Sweat dripped down the side of his temple. He tightly gripped onto the steering wheel, the veins in his arms bulging with every squeeze.

The man in the white van had sun-burnt golden skin. His knuckles were hairy, almost like that of a gorilla’s, while his broad shoulders and stocky frame barely fit into the driver’s side seat. Aside from the caterpillar-like eyebrows on his face, the man was completely bald.

He neurotically tapped his left foot. Every few seconds, he would look up at the rear-view mirror. What he saw only served to darken his expression.

Eventually, he finally couldn’t take it anymore.

He turned his head towards the backseat and furiously shouted, “Go faster, you bunch of dumbasses! This shit isn’t supposed to be hard!”

“S-sorry, Boss.” A muscular man in a tank-top replied to him. “Just that, this bitch is fighting back. She’s like a fucking cat. It’s really not our fault.”

Right now, he and another man were currently struggling against a young lady who looked no heavier than 100 pounds. Despite her thin arms and dainty waist, she fought with the intensity of a frenzied grizzly bear.

One of the men reached out and tried to grab her wrist, but she quickly dodged and retaliated, scratching the man’s arm in return.

“Ah, the bitch scratched me!” The man loudly cursed as he subconsciously balled his hand up into a fist. He was overcome with the desire to just knock this girl unconscious, but he was quickly reprimanded by the driver.

“Don’t hit her face! It’s not good for business.”

“But Boss, we can’t get her in if I don’t—” The muscular man stood up to defend himself. Unfortunately, he was once again shot down.

“Shut up! I don’t want to hear your excuses, you useless sacks of shit! Hurry up and get this shit done!” The more the bald driver shouted, the redder and redder his face got.

Eventually, he turned back towards the front of the van with a loud huff. Although he maintained a tough attitude in front of his subordinates, inwardly, he couldn’t help but complain.

Lately, the girls that they’ve been picking up were all like this. They were all fighters. Biting, scratching, kicking, they all tried their absolute damnedest in order to escape. The ones with tasers were especially annoying to deal with.

He missed the days when they would just flop over like a dead fish the moment someone showed any form of intimidation.

The driver breathed out a sigh. It was only to be expected. The girls raised on the streets of Hovel tended to be like this. He would have liked to change locations, but that wasn’t really a viable option. Anywhere else attracted too much attention.

Hovel was the designated slums of the city. No matter who you take, chances are, nobody will care. At least, nobody with power will care. You do this type of shit anywhere else, and the cops will come busting through your door like desperate crackheads looking for a fix.

They were just small-time crooks working for a small-time gang. Attention was one thing that they couldn’t afford to risk.

The driver once again glanced up at the rear-view mirror. Those two buffoons were still struggling with the girl.

He gritted his teeth.

For a moment, his hand fell onto the pistol tucked underneath his waist. In situations like these, threatening them with a gun usually sped up the process. Unfortunately, their little crew only had one gun and there was no way in hell he’d let those dumbasses even think about touching his pistol.

What’s more, those two did not know how to drive, so it wasn’t as if they could just switch roles. Would it be worth it to leave the driver’s side seat and expedite the process?

The bald man hesitated.

In truth, the big boss had tasked him with training these two idiots. In this regard, he considered himself unlucky. These guys were some of the most incompetent gangsters he had ever seen in his life. They were complete idiots. The only thing that they had going for them was their gym-trained bodies. Everything else was essentially just baggage.

“Fuck,” the driver cursed underneath his breath.

Just as he was wondering whether or not he should act, a knock suddenly echoed out from the side window. He instinctively jumped in fright.

His grip on his pistol tightened. The driver glared at the window. Fortunately, the glass was tinted, so whoever was knocking outside could not actually see him.

For a moment, the driver’s expression turned weird. Peering into the window with a stupid expression on his face was a dull-looking guy. He was half-naked and his hair looked like a messy bird’s nest.

The driver breathed out a sigh.

Judging by his appearance, the unexpected guest was probably a damn tweaker.

Does he think I have drugs or something? The driver frowned.

In truth, he had seen plenty of this type. There were a whole bunch of them scattered throughout the streets of Hovel. Deranged lunatics hooked on drugs. They’ll do anything to get their fix.

Usually, flashing a gun was enough to make these fuckers leave.

The driver hesitated for a moment, before the grip on his gun loosened. Tweakers were generally considered an unstable bunch. In the face of unexpected danger, who knows what they’ll do. He did not want to waste a bullet today.

