Chapter 270: Julie’s Little Secret [Edited]

The descent into the abyss began where the gray desert sand gave way to solid black bedrock.

A massive sloping ramp, wide enough for three rovers, cut into the earth at a steep angle. The daylight faded quickly behind them, swallowed by darkness. Their tactical lamps provided most of the light, supplemented by the faint purple glow pulsing through the monolithic pillars along the path.

The air grew colder with every step. It was stale and dry, carrying a metallic hum that seemed to vibrate in Nicholas’s teeth.

Walking behind him, Selena stopped studying the ancient architecture and turned her attention to Julie’s oversized safari hat. The pink-haired girl was practically skipping down the ramp, adjusting the focus on her camera while humming cheerfully.

"Alright, we’re miles away from the surface and out of earshot of headquarters," Selena began, her voice echoing against the stone walls. "I want an answer, Julie. How on earth did you get the flight schedule, the transport manifest, and the exact coordinates for an unlisted, classified expedition?"

Julie stopped humming and turned around, walking backward down the ramp with a confident smirk. She tapped the side of her ear.

"A true journalist never reveals her sources, Supervisor Selena," Julie said smugly, adjusting her oversized sunglasses despite being hundreds of feet underground. "Let’s just say I have ears everywhere in high places. High-ranking contacts who recognize raw media talent when they see it."

"You are an F-rank hero whose primary contribution to the Association is making comedy skits in the cafeteria," Selena replied, crossing her arms. "You don’t have high-ranking contacts. You barely have clearance to enter the main elevator without an escort. Who leaked the briefing?"

Julie puffed out her chest. "The underground network of informational operatives is vast and complex. Power players talk to power players. I moved pieces on the board, gathered whisper campaigns, and secured my VIP seat on this historical journey. Deal with it."

Nicholas didn’t slow down as he walked past them.

"You sat outside the executive floor restroom pretending to tie your shoes until the briefing ended," he said calmly.

Julie’s grin froze.

"Then," Nicholas continued, "you followed Eric to his private office. You stood in front of his desk and rattled off thirty different reasons why a documentary would boost his quarterly approval ratings. When he said no, you stayed in the chair. You cried a little bit, complained about your subscriber drop, and talked without breathing for forty-five minutes straight until he got a migraine and signed your travel pass just to get you out of his office."

Julie stared at him.

"How..." she squeaked. "Were you... did you put a bug in his office?! Are you psychic?!"

"No," Nicholas said without looking back. "You are just as predictable as an open book."

Nectron burst out laughing. "Kid hit the bullseye! That sounds exactly like what happened!"

"It was strategic negotiation!" Julie shrieked, her face turning crimson as she spun around and continued walking normally. "He didn’t have a migraine! He was deeply moved by my artistic vision!"

"He signed your pass to save his own sanity," Selena muttered, pressing her fingers against her temple. "I should have known. The man gives away budget clearances whenever someone annoys him for more than half an hour. I am having a very long talk with the Director when we get back."

"Don’t you dare ruin my career momentum," Julie grumbled, lowering her camera.

Vixen walked alongside Zero at the front of the group, a faint smile on her face.

"At least she provides entertainment. The desert drive was getting dull."

"Keep your focus forward," Zero said, his dry, raspy voice cutting through the banter. "We are approaching the lower threshold."

The ramp leveled out, opening into a cavern so vast that their tactical lights couldn’t reach the ceiling.

At its center, embedded directly into the ancient bedrock, was the vessel.

It was colossal.

The ship didn’t resemble anything built by human hands. Its jagged, angular frame was made from seamless black metal that seemed to swallow the light around it. Massive geometric wings extended from its sides, buried beneath layers of petrified stone and desert strata. Circuit-like patterns covered the hull, glowing with a steady violet light.

Even Julie forgot about her camera.

"Holy..." she whispered. "That’s not a ship. That’s a floating mountain."

"It has been buried here for millennia," Zero said quietly as he stepped toward the docking platform. He loosened his longsword from its sheath, the purple gemstone embedded in the hilt pulsing in sync with the hull. "When my expedition found it weeks ago, the exterior systems were dormant. But the energy has grown stronger since then."

Nicholas stepped beside him and looked up at the massive structure.

He could feel it clearly now.

The vessel was leaking the pure, refined essence of the plague. It was the same cold pressure that had awakened his Void and Charm abilities in Grayland, but magnified a thousand times over. It resonated through his bones, testing his mental clarity.

"The main vault doors are up ahead." Zero pointed toward an immense hexagonal gate set into the lower section of the ship’s forward hull.

The gate was fifty feet tall, framed by thick interlocking plates of black metal. There were no keyholes, control panels, or handles. Only a circular indentation at the center of the seam, outlined by a faint purple glow.

"How do we open it?" Nectron asked, stepping up to the doors and tapping the metal with a heavy knuckle. The strike produced a dense thud, but the door didn’t vibrate.

"I can try ripping it off the frame, but this stuff feels denser than reinforced titanium."

"Brute force won’t work," Zero said.

He drew his longsword and stepped toward the gate. Holding the blade with both hands, he pressed the flat of the purple gemstone into the circular indentation.

For a second, nothing happened.

Then a high-pitched, harmonic chime resonated through the metal.

Violet lines across the ship flared with blinding brilliance. A deep pneumatic hiss echoed through the cavern as ancient seals released after thousands of years. The massive plates of the hexagonal door unlocked with a mechanical shudder, sliding outward and retracting into the hull.

A blast of freezing, pressurized air rushed from the interior, carrying the sharp scent of ozone, dry copper, and ancient stillness.

Beyond the threshold was a towering corridor lined with dark crystalline pillars. Floating geometric interfaces flickered to life as they detected the opening door.

Nicholas stepped over the threshold, his boots clicking against the smooth alien floor.

"Stay alert," he said, his voice quiet and focused. "We don’t know what’s still running in here."

Selena, Zero, Nectron, and Vixen followed, forming a tight perimeter. Julie hurried across the threshold last, clutching her camera against her chest as the colossal vault doors loomed overhead.

They had crossed the boundary of human history and stepped into the heart of the cosmic anomaly that had reshaped their world.

[A/N:

Posted this on discord as well, I’m sure you didn’t see it:

@everyone Hey guys, it’s been a while.... So I’m writing this as an apology to all my readers and as well, a hiatus message from me, until further notice.

Writing has been a really fun and creative process for me, discovering new worlds. Creating thrilling stories that y’all had come to love. Exploring the boundaries of my mind and making questionable researches online, just to keep things realistic.

It’s been a fun ride, and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it... well until recently.

Writing on webnovel whilst having to go about my normal daily life as a student can be quite tasking and even in days when I do not feel like writing I’m forced to write to meet certain demands from the platform (Of course, bills have to be paid)

Thanks to this, my writing took a round turn and something I used to enjoy became a chore.

Yes, it’s my job and I’ve learnt to take it as such. But creativity often times is something that requires time to build. And always being on the edge isn’t the best way to go about it.

Hence why I wish to take a hiatus from writing and work on my craft and myself. (😭 imma be broke for a while! Agghh)

But I believe it’s an important step to take. I’ll need sometime to reset.

And I wish to apologise to you all, both for those who stuck with me till this moment and those who stopped reading for one reason or the other.

I’m glad I was able to make wonderful friends with y’all!

@all! You all such wonderful people and I’m glad I got to share this journey with you all.

The hiatus should start on the 1st of October.

As for how long it’ll span, it depends on how poor I become 😭 I can’t make any promises. I appreciate your support so far]