Chapter 432 "Bloody-Nosed Rat" Jerry

Jerry felt deeply conflicted about his nickname, "Bloody-Nosed Rat."

On one hand, it certainly wasn't an imposing moniker for the port crowd to call him. Even now, discussing its origins left him feeling rather humiliated.

That origin lay in an alley brawl three years ago, when a burly half-orc on the opposing side shattered his nasal bridge with a single punch. Jerry had passed out cold before the dagger gripped in his hand could even taste blood, only waking up when his companions roused him after the conflict ended.

Later, when his brothers hauled him to the tavern for drinks, the blood under his nose still hadn't been wiped clean. Having grown up an orphan starving in the alleys of the Saltwater District, he had rarely eaten a full meal. Reaching adulthood, he was naturally a head shorter and much skinnier than his peers. Standing in a crowd, he looked just like a rat. A certain adventurer at the next table consequently slapped him with the nickname "Bloody-Nosed Rat."

Initially, Jerry hadn't taken it seriously, treating it as just a joke. After all, his performance in that alley brawl truly had been pathetic.

Unexpectedly, no one remembered any of the majestic titles he gave himself. Instead, this embarrassing nickname had stuck with him to this day.

On the other hand, three years later, he had to admit that it was exactly this vulgar moniker that had earned him a modicum of fame among the bottom-feeding thugs of the Saltwater District, even allowing him to recruit two or three lackeys.

Occasionally, while he drank at the tavern, a few adventurers would even recognize him and call out his "Bloody-Nosed Rat" nickname.

This gave Jerry a secret smugness. It was as if having those well-equipped big shots call him that put him on equal footing with them. He felt incredibly imposing, holding his head higher when he walked as if he too were a great figure ruling the seas.

Of course, having grown up in the alleys of the Saltwater District, he had stumbled his way into understanding the hidden rules of the place:

—Small fries like him had no right to adopt serious, instantly awe-inspiring titles.

Generally, they were stuck with names like "Rat" or "Bug," or obviously derogatory labels like "One-Eye," "Cripple," and "Rotten Tooth."

Anything even slightly positive would easily attract trouble.

And if someone lacked sufficient strength, taking a grand title was just courting death.

After all, if you called yourself the "Great White Shark of the Saltwater District" or the "Tiger of the Docks," the "One-Eyes" and "Mutes" in the tavern might just come over to "greet" you, eager to see what made you so special that your nickname alone placed you above the rest.

Under these circumstances, his "Bloody-Nosed Rat" moniker was just right. It wasn't too high-profile, yet it distinctly set him apart from the "Crooked Mouths" and "Squint Eyes" at the nearby tables.

It even had the word "Bloody" in it, giving it a somewhat intimidating aura at first glance.

To this day, aside from his lingering awkwardness over its origins, he was completely satisfied with it.

Jerry was a Barracuda Bay local.

His childhood dream had been to eat his fill every day, ideally having a plate of fried eggs once a week. He had once watched adults eat them outside a restaurant; the rich aroma of hot grease sizzling was enough to fuel a starving child's unforgettable dreams for countless nights.

As he grew older and loitered on the streets, he hoped to become one of those awe-inspiring gang bosses, casually strolling down the street with dozens of lackeys trailing behind him so no one would ever dare look down on him again.

Even today, his dream remained the same.

However, compared to the past, years of street experience had made him much more pragmatic.

At the very least, he no longer fantasized about suddenly becoming a big shot whose name echoed throughout all of Barracuda Bay. Instead, he planned to start from the bottom and slowly climb his way up, step by step.

Today, Jerry had taken a solid step toward his dreamed-of future.

Even though he hadn't directly participated like he usually did and merely stood by as a lookout, he had secured a promise from an old acquaintance—a friend who was doing quite well for himself now.

Once this matter was completely finished, he would end his years of drifting on the streets and become an official member of the Horned Shark Gang.

Jerry was extremely excited, already beginning to fantasize about his upcoming gang career.

He felt a strong urge to do something for the Horned Shark Gang to boost his presence.

Right now, having just finished the operation, he didn't know what the gang's big shots had done. But after separating from the main group, he had taken the initiative to collect the gang's "protection money" for the month.

