Whether the organizers did it on purpose or not, Zhang Lei and his opponent in the playoffs were placed in the same room. Perhaps it was to let them get to know each other better. However, Zhang Lei felt that he and this guy had gotten along quite well.
Since the opponent in the additional match is a woman, why isn't she a woman? If it's a man and a woman, I wonder if the organizers will still arrange for them to be in the same room. In that case, by the time of the additional match, they might be a family of three in the ring.
"Why isn't my opponent a girl? There are two girls this time, which is quite pleasing to the eye!" Zhang Lei fantasized. However, looking at his roommate, even if Zhang Lei had the imagination of gods and demons, he couldn't associate him with a woman, or even a rabbit.
"Damn it, it seems that even if I don't want to kill him on the stage, it won't be easy. That face is just too disgusting!" Zhang Lei muttered to himself as he looked at him.
"You'd better just give up already, or I won't chase you down to the ring to beat you up!" It seems that Zhang Lei wasn't the only one who disliked the other; this guy also had a strong aversion to Zhang Lei. Perhaps in his eyes, there was nothing about Zhang Lei that didn't deserve a beating.
"Is that so? Heh, I won't give up. I'm very grateful to the organizers for arranging such a weak opponent like you for me. I don't intend to do anything to you!" Zhang Lei squinted, as if looking at a dead man.
"Fine, since that's the case, don't blame me for showing no mercy in the ring!" Zhang Lei's opponent seemed to be in a bad mood these past few days, probably because the organizers didn't take his reputation seriously and actually made him fight in this supplementary qualifying match, which was an insult to him. He didn't think there was anything wrong with taking his anger out on Zhang Lei.
He didn't know that if Tai Chi Chen's words hadn't made sense to Zhang Lei when he came out, he would have a hard time dying even if he wanted to.
Given Zhang Lei's personality, he'd probably beat him to a pulp, then take him to the ring and beat him up again. I just don't know if he'd dare face Zhang Lei in the ring after that.
However, he still has the ability to stand opposite Zhang Lei.
"Kid, your name is Zhang Lei, right? Today, I'll show you how a true master in this world differs from the kid playing around in your backyard!"
"Alright, come on, Lin Diao, let's see how you differ from those kids today!" Zhang Lei waved to him.
Lin Diao's ability arrived first: a halo with a faint silver glow flashed past, and Zhang Lei felt his body become somewhat sluggish, with a shimmering light constantly appearing on his body. It seemed to be a restricted ability; although it was a halo, its speed wasn't the speed of light. It looked like nothing more than a halo-like thing, fast but not outrageously so. As for the restrictive power...
"Kid, can't move now, can you!" Lin Diao rubbed his hands and slowly walked towards Zhang Lei. He really looked like one of those petty thugs. No wonder he didn't let him participate in the main competition directly.
"No, I can move!" Zhang Lei slapped his hands open, shattering the afterglow clinging to his body. "Your ability is not bad, but unfortunately, its restrictive power is too weak, so it's useless against me!"
Zhang Lei had already obtained his information from Tang Guo. Although he didn't know the exact details of his superpower, he knew the general situation. Zhang Lei already knew that although his superpower was fast, its power was nothing to boast about. Besides, given Zhang Lei's current physical condition, he could overcome most restrictive superpowers; it was just a matter of how much force he needed to use.
Letting him hit was also part of Zhang Lei's plan. This was the first fight, and although no one paid much attention to this kind of additional match, later on, someone might pull up the original video, and his experience would have to appear somewhat immature.
"Hmph! Don't be too arrogant. I'm not very proficient with this ability yet, which doesn't mean you can fight me. Get down, kid!" As he spoke, Lin Diao walked up to Zhang Lei. Seeing that Zhang Lei didn't seem to react, he suddenly kicked Zhang Lei in the neck.
In his mind, this kick would not only knock Zhang Lei off the stage, but could even break his neck.
A hint of mockery flashed in Zhang Lei's eyes. His second superpower had only just emerged at this point, and his fists, feet, and internal energy were all utterly useless. No wonder the organizing committee made him compete in the additional qualifying rounds.
Zhang Lei pressed his arm down on his leg and hoisted it onto his shoulder. "Your legs are fast, but they're too weak!"
Zhang Lei swore that this was a lie against his conscience; the truth was that his legs had neither strength nor speed.
Lin Diao jumped up, trying to use the flip to attack Zhang Lei and pull his leg out at the same time. However, he was also prepared to be thrown, as it would be too difficult to turn back from this position.
However, as long as he doesn't fall off the ring, he still has a chance. Although Zhang Lei is strong and resilient, he doesn't seem to be fast enough...
