The man behind the wheel was shocked as he saw a human figure standing directly in front of him. Instinctively, he slammed his foot down on the pedal, expecting the car to surge forward. Instead, the engine roared, the tires screeched slightly, but the vehicle didn’t seem like it was going anywhere at all.
Before he could even process what was happening, the front end of the car began to lift off the ground. The hood tilted upward, the weight shifting so only the back wheels were left touching the pavement, desperately spinning as they searched for traction.
"Are you just going to stand there and watch?!" Na shouted, his voice strained with effort. He was getting annoyed, because even with his enhanced strength, holding a car at bay like this wasn’t easy.
If the car had managed to get even a small run-up, Na knew things would have ended very differently. He would have been hit, and even with his current abilities, the impact would have hurt badly, possibly more than he was willing to admit.
He hadn’t held the Vow for very long. It was still new to him, something he was adjusting to every day. He knew that if he continued to push himself and remain faithful to it, he would eventually gain true superhuman strength. But right now, he was still somewhere in between, stronger than normal, but not invincible.
The guards didn’t hesitate any longer. They rushed forward as a group, acting quickly now that the situation was under control. One of them managed to wrench the car door open while another immediately raised a taser.
The crackling sound echoed through the air as the taser fired. The prongs struck their target, embedding themselves into the man inside the car. His body stiffened as electricity surged through him, his muscles locking up as violent tremors ran through his frame.
For a brief moment, it looked like that was enough.
But the man gritted his teeth and endured it. He bore the shock for several seconds, letting out a guttural sound as he forced his body to respond. When the guard holding the taser stepped closer, confident the threat had been neutralized, the man suddenly lashed out.
His foot slammed into the guard’s stomach.
The force sent the guard flying backward, crashing to the ground and sliding across the pavement before coming to a stop. He was out cold before he even realized what had happened.
Instead of jumping out of the vehicle like anyone would expect, the man did something strange. He reached out, grabbed the door, and slammed it shut with a sharp bang.
Immediately after, the sound of the vehicle locking itself echoed in the air.
He had practically trapped himself inside the car.
Still, the decision didn’t last long. As he leaned forward, gripping the steering wheel and preparing to drive again, his eyes widened. The figure that had been standing in front of the car was gone.
Na was no longer there.
Before he could even turn his head to look around, the locked door was suddenly yanked open. There was a loud crack as the locking mechanism snapped apart. The door didn’t rip off its hinges, but the lock itself was destroyed effortlessly.
A hand shot inside and grabbed the man by his shirt.
When Na pulled, it was with overwhelming force. The man was yanked straight out of his seat, lifted cleanly into the air, and thrown behind him. His body flew through the space between cars until it slammed into another vehicle with a heavy thud, denting the metal before he collapsed onto the ground.
The man didn’t move again.
"Ah..." Na said, rubbing the back of his head. "I’m sorry about damaging the car... crap. I guess I damaged both of the client’s cars."
The guards exchanged looks. While they were relieved that the vehicle hadn’t been stolen, there was no denying that two VIP cars had been damaged in the process. That alone was going to be a hit to their reputation.
Still, none of them could take their eyes off Na.
What impressed them more than anything was the fact that a single man had managed to stop a moving car head-on.
"Man, I know you’re big," one of the guards said with a grin, "but I didn’t know you had that much muscle hiding underneath. You must’ve been on World’s Strongest Man or something. And if you weren’t, you should definitely apply."
Na laughed nervously at the comment.
At least for now, they believed what they had just witnessed was something a regular human was capable of. That was a relief. The last thing he needed was his face plastered across newspapers or online articles the next day, with people questioning what exactly he was.
Elsewhere, other individuals were dealing with problems of their own.
Joe, who was stationed outside, had been dealing with snatchers. They were easy enough to spot once you knew what to look for. He had already managed to grab one of them just before a customer had her belongings stolen.
During the struggle, however, the attacker had reached behind his back and pulled out a metal object. Without hesitation, he swung it forward and smashed it directly into Joe’s face.
The hit hurt, a lot.
And it wasn’t just one of them either. They weren’t working alone. Others rushed in from behind, striking Joe from different angles, attacking him relentlessly whenever they saw an opening.
Each blow landed with brutal force.
It seriously hurt, and at one point, a few of the bystanders watching from afar thought Joe might end up with a permanent injury if things kept going this way. Still, Joe gritted his teeth and pushed through the pain.
Eventually, relying on sheer willpower, sharp jabs, and relentless aggression, Joe managed to take down three of the attackers. One by one, they fell, unable to keep up with his refusal to stay down.
Even so, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated.
"Man, I really wish I could’ve had that exoskeleton," Joe muttered. "That would’ve helped me a lot."
He shook his head slightly.
"But knowing me, maybe I would’ve relied on it too much and never actually improved myself."
Joe glanced down at his bruised hands, then touched his face where the metal object had struck him earlier.
"If it was Stephen... or even Max," Joe continued quietly, "they would’ve dodged those hits. Even if I can heal from the brink of death like a zombie, I still need to stop getting hurt. These wounds are going to take a while."
The thought lingered in his mind.
The more he stuck to his Vow, which part of his power would improve? Would his healing accelerate even more, or would he eventually gain the ability to heal himself from severe wounds completely?
The second possibility wasn’t something he wanted to test.
"I wonder if the others are alright," Joe said, looking at the three unconscious attackers on the ground. "And I really do wonder... did I get the hardest job out of the lot?"
Because looking at them now, he couldn’t imagine these people were true Gilt Rat members.
Most likely, they were just hired hands.