Outside the vehicle, Edsel couldn’t help but frown. Did the guy inside not notice me? The windows were tinted, so he couldn’t really see. After some hesitation, he once again knocked on the glass.

This time, the window’s rolled down.

A bald man with a pudgy face angrily glared at him.

“Fuck off, can’t you see we’re busy here?” The man immediately growled out.

Edsel paused for a moment. He had a line prepared, but this guy unexpectedly took the initiative.

After a few seconds of silence, Edsel let out an awkward cough. “No, I was just wondering, is it really okay for you guys to do this in broad daylight?” he honestly asked.

Even in Regalia, very few were ever this bold. For a modern-world with modern-laws, these guys were quite barbaric.

The bald man’s expression immediately worsened. He bared his yellow teeth. “Are you threatening me, right now? Do you know who I work for? Even if I told you, you probably wouldn’t even know, you damn junkie! I don’t have any fucking drugs. Fuck off, already!”

If this were a perfect world, then this bothersome guy would already be dead with a hole in his forehead. Unfortunately, he had limited bullets. If he wasted it on some random tweaker, then his boss would definitely grill him out for it. His gang really was just a group of misfit paupers.

Edsel frowned. His expression was a bit difficult to make out. “Do I really look like that?” he asked out loud.

Do I really look like a homeless drug addict?

He felt a bit disheartened. The young hero secretly vowed to find some time to take a proper bath.

After a short period of silence, Edsel suddenly stated, “I think you misunderstand.”

“Misunderstand what?” The bald man scowled as he spoke.

“I’m not here for drugs. I’m here to rob you guys.”

“…”

For a moment, the bald driver simply sat there and stared. This guy, was he serious? What the hell was this skinny-looking tweaker on? What sort of shitty joke was that?

The driver’s bafflement quickly turned into anger.

“If you don’t fucking leave now, then I swear to god, I’ll shot your fucking balls off!”

In response, Edsel merely tilted his head. “You wouldn’t dare.”

At this point, the driver finally snapped. He felt belittled. The condescending tone not only astounded him, but it also drove him into a fiery rage.

He reached over for his gun but before he could pull it out, his arm abruptly stopped. The driver looked down. To his surprise, the tweaker had grabbed onto his wrist. Edsel did not look strong, nor was his grip very firm, but for some reason, the driver found it impossible to shake him off.

This was mostly due in part to the awkward positioning of the driver’s arm. Pressed up against his own chest like that, it was difficult to draw any strength. What’s more, Edsel had locked his elbow, so even with their initial strength disparity, the young hero still held the advantage.

“What’s that? Something interesting?” Edsel casually asked as he leaned his body closer to the window and peered inside. Unbeknownst to the driver, he was actually applying more bodyweight into his grip, essentially pining the driver to the back of his seat.

“You fucker, let go of me!” The man once again tried to shrug him off. Unfortunately, Edsel’s grip remained firm.

“It’s a gun, isn’t it? Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to own one, you know.”

“Y-you fucking—” The driver reached over with his other hand, but Edsel quickly reacted. He deflected the blow with one of his own. Truth be told, Edsel did not really put a lot of strength into his attack. Still, it was just barely enough to change the trajectory of the driver’s fist.

Instead of hitting Edsel, he accidentally hit the steering wheel.

BEEP!

The van let out an ear-shattering honk.

A few seconds later, the guys in the back shouted. “We got it already, boss! We’re hurrying, we’re hurrying!”

Hearing those idiots, the driver’s face turned as red as a lobster.

On the other hand, Edsel sported a slightly amused expression on his face.

“It sure does suck to have such pig-like teammates, huh?” He offhandedly stated as he glanced over towards the backseat. After a moment’s pause, he shook his head. “Well, enough playing around. We should hurry up too. No matter how terribly incompetent those guys may be, at the end of the day, they’re still two grown men. Eventually, they’ll overpower the girl.”

Without waiting for the driver to respond, Edsel immediately attacked. Naturally, against these types of guys, he did not bother holding back.

Edsel struck the man’s throat with the back of his palm.

“Gurgh—”

The driver let out a sputtering cough. The impact momentarily dazed him. The grip on his pistol slackened. Edsel did not waste this opportunity. He quickly snaked his hand over and pocketed the gun.

“Hey!” The driver’s expression darkened. What the hell just happened?

Before he could react, Edsel took a step back and distanced himself from the truck. A small smirk floated to his lips. The young hero ignored the driver’s glaring eyes as he looked down and casually inspected the gun.

