Chapter 146 - 102: Cheap Person VS Milk Poison

Han Yong felt that his military life had been full of ups and downs ever since he met Fang Huai,

and it seemed it would keep going downhill.

Before joining the squadron, Fang Huai had pounded his chest and said, "As long as I’m here, no worries."

The first day in the squadron.

Morning, Squad Leader Xiong said, "Tonight, you can have a good rest."

Afternoon, Squad Leader Xiong said, "The Instructor mentioned we need to do evening exercise, but nothing too intense, just three sets of two hundred each."

Two hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and squats.

In the evening, Squad Leader Xiong couldn’t bear to say it himself, so Squad Leader Liu said, "No matter if it kills, injures or cripples you, three sets of five hundred, non-negotiable."

Fang Huai, chased around the playground by the three of them, taught them to sing "The Price of Love".

Let’s go, let’s go, everyone must learn to grow up on their own...

Just after leaving the group, it felt like he’d been the victim of a scam.

"Stop, stop, stop! Big brothers!" Fang Huai ran ahead, unable to outrun Song Lin and Xiao Haishan, occasionally getting kicked in the butt, struggling to endure any longer, so he quickly squatted down and surrendered.

The three new recruits caught up, encircling him with the majestic aura of temple guardians:

"Spill it, why did you drag us into this mess?!"

Fang Huai crouched with his head in his hands: "Oh man, I’ll go talk to the squad leader, see if you guys can do less, okay?"

The three imposing figures glared at him: "Go now!!"

...

A little while later, Fang Huai came back.

With a sullen look and standing ten meters away from the three, he spoke: "The squad leader said we can do less!"

The three relaxed slightly: "How much less?"

Fang Huai snickered deviously, holding up a finger:

"I’ve already negotiated with the squad leader! For push-ups, just one! For squats, only 30! But you have to do them with a 100-pound barbell on your shoulders! Squad Leader Liu has ordered you to go the fourth-floor gym to get the barbells!"

As soon as Fang Huai finished speaking, he ran off.

The three stood stunned for two to three seconds, exchanging glances as if seeking confirmation of Fang Huai’s message in each other’s eyes.

Then: "Oh my god... Fang Huai! Halt!!"

...

Today’s barbecue took up time, and since the personal and vehicle equipment had been checked during the day, there was no evening check.

"Good evening, squad leader!"

"Good evening, squad leader!"

"Good evening, Captain!"

The arrival of the new recruits gave Special Service Squadron 2 a bit more vigor.

"Fang Huai, why are you carrying the barbell alone? Why aren’t you guys helping him?"

"No worries, no worries, squad leader! I can carry it alone... it’s more convenient!"

At nine-thirty, the wash-up call sounded, and Fang Huai, gritting his teeth, carried the barbell into Second Squad, followed by the other three.

Carrying a 100-pound barbell downstairs alone was a punishment given to him by the three.

Special Duty Team’s furnishings were expensive, the squad room spacious, with double wooden doors.

Over 40 square meters arranged in a tidy rectangle, it was no less impressive than the Squadron Department, and even with the attached 5×4 meter study, it was considerably larger than the entire department.

Immediately to the right upon entering were six beds lined up against the wall, with Xiong Jie sleeping on the innermost one, and Liu Jianfeng on the one closest to the doorway.

Along the inner wall stood a row of wardrobes, with the various uniforms and camouflage neatly hung, and below them were green pillows and green-towel blankets.

The squad leader said:

No old soldiers are to wash feet for new recruits, nor should new recruits wash feet for old soldiers; everyone washes their own feet.

The sanitary area for the new recruits included Second Squad and the second-floor corridors and garage; each room upstairs had its assigned clean-up area, with responsibilities clearly defined.

New recruits, aside from the first floor, gym on the top floor, and second floor, were forbidden to go elsewhere unless directed by Squadron Department orders; helping the squad leaders clean or fetch things was not considered a valid reason.

The Cadres had clearly stated: Take care of your own business; regardless of other squadrons’ traditions, Special Duty Team had no such rules for catering to the "disabled."

At nine-thirty when the wash-up call sounded, those who wanted to bathe could do so; the shower area with eight shower heads was located inside the second-floor washing area; just wash and return before lights out at ten.

The new recruits were extremely grateful.

However, their gratitude didn’t last long before they realized: these rules, by eliminating miscellaneous tasks, were in place to provide the new recruits with maximum training time.

...

Lights out call sounded.

