Chapter Twenty-Nine: Strike When Unprepared, Attack the Vulnerable Point

"Alright, I'll fight you."
Jiang Miaomiao's agreement surprised Li Chengbin, but deep down he felt a secret delight. He was evenly matched with Lin Xing, but this frail-looking girl? Surely it was a guaranteed win.
"Don't blame me for not showing mercy to a lady," Li Chengbin added with a cocky grin, seemingly unaware of how inappropriate and contemptible his challenge to a girl appeared to the others.
Jiang Miaomiao nodded, then turned to Lin Xing and Chu Xingyu, offering them gentle reassurance. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"But..." Lin Xing started, but in the end, he chose to trust her.
Chu Xingyu simply nodded at her, conveying his complete faith.
The last time Lin Xing, drunk, failed to defeat Jiang Miaomiao, it had indeed shown how much stronger she'd grown recently. But that was with a knife. This was barehanded—a girl against a grown man. It was hard to predict who would win.
"Are you really letting a young girl challenge Li Chengbin, who's practiced taekwondo since childhood?" Wang Yu couldn't understand why Lin Xing and Chu Xingyu had agreed to such a ridiculous condition.
Chu Xingyu felt the same tension but chose to trust Jiang Miaomiao. "It's too late for words. We might as well watch closely."
Wang Yu shrugged and stepped aside to watch the fight.
The people who had been stuck in the underground warehouse for nearly a day perked up at the prospect of excitement and quickly cleared a space for the duel, forgetting how they'd just been complaining about the cramped quarters.
Indeed, nothing could stand in the way of a good spectacle.
"Be careful," Lin Xing urged as Jiang Miaomiao stepped forward. She smiled and nodded, then strode confidently to face Li Chengbin, who towered over her by a head and a half.
Li Chengbin had been waiting. Facing such a weak opponent, he was already planning how to go easy on her; after all, he didn't want a reputation for being unchivalrous.
"I'll be right back," he told Qin Mengchun, who'd been in his arms, before letting her go.
Qin Mengchun, knowing his strength, wasn't worried. After all, you didn't become president of the Taekwondo Club and the rescue team captain without real skill—part of the reason she'd chosen him.
"Jiang Miaomiao, I won't hold back on the field. Don't blame me for not going easy on you," Li Chengbin laughed, his words wrapped in feigned respect but dripping with condescension.
"Have you ever heard a saying, Captain Li?" Jiang Miaomiao lifted her chin and met his gaze.
Li Chengbin looked puzzled. "What is it?"
"The villain perishes by talking too much."
The words nearly broke his composure. He clenched his fists, muscles and veins standing out, proof of his regular training.
But Jiang Miaomiao was undaunted; her gaze only grew more resolute. Today, she was determined to teach this arrogant brute a lesson and let Qin Mengchun see just how useless her chosen man was.
With that thought, Jiang Miaomiao darted forward and landed a heavy punch to Li Chengbin's midsection.
Still lost in the fantasy that his muscles had intimidated her, Li Chengbin was caught off guard, a dull ache blossoming in his abdomen.
"You ambushed me?" He gritted his teeth against the sudden pain.
Jiang Miaomiao raised an eyebrow, replying with swagger, "All's fair in war, Captain Li."
Her taunt infuriated Li Chengbin completely; he forgot all intentions of holding back. Now, he only wanted to teach her a hard lesson—to show her whom she could or could not provoke.
"You brought this on yourself!"
With those words, Li Chengbin launched a ferocious attack. Jiang Miaomiao clenched her fists, focusing her mind.

