Hunting the Instructors 6

Instructor Zhang's deep impression of Xu Lingqu went back to that one-versus-seven combat training session. In his eyes, every move she made was laden with killing intent—the kind of technique you couldn't quite decipher at first, but days later you'd find yourself replaying it in your mind, trying to figure out how you'd counter it if you ever faced her. He'd been looking forward to that moment for a long time.

Of course, as an instructor, randomly challenging a female student to a duel would be utterly bizarre. But now, a perfect opportunity for a head-to-head showdown had presented itself.

They still held the numerical advantage. If they could take out that heavy sniper, they could launch a full-scale assault. Even with some losses, it wouldn't be as humiliating as losing to just five of them.

Since she'd come to intercept him, it meant his guess about the sniper's position was spot on. The heavy sniper had to be either Xu Lingqu or Liu Zheng. If he could get past Xu Lingqu, Liu Zheng would be easy pickings.

Gritting his teeth, Instructor Zhang threw down his gun and emptied his magazines to show his sincerity.

A female voice came from the darkness: "Come on."

He stepped out from behind cover and walked toward the source of the voice. Suddenly, he heard two heavy thuds, then a gust of wind rushing at him from the front. He hastily raised his arms to block—his forearms went numb with pain as Xu Lingqu's kick slammed into him.

She attacked too fast!

In the same motion, she rebounded, spun, and threw a punch. Instructor Zhang blocked with his left arm while his right shot out mercilessly toward her.

Xu Lingqu adjusted mid-move, ducking under his straight punch while switching her attack to his waist and abdomen.

Instructor Zhang absorbed the blow, stumbling back two steps but staying on his feet. That was Xu Lingqu's biggest weakness right now—her punches and kicks lacked real weight. And today, after running back and forth across the assessment grounds, she was tired, unable to concentrate her full strength.

He grabbed her right wrist and, using her light frame, hurled her away. A heavy thud of a body hitting a tree followed. Instructor Zhang knew he'd landed a solid hit.

Logically, someone of Xu Lingqu's build wouldn't be able to get up easily after such an impact. Panting, he stepped forward to check on her.

But to his surprise, Xu Lingqu scrambled to her feet in the darkness and charged again. This time, her side kick caught him off guard, slamming into his chin and knocking him flat on his back.

Both of them were fighting with deadly seriousness. The adrenaline surged—Instructor Zhang scrambled up, let out a roar, and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.

Xu Lingqu didn't give him any quarter. She pressed the attack with relentless ferocity, her fists raining down like a storm. She kept up the high-speed assault while Instructor Zhang blocked and observed, finally spotting a gap when she showed signs of fatigue. He used the same trick again—grabbing her wrist and hurling her away with all his might.

This time, there was no sound of a body hitting a tree. Instead, the distinct thud of military boots kicking off a trunk. Xu Lingqu had learned from her mistake. She adjusted her posture mid-air, pushed off the tree, and launched herself back at him.

Her fist drove straight at his face. Instructor Zhang heard the crack of his own nasal bone breaking. Blood gushed from his nose as he collapsed to the ground, his vision swimming black, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself up.

It wasn't over. He couldn't let it end.

Just then, a bullet tore through the night air and struck Instructor Zhang square in the chest with pinpoint accuracy.

That was it—he was eliminated. He had lost.

Both of them froze, because the bullet clearly hadn't come from Xu Lingqu. She'd been about to strike again. Watching the white smoke billow from Instructor Zhang's body, she barely managed to stop her attack mid-swing.

A little more and she'd have been beating on a "corpse."

"So you had someone else lying in wait," Instructor Zhang said, gasping for breath. He could hardly describe what he was feeling—a wave of negative emotions surged up. He decided to ask a question to distract himself.

Xu Lingqu suddenly relaxed too, feeling drained. Even in victory, she stayed vigilant, hiding behind the tree and keeping her body low.

"I only had a hidden weapon," Xu Lingqu said, pulling out the handgun tucked at her side and giving it a little shake. She wasn't foolish enough to fight Instructor Zhang in a pure hand-to-hand duel. The moment she found herself at a disadvantage—or after she'd completely beaten him to the ground—she would shoot. This was the final assessment, not an arena for chivalry.

Instructor Zhang let out a helpless chuckle, suddenly realizing how stupid it was to have thrown away his gun. He'd probably been so possessed by the urge to duel Xu Lingqu one-on-one that his brain had short-circuited.

To die knowing the truth, he pressed on: "When we showed up, you didn't fire. The spots I had my men watch didn't include you. So you rushed over because of that, right?"

Actually, he'd started to sober up partway through the operation. He'd only confirmed three firing positions plus one heavy sniper—one spot was completely unaccounted for.

Unfortunately, the only one he hadn't pinpointed was Xu Lingqu, who had positioned herself on the right slope to protect Liu Zheng.

"You weren't caught in a trap. You just came along to confirm positions. You sacrificed three men and still had twelve with numerical superiority. If you'd just eliminated the heavy sniper threat—since our forward sniper positions were exposed—you could have brute-forced your way to victory," Xu Lingqu said, deciding to let Instructor Zhang die knowing the full picture.

To him, the real bait wasn't those poorly acting ordinary students—it was Liu Zheng and her heavy sniper.

Instructor Zhang thought to himself that he'd been too arrogant. If he'd just brought his men straight to the sniper from the start... But the other instructors had pushed too far forward, putting them at a disadvantage. And he didn't have the nerve to order everyone to follow him on a hunch.

Looking back, there were plenty of chances to turn the tide. But well, winners are kings and losers are bandits—no use regretting now. Instructor Zhang gave a thumbs-up and lay still.

At that moment, the real shooter approached. Tang Muwen came up to Xu Lingqu, rifle in hand. "Xu Lingqu, are you okay?" He looked timid and worried.

Tang Muwen had been positioned on the upper right side as well, and she'd told him to stay hidden—that's why he'd been able to come over.

"Your marksmanship is that accurate?" Xu Lingqu clutched her left side. The last throw had slammed her into a tree, right where she'd hidden the gun. That hit was no joke—she was walking stiffly now.

Tang Muwen didn't answer her question. Instead, he asked, "Are you hurt?"

"Go back and stay hidden," Xu Lingqu said, starting to move down the slope in the direction Instructor Zhang had come from.

"Where are you going?" Tang Muwen rarely disobeyed, but this time he pressed, following her.

If Instructor Zhang could come up this way to find the heavy sniper, she could go down the same way to flank the other instructors from behind.

"I'll go with you—"

"You go back," Xu Lingqu turned her head. "Or can you guarantee you'll shoot every other instructor as accurately as you just did?"

Tang Muwen finally answered her earlier question: "I saw you move, thought something was up, and came over to see if I could help. When you two started fighting, I got anxious and fired. I couldn't see a thing—it just somehow hit."

"Go back," Xu Lingqu quickened her pace. "I can handle it myself."

Because of Instructor Zhang's orders, most of the remaining instructors stayed in strict formation, locked in a standoff with Shen Shouli's group, their eyes fixed forward, unwavering.

They didn't notice that a figure had appeared behind them like a ghost.