Frizz took a deep breath. "It's now or never."
He reasoned that as long as he conducted himself naturally, they wouldn't suspect a single thing. In his mind, a lie was already formed. He'd practiced it earlier.
A lie that he didn't know anything about the baseball bat, just that someone dropped it when they were speeding away and since they didn't go back for it. He might as well keep it.
Earlier, Frizz had considered leaving without his electric bike.
However, the possibility that Baron and his men might force themselves on the compartment and discover the stolen gun and money was unacceptable since they could easily trace the vehicle's ownership back to him.
An unacceptable risk.
"The time is now." Frizz stood up, fixing his jacket and approaching the two men guarding his vehicle. "Excuse me."
"Wait, this bike is yours?"
"Yes, I own this vehicle; why?" Frizz replied, barely suppressing his emotions. (Don't twitch, don't twitch.)
"We found a bat propped near your bike; do you happen to know who placed it there?" The henchman inquired with an inscrutable expression.
Frizz silently sighed, barely etching a blank expression. "Me. I was planning to take it back home."
The two henchmen, surprised by the answer, pressed for more information and asked in unison:
"What? Where'd you find it?"
Frizz glanced at the road, recalling the lie he planned earlier.
"Someone dropped it on their motorbike as they rushed through. They didn't go back for it, so I might as well keep it." Frizz's answer caused the two to glance at each other, uncertain if it was the truth.
"What was the color of the motorbike?" A voice forced itself on the conversation. It was Baron with an annoyed expression, a baseball bat resting on his shoulders.
"What was the color of the motorbike?" Baron asked softly yet in a demanding tone. Frizz paused for a moment, calming his nerves and trying to sound natural.
"It was black and orange." The ad-libbed answer caused Baron's face to morph into shock.
"Anyways, that's all I know. I have to go."
Frizz mounted his electric bike, pedaling away from the three who stared at his back as his figure faded in the distance.
Baron couldn't believe his ears. "Tell everyone to gather 'round; we have something to discuss." He ordered, his goons slowly encircling him, eager for another order.
"What's our next move, Baron?"
(A black and orange motorbike.) There was only one person he knew that fit the description. (He's not from Lim's group, but they work for him as some third-party enforcers.)
"It's confirmed, this is a deliberate attack by Lim's group," Baron declared with an aggrieved expression.
His men gasped, fearing another costly attempt at full territory control since they only control half of the town. "This is a damn war now, and they've asked for it," Baron rallied.
⟐
In some distance, Frizz's face plastered a huge grin, pedaling his electric bike. He half expected the situation to sour, not escape from it fully unscathed.
"Boy, I can be really persuasive. Ha!"
[System]
Successfully evaded an encounter.
Rewards: Enough experience to advance.
New Name is now level 6.
Select a perk: [Force Field], [Spatial Inventory], [Deadly Bites], [Thermal Vision].
"A reward but no objective, wow." Frizz parked on the sidewalk, still mounted on his electric bike.
"So the system will give out rewards if it feels like it?"
Frizz read at his choices, noting that they weren't bad this time around. He felt like he had to make the right choice this time to make sure he didn't regret the perk he'd chosen.
"Spatial inventory has the most utility, no doubt." He muttered, imagining not carrying a bag and anything cumbersome with this perk. However, he shrugged, considering the other options.
"Force field is the best perk here when it comes to combat and defense."
He sighed, finding it difficult to pick which of the two of them.
Two minutes later...
Having had enough of the impasse, Frizz cleared his head and made a verdict.
"Enough deliberation, I choose a force field."
(Maybe, if lucky, the spatial inventory perk will be rolled again the next time I level up.)
[System]
New name received: [Force Field].
Displaying descriptions:Creates a force field around the perk user's body, shielding them from damage. Once the threshold is met and the force field breaks, it will take an hour to regenerate.
Frizz rubbed his chin, smiling and reading the description. "I knew it. This perk is really useful; I won't have to worry about any physical attacks." He muttered, wiping the sweat away from his forehead.
He held out both his limbs, observing his whole body, looking for any signs of the force field but found none. "Is it invisible?"
Frizz held out his left hand, levitating a pebble. He held his breath and positioned the pebble, aiming it straight at his chest and then willing to shoot forward. *Thud!*
The rock bounced away; he could feel the impact and some of the force but not the damage. "Hahahahaha..." He quietly laughed; his force field had protected him.
"I just wish I knew what the exact threshold is; the description is a bit vague about it," he whispered, noting that the perk didn't display the exact damage threshold.
Ten minutes later...
Frizz finally arrived at his house, feeling the lull of sleep and unlocking the gate. Checking his wristwatch, 2:59 pm, it displayed.
His legs wobbled as he entered, pushing the electric bike aside, not properly parking it.
(I feel woozy and sleepy from the alcohol; I need to get some shut-eye.) He opened the refrigerator, drank cold water, and then headed to his bedroom. He used his telekinesis to rotate the knob and open the door.
(Really useful). He thought, undressing and throwing himself on the bed.
"I need to sleep..." Frizz was about to close his eyes until he remembered that there was a stolen gun and money in his electric bike's compartment. He instantly opened his eyes.
"Shit, I still have a pistol in the compartment. I should hide that." He hastily ran downstairs, opening his electric bike's compartment.
"Where the hell should I hide this now? In my room?"
Frizz tucked the pistol along with the magazines on his shirt and bit on the sling bag, heading to his room and tucking it away under the mattress.
"That will do for now. I don't like the idea of having a gun, though." Frizz mulled, being inexperienced when it comes to firearms.
He scratched his head. "I don't even have a gun license."
Frizz took out the sling bag from under the mattress, planning to count the amount of money inside. "Now, let's see how much I got."
He licked his thumb. "One thousand and...."
Two minutes later...
"Thirteen thousand..." Frizz whispered shakily; he had never held an amount this massive before. He took out his empty piggy bank on the drawer, inserting the cash.
Frizz yawned; he was exhausted, and he had enough excitement for the day.
"Now, I have to sleep. I have a big day ahead of me."