The room plunged into 80% darkness, with the remaining 20% brightness coming from the gratuitous moonlight filtering in through the windows and lights from a few storefronts across the squadron.

Even during quiet moments, one could faintly hear shouts from the barbecue shop across the street:

"Eight, eight, you don’t shout, six, you come scrub eggs!"

"Seven! A fairy descends! Nine! On the cup’s head! Drink!"

The four new recruits stood at the end of their beds, propped themselves up with their hands on the bed, arching their bodies to leave a space underneath.

"Hey, that’s right, that’s the angle."

Liu Jianfeng said, picking up a laser pointer, pressed it, and the light perfectly passed through the space under the four of them, landing on Xiong Jie’s blanket on the other side.

"Just one push-up! Hold it for an hour, don’t lie down; if my laser pointer hits anyone’s body, that person gets extra time!

If you get too many extra times, next time I’ll have you do half a push-up!"

Liu Jianfeng lay casually on his side in what looked like a lounging pose, interspersed with an occasional reprimand.

Half a push-up, which the four had done back in the new recruit group, involved going halfway down in a push-up and holding the position.

Forget about holding it for an hour; after only 10 minutes, their arms would shake more violently than a propeller.

A threat made all four of them straighten up promptly.

It wasn’t even ten minutes.

"Han Yong! Your stomach is sagging! Lift it higher!"

"Squad... squad leader, I’m just inhaling..."

Han Yong struggled to reply, exhaled, and his stomach retracted, moving the laser dot back to Xiong Jie’s blanket.

Once Han Yong inhaled again, the laser pointer’s red dot broke again.

Everyone started to twitch...

...

Half an hour later, the room was filled with the smell of sweat; Han Yong had reported so many times, only to be rejected by Liu Jianfeng each time.

Song Lin and Xiao Haishan kept switching arms, which seemed to fare better.

As for Fang Huai, he maintained the position with both arms supporting him, his body perfectly straight.

Actually, after 40 minutes of standard planking, Fang Huai was sweating from his back and forehead too, but for the sake of living up to his earlier boasts, he bit his lip and stayed silent.

Fortunately, everything was quiet; only two squad leaders were in the room, and no first-class soldiers had come inside to supervise their training.

In his previous life after leaving the group, Fang Huai had been tormented by first-class soldiers quite miserably, those guys were full of energy all day, not sleeping and just getting pleasure out of harassing them.

Even when they couldn’t hold the push-ups any longer, there would still be a first-class soldier sitting on their backs, scolding them for not holding up.

If they collapsed, they would be punished with a slap or two.

Apart from the vigorous training, there was also the sarcastic taunting of first-class soldiers ringing in their ears.

The room door opened.

Instructor Cao, holding a flashlight, came in to check the room. The beam of light revealed four new recruits in various states, some gasping for air and others not moving at all. He frowned and asked Liu Jianfeng:

"Why are you still doing endurance holds? At this rate, what time will everyone finish their training? When can the new recruits sleep?"

Liu Jianfeng got up a bit sheepishly and said with a forced smile, "I was just assessing their fitness levels. We’ll set the actual numbers tomorrow."

Assessing their performance today to set numbers for later?!

As soon as this statement was made, Xiao Haishan and Song Lin’s eyes widened and they immediately started pretending to be out of breath, their gasping growing louder and louder.

"Report..."

"Report!"

Cao Yi waved his hand impatiently:

"What’s there to report? We tested during the day. What’s left to test?

Han Yong and Xiao Haishan, start at 300, adding 20 each day. Song Lin and Fang Huai, start at 500, adding 30 each day!"

Han Yong and Song Lin’s expressions were filled with panic.

Damn, I have to do it with him? Isn’t that going to kill me?!

"So...do we redo tonight’s push-ups?" Liu Jianfeng cautiously asked, seeing the four had been holding the position for over 40 minutes.

Cao Yi saw that they had all taken off their shirts, sweating profusely even in the cold weather, and finally said something somewhat reasonable:

"Hmm... today’s Saturday, the first day they’re down from the company, so no redo today. Just start on the next exercise! Consider it a break!"

Just consider it... a break?

He then looked at Fang Huai, who was still holding strong, and felt he wasn’t tired enough, dissatisfied he said: "Starting tomorrow, I will call the first-class soldiers. Fang Huai’s push-ups must be standard!"

"No need, no need, Instructor. I don’t need supervision. I can train by myself!" Fang Huai quickly said aloud.

