Shaking her head slightly, the lone strand of hair atop Yun Ruoxi’s head twitched gently.
It was as if she had just realized it was her turn; she suddenly turned her head sharply to look at 0001.
Their eyes met—those deep, bottomless purple irises.
Although 0001’s face remained expressionless, and his gaze was calm and unruffled, an invisible pressure radiated through the screen, filling every corner of the arena.
“2195, I told you I would come for you, make you pay the price for breaking the rules.” His voice was low but carried throughout the entire arena via the system.
“I didn’t expect you to come this far, to stand right in front of me. That’s good—it saves me the trouble of hunting you down.”
Breaking the rules? Paying the price?
Was there some grudge between the two? A faint murmur spread through the spectators.
Lin Zhen, who knew the background, clenched his fists quietly, a trace of worry hard to hide on his face.
The thing he feared most was happening.
He had thought 0001 wouldn’t get a chance to confront Yun Ruoxi, but unexpectedly, she was so talented in combat that she had made it directly into the finals.
This was essentially handing 0001 a perfect opportunity for revenge.
The only comfort was that this was a virtual space; no matter how fierce 0001’s words were, he couldn’t truly harm Yun Ruoxi.
At most, he could only humiliate her during the match.
Lin Zhen had witnessed Yun Ruoxi’s growth recently; she had become a strong girl.
She wouldn’t be broken by this setback.
On the stage, Yun Ruoxi pursed her lips and said softly, “Words are useless; let’s settle this with actions.”
“Fine!”
At the same time their words fell, 0001 and Yun Ruoxi’s gazes both shifted to the projection of Instructor Behemoth.
The latter grinned, revealing thick teeth.
“Interesting, really interesting. Let’s start right away!”
The moment the command to start the match was given,
0001’s legs bent slightly, his soles scraping the ground with a “shh” sound as he lowered his center of gravity, rushing at Yun Ruoxi like a falcon skimming the surface.
Unlike his measured counterattacks against 0002, this time his speed was astonishingly fast!
Yun Ruoxi’s crimson pupils contracted sharply as she immediately raised her fists into a guard stance, lifting her left hand to block 0001’s straight punch aimed at her face.
The punch was fast and fierce; the wind it created whistled sharply, cutting through the air with a “shua shua” sound.
Among Yun Ruoxi’s physical attributes, only her speed and reaction could barely keep up with 0001.
Though she was pushing her limits to the extreme, her left hand managed to slap 0001’s right wrist, deflecting the punch.
But 0001 didn’t even move his body in response—his tough constitution allowed him to absorb the impact from Yun Ruoxi.
Immediately, his left foot stalled, and his right knee surged forward sharply.
A feint with the straight punch, followed by a deadly knee strike!
This was the Muay Thai technique from Earth’s origins!
A flash of thought passed through Yun Ruoxi’s mind as her beast-like battle instincts screamed a warning at the fierce knee strike, making her scalp tingle painfully.
If this hit…
She gritted her teeth and quickly pressed her other hand down in a palm strike, trying to forcibly block 0001’s right knee.
But 0001’s deep purple eyes flickered slightly; the right hand that had been deflected earlier suddenly struck out like a poisonous snake.
It violently grabbed the collar at the back of her clothes and pulled forward.
But the pull didn’t succeed!
Yun Ruoxi reacted just in time; while pressing her right palm down, she leaned backward, causing her shifted center of gravity to perfectly counter 0001’s pull.
However, the heavy, forceful knee strike was coming next.
Bang!
Yun Ruoxi’s palm went numb, her hand reddening like a cooked shrimp.
She gritted her teeth, using the momentum from the pull and knee strike to throw herself backward.
Her left instep tensed like a whip, tracing a full arc from bottom to top, and struck 0001’s chin at high speed.
This was Yun Ruoxi’s beast-like battle instinct kicking in—less than a second after 0001’s relentless attack, she instinctively responded.
Not an ordinary trainee could react or evade so quickly.
Yet 0001 did.
Like a prophet predicting the strike, he released his grip and stepped back, twisting his body to let the fierce kick graze his jaw by a hair’s breadth.
Then, at the moment when the kick’s power was weakest, he grabbed Yun Ruoxi’s slender ankle with his hand.
Swish!
Yun Ruoxi was violently swung by 0001 and flew horizontally over ten meters before crashing heavily onto the stage floor.
Bang!
She struggled to get up.
0001, however, did not rush to press the advantage but instead leisurely walked over.
He calmly straightened his immaculate clothes, his posture relaxed.
***
Meanwhile, on the other side of the camera, Yun Ruoxi’s hair was disheveled, her clothes wrinkled, her right hand trembling uncontrollably.
Blood seeped continuously from the corner of her lips, splattering crimson spots on the stage.
After just one exchange, less than five seconds, the blue-haired girl was already visibly faltering.
The gap in strength was far greater than the audience had imagined.
They had thought that the girl who could one-punch KO 0003 would at least give 0001 some trouble.
But unexpectedly, 0001 handled it so easily, as if without breaking a sweat.
Recalling 0001’s words before the fight, the trainees quietly speculated: could it be that this girl, too, broke the rules? Used some hidden means?
“The difference is too great, it’s just toying with her.”
“Might as well just concede now…”
“My wife’s getting beaten up, it hurts to watch QAQ.”
“You’re stronger than 786, but still weak.”
0001 spoke in a deep voice like a victor.
His footsteps never stopped.
Step by step, he closed in on Yun Ruoxi; the tapping of his feet sounded like a countdown to execution.
Like stepping on her heart.
“Only the weak always look for loopholes in the rules,” 0001 said coldly.
Yun Ruoxi silently wiped the blood from her lips, offering no response, only resolutely setting her stance again.
“Heh!”
0001 suddenly chuckled, his figure blurring into almost a shadow as he lunged straight at Yun Ruoxi.
What followed was a relentless barrage of punches and kicks like a torrential downpour.
Bang bang bang…
Dense blows landed incessantly.
Yun Ruoxi struggled to block and dodge, occasionally attempting counterattacks, but 0001 always anticipated and neutralized them effortlessly.
On the contrary,
0001 always found the gaps in her defense with pinpoint accuracy, striking various parts of her body.
Strangely, though his attacks were powerful, he always eased off at the last moment, never delivering fatal blows.
He was toying with me… Yun Ruoxi realized.
And soon, the audience and trainees also saw it clearly.
This wasn’t a real duel, but a cat-and-mouse massacre.
0001 was playing with her, manipulating her.
He wanted to break her down inch by inch before everyone, to completely dissect her fighting style for all to see.
A public execution!
More cruel than a simple defeat, he aimed to shatter her mental defenses!
Even worse, once her fighting style was fully analyzed, all skilled trainees would understand Yun Ruoxi’s deepest weaknesses.
From then on, anyone facing her could imitate this battle and target her flaws.
Unless Yun Ruoxi further improved her fighting skills or completely changed her style, it would be difficult for her to advance far in future Combat Assessments.
Killing is as simple as pointing a finger, but 0001 insisted on killing the heart!