Chapter 260 - 203: The Changing Battle! (Part Two)

Fang Huai’s memory was beyond the understanding of ordinary people.

To some extent, he possessed the ability to recall past memories.

It was also why he could pick up many subjects very quickly; in his previous life, he had practiced many things, but due to his physical condition, he hadn’t practiced well.

While others were competing, his brain was continuously recalling every movement of that silhouette.

Energetic, stable.

"Second up, from China, Yang Dinghao."

This firefighting predecessor of his was constantly learning from that future firefighter who was only 18 years old this year.

A fellow from Chongqing.

They were born in a good era.

After the completion of China’s Firefighting Reform in 2019, China participated in the World Championships for the first time, achieving global status for Chinese Firefighting after three competitions and also fostering many firefighters.

The international championships actually consisted of only four events: climbing a hook ladder to the fourth floor, firefighting 100-meter obstacle race, 4×100-meter firefighting relay, and a portable pump target shooting with a hand-carry.

Two individual subjects, two team subjects.

But within each subject, there were thousands of drills and countless physical pains and injuries.

Fang Huai had no illusions about achieving the highest rank at once, but he was also focusing, constantly simulating in his mind, to achieve at least one good result within two opportunities.

Hurdling the barrier, he had practiced that at noon; he had been able to get over it in his former life, and in this life, it was even easier.

Here, he was confident he could pass with the fastest speed.

The fire hose was not a problem, but now they were using buckle hoses. In his memory, right up until he was discharged, this event always used buckles, so he definitely couldn’t connect as casually as he would with a quick-connect adapter and simply walk away after plugging it into the divider.

After crossing the bridge, he would have to slow down.

Ensure the hose connection was secured.

The most critical was the balance beam.

The subject offered two chances.

Side-step first, take a side-step to pass once, completing one score.

On the second chance, go all out to pass.

"Qiannan Brigade, Wu Song, 26 seconds 38!"

"Xu Hu, get on with it! Go, Wu Song!"

"Haha..."

"Guiyang Regiment, Zhang Guangxu, 24 seconds 37!"

"Guiyang Regiment, Liu Shoulin, 19 seconds 82!"

"Awesome!"

Liu Shoulin, who had returned, finally had some pride on his face.

And Fang Huai wasn’t even watching how they competed; there wasn’t much to learn from them, just warming up in the preparation area at the back and listening to other people’s scores.

This subject didn’t have any fancy tricks, the movements aimed to be simplified, quick, courageous yet careful.

However, upon hearing Liu Shoulin’s 19 seconds 82, Fang Huai still tensed up.

The top national record was around 17 seconds; with 19 seconds 82, if the scores had to go down further, Fang Huai really wasn’t sure of himself.

Things didn’t always go as planned.

About three minutes later, the referee ahead shouted:

"Tao Dongdong, 19 seconds 77!"

Another two minutes went by.

"Come on! Lian Xu!"

"Humph... two steps up to the bridge, impressive!"

"Lian Xu, 19 seconds 32!"

"Next up, Tongren Brigade, Chen Xiao! Fang Huai, get ready!"

"Yes!" Fang Huai quickly rearranged his hoses and, carrying them, moved to the side of the track, ready to go on.

He watched this round in its entirety.

No, half of it.

The non-commissioned officer named Chen Xiao vaulted over from behind the barrier, which was quite fast, but when it came to lifting the hose, Fang Huai spotted a problem.

The hose was lifted too loosely.

It would collapse.

With a sense of alarm, Fang Huai moved a step forward.

Sure enough, as Chen Xiao briskly stepped onto the bridge, the two coils of the hose in his hand swayed and loosened.

Chen Xiao immediately tried to correct it and grabbed a handful of hose.

It was this pull that threw him off balance, and one of his feet instantly dangled in the air.

Although there were mats on both sides of the bridge, Chen Xiao was about to jump down on one foot. Fang Huai swiftly surged forward.

Fucking idiot.

From a bridge 1.2 meters high, when he hadn’t even had a stable footing on the bridge, the thought of hopping down on one leg, how could he possibly land without tumbling?

At this moment, there were mats below, better to let the body land first and absorb the shock rather than hopping down on one foot.