“…”

The driver did not dare to move. Naturally, he was frightened. After all, the lunatic tweaker somehow managed to steal his gun! Who knew what this psycho was thinking?

After a while, Edsel couldn’t help but ask, “say, do you know how to use this thing?”

“…”

The driver did not respond.

Regardless, Edsel continued, “I’ve seen a few movies, but it’s been a while. I know that you’re supposed to pull back the top part, but isn’t there supposed to be a safety on this thing…”

He continued to fiddle with the gun. Eventually, a faint click reverberated through the air.

“Ah, I found it.”

Edsel looked back up towards the van. “Thanks for this man, really. I’m sure it will come in handy someday soon.” He spoke as if he was talking to a long-time friend.

The driver’s face was frozen stiff. He had known this for quite a while now, but this tweaker really wasn’t an ordinary tweaker.

Just as he was cursing his bad luck, the scraggly haired young man suddenly took a step forward.

His shoulders tensed. “W-what do you want? I’m warning you now, I’m part of the Howling Hogs. If, if you mess with me, then don’t expect to have a happy ending…”

In response, Edsel simply smiled. Howling Hogs? What sort of name was that?

He uttered one word.

“Strip.”

“…”

The driver’s expression turned seriously ugly. Whenever a man asked you to strip, there was only ever one thing that he wanted.

Edsel tilted his head. “Did you not hear me? I said strip.”

“L-look man, we don’t need to do this,” he stuttered out. “I, I have money. You can have that instead, yeah?”

Edsel made an expression as if he was looking at an idiot. “Of course, I’m going to take your money. First though, I want you to strip.”

At this point, tears welled up in the bald man’s eyes.

Right now, he seriously wanted to fight back. Unfortunately, with the muzzle of a gun pointed directly at his face, he did not dare to. The threat of death was a powerful thing. He knew how it felt to use it and he knew how it felt to be used by it. Much to his dismay, his current situation was the latter.

In the face of this damn tweaker’s thin smile, the driver was left with no other choice but to strip his clothes.

Edsel gladly received the new clothes with open arms.

The bald driver was a bit bigger than he was, but Edsel did not really pay it any mind. Anything was better than nothing.

In all, he received an oversized T-shirt and a pair of oversized basketball shorts. As expected, they did not fit. Both pieces were way too big for him. The outfit gave Edsel the appearance of a sloppy gang banger. Still, he had no right to complain. After all, beggars can’t be choosers.

One thing that Edsel found odd was that this guy had a second pair of shorts underneath his first pair.

Well, who cares, he shrugged his shoulders. With this, I’ve completed my first mission.

He breathed out an exaggerated sigh. It felt good to finally have some clothes on. Although his current outfit smelled like stale cigarettes and motor oil, it wasn’t the worst thing that Edsel had ever worn.

After a moment’s pause, he turned back over towards the van. With trembling hands, the driver was currently busy removing his second pair of shorts. If left unattended like that, then there was a high possibility that this man would strip all the way down to his birthday suit.

Since it looked funny, Edsel decided not to interrupt him.

He casually waved the gun in his hand. “Good, you just keep doing that, alright. I still have a few things I need to do.”

With that, Edsel circled towards the other side of the van. He planned to take care of the remaining thugs. The young hero gingerly stepped forward.

Approximately one and a half minutes had passed since he first took action. From the moment he first knocked on the car window to when he first donned on his new clothes, the two muscle-headed kidnappers were still struggling with their would-be captive.

Even after all this time, the girl was still less than halfway into the van.

Edsel secretly admired her tenacity. The only reason why he could act this laxly was purely because of this girl’s fighting spirit.

The moment he arrived at the scene, the girl immediately spotted him. The two of them met eyes. For an instant, she froze.

Another guy… this time, he’s holding a gun.

Her expression drained as darkness clouded her vision. What she saw was not a dashing hero here to save her. Instead, she viewed Edsel as nothing more than just another thug who wanted to do god knows what to her body.

She tried so hard, but unfortunately, even she could do nothing against the might of a fully-loaded pistol.

Edsel had no clue what sort of self-defeating thoughts ran through the girl’s head. Instead, his perpetual smile deepened. He pointed the muzzle of the gun towards the two thugs.

“Let her go.” He plainly stated.

“…”

“…”

“…”

All three of them temporarily paused. All three of them sported confused expressions. They did not know what to make of the current situation.

