She Won

Hill's room was pitch-black, with the lights off. The computer screen was shut down, and even the last glimmer of light was gone.

But as a special-ops mercenary, Hill had excellent eyesight. Even in extremely dim light, he could easily pick out the slightest change in a target's expression.

"Hm? What are you nervous about? It's not like you haven't slept in my bed before." He urged her again, impatiently.

Song Zhi was speechless.

I really want to tear his mouth apart!

She simply closed her eyes and lay face down on Hill's bed. Footsteps sounded behind her, his tactical boots clicking sharply against the floor. Then the bed sank beside her as Hill knelt on it, pinning the backs of her knees beneath his.

A pair of large hands pressed against the muscles in Song Zhi's arms, kneading them gently at first, then harder.

"Ah..." Song Zhi sucked in a sharp breath of pain.

"You can't take this already? If I don't work the knots out, you'll be in too much pain to get out of bed tomorrow, let alone continue your lessons." Hill pressed harder, kneading Song Zhi's arms.

Song Zhi scoffed. Aren't you just the nicest guy!

But why did you lock the door?

She soon found out. Hill pinned down her legs, took out a muscle roller stick, and scraped it along her thighs and calves.

"Ah! Stop!"

Song Zhi screamed in pain. She tried to get away, but Hill held her firmly against the bed. In the end, all she could do was endure the pain and cry as she waited for the "torture" to end.

"You should thank me. Wilk was supposed to teach your combat lessons, but he's injured, and Lu is recovering from his injuries too. The second lieutenant is on a mission, so that leaves only me and the lieutenant. Would you rather have the lieutenant teach you grappling and combat, or help loosen your muscles?" Hill tossed aside the muscle roller stick and pulled Song Zhi up, limp with pain.

"Mm, thanks a lot." Song Zhi gave a feeble grunt.

Only after enjoying half an hour of massage therapy from a muscle-bound soldier did Song Zhi return to her room, holding her lower back. Before the nuclear explosion, when would she ever have been so lucky?

Over the next few days, Hill drove Song Zhi to the training ground on time. In the mornings, she had combat lessons. Hill trained her to exhaustion and beat her until she ached all over. She fell to the ground, too dazed to tell which way was north, yet she hadn't managed to touch a hair on Hill's head, even though she knew he wasn't using his full strength.

After lunch came intelligence lessons. Besides analyzing those scattered, disjointed fragments of information, she also had to put on headphones from time to time and watch indescribable adult videos. There were other bizarre curiosities too: if you could imagine it, they could do it. She even began to suspect that watching these indescribable videos was making her more perverted by the day.

Finally, after watching a bloody, violent video of a cult sacrifice involving dismemberment and cannibalism, Song Zhi let out a heavy breath. "How can people be this evil?"

This time, Hill turned off the video of his own accord. He folded his arms and looked at Song Zhi, lips pursed. "Their evil is beyond your imagination... It's surprising that your distinction between good and bad depends on your sense of right and wrong. You're prone to letting your emotions dictate your actions."

"Compassion comes before reason. Laws are only society's most basic safeguard of morality. I think this world still needs a little kindness and warmth..." Song Zhi couldn't help feeling that Hill's sharp tongue had something to do with all the disturbing videos he'd watched over the years. He was becoming more twisted by the day.

"Let the world be filled with love? Gently hold your face and wipe away your tears for you..." He sang the lyrics aloud, and in Chinese too.

Song Zhi was speechless.

On top of that, she had to learn how to use all that military equipment.

Her days were packed with lessons, and she was struggling to keep up. She wasn't a science or engineering student. She couldn't learn this stuff; she really wasn't cut out for it. She wasn't the powerful female lead of a wish-fulfillment novel. She had no golden finger, nor an exceptionally clever mind.

When Hill pinned her against the wall yet again, she had already given up hope. She didn't even want to say another word. She simply couldn't beat him.

Hill noticed how dejected Song Zhi was and released her wrist. "Need a break?"

"Mm."

