi, who knew that no one in the Nin-Village possessed genjutsu powerful enough to pull off something like this.
Even Shi's illusions were limited to slightly distorting an opponent's vision, with a very narrow effective range.
They worked fine in one-on-one situations, but against a crowd? His genjutsu was only useful for making a getaway.
To cast genjutsu on this many people at once wasn't about technique anymore—it required power on an absurd scale.
"For now, we'll assume the suspects are from the Nin-Village," Zhao Anmen sighed, "but we need to find clues nearby. Otherwise, this operation will be classified as a failure."
He wasn't too concerned with who had killed these people. The higher-ups had tasked him with locating the Mountain Lion Gang' hideout. Now that they were all dead, how were they supposed to uncover its location?
Among everyone present, only Zhong Yan knew the truth: even if these guys had been alive, they wouldn't have had that intel. These grunts knew nothing.
But the Shadow Clone's mission wasn't over. After clearing out this base, it had immediately set off for another one.
The intel for the second base had come from the leader of the first—he didn't know where headquarters was, but he did know the locations of some minor relay stations.
So, the clone's task was to eliminate the Mountain Lion Gang stationed at those outposts. And if they didn't know where HQ was?
Then kill them, one after another—
Until someone finally did.