The girl had initially assumed that Edsel was another kidnapper here to help expedite the process of her kidnapping. The two blockheads also assumed something similar. The last thing they expected was for someone to play hero, especially down here in the streets of Hovel.

Is it an internal conflict? Such a thought floated to the girl’s mind.

“Uh… Boss?” One of the muscular men called out. “What do we do about this guy?”

Unfortunately for him, their Boss did not even spare them a glance. He kept his gaze locked onto the front of the road. Unbeknownst to his two subordinates, a rather ugly expression colored his face.

Inwardly, a million thoughts buzzed through the driver’s head. Should I tell them to abandon the kidnapping and get back in the car? Should I tell them to fight him? Can these guys even do anything to this crazy psycho?

He had a million thoughts running through his head, but for some reason, staring into that guy’s carefree eyes made him hesitate.

“Yo, why is the Boss naked?” One of the men nudged his partner.

In response, the other man shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t mention it. If you say anything, the Boss will get mad.”

“Ah, really?”

“Really.”

“…”

Edsel stared at their little charade for a while. Eventually, he told them to stop. “Let the girl go already. I won’t ask another time, you know?”

Despite Edsel’s ‘gentle’ warning, the two thugs still hesitated. Their boss was uncharacteristically silent and this new guy had a gun pointed at their heads. The situation was devolving with each passing second.

Was this guy for real? Would he really shoot them? Was the gun even real?

Their hesitation was met with a crisp bang.

One of the men immediately fell to the ground. A horrid scream echoed through the air while hot blood splattered across the pavement. The thug did not die, but he was clutching his left kneecap.

“I said it before, didn’t I? I don’t like to wait.”

Edsel suddenly pointed the gun at the other guy. The still shocked chump did not even have time to blink before he too went down in a brilliant splatter of crimson. The man lay slumped on the van’s entrance.

“…”

Watching the bloody scene before him, a shallow frown stretched Edsel’s lips. He had actually aimed for the knee caps again, but he accidentally hit the guy’s crotch.

He despondently shook his head. The recoil had messed up his accuracy. Edsel could only blame his body’s current lack of strength.

After a short pause, he looked up and turned to the driver’s side seat. There, the bald driver was staring at him from the rearview mirror. The two locked eyes.

“…”

“…”

A strange silence filled the air.

Edsel’s perpetual smile remained unchanged. At that moment, the driver felt a chill run down the back of his spine. Without hesitation, he gritted his teeth and floored the ignition. The van sputtered to life. The tires squealed as the vehicle zoomed down the street.

Edsel barely had time to raise his gun in the air before the white van turned a corner and disappeared from view.

“…”

He solemnly stood there. He narrowed his eyes, almost as if he could still see the white van roaring down the street. After a while, Edsel lowered the gun. He couldn’t help but click his tongue.

“He fled way too fast.”

In the driver’s haste, he left behind both of his subordinates. The two thugs had passed out from the pain a little bit after the van turned the corner. Edsel did not really care about these types of criminals, but he still couldn’t help but look down at the driver’s lack of comradery.

Edsel hated people like that. A person who would unhesitatingly leave their companions behind was definitely not someone worth befriending.

He shook his head. “At least, I looted a gun from him. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Just as he was about to walk away, he suddenly remembered something.

“Oh yeah, there’s still her.”

Edsel stared down at the girl by his feet.

Her shoulders trembled. There were cuts and bruises all over her arms and legs, yet the girl did not utter a single cry or complaint. In fact, she did not even dare to move.

Edsel’s act of heroism had completely caught her off guard. Still, she was not overjoyed. She did not naively believe that he had rescued her out of the goodness in his heart.

After all, this was Hovel. The kind ones either died or had long since moved away from this shit hole.

Her face isn’t bad, but her figure’s even better… Edsel absentmindedly thought to himself. This was probably why those guys wanted to kidnap her in the first place. Something along the lines of human trafficking? She certainly does look like the type that would sell. Although she has a few pimples and scars, they aren’t that noticeable. If she had lived in a better environment, then she could have definitely been a real beauty.

After evaluating her as such, Edsel shrugged his shoulders.

He paused for a moment, before he stated, “Word of advice, lady. Don’t stick around this place for too long. You got lucky today, but there won’t be a convenient hero to save you again next time.”

With those words, Edsel casually turned around and walked away.

The girl sat there, half in shock. She absentmindedly stared at his receding figure, all the while, a single thought floated through her head.

Did he just call himself a hero?