Chapter 579 - 439: The Struggle between North and South

Shanghai locals have a term called "being low-key".

Being subdued, seeing through things without pointing them out, not discussing what you don’t understand or are unsure of; where there is silence, thunder is heard, where there is no color, flowers are seen – this corresponds to the "Humility" hexagram from "The Book of Changes", it represents a complete system of life philosophy.

The style of acting in the troops, however, is a different system. A soldier must strive to be the first; they aim to ’make noise’.

This ’noise’ is a different kind of noise, not just about speaking with confidence but also about having thunderous actions and an arrogant, clanging spirit.

Everyone here is here to compete for ’noise’.

First for the collective, then for the individual.

Seeing Jiang Guangwen still thinking about He Zhijun and feeling that the Guizhou Brigade might make some noise this year, everyone revealed a smile that seemed to say "you really don’t recognize Mount Tai."

In terms of intelligence alone, you’ve already lost.

But it’s understandable; the Corps Martial Arts Competition has just ended recently, and after all, who would pay attention to a small brigade.

Everyone exchanged glances, their eyes tinged with mockery as they silently agreed on one thing: they must keep a low profile and hide the trump card that is Fang Huai.

Everyone felt that among the 32 brigades, their brigade didn’t stand out at all, and they could definitely keep it hidden.

Therefore, Gui Qiang and the others immediately laughed out loud, saying:

"Zhijun brother, look, didn’t we say your reputation precedes you?"

"Yeah, Zhijun brother, no need to be low-key around them, always strive for the first place!"

Gui Qiang, being a second-term soldier, even started addressing He Zhijun from the fourth year as "Zhijun brother".

He Zhijun also felt everyone’s intention to prop him up as a distraction from Fang Huai and went along with it, saying somewhat shyly with a laugh:

"I’m not up to it anymore, my back is injured; there’s no hope for me!"

His overly conspicuous demeanor clearly caught the attention of Jiang Guangwen from the opposite side.

Being the focus felt great.

Only Lian Xu slightly shook his head and sighed.

You all are overthinking it way too much.

However, He Zhijun’s popularity did garner them some intel.

"You guys go drop off your stuff and hurry over to check the course. There’s a small gap in the fifth segment of the three-meter hurdle that the Liaoning Brigade is studying how to exploit, the handholds on the horizontal platform seem to be freshly painted and a bit slippery, and the dummies, there’s a small loop at the back of their necks... never mind, you go see for yourself... damn it, they spend all day looking for these backdoors."

Jiang Guangwen seemed pretty resentful that the Liaoning Brigade had found so many bugs, spilling everything he knew, not wanting them to take advantage of these loopholes.

But most importantly, it was because he simply couldn’t see the Guizhou Brigade having any chance at the podium.

He had competed with He Zhijun before and knew that he wasn’t a gifted contestant; he was the hard-working type and had an average stature. No matter how hard he trained, he was at a disadvantage in some events.

On the other hand, the soldiers from Liaoning and Shandong, mostly locals, were tall and strong. This year there were many weight-bearing events which gave them an advantage.

Jiang Guangwen thought to himself and glanced at the group from the Southwest, most under 1.7 meters, until his eyes landed on Fang Huai who had grown to 182 cm.

Now there’s a promising contestant for the Martial Arts Competition, but he’s just a trainee officer, probably fresh out of the Military Academy.

What good soldiers could come out of a Military Academy.

They’re pinning their hopes on He Zhijun for this year’s competition; it’s likely a lost cause.

Fang Huai, amidst the crowd, seemed to have no intention of hiding himself and took the initiative to say:

"Thanks, brother. Which brigade are you from?"

Jiang Guangwen hesitated for a moment, then He Zhijun from behind said:

"Fellow from Jiangxi!"

"Oh, thanks, fellow!"

Upon hearing he was squad leader Hao’s fellow local, Fang Huai’s face lit up with a smile, and he turned to say, "Let’s go; let’s set our stuff down and take a look at the track to see if those who set the questions for us can even qualify themselves."

This time, everyone burst into laughter, and the group crowded onto the fourth floor, heading towards the corridor.

This year, the Liaoning Brigade got their wish and introduced their iron-clad discipline to the national competition, but also earned the enmity of fellows from across the country.

Jiang Guangwen, however, noticed that the apparent leader among this group was the young trainee officer. He shook his head, feeling the inevitable fate of Guizhou being at the bottom, and lost interest in the team, returning to his own room.

Alas, the South, it seems tough this year.

In the face of the North’s dominance this year, the distinction between the North and South has once again become a blurred collective.

Fang Huai, however, wasn’t aware of this, or it might be better to say that after making all his preparations, when he arrived here, his focus had shifted away from the competition.

He came with another major task.

Vice Bureau Chief Yu had given him five slots to fill, and he had been holding back all this time, waiting to scout for talent on the national stage.

He couldn’t just pick those who ranked at the top in the competition; he also had to respect the wishes of others, so he had to understand them thoroughly and be ready to open up communication.

As he arrived at the door of his room, he looked around with his hands clasped behind his back; he suddenly noticed a roster taped to the door indicating that two rooms at the end of the corridor were assigned to the Guizhou Brigade, also listing the names of the personnel.

This piqued his interest.

Memories from his previous life, when he had worked for a government agency and seen some briefs listing the vague names of national competition dark horses, now came back into focus.

He still remembered a few.

He would focus on those who had ranked highly in competitions after 2009; if they were still not well-known this year, they would be his primary targets.

Vice Bureau Chief Yu probably never imagined that Fang Huai also had his own ’cheats’ when picking personnel.

Fang Huai quickly changed into his Emergency Rescue Suit in his room and left, looking at the doors of the other brigades’ rooms while walking.