While Ash’s main body was now in the process of creating his own Domain, his clones that were spread throughout the vast Realm of Eden had finally begun to move.
The information network established by his clones was crude compared to the great organizations, but it was more than enough for his current needs.
But still, even the Anomaly Hunters were moving with precaution, they tried not to leave any trace and used System Contracts with people who they questioned as not to reveal themselves.
And how did Ash’s clone came to know this?
Because one of the Information Gatherer foolishly came to him asking questions.
One of Ash’s ordinary clones was currently working inside a small trading city located near the border between two regions.
The city wasn’t particularly large, nor was it important enough to attract powerful cultivators, which was precisely why one of Ash’s ordinary clones had chosen to stay there.
Unlike the combat-oriented clones, this one possessed almost no strength at all, he had been living the life of an ordinary merchant, opening his stall every morning, closing it every evening, and occasionally gathering bits of information from the countless people passing through the streets.
At this moment, he was standing behind a stall, casually arranging several items while listening to the countless conversations taking place throughout the street.
It was simple work.
More importantly, it attracted very little attention.
At least, that was usually the case until a voice suddenly pulled him out of his thoughts.
"Are the number of customers always this low here...?"
Ash’s clone looked up and saw a middle-aged man standing before the stall, casually examining the displayed goods as though he were merely a bored passerby trying to kill some time.
"Not really. It’s just that a lot has happened over the past two weeks, so people aren’t moving around as much these days."
The clone shrugged as he replied, his hands never stopping their work.
"I can’t agree more."
The stranger let out a helpless laugh before shaking his head.
"If not for my situation, I wouldn’t want to leave my house either. Strictly speaking, I almost peed myself when I saw that Anomaly fighting a Celestial Rank being."
As he spoke, a trace of lingering fear appeared on his face, as though merely recalling that battle was enough to make his heart race again.
At the same time, however, there was also a hint of expectation hidden within his expression.
The clone immediately noticed the direction the conversation was heading, but he chose not to comment on it.
Instead, he picked up one of the items from the stall and began cleaning it as though the topic wasn’t particularly interesting.
"Who didn’t?" The clone finally replied with a faint chuckle. "Forget peeing, I know a few people who couldn’t even sleep properly for several days after seeing that fight."
The stranger nodded in agreement.
"Honestly, I don’t blame them. Before all this happened, I always thought those Realm Quests were a piece of cake, but after seeing that monster fight..."
He paused for a moment before shaking his head.
"No wonder the reward is so high."
The clone merely smiled.
"High rewards always come with high risks."
"That’s true."
The stranger sighed before casually picking up another item from the stall, imitating Ash.
"Still, there are plenty of people chasing him."
"There are always people willing to gamble their lives for a chance at becoming stronger."
"Fair point."
For a few moments, the conversation drifted elsewhere as the two discussed recent events, rising prices, the increased security around several cities, and how difficult traveling had become lately.
Only after several minutes did the stranger slowly circle back toward the topic he actually cared about.
"Speaking of which, you’ve been here for a while now. Have you noticed anything unusual recently?"
The clone raised an eyebrow.
"Unusual?"
The stranger nodded.
"Strangers, powerful people, suspicious individuals... anything that stands out."
The clone appeared to fall into thought for a few moments, his fingers absentmindedly moving a few items around the stall before he finally replied.
"That’s a bit difficult to answer. After all, this is a small trading city located between two regions, so a lot of travelers pass through here every single day. Merchants, adventurers, mercenaries, cultivators, wandering scholars, and sometimes even people from distant regions stop by to buy supplies before continuing on their journey."
After taking a small pause, the clone continued.
"If I am being honest, I see so many different faces every day that after a while they all start blending together."
The stranger nodded as though that answer made perfect sense.
"So nothing unusual?"
The clone shook his head.
"Nothing that really stands out. At least nothing that would make me remember it afterward."
Then he looked at the stranger with a hint of curiosity.
"Why do you ask?"
The man let out a helpless sigh.
"Work."
"Work?"
The stranger rubbed his forehead before continuing.
"Let’s just say I am looking for someone, and so far I haven’t had much luck."
The clone chuckled but said nothing.
However, just as the conversation seemed to be coming to an end, the stranger suddenly asked something he shouldn’t have.
"By the way, can you tell me your name and ID?"
The clone’s hands paused slightly as he arranged the items on the stall, his gaze slowly lifting toward the stranger’s face while silently asking the question without uttering a single word.
Why?
Seeing the suspicion in his eyes, the stranger immediately smiled.
"Don’t misunderstand. I am an information gatherer working for a newly formed unit called the Anomaly Hunters. It’s a legitimate organization jointly approved by the Transcendent Circle, the Church of Light, and the Church of Darkness."
As he spoke, he produced a badge and placed it on the stall.
The badge was genuine and even carried an identification mark unique to its owner.
"I need your ID so I can send you a Universal System Contract. Nothing complicated, just a confidentiality agreement regarding our conversation and the questions I asked."
The clone hurriedly nodded before speaking with fervor.
