Qing Ling surveyed her surroundings and made her choice swiftly. "This cabinet."
"Samurai Shodown! Excellent!" Wu Dahai eagerly seated himself before the machine.
The stool was low, leaving nowhere for Qing Ling's long legs. She simply removed her shoes, drew her knees up with legs pressed together, and rested her chin atop them. If you ignored her ice-cold expression, the pose looked almost languid and cute.
"You played before?" Wu Dahai asked.
"Never." Qing Ling gripped the joystick, completely unfamiliar with the four buttons to her left. After inserting her coin, she didn't even know how to select a character.
Wu Dahai proved patient with beautiful women. "This controls direction, you can choose your fighter... Right, when you see one you like, press A."
Qing Ling didn't care, simply selecting the first option.
"Haohmaru! Solid choice!" Wu Dahai beamed. "Then I'll take Ukyo Tachibana!"
Character selection complete. The match began.
Wu Dahai's Ukyo leaped in with a rising slash, chaining together light punches and kicks into a small combo, cutting Haohmaru down. As Haohmaru rose, Ukyo was already in his face.
"Reverse Hell Slice!"
"Secret technique! Blizzard!"
On-screen, Ukyo unleashed a dazzling flurry of attacks. Haohmaru's health bar depleted, and he collapsed with a cry of defeat. From start to finish, Qing Ling hadn't managed a single offensive move.
Though Wu Dahai had achieved a perfect victory, he felt no satisfaction.
Best of three.
The second round began. Wu Dahai didn't rush to attack, instead instructing patiently: "A is light slash. Press it?"
Qing Ling pressed once. Haohmaru whipped his blade out quickly, scratching Ukyo.
"B is medium slash. Try it."
Qing Ling complied. Haohmaru swung at medium speed, knocking Ukyo back two steps.
"A+B together is heavy slash. Press them."
Qing Ling pressed simultaneously. Haohmaru wound up slowly and slammed Ukyo to the ground with a heavy blow.
"C is light kick. D is heavy kick. C+D together is also heavy kick. Same principle."
As an absolute beginner, Qing Ling picked things up rapidly, repeating the sequence.
"Alright! Let's go." Wu Dahai began controlling his character.
Ten seconds later, Qing Ling's Haohmaru was defeated. Though this time there was improvement—at least Haohmaru had fought back, dealing minor damage to Ukyo.
"Best of three, you lost." Wu Dahai stood.
"Again," Qing Ling said.
"Next month."
"Again." Qing Ling repeated, something burning in her gaze.
Wu Dahai hesitated. "Fine. Once more."
"Wow, making exceptions already?" Officer Huang couldn't decide whether to feel pleased or wounded. "I begged you so many times before, you never made exceptions."
"Obviously. You're an old man—what benefit would I get making exceptions for you?" Wu Dahai turned to Qing Ling with perfect confidence: "One more chance, fine. But I get to hold your hand."
Qing Ling looked puzzled. "Why?"
Wu Dahai grinned. "Honestly? I've gone my whole life without holding a girl's hand. I mean human girls, beasts don't count."
"There's a difference?" Qing Ling asked.
"Obviously! Just thinking about them being beasts kills all interest! The women in the organization are all so stingy, none will let me touch. Seriously, it's just a touch—it's not like they'll lose a piece of flesh!"
Gao Yang had never encountered such brazen lechery. He didn't even know where to begin complaining.
Qing Ling considered briefly, negotiating: "One more match. If I lose, you can touch my hand."
"Deal! A gentleman's agreement!" Wu Dahai hadn't expected such straightforwardness from her. He was utterly confident of victory!
"Begin."
Wu Dahai sat back down, inserted coins. Once again: Haohmaru versus Ukyo Tachibana.
Wu Dahai seemed to feel that crushing a beginner as a veteran lacked honor, and began instructing again: "Let me teach you Ukyo's combos..."
"Unnecessary. Sufficient." Qing Ling refused directly.
"Fine. I won't hold back." This time, Wu Dahai showed no mercy, attacking even more ferociously than before.
Qing Ling didn't stand idle either—she defended constantly.
Fighting games have nuance to defense. Standing guard leaves you vulnerable to low sweeps. Crouching guard leaves you open to jump-in attacks. You must switch defensive stances rapidly based on your opponent's approach.
This round, Qing Ling did nothing but defend.
Though her defensive switching was remarkably fluid, defense without offense still slowly eroded her health bar. Moreover, once the enemy closed distance, they could use point-blank techniques to break through her guard.
Qing Ling defended the entire round. Lost.
She wasn't the slightest bit impatient.
The second round, Qing Ling began attempting offense.
She used no special moves or combos—she didn't know any. She simply stood still. When her opponent attacked directly, she defended. When they closed in, she pressed A for the quick light slash to push them away. When they jumped in, she pressed B for the medium slash to intercept.
These two techniques, timed correctly, could counter nearly all close-range and aerial attacks. Even if they didn't fully counter, the mutual damage allowed for minor health trading.
But Wu Dahai was an experienced player after all. Given one opportunity to close distance, he could rapidly break through her guard, follow with a full combo, and immediately devastate Qing Ling's health bar.
Without suspense, Qing Ling lost again.
"You lost!" Wu Dahai stood happily, his eyes fixed on Qing Ling. "Hand time!"
Qing Ling rose, extending her hand toward him.
Wu Dahai was shocked—he hadn't expected such compliance!
His hand reached halfway, then suddenly withdrew.
A greedy, lecherous smile spread across his face. "How about this? Instead of your hand, I'll give you one more challenge! But I get to touch your chest. Touch first, then match!"
Qing Ling's expression didn't change. She seemed to be thinking.
"Forget it, come back next time."
Gao Yang couldn't watch anymore. If this were his sister being toyed with like this, he'd have thrown a punch already. But with Qing Ling, he had no standing to interfere, only to advise.
"Indeed, victory and defeat are common in battle." Officer Huang added his persuasion. "In over a decade of work, I've seen countless fallen girls. But Qing Ling, your situation... it's not worth it. Truly not worth it."
Qing Ling's competitive drive had ignited. She ignored them, facing Wu Dahai: "Agreed."
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