Chapter 60 Unconvinced

Such words did not comfort them at all; instead, they made them feel even more nervous. After all, being tested right after arrival was practically exposing their bottom line. The only reason the emergency assembly hadn't been completely ragged was due to the training of the past few days; it hardly represented their true capabilities. Yet, with merely a few days of training, the speed of everyone's progress was truly limited. For a moment, all of them harbored deep concerns.

Xu Qiao watched these instructors, unable to help herself from secretly sizing them up. She was not surprised to find a female instructor among them; in the training camps of her past life, there had been female instructors too. If such a thing was acceptable in that era, how much more so in the present? Not to mention that female soldiers sometimes possessed advantages of their own.

However, just because she thought this way did not mean everyone else did. While the instructors were introducing themselves and outlining the upcoming plan, some people were already secretly eyeing them up. The male soldiers in particular were already guessing the background of these two female instructors.

A seemingly effortless punch struck the opponent's chest, yet the struck Liu Qiang was sent flying straight backward, his body tracing an arc through the air. Once might have been a coincidence, but being easily knocked out twice like this clearly could not be a coincidence. He hadn't even managed to execute his own moves before being beaten black and blue.

Still, Xu Qiao had a premonition that even with his martial arts foundation, he was no match for this Xu Wenyu.

Just at this moment, a male soldier suddenly asked, "Instructor, can we choose anyone?"

In the communications company, whenever there was a competition, he was always their sole representative. Although Liu Qiang was also from the communications company, he was different from the others; he had learned some martial arts since childhood. While he couldn't compare to those from martial arts families, he had never lost a fight.

Xu Wenyu nodded and stepped directly forward. "From our brief self-introduction just now, I believe everyone already knows who we are."

"Understood!" the crowd answered raggedly.

Not only were her skills formidable, but her reaction speed was also astonishing. In just that split second, she had seized his flaw. In an instant, they realized that all their techniques were just superficial frames, whereas the opponent engaged in genuine, real-world combat.

Speaking of which, she chuckled softly. "Did you all understand?"

Every single punch he threw was accompanied by a whistling gale. Punch after punch, he genuinely possessed some real capability.

Her tone made it sound as though safety was entirely optional. Liu Qiang refused to accept this and directly brushed off his companion's hand. "Didn't she say we can choose anyone? I refuse to believe that I've practiced martial arts since childhood and yet I can't beat a female soldier."

Seizing the opening left by his full-strength attack, she delivered a high kick straight to her opponent's chest, flinging him far away.

Xu Wenyu merely chuckled lightly. "You go ahead and make the move. I'm afraid if I start first, you won't even get a chance."

"Let me explain the rules. The entire company will engage in a one-on-one elimination ladder. Each of you can find an opponent and engage in one-on-one close combat."

"Of course!" Xu Wenyu replied without a second thought. "You can choose freely with no rules whatsoever; as long as you win, it's fine. Of course... try not to injure people if possible."

Xu Wenyu, however, clearly employed softness to overcome hardness, completely refusing to clash with him head-on as she effortlessly dodged her opponent's attacks.

The flung Liu Qiang quickly flipped and got back to his feet, but his eyes were filled with shock; clearly, he had not expected Xu Wenyu's skills to be this exceptional.

Xu Wenyu reacted in an instant, swiftly dodging before launching both palms forward with ferocious force.

Sensing danger, the opponent tried desperately to evade.

They had imagined that Liu Qiang might not be a match, but none of them expected him to be defeated so quickly.

Right at that very moment, Xu Wenyu executed a counter-grab, seizing her opponent and hurling him away like trash, sending him crashing heavily to the ground.

No one answered his question. No matter how much resentment they harbored in their hearts, no one dared to stick their neck out as the first to challenge.

Her disdainful attitude provoked Liu Qiang even further, causing him to charge straight out and stand right before her.

He held back for a moment, then said through clenched teeth, "You're a woman, you go first!"

Yet, having already rushed forward, Liu Qiang had no chance to back down. Without wasting any further words, he charged at his opponent once more, his hands clawing toward her neck like iron pincers in an attempt to subdue her.

In the past, they had always prioritized safety above all else. This was the first time they had ever heard of safety being relegated to the absolute last item, and even mentioned so casually offhand.

Hearing this final supplemental remark, everyone's expression changed.

Meanwhile, Xu Wenyu's expression remained completely unchanged as she looked at him and curled a single finger. "Come on, don't waste everyone's time."

Right at this moment, Shen Nian finished outlining the training plan and asked directly, "Well, does anyone have anything else to say now?"

However, to let it end like this left him deeply unsatisfied. When he looked up again, he happened to catch the opponent's look of utter contempt, instantly stoking raging fires within his heart.

Without a second of hesitation, he leaped forward.

He crashed heavily into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Hearing this, Liu Qiang choked back his breath, his expression shifting. Holding back no longer, he lunged at his opponent like a fierce tiger, his fists driving forward with the explosive fury of cannonballs.

A chorus of gasps immediately erupted from the surrounding crowd.

"However, since everyone is already up, and our training ground is large enough, let's play a little game."

Yet it was a step too slow; even as his companion tried to hold him back, the words had already been spoken.

Her utter indifference clearly incensed the male soldier even further, and he shouted, "I choose you!"

Seeing that no one stepped forward, Shen Nian smiled faintly, turned her head, and looked at Xu Wenyu. "I'll leave this to you."

"The winner remains in the victory zone, while the loser moves to the outer perimeter. Then the next round of one-on-one combat begins, continuing until only the final ten people remain."

Yet to his surprise, his pull didn't budge her at all. When he applied more strength, she remained as steady as a mountain, causing a sudden wave of panic to rise in his chest.

With that, she glanced at the military watch on her wrist. "The time is already late today, there's no way we have time for any testing."

This time, he decided to adopt an even more aggressive tactic. He dropped into a sudden squat, exploded with raw power through his entire frame, and charged straight at Xu Wenyu in a reckless, life-for-a-life style of assault.

"Liu Qiang..." The person beside him cried out in shock, instinctively trying to grab him.

Hearing this, Xu Qiao suddenly understood. No wonder he had the guts; it turned out he actually had some backing confidence.

Yet Liu Qiang lunged forward, grabbed her shoulders, and yanked with all his might.

Yet nobody could have imagined that he wouldn't even last a few minutes in Xu Wenyu's hands.

Xu Wenyu, who had just thrown a man weighing over a hundred catties like nothing, merely patted her hands lightly and instantly reverted to her outwardly delicate appearance, possessing an exceptionally deceptive nature.

Yet this time, truly no one dared to look down on her anymore. Wherever her gaze swept, heads dropped in submission.