Combat Training 3

"All right, that's enough."

Yu Ruman regained her composure and quickly stopped the two on the stage from continuing their duel. Having seen the recordings of Wen Jiu’s previous bouts against Shi Gang and the others, she knew Wen Jiu had excellent combat skills, but she hadn't expected the girl to be so cold and detached during a fight.

She looked like a heartless combat automaton.

At Yu Ruman’s command, Wen Jiu retracted her longsword with crisp, fluid movements, not sparing Fei Qingyu a single extra glance. This was, in effect, a further blow to Fei Qingyu’s already bruised ego. He slowly descended from the stage, his head hung low in disappointment, blocking the sympathetic gazes cast by the others. Meanwhile, Wen Jiu remained indifferent, maintaining an icy distance that kept everyone at bay.

"Wow, Jiu-Jiu, your combat skills are truly amazing!" Qiao Shishi pushed through the surrounding students and rushed to Wen Jiu’s side.

However, Wen Jiu only looked at her with a blank expression, offering no response. Qiao Shishi swallowed nervously, thinking perhaps Wen Jiu hadn't fully recovered from the intensity of the match. She linked her arm through Wen Jiu’s slender one anyway, chattering on about her plans for her own upcoming sparring session. As she continued to talk, Wen Jiu gradually returned to her usual lively and engaging self.

"I think you could try close-quarters combat with a short blade," Wen Jiu said softly.

Hearing this, Qiao Shishi smiled sweetly; the other girl had finally responded. Since Qiao Shishi was scheduled to spar later, she had to wait for the preceding matches to conclude. The two sat on the floor like the other students, waiting for the current bout to finish. Seeing that Wen Jiu was no longer as cold as before, Qiao Shishi felt relieved and turned her attention to the ongoing duels.

Beneath her smiling exterior, however, Wen Jiu was deeply perplexed. Having practiced swordsmanship for a long time, her sparring sessions with her martial brothers and sisters had always been friendly and restrained—never had she felt so close to losing control as she did today.

When the bullet fired by Fei Qingyu had grazed her, a strange, inexplicable urge to kill him had surfaced. As the fight dragged on, this impulse had gradually begun to override her reason. By the time she had leveled her sword at him at the end, she had truly intended to kill him. If her blade had moved even half an inch further, it would have pierced through the vine armor at his neck.

Fortunately, she had come to her senses in time, narrowly avoiding a catastrophe. Even if that sullen kid Fei Qingyu had a bit of an arrogant temper, she had no reason to want him dead. This feeling of losing control was bizarre, and despite thinking about it for a long time, Wen Jiu couldn't fathom the cause.

"Number ten, Qiao Shishi and Mina Hearn."

Upon being called by Yu Ruman, Qiao Shishi walked briskly forward. Her opponent was a young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. There wasn't much difference in their physical stature, so the students watching didn't whisper much. Wen Jiu pulled herself away from her tangled thoughts, put on a smile, and gave a cheering gesture to Qiao Shishi as she approached the stage. Qiao Shishi saw the support, and her confidence doubled.

Each girl selected a weapon from the rack and prepared for battle. To the surprise of the onlookers, both Qiao Shishi and Mina Hearn simultaneously chose cold weapons for close-quarters combat. Qiao Shishi picked a short blade, while Mina Hearn opted for a battle axe. Given their sweet, similar appearances, neither seemed like the type to wield such weapons.

But the moment Yu Ruman announced the start, they both shot toward the center of the stage like arrows released from a bow.

Clang!

The short blade and the battle axe collided, emitting a crisp, melodic sound. Following that, Qiao Shishi nimbly dodged Mina Hearn’s horizontal swing, turned back, and slashed at Mina’s right arm. Seizing the opening while her opponent raised the heavy axe for a downward strike, Qiao Shishi leaped from the ground and landed directly behind Mina Hearn. In the next second, Qiao Shishi had wrapped her arms around Mina and held the short blade firmly against the girl's neck.

"I concede."

As soon as Mina Hearn spoke, Qiao Shishi released her. They exchanged a friendly hug before turning to walk off the stage.

"My combat skills weren't too bad, right?" Feeling jubilant after her victory, Qiao Shishi hopped over to sit beside Wen Jiu.

"They were very good." Wen Jiu was pleasantly surprised by Qiao Shishi’s performance; she hadn't expected her to be so skilled. "How long have you been practicing?"

"Two or three years, I suppose." Qiao Shishi recalled that she had been interested in fighting since childhood and had once aspired to be a mecha pilot. Her family, however, had only wanted her to be a well-behaved girl. It wasn't until her cousin returned to Planet 3047 on leave from the military district two years ago that she had been able to get exposure to this training.

Wen Jiu nodded, noticing the trace of sorrow in Qiao Shishi’s eyes, but she felt it wasn't the right time to pry with so many people around. The two watched the other students’ matches for a while longer until class ended.

"Today’s combat training ends here," Yu Ruman said, leaping lightly onto the stage to look down at the students. "Go back and get some rest. If you have any discomfort, go to the medical room for treatment immediately."

Once the dismissal was given, the students headed toward their respective destinations. Wen Jiu and Qiao Shishi naturally strolled toward the cafeteria.

The shepherd's purse dumplings were already sold out, so Wen Jiu considered changing the menu to fish soup noodles. She had already broadcasted at noon, so when she started her stream again, she no longer felt so inexperienced.

Elsewhere, Chris was attempting to cook the stir-fried toon sprouts with eggs he had seen on the stream earlier. The steps Wen Jiu had taken seemed simple enough: just chop the toon sprouts, mix them with beaten eggs, and fry them in a pan.

As soon as Wen Jiu ended her broadcast, he rushed to the supermarket to find the ingredients. Fortunately, the supermarket had a good selection of vegetables, and even this plant, which looked like a common weed, was in stock. Toon sprouts were quite cheap, with a large bundle costing only twenty star coins. Thinking he had a large appetite, Chris bought three bundles.

After finally finishing the tedious task of chopping all three bundles, he poured them into a bowl, only to realize he hadn't prepared enough egg mixture. He grabbed seven or eight more eggs, cracked them into the bowl, and stirred vigorously until the sprouts and eggs were thoroughly combined.

Finally, it was time to cook. Chris felt pleased, imagining himself becoming a master chef who could whip up delicious food. He poured the mixture into the pan and turned the heat to the maximum, beginning to stir-fry. However, because there was so much mixture, the bottom layer solidified while the inside remained liquid.

Chris grew flustered as he stirred, until a large flame suddenly shot up from the pan. Frightened, he dropped his spatula, and thick black smoke filled the room. Seeing the fire spreading, Chris fled the kitchen in a panic. Fortunately, the kitchen was equipped with a smoke alarm system, and security personnel arrived quickly to extinguish the blaze.

Covered in soot and ash, Chris paid the fine to the security team and collapsed onto his sofa, utterly exhausted. He couldn't understand how things had turned out this way. His kitchen was a disaster, and he would need to hire professional cleaners.

As he opened his smart ring to look for an affordable cleaning service, he received a notification from Bika Live:

[Dear user, the streamer "Gongxi Facai" you follow has started a broadcast. Would you like to watch?]