On the screen was the icafecloud login portal. To anyone else, it was just a bland, blue-and-white interface asking for a username and password. A digital turnstile. But to Leo, it was the door to his future.

Leo smiled, unplugged the USB stick, and dropped it into his pocket. "Yeah," he said, standing up. "But the case isn't."

The cashier tapped his shoulder. "Bro, we're closed."

Then he noticed it: a tiny, blinking "Forgot Password?" link he’d never seen before. On a normal user screen, it asked for an email. On the admin backend, it asked for a node ID .

"Last call!" the cashier yelled, flipping the main lights off.