"Damn it. Opening a shop in a corner like this, what kind of customers can they even get?"

"If I hadn't been roaming these alleys since I was a kid, a normal person would probably only wander into this hellhole if they got lost!"

Turning his head to spit into a puddle of dirty water, Jerry wore a look of disdain and complained with feigned gruffness.

Seeing the two lackeys behind him—both much taller than him—chuckle sycophantically in agreement, a satisfied smile crept onto his face.

He swung his arms widely back and forth, deliberately adopting a slouching, swaggering gait to appear arrogant.

When he arrived at the door of the Salmon Roe grocery shop, he paused slightly, intending to show the owner who was boss.

Jerry furrowed his brows deeply, hardened his expression, brewed up the right emotion in his heart, and then...

He raised his foot and violently kicked the shop door!

"Bang!"

Ding, ding—

The tightly shut wooden door was kicked wide open. The loud crash of his boot sole slamming into the wood, mixed with the sharp ringing of the violently shaking bell, suddenly exploded in the air.

"Where is everyone?! Give me..."

He was only halfway through his sentence when, for some unknown reason—like a cold draft blowing against his back when waking in the middle of the night—Jerry inexplicably shivered. The speech he had prepared beforehand froze in his throat.

Even his body, which had just stormed in, staggered twice, nearly sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Ahem, ahem..."

He forced two dry coughs to cover up his awkwardness.

Jerry gripped the doorframe, subconsciously glancing out of the corner of his eye at the two lackeys standing half a step behind him. Seeing that they didn't seem to have any particular reaction, he felt slightly relieved.

He then shifted his attention to the grocery shop in front of him.

There were three people in total.

Two stood behind the counter, one old and one young. Their facial features looked somewhat similar; they were likely the shop owner and his junior.

And the one standing outside the counter...

"Yo, there's actually some blind fool buying things in this hellhole. Hey! You, you little b-brat over there, if you know what's good for you, hurry up and..."

His feigned vicious shouting grew quieter and quieter, eventually stuttering to a complete halt.

Jerry's pupils trembled slightly, revealing his violent emotional upheaval. Even his facial muscles twitched in tandem, giving him a stiff, dumbfounded look.

'Crap!'

Jerry was an orphan. Although his path had been bumpy, being able to grow up alone in a place like Barracuda Bay meant that, if nothing else, his eye for reading people far surpassed that of the vast majority of ordinary residents.

The black-haired young man standing outside the counter was highly likely an adventurer, and the condensed, imposing aura he exuded... Jerry had only seen it a handful of times in the tavern.

At those times, even the familiar adventurers he usually considered big shots—the ones who could casually crush him to death—would involuntarily fall silent and refuse to speak out of turn when facing individuals with that same condensed aura.

This black-haired young man... was probably a veteran even among adventurers. He might have even attained a Class Level.

But what terrified the belatedly aware Jerry even more was the other party's appearance.

An exceptionally young face, black hair, dual swords, an Arm Shield, and leg armor...

Vaguely, it perfectly overlapped with the core figure of a certain incident he had heard about in the tavern recently.

"It couldn't be such a coincidence, could it..."

"..."

Xia Nan frowned slightly, his pitch-black eyes calmly and coldly watching the three men who had suddenly barged through the door.

His sharp Perception had allowed him to detect their malicious intent through their hurried, heavy footsteps even before they kicked the door in.

He had secretly prepared himself to respond.

He had initially thought it might be an adventurer coming for revenge, but right now, it seemed these aggressive men were just a few petty thugs.

Whether it was the skinny leader with a slightly crooked nose or the two equally fierce-looking men behind him with flashy arm tattoos, judging solely by the intensity of their life force, they were merely ordinary people. They weren't Class Holders like Xia Nan had imagined.

"The three of you must be lords from the Horned Shark Gang, right?" The grocery shop owner, Paddy, reacted very quickly.

Although he had been startled by Jerry kicking the door, he recovered in the very next second. Squeezing a sycophantic smile onto his face, he hurriedly walked out from behind the counter, smoothly pulling out a prepared money pouch from underneath it.

"I've already prepared the protection money, just waiting for you fine gentlemen to come collect it!"