Song Zhi shook out her numb, aching arms and sat down off to the side, her head lowered. She reached for Hill's arm and squeezed his rock-hard bicep.

Mm... That feels nice.

Hill narrowed his eyes at Song Zhi, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. It's hunting time! If Song Zhi made another move, like reaching for his... he would snap her arm without hesitation.

Song Zhi held out her own arm next to Hill's and raised an eyebrow. "Look at this. Both my arms together aren't as thick as one of yours. How am I supposed to fight you? Tickle you?"

Furious, she punched Hill's thigh. "Ah... Your leg is as hard as alloy steel. Never mind barehanded, I couldn't beat you even with a weapon. The difference in strength is too great! I'll never be able to train myself to be like you!"

Hill grabbed Song Zhi's wrist. It really was slender; a wrist that thin would snap with a twist. Far from comforting her, he sneered, "You're the stupidest student I've ever taught... Beating me and becoming like me have nothing to do with each other. If you don't have strength, use your brain! Use your brain to defeat the enemy in front of you!"

Hill stood up, bent down, and gripped Song Zhi's chin. "Maybe next time we're on a mission, I can suggest that the lieutenant tie you to a rocket launcher and fire you into the enemy's ranks. Your stupidity can make them laugh themselves to death," he said with utter contempt.

Song Zhi was speechless.

"Don't like that? Then hit me. Beat me until I'm on my knees begging you for mercy..." Hill looked down at Song Zhi, his eyes full of provocation.

The look in the eyes of someone who wanted to stab a person to death couldn't be hidden. Song Zhi trembled with rage, both hands clenched into fists, her nails nearly digging into her flesh. She glared at Hill, her eyes seemingly ready to spit fire.

This damned foreigner knows how to goad people too? Just how much Huaxia culture has Lu Yu spread abroad? Did he teach him the Thirty-Six Stratagems too?

She wrenched free of Hill's hand, seized his collar, and drove her knee into his midsection. Then she rolled backward, flipping Hill onto the ground with her sudden attack.

He went down and lay on the floor, chuckling under his breath with disbelief and a hint of pleasure. "Finally willing to fight back, kitty?"

Hill sprang to his feet, a flicker of excitement in his eyes. He flexed his wrists and assumed a fighting stance.

Suddenly, he lunged forward, his right fist shooting straight at Song Zhi's face. She quickly turned her head aside to dodge, grabbed his right arm with her left hand, and pivoted, driving her elbow hard toward his chest.

The moment she struck him, Song Zhi felt her arm go numb.

Hill grunted and staggered back a few steps. He was unhurt; he merely rolled his shoulders, quickly reset his stance, and lunged at Song Zhi again.

This time, his attack was even fiercer, punches and kicks raining down on her.

Song Zhi dodged left and right, struggling for a moment to fend him off. Just as one of Hill's kicks was about to hit her, she stepped back with her left foot, crouched with a hand on the ground, and swept her right leg in a circle toward his left foot. It was a classic karate technique: the rear leg sweep.

Hill lost his balance and swayed, but he didn't fall.

Of course he didn't fall!

The most important prerequisite in a karate match was being in the same weight class. Hill was far heavier than Song Zhi. With such a disparity in weight, nothing else mattered.

But Song Zhi seized the opportunity. She sprang up, took a running start, and jumped. Grabbing Hill's arm with both hands, she used her momentum to wrap her legs around his neck, twisting at the waist to execute a scissor-leg neck choke.

Hill fell to the ground, and Song Zhi used all her strength to hold him down. She gasped for breath, her chest heaving. Her voice was hoarse but triumphant. "I won!"

"Heh heh... Kitty, you got smarter this time." Hill laughed aloud. Rather than getting angry at being subdued by Song Zhi, he grew even more excited. His deep laughter sent a chill down the spine—a near-maniacal fervor, the exhilaration of being provoked by his prey.

The triumph had barely faded from Song Zhi's eyes when she heard Hill chuckle again. The low, cold sound sent a chill down her spine.

"Do you like being on top of me that much?" Hill's voice was low, teasing yet laced with deadly danger. "Hm?"