Chapter 85: The Vault Below

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: The Vault Below

"Getting really good at knowing when to mind my business."

They continued clearing the first floor, but the atmosphere had noticeably changed.

There were no zombies hiding inside the employee lounge and no terrified survivors barricaded inside an office. Instead, they found abandoned purses, half-finished drinks, personal belongings, and several cell phones left behind by employees who had apparently fled when the red sun appeared.

The building felt strangely frozen in time.

A cup of coffee sat beside a computer keyboard. Someone’s jacket remained draped over the back of a chair, while a calendar on the wall still displayed the current month.

There was something unsettling about seeing everything left exactly where people had abandoned it.

It wasn’t frightening.

It was simply sad.

Only yesterday, those things had belonged to people who probably expected to return to work. Someone had probably planned to finish that cup of coffee. Someone else had left their jacket behind because they assumed they could retrieve it later.

Nobody knew whether they ever would.

Erik eventually found the security office.

Inside, several monitors displayed different areas of the building. Most of the cameras were still functioning, although two showed nothing but static.

Killian studied the screens carefully.

"The second floor looks clear."

Erik checked another monitor.

"So does the basement corridor."

Penelope immediately looked at him.

"Basement?"

Oddy exploded inside her mind.

’HOST!’

Penelope closed her eyes.

Of course there was a basement.

Kai noticed her expression and sighed.

"Your private disagreement is happening again, isn’t it?"

Penelope opened her eyes.

"We’re going downstairs."

Kai stared at her.

"Apparently the disagreement has reached a conclusion."

Erik leaned closer to the security monitors.

One camera showed a concrete corridor beneath the building. Several heavy doors lined the walls, but it was what stood at the very end that immediately captured everyone’s attention.

An enormous steel door.

Nobody needed to ask what was behind it.

Kai slowly smiled.

"Oh."

Ben leaned toward the monitor.

"Is that..."

"The vault," Erik confirmed.

Penelope stared at the screen.

Oddy had become suspiciously quiet.

’Oddy?’

No response.

Penelope frowned.

’Oddy.’

Finally, its voice returned.

This time, it sounded almost reverent.

’Host.’

Penelope waited.

’We are rich.’

Penelope looked around at the jewelry store they had technically just broken into during the apocalypse.

A smile slowly appeared on her face.

’We were already rich.’

Oddy considered this.

’Then we are richer.’

Penelope couldn’t argue with that.

Killian stood several feet away, silently observing the expression on her face.

She was far too pleased about this.

He understood Erik’s reasoning for coming to the jewelry district. If modern society continued collapsing, the money sitting inside their bank accounts would eventually become nothing more than numbers on inaccessible servers. Gold, on the other hand, had maintained its value throughout human history and could potentially become useful for trade.

That part made sense.

What Killian found mildly baffling was Penelope’s enthusiasm.

She looked genuinely delighted.

He glanced toward the vault displayed on the monitor before looking back at her.

Perhaps she simply liked gold.

Killian decided there were worse things to discover about a person.

"Are we going downstairs, or are we planning to admire the vault through a security camera all night?" Penelope asked.

Kai turned toward her.

"We nearly died getting into this building, and somehow you’ve become impatient."

"There’s a vault downstairs."

"Yes."

"With gold."

"Presumably."

Penelope stared at him as though he had just answered his own question.

Kai slowly nodded.

"I see the urgency now."

Erik shook his head before turning his attention back to the security desk.

They couldn’t simply walk downstairs and expect a commercial vault to open for them. Somewhere inside the building there had to be access cards, keys, security records, or something that could at least get them through the restricted areas surrounding it.

Fortunately, the employees appeared to have abandoned the store in a hurry.

Several drawers had been left partially open, personal belongings remained scattered throughout the office, and an access card still hung from a lanyard beneath the desk.

Erik picked it up and examined it.

"This might get us downstairs."

Penelope immediately headed toward the door.

Kai watched her leave.

"She’s disturbingly motivated."

Killian silently followed after her.

The group made their way toward the basement, moving cautiously despite what they had seen through the security cameras. An empty monitor didn’t guarantee an empty building, and none of them intended to become careless simply because they had finally escaped the street.

Killian took the lead while Erik followed closely behind him. Penelope remained near the center, with Ben and Kai guarding the rear.

The stairwell descended farther than Penelope expected.

With every step, the sounds from outside became quieter.

The growls disappeared first.

Then the occasional thud against the reinforced glass.

Eventually, even the distant chaos of the city faded until there was nothing but the sound of their footsteps descending the concrete staircase.

Penelope didn’t like it.

The silence inside the building should have made her feel safer.

Instead, it reminded her that several tons of concrete now separated them from the street.

If something happened down here, nobody was coming to help them.

They reached the bottom.

The basement looked nothing like the luxurious showroom above.

Polished marble and glittering display cases had been replaced by concrete walls, heavy security doors, and narrow corridors illuminated by emergency lights.

Kai looked around.

"Well, this is cheerful."

Nobody responded.

Killian raised one hand.

Everyone stopped.

He listened.

Nothing.

After several seconds, he continued forward.

They checked each room as they passed, making sure nothing was hiding inside before continuing deeper into the building.

Most contained exactly what they expected from the lower level of a luxury commercial property.

Packaging materials filled one room.

Maintenance equipment occupied another.

Office supplies, empty shelving units, and miscellaneous storage filled several more.

Nothing moved.

Nothing appeared dangerous.

After everything they had fought through outside, the silence felt almost unnatural.

Ben glanced behind them several times.

Kai noticed.

"Nervous?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Ben looked at him strangely.

Kai shrugged.

"Means you’re paying attention."

Ben considered that before nodding.

"Fair."

They continued deeper into the corridor.

The enormous vault remained somewhere ahead.

Penelope could almost feel Oddy’s impatience growing with every step.

’Host.’

’No.’

’I didn’t say anything.’

’You were about to.’

Oddy became silent.

Three seconds passed.

’Host.’

Penelope sighed mentally.

’What?’

’We are walking very slowly.’

’Because we don’t want to die.’

’But the treasure—’

’Will still be there.’

’Host has said that before.’

’And was I wrong?’

Oddy didn’t answer.

Penelope smiled.

Finally.

She had won one.

Ahead of her, Killian suddenly slowed.

Penelope nearly walked into Erik when he stopped behind him.

She immediately became alert.

"What?"

Killian didn’t answer at first.

His gaze had lowered toward his hand.

More specifically, toward the ring on his finger.

A faint warmth had begun spreading across the metal.

Then Ziki’s voice appeared inside his mind.

’Spiritual energy detected nearby.’

Killian’s expression remained unchanged.

His attention, however, sharpened immediately.

’Where?’

’Multiple sources have been detected within the surrounding area.’

Killian slowly lifted his gaze.

Several doors lined the basement corridor.

Multiple sources.

That was interesting.

’What kind of sources?’

’Spiritual artifacts.’

Killian became still.

Behind him, Erik noticed.

"Something wrong?"

Killian looked toward the partially opened storage room nearest him.

"No."

His answer came easily.

Then he gestured toward the door.

"I’ll check this room."

Erik glanced inside before nodding.

"I’ll take the next one."

Ben followed Erik while Kai remained with Penelope.

The group separated only by several meters, each remaining within shouting distance of the others.

Killian pushed the door farther open.

The room beyond was dark.

He stepped inside.

The warmth surrounding his ring immediately intensified.

And Ziki spoke again.

’Spiritual artifact detected.’

Killian’s eyes narrowed.

Apparently, the jewelry store contained more than gold.