You Are Really No Match For Me [Fighting] - Chapter 36

Liang Yu leaned forward to check the report and said:

 

“Yu-jie, they’ve got five people—three men and two women. We only have three. Not good odds.”

 

Zhang Dapao clicked his tongue, his narrow phoenix eyes slanting toward Jin Yu.
“So, what do we do? Pretty girl, got any bright ideas?”

 

“Call me Captain.”

 

“Nope.” Zhang Dapao’s lips curled into a faint smile.
“‘Pretty girl’ means I’m complimenting your looks. Don’t all women like it when men say they’re beautiful? Take it as my recognition of your beauty.”

 

Jin Yu’s gaze turned icy in an instant, like two blades of ice stabbing into him. Zhang Dapao squinted back, unwilling to show weakness. The air between them seemed to freeze solid.

 

Here we go again… this Zhang Dapao really is begging for a beating… Liang Yu complained inwardly, but suddenly caught sight of the electronic display on Zhang Dapao’s arm.

 

“Jie, look! They’re arguing over there.”

 

On the screen, five figures were combing through the bushes. A burly man with a small braid kicked irritably at the branches in his way.
“Where are they? You sure this is the right direction?”

 

“I’m sure, my ears are sharp.” The short man thumped his chest confidently.

 

A petite girl said nervously, “How many of them are there? What if we came all this way and they’ve already run off?”

 

The woman with a high ponytail cut in sharply, “The gunshots were recent. They’re still nearby.” She gestured with her hand. “Pair off, don’t act alone.”

 

“Sharp as always, Sister Zhao.” Another man gave a sycophantic laugh.

 

Zhao snorted coldly. “Enough. Stay sharp.”

 

At the back of the group, a thin, frail-looking young man wiped his sweat.
“But… how do we split things later? So many of us—what if there isn’t enough to go around?”

 

“Not like you’ll get any.” The short man sneered. “You’re dead weight. If you hadn’t been so slow, that chick wouldn’t have escaped earlier.”

 

“You—! It wasn’t like I meant for her to get away…” The weak one’s face flushed red.

 

“They’re getting closer…” The rustling of the pursuers in the brush made Liang Yu’s breathing quicken.

 

Jin Yu’s gaze fell on Zhang Dapao’s mechanical hands. Suddenly she had an idea.
“Dapao, use your hands to spook them a little. Liang Yu, tie the rope to both of his hands—tight.”

 

“Signal cuts out beyond fifty meters,” Zhang Dapao warned, dropping his usual flippant tone.

 

“That’s enough,” Jin Yu nodded. “Liang Yu, fasten the other end to those bushes.”

 

They moved quickly. Two mechanical hands dragged the rope through the undergrowth, rustling noisily.

 

“Who’s there?!” someone in the distance shouted.

 

“Don’t panic! Stay together!” Zhao barked orders.

 

At that moment, a shrill alarm pierced the sky. An icy mechanical voice announced:

 

“Warning: Thirty seconds until random zone extraction system activates. Mechanical beasts incoming.”

 

“Retreat!” Jin Yu ordered immediately.

 

From deep in the forest came a bizarre sound, like hundreds of monkeys howling and laughing. Zhang Dapao’s expression changed. He reached for Jin Yu’s backpack.

 

“What are you doing?!” Jin Yu twisted aside, tossing the pack to Liang Yu while lashing her leg at his head like a whip.

 

“Misunderstanding!” Zhang Dapao blocked with his mechanical arm, the heavy thuds ringing in the air.
“They’re mechanical monkeys! They’ll snatch backpacks. If the signal gun is taken for more than ten minutes, we’re disqualified!”

 

The other team had spotted them. “There they are—after them!”

 

The strange cries drew closer, flashes of metal gleaming through the trees. Jin Yu acted without hesitation.
“Drop the packs. Protect the signal guns!” She shoved hers into her boot. Liang Yu followed suit.

 

Zhang Dapao saw the familiar move and, even while running, still had the gall to grin.
“You two really are something else.”

