Chapter 346: Chapter 346

At first, Jing Shu thought her B rating wasn’t bad. After all, Monkey, with so many abilities, was only rated B+, and with Ah Huang, their combined rating was just A-. She had no idea that the moment the Imperial Capital team arrived, they would completely overpower the Wucheng Team.

The captain of the Imperial Capital team, Zhen Nantian, was rated S-rank, two levels higher than the A+ rating Jing Shu thought Yang Yang deserved. In contrast, the opposing team was uniformly A-rank. Even more outrageously, Snake Spirit’s Little Python was rated B+, higher than her own rating, even with her Special Healing Medicine!

Of course, this might be because the Little Python could poison an entire group with a single bite, giving it significant killing power, while she could only save a few people, a considerable limitation. Regardless, bringing up her B-rank rating again felt somewhat humiliating.

But Yang Yang seemed quite proud...

Tan Ke’s chair creaked as he settled into it. Frowning, he pointed at Jing Shu and said, "Just a B-rank woman? A woman without fast-twitch muscle fibers, whose muscle ratio isn’t even 30%, and you’re telling me she’s strong? Are you questioning my professionalism? In that case, let’s have a contest."

All eyes from the Imperial Capital team turned to Jing Shu. They began sizing her up—this woman who had, bizarrely, taken only a chicken on a mission to the United States and was dressed quite oddly. Even Hao Yunlai and Monkey from the Wucheng Team stared at Jing Shu, their gazes filled with curiosity and scrutiny. "Strong? We really can’t see it."

To be honest, seeing Tan Ke, such a massively muscular man, made even me doubt if my strength was truly significant. It had been a long time since I last tested how strong I actually was. I hardly needed to use it in daily life, and my strength wasn’t uncontrollable like in those novels. It had increased gradually, so there were no incidents like accidentally crushing a glass while drinking water; everything felt the same as before. When I needed to lift heavy objects, it felt as easy as picking up a computer mouse—completely effortless. But to use significant strength and explosive power, I still needed to brace myself.

Jing Shu pondered for a moment and then said, "Actually, this isn’t that complicated. Whether or not I’m strong isn’t the issue. How about this: since my role is an Assistant Doctor and yours is a front-line Tank, you can wear the Mecha. It will enhance your combat power and safety, and I’ll focus on treating injured teammates. Okay?"

Looking at Tan Ke—two meters tall, built like a small mountain, pure muscle—my thighs weren’t even as thick as his arms. And those two iron balls around his neck must weigh seventy to eighty kilograms combined. This man’s strength had to be terrifying.

There were three reasons I wanted to let Tan Ke wear the Mecha directly. First, if danger arose, Tan Ke, as the Tank, would be on the front lines. If I were wearing it and got hit by an enemy’s high-tech armor-piercing shell, it would be game over for me; I wouldn’t even have a chance to regret it.

Second, if I lost the contest, not only would I lose momentum, but I would also lose face for Yang Yang. Whether the Mecha was then given to Tan Ke or not, the situation would be incredibly awkward, like riding a tiger and finding it hard to dismount.

Third, if I won the contest, it would be even more troublesome. Tan Ke’s strength was likely highly ranked in the country. If I, a woman with no visible muscle and appearing frail, defeated him, it could attract unwanted attention and scrutiny. If the higher-ups decided to investigate me to find out where my explosive power came from, that would be a huge problem.

All of this increased my risk of exposure.

Faced with this dilemma where both winning and losing were problematic, Jing Shu decided to graciously offer the Mecha. She hoped her Imperial Capital teammates wouldn’t be so insistent, would take the Mecha to absorb damage on the front lines, and it would be a happy outcome for everyone.

However, Tan Ke’s reaction was intense. He shot to his feet, his head hitting the ceiling of the aircraft and causing the whole plane to shudder. He said fiercely, "Are you insulting me? I don’t need such charity! Or are you saying you don’t even dare to show your own strength? Are you having the Wucheng team leader fabricate these baseless claims so that I’ll end up gratefully wearing a Mecha that supposedly none of you can handle?"

Zhen Nantian sat quietly in his seat, calmly watching things unfold without any intention of stopping them. He also seemed curious to see if this woman Yang Yang had mentioned truly possessed such great strength.

Yang Yang shrugged, as if to say, "You handle it."

Jing Shu looked speechlessly at this blockhead. His line of thinking is truly bizarre. "Fine," she said. "What kind of contest do you propose?"

"Arm wrestling is the only thing we can do in the aircraft. I won’t bully you. As long as you can last ten seconds without losing, I’ll acknowledge that you’re qualified to wear the Mecha."

Jing Shu’s eyes lit up. In that case, I’ll just go easy and ’last’ for ten seconds. That way, I won’t seem too strong, nor too weak. Perfect.

"Alright," she said. "Let’s do it."

"Three, two, one, go!" With Snake Spirit shouting the countdown from the side, Jing Shu and Tan Ke began their arm-wrestling match on a small table between them, while a crowd gathered to watch the spectacle.

However, the spectacle ended in less than a second with a SLAM! The crowd wore ’as expected’ expressions, and the aircraft fell silent for a moment.

Tan Ke wore a scornful expression. "You couldn’t even last a second, huh?"

Jing Shu said, "Let’s go again. I hadn’t even started to use my strength yet." Hmm, I went a bit too easy on him. Looks like I need to use some force. Judging from Tan Ke’s strength just now, it wasn’t overwhelming. I should only need about forty percent of my strength to completely overpower him; any more and I might just crush him outright.

Tan Ke smirked. "I only used half my strength."

"You can use your full strength," Jing Shu replied.

Tan Ke grinned, revealing his white teeth. "You’re the one who said it." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝖓𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖑~𝖋𝖎𝖗𝖾~𝖓𝖊𝖙

"Three, two, one, go!"

The match ended once again. Tan Ke had unleashed his full strength, instantly defeating Jing Shu—even faster than before!

Jing Shu: "..." Sixty percent of my strength still wasn’t enough? It seems this big guy really is incredibly strong. So far, he’s the only person in the apocalypse who could contend with my strength. And his explosive power is truly formidable. It looks like I’ll have to unleash my own burst of power, or I’ll be easily KO’d.

Tan Ke pursed his lips. "I felt your strength. It’s just average, though. Barely enough to wear a Mecha."

Jing Shu, slightly embarrassed, said, "Let’s have one more round. Next time, I’ll definitely last ten seconds."

Snake Spirit chuckled from the side. "You’ve lost twice already. That should be enough proof, right?"

The Monk rubbed his bald head and said, "I also think it’s enough. Otherwise, our female benefactor might get hurt."

Tan Ke nodded. "The facts show that your strength is much greater than an average person’s, but you’re still far weaker than me."

Just then, Zhen Nantian pointed at the table. "Let’s go again. Haven’t you noticed the table isn’t even damaged? You, Mirror, are hiding your real strength. You should use your full power. Tan Ke’s explosive power is very strong; if you don’t use your full strength, you’ll be defeated instantly. You might have some concerns, but rest assured, your true abilities won’t be known by others."

Jing Shu said helplessly, "Alright, one more time then. Tan Ke, you better be careful this time." Since it’s been seen through, there’s no need to hold back anymore. This is also a good chance for me to see just how much my strength has actually increased.