Chapter 99 - 57 Don’t say anymore, squad leader!

Zhang Yizhang kicked hard, landing a blow on Yue Tao’s leg.

Yue Tao winced in pain and immediately pounced on him, "Fuck your mother!"

Chaos ensued.

Fang Huai gritted his teeth and also charged forward, delivering an uppercut to Zhang Yizhang.

Zhang Yizhang didn’t dodge and took a hard hit to the face, which was followed by an even louder roar as he tangled with Yue Tao and Fang Huai.

But besides that, his much-prided reaction speed didn’t come into play as much as he expected, especially in a situation surrounded by people.

There was simply no room to dodge; every time he raised his arm, he encountered a crowd that couldn’t avoid him in time, and Zhang Yizhang managed to grab a handful of Fang Huai’s face, burning painfully.

Soon, though, everyone cleared out, and Zhao Bing rushed behind Zhang Yizhang, tightly holding him while trying to calm him down.

"Don’t be angry, don’t be angry!"

This was clearly taking sides.

With Zhao Bing hugging him like that, he was just a live target.

In that short time, Zhang Yizhang had also taken a couple of punches from Yue Tao.

"Fuck! Teaming up on me because I’m alone, right? Get off!" Zhang Yizhang turned and shoved, bringing Zhao Bing crashing to the ground.

Voices could be faintly heard in the distance.

"The squad leader has seen it! He’s coming!" someone whispered to those nearby.

But someone else pulled him back, winking and signaling for him to be quiet.

The new recruit group is so fucking boring, isn’t it? Isn’t it good to watch the show?

Everyone backed further and further away.

Fang Huai heard them, but seeing Zhao Bing on the ground still desperately restraining Zhang Yizhang, and Yue Tao rushing in only to be kicked by the fiercely struggling Zhang Yizhang, his eyes also reddened.

He didn’t look back, pretending not to hear, and walked straight towards Yue Tao, shouting.

"Back off, let him get up!"

He went over, pulled Yue Tao away, and then turned to grab Zhang Yizhang by the collar, yanking hard to pull him up.

Zhang Yizhang stood up, wound up his arm, ready to punch Fang Huai in front of him.

Fang Huai’s reaction speed finally came into play; his head quickly dodged the oncoming fist, and his right hand exerted force.

"Slap!"

A sharp sound.

With a slap, he stunned Zhang Yizhang, who was in rage, making him step back several paces, covering his face, staring at Fang Huai with eyes like blazing fires.

Only then did Fang Huai catch his breath, spit on the ground, and gestured with his hand, beckoning, "Come on, fight me one-on-one."

Normally, he would never be so impulsive.

But today, from the moment he decided to help Yue Tao, he knew he couldn’t escape punishment, whether it was a group fight or a one-on-one, it was all the same.

From cursing to throwing punches, it only took half a minute, and he still had at least half a minute.

He was ready for a good fight!

Once again, Fang Huai provocatively beckoned, "You were shouting pretty fiercely, weren’t you? Come on!"

"Fuck!" Zhang Yizhang yelled a battle cry and quickly charged over.

Fang Huai just felt that Zhang Yizhang’s speed was nothing special; he moved his feet to prevent him from getting close.

Dodge his fist and strike back with a punch.

Dodge his fist and strike back with a punch.

Dodge his fist and strike back with a punch.

"Damn... Pretty fierce! Such quick speed!" someone exclaimed from the side.

"Hey, fight back! Why the hell are you just taking hits?" someone egged on Zhang Yizhang.

"This guy looks strong, but so fucking dumb! He didn’t land a single punch!" another person lamented.

Zhang Yizhang swung three punches but didn’t land any; instead, his face took three punches, as if he was just serving himself up to be beaten.

It’s not that the others couldn’t see it; Fang Huai’s reaction speed had reached predictive levels, almost moving in sync with Zhang Yizhang’s punches.

As long as there was space, Zhang Yizhang could hardly hit Fang Huai.

Fang Huai’s reaction speed was seven times better than Zhang Yizhang’s.

At this moment, Zhang Yizhang’s face wasn’t just in pain, his ears were ringing, and he was being jeered at from the sidelines.

He started with some form, but after taking three punches, he began swinging wildly like a mad dog.

Fang Huai backed away, then suddenly lashed out with a kick, pushing him off.

In fact, Zhang Yizhang had left his lower body completely exposed; if Fang Huai had been ruthless, Zhang Yizhang would be clutching his groin now.

Kicked in the calf, Zhang Yizhang stepped back in pain, gasping for air.

His eyes filled with rage, he was about to charge again.

"Stop!"

"What are you doing!" Two squad leaders had already run up to them.

"Reporting to the squad leader, they’re fighting!" someone immediately stood straight.

