Chapter 97 - 55: Special Training Class

By 9:20, when the assembly was called, the area below the New Training Building was already densely packed with people.

At least a company’s worth had shown up.

Pride was etched on everyone’s faces; present were physical fitness elites selected from each squad.

Not only proud, but there was also a certain defiance in the glances exchanged amongst them, including some who had served a year or two in the militia and undergone training by the Armed Forces Department.

Of course, there were no re-enlisted ’awesome’ characters; even Fang Huai had only heard about them and never seen one.

The Commander ordered everyone to line up according to companies one to eight and squads one to nine.

A non-commissioned officer, with wheat-colored skin, slightly overweight, and about 1.7 meters in height.

Once the assembly and alignment were complete, Hao Chengbin walked over to the NCO with his hands behind his back and patted his shoulder.

"Little He, you’re also leading troops this year?"

The NCO smiled helplessly and replied awkwardly, "Squad Leader, I really couldn’t handle the winter training competition today, so I came up to be a clerk and rest for a bit."

Before Hao Chengbin could respond, some of the new recruits below had already started to snigger.

Even amongst the non-commissioned officers, there are those too lazy to train!

If you can’t handle it, then you can only be a clerk!

Fang Huai heard the quiet mockery around him and couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth.

It really was He Zhijun who had come; Fang Huai had thought there was a duplicate name when he heard it because it was quite unbelievable for He Zhijun to come and lead troops.

This was a truly fierce man.

The new recruits were a bit naive; the squad leaders selected from the battalion to lead these "top students" could hardly be the lazy kind.

When they said they couldn’t handle it anymore, that meant mental exhaustion, which was different from what the new recruits understood as not being able to handle it.

When Hao Chengbin heard the snickers below, his expression turned stern, and he turned to address the crowd with a cold voice.

"Laughing? You think you’re the elite, don’t you? Do you know who is standing in front of you?

He Zhijun, Squad Leader He!

The Ironman of firefighting! Third place in the National Grand Martial Arts Competition! None of you, including your squad leaders, can match his achievements!

I don’t dare to laugh at him, what makes you think you can?

Everybody, get ready for push-ups!"

The crowd suddenly fell silent as if chilled, and those who had laughed had looks of terror on their faces.

In a firefighting force of over a hundred thousand... third place in the national competition?

How could such a person come from a backwater place like Guizhou?

"One." Hao Chengbin glanced at the chaos before him and spoke indifferently.

Those who knew better had already laid down.

But Hao Chengbin didn’t give everyone much time to react.

"Two."

Yue Tao, who was on the ground, kindly reminded those still standing dazed.

"Quick, get down! If he counts to three, you’re done for!"

The entire formation immediately turned into chaos, with the dozen or so still standing hurriedly dropping down.

"Excuse me! Make way!"

"Ah! You’re stepping on my hand!"

"Three."

The traditional antics reappeared, only this time the count was straightforward.

Fortunately, the attendees of the Evening Exercise were all top-notch, at least their movements to lay down were quick, and they managed it before the countdown of three.

Hao Chengbin smiled.

That smile, under the moonlight, appeared particularly fierce, making even Fang Huai feel a sense of unfamiliarity.

"Today, we are only doing one push-up.

No, half.

Everyone, listen carefully, we are only going halfway down for the push-up, stop at the halfway mark! Begin!"

"Countdown from three seconds! Get into position! Anyone who isn’t positioned correctly, 500 push-ups!"

"One!"

Hao Chengbin gave the command once again, this time noticeably faster.

Hao Chengbin and He Zhijun exchanged a look, then checked each person one after the other, front and back.

Hao Chengbin kept inquiring about everyone’s physical condition, occasionally asking if someone’s brain wasn’t working or if someone’s ears were deaf because they couldn’t hear.

"Only go halfway down! Keep your backs straight!"

He Zhijun did not berate anyone; apart from organizing the formation, he also chatted with Hao Chengbin, seeming not to have said a single word to the others, just continuously bending down to correct the new recruits’ push-up form.

Doing half a push-up was a nightmare for these new recruits.

Even for those new recruits who were proud and stubborn.

In just one minute, Fang Huai could clearly see people in the crowd beginning to shake.

And there was Yue Tao, right beside him.

"Report!"

"Report to the squad leader, I can’t hold on anymore!"

Hao Chengbin ignored it, turning around to light a cigarette for He Zhijun and one for himself.

He Zhijun took it but didn’t smoke; instead, he tucked it behind his ear.

After Hao Chengbin lit up, He Zhijun turned and laughed disdainfully.

"These are the so-called elite soldiers? The pregnant dogs in our squadron are in better shape than you all!"

After taking a couple of puffs, as the reports grew louder, He Zhijun looked at Hao Chengbin.

He Zhijun was a straightforward man and the Chief of Staff’s orders to him were clear: For new recruit training, he must measure the intensity well.

The second order was: Any new soldier who was unruly was to be made compliant, all else was to be left to Hao Chengbin.

He didn’t know what the "right intensity" was, as per the Chief of Staff; in his eyes, this wasn’t training at all. He knew he definitely couldn’t impose his own training volume on others.

It was precisely because he was afraid he couldn’t grasp this degree of moderation that he chose to be a clerk, fearing that he might go too hard and completely incapacitate the new soldiers.

Hao Chengbin knew him and had a rough idea of his personality, so he turned around and smiled at the new recruits: "Anyone who doesn’t want to be here can go back; I’m giving you your last chance to leave.

I’ll tell you this, for those who stay, I’ll expect the same level of training as new soldiers in the team during the Evening Exercise moving forward!"

With a half-done push-up and a stern speech, this "voluntary extra drill" seemed to take a different turn.

Some of the new recruits were frightened, some were excited.