If he twisted his ankle from such a jump, it wouldn’t be a laughing matter.

"I! ...Damn."

Just as Chen Xiao felt he was about to hit the ground and his body crouched in anticipation, he realized someone had given him a boost.

Chen Xiao was still shaken and looked back at Fang Huai, weakly said:

"Thanks..."

Seeing that he had squatted down, Fang Huai finally let go, shook his somewhat numb hand, twitched the corner of his mouth, and said:

"If I were you, even if I fainted from a side fall, I wouldn’t take that blow with one foot!"

With that, he turned around and placed his fire hose on the equipment line.

As Fang Huai returned to the starting line, although he kept a stern face, he also felt some fear, his mind incessantly recalling his comrades’ incidents of falling off the balance beam, twisting their ankles, and even fracturing bones in his past life.

Fucking hell, a too accurate memory isn’t always a good thing.

Those scenes were parading before his eyes as if in a marathon.

Huh...

Fang Huai stood on the starting line, exhaling a long breath.

Keep calm and composed.

He took out the training water gun from his waist, wiped it, bit into it, and the taste of iron seeped from his mouth into his nostrils.

He raised his hand and called out a ready signal.

Behind him, the voices of a few old squad leaders sporadically reached him:

"Fang Huai, make it count!"

"Go for it, first place!"

The few distant cheering voices highlighted the silence of the competitors behind him.

When everyone saw Fang Huai stepping up, their feelings were mixed.

If they hadn’t been pushed too far, even people from his own regiment might not have wanted him to take first place.

Even more so, they might not have wanted him to compete at all.

After all, apart from the rivalry between regiments, there was also the divide between old soldiers and new recruits; thus, when people from the training team gossiped about him outside, they also included themselves in the old soldiers’ camp.

A new recruit standing out too much would make them seem incompetent, wouldn’t it?

Participants from his own regiment arguably had more complicated thoughts than those from other regiments.

They hoped Fang Huai would not stand out too much, so they could have the space to shine, yet at the same time, they hoped other regiments would fail against him.

That was why negative information about Fang Huai kept spreading, challenging others to go up against him.

Fang Huai understood all this.

The events of the past two days started with a chat from two female cadres, followed by the snide comments all around me, the slow running, the flat feet—a lot of what was said actually originated within my own regiment.

But I refrained from bringing it up, for maturity’s sake. After all, a bunch of old soldiers who will go their separate ways after the military competition, with whom I share no lasting ties—I wasn’t in the mood to create conflicts with them, nor did I want to spend time fostering a bond.

So today, given the opportunity, I followed Yang Yonghua up to the second floor, didn’t join them for meals, and didn’t interact much.

I forcefully suppressed the negative emotions, refusing to dwell on them or let them turn dark.

Yet, I went around boasting the name "whole corps’ Fang Huai" and secured the first place.

I wanted to tell them that I, alone, one unit, could also stand out.

But was I really the whole corps’ Fang Huai?

All I knew was that when I heard not even a single encouragement from the old soldiers from my regiment behind me, and then saw the unity displayed by Lian Xu on the field, all the pent-up negative emotions from the past two days surged to my heart, leaving me feeling so frustrated I wanted to shout.

What the hell kind of comrades are you.

I am someone destined to become the king of soldiers; you are not worthy to be my comrades.

"On your marks."

Fang Huai once again cast aside all distractions and stood ready in position.

"Ready, start!"

"Ah!" Fang Huai, biting onto the water gun, let out a muffled roar.

A gust of wind.

It was just a brief sprint before the obstacle board, and everyone could tell that Fang Huai’s legs were definitely not weak.

"Bang!!"

The kick used to climb over the board made the entire obstacle shake, and it was filled with a sense of power.

Actually, Fang Huai could have glided over easily, but he deliberately kicked it hard.

Immediately, there was disdain from someone behind:

"To clear the board obstacle in such a manner relies purely on brute strength; there’s no technique whatsoever."

No one argued.

The old squad leaders behind were frowning as well, but they still shouted loudly, "Fang Huai! Be careful crossing the bridge!"

By the time the voice reached him, Fang Huai had already picked up two coils of hose.

