After dinner, when the plates were empty, Arthur helped his mom clear the table. She tried to stop him, but he did it anyway. After everything was washed and put away, the three of them sat in the small living room. The TV was on, but nobody was watching.
"You got everything packed. Art?" Linda asked while trying to act normal.
"Just a few more things remain." Arthur replied.
"Okay, go finish up. I'll bring you some ice cream when you're done."
"Okay, Mom."
It was 11:00 PM by the time Arthur finally finished his packing. He was tired and lying on his bed. A moment later, his mom came in with two cups of strawberry ice cream. Arthur sat up.
"Mom… Have you ever felt like you died and then woke up again?" Arthur asked while taking the cup from her.
"What? I didn't understand. Come again?" Linda was confused hearing that and couldn't understand a single word Arthur said to her.
"Ah, never mind. It's nothing. Just thinking out loud." Arthur said, suddenly feeling stupid for asking.
"Don't overthink things, Art. Things will be fine once you get used to college life. And if anything happens, we are just one call away. You know that." Linda said to reassure Arthur.
"I know, Mom. It's just… a lot to take in." Arthur said while eating a spoonful of ice cream.
"I know, Art. Things are difficult for you, and that's mostly our fault. We raised you in a very soft way." Linda said while she felt guilty.
"Don't say things like that, Mom. You are not responsible for this in any way. You raised me very well." Arthur said in a serious tone. Hearing that, Linda laughed quietly.
"Sigh! You've grown up so fast, Art." Linda sighed and said.
Arthur didn't know what to say. So he just finished his ice cream and hugged her. She held him tightly, for a little longer than usual. After a few seconds, she pulled back and smiled.
"Alright, it's late. You should get some sleep." She said, her voice a little shaky.
"Yeah, goodnight, Mom." Arthur said, trying to sound calm.
"Goodnight, Art. I'm proud of you." She said softly. She took the empty cup from him and left, closing the door quietly behind her.
Arthur closed the door and turned on his laptop. He was excited to use his new computer skills. His laptop was slow and took a long time to process. He felt that if he just had a fast computer, nothing could hold him back.
He wanted to check on something specific. He opened a web browser and, using his new abilities, hacked directly into the college's server. It didn't take him long to find the student dorm room information.
He knew his dad had paid for a standard six-person room. And that was what he was worried about. He thought it would be too crowded and messy.
That's why he hacked into his college's server and searched for dorm room information. He looked up the details of his five roommates. He was horrified by their pictures, as all were fatty. By hacking into the main server's backend, he gained access to all the student files.
He started by searching for the best available room and found a private single room. It was clearly the most expensive one.
Without hesitating, he swapped his name with the student who was already assigned to that room. Then, he went deeper into the system. He found his financial record and marked his tuition and all related fees as "Paid in Full."
Then he logged out of the college server and was typing continuously. First, he created an untraceable crypto wallet. Next, he opened a special browser and accessed the dark web.
He had a pretty good idea of what he was doing, as a normal person won't dare to visit this site, and very few people will know about this site, as it requires both knowledge and skill to go that deep. And this wasn't a place for amateurs or show-offs.
If you find yourself on a webpage and have no idea how you got there, it isn't part of the dark web. You had to go there on purpose, using specific tools and knowing the risks. So you have to know what you're doing. The dark web is only accessible using special browsers. It is the underbelly of the internet and home to a hidden black market for stolen information, shady forums, and illegal activity.
With his new skills, Arthur felt right at home. He managed to come up with the formula to hack the search engine in order to dig deeper into the hidden directories to find what he wanted. As he was searching for forums, he quickly found a promising forum. Then he created an untraceable account with the username Ghost. Then he clicked on the 'request' tab. There were many requests. But most were for physical work. He kept scrolling, and then one, in particular, caught his eye.
User: BlackHoodedGuy
Request: Erase a name from all registries.
Reward: 2 ₿
Arthur focused on the username. It took him less than twenty minutes to trace the post and dig up the user's real information.
Username: BlackHoodedGuy
Real Name: Clara
Age: 18
He stared at the results, completely shocked. He ran the trace again, convinced he must have made a mistake.
An eighteen-year-old girl? With my skills I can't be wrong, but I got the skill just a few hours ago. So I have my doubts.
But the result was the same. He was certain now that it was an eighteen-year-old girl on this shady forum. He clicked the message button and sent a message to her.
Ghost: Tell me more about the request.
A moment after sending it, he suddenly remembered Allison. He left his phone and wallet in the bathroom after his shower. He got up, grabbed them, and went back to his bed. He switched on his phone and saw there were many missed calls and texts from Allison. But his phone was turned off, so he didn't know. Just as he was about to text her back, he noticed that he got a reply from BlackHoodedGuy.