But Cao Yi gave a light laugh, "Don’t worry, they’re not just here to supervise you; they have to do them too! I’m finding you some training partners!"

He then left the room, leaving behind a group of dumbfounded new recruits.

Han Yong, the quickest thinker, said: "If they train with us... how is it any different from being supervised?"

Liu Jianfeng also seemed to relax, lying back and laughing with his hands behind his head:

"There’s a difference. I supervise them, and they supervise you.

Ha ha, your screams aren’t loud enough for me, I’m still used to training them!"

Seeing Liu Jianfeng’s twisted expression, Fang Huai was inwardly filled with mixed emotions.

Perhaps in every new recruit’s heart, there is a first-class soldier evoking a "damn" reaction.

Liu Jianfeng, perhaps, is that "damn" for the second-year soldiers.

"Alright, get up, the instructor has spoken. Let’s start the next item, barbell squats."

...

In the barbell squats, Han Yong turned out to be even stronger than Song Lin or Fang Huai, but the strongest was Xiao Haishan.

Carrying capacity is directly related to body size.

But Han Yong’s upper body clearly wasn’t as standard as Fang Huai’s, his back a little hunched, which is stressful for the spine.

"Rep-rep-rep...ort!"

"It’s too heavy, too heavy..."

In the end, Han Yong couldn’t bear the weight anymore, his report coming out as a pronounced tremble.

"Don’t raise it, don’t raise it! It hurts coming down!"

The cries of distress grew louder, and everyone watching started to feel a painful empathy.

This weight was enough to see stars even for Fang Huai, who hadn’t strengthened his legs yet.

Before starting, Fang Huai had thought, thirty reps, fifteen in one set, two sets and done.

Once the barbell was on him, the oppressive weight hit him and he immediately changed his mind.

Ten reps, ten in one set would be fine, split into three sets, not too many.

After one set, his trembling legs and back, numbed by the barbell, told him: Ten more reps and I’m going to strike.

Let’s do five... five in one set...

After the first round, Xiao Haishan did 15 reps, the rest did 10 each.

Liu Jianfeng was next to them, urging: "Hurry up! There are still sit-ups to do!"

The Festinger Effect states that bad things tend to happen one after the other.

The door opened again.

Attracted by Han Yong’s screams, three first-class soldiers with their hands behind their backs walked into the squad room, smiles on their faces.

"Ah, Squad Leader Liu, doing barbell squats?"

Zhang Yang watched the new recruits sitting on the ground catching their breath with a smile, thinking this is what it really means to join the troops.

Damn it, these new recruits strutted around all day and had their fun, right?

We old soldiers endured silently all day, swallowing our complaints, just waiting for this moment!

This is what an army night is really like!

Liu Jianfeng leaned against the bed without speaking, sneering in his mind.

Ignorant of coming worries, just wait until tomorrow when Instructor Cao notifies you to come for evening exercise. I’ll teach you slowly then.

Zhang Yang proudly stretched out his hand to feel the weight of the barbell.

"Only 100 pounds? Come on, we’ll assist you guys. Train hard."

Qi Xiaohui and Meng Qiang also laughed, "Hurry, get up and continue doing them!"

The three of them looked like contestants in a slapping contest who had just been hit, wicked grins on their faces.

Now it’s your turn.

Fang Huai resignedly slapped his buttocks and stood up, ready to take on the additional weight from two first-class soldiers.

After all, new recruits are still new recruits, bound by the rules of the troops, unable to resist.

Song Lin and Xiao Haishan could only stand up as well and whispered, "Ah, if only we could get out..."

The two glanced at the ferocious Zhang Yang and didn’t dare finish their sentence.

Zhang Yang roared, "What the hell are you dreaming about? Our squadron hasn’t had a night police dispatch in half a month! Hurry up and do it!"

Just then,

Han Yong, still sitting on the frigid ground but feeling a burning heat, looked at the moonlight outside the window, feeling his heart could provide enough sorrow for the elderly Du Fu to write a poem.

With tears in his eyes, he murmured, "Right, in such cold weather, there definitely won’t be a fire alarm..."

The sound was clear in the still night.

Liu Jianfeng couldn’t help but get up and look out the window, then, remembering they didn’t have to respond to an alarm, he relaxed his body again.

Han Yong was about to stand when,

It was as if the Buff had stacked up enough.

"Ring..."

The alarm bell sounded loudly!

Everyone in the room was startled on the spot!

Fang Huai, touching his damp forehead, stared in disbelief at Zhang Yang and Han Yong.

Damn it, a jinx!