Eliana was just about to drift off to sleep when the elevator beneath her jerked, the sudden movement jarring her awake. Before she could react, the already dim interior plunged into darkness.

  “Enemy contact!” Robert shouted, his voice edged with panic as he frantically searched for his gun. In his rush, he knocked into Ivan, who groaned as he was pulled from his half-sleep.

  “Dude, we’re literally inside a metal box. Where’s the enemy? Calm down.” Ivan’s voice was thick with exhaustion, still not fully awake.

  Robert exhaled sharply. “Right, right. I’m sorry.”

  Before anyone could say more, the power flickered back on, and the elevator resumed its descent.

  “What the hell was that?” Robert asked, glancing around as if expecting an answer.

  Teresa remained calm, still seated in the corner with her rifle resting in her lap. “Just a power fluctuation. Probably an outage topside. Nothing to worry about.”

  “How long until we hit the bottom?” Ivan asked, his tone shifting from groggy to alert.

  Eliana checked the time. “An hour left at most. We should get ready.”

  Everyone nodded in agreement.

  Ivan unlocked a large case, pulling out specialized suits designed for extremely biohazard environments. Robert checked his gun again, disassembling and reassembling it with methodical precision. Teresa studied the blueprints of the waste management system, quietly revising their entry plan.

  Eliana focused on her own suit, double-checking every strap and seal. Kai was still alive. He had to be. She couldn’t let herself think otherwise. Ensuring everything was functional, she attached the filter to her respirator, taking a deep breath to test the airflow.

  The rhythmic clicking of gear being secured echoed around the cabin, a steady beat that had gone on for the past twenty hours of preparation.

  Then the elevator shuddered and stopped.

  A low, mechanical rumble sounded from outside the metal box. Everyone froze, their eyes darting around.

  “Relax.” Teresa pointed at the blueprints, her tone even. “We’re shifting from the gear system to the cable system. This is how we descend the final level.”

  Robert frowned. “Why build such a complicated system… just to throw away trash?”

  Teresa shook her head. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “I’ve seen this design before,” Ivan murmured, his expression darkening. His usual chill demeanor was gone, replaced by something grim, like a man recalling a memory he’d rather forget.

  The room went silent.

  Ivan looked around. “Oh, you all actually want me to keep going?”

  Everyone nodded.

  He sighed. “Alright then. So, you all know my father was a cargo pilot, right? Used to take me everywhere he went. That meant visiting some… interesting places. Some of the Empire-controlled worlds.”

  “That includes the slave colony, doesn’t it?” Robert muttered.

  Ivan nodded. “Exactly. I’ve been there. And I remember it well because they had a setup just like this.”

  He leaned forward, his voice lower.

  “They built deep pits into the ground so slaves couldn’t escape. They used cranes to lower down metal containers, just like this one. Except those containers had built-in machine guns to kill anyone who tried to riot.”

  “Woah.” Teresa exhaled. “So, what are you saying? You think this elevator was built for the same reason?”

  Ivan’s expression was grim. “I think this system wasn’t made to just throw things away. It was made to keep something down here.”

  A heavy silence settled over the team.

  Then, with a final metallic clank, the elevator shook and stopped.

  Everyone stood up.

  Robert and Teresa stacked up on one side of the doors, weapons ready. Ivan and Eliana mirrored them on the opposite side.

  A long, scraping metallic groan sounded as the doors slid open.

  For a brief moment, the space beyond was pitch black.

  Ivan turned on his helmet's night vision mode, and the rest did the same.

  “Or maybe the cables just make sure the elevator doesn’t get buried under tons of trash,” Eliana muttered.

  Ivan checked the view outside and commanded, “Out.”

  -------------------------------------------

  Kai was speechless.

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  He turned around, his breath catching in his throat. Just like in his vision, a massive thruster loomed over them.

  He took a step back, then another, craning his neck to take it all in. The ship was enormous. Larger than anything he had ever seen, it didn’t resemble the sleek spacefaring vessels he was familiar with. It looked more like an entire building with thrusters attached to its back—not one, not two, but three. Each as wide as a small house.

  "No way," Kai murmured. "No way this is the Ark."

  He started moving around it, his instincts kicking in, searching for any kind of identification. Unlike the wreckage and ruins they had encountered in the underground, this ship was intact.

  It sat buried partially in the ground, but its hull showed no major signs of damage. No gaping holes, no corrosion—just a giant relic resting in the shadows.

  Kai kept searching. If this ship really came from Earth, it had to have markings indicating its origin. He now know that Earth ships were built by different countries, so there had to be something—a logo, a designation, anything.

  Then, he found it.

  Near what looked like an exhaust vent, a red-lined warning label was painted onto the hull. The characters read:

  "熱風注意."

  Kai’s mind lit up.

  He had seen these kinds of characters before—in Chinatown. This was Chinese.

  Excited, he moved further down the ship’s hull, looking for more confirmation. But just as he rounded a corner, taking a few more steps back for a clearer view, he froze.

  There were more words on the hull. But they weren’t in Chinese.

  And right beside them—a flag.

  At first, the white background of the flag nearly blended into the ship’s exterior, but Kai could tell it was a different shade of white. At its center, perfectly symmetrical, was a red circle.

  His pulse quickened.

  “Derniere, I swear I’ve seen this before—somewhere down here, in the city.”

  Derniere nodded, her voice calm but firm. “That’s the Japanese flag. They were everywhere in the city.”

