The Bolt Premier was a clean, silver Lexus, but the air inside was thick with the scent of synthetic lemon and the driver's unspoken fatigue. Outside, the world was a blur of yellow painted curbs and the jagged, grey concrete of the Abuja bypass.
Tobi leaned his head against the cool glass. Every time he closed his eyes, the green UI flickered like a broken neon sign.
[STAMINA: 14/100 (EXHAUSTED)] [ACTIVE BUFF: ADRENALINE SPIKE (DECAYING...)]
"Oga, we don reach Garki International Market," the driver said, pulling over near a row of rusted shipping containers that had been converted into "Business Centers."
Tobi stepped out. The heat hit him like a physical blow—a mixture of roasting corn, diesel fumes, and the sharp, metallic tang of a thousand generators humming in unison. This wasn't the polished marble of Wuse II. This was the engine room of the city.
[AREA DETECTED: THE SECONDARY MARKET] [HYPE LEVEL: 8/100] [SUCCESS PROBABILITY: VARIABLE]
Tobi ignored the "Bros, come buy charger!" and "Oga, laptop repair?" shouts. He walked deep into the labyrinth, following a pulsing purple dot on his vision. The System wasn't just showing him data; it was sniffing out "Unregistered Assets."
He stopped in front of a cramped stall overflowing with tangled fiber-optic cables and gutted server towers. A boy, no older than fifteen, sat on a stool, his eyes fixed on a cracked monitor.
[NAME: CHIDI] [TITLE: THE VOID-RUNNER] [LEVEL: 4 (RENEGADE)] [HYPE LEVEL: 1/100 (INVISIBLE)]
"I need a 'Black-Box' router," Tobi said, his voice dropping an octave. "And a cloned MAC address registered to a dead company in the Cayman Islands."
Chidi didn't look up. "That's high-end gear, Oga. Cost more than your life."
Tobi reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He opened the [SYSTEM WALLET]. With a flick of his thumb, he projected a tiny, holographic QR code that only Chidi could see.
[TRANSFER INITIATED: 50,000 NGN (LAUNDERED)]
Chidi's eyes widened. He finally looked up, his gaze darting to Tobi's glowing green retinas. A slow, knowing smirk spread across his face. "You're one of them. A 'System-User.' I thought the Cultivators only stayed in Maitama."
"I'm a different kind of monster," Tobi said. "Give me the hardware."
Chidi reached under the counter and pulled out a device the size of a cigarette pack, wrapped in lead foil. "This is a 'Signal-Leech.' You plug it into any localized grid, and it creates a ghost-node. Not even the FIRS can trace the traffic. But be careful, Oga. If the 'Aegis' bots find this, they won't just block you. They'll fry your brain through the uplink."
[ITEM ACQUIRED: THE SIGNAL-LEECH (RARE)] [FUNCTION: 100% ANONYMITY FOR 30 MINUTES]
Tobi tucked the device into his pocket. He felt the weight of it—the first piece of his "Billionaire-Killing" kit.
Suddenly, the hum of the generators outside changed pitch. The market sounds died down, replaced by the rhythmic thump-thump of heavy boots on the dusty ground.
[WARNING: AGGRESSIVE ENTITIES DETECTED] [TYPE: DEBT COLLECTORS (STREET-LEVEL CULTIVATORS)] [LEVEL: 3] [SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS: CHIEF OMOTOLA HAS PLACED A BOUNTY ON YOUR REPUTATION.]
Tobi looked through the gaps in the shipping containers. Four men in tight-fitting t-shirts, carrying heavy iron bars and "knock-off" digital suppression batons, were closing in on Chidi's stall.
"There he is!" one of them yelled, pointing a scarred finger at Tobi. "The boy who chopped Chief's money!"
"Run, Oga!" Chidi hissed, already ducking behind his servers.
Tobi didn't run. His stamina was low, but his [PROCESSING] was peaking. He looked at the heavy power lines hanging low over the alleyway. He looked at the puddle of stagnant water near the thugs' boots.
[SKILL INITIATED: MARKET MANIPULATION (ENVIRONMENTAL)] [COST: 10 STAMINA] [OBJECTIVE: SHORT-CIRCUIT THE REPUTATION OF THE AGGRESSORS.]
"You want the money?" Tobi shouted, holding up his phone. The screen flickered with a fake, blindingly bright balance of 100 Million Naira.
The thugs hesitated, their eyes widening at the "Gold" on the screen. Greed was the ultimate glitch in any human system.
"Grab him!" the leader roared.
As they stepped into the puddle, Tobi didn't use a gun. He used the [SIGNAL-LEECH]. He tapped the device against the stall's metal frame and sent a high-frequency "Ping" into the local power grid.
CRACK-BOOM!
The transformer at the end of the alley exploded in a shower of blue sparks. The low-hanging power line snapped, whipping through the air like a fiery snake before hitting the water.
The thugs didn't even have time to scream. The electric discharge hit their suppression batons, causing the digital internal batteries to overload.
[REPUTATION DAMAGE: CRITICAL] [STATUS: NEUTRALIZED]
Tobi stood over them as they lay twitching in the mud, their expensive "suppression" tech smoking and ruined. He didn't feel pity. He felt... efficient.
[XP GAINED: 800] [STAMINA: 4/100]
Tobi staggered, his vision swimming. He needed food. He needed rest. But most of all, he needed to get to the Transcorp Hilton.
He looked at the twitching leader of the thugs. He knelt down and took the man's designer sunglasses, sliding them over his own glowing eyes.
"Tell Chief Omotola thank you for the XP," Tobi whispered.
He walked out of the Garki smoke, a shadow moving toward the light of the Hilton. The war for Abuja was just getting started.