Rubbing Salt into the Wound

As Nigel looks in the direction where he parks his car, he can't help but think about this roller-coaster day he got. First, he got reincarnated, then a Shopping System reaches up to him, he meet again with his old pal', quit his job, work out till he got exhausted, and then some thugs circling his car right now.

Nigel slowly approaches the bustling thugs that were drinking beers and smoking cigarettes while laughing at the unconscious security guard on the floor. Nigel always hates this kind of people, who are brave only when they're in a group and they look down on the weak while licking up to the strong.

But, Nigel doesn't know whether to laugh or cry at this time, as he just concluded his exercise, and he doesn't have any more energy to spare besides his muscled really are in pained right about now.

Suddenly, one of the thugs finally takes notice of him as Nigel coming in their direction, "Go away man before you ended up just like him! we are just having some fun right here, don't be a busybody." One of the thugs said to Nigel as he points his finger to the security guard.

"I don't want to be a busybody too, but that was my car you guys sitting on." Nigel told the thugs.

When the thugs hear Nigel reply that the car was his, they all look at Nigel. One of the bigger and better-looking thugs that were sitting on the hood of his car, jumps off from the hood to the ground and spoke viciously to Nigel while closing in on him, "So you are the cheeky ungrateful bastard the boss talked about? Such a waste sending this many man just to teach you some manners."

"Listen here, punk. We are the Axe Gang that run this turf, and your ex-boss hired us to educate you on how you should have a better manner when you're talking to him." The leader talked to Nigel, babbled about where he belongs to.

Nigel just stood there calmly looked at all the 14 thugs that seem to get ready to beat him up, as he already got used to this type of thing back in the apocalypse. He didn't even flinch and replied leisurely to the leader who is just a step away from him, "So what if you're from the Hatchet Gang or Knife Gang? Instead, I need to thank you guys for your information on who put the hit on me."

"Damn it, it's the Axe Gang you punk!"

The leader aims for a sucker punch to Nigel's right face.

Just when the leader let out a tiny smile, thinking his sudden punch will hit the unprepared Nigel face, he saw Nigel grinning with a dangerous aura. The leader got a bad feeling seeing that grin on Nigel's face as he wishes he can take back the punch he swings at Nigel.

Nigel grin and gives the leader a cold look as he leans back and takes a back-step to dodge before Nigel delivers a cross punch to the leader's nose after that he quickly swings his leg hard to the area between the leader's legs and there was a sound just like an egg's breaking- crack~!

The next thing Nigel saw, was the leader's bend-up body as he falls to the ground grabbing the thing between his legs and looking like a prawn while screaming to his underlings, "AAAARGH!! F*ck, what are you waiting for just standing there like an idiot, go beat him up and break his balls until his thing can't stand anymore!"

'If my legs don't feel like noodles right now, that thug must have fallen unconscious.' Nigel clicks his tongue, feeling annoyed at his weakened legs.

As if a wake-up call, the remaining thugs snaps out and quickly ran up to Nigel while yelling dirty words to him.

"Come here, all of you yelling bastards, it's getting on my nerves!" Nigel stood still, welcoming the remaining crowd while provoking the thugs with his middle fingers.

When the first thug distance close enough to him, he quickly brought up one of his favorite techniques; balls breaking kick.

Nigel swiftly kicks the balls of the first incoming thugs and confronts the second thugs with the same move. After that, he nimbly backs up to create more space for himself.

The remaining thugs, seeing their comrades fall to the ground while screaming like a baby, hurriedly stopped and gather around closer to one another before running up again to face Nigel.

'Aren't they pretty smart grouping up like that... this will get things harder now.' Looking at the bunch of thugs, Nigel eventually becoming serious as he faced them.

---

Meanwhile, at the 'The Club' lobby, Vania went to the entrance with a curious face seeing peoples stand there pointing and talking at something.

As she traced along the direction where the peoples pointing their fingers, she finally catches sight of Nigel brawling with a bunch of thugs and the collapsed security guards, she got shocked. When she snapped out of her shocked state, her legs speedily goes to the coach's lounge to find someone who can help with the situation.

As she walked into the waiting room, she saw James serious face that was sweating as he punches a punching bag with his muscular body contracting with each blow he hit.

Vania instantly called out loud to James with a worried look on her face, "James! Quickly go to the parking lot! Your clients from earlier are brawling with a group of thugs!"

"You serious? Let's go!" James spoke to Vania as he hurriedly went to the parking lot.

Vania nods to James, as she too hurried to follow him.

When James sees the commotion at the parking lot, he takes a quick look at the thugs who rolled around the ground grabbing their things before focusing on the remaining 8 thugs that are still brawling with Nigel.

He hurried to Nigel's directions to help him get rid of the thugs.

---

'F*ck it hurts!' Nigel grunted as he got hit on his back.

He quickly elbowed the thugs that were coming from his left, before sending a swift kicked to the thugs in front of him.

As he sees a punch flying at him from the corner of his eyes, he quickly put his arms up to guard against the punch while turning his body to the thugs who punch at him, he waits for the punch to hit him. But, before the punch can reach him, there was a flying kick to the thug's head and then he gets flung to the ground.

