Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 431 "Bloody-Nosed Rat" Jerry

Jerry felt very conflicted about his nickname "Bloody-nosed Rat".

On the one hand, as the name others in the port use to refer to him, this nickname is not exactly impressive, and the origin of it is even somewhat embarrassing to talk about now.

The specific source is a street fight three years ago, where he was punched in the nose by a burly orc and lost consciousness before the dagger in his hand could even get wet. He was not woken up by his companions until the fight ended.

Later, when his brothers dragged him to a tavern for drinks, the blood under his nose hadn't been wiped clean. In addition, he lost his parents at a young age and grew up hungry in the alleys of the saltwater district, hardly ever having enough to eat. As an adult, he was naturally a head shorter than others and much thinner. Standing in the crowd, he looked like a mouse, so an adventurer at the next table gave him the nickname "Bloody Nose Rat".

Jerry didn't take it seriously at first, just thinking it was a joke from others, after all, his performance in that street fight was indeed poor.

But to his surprise, no one remembered the impressive titles he had given himself, but the embarrassing nickname that had been used to embarrass him was still being used to this day.

On the other hand, after three years, he had to admit that it was precisely this vulgar and offensive name that gave him some notoriety among the low-level thugs in the Saltwater District, and even allowed him to recruit a few subordinates.

Occasionally, when drinking at the tavern, a few adventurers would even recognize him and call him by his nickname, "Bloody-nosed Rat."

This made Jerry feel smug, as if as long as those well-equipped big shots called him that, he could be on equal footing with them, feeling incredibly powerful. He even held his head higher when he walked, as if he had also become a big shot who roamed the ocean.

Of course, having grown up in the alleyways of the saltwater area, he also stumbled and learned the unspoken rules of this place:
—A nobody like him doesn't deserve a respectable nickname that sounds impressive.

Most of them use derogatory and discriminatory terms such as "rat," "insect," "one-eyed," "cripple," or "rotten teeth."

Otherwise, if you are even slightly positive, you are likely to get into trouble.

However, if one does not have sufficient strength, giving such a nickname is a dead end.

After all, if you give yourself a nickname like "White Shark of the Saltwater Area" or "Tiger of the Dock," those "one-eyed" and "mute" guys in the tavern might come over and "greet" you, wondering what makes you so special just because of your nickname.

In this context, his nickname "Bloody Nose Rat" was just right, not too high-profile, and clearly distinguished him from the "Crooked Mouth" or "Squinty Eye" types around the dinner table.

It even has the word "blood" on it, which gives it a rather imposing look at first glance.

To this day, apart from feeling embarrassed about the origin of his nickname, he is completely satisfied with everything else.

Jerry is a native of Barracuda Bay.

His childhood dream was to be able to eat his fill every day, and ideally, to be able to eat a plate of fried eggs every week. He had once watched adults eat them outside a restaurant, and the rich aroma of the oil sizzling at high temperatures was enough to make him a hungry child dream about countless nights.

As he grew older, he spent his days on the streets and dreamed of becoming a powerful gang leader, with dozens of henchmen following him wherever he went, so that no one would dare to look down on him.

Even today, his dream remains the same.

However, compared to before, his years of experience on the streets have made him much more pragmatic.

At least I no longer fantasize about suddenly becoming a big shot whose name resounds throughout the entire Suyu Bay, but plan to start from the bottom and climb up step by step.

Today, Jerry has taken a solid step toward the bright future he dreams of.

Even though I didn't participate directly as before, but just stood by and kept watch, I still received a promise from a friend I had some dealings with before, who is doing quite well now.

Once this matter is completely resolved, he will end his years of wandering the streets and become a formal member of the "Horned Shark Gang".

Jerry was very excited and had even started fantasizing about his upcoming gang career.

He couldn't help but want to do something for the Horned Shark Gang and increase his own visibility.