Having mingled in Barracuda Bay for years, starting from almost nothing, he had forcefully carved out this small shop through his own hard work.

Paddy had rich experience in dealing with all sorts of people in town. He clearly knew which factions' territories his Salmon Roe grocery shop fell under and had prepared contingency plans accordingly long ago.

In fact, under the current circumstances, if it had been any other random merchant, they would very likely seize the opportunity of Xia Nan's presence to act like a fox borrowing a tiger's might, utilizing his status as a Class Holder to create some benefits for themselves.

In reality, given Xia Nan's good impression of both Colin and Paddy, he wouldn't have minded the other party borrowing his name a little to reap a few benefits.

But Paddy didn't do that.

Perhaps it was to maintain his relationship with the young yet powerful adventurer before him in pursuit of longer-term benefits, or maybe it was just his nature, feeling that Xia Nan had already helped them so much that borrowing his identity again would be immoral.

At this moment, the middle-aged man didn't even glance at Xia Nan, terrified of dragging him into this entanglement.

He quickly stepped forward, about to stuff the money pouch into the hands of the men at the door.

Such a decisive and crisp action made "Bloody-Nosed Rat" Jerry subconsciously reach out his right hand to take the offered money pouch.

But in the very next instant.

That hand, originally with its palm facing up and fingers spread wide... suddenly snapped shut!

With a flip of his wrist, the "offering" gesture became a "push."

His hand stood upright, palm facing Paddy.

Exerting a gentle force, he pushed the money pouch, which had almost landed in his hand just a moment ago, right back into Paddy's chest.

"Ah, sir! You've completely misunderstood us!"

Retracting his gaze from the dual swords on Xia Nan's back, Jerry's expression suddenly turned stern, his tone even carrying a hint of good-natured reproach.

"Our Horned Shark Gang isn't like the other gangs in the Saltwater District. We don't go around randomly collecting 'protection money'!"

"Since your shop is located in our territory, ensuring your stable operation is exactly what we ought to do."

Jerry's tone was sincere, but his small eyes kept glancing over at the nearby Xia Nan as he spoke, terrified that the other party might make a move.

"I just came over today to check on how things are going here and ask if you have any difficulties that require assistance."

Speaking up to this point, as if suddenly remembering something, a rather awkward smile surfaced on his face.

"My apologies. I tripped while opening the door just now, so my movements were a bit aggressive."

"If there's any damage, I will absolutely pay for it in full!"

Jerry patted his chest and guaranteed.

Behind him, seeing their boss act like this, the two tall lackeys failed to process the situation for a moment.

The thick flesh on their faces still maintained the ferocious look from when they entered, but their eyes appeared ignorant and bewildered. They stood stiffly in place, having no idea what to do.

Having unparalleled experience in dealing with situations, Paddy naturally saw the reason behind their behavior.

Right now, it was naturally impossible for him to be foolish enough to point it out on the spot. Instead, he simply went along with the other party's words. Taking back the money pouch, he pulled out a few silver coins and handed them separately to the three men before him.

Given a sufficient way out, the four people standing at the door looked like they were visiting relatives during a festival, smiling and exchanging pleasantries with each other.

In just a few minutes, it was as if they had chatted enough to become close friends, taking their leave amid voices urging them to stay.

However, it was painfully obvious that the moment Jerry and his two men left the shop door and turned the corner into the alley, their pace suddenly quickened.

Standing at the door and watching their backs disappear at the end of the alley, the initially enthusiastic smile on Paddy's face instantly went cold.

He turned his head, an apology surfacing on his face.

"I'm truly sorry, Mr. Xia Nan. I didn't do this just because you were present..."

Xia Nan waved his hand, signaling him not to worry about it.

He had gone through a similar experience back in Nym, so he was somewhat used to it.

He just hadn't expected that these gang thugs, who looked like slackers at first glance, actually had pretty decent eyes. They never required him to make a move and performed much better than some of his foolish fellow adventurers.

But...

His mind unconsciously recalled the trio's movements and expressions when they kicked the door open, especially that of the skinny leader.

The state he was in gave off a feeling much like many adventurers who had just returned to town after finishing a quest—a state of hyper-excitement mixed with a very obvious urge to vent.

It was a bit strange.