The guy opposite had well-developed muscles and long, slender limbs. He looked like he should be very strong.
Lian Sheng had tested her own physical condition. Strength: low. Jumping ability: average. Flexibility: stiff. In a fight, the only decent physical traits she had were probably her eyesight and reaction speed.
One could improve their physical condition, but eyesight was much harder to change. Capturing the opponent’s attacks, muscle movements, and various details – though she called it “eyesight,” it was more accurate to say “perception.”
Lian Sheng had extensive combat experience and an intuitive sense for predicting danger. Although this body might not yet have formed conditioned reflexes, her brain was already quick enough to respond in time – thanks in large part to her outstanding reaction ability.
In terms of natural talent, “Lian Sheng” could be considered exceptional.
Of course, the opponent’s aptitude was certainly outstanding as well. Lian Sheng would have to rely on technique.
The opponent made a gesture to her, asking if she was ready. Lian Sheng took her fighting stance and curled her finger at him in return.
Seeing this, the opponent charged straight at her with a jab.
Clearly, he didn’t take Lian Sheng seriously either – he deliberately avoided the dangerous areas around her eyes and nose, aiming instead for her cheek. Because he was holding back, his punch wasn’t particularly fast.
Lian Sheng’s pupils contracted slightly. She took a small step back, letting his fist barely graze the tip of her nose.
The opponent swung at empty air, looking slightly surprised, but didn’t pause. He smoothly turned his body into a flying kick.
Instructor Fu was about to call a halt – he felt this was about as far as it needed to go. With such a disparity in strength, one move could settle the match. But then he saw Lian Sheng crouch down and dodge the flying kick as well.
It was as if she had already responded before he even made his move.
Instructor Fu didn’t even have time to change his expression – his eyebrows just lifted unconsciously.
In truth, Lian Sheng wasn’t reacting before the opponent made his move – she was reacting as he made his move. The way his limbs twisted, the positioning of his feet – nothing was concealed. Anyone could see his next move at a glance.
From the moment he underestimated her, his fate was already sealed.
Lian Sheng pressed her lips together slightly, then followed up her crouch with a sweeping leg strike.
But the sweep didn’t stay low to the ground heading for his feet. As she neared him, she lifted it slightly and ended up striking him on the shin.
The opponent let out a yelp and fell straight backward, clutching his shin as cold sweat poured down his face.
He felt his lower body go nearly numb – only the spot where he’d been kicked slowly sent a sharp, intense pain to his brain.
Before he could say anything, Lian Sheng reappeared in his line of sight.
The moment the student met her eyes, his face turned pale. A wave of fear rose from the depths of his heart, impossible to suppress. He didn’t even have time to raise his hand to block – he had already forgotten what he was supposed to do in that moment. Then he saw her point a single finger at his shoulder.
Another wave of excruciating pain. Half his body went numb.
He had never experienced anything like this. It felt as if the nerves in his limbs had been stripped away. A single thought flashed through his mind, and the sheer terror became impossible to contain.
A scream escaped his lips – one after another, unrelenting. Afraid that Lian Sheng might strike again, he screamed to draw the instructor’s attention.
Lian Sheng had already stepped back without a word, rubbing her hands as she watched from the sidelines.
The two instructors’ expressions changed immediately, and they both rushed over.
Around them, the other students gasped and stood up, craning their necks to see what had happened.
Everything had unfolded too fast – no one had really processed it. Had Lian Sheng won with a single move? Or was there more to it?
The boy’s lips were pale, his eyes slightly bulging, his breathing labored. Whether from fear or pain, it was hard to say – but his reaction was clearly not an act.
The instructor asked urgently, “How are you feeling? Where does it hurt?”
The student realized his movements were no longer smooth – he could barely control his limbs. Panicked, he asked, “My hand! What’s wrong with my hand?!”
The instructor reached out to feel it but found nothing unusual.
With difficulty, the boy raised his other hand and pointed shakily at Lian Sheng.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Lian Sheng raised an eyebrow.
Instructor Fu demanded, “What did you do?”
Lian Sheng hadn’t done anything – she had simply struck two of his pressure points.
The Zusanli point on the shin – when struck, it numbs the lower body. And the Jianjing point at the top of the shoulder – when struck, it numbs half the body.
These two points are among the thirty-six vital acupuncture points in the human body’s meridian system. Striking them causes pain, but there’s no danger to life. They are also important points used in massage and acupuncture.
Oh? He didn’t even know such basic traditional Chinese medicine? And his reaction was way over the top – had he never experienced a numb leg in his life?