Battalion Commander Zhang, next to Fang Huai, seemed rather excited as well.

The glint in his eyes sent a chill down Fang Huai’s spine.

"This guy, as a second-year first-class soldier, is definitely a sicko who could torment new recruits to death."

"Report! I can’t do it anymore!" someone stood up.

With one person leading, the rustle of a dozen more standing up followed; they shook their hands, grimaced, and took deep breaths to show they truly couldn’t hold on any longer; they had tried their hardest.

Soon, there were over twenty.

Hao Chengbin watched with folded arms as he looked at the new recruits lying on the ground.

He seemed to hold in contempt those who were stubbornly enduring it on the ground, their chests heaving.

"Is this the only amount of people who want to leave? The rest of you, do you really think you can hold on?"

Some who were feeling uneasy stood up after hearing this, another dozen or so.

Some of the remaining people began to shout out defiantly.

"Squad Leader! We can hold on!"

Hao Chengbin spat on the ground: "You all are fucking brain-dead."

After a while, no one else stood up, and Hao Chengbin started the countdown.

"Three."

"Two."

"One!"

This time, fewer people stood up, only four or five scattered ones.

With these people standing to the side, the team was reduced to just over half its original size.

"He Zhijun, take these people to Advisor Zhang first, and let him take them back," Hao Chengbin instructed, pointing to Zhang Xing who was sitting in the distance playing with his phone.

He Zhijun nodded, seemingly pleased that there were so many fewer people. With so many, it really was a headache to keep track.

Who knew that once the command was given, the rustle of another dozen or so standing up followed.

"Report!"

"Report..."

Hao Chengbin revealed a genuinely amused smile for once, not a malicious one.

"You are all fucking smart... Go! And quick about it!"

A group of "smart" new recruits immediately ran out of the formation, joining the group waiting for Advisor Zhang to take them back to camp.

This bunch had suffered enough losses and were afraid of being punished if they stood up too late, so they waited cautiously to see how things would turn out.

Seeing that nothing happened and that they could indeed follow the Advisor back, they quickly stood up.

The Chief of Staff surely wouldn’t beat or punish them, that much they knew in their hearts. The only psychological pressure was how to explain themselves to their own squad leaders once back.

Fang Huai turned to look around, Seventh Company had lost three but still held their ground well. Most of those who remained were from Fifth and Seventh Companies.

The formation had suddenly become much tidier, now with just over thirty remaining.

Advisor Zhang swiftly took the people away.

Hao Chengbin turned and headed to the trash can behind him to throw away his cigarette butt. Seeing that he was walking away, some began to make snide and "in-the-know" comments.

"Haha, that bunch of idiots... he’s just bluffing. Hao Chengbin, the three-term old ghost, has terrible physical fitness. What can he pull off?"

Even without hearing the voice, people from Squad Nine would know who said it just from the words themselves.

Three members of Squad Nine turned and glared at Jiang Peng, fury in their eyes.

Insulting their squad leader was an insult to the entire squad!

The collective consciousness of Squad Nine was now very clear: only members of their own squad had the right to criticize their squad leader!

Fang Huai watched him looking smug, then turned back, closing his eyes slightly, pondering a question.

Should he find an excuse to send him back?

Seeing him around every day was annoying; while a toad doesn’t bite, it sure is irritating.

But he couldn’t lay a hand on him—it would make things difficult for both squad leaders.

Military rules, like laws, operate on the same principle: you can’t just beat someone up because you see them doing wrong if you’re not the squad leader and have no enforcement power.

But doesn’t Jiang Peng like to report people?

Tit for tat then.

"Report, Squad Leader, Jiang Peng just insulted our soldiers who left the formation!" Fang Huai called out loudly.

Hao Chengbin looked over.

Speaking up for the squad leader might not get a response from the surrounding new recruits.

But this reason quickly struck a chord with some; many who had left knew those who remained, from the same company, and had good friendships.

What gives you the right to insult our company’s soldiers?

"Right! Squad Leader, he called our fellow soldiers idiots!" The surrounding new recruits began to chime in.

Soon, a more complete version came forth: "Squad Leader, he said you have no real physical strength, that you’re just scaring people, and he insulted those of us who just left!"

"Oh?" Hao Chengbin laughed upon hearing this.

"Jiang Peng, you sure have a lot of spring in your step, don’t you?"

Jiang Peng kept silent, looking at Fang Huai with a hateful gaze.

Fang Huai turned and saw this, giving him a cold sneer in return.

Jiang Peng’s eyes widened, and just as he was about to say something, a shadow loomed over him.

"The squad leader asked you something, why aren’t you answering?"

Jiang Peng looked up and saw He Zhijun. Fear crept into his heart.

In Squad Eight, the new training emphasized physical fitness above all. New recruits with good physical fitness had the right to be troublemakers; old soldiers with good physical fitness enjoyed the leader’s tolerance.

That’s why he insisted on being assigned to this additional training squad.

Thus, Hao Chengbin, who had never displayed any physical prowess and always ducked out on new recruit fitness days, was in his eyes an insecure and incapable old soldier, and since Hao Chengbin had met his uncle before, he surely wouldn’t dare to hit him.

Even Pan Zhaohui, with such a volatile temper, hadn’t hit him since then.

But He Zhijun, a squad leader with top physical fitness and a stranger, was full of uncertainties.

So, flustered, his habitual defense mechanism kicked in.

"Squad leader... I... I didn’t say that."

What followed, however, was Hao Chengbin speaking up.

"Jiang Peng, did you just say, I can’t handle it?"

Jiang Peng kept silent, head down and mouth closed.

He was using a tactic he’d picked up from his uncle: I’ll answer if Squad Leader He speaks to me, but if you ask, I’ll stay silent.

I just won’t accept you, what are you going to do about it?