The night had finally come to an end. The basement, which had been buzzing with energy just hours ago, was now quiet. All the members of ZeroCrypt had dispersed and returned to their boarding houses, ready to rest and prepare for the mission ahead.
Zark watched as the others packed up and left one by one. He still felt like a newcomer, unsure of where everyone was going.
Turning to Samantha and Jojo, who were gathering their own things, he hesitated for a moment before asking, "Where are they going home? Are they from around here too?"
Samantha glanced at Zark and smiled as she slung her bag over her shoulder.
"No," she said, shaking her head.
"Everyone's from faraway places. The only ones from around here are Jojo and Ricardo." She paused for a moment, then added, "Of course, everyone has their own life outside of being hackers, but when there's a mission like this, they have to board close to headquarters."
Zark nodded, digesting the information. It made sense that the group had other lives outside of their hacking operations. Still, something about the whole situation left him feeling unsettled. He couldn't shake the feeling of being constantly watched, of always needing to be on guard.
Samantha, sensing his unease, glanced at him with a bit of concern.
"What about you? Where are you planning to spend the night?" she asked, her voice softening.
"You need to be in good condition for what we're doing tomorrow."
Zark hesitated. He hadn't even thought about where he'd be staying. Before he could answer, Jeony piped up with a grin, slapping a hand on Zark's back.
"Don't worry about it, I've got him covered," Jojo said.
"He can stay with me for now."
Zark raised an eyebrow as Jojo walked over to the computer and began typing something into his digital wallet. After a few clicks and taps, Jojo turned back around and handed Zark some cash. Zark stared down at the money, confused.
"What's this for?" he asked.
Jojo laughed and patted him on the back.
"It's for you!" he replied with a wide grin.
"So you have something to spend. But don't go wandering around too much, okay? You might get spotted by Jason Cheng's men."
Zark nodded slowly, appreciating the gesture but still feeling slightly on edge. He clutched the money tightly, knowing that it wasn't just any ordinary allowance—it was a way of tying him closer to the group. He was now officially part of ZeroCrypt.
Meanwhile, Samantha was busy fixing her things, preparing to settle in for the night. She stretched and sighed before glancing at Jojo and Zark.
"You know what? I think I'll just stay here at the shop," Samantha said with a tired grin.
"I'll sort out my stuff for tomorrow."
Jojo raised an eyebrow, then grinned mischievously.
"Good idea," he said.
"Let's just order some food. How does Jollibee sound?"
Samantha's eyes lit up.
"Jollibee?" she echoed with excitement.
"You guys know that's my favorite! Especially the burgers!" she added with a laugh.
Jojo chuckled as he pulled out his phone and ordered food via Grab. Soon enough, a delivery of burgers and fries from Jollibee arrived at the shop, along with several bottles of Red Horse that Jeony had picked up on his way back.
As they settled down to eat, Jojo lifted his bottle of Red Horse in a celebratory gesture.
"Let's celebrate!" he declared with a grin.
"We finally found the MVH!"
Zark and Samantha both looked at him, puzzled.
"MVH?" they asked in unison.
Jojo laughed and nodded. "Yes, MVH—Most Valuable Hacker!"
Just as the words left his mouth, there was a soft knock on the door. Samantha glanced at Jojo, who looked just as confused. But when Jojo opened the door, there stood the rest of the ZeroCrypt team, each holding a discreet grin on their faces. It was as if they had all predicted there would be a celebration tonight.
"What are you guys doing here?" Samantha asked, amused.
Zark stepped forward, hands in his pockets.
"We had a feeling there might be something to celebrate," he said with a smirk.
"Plus, you can't have a party without the whole crew," added Julia, who was already eyeing the Red Horse bottles with a mischievous grin.
One by one, the members filed back into the shop, grabbing chairs and pulling them around the table. Soon, the basement was once again filled with laughter and chatter as the group settled in for a night of celebration. It wasn't often they got to enjoy moments like this—moments where they could feel normal, even if just for a little while.
As they devoured their burgers and shared bottles of Red Horse, the atmosphere shifted from the intensity of planning to a sense of camaraderie. For a while, they forgot about the mission, the risks, and the dangerous world they were entangled in.
Julia glanced at Zark with a grin.
"So, Zark, how did you get into hacking?" she asked, leaning forward with curiosity.
Zark chuckled softly, feeling more relaxed than he had in a long time.
"Honestly? It started when I was a kid. I was fascinated by computers, and I couldn't help but take them apart to see how they worked."
He paused, taking a sip of his beer.
"Eventually, I realized I didn't just want to understand how they worked—I wanted to control them."
Dominic grinned from across the table.
"I think a lot of us started like that," he said, tipping his bottle toward Zark.
"For me, it was more about revenge at first. I wanted to get back at the people who screwed me over. But then, I realized there was a whole world of possibilities."
"What about you, Julez?" Angelica asked with a teasing grin.
"How did a quiet girl like you get into this crazy world of hacking?"
Julia shrugged, a faint smile crossing her lips.
"It wasn't planned," she admitted.
"I used to work in a semiconductor company, but the people there were… toxic. I needed a way out. Hacking was my escape. It was like solving a puzzle, and it made me feel powerful in a way I hadn't felt before."
Samantha, who had been listening quietly, suddenly grinned.
"I'm the odd one out here," she said with a laugh.
"I'm not a hacker. I just like getting people to tell me their secrets."
"Oh, we know," Zark chimed in with a chuckle.
"You're good at that. Probably saved our asses more times than we can count."
Jojo leaned back in his chair, taking a swig of his beer.
"What about love lives?" he asked with a mischievous grin.
"Anyone got a special someone waiting for them at home?"
The room fell into a brief silence as everyone glanced around awkwardly.
"Hah, not in this line of work," Rene finally muttered.
"Relationships and hacking don't mix well."
Lawrence nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, it's hard to keep someone close when you're constantly looking over your shoulder."
"Well, I had someone," Angelica admitted, her voice a bit quieter.
"But he accused me of cheating while he was overseas… so, that's over."
Julia gave her cousin a sympathetic look before speaking up.
"I think we all sacrificed something to be here, but we're family now, right? We've got each other."
"Damn right," Danilo said with a grin, raising his bottle.
"To family, then!"
"To family!" they all echoed, raising their bottles in unison.
As the night wore on, the stories became more personal, and the laughter more genuine. It was in these moments, surrounded by their makeshift family, that the members of ZeroCrypt found a sense of belonging. They might be hackers, outcasts from society, but here in the basement of a computer shop, they were home.
Zark, who had felt so lost for so long, finally felt a glimmer of hope. As he looked around the table at his newfound comrades, he realized that perhaps he had found more than just a group of hackers—he had found a family.
And for the first time in a long time, he allowed himself to relax, knowing that whatever came next, they would face it together.