Chapter 132: You Are On Your Own

Zhang Yi had not expected Qin Sheng to be so audacious; she had actually started eating in the middle of a fight.

The critical point was that Zhang Yi had not eaten for a long time, and the ham sausage Qin Sheng was eating smelled delicious. Before she had even taken two bites, Zhang Yi’s stomach had already begun to protest.

Qin Sheng, appearing completely at ease, followed the ham sausage with beef jerky and spicy strips. She showed no signs of stopping; her bag seemed like a treasure chest, from which she pulled out snacks and little jellies one after another. It was enough to make Zhang Yi, who had been watching the whole time, die of hunger.

It was obvious that Qin Sheng was doing this on purpose. She even ate while looking at him. Eating a little was one thing, but she kept eating for as long as Zhang Yi rested. Zhang Yi felt as if his saliva was about to spill out.

Qin Sheng raised an eyebrow and looked at Zhang Yi. "What? Want a bite?"

Zhang Yi instantly raised his hand to wipe away the drool threatening to fall. He furrowed his brows and glared at her. "Qin Sheng, don't think you can bewitch me with food! I won't fall for any of your tricks!"

Qin Sheng puffed out her cheeks and took another bite of the sausage. "Fine, suit yourself."

Zhang Yi, who had been ready to retort further, was left speechless. He glared at Qin Sheng and looked away, deciding not to watch her anymore. But the less he looked, the more sensitive his nose became; the ham smelled increasingly fragrant. Having fasted for a day, Zhang Yi simply could not endure the relentless protests of his stomach.

"Are we still fighting or not?" Qin Sheng asked loudly once she had finished her food, seeing that Zhang Yi had rested enough.

Zhang Yi gritted his teeth, suppressing the hunger signals from his stomach, and shouted at her, "Continue."

Finally, with Zhang Yi rested and Qin Sheng fully satiated, she did not hold back her momentum, landing a punch squarely on Zhang Yi’s chin. Zhang Yi fell to the ground in pain, looking at Qin Sheng in disbelief. Moments ago, they had been evenly matched; how had Qin Sheng become so much stronger just from eating breakfast?

Zhang Yi could not fathom it, staring at her with unconcealed resentment. Qin Sheng was not surprised at all. She hadn't been using her full strength earlier; she had merely been playing along with him to gauge his actual level. That last bout had revealed everything. Zhang Yi relied entirely on brute force, while Qin Sheng used technique; naturally, Zhang Yi would be the one to run out of stamina first. Had it not been for that, she wouldn't have deliberately waited for him—she had simply had the time to wear him down.

Qin Sheng sheathed her Tang sword behind her back, crossed her arms, and said to Zhang Yi, who was still on the ground, "I won't use the Tang sword. You do as you please."

When Zhang Yi heard this, his eyes lit up. He scrambled up from the ground and yelled, "You said it! A gentleman’s word is his bond!"

Qin Sheng curled her lip, accepting his challenge.

Zhang Yi picked up his short blade and charged at her again. The speed of the blade was extremely fast, with every strike passing within centimeters of her. Yet, no matter how much he accelerated, he could not keep up with Qin Sheng. Even though they were close, there seemed to be an uncrossable chasm between them.

As the back-and-forth continued, Zhang Yi grew anxious. He swung his blade faster and faster until it was a blur, but to his shock, Qin Sheng’s speed had increased even further. Her movements were not like those of a normal person; she moved as if walking on flat ground, light-footedly stepping on branches and performing backflips in mid-air to dodge his attacks time and again. Even though he had figured out her patterns, Zhang Yi was still unable to interrupt her movements.

Distracted for a moment, Zhang Yi watched as Qin Sheng leaped again, stepping on a branch and vaulting past him. Before he could react, his short blade had been kicked far away.

Without the aid of his blade, Zhang Yi clearly panicked. He lost his composure, disregarding the fact that his skill was inferior to hers, and lunged at her. Qin Sheng raised an eyebrow, used the branch behind her for leverage, and kicked him squarely in the chest.

Unable to withstand the force, Zhang Yi was knocked to the ground, spitting blood. Qin Sheng took a quick look and knew he had broken several ribs and suffered serious internal injuries. He likely couldn't even stand up, let alone wield his blade to fight her again.

Qin Sheng was not surprised by the result; she had actually held back. She never felt soft-hearted toward those who had harmed her—whether through actions or words—and her attacks only grew heavier. Zhang Yi did not need to pay with his life for his hostility; breaking his ribs was what he deserved.

