Chapter 453 - 366: Rescuing Zhang Xiaohua

Ascent to a height.

In the early morning, the feeling of waking up at the summit was really wonderful.

Fang Huai had never done such a refreshing thing in his previous life.

Why climb to the summit to watch the sunrise?

At 5 o’clock, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Fang Huai got up and stood at the edge of the mountaintop platform, smelling the slightly damp scent of grass and trees in the morning, with the mountains spreading out before him. He raised his hand and could feel the freedom of the wind.

Take a deep breath, and the oxygen saturation feels like it could go off the charts.

Actually, taking oxygen in the fresh breeze could also satisfy one’s physical needs.

I really want to live here.

Ever since his rebirth, it wasn’t the first time he had thought about being close to nature, which was completely different from his past thoughts. In the past, he wanted to huddle in skyscrapers, preferably a luxurious one, with internet, food and drink, where he could live until death.

Perhaps it’s because of the height at which he stood now.

When one’s mind realizes it isn’t just thinking or acting, but can achieve things, great things, that kind of spiritual fulfillment is even more exhilarating.

Fang Huai thought to himself and turned around to look at the comrades who were gradually getting up and coming out of their tents.

Hey.

In the process of accomplishing great things, it would be nice to have a bowl of fen noodles for breakfast.

At that moment, the highest-ranking instructor, Lieutenant Colonel Fox, came from a distance, brushing his teeth with a water cup, and complained,

"Number 1, you really screwed me over yesterday! A plan that had me running down the mountain! Old Hu didn’t get to sleep until the middle of the night!"

Fang Huai saw he was also weary and couldn’t help but laugh, "You looked at it too, right?"

Admiration showed in Fox’s eyes, "The two things you sent over were seen by all of us, not bad at all. You even made a funding report for the government side, thinking of everything quite comprehensively. The wording inside, it’s marvelous."

"Thanks for the praise, but we’ve already used it. The Hunan General Team should not copy it, lest it gets awkward if the leaders of both provinces actually chat about it."

Fox laughed, tilted his head back, took a couple of swigs, then spit out some water. He stirred his toothbrush in the cup, splashing out the water.

"That’s not my problem; he’s not from my unit, but I think he was very tempted last night.

Your plan, if well executed, we all think it’s instructive, especially that slogan, ’diverse disasters, major emergencies, after Sichuan, many people have realized this issue, it’s an urgent need for the people.’"

Fang Huai pursed his lips.

Well, it’s you northerners who have high political consciousness, always bringing up the people in conversations.

"Last night, 29 people built platforms, were 16 of them up to standard? Are we going to do it again today?"

Fox thought about it and didn’t play mysterious.

"Yes, the results were good, exceeding our expectations, originally we thought that with one night of study, at most only about 10 people would succeed in building them.

We must hurry in the morning, go no later than ten o’clock, today we need to reach our destination."

Fang Huai looked at the clouds on the horizon and said leisurely,

"Ten o’clock, afraid we won’t make it by then, time to gather the laundry, there’s thunder and rain coming!"

Fox frowned looking at the clear sky.

"Impossible, right? It’s definitely going to be sunny today."

"I’ll bet you, how about the meat in our noon meal?"

...

At noon, on Yin Strip Ridge, below the mountain.

A mountain within the great mountain, majestic and spectacular.

Accompanied by wisps of cooking smoke.

"Hehehe, I humble myself before you, I give in."

Fang Huai cheekily accepted the braised pork with preserved vegetables Captain Hu grudgingly pushed towards him.

Two big pieces for each person.

The more Fox thought about it, the more displeased he became. He turned his head,

"Hey, Captain Hu, let’s not rely on the weather forecast anymore. Number 1 really knows how to read the sky! Just have him climb to the top of the mountain to look around every day."

Hu Peizhou, who was busy with his meal and pondering something, turned his head and laughed after hearing the remark, "It’s not that accurate! He said it would rain at 9 o’clock, but it started raining at 8 o’clock instead. I think even if we tied him to the top of a flagpole, it would be the same."

Fang Huai’s face fell.

I not only know how to forecast the weather, but I also know how to cast spells! I wish two bolts of lightning would strike you two old helpers!

But to be reasonable, if there really was a lightning strike, Fang the Great King would be the first to hide.

After Hu Peizhou finished his meal, he stood up and announced loudly,

"Eat up quickly! We have now reached the region of Yin Strip Ridge! Haven’t some of you mentioned before? In mountainous terrain, the most time-consuming part of countryside rescue is searching while trekking!

Well, starting today, let’s get some good practice!

people, following your sequence numbers, will be divided into 6 rescue groups!

Every day, we will arrange several trapped individuals along our route of advance, and each group will be assigned one or two persons! Each day before we set off, I will give you a list of trapped individuals!

For each trapped individual your group rescues, you collectively gain one point; fail to save one, and each member of the group loses two points!

Whether you operate independently or cooperate between teams, I don’t care!"

Now, everyone was a bit stirred up.

"Captain Hu, weren’t we supposed to march in formation? And what about the flag-bearer, how will we rescue?"

Hu Peizhou laughed, "When did I ever say that we must march in formation? During the march, there can be a certain range of activity! You’re not allowed to stray farther than 30 meters from the flag-bearer, the trapped individuals will also not be beyond five meters from our path!

What’s being exercised here is your observational skills and organizational abilities, as for the search methods, you decide that on your own!