 

Mechanical monkeys—cat-sized with glowing joints and sharp claws—swooped from the canopy, shredding through bags. Chaos erupted among the five-person team. One tried to fight back but was buried under a swarm.

 

“Forget them, move!” Jin Yu hissed, and the three slipped away in the confusion.

 

When they noticed the monkeys ignored them, they circled back.

 

The agile creatures tore through the enemy’s formation, leaving them in total disarray.

 

Fifteen minutes later, the metallic horde melted away toward a new hunting ground. One girl had lost her signal gun, and the survivors were already bickering bitterly over their stolen supplies.

 

“Sister Zhao, we only came because of you—you owe us for this.”

 

“Yeah, everything’s gone. What are we supposed to do?”

 

Zhao snapped back, “I got robbed too! You can’t guard your own things and now it’s my fault?”

 

Shouts turned to blows.

 

Then Zhao’s voice shrieked in rage: “Are you idiots blaming me for everything? You want me to be your mommy too, coddling you while you screw up?”

 

Liang Yu snorted with laughter. “These clowns are tearing themselves apart before we even lift a finger. That’s priceless.”

 

Jin Yu pulled out Zhang Dapao’s signal gun, the steel gleaming in the fading light. She didn’t hand it over, but locked eyes with him instead.

 

“Zhang Dapao, I’ll return your gun. But answer me seriously—are you willing to join our squad and follow every order I give?”

 

He froze. He hadn’t expected her to ask that now. The sunlight filtered through the leaves, dappling Jin Yu’s face. Zhang Dapao couldn’t even name what he felt—hesitation, suspicion, a storm of emotion crashing in his head.

 

Time stretched. Liang Yu shifted uneasily, distant shouts still echoing.

 

“Wait—I’ll do it.” Just as Jin Yu turned away, Dapao grabbed her wrist.

 

She nodded, instantly slipping back into command.
“They’re in chaos. Time to finish this. Four left. Liang Yu, take the small girl on the left. Dapao, the big guy on the right. I’ll handle the short one in the middle.”

 

Her stick stabbed at the center of her sketch in the dirt.
“The woman, Zhao, leave her to me. Our goal is to eliminate them all. Got it?”

 

“Got it!”

 

The three streaked forward like arrows loosed from a bow.

 

Jin Yu led, bounding silently over dead leaves.

 

The short man spotted her first, smirking as he stepped forward. He thought she was alone.

 

“You idiot!” Zhao snapped. “Would she charge in solo?!”

 

Even as she shouted, Liang Yu and Dapao flanked them.

 

“Don’t panic! Four against three—we can win!” Zhao roared, but too late.

 

The short man couldn’t retreat in time.

 

Jin Yu lunged like a leopard. When he kicked out, she seized his ankle and forced him down into a split. He rebounded quickly, but she gave him no chance—feinting with one kick, spinning full-circle in the air, her leg whipping into his temple.

 

Bang! First strike.

 

His eyes glazed.

 

She planted a hand, drove her waist into another spin, and her left leg scythed across.

 

Bang! Second strike.

 

He staggered drunkenly.

 

Her last kick smashed into his jaw.

 

Bang! Third strike.

 

He collapsed, unmoving.

 

Jin Yu pivoted to her real target. Zhao had triggered her exoskeleton; metal plates locked around her arms, gleaming like scales in the dusk.

 

They struck at once.

 

Jin Yu’s fists blurred, each blow packed with brutal precision—punches, elbows, knees, overhead swings, body shots. A storm of strikes drove Zhao back, her armored arms struggling to find space.

 

Suddenly Zhao flexed, springing razor-edged knuckles from her fingers.

 

“Oh, going all out?” Jin Yu smirked, pulling back and sweeping her leg like a sickle into Zhao’s thigh.

 

A dull crack. Tiny fissures spread across the armor.

 

Another high kick, dodged. Then a low sweep cracked her shin, staggering Zhao with a snarl.