Having just finished his operation, he didn't know what the big shots in the gang had done, but after separating from the main group, he took it upon himself to collect the gang's "protection money" for the month.

"Damn it, how can it possibly have any customers when it's located in a corner like this?"

"If I hadn't spent my childhood wandering around alleyways, most people would only end up in this godforsaken place when they're lost!"

He turned his head and spat into a puddle of sewage on the ground, his face showing disdain as he complained in a deliberately rude manner.

Seeing his two much taller underlings behind him fawningly agreeing with him, a satisfied smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

Swing your arms wildly back and forth at both sides of your body, deliberately making your body appear arrogant and swaying as you walk.

When they arrived at the "Salmon Roe" general store, they paused briefly, thinking of giving the owner a hard time.

Jerry furrowed his brow deeply, tensing his expression, mentally preparing his emotions, and then...

He raised his foot and kicked the shop door hard!
"boom!"

Ring ring—

The tightly closed wooden door was kicked open with a loud bang, the sound of the boot sole hitting the door surface, mixed with the sharp sound of the doorbell being shaken violently, suddenly exploded in the air.

"Where is he?! Get him to me...!"

He had only spoken halfway when, for some reason, like a cold wind blowing from behind when getting up in the middle of the night, Jerry shivered inexplicably. The prepared speech he had prepared was frozen in his throat before he could even utter it.

Even his body, which had kicked the door open, staggered twice and almost fell.

"Cough, cough..."

He coughed twice deliberately, as if to cover up his embarrassment.

Jerry steadied himself against the doorframe, glancing instinctively at his underlings who were half a step behind him. Seeing that they didn't seem to have any particular reaction, he felt a little relieved.

He then turned his attention to the grocery store in front of him.

There were three people in total.

The two people standing behind the counter, one old and one young, had somewhat similar features and were probably the owner of the general store and his younger sibling.

And the one standing outside the counter...

"Hey, this godforsaken place actually has people who're blind enough to not know what's good for them and come to buy things! Hey! You over there, kid, you better get ready..."

The feigned fierce shouts grew softer and softer, and towards the end, the speaker stuttered and stammered.

Jerry's pupils trembled slightly, revealing the intense fluctuations in his inner emotions. His facial muscles also trembled, giving him a stiff and stunned appearance.

not good!

Jerry was an orphan, and although his life was full of hardships, he was able to grow up alone in a place like Barracuda Bay. Putting everything else aside, his insight alone surpassed that of most ordinary residents.

The black-haired youth standing outside the counter was most likely an adventurer, and the condensed aura emanating from him... he had only seen it a few times in the tavern.

Even those adventurers who usually considered themselves powerful figures, capable of crushing them with a mere flick of their wrists, fell silent in the face of someone radiating the same refined aura. This black-haired youth… was probably a seasoned adventurer, perhaps even having achieved a professional rank.

What alarmed Jerry even more, who was slow to realize what was happening, was the other person's appearance.

An exceptionally young face, black hair, dual swords, arm shields, and leg armor...

The connection between the person and the key figure in an incident he had recently heard about in a tavern was surprisingly similar.

"It can't be such a coincidence..."

"..."

Xia Nan frowned slightly, his dark eyes calmly and coldly staring at the three men who had suddenly barged into the door.

His keen senses allowed him to detect the hostile intentions of the intruders even before they kicked the door open, based on their hurried and heavy footsteps.

They secretly made preparations to deal with the situation.

I initially thought they were adventurers seeking revenge, but now it seems these menacing-looking men are just a bunch of thugs.

Whether it was the leader, the one with a slightly crooked nose and a thin build, or the two men behind him who also had fierce faces and flashy tattoos on their arms, judging from the strength of their life force, they were just ordinary people, not the professionals Xia Nan had imagined.

"The three of you must be big shots from the Shark Gang, right?" Paddy, the grocery store owner, reacted very quickly.