Also, I’ll tell you, the rescue personnel are also logistics personnel chosen by lot!

Each day, logistics personnel who are not found by you can leave the logistics team, rest in the car, and no longer need to provide services for you!

This means that the number of logistics personnel will decrease over time, and with fewer logistics people, your meals will get sparser!

If you end up losing all the logistics personnel, you’ll just have to follow in the footsteps of our forefathers in the Red Army and eat whatever you can find along the way!

Logistics has a total of 35 people, the more you lose, the less you eat each day, it all depends on you!"

"Of course, the logistics personnel who follow you every day are also very tired! Therefore, within the rules, they will try their best to hide themselves in the limited areas along the route. This is a confrontation between both sides within the rules!"

As Hu Peizhou finished speaking, everyone started to stir.

Damn, damn.

Fuck, these rules, these damned logisticians, aren’t going to dig a bunker and hide themselves, are they!

"Damn, Captain Hu, there are only thirty-five of them. If we lose two or three each day, won’t we run out of food in about ten days? If there are no wild fruits or something by the road, will we end up chewing on tree bark? Aren’t we going to starve to death in the mountains?"

Hu Peizhou showed a slight smile:

"You’re being both too optimistic and too pessimistic!

Because you won’t wait until all the logistics personnel are gone to run out of food, instead, it’ll be less and less every day!

You won’t have to eat tree bark. There will be rescue operations, knowledge studies, and even exams along the way to earn extra points. Those of you who are confident in your training and learning, don’t need to search. With five points, you can exchange them for a bowl of instant noodles here with me! Eight points and you can get a pig’s trotter!

I have plenty of food here!

Those of you who save up a lot of points along the way will not only have food but even meat when logistics are gone!"

Everyone was stunned, looking at each other.

They started to calculate in their heads.

"Damn, how many points did I earn yesterday?"

"Wuya, the T-type rescue method, I didn’t get to demonstrate it yesterday! I didn’t earn those points!"

Wuya’s voice came through: "Don’t worry, everyone will have a chance! Those who haven’t demonstrated, we will set up ropes later for you to make up for it! However, those who demonstrate later will not earn as many points as those who went first. Yesterday, Number 1, who demonstrated first, got the highest score, an additional 8 points! So, during each demonstration or assessment, you can raise your hand to volunteer based on how well you’ve studied!"

Damn.

Now everyone was openly envious.

Even Fang Huai was thoroughly impressed by the ingenuity of these rules internally.

Previously, he thought it was strange; although there were only two meals a day, everyone had eaten quite well yesterday, and water was plentiful, all Wahaha. In fact, everyone wasn’t too keen on that food exchange system.

Fast food isn’t tasty nor nutritious, so the most anyone would do with it is to exchange it for drinks to relieve boredom as a treat.

As soon as these rules were announced, the exchangeable points instantly became a vital backup food supply.

Besides, how much the logistics have is entirely up to them, and nobody can complain.

A careless mistake and very soon, you could be missing meals. Lose someone and it’s your own embarrassment.

Logistics and the participants have formed a confrontation.

The creator of these rules must be some high-level minister of justice!

"Captain Hu! How long will these rules last?"

"Throughout the entire training!"

Wow.

That set off another commotion.

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

Over 40 days, with such long distances each day, could they possibly keep logistics intact?

Those who previously vowed not to eat junk food have already started to sneak around instructors, inquiring about the prices of various foods, figuring out how to manage their points for a day’s worth of semi-satisfactory meals.

"Captain Hu, where exactly are we heading on this route now?"

"Hasn’t Number 1 already introduced it to you? Think for yourselves!"

Everyone turned to look at Fang Huai.

Fang Huai’s mouth twitched involuntarily.

At that moment, Lian Xu No. 26 spoke.

"Number 1 said yesterday that Yin Strip Ridge is an extension of the Shennongjia mountain range..."

"Shennongjia?!"

...

A winding mountain highway stretched continuously.

Next to the highway railing, the ground was covered with grass nearly as tall as a person.

"Zhang Xiaohua!"

"Zhang Xiaohua! Are you there?"

Group one’s voices were hoarse from shouting.

The person they were tasked with finding today was named Zhang Xiaohua.

Groups seven and eight had been assigned two individuals to find today, while other groups only had one each.

Everyone hoped to be assigned more than one, but they were also afraid of having more to find.

Find an extra one, and each member of the group gets an additional point.

But fail to find them, and not only would you get ridiculed, but each member of the group would also lose two points.

The instructors said if you called their name within two meters of the person playing the injured party, they would respond.

But everyday there would be someone pretending to be unconscious, who wouldn’t respond no matter how much you called.

Everyone could just picture the logistics personnel each day drawing lots, hands together, praying: "Unconscious, let it be unconscious..."

Just from what they saw yesterday, the logistics really had it tough. Although they didn’t have to participate in training marches, the logistics staff had to carry all their pots, pans, and field kitchens up the mountain.

Maybe logistics didn’t want to cook for them either.

No way, no one less!

Even Fang Huai began to shout, "Zhang Xiaohua!! Your mom is calling you home for dinner!"

Damn it, his own body burned through calories so quickly; when he got hungry, he could eat a tremendous amount. If he really got hungry, he could consume three bowls of instant noodles in one meal; where would he get enough points for that?

The other groups were also thoroughly searching, walking and calling out:

"Liu Wen!!"

"Yang Heng! Goddamn it, Yang Heng, come out!!"