He got astonished by the kick that sends the thug flying, Nigel takes a peek at the guy who helped him fend off the attacks, before thanking him "Thanks James, cool kick you got there!"

When the thugs see that Nigel got help from someone with a body full of muscled who obviously practice some martial arts, they distance themselves from the duo.

"Let's get rid of these thugs first shall we?" James stabilizes himself and exerted a stance beside Nigel.

"Yeah, let's!"

As Nigel and James face the thugs together, the thugs seem to be reluctant to continue with the brawl. But, at this time, the leader who already recovered from the previous injury, stood up.

"Why are you hesitating, he just got one more pair of help. While there are still many of us!" The leader shouted to his minions, trying to raise their morals, while he took out his butterfly knife, shiings~

"Yeah, the leader is right. Let's f*cked the both of them!"

"Beat them!"

"Look! The leader took out his favorite knife!"

Nigel and James eyed each other as they smirk before running up to the thugs minion.

With a resounding hit from Nigel and James punches, slaps, elbows, and kicks, especially from Nigel's favorite kicks hitting the thugs, they fell one by one just like dominos.

Both of them quickly finished up the thugs until the leader is the one who still stands. Nigel and James finally stopped 5-meters from the leader as they take a break.

Seeing that the two stop just before him seemingly tired from the fight, the leader got excited and impatient as he can't wait to stab them with his knife. He runs to Nigel as he was the one who looked like a dying fish that gasping trying to inhale the most air.

Nigel gets ready to fight the leader as he watched him slash the knife that aims for his throat, Nigel quickly jumps away from the slash before it hits him. At that time, James finally caught up to them and kicks the leader's ribs with a beautiful straightforward crescent kick.

Crack!

At the sound of bone breaking, the thug's leader slowly collapsed again before letting out a mouthful of bloods.

When both of them see the thug's leader on the ground blacked out with blood flowing from his nose and mouth and seeing all the thug's minion on the ground squirming about or knocked out, they finally relaxed.

But, with a glaring and reverberating police sirene sound from afar, Nigel and James knew, that they can't rest just yet.

"The police finally comes when the fight is over, so slow." Nigel muttered to James.

"At least they come to handle the rest." James said to Nigel with his stoic face back. As he continues to say, "Your fighting style is so insidious."

"What can I do, I don't have more energy to spare after that hellish workout." Nigel chuckles as he replied to James before heading to the unconscious security guard and called out to him, "James, help me carry him."

They head back to the lobby and place the man down on the sofa, after that Nigel crashed down on the sofa beside the guard.

At this time, Vania runs out to them while holding a first-aid kit.

"Mr. Oneal, where does it hurt? Are there any cut wounds on your body and do you need any medicine?" Vania asked Nigel as she brought out all the things in the first-aid kit.

"Just called me Nigel, Vania. Is there any cream or ointments for bruises?" Nigel said to Vania as he can't help but get goosebumps by her always calling his surname.

"Yes, we got some." Vania replied as he help takes off Nigel's shirt and applied the ointments to Nigel's face, body, and arms that got bruises.

James just sit there silently looking at Nigel distress look before he laughed at him

"Hahaha, why are you brawling with them?" James said to Nigel.

"Ah, I don't know, they just came to me suddenly." Nigel hides the truth from James.

"It's still good that you don't get too many injuries." James knew that he must be hiding something, but he dismisses it as he doesn't want to be a meddler.

As they chat about the fight they have just gone through and Vania treatment over, the police finally arrived, arrested the thugs and just asked them some basic question as there was a lot of witnesses who watch it happened and the CCTV's data to back it up.

When the security guard woke up and see the bruise Nigel, he got startled and apologized because of his helplessness to confront the thugs. Nigel accepted his apology as it has something to do with him and the security guard isn't guilty of it.

After everything settled down and over, Nigel and James went to the club restaurant to order some food to replenish their depleted energy. After he finishes his meals he parts ways and said thank you to James and Vania for helping him and treating his injured body.

As Nigel got into his car, he looks at his watch that point at 05 PM and drives to his 'old friend' weapon workshop on the western outer ring city.

'Old friend, I will be meeting you once again.'

He still remembered his close friend talked to him about owning a cold weapon workshop from katana, sword, saber, axe, and everything there is to a cold weapon.

'At that time, I'm sorry I just a burden to you. It's always you who protected me, let it be me this time around who will be protecting you' Nigel thinks about the time when he saw his friend neck get bit by a zombie, and from there he swore to be a reliable partner.

After a two hour drive, he arrived at the so-called workshop. He looked at the run-down house with an old Hyundai sedan park on the carport and make sure he got the correct addresses, after making sure, Nigel laugh for a long time before saying "You trickster, I should've known that you tricked me about your top of the line and majestic workshop."

Nigel parks his car and starts to head to his friend house, as he reached the door, he hesitated for a bit before knocking on the door three times until there was an answer from the inside.

"Coming!"

Hearing that bright tone once again put a smile on his face.