Episode 4: An Eye for an Eye, a Blade for a Teeth - Chapter 100: The Shortcoming (Part 1)
Lin Diao was prepared to be thrown, but Zhang Lei had no intention of throwing him, because there was absolutely no need for it.
Lin Diao jumped up and flipped over, placing one foot on Zhang Lei's shoulder and using the other foot to propel himself up, intending to sweep Zhang Lei's head. Whether Zhang Lei dodged or parried, he would give Lin Diao room to escape, or at the very least, be prepared to be thrown.
But all of this depends on his ability to turn around smoothly.
Lin Diao jumped up and realized that the leg he was on Zhang Lei's shoulder was as if it were welded in, and it couldn't move with him at all.
Lin Diao's jump and turn were powerful. Although it was nothing to Zhang Lei, it was Lin Diao's maximum strength. Otherwise, how could he kick someone?
The problem is that his greatest strength is nothing to Zhang Lei.
"Crack!" Perhaps Zhang Lei also added some force, because Lin Diao's right leg was twisted and broken by the force of his own rotation.
Perhaps some people, especially assassins and special forces soldiers, can endure the pain and still kick the enemy in the head with their left leg, but Lin Diao is clearly not one of them. He has not received any special training, and it is already quite remarkable that he has not fainted from the pain.
"Kid, it seems I underestimated you!" Lin Diao stubbornly supported his body on one leg. "But you won't have another chance. I'll use my most powerful... ah..."
Zhang Lei, adhering to the principle of not causing much harm, saw that the man's leg was broken, so he threw him to the ground. Who knew that this guy would still ramble on and on, instead of admitting defeat and stepping down sooner, what was the point of asking for the most powerful?
Zhang Lei was only pretending to have less combat experience, not that he intended to play dumb. He wouldn't listen to him finish speaking or strike a pose. Zhang Lei would just kick him far off the stage. As for whether he would break his legs or something, Zhang Lei didn't care.
################
"So, are there any noteworthy figures in the qualifiers?" Just as Zhang Lei had guessed, the major factions all had their own channels to obtain recordings of most of the matches, and they also had professional personnel to analyze these matches in order to find out the figures that had not yet been taken seriously, and then either attack them, win them over, or pay attention to them, etc.
“Here are a few of them. Their special abilities are ones we hadn’t noticed before. We never imagined that they would have such an effect under certain circumstances or with special combinations!” A burly man still wearing a uniform without rank handed several discs to Wu Zhimin.
"Is there anything else?" Wu Zhimin asked.
The burly man hesitated for a moment, then said, "No more!" He had ruled out Zhang Lei's video; that was just a superhuman martial artist with extraordinary strength, nothing worth noting.
The same scene has played out in countless places. In today's world, there's still a strong reliance on superpowers. Without powerful abilities, one is essentially considered to have little combat capability and naturally won't attract attention. A guy with only brute strength and no special abilities is naturally overlooked by these intelligence analysts.
The subsequent sub-tests seemed to confirm that they were not wrong in this regard.
Just as a police officer cannot only be skilled in close combat, a sheriff cannot be competent in close combat alone.
Just like police officers in the past, who needed to be able to use guns, sheriffs also needed to have a ranged weapon, which could be a concealed weapon or used overtly. At the same time, to chase criminals, agility and skill were also essential.
Therefore, these tests are essential for the official shortlisted candidates. Although they do not account for as much of the points as close combat, a poor performance in these tests will result in a poor overall score. The final ranking is determined by the combined score, and the ranking of the sheriff and the selection of the garrison area will be based on this ranking.
These miscellaneous tests are all conducted before the official competition to prevent injuries during intense competition that could affect the results of these two events. Everyone knows this is not an unnecessary concern.
The first test was lightness skill, and nearly 10,000 test takers were divided into five test sites. Zhang Lei was in the second one.
However, it didn't matter to Zhang Lei which venue it was; according to the revealed test items, his lightness skill would never pass the test.
Eight incredibly tender pieces of tofu are placed precariously on an iron plate, beneath which liquefied gas is ignited. Contestants must walk across these eight pieces of tofu before it is fully cooked. The final score is determined by the degree of damage to the tofu, its doneness, and the time taken to walk across them. This event is reportedly sponsored by the Sichuan Provincial Bean Products Corporation.
One contestant shouted and lightly tapped a piece of tofu with his toe. The tofu trembled slightly but was not damaged. However, the tofu, which had only lightly touched the iron plate, started to smoke due to the pressure and increased contact with the iron plate.