Just as Lian Sheng was about to explain, Instructor Fu recalled some past incident and immediately darkened his expression. He roared, “What are you carrying on you? Using illegal weapons in a fair competition – that’s despicable!”
Lian Sheng’s expression changed. She was deeply displeased.
Although her personality was a bit nasty, she did not accept accusations of being despicable.
Lian Sheng said coldly, “You want to try it too?”
Instructor Fu rolled up his sleeves. “I suggest you confess right now. I’m your instructor – don’t make me use force.”
Lian Sheng stood still. Instructor Fu, brimming with aggression, showed no fear of her either. He strode forward with big steps.
Just as he approached, Lian Sheng suddenly bent down, lunged into a bow stance, and punched Instructor Fu in the abdomen.
Instructor Fu felt a sharp sting in his gut. The pain didn’t come from Lian Sheng’s attack – she hadn’t used much force. Rather, it came from within the muscles and bloodstream at the spot she had struck.
He hurriedly stepped back twice, looking at her in disbelief.
The other instructor couldn’t stand by any longer. He stood up and shouted, “Stop right there! Don’t go too far! What do you think this place is?!”
Lian Sheng kept her hands in her pockets, her face expressionless as she looked at them.
The instructor next to him frowned and asked, “Are you using a… stun… gun?”
Judging by the full-body numbness, it did bear some resemblance to a low-voltage electric shock. But looking at the overall symptoms, it didn’t quite match.
They simply couldn’t believe that such a slender young woman had the ability to take down a burly man with a single move – and had even just repelled an instructor. She was also a transfer student. Given her strength and physique, without the help of some kind of weapon, it was impossible.
Instructor Fu’s face was grim. He said, “No. There was nothing in her hand.”
“Even if there wasn’t, striking an instructor during drills still merits punishment!” the other instructor roared. “Call your parents! I’m reporting this!”
The combat exercises at UFU were conducted by a company commander and his subordinates – naturally very different from ordinary school military training.
The officer in charge, a lieutenant, was after all a military officer, not just a regular soldier.
A student using illegal weapons in combat and injuring an instructor was a serious offense of grave nature. The lieutenant immediately contacted Lin Lie, asking her to come to the school to discuss the next steps.
Lin Lie was very surprised when she received the news. Still, she calmly hung up the phone, threw on her coat, and headed toward the exercise site.
Many classes of onlookers stood around, whispering among themselves and pointing at the people involved.
Instructor Fu had restrained Lian Sheng and inspected her with equipment, confirming that she indeed carried nothing on her. The other instructor had already taken the male student to the infirmary.
More than a dozen people followed along.
The on-duty doctor at the infirmary was startled to see so many people arrive at once. He quickly stood up to help, laying the student on the bed.
As soon as the male student entered the infirmary, he gradually calmed down and began to recover. The numbness was slowly fading. He sat up and pulled up his pants.
Everyone crowded around to look, but there was clearly nothing there – only a faint red mark left by the kick he had taken. And because Lian Sheng hadn’t used much force and his skin was thick and tough, even that red mark was pitifully faint.
The instructor reached out and touched it.
The male student blushed and said, “I think I’m fine now. Still a little numb, that’s all.”
“Are you joking?” The doctor in the infirmary stood with his hands in his pockets. “Since when are students in the Infantry Department so fragile? You’re bringing this to my infirmary?”
The instructor looked a bit embarrassed, but he was also still somewhat worried, so he spoke politely, “No, it was quite serious just now. Please give him a full examination.”
In the past, there had been cases where students used banned weapons privately to compete for points, so they took such matters very seriously.
The doctor nodded and gestured for them to move the student over to the equipment.
After the tests were done, the doctor picked up the results and looked them over.
He flipped through them carefully, but when he reached the last page, his expression changed. In a grave voice, he said, “Not good.”
Everyone’s hearts tightened. The instructor asked urgently, “What’s wrong? Is there really a problem?”
The doctor’s face darkened like a pot-bottom. With a sneer, he said, “The red mark has already faded. You don’t have a single injury now.”
Everyone: “…”
The doctor said angrily, “I thought there was actually something wrong with him. Had your fun yet? Instructor Li, is your team really this idle? Should I tell your platoon leader to assign you some extra tasks? Huh?”
Instructor Li stood there dumbfounded.
The doctor felt that the only thing wrong with them was probably their brains. He slapped the report down on the table and scolded, “As members of the Infantry Department, have at least a little self-awareness. A minor injury like this – no, not even an injury – and you still send him here? Do you think my infirmary has nothing better to do?”
