"So, how are you with bad situations?" Nick asked the person in front of him.
In front of Nick was a woman in her early twenties.
She had brown hair and wore dirty clothes.
Obviously, she was from the Dregs.
Right now, Nick was interviewing her inside his room in the hotel.
The woman had originally been quite nervous about having a meeting for a job inside someone's room, but by now, she had realized that Nick wasn't trying to hurt her.
"I think I can react in a very calm and deliberate manner," the woman said casually.
Nick nodded. "Have you ever met a Specter?"
"I don't have an ability if that's your question," the woman said.
"Alright, but have you met a Specter before?" Nick repeated.
The woman frowned. "I think so, but I'm not sure," she said.
"Oh? Please elaborate," Nick said.
"Well," the woman started, "legend has it that the leader of the Riker Strikers is a Specter, and I met him before."
"Oh? That's a new one," Nick said. "What makes you think he's a Specter?"
"It's just a legend," the woman said. "People say that Riker has to be a Specter. After all, the Riker Strikers are the only gang that brings nothing positive to the Dregs."
"The Insurance Gang might have some very direct methods, but they protect the people's tax money."
"The Peddlers might charge exorbitant prices and don't allow any competition, but they have the ability to get all these important goods to the Dregs. Without them, so many more people would die."
"The Hub might not care about morals when they accept a mission, but they also give many jobs to a lot of people. Even more, they keep the different gangs in check since the Hub can essentially be bought out by them."
"But the Riker Strikers?"
The woman shook her head.
"The Riker Strikers just steal, rape, and assassinate."
"They want money without offering protection."
"They secretly kill people for seemingly no reason."
"There's nothing good about them."
"Not even a little bit."
"What human would create something like that? Isn't it easier to lead a group of willing humans than forcefully take their belongings every day?"
"At least, that's the explanation," the woman explained. "If Riker is a Specter, these things would make sense."
Nick scratched his chin in interest as he looked at the woman. "That's a very interesting theory. I never met Riker personally since I worked for The Hub most of the time. You said you did?"
The woman nodded. "It was when three men stalked me to my house. I wasn't sure if they just wanted my money or if they also wanted to rape me, but luckily, I never found out."
When the woman had talked about the possibility of getting sexually assaulted, she had seemed quite calm, cold, and indifferent, even though something like that probably terrified most people.
"During that time, I was on a long-term mission for The Hub, and I showed them my symbol as proof."
"Based on their expressions, the three of them didn't like that, but they decided to leave me be."
"That was until Riker appeared."
"I don't know why he was here, but based on how the three men acted and how they addressed Riker, I knew it was the leader of the Riker Strikers."
"When he saw what happened, he just put on a friendly smile and asked since when the Riker Strikers cared about what the other gangs thought of them."
"The three of them turned back to me and started to advance."
"Meanwhile, I turned around and ran away."
"Luckily, one of The Hub's outposts was very close, and I managed to enter and get help."
"The three men fled, but a group from The Hub ran after them."
"I never saw them again after that, and I also didn't hear anything about Riker again," the woman explained.
Nick nodded a couple of times. "How was the infamous Riker?"
"How was he?" the woman repeated as she furrowed her brows. "It's difficult to describe."
"He looked quite charming and beautiful. Back then, I thought he looked abhorrent, but after so many weeks, I can admit that he is very attractive from a general perspective."
"He has this entire playboy vibe to him, but there is also deep confidence in his gaze."
The woman seemed uncomfortable for a couple of seconds.
"I'm not sure if this is relevant," she said eventually, "but I felt like his eyes were strange."
"They looked just like any other pair of eyes, but when I looked into them, I felt like I was looking at some kind of natural predator of mine."
"He felt very, very dangerous."
"I felt like I had to run away from him, no matter what."
The next moment, she snorted.
"Ironically enough, this feeling of having to run away was what allowed me to react this quickly to his men's renewed advance."
Nick looked very intrigued.
"What if you met him again?" Nick asked.
"In what sense?" the woman asked.
"Alone," Nick answered. "Just you two."
A sneer of disgust appeared on the woman's face.
"I would love nothing more than to say that I would kill him, but I probably don't have the strength to do that. I don't think a gang leader is weak," she said.
When Nick heard that, a bright smile appeared on his face.
"Alright, that sounds good," he said.
The woman looked at Nick with newfound anxiety. "So, did everything go well? I feel like it went well."
Nick chuckled and nodded. "Yep. Everything sounds great."
"So, does that mean…?" the woman asked.
Nick nodded. "Yes, I think you are the right person for the job."
The woman's eyes widened in shock.
A Zephyx Extractor?
She was about to become a Zephyx Extractor?!
She almost couldn't believe it.
"Your name was Jennifer, right?" Nick asked.
"Yes," Jennifer asked. "Please, call me Jenny."
"Of course," Nick said.
The next moment, Nick stood up. "Would you mind waiting outside the hotel for around 15 minutes? I have to deal with something first."
"After that, I will show you where you will be working from now on."
"Of course! Thank you so much!" Jenny said with a grateful voice.
The two of them left Nick's room.
While Jenny left the hotel, Nick went to Horua's room.
Nick had to check up on Horua before leaving for work.