Natsuhi's scolding, as if she were lecturing a subordinate, finally became the last straw that broke Fujino's sanity.
Being so looked down upon by a high school girl, combined with the anger transformed from the fear caused by Inoue's miserable state, instantly shattered his last bit of composure.
"You brat! I'll kill you! Pay for my brother's life!"
Fujino's face contorted as he roared. He pulled a switchblade from his lower back, flicked the blade open with a'snap,' and lunged fiercely at Natsuhi!
The tip of the blade pointed straight at Natsuhi!
"Hey, what's the rush?!"
Lao Hei, standing to the side, hadn't fully reacted before Fujino had already rushed at Natsuhi. He originally wanted to observe the situation a bit more, as this girl seemed far from simple.
[Forget it, he has a knife, so there shouldn't be any major problems.]
Lao Hei was even already thinking about how to handle the aftermath...
——————
[Oh? This guy really wants to kill me.]
Seeing Fujino charging with a knife, no fear appeared on Natsuhi's face; instead, a sharp glint flashed in her eyes.
She knew this kind of knife attack all too well.
The moment an opponent pulls out a blade, an ordinary person's body will subconsciously tense up and retreat, leading to a loss of balance and making them prone to falling into a passive position.
The advantage of a short blade lies in psychological intimidation and close-quarters thrusting, but charging straight from a distance like Fujino was doing appeared full of openings to her, a former professional boxer.
With a sense of distance carved into her very marrow, she had absolute confidence that she could handle it.
As the blade approached, a blood-red shadow suddenly caught the corner of Fujino's eye.
Thud!!!
With a dull sound, the flat and hard end of a crowbar accurately struck Fujino's shoulder and neck area!
"Ugh—!"
Fujino's forward momentum came to a screeching halt. With a cry of pain, he fell directly to the ground, the small knife flying out of his hand. He felt a surge of intense pain from where he was hit, and his consciousness became somewhat blurred.
He looked at Natsuhi, who was holding the crowbar, with a face full of disbelief. He had no idea where she had pulled it from; it was like a magic trick.
"Not bad, this System Space is indeed useful. It's perfect for storing some 'practical tools.'"
Wait—my hand is numb. Did you have to charge with that much force?"
Natsuhi switched the crowbar to her other hand and shook her numbed palm, mumbling to herself.
The reason Fujino was injured was largely because his forward momentum was too fierce, and since the crowbar lacked a non-slip handle, the recoil force was very strong.
Natsuhi's purlicue was stinging from the vibration, and a red mark was left on her palm.
This was the disadvantage of short weapons: the attack range was too short, completely incomparable to a long-handled tool like a crowbar.
An inch longer is an inch stronger; that was the principle. Fujino's knife hadn't even touched Natsuhi before he was solidly blocked.
(Of course, this was mostly due to Natsuhi's precise judgment. Ordinary people should never imitate this in such a situation; safety first.)
Watching Fujino struggle to get up from the ground, Natsuhi used her foot to restrict his movement, pinning him firmly to the floor.
Even though the opponent had lost his weapon and was injured, Natsuhi didn't intend to give the enemy any chance to counterattack.
She had to ensure all interference was eliminated before dealing with Lao Hei.
With a dull thud, Fujino lost consciousness and was no longer a threat, turning into light and completely vanishing from the world.
"Alright, the small fry has been cleared."
"To think you actually waited for me to finish him off, you're surprisingly nice."
Familiar lines came out of Natsuhi's mouth as she turned her gaze toward the last member of the scam organization—the burly, bald thug evaluated by the system as a B+ rank powerful threat.
According to her observations, this Lao Hei was the strongest among the three.
He was well-built with a long wingspan, low body fat, and obvious signs of training.
He had definitely practiced combat sports, and at a high level too.
Such an opponent was definitely not someone who could be dealt with in just a few moves.
The reason Lao Hei hadn't made a move just now was that things had changed too quickly.
He thought Fujino, armed with a sharp blade, could easily subdue Natsuhi, but he didn't expect the girl to pull out an iron bar from nowhere and instantly turn the situation around.
This left him momentarily unable to react.
Ignoring the beautiful girl unconscious on the floor, Lao Hei looked at Natsuhi warily and slowly walked toward her, raising his hands in a standard fighting stance.
"Oh? Finally willing to make a move?"
Natsuhi used verbal interference while quickly scanning the room's environment with her eyes.
Hmm, there was nothing left to use—just coffee tables, sofas, counters, and glass shards...
It seemed she could only rely on hand-to-hand combat.
"Actually, I'm not very good at using these things. As expected, at a critical moment like this, what I trust most is still my own hands and feet."
Natsuhi held the crowbar up to her chest for a glance, then immediately showed a look of disgust and tossed it behind her.
"Hmph, little girl, you can only talk big now. Once I beat you down, there will be plenty of time for you to regret it!"
[To think she actually gave up her weapon voluntarily. Should I call you arrogant or stupid?]
Seeing the opponent throw away the iron bar, the pressure in Lao Hei's heart lessened significantly, and a confident smile appeared on his face.
He didn't believe that he, someone who frequented fighting venues year-round, would lose to a bare-handed, thin young woman.
Heh, it would be a joke if word got out.
He was already rehearsing in his mind how to quickly crush her and then properly "repay" her for her previous arrogance.
In fact, voluntarily throwing away the weapon wasn't because Natsuhi was arrogant or stupid; she had her own considerations.
The reason she succeeded just now was largely due to the element of surprise; Fujino's attention was entirely on his own attack.
Now that Lao Hei knew she had a crowbar, he would definitely be on guard. With her current strength, a single strike likely wouldn't be a decisive blow (unless it hit a vital spot).
If the weapon were taken by the opponent, she would truly have no chance of winning.
So after a brief consideration, Natsuhi decided to fight bare-handed. She also wanted to test exactly how strong her current combat ability was.
"Make me regret it? Such a classic minor character line. If you can do it, then please go ahead and try."
Facing a man several sizes larger than herself, Natsuhi didn't retreat; instead, she approached him step by step, her eyes as sharp as knives.
The attitude of the opponent completely disregarding him made Lao Hei's anger flare up. Did she not understand the gap in their strength?!
In reality, Natsuhi understood the strength gap better than anyone. While fighting relies on technique, physical fitness is the absolute core and the foundation of all skills.
Natsuhi could even clearly feel the explosive power contained under those broad shoulders; the back muscles were the key to determining striking power, a weapon honed through countless real battles.
However, during a confrontation, momentum is paramount.
So even though Natsuhi knew the physical gap between them, she still forced herself to display a fierce aura.
[Can't back down, not even one step. If I lose the momentum, it's really over.]
If she showed fear now or made a move to retreat, it would definitely boost the opponent's confidence.
She even slightly raised her chin, sending a nearly imperceptible provocative smile into Lao Hei's field of vision.
The battle had quietly begun from the moment the psychological game started!
A duel with a vast disparity in strength was about to begin,
Former Boxing Champion, Ito Natsuhi vs. Underground Fighter, Bald Lao Hei!