The Black Card System

The Black Vault Unlocked

CHAPTER 5 — “THE BLACK VAULT UNLOCKED”

Noah left the mansion before dawn , he made sure everyone was still asleep before sneaking out, The card was projecting a location in his head and he was to trace it , The streets were empty and quiet, but his mind wasn’t. He kept a slow pace, hands in his pockets, he kept on looking behind him , scared that someone was following him , his eyes on the ground as the strange coordinates pulsed at the back of his mind. The card felt heavier than any object he’d ever held, as if every step he took was dragging him toward something he wasn’t prepared for.

“An abandoned facility,” he muttered under his breath. “Of course.”

He reached the outskirts of the city just as the morning fog settled. The area was deserted, it was just cracked concrete, rusting pipes, and a storm drain that looked like it hadn’t been touched in years. The coordinates pointed directly to it.

“Great,” he whispered. “Very welcoming.”

He pushed aside the metal grate. A faint mechanical click responded, almost like the facility had been waiting for him. A passageway opened beneath the ground, there was cold air rushing out and hitting his face. He hesitated only a second before stepping in. The metal tunnel stretched long, it was dark, but lights flickered on as he walked, one by one, following him down .

When he reached the heart of the bunker, a massive metal door slid open.

“No way…A place like this exist ?” Noah exhaled.

The chamber inside looked nothing like the abandoned exterior. Everything was smooth steel and dim blue lights. Screens lined the walls. Machines were humming , it looked like one of those robotic lab he read in books ..

A female digital voice echoed from the ceiling.

“Identity confirmed. Noah Bennett. Successor recognized.”

“Successor? Me?” he whispered.

A large central console powered up. Files appeared on the screens, files he didn’t understand at first. Documents, bank records, surveillance images, signatures, confidential memos. They blinked and reorganized themselves as if the system was showing him a puzzle he was meant to solve.

“Welcome to the Black Vault,” the voice said. “Designed by Agent Orion. His final directive: transfer all mission data to you.”

Noah stepped closer,. “Why me? He didn’t even know me.”

“You were chosen,” the voice answered. “Based on pain endured. Based on injustice recorded. Based on compatibility with the system.”

Noah let out a humorless breath. “Figures. Even a machine can tell I’ve been stepped on my whole life.”

The screens shifted suddenly, showing familiar faces one of them was Lewis family. There were documents tying them to shell companies, offshore accounts, suspicious transfers, transactions that didn’t belong to any lawful business.

“This… this can’t be real, how do you guys have all over this ? How long has this been going on for ?,” Noah whispered.

Another screen appeared. This one made him froze . .

It was his parents, this was one of the reasons he was so interested in this card system, it had answers to his family’s sudden death and loss of their wealth attributed to him .

A photo of them smiling weakly at a hospital bed. Another of their car the night of the accident. Another showing a black SUV following them moments before the crash. The Lewis family crest marked one of the linked documents alongside other crest, Seven all together.

Noah stared, . “They were involved,” he said quietly. “All this time… and they let me marry into their house just to keep me under their heel.”

“Correction,” the system said. “You were married to distract you. They expected you to break and maybe just take your life one day out of frustration ”

A bitter smile tugged at Noah’s mouth. “They almost got their wish.”

The system projected another set of images, maps, locked accounts, names of powerful figures scattered across the country.

“This mission was created to dismantle seven dynasties controlling the nation,” the voice continued. “You now hold access to a fortune reserved for carrying out the operation.”

Noah blinked slowly. “So the card wasn’t random. None of this was random.”

“Correct.”

He ran a hand through his hair, pacing once. “And what if I say no? What if I walk out and pretend I never saw this?”

“The Mega 7 already detected the activation signal,” the system replied. “They will not allow you to walk away and whenever you terminate a family….you get a reward and a puzzle closer to discover your parent’s death “

That caught him attention

. “So I don’t even have the luxury of refusing.”

The lights dimmed and the floor started vibrating slightly.

“Warning,” the voice said. “Additional information available.”

“What now?” Noah sighed.

A hologram appeared, Agent Orion, the dying stranger. His recorded message played in a low tone

“ Is the dying stranger from that night ….” He whispered to himself. .

“If you’re seeing this… it means I failed. And you… you’re next. The Lewis family is only the surface. You don’t know what they’ve taken from you. You don’t know who ordered it. But you will.”

Noah swallowed . “Why give this to me? You could’ve found someone stronger.”

“No,” the recording replied. “Strength isn’t what breaks a dynasty. A man with nothing left to lose does.”

The hologram flickered off. Noah stood there in silence for a long moment. He wasn’t shaking. He wasn’t panicking. He just felt a cold clarity settling inside him, replacing the years of humiliation with something sharper.

“I guess that makes me the perfect candidate,” he whispered.

The machines responded as if understanding him. The vault lights brightened, and the system projected a final message onto the air in front of him:

“Mission initialization complete.”

Noah stared at it, his expression unreadable. For the first time, he didn’t feel small. He didn’t feel powerless. He didn’t even feel like the man the Lewis family enjoyed abusing.

He felt something else, something steady and dangerous, he had power …actual power .

“Fine,” he said quietly. “If they started this… I’ll finish it.”

Before he could think further, a shrill alarm exploded through the vault. Red lights flashed wildly across the chamber.

“Alert,” the system warned. “Unauthorized entry detected. Someone followed you.”

Noah turned toward the entrance, features calm but eyes dark with a new edge.

“Of course they did,” he whispered. “The day just keeps getting better.”