Zhang Yi stared at her in disbelief, unable to utter a single word. Qin Sheng walked slowly over to his short blade, picked it up, and pulled a tissue from her pocket to carefully wipe it clean. Zhang Yi could not understand her actions.

"Qin Sheng, you beat me, but I will never accept your bribes! Even if you wipe my blade, I will never acknowledge you as my captain!" Zhang Yi was furious; the broken ribs did not diminish the volume of his shouting.

Qin Sheng acted as if she hadn't heard him. After cleaning the blade, she took an antiseptic wipe from her pocket and wiped it again. Zhang Yi was even more confused. Seeing that the blade was spotless, Qin Sheng nodded with satisfaction and turned to look at him.

Zhang Yi shivered as he met her gaze, feeling an involuntary surge of tension. He worried that she might slit his throat in the next second, especially since his sharp blade was still in her hands. If she had cleaned it just to kill him, that would be a bad situation indeed—Qin Sheng was crazy enough for anything.

Zhang Yi grew even more nervous. Every time she took a step toward him, he retreated while clutching his stomach, though his movement was slower than her walk. Qin Sheng reached him in a single stride. Zhang Yi flinched, raising his hands to shield his face and shutting his eyes tightly.

Seeing how cowardly he was, Qin Sheng gave a sarcastic sneer and shook her head helplessly. She stooped down to pick up the blade sheath that Zhang Yi had tossed aside earlier. Zhang Yi clearly loved this blade; he was careless with himself, but the sheath was kept exceptionally clean.

Qin Sheng was pleased. She wiped the dust off it and inserted the cleaned blade. The more she looked at it, the more she thought it would suit Xiao Nuo. She would find an opportunity to give it to her; the style of the sheath wasn't quite right for Xiao Nuo, so she would find a replacement later.

After waiting for a long time without feeling a cold blade against his throat, Zhang Yi hesitated and lowered his hands. He looked up to see Qin Sheng putting his blade away into her own pocket.

Zhang Yi was so angry he felt like vomiting blood. Coughing, he pointed at her and shouted, "Even if you kill me, I won't let you take my blade!"

Qin Sheng glanced at the roaring Zhang Yi, curled her lips in a mocking smile, and tapped the sheath tucked into her belt. "Isn't it with me right now?"

Zhang Yi clenched his fists tightly. He hadn't expected her to take his blade; wasn't this a slap in the face? Losing to her was already humiliating enough, but to have his prized possession taken was worse.

Qin Sheng patted the blade at her waist and nodded. "I'm taking this. Good luck to you."

With those words, she turned and wandered off, occasionally glancing at the blade and pondering what kind of sheath to pair with it. This infuriated Zhang Yi, who bellowed, "Qin Sheng, even as a ghost, I won't let you go!"

Qin Sheng acted as if she hadn't heard him. "Maybe I'll get a pink one. A tough guy should use pink."

Zhang Yi, trembling with rage, used his remaining strength to fire the signal flare every person carried in their pocket into the sky. Before long, the safety zone’s medical team and security squad arrived. It so happened that the security team on duty today was Guo Jun’s unit.

Zhang Yi did not know Guo Jun, only that he held great prestige in the safety zone. But he had no heart for that now; he just wanted to return, recover, and take back his blade from Qin Sheng to avenge today's humiliation.

"The patient has four broken ribs. He needs to return to the safety zone for treatment immediately." The medical team reported briefly to the security squad and gestured for them to carry away Zhang Yi, who was sweating from the pain.

"Four ribs broken by a kick?"
"Not only that, it seems they were broken by a single kick!"
"My god, that must be agonizing."

Gossip spread quickly in a crowd, and Captain Guo Jun heard every word clearly. He had an inkling that this was likely Qin Sheng’s doing. He had already received news of Zhang Dong’s death. With this being the final day of the Zombie Forest, if nothing went wrong, Qin Sheng would become the captain of the seventh security team.

Guo Jun’s face was full of sorrow as he rubbed his tense brow. The situation was no longer developing according to his plans.

"Captain, this new recruit seems to have quite a temper." Chen Er, who had followed Guo Jun since their time in the military before the apocalypse, still used the old terminology.

Guo Jun knew these recruits were not easy to deal with, especially Qin Sheng, who had challenged him on her very first day. What frustrated him even more was that she had survived his attempts to get rid of her multiple times. The fact that she remained unscathed was something he could not comprehend. It was clear that his methods had always been effective before.