Chapter Sixty-One: The Second Duel

Azi made Jiang Miaomiao shift over to make room for her, and her eyes never left the two people locked in combat—Qin Sheng and Shen Mei.

“I couldn’t see the details from over there, but this view is much better,” Azi replied offhandedly to Jiang Miaomiao, watching the fight with great interest.

Qin Sheng still focused mainly on dodging, rarely taking the initiative to attack, only blocking when evasion wasn’t possible, but even then never making a single mistake.

Shen Mei strongly suspected that Qin Sheng was simply trying to wear her down. If it had been anyone else, Shen Mei might have let her guard down—a drawn-out fight wasn’t a wise choice against someone with her stamina. But with Qin Sheng, Shen Mei wasn’t sure she could outlast her.

She needed to provoke Qin Sheng into attacking her.

With this decision firmly made, Shen Mei closed in on Qin Sheng while throwing a kick, taunting, “Are you just going to keep dodging? Don’t you know how to strike first?”

Qin Sheng could see right through Shen Mei’s attempt to goad her. She smiled faintly, lips curving up, saying nothing and continuing to dodge. To keep Shen Mei from getting too impatient, Qin Sheng made a half-hearted attempt to strike, but Shen Mei easily blocked it, and still didn’t get to see Qin Sheng truly attack.

Shen Mei’s strength was rapidly waning; her movements were far slower than at the start. She even exposed a fatal opening.

Yet Qin Sheng acted as if she hadn’t noticed, continuing to toy with Shen Mei, dragging things out as if playing with a child.

Losing stamina, Shen Mei began to gasp for breath. She approached Qin Sheng and shouted, “Are you just messing with me? Qin Sheng, do you really have so little respect for me?”

Qin Sheng froze for a moment, wrongfully accused. She truly didn’t know much about taekwondo; her evasive tactics were merely to study Shen Mei’s kicking style. All her own skills had been honed in real-life combat against zombies—she was afraid she might not know how to hold back.

“If you keep this up, I’ll really get angry!” Shen Mei, her patience clearly exhausted, balled her fist and swung hard at Qin Sheng.

Qin Sheng raised her arm to block and, out of reflex, countered with a punch.

Shen Mei, though not as powerful as before, still managed to dodge Qin Sheng's attack with agility.

So, provoking Qin Sheng was useless; she’d have to act. Qin Sheng, having gotten a sense of Shen Mei, now attacked much more frequently than before.

Shen Mei clenched her fists tightly, eyes fixed on Qin Sheng’s moves, her expression much more serious and focused than at the start.

Azi and Jiang Miaomiao could see these changes, too.

“Qin Sheng seems to be attacking more now,” Azi mumbled softly.

Jiang Miaomiao nodded. Qin Sheng and Shen Mei had clearly exchanged words just now, and Shen Mei’s expression had soured—no doubt that conversation led Qin Sheng to change her approach.

“Yes, and Shen Mei is taking this seriously now,” Jiang Miaomiao echoed Azi.

Azi grew even more excited. She’d been fired up before, but with both taking things so seriously now, it was simply exhilarating to watch.

“Let’s keep watching!” Azi patted Jiang Miaomiao excitedly.

Jiang Miaomiao pressed her lips together, not caring who won or lost—she just hoped neither would get hurt or damage their friendship.

The two fought fiercely, evenly matched, their attacks and dodges so swift that neither could land a decisive blow. After more than ten minutes, they were still locked in a stalemate.

Shen Mei felt her stamina slipping away. If this went on, she’d surely be eliminated by Qin Sheng as soon as she slipped. But she could find no weaknesses—Qin Sheng’s techniques were entirely unfamiliar, not taekwondo, nor even freestyle fighting.

Shen Mei simply couldn’t decipher this style.

Qin Sheng guessed that Shen Mei couldn’t read her moves. The truth was, Qin Sheng herself wasn’t sure what style she was fighting in; her body simply moved on its own.

They broke apart again, each catching their breath across from one another, neither making the next move.

Shen Mei looked at Qin Sheng, whose face wasn’t even flushed and who seemed utterly unbothered. Of course she was anxious.

It was best-of-three, and the first round was always crucial—especially with barely any rest between matches. The first round would essentially decide the outcome and demonstrate their true strength.

She had to find a flaw in Qin Sheng and eliminate her!

Taking a deep breath, Shen Mei lunged at Qin Sheng. Qin Sheng barely managed to dodge.

Then she noticed Shen Mei had changed tactics—she attacked less frequently, but every move was deadly, each one capable of ending the match if it landed.

Qin Sheng realized Shen Mei was running on empty; dragging things out would be the best strategy.

But Shen Mei clearly wasn’t going to accept elimination that way.

She wanted Qin Sheng to defeat her head-on.

Qin Sheng clenched her fists, frowning in hesitation, wondering how she could end this in a way that wouldn’t hurt either of them, but would satisfy Shen Mei.

Noticing Qin Sheng seemed distracted, a gleam of joy flashed in Shen Mei’s eyes. She seized the opportunity and delivered a powerful kick toward Qin Sheng.

