"Stop!" was the last shout he heard before he entered the ruins and jumped into the unknown darkness.

The hurried sound of footsteps followed as a small group of three followed from behind before stopping at the entrance of the ruins.

"Bastard!"

The person in the lead cursed as he saw the man enter the ruins. Their expressions were a mix of anger and shame—they were ashamed at their inability to capture a single person.

"Vice-Leader, are we going to enter?" one of the two others asked, his voice appearing fearful and cautious.

All those who entered to investigate the ruins faced many setbacks due to the traps inside. Currently, only one elite team is inside. Going with just them was very dangerous.

"We have to. Can you take the blame for failing the mission? That too, when we were the ones guarding that stupid stone." The leader had regained his composure by now and decided to enter the ruins. Although he knew the danger of the ruins, returning without taking the stone back meant the same as death. Besides, he didn't think that the thief would dare to enter that deep.

With that thought, he stepped inside. The two underlings could only follow after him.

……

Inside the ruins was a realm of darkness with no light. Not even the path ahead could be made out.

"Huffuuff"

Panting and rapid breaths were the only sounds in the passage as a man dragged his tired and wounded body forward.

Such bad luck, he thought.

This was not the first time he had done something like this, but it was surely the most thrilling mission of his career. It was also the one that pushed him to the edge.

He stopped and rested his body while leaning on the wall for a short break.

While resting, he took out a flashlight from the bag on his waist. He turned it on and again took something out of the bag.

It was a weird sphere with many flat surfaces. It felt like stone, but under the flashlight it shone like a black diamond. Along with its exquisite design, it looked mesmerizing.

"All for this shitty, stupid …beautiful stone."

"If it turns out to be something useless, I'm going to throw it on the black market," he said in an annoyed tone. "At least it will cover some losses."

He was really regretting accepting this mission. One wrong step, and it could be a stain on his bright career as a thief.

As he rested, he thought back on all that had happened before he ended up there.

……

A day ago, somewhere between the Southern Pacific and the Indian Ocean, a lone island…

Splashing sounds of turbulent waves colliding with the island were everywhere, which failed to disguise the clamorous voices caused by people setting up tents, temporary construction works, and ships and boats docking on the newly made port.

In an inconspicuous location, far away from the hustle and bustle of the island. A small boat carrying a single person came near the shore.

The person jumped off the boat and landed on the sand. Then he put the oars back in the boat and dragged the wooden boat over and covered it with sand to hide it. He finished his work, got up from the ground, and looked towards the center of the island.

There was neither flora nor fauna on the island. All around were rock pillars and pieces of different sizes that looked like they were part of a huge structure that had been brutally demolished.

Further ahead were the ruins of ancient buildings. From what could be made out of the ruined structures, the design and style of the buildings were totally different from all the other civilizations found before.

He moved forward while his eyes searched for a place to rest. The day was about to end, and what he had to do was best done at night.

Soon he found a wall toppling over a pillar with some space between them, perfect for a person to rest.

He crawled inside, took off his bag, and laid down while using it as a pillow. He closed his eyes and started to arrange all the information he had received before coming here.

A few months back, the whole world was in an uproar because of the appearance of this island and the ruins that came along with it.

The archaeological societies and government agencies around the world rushed toward the island and started their research. That only made the matter blow up even further.

After various scans and underwater searches, they found that the entire island was like a huge pillar rising from the ocean just to support the ruins here.

The various agencies took immediate action and locked down the island, making it exclusive to the special agencies. The archaeologists required their approval before being allowed to conduct their study and research.

Rumors went around, with some people claiming it was some ancient lost city and others saying it was from outer space. Some also connected it with the story of the monkey king; the fans were really hyped.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

It was a weekend, and he was like everyone else, enjoying the rumors while drinking his beer in the bar near his house. Who knew, after he got home he was offered the job of stealing something from this island?

As soon as he received this mission from one of his old clients, he couldn't deny it right away. That client was a collector of bizarre objects. He has helped that person find some weird items that were sometimes unique and sometimes just plain stupid from his point of view.

Well, he didn't care as long as he was paid, so he accepted the job.

That brought him here, in the middle of nowhere, trying to steal something from the hands of various governments.

How interesting, he thought, and looked out of the gap. The night had fallen. After finishing his short dinner, he closed his eyes to rest.

A few hours had passed when he opened his eyes. He got up, took a face mask and a short, curved blade out of his bag, and equipped them.

"Let's get it done," he muttered as he started to move toward the center of the island.

After walking forward for a few minutes, he slowed down and slowly crept towards the camp that was just a distance away from the ruins. The members of the exploration team and hired guards were resting there. Small tents were aplenty around here. There were some bigger tents, and there were even some newly built wooden buildings.

He hid behind a broken pillar and waited.

He waited for half an hour when he saw a man coming toward the tents. He was coming from the center of the island.

The man walked towards one of the small tents and entered.

Seeing that this was his best chance, he stealthily moved toward the tent.

"Yeah, I know," said the man who just entered. He was talking to someone.

He crept closer and tried to hear clearly.

"Go before the team leader gets angry." A voice was heard saying, "Don't complain later that I didn't wake you up on time."

"I'm going, I'm going."

