Chapter 23: The Bloody Apartment, part 1/2


    Still dazed and disoriented, Tia instinctively crouched down as clouds of dust swirled around her. Her ears were still ringing from the deafening bang that had just urred. Through the settling haze, she noticed a muscr arm protruding from a hole in the wall, twitching futilely as it attempted to free itself.


    ''I hate those muscleheads.'' She raised her gun and aimed at the wall. As her finger gently squeezed the trigger, a brilliant sh of light erupted from the muzzle, causing the dust-filled air to shimmer and glint. In an instant, the arm ceased its movement, now lifeless and inert, hanging limply out of the hole.


    The circr opening left by her precise shot still emanated heat, faintly glowing with the residual energy of the st.


    A bright, blinding shlight pierced through the murky corridor, momentarily blurring Tia''s vision, apanying the trembling voice of the second man and the ominous hum of electric energy charging.


    "How could you kill him?! You animal!"


    A red bolt of sma froze mid-air and stopped before it could even reach her, the ionized super hot gas brightly glowing, its bright red light unable to pierce through the thick dust clouds.


    <Basic Telekinesis V (54%)> --> 55%


    Before Tia could respond, the corridor erupted with a relentless barrage of red energy bolts, illuminating the dust-filled air with blinding shes of pulsing crimson light.


    Reacting instinctively, Tia threw herself to the ground, seeking cover from the lethal onught.


    The red bolts whizzed above her, striking the walls and shattering chunks of concrete and metal into deadly shrapnel that scattered in all directions.


    More and more of the bolts froze with each second, suspended in the air as if they hung on invisible wires attached to the ceiling.


    Tia maintained her focus, and even though she couldn''t see her target clearly amidst the bright shes, her mind still moved on instinct, freezing all the bolts flying in her direction.


    ''Take this back.''


    With a flick of her wrist, all the suspended sma bolts hurled back through the corridor in a single barrage of light and fire that drowned it in fire.


    <Basic Telekinesis V (55%)> --> 61%


    In an instant, the firefight ceased, leaving the corridor dark and eerily silent. The ragged breathing of the second man resonated through the air, his presence still concealed by the shadows.


    Tia remained vignt, her senses heightened as she cautiously scanned the surroundings, prepared for any sudden movement.


    ''Is he dead? Damn, now I will have to go loud.'' She was still angry at herself for getting ambushed by that dumb musclehead, her only relief being his quick demise.


    With steady steps, she silently walked deeper into the apartment corridor. The pieces of concrete were cracking, and the old disgusting purple carpet rustled under her feet.


    Soon, the bleeding gunner emerged from the dust, slumped against the wall smeared by his blood and littered with burned ck circles created by his own gun.


    The moment his eyes fell on her, his trembling arm holding therge glowing rifle rose with visible difficulty.


    Tia didn''t even blink as she waved her wand, and the man''s neck twisted, his arm falling back down limply.


    <Basic Telekinesis V (61%)> --> 63%


    ''Nothing but dirt. They are no threat. At least if they don''t catch me off guard... like they just did.''


    As she ventured further into the apartment, the narrow corridor with the staircase opened into a small living room. Only a few sparse rays of light managed to prate through the gaps in the boards barricading the windows, and the musty air was thick with the pungent smell of sweat and dust mixing with the ammonia smell of old piss, which instantly triggered waves of nausea.


    She always loathed strong odors, even in her past life.


    In one corner, old bottles and cansy scattered, serving as a stark reminder of the neglected state of the ce. The old broken furniture was covered under a thick nket of dust, and a dead raty on the disgusting purple carpet.


    ''Just because they are criminals doesn''t mean they shouldn''t be cleaning!''


    Her eyes and ears remained vignt, scanning for more attackers as she kept slowly advancing toward a narrow corridor line with ugly blue carpet, going deeper into the apartment.


    There were only two doors, one closed and the second one missing.


    Something rustled in the room without a door, and her body immediately froze in reaction.


    ''Someone is there.'' Her hand itched to just shoot through the wall and turn the room into a death trap with her high-powered weapon, ending it instantly, but she held herself back, knowing she could identally shoot her sweet little cousin.


    ''This is bad... Peeking there would be too dangerous with them already covering the entrance, while shooting through the walls would be too dangerous when I don''t know where they hold her.


    ''I can''t also use my telekinesis to touch the room to locate them as that would require too much of my focus, leaving me more vulnerable to an ambush from another vector.''


    She refused to die in such a shabby and disgusting ce due to being careless.


    Atst, an idea shed in her mind, ''Maybe a distraction would work. That should give me enough time to scout the situation.''


    She crouched down slowly and carefully approaching the doorframe, her eyes constantly darting between them and the single remaining doors at the end of the corridor.


    Taking deliberate steps, she moved forward with meticulous care, avoiding the old cans and broken ss scattered on the floor. Each footfall was calcted to minimize noise, her heart already racing with the anticipation of impending danger and possible confrontation.


    At once, she stopped by the doorframe, her gun and wand already at ready. She stilled her own breath as she focused entirely on the soundsing from the room.


    There was hushed breathing, multiple of them. However, it was impossible to pinpoint their exact locations.


    ''At least two people. Either hostages or kidnappers, maybe even mix.''


    Her mind flexed her mental muscle as five metal balls floated out of her pocket, silently hovering by her side.


    ''Now!''


    An old beer bottle floated on the other side of the corridor, all the objects waiting for hermand.


    ''Now!''


    The bottle smashed against the left corner of the doorframe. Just a secondter, Tiaunched from her crouching position and peeked into the room while three bright red bolts of sma sted in the direction from where the bottle flew in.


    Three men were spread across the medium-sized room filled with filthy matrasses, all three aiming at the doorframe withrge sma rifles.


    In the blink of an eye, she ducked back into her cover, followed by the onught of shing red light, with the crimson bolts raining on the wall behind where she was just a moment earlier.


    At the same time, the wooden doors at the end of the corridor flew off the hinges as another man barged in, aiming straight at her.


    All five balls of metal shot at full speed, the tip of her wand and her irises brightly shining.