Uchiha in Zenless Zone Zero

About an hour later, Zhong Yan and Belle had picked up the goods they wanted from the merchant. On their way back, they passed through Lumina Square and happened to walk right by the entrance of Hollow Investigative Association's headquarters.

There, a large crowd of fans was gathered, still waiting for the appearance of Hollow Special Operations Section 6. The team had entered the headquarters over an hour ago and hadn't come out since.

"These fans sure are passionate. We've already been out shopping and come back," Belle remarked, holding a half-filled cardboard box in her arms as she looked at the packed entrance of the headquarters, unable to help but sigh.

By comparison, the box Zhong Yan was carrying was much fuller and, naturally, much heavier.

"Some fans are just that crazy. It's not even surprising anymore when they go to extremes," Zhong Yan said as he glanced toward the building entrance. The next second, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

The abrupt stop made Belle freeze for a moment. She then halted as well, turning to look at the motionless Zhong Yan. "Why did you stop? Big brother is still waiting for us at home to have dinner."

Zhong Yan didn't answer her. His attention was entirely focused on a few figures at the entrance.

He had seen those people before—they were fans of Hollow Special Operations Section 6—but now their behavior seemed strange, markedly different from the rest of the excited crowd.

"I just think it's odd. Hollow Special Operations Section 6 went in so long ago, and they still haven't come out?" Zhong Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. Before leaving, he had overheard that the simulation test was supposed to take no more than half an hour.

Yet now, an hour had passed, and there was still no sign of them. Even the fans at the entrance had started questioning HIA staff.

Suddenly, a thought struck him. He turned and said seriously, "I need to take care of something. You go home with my clone later."

With that, he set down his box and dashed off into a deserted alley without looking back.

Moments later, he reappeared—but it wasn't the real Zhong Yan. It was one of his shadow clones.

"Hollow Special Operations Section 6 might be in trouble. He went to check it out, he's not ditching you on purpose," the clone explained while picking up the box from the ground.

Belle was already used to this kind of situation and didn't say much, though she did pout in mild frustration.

In fact, both she and Anby and Ellen could distinguish between Zhong Yan's real self and his clones, and wouldn't treat a clone as the real deal just because they looked the same.

That was why Belle was slightly annoyed. Still, she had no grounds to blame him. After all, if something really had happened to Hollow Special Operations Section 6, it would be bad news for all of New Eridu.

…

Meanwhile, inside Hollow Investigative Association Headquarters.

Unlike the single hall featured in the game, the real-life Hollow Investigative Association building was massive—arguably the largest structure in the entire Lumina Square.

That provided Zhong Yan with the perfect chance to sneak in. Now disguised as an Uchiha, he had infiltrated the building but chose not to reveal himself. Instead, he hid in a corner, eavesdropping on passing employees.

"Hey, wasn't it supposed to take just thirty minutes? Why aren't Hollow Special Operations Section 6 awake yet? Could it be…"

"Shut up. Don't talk nonsense. Just keep this to yourself and don't tell anyone."

"Ah… okay. I'm just worried. If something goes wrong, won't we be the ones in trouble too?"

"Exactly. Let's just pray they wake up soon."

The exchange practically confirmed Zhong Yan's suspicion: the reason Hollow Special Operations Section 6 hadn't emerged was that something had gone wrong.

He had heard that this project Hollow Investigative Association invited them to test involved VR simulation equipment—a system that transports a person's consciousness into a digital space for activity.

The tech wasn't exactly sci-fi, but it was still very advanced.

However, VR technology had a fatal flaw—if something went wrong, the person's consciousness might never return to their body, resulting in permanent brain death.

That was likely the exact crisis Hollow Special Operations Section 6 was now facing. If a solution wasn't found soon, they could end up trapped in the virtual world forever.

With that thought, Zhong Yan acted without hesitation. Activating Kamui, he teleported straight into the simulation room where the team was located.

Unexpectedly, Tsukishiro Yanagi had already woken up—but she was the only one. The remaining three were still trapped in the simulation.

Through her, Zhong Yan learned the identity of the mastermind: an organization called Null_Face.

Unlike the Red Fang gang, the Mountain Lion Gang, or the Nin-Village, Null_Face was not known for brute strength. They were tech geniuses who had access to the most cutting-edge tech in New Eridu—capable of creating high-level intelligent weapons that had already caused significant disruption.

Hollow Special Operations Section 6 were the elite force assigned to hunt them down. Yet not only had they failed, they had been dragged into a trap instead.

"I probably can't help with the VR machines," Zhong Yan muttered, hiding in a corner, "but if I can find Null_Face's headquarters…"

Genjutsu wouldn't work on virtual systems, and blindly diving in could get him trapped too.

His best move now was to locate Null_Face's base and cut the problem off at its root.

Fortunately, he already had a plan.

…

At that moment, outside Hollow Investigative Association headquarters, several members of the Null_Face organization were mingling among the fans of Hollow Special Operations Section 6.

Their mission had been to give the team special badges—badges embedded with a virus-like program that had infiltrated the VR system.

Now that the team was successfully trapped in the virtual world, their mission was complete, and they were preparing to leave.

But little did they know, lurking in the shadows, Zhong Yan had already set his sights on them.