"Wait a second. If this is an official investigation, then I actually have something to tell you. I didn’t mention it earlier because you were a stranger."
Hearing those words, the stranger’s eyes immediately lit up and he instinctively leaned forward slightly, his attention completely focused on the clone.
Meanwhile, Ash deliberately began speaking at a slow pace, making sure the man’s attention remained fixed on every word coming out of his mouth.
Several dozen seconds later, another figure slowly appeared nearby.
The moment the clone noticed him approaching, he abruptly stopped speaking and shifted his gaze toward the newcomer.
Naturally, the stranger did the same.
It was an old man whose back was slightly bent with age while a worn wooden cane supported his body as he slowly walked through the busy street.
His appearance instantly drew the stranger’s attention.
The old man, however, paid no attention to the stall.
Nor did he look at the clone.
His gaze remained fixed entirely upon the stranger.
Then their eyes met.
[Mind Sovereign]
The stranger’s pupils momentarily lost focus.
The moment the normal clone had heard the words Universal System Contract, he had already contacted another clone through the Akashic Mind.
After all, how was he supposed to sign a contract when Ash didn’t even possess a Universal System in the first place?
Around them, life continued as normal.
Merchants continued advertising their goods, customers continued bargaining over prices, and travelers continued moving through the streets, completely unaware that one memory after another was quietly flowing into Ash’s mind.
Information that would normally require months to gather was effortlessly laid bare before him as countless memories revealed the identities of other information gatherers, the locations of temporary gathering points, the communication methods used between members, the secret verification codes used to identify one another, and even the locations of several main combat units of the Anomaly Hunters currently operating throughout different regions of the Realm.
The process continued for nearly five minutes before Ash finally withdrew from the informant’s mind.
During that same period, he also carefully modified portions of the man’s memories, seamlessly inserting events that had never occurred while preserving everything else exactly as it had been.
As a result, from the informant’s perspective, the contract had been signed without issue and the conversation had proceeded exactly as expected, leaving him completely unaware that several minutes of his life had effectively been rewritten.
The focus gradually returned to his eyes.
The stranger smiled politely.
"Thank you for your cooperation."
The clone returned the smile naturally.
"Not a problem."
Satisfied with the outcome, the informant soon turned around and disappeared into the crowd, completely unaware that he had just handed over a significant portion of the Anomaly Hunter network to the very person his organization was trying to find.
Neither clone made any attempt to stop him.
After all, killing a single informant would accomplish very little, whereas allowing him to continue moving freely while using the information extracted from his memories to uncover an entire network was far more valuable.
As Ash sorted through the enormous amount of newly acquired information, a faint smile slowly appeared on his face.
The following days turned out to be far more productive than Ash had anticipated.
Using the identities, communication methods, gathering locations, and secret verification codes extracted from the informant’s memories, the clones then gradually began infiltrating the information network established by the Anomaly Hunters.
The clones silently tracked the movements of various hunting groups without attracting the slightest suspicion.
At first, everything proceeded normally.
Information gatherers continued traveling between cities, reports continued flowing toward their designated destinations.
Then the disappearances began.
The first incident attracted very little attention, as a single combat unit failing to report back on time was not particularly unusual within a Realm as vast and dangerous as Eden.
However, as time passed and more reports began accumulating, an uncomfortable feeling gradually started spreading throughout the ranks of the Anomaly Hunters, because although the incidents appeared unrelated on the surface, the number of people failing to return from their assignments was slowly increasing.
An information gatherer would disappear while traveling between cities.
A secret messenger carrying reports would suddenly lose contact somewhere along his route.
An entire combat team would fail to arrive at its destination, only for another similar incident to occur somewhere else within the Realm before the previous one had even been properly investigated.
Ordinarily, such incidents would not have been particularly alarming, yet what made the situation unsettling was the complete lack of answers.
Because regardless of how thoroughly the disappearances were investigated, nobody could find corpses, traces of battle, damaged weapons, or even signs that a struggle had taken place, making it appear as though the missing individuals had simply vanished into thin air.
As more and more cases appeared, discussions naturally began spreading among the hunters.
Some believing a hidden organization was targeting them, others suspecting the existence of a traitor leaking information from within.
Unfortunately, the investigations accomplished very little, because the deeper people dug into the matter, the more confusing it became.
Before long many hunters found themselves developing small habits they had never possessed before, unconsciously glancing over their shoulders while traveling.
Paying greater attention to the people around them, and becoming noticeably more reluctant to separate from their companions than before.
The truly frightening part was that nobody knew what they were supposed to be afraid of, because although the disappearances continued occurring with unsettling regularity, there was no enemy to point toward, no visible threat to prepare against, and no explanation capable of easing the growing unease spreading throughout the organization.
It was as though an invisible observer had quietly embedded itself within the shadows surrounding the Anomaly Hunters, patiently watching every movement they made while deciding who would disappear next.
And somewhere deep within the minds of those who had begun noticing the pattern, a disturbing realization had already begun taking root.
The Anomaly Hunters were in search to hunt the Anomaly.
Meanwhile, the Anomaly was hunting them in return.
****