Jiang Miaomiao dodged Li Chengbin's strikes again and again, agile as a slippery fish. The constant evasion drove Li Chengbin to frustration; his attacks grew increasingly sloppy, but he still couldn't touch her.
After a moment, the two separated. Jiang Miaomiao finally allowed herself a breath; fighting zombies these past days had sharpened her reflexes—otherwise, she doubted she could have dodged such a barrage.
"Want to bet who wins?" Wang Yu, having watched a while, realized Jiang Miaomiao was no ordinary girl. Li Chengbin's expression looked as if he'd swallowed something foul; Wang Yu couldn't help but relish his discomfort.
Chu Xingyu shook his head, uninterested in gambling.
"I'll take your bet," Lin Xing, who'd spoken far less these days than usual, suddenly chimed in.
"What'll you bet? I bet Li Chengbin won't win." Wang Yu arched an eyebrow, glancing triumphantly at the now-pale Li Chengbin.
He was sure to win this round.
After a long pause, Lin Xing replied, "I bet Jiang Miaomiao won't lose."
"What?"
Wang Yu looked at him in confusion, then glanced at Chu Xingyu, who shook his head. Wang Yu lost all interest in continuing—what was the point, if the man was in such a strange state?
For the next five minutes, Jiang Miaomiao stuck to a defensive strategy. Li Chengbin threw every ounce of strength into his attacks, but she deftly dodged each one.
"Isn't Li Chengbin going to die of rage?" Wang Yu laughed from the sidelines, marveling at how impressive Qin Sheng was—his friends seemed transformed after just a few days with him.
Wang Yu glanced at Lin Xing again, then shook his head helplessly.
Without a leader, even the core members would lose their way.
Sensing that Jiang Miaomiao was deliberately wearing him down, Li Chengbin slowed his attacks, and the two circled each other, neither making a move.
Soon the audience grew bored.
"Are you two going to fight or not? I'm tired just watching!" someone shouted, and more voices of protest followed.
Jiang Miaomiao, however, remained unruffled, sticking to her approach.
But Li Chengbin couldn't hold back any longer, especially as the crowd began to question him. Anger flared, and he swung a punch at Jiang Miaomiao's face.
"This is bad."
As Li Chengbin's fist raced toward her, Wang Yu, who had been enjoying the show, suddenly tensed.
Chu Xingyu and Lin Xing were equally anxious.
Lin Xing gripped his knife tightly, certain that if Li Chengbin's blow landed, he would not hesitate to take revenge.
But just as Li Chengbin was sure of victory, Jiang Miaomiao's lips curled into a smirk. In the next instant, with a textbook arc, she kicked him to the ground.
With a heavy thud, Li Chengbin crashed onto the floor. Wang Yu was stunned, and the audience fell silent, not daring to make a sound.
Jiang Miaomiao let out a breath. Seeing Li Chengbin sprawled on the ground, her own strength failed her, and she collapsed to the floor.
"Strike when the enemy is unprepared and aim for their weakness."
Qin Sheng's words echoed in her mind, along with the image of him kicking a zombie aside and striding toward her.

She had only been imitating Qin Sheng, but hadn't expected to deal such a heavy blow to Li Chengbin.
"Sister Miaomiao!"
The moment Jiang Miaomiao hit the ground, Lin Xing and Chu Xingyu rushed to her side, with Wang Yu strolling over after them.
"Are you alright, Sister Miaomiao?" Lin Xing's old panic returned.
Jiang Miaomiao smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine, just a bit tired."
"Thank goodness," Chu Xingyu and Lin Xing both breathed easier.
"I just... I miss Shengsheng a little," Jiang Miaomiao blurted out, and the two men fell silent, heads bowed.
"Brother Chengbin, are you alright?"
Qin Mengchun, who had been so confident Li Chengbin wouldn't lose, turned pale when she saw him kicked down by Jiang Miaomiao. She really didn't want to help this now rather useless man up.
Li Chengbin coughed twice as Qin Mengchun helped him up, half-leaning on her shoulder, ashamed as he met her gaze. "Sorry, Mengchun. I let you down. I got flustered at the end and fell into her trap."
"It's alright, Brother Chengbin. I know your true strength," Qin Mengchun forced herself to comfort him.
"Right."
Thinking of this, Li Chengbin shot a venomous glare at Jiang Miaomiao. If he hadn't been distracted, there was no way he'd have lost to a mere slip of a girl.
"I told you, all's fair in war," Jiang Miaomiao called out, having clearly heard his muttered complaint, laughing brazenly.
"Li Chengbin, don't be a sore loser," Wang Yu, already annoyed with him for challenging a girl, could hardly tolerate his sour grapes now.
Li Chengbin swallowed his pride and let Qin Mengchun help him back to their spot.
"That was amazing!"
"Truly impressive!"
The next moment, the crowd that had just been spectating burst into applause, praising Jiang Miaomiao's victory.
"Keep it down, unless you want to attract zombies," Lin Xing warned. Instantly, the applause ceased.
"Heh."
Cowards, he scoffed with a sneer.
Jiang Miaomiao tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to ease up.