"The whole event has been a logistical nightmare," one of them grumbled. "Power surges, security lapses, equipment malfunctions—this was supposed to be a world-class event, and it looks like a second-rate college tournament."
"The U.S. Olympic Committee completely dropped the ball," another chimed in. "They cut corners everywhere. The infrastructure wasn't even properly stress-tested before the opening ceremony!"
Yukimura tapped her pen against the table, barely stifling a sigh as the voices of her colleagues droned on through the conference call. The meeting had started as a discussion on the recent Olympic events in Los Angeles, but, as usual, it had spiraled into meaningless complaints. These so-called "industry veterans", journalists who had been in the field long enough to confuse tired cynicism for sharp analysis, were more interested in blaming the government than engaging in any real investigative discussion.
Sure, the Olympics had their fair share of hiccups, but this conversation was going nowhere. It was the same predictable criticism: blame the organizers, politicians, and whoever was in charge. None of them were asking the real questions.
"And the blackout during the relay finals?" a third voice scoffed. "That wasn't just bad luck. That was gross incompetence. People pay thousands to be there, and they can't even keep the lights on?"
Yukimura resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"Yuki-chan~", one of the old farts turned his attention towards her, "What's your pitch?"
Yukimura looked at the screen and took a glance at the pile of notes next to her laptop,
Her fingers twitched toward it, she had been compiling on something far more intriguing—
The Nevada incident.
'No, this isn't ready yet, ' she thought as she took a breath to calm her nerves.
"No, nothing really for now," She smiled awkwardly.
The veteran journalist looked at her, sighed," Yuki, if you are still onto that Nevada conspiracy..."
"It isn't a conspiracy, Perry." Yukimura interrupted his talk." This is a story that needs to be told."
"And what proof do you have for this so-called story, except those Reddit threads you think are genuine?" Perry retorted.
"Whatever," Yukimura said as she cut the call. She will get into trouble afterward for sure.
"Just wait, Perry, I will prove this ain't no cospiracy"
She headed out of her apartment for some air.
'The Nevada Incident, I know there is something more to it.'
Most people had forgotten about it, but she hadn't. In 2027-28, a massive power surge had taken down Nevada's entire grid for nearly a week. Official reports had written it off as an electrical failure, a freak accident caused by a cascading fault in the system. But while researching unrelated energy disruptions, Yukimura had stumbled upon some old Reddit threads from that time—wild discussions filled with speculation about government experiments, electromagnetic anomalies, and theories that something far stranger had happened in the Nevada desert.
Most dismissed it as conspiracy nonsense. But Yukimura had been in this business long enough to know that sometimes, the truth was buried in the craziest stories. And right now, those surges at the Olympics? They were suspiciously similar to what had happened in Nevada.
She had wasted enough time. If there was a connection between the Olympic blackouts and what happened in Nevada years ago, she would find it.
Sometime later on the road...
"You have got to be kidding me," she groaned, slamming her hands on the steering wheel.
Her car had broken down.
"Great, the mechanic needs 30 mins. JUST TO GET HERE!" she shouted the last part out loud.
She leaned back in her seat, rubbing her temples. With nothing else to do, she decided to kill time the way she always did when looking for a good lead, by diving into conspiracy theories.
Opening one of the private Discord groups she lurked in, "Veil Theories," she scrolled through the latest discussions. Sure enough, there it was—people were already speculating about the Olympic power surges.
> user_omega: Look, I'm just saying—this isn't a "malfunction." We saw the same pattern in Nevada back in 2027. Sudden surges, unexplained grid failures, and then the official reports saying it was just a technical issue? Yeah, right.
> DigitalGhost404: If it's the same anomaly, we're talking about a cover-up on a massive scale. Nobody wants to admit they don't know what's happening.
> HollowScript: LMAO, y'all still think it's government screw-ups? What if it's something else? Like, something NOT human? The Nevada thing had reports of weird-ass lights in the sky before the blackout. Anyone see something like that in L.A.?
Yukimura frowned, scrolling back up. The Nevada incident had always been a mystery—an unexplained power surge that wiped out the entire state's grid for almost a week. Official reports blamed a cascading power failure, but underground forums like these had been buzzing with theories for years.
A fresh comment caught her eye.
> CipherNine: What's interesting? The military's movement. If you check flight logs from 2027, there was a sharp uptick in unregistered aerial transport near Nevada, RIGHT after the blackout. Now, look at the Olympic surges—sudden, unexplainable, and right after them? Military convoys start moving. Coincidence?
'Military movement, huh?' She was broken out of her thoughts as she spotted a car up ahead.
"Pls be the mechanic, pls be the mechanic," she began to murmur to herself.
The car stopped in front of her.
Before she could step out, one of the car doors opened, and a man stepped out.
He looked young—mid-to-late twenties, with sharp eyes, light skin, but he didn't look American, Mexican, or Indian, maybe. His posture was relaxed, but there was something about the way he moved that made her pause.
She quickly approached him, putting on her most non-threatening smile.
"Excuse me! Would you happen to be the mechanic?" she asked.
The Man stood dumbfounded for a moment, "Uh, no?"
Yukimura wanted to bury her face right into the car hood at that moment
'Why would you do that?' she cursed herself internally.