That night proceeded like any other. Inside Dhoost van Meijer's house, the five friends were gathered, enjoying the night breeze entering through a crack in the window. The chandelier in the living room was dimmed, creating a cozy atmosphere. The sound of light conversation flowed continuously, punctuated by soft laughter from Nadhyfa Azzaqiya, the only girl among them.
"So, get this, I'm already level 50," said Nadhyfa, rotating her phone screen for her friends to see. "And look at this! I'm the top-earning player on the Indonesian server!"
Radhif let out a soft snort. "You're just playing a farming game, Nad. There's no challenge at all."
Nadhyfa immediately turned her head with a dramatic look. "Oh, really? But you wouldn't believe how hard it is to build a strawberry field to its maximum when the weather doesn't want to cooperate. It's like a real simulation!"
Dhoost van Meijer, who had been busy preparing drinks and snacks, smiled faintly. "The important thing is that you're happy, Nad. Besides, everyone needs entertainment, right?"
He sat on the sofa next to Nadhyfa, carrying a tray of soda and homemade potato chips. "Here, I made some snacks. The taste might be a bit lacking, but it's decent enough to go with our chat."
While Nadhyfa was still engrossed in boasting about her harvest, Radhif decided to liven up the atmosphere.
"You've all been talking about random things, now it's my turn to tell you about my experience with Ryn today."
He took a sip of his mineral water for a moment, then continued, "This afternoon, Ryn took me to climb the limestone hill in the next town. You could call it a spontaneous adventure. And you know Ryn, when he skips class, he always goes to weird places."
Ryn Dandelions, who had been quiet in the corner of the room, just snorted without lifting his head. "That hill is actually nice. I'm just surprised how exhausting the descent was."
"Well, of course, you have the lungs of a heavy smoker," Radhif retorted with a smile.
As the conversation began to die down, Ryn suddenly spoke, "Hey, on the way down from the hill earlier... I found something."
He pulled a phone from his backpack. Its screen had a thin crack, but overall, its condition was still quite good. "Just look at it. It still looks expensive, but when I tried to charge it, it wouldn't turn on. Seems totally dead to me."
Dzoavha, who until that moment had only been listening, moved closer. His eyes sparkled as he looked at the phone. "Can I borrow that for a sec, Ryn?"
Without waiting for permission, he had already taken the device. "I'm so curious. Can I tinker with it?"
Quickly, Dzoavha opened his laptop, which was already on standby on the table. He removed the phone's back casing, confirming there was no severe physical damage. Then, he asked Dhoost for a Type-C charger.
"Lend me your charger for a bit, Dhoost."
Dhoost fetched his charger, and Dzoavha got to work. His fingers nimbly typed, using several simple forensic applications. He connected the phone to the laptop, performed a basic data bypass, and finally...
A few minutes later, the phone screen flickered.
All eyes in the room instantly turned towards the phone.
A pentagon logo appeared on the screen. Followed by the words "LOADING..."
The moments after the logo appeared felt incredibly slow. The five kids looked at each other; no one spoke. Even the usually noisy Nadhyfa could only stare silently at the screen.
A few seconds later, the loading finished.
But what they saw made them gasp.
On the phone's screen appeared the silhouette of a person sitting with their back to the camera. No face was visible. Just a black silhouette, surrounded by strange shadows that seemed to be moving.
The five kids looked at each other again. This time, out of fear.
The phone screen was still lit, emitting a faint glow in the middle of the living room that was beginning to feel quiet. The black silhouette didn't move. But suddenly...
"Congratulations... you have found this."
The voice from the phone was flat, indistinguishable as male or female. Yet it was enough to make everyone tense.
Nadhyfa nervously picked at the sofa's armrest with her fingers. Radhif glanced at Ryn, as if asking, "Is this just another one of Ryn's antics?"
But Ryn just remained silent, his eyes fixed on the screen.
"This is an invitation. You can accept it... or refuse it. If you accept, you must come to the place I will show you."
Dzoavha, who had been holding the phone, moved his laptop closer to record the conversation. His eyes were gleaming. This wasn't just a broken phone. This was more than that.
A few seconds later, the screen changed. A set of GPS coordinates appeared.
"Come, all five of you. Don't bring anyone else. This is a highly confidential matter."
"Quick, take a picture!" Dzoavha hissed.
Nadhyfa immediately took her phone and photographed the screen. Everyone waited with bated breath.
But when Nadhyfa opened her photo gallery, the result shocked them.
The screen only showed pitch black. The coordinates weren't captured in the photo.
Dzoavha let out a soft snort. "The security system is high-level. Could be visual encryption... or even an active digital protection."
Dhoost rose from his seat. "I'll get some paper and a pencil."
A few seconds later, he returned and calmly wrote down the coordinates one by one. Everyone was silent, only the sound of pencil scratching on paper could be heard.
After he finished, the Silhouette spoke for the last time:
"Come tomorrow. Don't bring anyone. Just the five of you."
And the screen went black.
Dzoavha unplugged the cable from his laptop, his face serious. "I don't think this is a prank," he said softly.
The five of them looked at each other. The sound of the night wind from the window seemed louder than usual.
Radhif finally spoke. "Do you all realize this could be a trap? Or a scam. Did you look up the location on the map? An old warehouse on the outskirts of Maykarta. There's nothing there."
Nadhyfa grinned widely. "That's exactly why we have to go. It's a challenge, Dhif!"
Ryn nodded slowly. "I'm curious too."
Dzoavha was definitely in agreement. "If this is high-tech, I want to know where it's from."
Dhoost, though not speaking much, looked at the wall clock. "We can leave tomorrow morning."
Radhif gave in. "Okay, okay, I'm in. But if anything seems off, we run immediately."
Usually, they would stay until late, sometimes until 1:00 AM. But that night, unlike usual, they said their goodbyes one by one before 9:30 PM.
Nadhyfa was the first to leave, riding on the back of Ryn's motorbike. Dzoavha packed his laptop into his bag, while Dhoost accompanied Radhif to the front gate.
The soft hum of their electric motorbikes echoed in the quiet neighborhood streets. There was no more light chatter. Only their own thoughts, filled with visions of the next day.
An adventure whose risks they didn't even know yet.
TO BE CONTINUED...