 

Jin Yu leapt, knee rocketing for her chin. Zhao crossed her arms, metal screeching under the impact. On landing, Jin Yu shot forward, wrapped her arms around Zhao’s leg, and tackled her to the ground.

 

“Let go!” Zhao roared, hammering down with her mechanical arm. Jin Yu locked it in place, muscle straining against metal. Leaves and dust swirled in their grapple.

 

“Zone 16, 0221—Feng Liang eliminated.”
“Zone 16, 0868—Si Jiamin eliminated.”

 

“Captain!” Liang Yu shouted.

 

Jin Yu glanced up. Zhao twisted free, scrambling up and bolting into the woods without hesitation.

 

Liang Yu started after her, but Jin Yu blocked him.
“Don’t. Not worth it.”

 

“She’s their leader!” he protested.

 

“Doesn’t matter. We’ll deal with her later. First, grab the supplies.”

 

“Don’t bother,” Dapao said, munching on a biscuit. “They were broke. Zhao swiped a bunch of packs on her way out, anyway.”

 

Liang Yu sighed regretfully, watching Zhao vanish.
“Should’ve chased her…”

 

Dapao smirked. “Relax, our pretty Captain always has a plan.” He winked.

 

Here we go again…

 

Jin Yu’s boot thudded into his backside.

 

He gave a wounded look. “What? Did I say something wrong? Pretty Captain, surely you’ve got something in mind?”

 

Jin Yu bit into her biscuit and ignored him.

 

Liang Yu wolfed his down so fast crumbs sprayed across her face.

 

She wiped herself off silently and shifted under a tree.

 

“Damn, all that fighting and this is all we got?” Liang Yu grumbled between bites. “At least smashing faces was satisfying!”

 

Dapao gave him a sideways glance. “Be glad you’ve got food at all. You’re not starving, so quit whining.”

 

“Whining? You’re the one with the smart mouth. Every word out of you makes me wanna deck you!”

 

Dapao put on mock authority. “Liang Yu, attacking teammates violates squad rules. You’re hereby expelled.”

 

“You nuts?!” Liang Yu bristled. “Yu-jie, don’t listen to this clown, he’s just stirring trouble!”

 

“Pair of lunatics,” Jin Yu muttered, tossing a stick at Dapao’s feet. “Up the tree. You’re on watch.”

 

He immediately put on a pitiful expression. “Pretty girl, how could you? I’m our MVP!”

 

Her hand closed around a rock. “Climb, or eat this.”

 

“…Fine.” He scrambled up without another word.

 

Liang Yu eyed him perched above, lowering his voice.
“Jie, do we really keep this guy around? I swear he’s scheming something…”

 

Jin Yu’s dark eyes gleamed. She thought for a long moment, then murmured, “Keep him. We’ll need him sooner or later.”

 

After several eliminations, no one else dared show up for now. With Dapao on lookout, Jin Yu half-closed her eyes for some rest.

 

Five minutes later, the mechanical voice rang out again from above:

 

“Warning: weather shift imminent. Thunderstorm in thirty seconds. Duration—six hours.”

 

Liang Yu raked his hair in frustration, leaving it like a chicken’s nest.
“Seriously?! We just ate, and now this?”

 

Jin Yu stood, dusting off her suit.
“Quit whining. Let’s find shelter.”

 

Before she finished, Dapao leapt down from the tree, landing right behind Liang Yu.

 

Liang Yu jolted so hard he nearly jumped out of his skin.
“You bastard, you did that on purpose!”

 

Dapao smirked, all smug. “Yep. Problem?”

 

Liang Yu swung a kick, but Dapao danced away easily.

 

Then, dragging his words dramatically, he leaned toward Jin Yu.
“Pretty girl, look—he’s bullying me again.”

 

Jin Yu kept walking, speechless.

 

Liang Yu’s teeth ground audibly. How can one man be this infuriating? This cheap?

 

He wanted to rip Dapao’s head off and use it as a football, but in the end he swallowed the urge, spitting one last threat instead:

 

“Zhang Dapao, you bastard, just wait. One day I’ll rip your head off and kick it around like a ball!”