  Kai exhaled slowly, realization settling in.

  So this was what the government topside had been hiding all along.

  The history they had been fed was fake.

  The data in the archives were altered.

  Everything they had been taught about how humanity was born here—was a lie.

  He would have to tell Isaac to run a deep scan once they got back to the Black Swan. Maybe, just maybe, they could find inconsistencies in the official records. Or, more disturbingly—they wouldn’t find any inconsistencies at all.

  Kai glanced around. He was near the rear of the ship now, meaning he had only seen a fraction of its full scale. Estimating its size, he guessed it had to be at least 3,000 feet long—far larger than anything he had ever set foot on.

  Now, he needed to find a way inside.

  He turned to Bell. “Bell, look for an entrance.”

  Bell perked up, then jumped off Derniere’s shoulder, scurrying away with purpose.

  Kai smirked. Bell would make a fine companion aboard the Black Swan— if Bell can learned to not live in the walls, and if they managed to get out of here.

  -----------------------------

  The opening of the elevator was large enough for the four of them to execute a buttonhook exit into the dark unknown. They moved swiftly, checking the immediate area first. The only things greeting them were the stench of rot, the hum of machinery, and swarms of insects thriving in the filth. Eliana barely suppressed a gag, grateful she hadn’t eaten anything on the way down.

  They kept close to the metal box, systematically clearing the other three sides. So far, nothing seemed out of place—just the monstrous machines transporting trash, the ever-present decay, and an overwhelming sense of abandonment. Robert was the first to break the silence.

  “So, the rumors were true then,” he muttered.

  “What rumors?” Teresa asked, her voice crisp through the built-in earpieces.

  “The first level of Aurelia Prime is supposedly a wasteland, filled with filth no sane person would venture into. And those who do—never come back.”

  “Sounds about right,” Ivan added.

  Eliana frowned. The setup didn’t make sense. If she were in charge of this place, she’d want to preserve what was down here, not bury it under mountains of garbage. She stuck close behind Ivan, rifle raised, scanning past his shoulder. He moved methodically, slicing the pie, ensuring no angles were left unchecked. It was a routine they had drilled endlessly, one that came naturally now. But the team was incomplete. Kai should have been here with them.

  Ivan froze mid-step, peeling the last corner. His night vision flared with bright spots—unnaturally bright. Blinking against the intensity, he briefly shut off his visor’s enhancement and saw it clearly.

  A massive enclosure stood in the darkness, an unknown structure buried deep within the waste. On the side of it, an opening. He turned to the others, ensuring they had seen it as well. They nodded in confirmation.

  Raising his hand, Ivan made a sliding motion. “Advance, wedge formation, standard spacing.”

  They moved as one, shifting seamlessly into position. Weapons raised, bodies low, they advanced toward the opening in the towering wall. The silence around them was unnerving. There was no resistance, no movement beyond the distant hum of machines. Everything was going too well. And none of them liked it.

  Teresa was the first to notice the sound—a faint mechanical humming. It was quiet, barely registering through her helmet’s filters, but she was certain she had heard it. Something was overhead. She turned, looking behind her.

  “Uh… guys?” she said, her voice laced with unease. “I don’t think that’s supposed to be there.”

  A red glow swept across the ground, moving in their direction. It was almost on top of them. Teresa spotted it now—the Watcher drone hovering high above, its sensor array scanning for movement. She glanced at her watch.

  00:00.

  Midnight. Regulation hours.

  “No way,” Robert muttered. “They actually enforce curfew down here?”

  Eliana didn’t have time to process it. The watcher caught her first. A red beam engulfed her, locking onto her position. A second later, a loud, trumpet-like horn blasted overhead.

  Ivan wasn’t about to wait around and find out what it meant. “Double time! To the opening!” His voice was sharp, commanding. He broke into a fast jog, the others immediately following suit.

  Eliana ran, but the red glow followed her. Risking a glance back, she saw them—black dots gathering beneath the watcher. They were multiplying, spreading like a dark swarm.

  “Drones,” Teresa identified grimly. “Hurry! We need to get inside fast.”

  “Book it!” Ivan ordered just as the swarm began moving. He turned and fired the first shot. One of the drones spiraled down, its propeller shattered. They were fragile—one bullet was enough to down them. But there were too many.

  Robert stopped next, letting Teresa and Eliana push past him. “I’m covering!” he called, unloading rounds as Ivan’s first magazine ran dry.

  Ivan turned, sprinting toward them as Robert laid down suppressing fire. The drones faltered slightly, slowing their advance.

  Eliana and Teresa reached the hill leading up to the opening. They scrambled up, moving fast. Teresa turned and fired. The swarm hesitated.

  “This is working! Keep it up!” Ivan shouted.

  They fell into a rhythm—firing, advancing, covering each other. Teresa and Eliana made it to the top of the hill first, emptying their magazines into the approaching drones before retreating deeper into the enclosure. Ivan and Robert followed, firing in turns. But the drones didn’t stop. They kept coming, pushing them inside.

  Ivan shut off his night vision first, the interior’s bright lights making it difficult to see. As his eyes adjusted, his breath caught in his throat.

  “Whoa.”

  In the distance, nestled in the ground, was a ship. Massive. It had three gigantic thrusters, arranged in a triangle, looking exactly like the three-circles tattoo Baiyan had.

  But there was no time to process it. The drones weren’t stopping.

  Ivan reloaded, gritted his teeth, and opened fire again.