Qin Sheng could have dodged, but this was the perfect chance to bow out. She twisted her body just so, letting Shen Mei’s leg land squarely on her back.

The force wasn’t light, but Qin Sheng deftly shifted so she barely felt any pain. It was exactly what she’d wanted.

“I lost. You win this round.” Qin Sheng got up from the floor, signaled to referee Zhao Tiantian, then looked at Shen Mei and gave her a thumbs-up.

Shen Mei lit up with delight. She hadn’t expected Qin Sheng to actually let her land a blow—after almost fifteen minutes of relentless sparring, she’d finally found Qin Sheng’s one flaw when she herself was exhausted.

Yet, thinking back, she realized she’d made countless mistakes, while Qin Sheng had only given her one opening. Chiding herself, Shen Mei tapped her head, reminding herself to focus.

Seeing Qin Sheng fall and then rise, Jiang Miaomiao and Azi’s hearts leapt into their throats.

As soon as the round ended, they rushed to Qin Sheng’s side.

“Shengsheng! Are you hurt anywhere?” Jiang Miaomiao grabbed her hand, looking her up and down as if afraid she’d find an injury.

Azi was equally worried. Just now, Qin Sheng had clearly been dominating, but suddenly Shen Mei had won. Azi had been hoping for a Qin Sheng victory.

“Be careful, all right? Qin Sheng still has to go out tonight. If you injure her, you’ll just make things harder for her,” Azi quietly advised, not daring to approach Shen Mei, choosing instead to stay by Qin Sheng’s side.

After all, on the first day, Shen Mei had nearly hit her, leaving Azi with lingering wariness and a bit of fear.

She was a national taekwondo champion—Azi wouldn’t stand a chance against her, even with ten times the courage.

“I just wanted to finish the match quickly,” Shen Mei said, feeling a little guilty as she glanced at Qin Sheng. When she saw Qin Sheng’s opening, she’d instinctively used all her strength—Qin Sheng’s back was probably already bruised. Hearing Azi’s words only deepened her guilt.

Qin Sheng twisted her waist. The spot where Shen Mei had kicked her did hurt, but she doubted it would bruise too badly.

“I’m fine. Go get some rest. Once you’re ready, we’ll start the next round,” Qin Sheng said, giving Shen Mei a reassuring pat as she smiled.

Shen Mei nodded and went to sit beside Zhao Tiantian to rest.

Jiang Miaomiao was still worried—Qin Sheng always told others she was fine, bearing any pain alone.

Qin Sheng caught the worry in Jiang Miaomiao’s eyes and could only shake her head helplessly. “I shifted a bit when Shen Mei kicked me, so it’s nothing.”

“Really?” Jiang Miaomiao looked at her, half convinced.

Qin Sheng nodded, adding, “Don’t worry, I know my limits.”

Jiang Miaomiao opened her mouth, worry caught in her throat, but in the end she only said, “Just be careful.”

Qin Sheng smiled contentedly, then sat down to rest, thinking about how to get through the second and third rounds.

She couldn’t hold back for the remaining matches—she had to win. Only if she went out herself would she be able to discreetly retrieve items from her space. Besides, she wasn’t really going to the supermarket—she just needed a good excuse to collect food.

With so many people here, she had to be careful.

“Qin Sheng, are you ready?” After barely five minutes, Shen Mei was already back on her feet, standing before Qin Sheng, who was still deep in thought.

Jiang Miaomiao and Azi were stunned—what kind of recovery was this? Five minutes ago she was panting and sweating, now she acted as if nothing had happened.

Qin Sheng nodded, got up quickly, and followed Shen Mei back to the sparring area.

“Qin Sheng, I told you: if you keep dodging, I won’t let you leave so easily,” Shen Mei stated, laying out her conditions before the fight began.

Qin Sheng knew she couldn’t keep dodging forever. She nodded and replied, “Don’t worry, I won’t dodge.”

With Qin Sheng’s promise, Shen Mei immediately got into the zone, launching a flying kick.

Qin Sheng raised her leg to block, spun, and kicked at Shen Mei with her other leg. Caught off guard, Shen Mei took a blow to the waist, though she didn’t go down.

Shen Mei’s eyes widened in shock—this was a completely different approach from Qin Sheng’s first-round style. Qin Sheng’s moves changed fluidly with her intent.

This round wouldn’t be so easy.

Ignoring the pain in her waist, Shen Mei clenched her fists and abandoned her usual taekwondo, switching to freestyle fighting.

Qin Sheng didn’t notice; she attacked aggressively, her speed astonishingly fast. Shen Mei could barely keep up, and Qin Sheng’s moves were sharp and ruthless. Overwhelmed, Shen Mei finally went down.

With the score tied one to one, the final round would determine the victor.

Qin Sheng walked over to Shen Mei, who was lying on the ground, and offered her a hand up.

Shen Mei huffed coldly, pridefully scrambling to her feet on her own.

Qin Sheng shrugged helplessly and withdrew her hand with composure.

“You won this round, but next time, I won’t hold anything back.”