Chapter 548 - 427: You Didn’t Even Break a Single Record?

Time: Delayed by half an hour from the previous time, 8:50 AM.

Location: Training Base, playground.

Music: "Welcome March".

Background: "Escort the Olympics, Welcome the 17th Third Plenary Session—2008 Guizhou Brigade’s Systemic Actual Combat Martial Arts Competition".

The second topic in the background explained the next task of the province’s work after the Olympics.

This time, each detachment had about ten people.

With the leading cadres included, the nine detachments formed a hundred-person phalanx, which really wasn’t enough to stir generous and passionate interest among the leaders.

So when assembling, Director Xu from the War Training Department of the corps gathered the support staff as well and formed another phalanx.

Still not enough.

The logistics personnel from the base were then dragged in to form yet another phalanx.

Hmm... now that’s somewhat interesting.

After whispering to Old Black from the base, Old Black nodded, looked up, and bellowed:

"Front, back, left, right, one-meter intervals! Look to the right... line up!"

The voice echoed across the entire playground.

With the three phalanxes spread out, there was finally some scale to it.

Then, just quietly waiting with the music cycling on repeat.

Past nine o’clock, the leaders entered the field.

Some wore military uniforms, some wore suits.

Boss Wu was in the front talking to a leader, and upon reaching the podium even made a guiding gesture, suddenly making everyone realize:

A high-ranking leader had arrived.

The emphatic nodding and cheerful driving of the high-ranking leader also made everyone realize:

But not extremely high-ranking.

The leaders took their seats, and the opening ceremony officially began.

The introduction of the leadership was done by Deputy Chief of Staff Xu of the corps.

Normally, this task should have been Old Zhang’s job.

Old Zhang wasn’t there, as he had gone down to supervise inspections and wouldn’t return until the afternoon. The leaders were responsible for the opening, and he was to come and inspect the competition discipline and serve as the leader of the referee leadership group to eliminate any biased refereeing that took favors into account.

Deputy Chief of Staff Xu’s introduction was rhythmic and emphatic.

The leaders in attendance today included: Secretary General Hao of the Provincial Government.

Oh wow...

Some people were impressed but didn’t understand the weight of a provincial government leader’s presence.

Some were outright clueless, wondering how a secretary could also be a ’general’?

Fang Huai, on the other hand, nodded to himself, recognizing that the person was the secretary of the office, the big caretaker of the provincial government.

Boss Wu now also held the concurrent position of a deputy secretary-general of the provincial government.

The firefighting local chiefs typically hold a concurrent position as a deputy secretary-general of the local government or as a member of the local Public Security Bureau’s party committee, or perhaps both chiefs split the two roles between them.

Through these positions, they complete the coordination between the government, public security, and firefighting forces. When there’s a major task, it can also be quickly disseminated through the leaders holding positions within the unit.

No wonder it was delayed by half an hour; they had to wait for the government to start work.

Other leaders present included: the active duty office of the Ministry of Public Security... Guiyang city... the corps...

They didn’t go by rank but by unit, introducing others’ first then their own, a simple order of introduction that implied two words: humility.

These positions were clear to everyone.

Each leader spoke a few words, the government leaders about economic development, the colonel from the active duty office about the spirit of the troops, the corps leaders about the mission of firefighting.

After each leader finished speaking, there was a buzz of chatter.

Below, there were also whispers.

"Wow... so many government leaders today, last time... wasn’t it only the corps leaders?"

"Hey, what do you know? Last time the competition was basically physical ability, what was there to see? This time what they’re competing in is our firefighting drills! If the leaders are going to watch, it definitely has to be something different!"

"Tsk tsk... is this the sixth leader speaking now? This speech is never going to end... It’s like we’re having a politics class here."

Fang Huai chuckled to himself.

Aren’t we also teaching the leaders a lesson?

The leaders’ guest seats for viewing the performance should be paid for regularly.

They really should come more often, take a closer look at our grassroots soldiers who are the ones most solidly implementing every doctrine and revolutionary tradition. Observing them more can help the leaders be inspired by the spirit of the soldiers.

The most important thing is, when signing the check to purchase equipment to protect these precious soldiers, their hands shouldn’t shake.

Why did the firefighting forces create such a life-threatening drill as the "Ironman Quadrathlon"?

It’s to show the leaders that our firefighting is tough, intense, and on the field of competition we shed skin and flesh but not our determination.

By the time some of the staff officers around were starting to feel leg-weary and numb from standing, Boss Wu finally began the final call to action.

"I declare that the martial arts competition officially begins!"

Instantly, the seasoned performer Yang Yonghua immediately bellowed:

"All groups, compete by detachment!"

This time, unlike the last time when detachments were mixed, they lined up according to the lottery sequence and were taken to their respective venues to compete in turn.

"Guiyang Regiment! Run, move!"

The field got lively.

This morning, the Guiyang Regiment was competing in two events: the climbing and horizontal crossing competition, and the One Hundred Meters Ladder Attack Drill.

In the morning, the field also included a Firefighting Ironman competition (small quadrathlon) and a Breaching Technique event.

These four drills were definitely deliberately arranged together.

They encompass technique, cooperation, and physical prowess.

Together, they create a feast of the Firefighting forces, and just these few items, even if taken to an evening party, would captivate the audience and earn continuous praise.

The four hundred meters supplies evacuation drill started first.

