FAZER LOGINThe humid evening air of April 2030 swept softly through the open-concept second floor of the massive Dizon-Valdez Automotive & Engineering Solutions complex in Quezon City. What used to be a small, grease-stained neighborhood mechanic shop had been transformed over the last three years into a state-of-the-art, independent engineering firm. The ground floor housed five modern hydraulic lifts, computerized diagnostics bays, and a busy R&D section where local engineering interns from St. Jude University worked on sustainable urban drainage modules. The second floor was their private sanctuary—a beautiful, minimalist industrial loft featuring brick walls, an oversized charcoal couch, and a large marble kitchen island that looked remarkably like the one from the old BGC condo. Athena stood by the floor-to-ceiling glass window, her fingers wrapped warmly around a mug of hot cocoa. She was wearing a comfortable, oversized red flannel shirt that reached past her knees, her round glasses
The humid air hanging over the St. Jude University central plaza at 1:00 PM was suffocatingly hot, but the heat did nothing to deter the massive, roaring crowd of students gathering around the stone fountain. Word of Arthur Valdez’s legal injunction and the threat to freeze engineering scholarship endowments had spread across the campus like wildfire. The space was packed to the brim with scholars, varsity athletes, and professors, all waiting under the blazing summer sun for the final collision.Sitting at a long administrative table near the top of the main hall stairs, protected by a dense line of private university security guards, was the St. Jude Board of Directors, led by the Vice-President and Arthur Valdez’s chief legal representative. They held the thick, leather-bound graduation clearances, their expressions hard and unyielding.The heavy glass doors of the Engineering lobby swung open with a loud, resounding thud.Walking down the steps, hand-in-hand and completely unbothe
The sweet, hard-earned euphoria of walking out of the Valdez Group executive boardroom lasted exactly forty-eight hours.By Thursday morning, the corporate empire struck back with the full, devastating force of its multi-billion-peso legal and financial machinery. Arthur Valdez was not a man who accepted public humiliation lying down. If he could not own his daughter’s engineering brilliance, he would ensure no one else could ever use it.Athena sat at the kitchen counter of her family’s newly expanded talyer in Quezon City, the bright morning sun completely ignored as she stared at her laptop screen [other topic]. Her fingers were trembling violently against the keyboard, her wide, striking eyes completely wide with horror behind her round lenses [other topic].Standing right beside her, a dark mug of black coffee clutched tightly in her left hand, was Alex. She was wearing an oversized gray hoodie, her dark hair messy, but her jaw was clenched so hard that a sharp, dangerous line fo
The executive headquarters of the Valdez Group rose into the morning sky like a monolithic tower of reflective dark glass and brushed steel. Inside the top-floor boardroom, the atmosphere was suffocatingly clinical. A massive oval table made of polished obsidian marble stretched across the room, surrounded by twelve of the country's most powerful corporate directors and a line of stone-faced legal representatives. Sitting at the head of the table, his hands folded calmly over a thick leather dossier, was Arthur Valdez. His sharp, calculated gaze was fixed entirely on the heavy glass double doors. The doors clicked open with a sharp, electronic chime. Walking into the boardroom, side-by-side and completely unbothered by the intimidating array of corporate weapons, were Alex and Athena. They didn't look like defeated students. Alex was wearing a sharp, tailored navy blue blazer over a clean white button-up shirt, her posture commanding, absolute, and fiercely dominant. Athena sto
The neon glow of the arcade was replaced by the warm, buzzing fluorescent lights of Danilo’s Tapsi & Auto Supply—the small, newly expanded eatery right beside the family automotive talyer in Quezon City. The evening air was thick with the rich, comforting scent of sweet garlic sinangag, sizzling beef tapa, and the distant, familiar smell of motor oil from the workshop next door. Tricycles buzzed past the open-front diner, their headlights cutting through the warm Manila night.Alex’s matte-black sports car was parked securely right in front, its low, aggressive frame looking hilariously out of place next to a rusty vulcanizing machine.The barkada had taken over the two largest wooden benches in the corner. Kenji was already on his third extra rice, his face covered in a light sheen of sweat from shouting over the street noise. Drake and Jace were arguing over who won the virtual motorcycle race, while Nanay Cora kept bustling out of the kitchen, carrying smoking hot iron plates of ta
The high-stakes corporate dread that had haunted the hallways of the Engineering department since morning completely evaporated the moment the heavy glass doors of the Quantum Zone Arcade swung open. The familiar, nostalgic symphony of retro 8-bit sounds, rhythmic thuds from the dance pads, and the bright, blinking neon pink and blue lights washed over them like a comforting shield [other topic].After months of isolation, strategic lies, and suffocating corporate tension, the barkada had claimed the entire rear row of the motorcycle racing simulators.“Grabe, Dizon! Walang biyahe, ikaw na talaga ang reyna ng Engineering block natin!” Kenji yelled over the loud electronic music, slamming a fresh plastic cup of tokens onto the plastic counter. He threw his arm around Drake’s neck, shaking him wildly. “Nakita mo ba ‘yung mukha ng mga legal reps ng tatay mo, Alex? Mukha silang mga uod na binuhusan ng asin nung lumabas ang automated perfect marks sa screen!”“I told you, Kenji, my practic