There were some rustling sounds coming from the tent. After a few minutes, another man came out of the tent. He was carrying an assault rifle, and there was a bag on his waist. He was wearing a black uniform, along with a bulletproof vest.

The man took a deep breath and started walking toward the center of the island.

After a few seconds, the man was out of sight.

He waited for a few minutes as soft breathing sounds started coming from the tent. He peered inside and found the man from before sleeping inside a sleeping bag. There was another empty one beside him. There were some bags, food, and other stuff scattered around. Soon, his eyes focused on the assault rifle placed near the sleeping man.

He equipped the blade in his left hand and stealthily crept inside. He was just above the sleeping man.

"Wuu—"

He acted quickly, covering the man's mouth with his left hand. The man woke up with that, and his hand made its way towards his weapon. As expected from a trained soldier.

But before the man could do so, he stabbed his shoulder with the knife.

The man's muffled screams sounded as he struggled before passing out.

Yes, he wasn't dead. Just paralyzed and unconscious. The blade was coated with a weak poison that causes temporary paralysis. He wasn't going to kill the poor guard without any reason.

Seeing that the guard wasn't a problem anymore, he took off the guard's uniform. His own clothes didn't have many layers, so he wore the loose uniform over them.

After checking his get-up, he sat in front of the entrance and waited.

The sky outside was still dark. He waited for around six hours. Just as the sun was about to come out, footsteps that were coming closer sounded.

He got into a crouching position and got ready to attack.

"Hey man, wake up. I'm tired; go get ready—" The person outside started entering the tent and called out to his partner. Just as his upper body entered the tent, he was quickly grabbed and pulled inside.

Before he can even struggle, a blade was on his neck and has grazed his skin enough to leave a shallow cut.

"Who are you?" The man was smart. He didn't try to shout and instead questioned his assailant.

"Oh, quite the calm voice you got there. Now, tell me all you know about the arrangement of security near the storage."

"Hmph! Why would I? I'm going to end up like him anyway." The guard spoke while pointing at his unconscious partner.

"Right. Hey, wait, what do you mean, like him? He's just unconscious. Now, tell me what I want to know."

The guard stared at his partner's body for a while. With the help of the dim light of the rising sun, he saw him breathing. Only then did he relax and accept his fate.

The guard then told him about all the arrangements.

Just as the knife entered his flesh, he asked, "Who are you?"

This question seems to have been bothering him for a while, as he didn't even care about being stabbed.

"Oh. I'm Anom," was the reply he got. "Nice to meet you."

"Thief lor—" The guard realized something and wanted to exclaim, but the anesthetic kicked in, and he fainted.

Anom smirked. He hid the blade in his clothes and placed the man beside his comrade.

After checking things inside the tent, he took out the last item inside his bag. He then folded his bag and slipped it inside his vest. Then he cautiously made his way out of the tent.

He looked around and started walking towards the center.

Beside the path he was on, there were many small wooden houses. He got near one of them and looked around to check the area. Not seeing anyone, he took the item he was carrying and put it near the wall of the house. The item was a square white box with a button at the side. He pressed the button and then walked away.

He didn't have to think much about where to go, as he now knew the position of the storage. It was the building standing in the center of the camp.

He slowly walked forward and reached the large building. It was around twenty feet tall and fifty feet on both sides. It was made of wood, as that was the only material easily transported at the early stage of construction here. Three guards were at the entrance, each carrying an assault rifle. They were on constant alert for any disturbance.

What a lousy job they are doing. Anom thought as he walked over.

"Hey Kiso, what took you so long? Were you making out with John? Hahaha." One of the guards commented as they saw him walk over. Clearly, this was the only kind of entertainment in their monotonous job.

Anom ignored them and walked over to the gate. He turned over, his back facing the building, as he took the place that was clearly meant for a fourth guard.

Seeing that he didn't reply, they just thought that he was ignoring them for the lame joke they made.

They continued their boring standing schedule while keeping silent.

Dong! Thud! Thud!

The guards were immediately alerted by the sudden rumbling and explosion.

"You two stay here; we'll go check out what happened." One of the guards moved and took another with him.

Good. Let's get started. The small explosion has created a little window for him to work. The good thing was that he was able to remain; otherwise, he would have had to think of another plan.

But time was tight, and the sound should have spread throughout the camp on this tranquil morning. He needed to act fast.

He glanced at the guard beside him. His face was tense as he stared in the direction of the explosion. Anom stealthily took out his blade as he moved toward the guard.

"What are yo—MFHN?" Before the guard could finish his words, Anom grabbed him and stabbed his shoulder. The guard struggled, causing the wound to enlarge.

"Hey! Calm down, Mr. Guard. You look tired; just sleep." Anom said as he handled the guard. Seeing him stop struggling, he put the guard down and searched his pockets.

This guard was clearly ordered not to move, as he was in charge of the door.

"Hmm. Got it." Anom exclaimed joyfully as he found the key for the door.

The door was locked, but because all the construction on the island was not upgraded by the agencies and they were using the camp made by the previous group, it was a simple lock.

From what he had gathered, the ships carrying the advanced security measures will be arriving tomorrow. So he only had one day to act.

More like one minute. He thought as he opened the locked door. Pushing it open, he stepped inside.