Chapter 81: Unfortunately, She's a Girl

The footwork was unsteady.

Presumably, it was due to neglecting training for too long. Li Chengbin’s side and roundhouse kicks had none of the impact they ought to have had.

Qin Sheng had refrained from making a move, precisely to gauge Li Chengbin’s true strength.

Now, it seemed, there was no need to pay much attention.

Nothing but an embroidered pillow—a thing of show, hollow inside.

Lu Qingyan’s eyes lit up a little behind his gold-rimmed glasses as he watched up to this point. Then he stood and left his seat.

The district chief was unsure what Lu Qingyan intended, but said nothing, allowing him to go without protest.

“District Chief, who exactly is this Mr. Lu? Why does he treat you with so little respect? Even your subordinates can hardly bear to watch…” The assistant by the district chief’s side had long been dissatisfied with Lu Qingyan’s arrogant, dismissive manner and seized the opportunity, once Lu Qingyan had left, to question his superior.

The district chief’s face darkened considerably at the mention of Lu Qingyan’s disrespect. Even his own subordinates seemed to feel that he held little authority in front of Lu Qingyan.

“What business is it of yours? He’s just a momentary clown. I am the chief of the entire safety zone. He—hmph, not worth mentioning!” The district chief snorted coldly and turned his attention back to the arena below.

He had heard that Lu Qingyan was also competing in the tournament this time, though he’d never figured out why.

He was nothing but a rich young man; if not for the money he’d invested in the safety zone’s development, how would he dare behave so arrogantly on the chief’s own turf?

The more the district chief thought about it, the less sense it made. He turned to ask his assistant, “Xiao Li, what do you think is Lu Qingyan’s purpose in joining the tournament? He’s already thriving here without needing to compete—what’s the meaning of all this?”

Xiao Li bent over slightly and, after pondering for a long moment, replied, “District Chief, could it be that Mr. Lu wants to poach talented people for his own use? After all, if he selects them personally, he’ll be sure to find those who suit him…”

The district chief frowned at this, the more he thought, the more reasonable Xiao Li’s theory seemed.

The tournament had added a new contest precisely to select the most competitive talents for their own benefit—or, put more nobly, for the safety zone’s future.

Food was not unlimited; they needed the very best talent to ensure long-term security in the safety zone.

If such talent fell into Lu Qingyan’s hands, it would be almost impossible to win them back—a real loss.

In other words, if Lu Qingyan intended to break away from the safety zone and go his own way, the chief would be the one to lose the most.

That simply could not be allowed; he had to take precautions.

“Xiao Li, keep an eye out. The very best from this tournament—you must do some work on their attitudes. Make sure we keep them firmly in our hands…”

“Yes, District Chief, I’ll watch carefully.” Xiao Li nodded, taking out his notebook to jot down reminders.

Their gazes returned to the arena.

By now, Qin Sheng had thoroughly assessed Li Chengbin’s strength and had no intention of wasting further time.

It was time to end it.

Li Chengbin gathered his strength again and launched a triple kick at Qin Sheng. She dodged each blow. As the final kick was about to fall on her head, she bent, raised her leg, and side-kicked—imitating Li Chengbin’s own move from before—and sent him flying off the platform with a single strike.

The match was over.

The spectators were stunned.

A moment ago, the two had been locked in a tense, back-and-forth struggle. How was it that, in a flash, Qin Sheng had kicked Li Chengbin straight off the stage?

There wasn’t even a chance to react.

Li Chengbin, who’d crashed painfully to the ground, was equally stunned.

“Qin Sheng actually eliminated Li Chengbin in one move?!”

“Wasn’t Li Chengbin a taekwondo champion? How could this happen?”

“She truly kept silent until the last moment—what a display!”

Li Chengbin groaned with pain. He simply couldn’t understand how he’d been kicked off the platform—how he hadn’t even had time to react.

How had Qin Sheng managed to send him flying with a single kick?

He hadn’t even finished his signature triple kick.

How had Qin Sheng managed to spot a flaw in just a single second and eliminate him in one strike?

Li Chengbin was utterly baffled.

It was a long time before he realized: Qin Sheng hadn’t been struggling against him because she was weaker—she’d been studying his style and gauging his skill.

What a true demonstration of still waters running deep.

“Xiao Li, who is that?” The district chief turned his gaze to Qin Sheng, impressed by her skill, and quickly asked for information.

“District Chief, she’s a student from Jing University. Judging by her performance, she must have trained in martial arts…” Xiao Li hurried to answer.