At the sound of the referee’s starting pistol, three soldiers dashed out simultaneously, with the orange Emergency Rescue Suits’ pant legs uniformly rolled up, making their soot-blackened rescue shoes all the more conspicuous as they ran so fast it seemed their feet barely touched the ground.

The leadership on the podium nodded in approval and then, guided by Boss Wu and General Luo, descended to inspect the whole arena.

The speed on the climbing and crossing side was fast; the Guiyang, Liupanshui, and Tongren Regiments queued in line, with Guiyang first and Fang Huai already registered and ready.

"He Zhijun, get ready to go up! Fang Huai, get ready!"

The onlookers behind were all clicking their tongues in amazement.

Good god, sending the two wild horses first?

This was also Fang Huai’s tactic; for individual events, the two of them would go first to shake the morale of the others and boost their own regiment’s confidence.

Under any circumstances, it was almost impossible for both of them to underperform consecutively.

"Alright!" He Zhijun shouted as he grabbed one end of the safety rope.

"Ready, begin!"

At the referee’s command, the drill officially commenced.

"Whoo, whoo, whoo..."

He Zhijun, holding the safety rope, fastened the rope seat protection around himself. The seat knot was complex, but his hands flew so quickly that the rope whistled in the air. In just four or five seconds, a seat belt knot was formed around his waist.

Then, with a fierce leap, he swiftly climbed the cross-shaped handles on the rock wall side of the high platform, moving left and right like a large monkey, with every move practiced and fluid.

"Click, click, click..."

The continuous sound of the descender pulling in the rope described his rapid progress.

Everyone held their breath, intently watching He Zhijun, who had long dominated the Corps Arena, demonstrate his skills.

Fang Huai’s eyebrows lifted slightly.

In a flash, He Zhijun above had secured the safety hook and started quickly advancing along the single-rope bridge. Upon reaching the edge, he flipped over, pulling rapidly with his hands while simultaneously pushing back with his feet, coordinating with his hand movements to traverse the flying bridge.

Not far away, several leaders noticed the swiftly advancing figure on the horizontal crossing platform.

The group watched in silence, speechless.

They might not understand the specifics of these maneuvers, but the speed of that figure was astounding.

It wasn’t until the figure crossed the bridge, connected the protection, and descended almost without delay that applause erupted from the crowd, prompting the leaders to nod their heads without reservation.

"Mmm... Well-trained, truly a vanguard!"

The active-duty colonel director recognized the skill.

"This bridge crossing and seat-swinging, I’ve seen done by the Internal Guard’s special forces team. This soldier... is the fastest I’ve ever seen."

Boss Wu smiled with his hands behind his back, "His name is He Zhijun. He participated in the Grand Martial Arts Competition the year before last as a first-class soldier and won the third place, really outstanding. In the past two years, he has been continuously training without slack."

As those around them were about to express their admiration, General Luo saw Fang Huai coming forward as if to prepare the equipment and immediately said:

"The one behind, is that Little Fang?"

Fang Huai, with his 181 cm tall height and increasingly handsome profile, was easily distinguishable in the crowd of competitors who were generally short in stature.

Boss Wu glanced over and then pointed at Fang Huai, laughing, "Hmm... That kid, he’s also very impressive. This is his first year, and Leader Liu from the department noticed him and personally spoke up for his promotion. This year, he will lead the corps to compete in the Grand Martial Arts Competition."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, the leaders turned their attention to Fang Huai.

Leader Liu, that was a high-ranking official.

For a soldier from such a place to catch his eye was no ordinary matter.

Officials from the Ministry of Public Security and active-duty management, on the other hand, were surprised: Were there soldiers with such important connections in this place?

In the People’s Armed Police, there were more than ten thousand elite soldiers; surely, it wasn’t possible for a soldier to be promoted just because of his physical abilities, right?

All eyes were now on Fang Huai, with many observers noticing that he was about to compete, tapping their neighbors eagerly to witness his performance.

Boss Wu had merely spoken off the cuff, showing off one of his best soldiers, but seeing everyone’s earnest attention, he couldn’t help feeling a bit apprehensive.

Kid, I’ve talked up a big game; now don’t let me down.

But Fang Huai, with his brows furrowed, was watching He Zhijun and murmured:

"Why didn’t you do it the way we practiced? You pushed it to 39 seconds?"

39.26 seconds was an exceptional time for this arena; last year’s Grand Martial Arts Competition’s best time was only 37.83 seconds.

But the corps’ record was higher, at 37.8 seconds.

Record times are generally much faster than the actual performances at the Grand Martial Arts Competition, mainly because opportunities at the national level are scarce, whereas local competitions are plentiful. With a larger base of results, sometimes an individual’s spectacular performance can set an impressive record.

However, Fang Huai’s expectations were too high; he had hoped that both he and He Zhijun could break the record together!

He had even come up with some risky maneuvers to try.

"Your method is too prone to failure. I wanted to make sure we had a solid performance first," He Zhijun said between breaths.

Fang Huai sighed.

He had wanted He Zhijun to take a risk and try it first.

If it worked, they would make a strong initial impression, and he could follow up, scoring back-to-back victories.

If it didn’t, with his steady hands, he could hold off until the second attempt to secure a good performance.

In the end, He Zhijun had chosen to secure a good performance first.

Fine then.

But Fang Huai, after contemplating, still provoked with a remark:

"Heh, too scared to gamble, you haven’t even broken a record. If that’s the case, the gap between you and me is huge."