He held back from saying “get out,” leaving them that last shred of dignity.
The doctor pointed at the door and said, “Out!”
Their faces burning with embarrassment, they were chased out of the infirmary.
But an even more awkward scene awaited them outside.
As they came out, Lin Lie happened to arrive.
Everyone was rather surprised. They had just been about to call her to tell her not to come, but unexpectedly, she had already arrived.
The moment Instructor Fu saw them all walking out together, with the male student even sturdy enough to walk on his own, he knew things were about to get bad.
The onlookers had also more or less figured out what was going on, and couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy.
Lin Lie had her coat draped over her arm as she walked over and asked in a formal tone, “Please tell me what happened in one sentence.”
Judging by the insignia on her coat – two bars and three stars – she was unmistakably a colonel.
Lian Sheng half-lidded her eyes, finding the whole thing very tedious. She answered lazily, “Fought, won, so they suspect me of cheating.”
Lin Lie replied, “Then I assume you’re prepared to bear the consequences of your actions. Ms. Lian Sheng, please come with me.”
Without looking back, she walked toward the adjacent administration building. Lian Sheng followed behind her.
The two instructors wanted to call out to them from behind but pressed their lips tightly shut instead. They exchanged a glance, completely dumbfounded.
Instructor Fu asked, “What just happened?”
“I don’t know,” the other instructor said. “Everything is perfectly fine.”
Instructor Fu: “…”
It was as if they could hear the sound of something cracking in the distance.
The male student walked over and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, I made a big deal out of nothing. But I really didn’t mean to.”
The sight of a grown man wailing like that earlier had been quite shocking. Lian Sheng had only used one move – how could he have ended up in such a state? Given that, how could they not be suspicious? Especially since there were precedents for this kind of thing, and the implications were extremely serious.
Instructor Fu rubbed his abdomen and said, still shaken, “It really hurt.”
The other instructor touched his own face, his features twisted, and said, “Yeah, that really hurt too.”
They knocked on the door and walked into the company commander’s office.
Lin Lie shook hands with him, then pulled out a chair and sat down directly at the desk. She nodded to the side, signaling for Lian Sheng to sit down as well.
Lian Sheng did so gracefully.
The lieutenant: “…” This seems to be my office.
Lin Lie crossed her arms over her chest and said in a flat tone, “Thank you for giving me the chance to exercise my right as a parent. I’ve never been called to meet a teacher in all my years – neither as the one involved nor as the parent of someone involved.”
The lieutenant listened, confused, and was about to respond when Lian Sheng said, “You’re welcome.”
The lieutenant: “…”
Lin Lie said, “Alright. Go ahead, please. Ms. Lian Sheng.”
The lieutenant furrowed his brow slightly. This mother-daughter pair already seemed quite unusual. He cleared his throat and, based on the report he had just received, said, “Regarding the matter of student Lian Sheng assaulting the instructor…”
Lin Lie interrupted him and asked again, “Was it proactive or self-defense?”
Lian Sheng answered, “He was proactive; I was demonstrating.”
Lin Lie straightened her back, crossed her legs, and said, “In that case, please revise your wording. What Lian Sheng did does not constitute an ‘assault.'”
The lieutenant looked at the two of them.
Lin Lie sat upright with a commanding presence, leaving no apparent opening. Lian Sheng, on the other hand, sat slumped and relaxed, much like many of today’s homebodies.
The lieutenant fixed a stern gaze on Lian Sheng and said coldly, “Is there anything you’d like to say?”
“Oh, probably.” Lian Sheng scratched the back of her head and said, “Too weak. And too ignorant.” That was the real sin.
The lieutenant: “…”
Lin Lie added, “Please forgive them. Those two points are causally related.”
The lieutenant: “…”
This mother-daughter duo was going back and forth endlessly!
The lieutenant pressed, “You really don’t think you did anything wrong?”
Lian Sheng let out an “Mm” and raised her hand indifferently, gesturing for him to continue. “Go ahead.”
The lieutenant: “…”
Seeing that he couldn’t get another word out after three seconds, Lin Lie stood up directly and said, “I’m very busy, Lieutenant. I have countless meetings and experiments to attend. Please don’t call me here again for such an unjust matter.”
She placed one hand on the desk, leaned down, and asked, “Anything else?”
The lieutenant said nothing.
Lin Lie nodded. “Goodbye.”
With that, she picked up her coat and walked out the door.
Lian Sheng watched her go, then rose to her feet and waved at the lieutenant. “Bye.”
The lieutenant sat back in his chair, his mouth slightly agape.
Huh?
