Frizz took a deep breath. "It's now or never." He reasoned that as long as he acted naturally, they wouldn't suspect anything. He also has an excuse ready.
A lie that he didn't know anything about the baseball bat, 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 scooter.
However, Baron and his men might force their way into the compartment and discover the stolen gun and money. That was unacceptable since they could trace the scooter's ownership back to him.
"Excuse me," Frizz said to the two henchmen guarding his electric scooter.
"Wait, this bike is yours?" One of them replied.
"Yes, why?" Frizz replied, barely suppressing his emotions. (Don't twitch, don't twitch.)
"We found a bat near your scooter. Care to explain why?" The henchman inquired with an oppressive, piercing stare.
Frizz gulped, barely keeping his composure. "Me. I was planning to take it back home." The two henchmen's brows furrowed. "Where'd you find it?" One asked with a threatening tone.
Frizz glanced at the road, recalling the lie he had planned earlier. "Someone dropped it on their motorbike. They didn't go back for it, so I might as well keep it." Frizz's answer made the two glance at each other, unsure whether 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 again, but this time in a demanding tone. Frizz paused for a moment, calming his nerves and trying to sound natural.
"It was black and orange," Frizz answered, but Baron kept a scrutinizing glare at him. Baron's eye twitched for a moment, then formed an expression of surprise that seemed fake.
Frizz noticed but kept silent. "Anyways, that's all I know. I have to go." Frizz mounted his electric scooter, pedaling away from the three who were glaring daggers at his back.
⟐
Baron kept an inscrutable expression with a piercing glare. "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 who fit the description. (There is indeed someone like that from Lim's group. That may be acceptable for now.)
"It's confirmed, this is a deliberate attack by Lim's group," Baron declared with an aggrieved expression, although his voice lacked commitment.
His men gasped, fearing another costly attempt at fighting over territory. Baron's territory was small, yet he was the district's most significant source of meth.
"This is a damn war now, and they've asked for it," Baron rallied.
⟐
At some distance, Frizz's face plastered a huge grin. He half expected the situation to sour, not escape from it entirely unscathed. "Boy, I can be really persuasive. Ha!"
[System]
Successfully evaded an encounter.
Rewards: Enough experience to advance.
Level: 5 » 6.
Received: [Force Field] - 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.
"A reward but no objective." Frizz parked on the sidewalk, still mounted on his electric scooter. (So the system will give out rewards if it feels like it?)
(Force field, huh? Not a bad perk. It'd be nice to have the choice to pick my own perks, but if the system knows what's best for me, then fine. They're the system after all.)
Frizz rubbed his chin, smiling as he read the description. "This perk is handy. 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, examining his whole body 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 shooting it. *Thud!*
*Clack!* The rock bounced off him. He could feel the impact but not the damage. "Muhehehe." He quietly snickered; his forcefield had worked. (Little by little, perk by perk. I am getting stronger.)
"I wish I knew what the exact threshold is. The description is a bit vague about it," he whispered, noting that it was a slight issue but a forgettable one for now.
Ten minutes later...
Frizz finally arrived at his house, feeling the lull of sleep and unlocking the gate. Checking his wristwatch,he saw that it displayed 2:59 pm. His legs wobbled as he entered, pushing the electric scooter 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 open the door and almost made it slam against the wall.
(I need better control). 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 scooter's compartment. He instantly opened his eyes.
"Shit, I still have those things in the compartment. I should hide that." He hastily ran downstairs, opening his electric scooter'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 then tucking it away under the bed's mattress.
"That will do for now. I don't like the idea of having a gun, though." Frizz mulled, inexperienced with firearms. He scratched his head. "I don't even have a gun license."
"No, wait. I should count the money that I have looted." Frizz took out the sling bag from under the mattress. "Now, let's see how much I got." He licked his thumb. "One thousand and...."
Two minutes later...
"Thirty thousand..." Frizz whispered shakily. He had never held an amount this massive before. There was nothing in his room where he could safely store this amount. His two brothers and father would often enter his room and use his computer when he was away.
"Oh, wait! That could work!" Frizz said, pulling an old CPU case from a cabinet. He opened the case and stored the money inside. "Now that's done. I need to get some sleep."