The hose he prepared had no issues, and holding them in hand did not affect his coordination at all.

Yet, as he rushed to the bridge, he hesitated for a moment, with not only a fear of the bridge surging up but many other thoughts as well.

Sidestep, sidestep, cautiously made it through.

Fang Huai’s footwork was slightly skewed, and his speed slowed down, taking about eight or nine steps before he fully crossed the bridge.

The starting referee glanced at his stopwatch.

Over 13 seconds.

Below 20 seconds, hopeless now.

But Fang Huai’s speed picked up immediately after coming off the bridge.

Unfurling the hoses, connecting them, a short dash, shuffling up to the divider, snapping the connector in one go, bringing up the water gun at a slow pace, and yelling done at the finish.

The second half was nearly perfect.

"20 seconds 88!" The finish referee shouted.

The starting referee also glanced at his stopwatch, which he had pressed in sync—a minimal discrepancy, nodded his head, indicating no issue.

The old soldiers from the whole corps shouted out loud.

"Not bad! Good score!"

Just below 21 seconds was definitely a good result.

Half of the people present had never achieved it; just Fang Huai’s move of diving and connecting the divider connector in one try was not something ordinary people would dare to attempt.

Even the starting referee couldn’t help but exclaim, "The second half was awesome! When crossing the bridge, I thought this run had to be at least 23 seconds!"

But 20 seconds 88, for the proud and arrogant Fang Huai today, was a result of failure.

Fang Huai detached his hose from the divider, dragging it towards the entrance of the playground.

As he walked, he absentmindedly stared at the ground.

Only when he approached the crowd, did he lift his head, smiled toward the direction of the old soldiers from the whole corps, and said, "Sorry, I had a bit of a mishap this run."

But when he looked up, he saw someone.

Gasp for breath while clutching his knees, standing amidst the group.

A smile broke upon Fang Huai’s face:

"Squad Leader, what brought you here?"

Hao Chengbin took a couple of deep breaths:

"Why am I here? Of course, to cheer you on! Zhou Yong called at noon and said that he saw you all alone on the field, without a single person cheering, and he couldn’t find you at lunchtime!

So he sent two of us from the squadron to accompany you in the competition!

But damn it... the base was full of cars today! I ran all the way here and couldn’t make it in time for your run! I just heard the referee shout, 20 seconds 88?

Was this the first or second attempt?"

Seeing Squad Leader Hao gasping for air, Fang Huai felt a sudden broadening of his heart.

He did have comrades who cared about him, and plenty of them.

"First attempt, there’s still a chance. Squad Leader, where did you park the car to end up like this?"

Hao Chengbin immediately stood up straight and pointed to the fence at the far end of the playground:

"Right there! The driving school, you know? Came from around the outside!

I used to take you guys there to train in formation, to look at beauties! Even asked you guys if you wanted to escape through that dog hole..."

As Hao Chengbin spoke, his eyes began to fill with regret.

"Smack!"

He forcefully clapped his hands.

"Damn, I forgot about that huge hole there; I took a freaking kilometre detour!"

"Hahaha..."

The non-commissioned officers around finally laughed.

But Hao Chengbin glared, "Laugh? What’s so funny? When I got here, there wasn’t a single person cheering! You guys from the same regiment still have the nerve to laugh?"

The Guiyang Regiment soldiers’ laughter ceased.

But.

"Ahem, ahem!"

"What’s with that language? Are we not human?"

The voice came from behind Hao Chengbin.

Hao Chengbin had been too focused on finding Fang Huai earlier, and now turning his head, he finally noticed the few towering figures standing at the entrance, each with more stripes on their shoulders than he had.

The squad leader among them from the sixth period, he recognized as an old acquaintance.

His expression immediately changed, and with a sheepish smile, he said:

"Oh! Squad Leader Lin! What brings you here? I didn’t even notice! Fancy a smoke, a smoke?"

As he spoke, he began rummaging through his pack in a flustered hunt for cigarettes.

His demeanor was extremely obsequious.

Inside, Fang Huai was bursting with laughter.

Even Old Hao has a day to be schooled by a squad leader?

Just for this scene, even if I don’t make a notable achievement, it was worth the trip!

(Extra Chapter 1)