Zark lay on the bed inside the small room that Jerry had told him he could use. He was staring at the ceiling, lost in thought, before he took out his phone and checked the balance in his Monero wallet.
"What am I going to do with this much money?" he wondered aloud.
The amount seemed overwhelming, like a lifeline, but it also carried a sense of urgency.
The funds felt like a crucial opportunity, but Zark knew he couldn't just relax.
"There's no time to get comfortable," he murmured to himself.
"While there are no new missions from our leader, I should be working on enhancing my skills and improving my role in the group."
With that thought in mind, he drifted off to sleep, clutching a new goal. He was determined to use this time to get better prepared for future challenges.
The next morning, Zark approached Jerry, who was sipping coffee at the counter.
"Hey, Jerry, I was wondering," Zark began, scratching the back of his neck,
"is it okay if I set up a computer in the room? I just want to stay occupied, you know, keep myself busy."
Jerry looked up from his cup and considered the idea for a moment.
"That's fine, Zark, but I have to warn you—the room's pretty cramped. You may not have enough space for a full setup. And I don't have any spare units lying around."
Zark nodded, already expecting that response.
"Don't worry about that. I'll take care of getting the equipment. I just need your help with buying a new setup."
Jerry raised an eyebrow, putting down his cup.
"And how exactly are you planning to pay for all that? You've got some money stashed away somewhere?"
Zark reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and showed Jerry the balance in his Monero wallet. Jerry's eyes widened in surprise as he glanced at the screen.
"Whoa," he said, quickly regaining his composure.
"That's quite a lot. But the problem is, how do we get that money out? You shouldn't be wandering around while you're here. It's too risky. Someone could recognize you."
"That's why I need your help," Zark replied, his tone firm but calm.
"What kind of account do you have?"
Jerry grabbed his phone and showed Zark his bank account details.
"Here, I use this one. It's my main account. If you transfer the funds here, we'll still need to be cautious."
Zark nodded. "No problem. I can manage the transfer securely. It'll take a bit of time, though, to make sure it's untraceable."
He started working on his phone, converting some of the Monero to local currency using privacy-focused exchanges, then routing the transactions through several layers to avoid detection.
"Just give me a few minutes," he said as he typed away, "I'll handle this properly."
As the transfer process continued, Zark took a notepad from the small desk and started listing the components he needed for a proper setup.
"I want this to be high-performance, so I'm going with quality brands," he explained to Jerry.
Jerry leaned over to take a look at the list. "Let's see what you've got there."
Zark handed the notepad to him, where the list read:
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080
Memory: 32GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 RAM
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix X570-E
Storage: 1TB Samsung 970 EVO NVMe SSD
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x
Cooling System: Noctua NH-D15
Monitor: 27" Dell UltraSharp 4K
Keyboard: Mechanical Cherry MX
Mouse: Logitech G Pro Wireless
Jerry whistled as he scanned the items.
"You're not holding back, huh? This setup will cost a small fortune."
"I need to be prepared for anything," Zark replied, his voice steady.
"And I don't want to skimp on performance."
"Fair enough," Jerry said, giving a nod of approval.
"I'll get these for you. Anything else?"
"Yeah," Zark added, jotting down more items.
"Get plenty of groceries too. I don't want to risk going out for a while, so let's stock up."
Jerry grinned.
"I like the way you think. We'll be set for a while."
Before leaving, Jerry called out to Rommel, who was busy tinkering with a laptop in the shop.
"Thadz, I need your help with something. Come with me. We're going to pick up some groceries and other stuff for Zark."
Rommel looked up, wiping his hands on a rag.
"Sure thing, boss," he replied, setting the laptop aside and heading toward the door.
"By the way," Zark called after them as they left, "make sure to get some snacks too. It's going to be a long week."
Jerry chuckled as he and Rommel stepped outside.
"You've got it, Zark," he said, his voice trailing off as they made their way to the old Montero parked out front.
As they climbed into the car, Jerry in the driver's seat and Rommel in the passenger's side, Jerry started the engine.
"Let's get this done quickly. We've got a long list to cover."
"No problem," Rommel said with a grin.
"I'm always up for some shopping."
The Montero's engine roared to life, and they drove off, ready to gather everything on Zark's list.
Meanwhile, Zark stayed behind in the small room, pacing around as he waited. His mind buzzed with thoughts of the future, and for the first time in a while, he felt a sense of purpose. He knew that as long as he remained careful and kept improving his skills, he'd be ready for whatever came next.