The district chief watched the confident figure of Qin Sheng as she left the stage and snorted. “A pity—she’s only a girl.”

Unable to understand the chief’s reaction, Xiao Li asked, “She’s quite skilled, District Chief… you don’t approve?”

The chief shook his head slightly and replied coolly, “A fine seedling, but the future of the safety zone cannot be entrusted to a girl.”

Xiao Li paused, then nodded and continued recording the tournament’s talents.

But it was a pity about Qin Sheng…

The chief had never liked girls; there were hardly any women at the core of the safety zone, let alone in positions responsible for its future defense. He certainly wouldn’t entrust such a task to a woman, no matter her strength.

In other words, unless Qin Sheng possessed supernatural abilities, like the legendary Monkey King, the chief might just barely consider her.

But as things stood, Qin Sheng was no such sage.

“Sheng Sheng! That was amazing!” Jiang Miaomiao jumped up from her seat, eyes shining with excitement as Qin Sheng strolled over.

The moment Qin Sheng returned to her friends, she was greeted with cheers.

“Yes, indeed! No wonder you’re my teacher—just that one kick is something I couldn’t master in ten years!” A’Di nodded enthusiastically, grinning.

Qin Sheng shook her head with a wry smile. “If you really wanted to learn, three years should be enough.”

A’Di fell silent.

Better not, then.

She knew Qin Sheng was understating the years required; she had a good sense of her own abilities.

“Sheng Jie, congratulations.” Chu Xingyu smiled at Qin Sheng as she took her seat beside him.

Qin Sheng curled her lips in a shy smile. “It’s a pity, though—I didn’t get to see your goal achieved with my own eyes.”

She knew Chu Xingyu had always wanted to face Li Chengbin, but thanks to the draw, she’d been the one to take him on.

Chu Xingyu hurried to say, “It’s fine, Sheng Jie. Your victory is as good as mine.”

Qin Sheng smiled and nodded, thinking to herself that if Chu Xingyu had faced Li Chengbin, the latter might not have had much chance of victory.

“With more training, you’ll meet again one day.” Qin Sheng patted Chu Xingyu’s shoulder encouragingly.

He nodded, vowing in his heart to train harder, to become the powerful force standing behind Qin Sheng.

After Qin Sheng and Li Chengbin’s match, the second round’s draw began.

Jiang Miaomiao and A’Di grew nervous all over again.

The official called out, “Next up: Number 22 versus Number 98!”

With the announcement, the audience erupted in chatter, many praying they wouldn’t draw an opponent like Li Chengbin—and especially not someone with strength like Qin Sheng’s.

They had just seen how Li Chengbin was carried off the stage.

Just one kick had left him unable to stand—never mind suffering a few more. Anyone would be lucky not to end up in pieces.

“Are either number 98 or 22 one of us?” Chu Xingyu quickly asked.

A’Di, trembling, raised her card and stammered, “I’m 98… oh no…”

“It’s alright, don’t be scared. If you don’t have faith in yourself, at least have faith in Sheng Sheng, right?” Jiang Miaomiao hurried to comfort her.

A’Di felt her legs weakening before she’d even stepped on stage. If she was already exhausted, how could she compete?

“Enough already—what’s the fuss? Get up there.” Shen Mei, sitting calmly to the side, was exasperated by A’Di’s unusual nervousness. “Remember how you challenged me the first time we met? Why are you scared now, when you weren’t then?”

With this, A’Di recalled their first encounter—how she’d forgotten Shen Mei was a national taekwondo champion and had kept mouthing off until Qin Sheng had to intervene. If not for that, her head might not have survived until now.

Jiang Miaomiao remembered too and chimed in, “Exactly—if you could mouth off then, you can do it now!”

A’Di whimpered, rose to her feet, and made for the stage.

“Who’s Number 22? Hurry up to the stage…” The official, seeing Number 98 had taken her place but Number 22 was still absent, shouted impatiently toward the audience.

“Sorry, I just realized I’m Number 22.”

A familiar voice rang out not far from Qin Sheng. It was Guo Ting, with whom she’d recently had a sharp exchange. Qin Sheng narrowed her eyes and turned to look.

Her gaze fell on A’Di, now standing alone on the platform.

A’Di had just argued with Guo Ting; no doubt she was here for revenge.

“Oh, it’s Miss Guo. No worries, just be careful up there,” the staff member said, his previously stern tone turning instantly amiable.

“Even at the end of the world, such things persist.”

Even in the apocalypse, inequality remained.