The basement had finally quieted down after the intense night. The team, exhausted from the mission and the celebration, had fallen asleep in their respective workstations. As the early morning light began filtering in, Zark was the first to wake, still reeling from the adrenaline rush of their hacking victory. He had watched the news unfold just hours before, witnessing the downfall of Aegis Corporation, and now, the reality of their success was sinking in.
Zark wandered upstairs into the computer shop, where everything looked perfectly normal. The shop was still closed, and no customers were milling around yet. After a quick glance around, he decided to flip on the TV again. The news of Aegis Corporation was still being broadcasted, with clips of the company's top executives being dragged into police custody, accused of running the human trafficking ring that ZeroCrypt had uncovered.
The victims' families were giving emotional interviews, thanking the authorities for bringing justice. As Zark watched, a warm sense of fulfillment washed over him. He had never been part of something this significant before.
Suddenly, Jojo appeared, still looking groggy but with a satisfied grin.
"Told you, man. Our boss always handles things after we finish the job. All we had to do was deliver," he said, patting Zark on the shoulder.
Zark nodded, still amazed by how the entire operation had unfolded.
"It feels… surreal," he admitted.
"We actually did it."
As the rest of the team began to wake up one by one and trickle into the shop's main area, Samantha and Angelica decided to take charge of the much-needed morning recovery.
"I'll make coffee," Samatha said, yawning and stretching her arms.
Angelica followed, helping to prepare the cups.
"We need a cure for this hangover," Angelica added, shaking her head with a small smile.
The atmosphere was lighter now, everyone gathering together as Samantha and Angelica handed out coffee to the group. While they sat sipping their cups, the large screen in the basement suddenly flickered to life, grabbing everyone's attention.
The familiar shadowed figure of the leader appeared on the screen, and the room fell silent as they waited for him to speak.
"ZeroCrypt, congratulations on your successful mission. The evidence you collected has been handled accordingly, and the authorities have everything they need. You've done an excellent job, and now it's time for you all to return to your normal lives."
There was a brief pause before the leader continued.
"Consider this a cooldown. Samantha will reach out when your next assignment is ready. Jojo, distribute the funds. As always, stay sharp and under the radar."
The screen went dark, leaving the team in contemplation.
Jojo stood up from his chair, stretching.
"Alright, team, it's payday," he announced with a grin.
He walked over to his workstation and began preparing the cryptocurrency transfers. But before starting, he turned to Zark, who had remained seated.
"Hey Zark, I need your Monero wallet address. Haven't gotten it from you yet," he said.
Zark quickly set up a secure wallet on his phone and passed the information to Jeony.
"Got it," Jojo said, entering the address into his system.
Addressing the rest of the team, Jojo said, "I'll be sending the money to your usual wallets. Everyone good with that?" A chorus of nods followed.
"Great," Jojo continued.
"So, we pulled ₱25 million from Aegis. Everyone's share is ₱1.5 million."
He then sat down, typing furiously as he launched his secure transfer system.
Jojo explained the process while opening several terminal windows.
"We're going through the usual method—using cryptocurrency mixers to break the trail and keep everything clean. This way, no one can trace the funds back to us."
The following code displayed on his screen as he started mixing the funds:
Bash Code:
#!/bin/bash
# Secure transfer using a cryptocurrency mixer
wallets=("wallet1" "wallet2" "rony_wallet" "wallet3" "wallet4")
amount="1.5M"
for wallet in "${wallets[@]}"; do
echo "Sending ₱${amount} to $wallet..."
./crypto_mixer.sh $wallet --amount=$amount
done
echo "Transfer complete. Funds are secure."
"We're mixing the funds first," Jojo continued, as he watched the progress bar fill up.
"Once the transactions are broken up and sent through multiple anonymous wallets, I'll route them to your accounts."
As the funds were processed through the mixer, Jojo monitored the system to ensure everything went smoothly. Afterward, he used peer-to-peer exchanges to finalize the transfers, ensuring that when the members cashed out, there would be no traceable link to the hack.
Once the transactions were complete, each member checked their Monero wallets and confirmed the funds had been received.
"Got mine," Julia said with a smile, prompting similar responses from the others.
Satisfied, Jojo leaned back in his chair.
"Alright, we're all set. You know the drill. Stay under the radar until Samantha reaches out."
One by one, the members of ZeroCrypt began packing up their things, saying their goodbyes as they prepared to return to their normal lives.
"Catch you all later," Roy said, waving as he headed out the door.
Julia gave a small smile.
"I'm off to get some rest. I'll see you guys next mission," she said, as she slung her backpack over her shoulder.
Rene, Angelica, and the others followed suit, leaving the shop one by one until only Zark and Jojo remained.
Jojo leaned back in his chair, sipping his coffee.
"So, how does it feel to be officially part of ZeroCrypt?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
Zark, still processing everything that had happened, smiled.
"Feels… different," he admitted.
"But in a good way. This whole world you guys operate in—it's new to me."
Jojo laughed softly.
"You'll get used to it. Just remember, it's about the team. We've got each other's backs. That's the most important part."
Zark nodded, feeling a sense of belonging he hadn't experienced in years. Whatever came next, he knew that he was part of something bigger—and he wasn't facing it alone.