One day later...
Frizz was resting atop the roof of an abandoned basketball court. When he arrived yesterday, the place was already packed with armed men. There were also several improvised checkpoints along the road. He thought that whatever was happening here must be significant for the cartel.
His target, one of the cartel's money couriers, was last seen heading to this place. Nathaniel Macaraeg grinned widely upon hearing this. Informing Frizz that this location was a huge jackpot.
Frizz sneezed, waking up from the quick rest.
He could hear the hum of several vehicles approaching from the distant road. He yawned, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his body as he watched the approaching vehicles.
*Beep!* *Beep!* A truck has arrived, along with a motorcycle convoy. The armed men then opened the backside of the truck, revealing piles of cardboard boxes. One armed man opened the cardboard box, revealing piles of cold, hard cash wrapped in plastic.
After some brief exchanges, the cardboard boxes were hauled inside the old abandoned basketball court. Frizz slipped inside a hole on the roof, observing the scene below.
"It's packed now, but something's wrong. Some several dozen people don't seem to be criminals, just senior citizens."
Inside the basketball court, long tables with neatly lined chairs held cardboard boxes full of small brown envelopes. The people involved took their seats, waiting for the armed men to finish packing.
"Wait a minute, isn't this?"
Frizz muttered as the armed men ripped the plastic open and tossed the money on the table. The seated senior citizens then started to pack the money inside the brown envelopes along with a piece of paper that displayed how to vote for their whole clique.
(Vote buying! I knew it!)
Frizz said in surprise, vote buying was highly illegal, yet none of the authorities even bothered to enforce the law since they were in the pockets of several politicians.
(I remember receiving a bribe when I voted in the last election. I guess it's a canon event for every vote-registered Filipino.)
He thought as he levitated above, extending his hands and willing various scattered objects inside the basketball court to levitate. The unused chairs, yet-to-be-opened cardboard boxes, multiple tools, and some debris circled a path above.
The air whistled as the floating objects increased their speed.
(While everyone here has negative karmic values. The armed men have way lower values. They're the bigger threats, not these old crooks.)
The people inside were now running away, hurrying to the exit, but before the first one near the door could even flee. The levitating objects shot forward, producing a loud explosion. *Boom!*
The armed guards outside were surprised, readying their weapons as they entered the abandoned basketball court. What they saw inside instantly grimaced their expressions.
Their vote-buying operation was busted as thousands of different peso bills slowly dropped to the ground while their allies and workers were injured, writhing in pain.
"AGH!" "HELP!" "Someone, get me off!" "Help me, please!" "I can't breathe!" "My leg!"
The deafening cries of their allies disoriented them, not noticing the floating figure up above.
(My telekinesis has gotten stronger. I thought there was some weight limit... Ah, well, can't complain about the perk detailing inconsistency.)
Frizz thought as he descended, landing loudly in front of the surprised armed guards.
"Surge!"
He shot forward, disabling every one of the armed guards with a single punch in the face, knocking them out cold. He picked up the dropped assault rifle, an M-16, and opened fire on the armed guards outside.
He didn't bother to dodge the returning fire and instead relied on his perks and talents to weather through the assault.
One by one, the armed guards' numbers whittled down. Frizz's aim was sloppy and unfocused; the confirmed elimination per scavenged rifle magazine was only four.
He burned through seven rifle magazines before there was only one surviving armed guard left. Fortunately, he managed to defeat them all before his force field was forcefully shattered.
[System]
New Name is now level 31.
Fighter skill acquired:
Description: A small random red spot appears on the target's body, and upon striking that spot, any damage dealt will be doubled. (15)
"System."
[System]
Name: New Name
Level: 31
Experience: 100/5000
Health: 100/102 (+23) [SL+4] [IF+9] [HM✬+12] [RF+2]
Mana: 99/99 (+2) [SL+4]
Fatigue: 20/100 (nigh-peak)
Class: [Fighter]
Subclass: [White Knight]*
⬬ [Prowess Minimized] … >>
⬬ [Perks Minimized] … >>
⬬ [Talents Minimized] … >>
The armed guard tried to crawl away, blood dripping from his two thighs as he muttered every prayer he knew. Frizz stomped on the bleeding enemy, planning to ask some questions.
"Where's your leader?"
"I'm just part of the convoy. I was hired recently, please. I don't know a lot."
The bleeding guard pleaded as Frizz eased up, sensing the truth in his words. His phone then rang; it was Nathaniel. He looked up as he accepted the call, spotting the floating eyeball.
"You did it again. You killed almost everyone without asking any questions first. You even killed the money courier." Nathaniel teasingly warned, letting out a small chuckle.
"Ah, heckers."
"No worries, all the elderly folks are alive, and some of the guards are still breathing. Ask them one by one." Nathaniel suggested, ending the call as the floating eyeball playfully spun.
Frizz sighed, massaging his temples as he approached one of the unconscious guards and stomped on their groins.
An hour later...
Frizz has gotten the information that he needed. He was now scavenging the battlefield, hoarding several firearms, ammunition, and most importantly, the vote-buying money.
(I wonder how the mayor and vice-mayor would react when their their money was stolen.)
The basketball court was now empty, aside from the corpses. Frizz then snacked on the several burgers that were meant for the senior citizens.
(Those old folks told me that they've been doing this for a long time, supporting the current mayor's clique. They didn't know anything about the Korique Cartel, and that they usually do not ask questions.)
(Most of the guards here aren't part of the cartel but instead are the mayor's henchmen and lackeys. The ones that are related to the cartel are dead, I wasn't able to ask them some questions.)
Frizz's phone rang again; it was Nathaniel.
"I was able to analyze the courier's phone that was delivered by the eyeball. It seems like there's a major stronghold for the Korique Cartel here in this city. I will text you the address."