Although startled by Jerry's kicking of the door, he reacted instantly in the next second, forced a fawning smile on his face, and quickly stepped out from behind the counter, taking out a money bag that he had prepared beforehand from under the counter.

"I've already prepared the protection money; I'm just waiting for you to come and collect it!"

Having spent many years in Suyu Bay, he started from scratch and built this small shop entirely on his own.

Paddy had extensive experience dealing with all sorts of people in town and knew exactly which factions controlled his "Salmon Roe" grocery store, and had already prepared corresponding plans.

In fact, given the current situation, if it were any other businessman, they might very well take advantage of Xia Nan's presence, using his professional status to create some profit for themselves.

In reality, given Xia Nan's good impression of Colin and Paddy, he wouldn't mind if they used his name to gain some benefits.

But Paddy didn't do that.

Perhaps it was to maintain their relationship with this young yet powerful adventurer in order to seek greater long-term benefits; or perhaps it was simply their own personality, feeling that Xia Nan had already helped them so much, and that it would be immoral to use his identity any further.

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

He strode forward and was about to hand the money bag in his hand to the people at the door.

Such a decisive and swift action made "Bloody Nose Rat" Jerry subconsciously reach out his right hand, wanting to take the money bag handed to him.

But it's only for the next moment.

The hand that was originally facing upwards with its five fingers spread out... suddenly came together!
With a flick of the wrist, the "spread" motion was transformed into a "push".

The palm is upright, facing Paddy.

With a gentle push, the money bag that had almost landed in his hand was pushed back into Paddy's arms.

"Hey, sir! You've misunderstood us!"

Jerry's gaze shifted from the two longswords behind Xia Nan, his expression suddenly turned serious, and his tone even carried a hint of benevolent reproach.

“Our Shark Gang is not like other gangs in the saltwater area, we don’t randomly collect ‘protection money’!”

"Since your store is located within our sphere of influence, ensuring its smooth operation is what we should do."

Jerry spoke sincerely, but his small eyes kept glancing at Xia Nan standing to the side, as if afraid that the other party might make a move.

"I just came here today to check on the situation here and ask if there are any difficulties that need help."

At this point, as if suddenly remembering something, a slightly embarrassed smile appeared on his face.

"Sorry, I tripped when I opened the door just now, I moved a little too much."

"If there is any damage, I will definitely pay for it at the original price!"

Jerry patted his chest and assured him.

The two tall men behind him were momentarily stunned by their leader's reaction.

His face still had the fierce look it had when he entered, but his eyes were blank and confused. He stood stiffly in place, not knowing what to do.

With his vast experience in handling affairs, Paddy naturally understood the reason behind their behavior.

He couldn't be foolish enough to expose them on the spot, so he simply went along with what they were saying, took back his money bag, and took out a few silver coins from it, handing them to the three people in front of him.

With ample opportunity to make their way in, the four people standing at the doorway acted as if they were visiting relatives and friends during a festival, exchanging smiles and kind words.

In just a few minutes, they seemed to have become bosom friends, and said goodbye amidst pleas for them to stay.

But it was clear that the moment Jerry and his two companions left the store and turned into the alley, their pace suddenly quickened.

Standing at the door, watching their figures disappear at the end of the alley, Paddy's previously warm smile instantly turned cold.

He turned his head, an apologetic look on his face.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Xia Nan, it wasn't because you were there that I..."

Xia Nan waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing to worry about.

He had a similar experience once before in Newme, so he was somewhat used to it.

Unexpectedly, these seemingly carefree gang thugs actually had pretty good eyesight and never needed to lift a finger, performing far better than some of their foolish adventurer counterparts.

but……

He couldn't help but recall the actions and expressions of the three men as they kicked the door open, especially the small, thin leader.

His demeanor gave off the feeling of many adventurers returning to town after completing a mission, a mix of excitement and a strong sense of catharsis.

Somewhat strange.

(End of this chapter)