Chapter 8: Cavite Strike
Warehouse Node, Sampaloc
3:19 A.M.
Louie didn't sleep anymore. He lay down sometimes—closed his eyes, let his bones rest—but sleep? No. Not since he passed the million mark.
The moment he hit Level 2, the world seemed louder. Not just from money flooding in, but from movement—people asking more questions, rival dealers mimicking his prices, cops patrolling harder, even his couriers getting spooked.
And then there was Cavite.
An old customs facility. Concrete shell, three loading bays, one central office. Used to belong to a shipping union, then the Navy. Now it sat in bureaucratic limbo, patrolled by two aging guards and rumored to be on some senator's "maybe next year" list. In other words: vulnerable.
Louie needed it.
If he could take it, he could store and rotate heavy crates through there. Ammo. Full rifles. Maybe even gear for clients south of Metro Manila. If he held it for even a month, it could double his distribution flow.
He pulled up the system map—his own personal overlay of the city, dotted with red markers. One pulsed yellow.
TARGET LOCATION: CAVITE WAREHOUSE COMPLEX 002
ESTIMATED OCCUPANTS: 3 (Armed)
EXTERIOR CLEARANCE: 89%
RISK LEVEL: LOW TO MODERATE
He opened his team roster:
Delta-01 (Uzi)
Bravo-02 (AK-103)
Charlie-03 (Benelli M4)
Delta-04 (HK416)
Echo-05 (MP5A3)
He added them all to the current operation queue. Five soldiers. No backup. Just precision.
He'd run with less before.
5:46 A.M. — Ferry Dock, Pasig River
The team moved across the water in a retrofitted RHIB boat Louie had not bought from the system. Some things still came from earth—contacts, freelancers, salvage.
The boatman, a wiry Bicolano with no last name, said nothing during the crossing.
Each soldier sat quiet in the dark, rain misting across black vests and cold rifle barrels. Delta-01 checked the weather with one finger in the wind. Charlie-03 loaded his shotgun silently. Echo-05 chewed gum.
Louie crouched at the bow, eyes forward, hood up.
This wasn't just a grab.
This was a claim.
6:09 A.M. — Outside the Customs Complex
Fog rolled low over the ground like dirty breath from a sleeping beast. The guard shack sat slanted at the edge of the fence, one flickering bulb illuminating a sleeping man in a threadbare uniform.
Delta-04 and Bravo-02 peeled off to flank the south side, crawling along a drainage pipe and past a stack of discarded shipping pallets.
Louie tapped two fingers against the back of his leg.
Go.
Echo-05 moved first.
A flash of movement, a snap of sound.
Silenced fire. One guard down.
No alarms.
6:17 A.M. — Inside the Office
The two remaining guards were wide awake by then—one had already drawn his pistol, the other was reaching for a walkie when Delta-01 burst through the doorway like lightning. Three silenced rounds. Both dropped. Blood bloomed across the wall like black ink under flickering fluorescents.
Charlie-03 stepped over a corpse without looking down and kicked the walkie away from the dead man's fingers.
Echo-05 cleared the adjacent hallway.
Louie walked in last, ducking under a cracked doorframe.
He stared at the empty desks, the coffee-stained logbooks, the dead rats in the corners.
This was his now.
He turned to Delta-04.
"Secure and sweep."
"Copy."
7:12 A.M. — System Interface
Louie sat at the facility's front desk, chair creaking under his weight, staring into a ghost-lit UI overlay only he could see.
NEW NODE SECURED
CAVITE CUSTOMS COMPLEX
STORAGE CAPACITY: 4x Heavy Crates / 6x Standard Crates
INFLUENCE RANGE INCREASED
CLIENT DROP POINT: ENABLED
CURRENT BALANCE: ₱212,800
EARNING: ₱100 / MIN
He didn't smile.
He simply opened the soldier tab again.
He would need one more to guard the facility full-time.
SOLDIER CUSTOMIZATION: FOXTROT-06
Height: 5'11
Build: Heavy-set, thick arms
Skin: Pale brown
Hair: Buzzcut
Clothing: Cargo jacket, red bandana, steel-plated boots
Face: Left cheek scar, broken nose
Accessories: Fingerless gloves, nose ring
CONFIRM SUMMON: ₱150,000
EQUIP:
RPK Light Machine Gun — ₱8,200
7.62 Ammo (300 rounds) — ₱1,800
Heavy vest — ₱3,000
TOTAL SPENT: ₱163,000
NEW BALANCE: ₱49,800
Foxtrot-06 shimmered into existence beside a stack of crates, already crouched, scanning the room like he'd been awake for hours.
Louie pointed at the west wall. "Your post."
Foxtrot nodded once. Took position.
9:38 A.M. — Chat Thread (Encrypted, Invite Only)
Tag: SHADOWNET_9
"Ghost Merchant just rolled Cavite Customs. Clean op. Zero response. Moving crates already."
"Confirm?"
"Footage blurred. IDs missing. Facial scramble. Ghost."
"This isn't cartel."
"It's him."
"Bounty's up. ₱2.5M for name. ₱5M for location. Dead or alive."
11:02 A.M. — Louie's Warehouse, Sampaloc
He didn't care about the bounty. Not yet.
His system pulsed gently in the background, ticking every minute with military precision.
₱100.
₱100.
₱100.
His empire didn't need a flag.
It just needed infrastructure.
And now he had five nodes, six soldiers, and total silence from every man who mattered.
He stared at the screen in the darkness and thought only one thing:
Next: the south.