Fang Huai and Zhang Yizhang stopped, confronting each other, neither moving.

Zhang Yizhang calmed down, realizing the kid must have trained, and was shaken, not daring to charge again.

Meanwhile, Fang Huai had vented enough; calming down, he knew the squad leader had arrived, and the game was over.

Hao Chengbin saw the scene and was furious. The playground was so bright that one could see from seven or eight meters away Zhang Yizhang’s dark skin marked with red and blue where he had been hit.

Zhang Yizhang had been beaten, and he could hardly believe it. Pan Zhaohui had boasted that their Squad Leader Zhang had been a militiaman and had learned martial arts.

"Who started it? Who was involved!"

The new recruits started to retreat backwards.

Fang Huai turned around and called out loudly, "Reporting to the squad leader! Zhang Yizhang hit Yue Tao, and as the deputy squad leader, I failed to handle it calmly and hit Zhang Yizhang. I accept the punishment!"

Hao Chengbin took a hard look and caught his breath.

Was it Fang Huai?

It must have been him; he probably learned a few moves at home from his father.

Hao Chengbin immediately frowned, surveyed the surrounding scene, and set his face in a stern expression.

"You accept the punishment? You still know that you’re the Deputy Squad Leader?"

Hao Chengbin walked behind Fang Huai and kicked him with a raise of his leg.

Fang Huai instinctively tried to dodge but quickly steeled himself and took the kick solidly.

After cursing, Hao Chengbin walked over to Zhang Yizhang.

"Why did you hit Yue Tao?"

Yue Tao immediately shouted, "Report, Squad Leader! He said you were bullying Jiang Peng and that Fang Huai was snitching. We started arguing, and then he said he was going to hit me. I told him to try, and he... he slapped me! So, I fought him! Fang Huai came to help me, and he got hit too!"

Yue Tao’s report sounded like a burst of machine-gun fire, and it was a bit difficult for the average person to follow.

The cause and effect were quite direct, but the process was confusing.

"So you mean, the two of you, ganged up on him?" Hao Chengbin furrowed his brows.

"No, there was also Zhao Bing. Zhao Bing held him and wouldn’t let him move." Yue Tao felt a sense of pride brought about by their unity.

"Oh, so three against one?" Hao Chengbin’s expression relaxed, and he actually started to smile.

Fang Huai even felt a bit of regret upon hearing this.

What a bad teammate!

Zhao Bing was also anxious: "Squad Leader! I was trying to break up the fight! They’re both so big, I couldn’t hold them back!"

Fortunately, Yue Tao wasn’t the only hot-headed one in the Seventh Company.

Chang Kun from Squad Five spoke up: "No, Squad Leader! It was Fang Huai who was taking on Zhang Yizhang in a one-on-one fight! Fang Huai beat Zhang Yizhang up!"

While speaking, he couldn’t help but look at Zhang Yizhang with a sense of amusement.

This guy looks down on everyone every day, so arrogant in his speech. Now he’s gotten beaten up, huh!

Hao Chengbin turned to look at Chang Kun: "Oh, so the rest of you just stood here watching, right?"

Wrong.

The new recruits sensed something wrong with this remark.

This sounded familiar, as if it was the tone the Squad Leader used before taking action.

"Everyone, assemble on the open ground outside the playground!"

...

That night, there was no more time.

After separately questioning a few individuals and synthesizing their statements, Hao Chengbin quickly figured out most of the truth.

It was supposed to end at ten-thirty, but at eleven o’clock, the playground still echoed with Hao Chengbin’s roars and the new recruits’ wails, along with the continuous shouts of "reporting".

Sharpshooters and regular soldiers weren’t all that different, it was just that the former could withstand a few more minutes before wailing. Once the punisher, Hao Chengbin, lost track of time, push-ups, the simplest exercise, was enough to make everyone howl in unison.

The troublemaker Zhang Yizhang and the aggressor Fang Huai were both included. Of course, Zhang Yizhang received special treatment—his face was dabbed with a bit of Yunnan Baiyao before lying down on that hard cement ground.

"I think you guys are suited to lying on the ground! Only when you’re down will you stop causing trouble!"

"Zhang Yizhang, you’ve been a militia for two years and now you’re so damn conceited? Then let me ask you, can any Squad Leader who’s fitter than you have the right to beat the hell out of you? How about I help you with an application to the battalion, and let He Zhijun take you aside in the lower unit, how about that?

There are many who are stronger than you!

In the entire firefighting, new recruit group, squadrons, I’ve personally trained no fewer than a hundred soldiers! At least half are stronger than you!

Didn’t you serve for two years as a soldier?

Should I call a group of First-class soldiers, third-year non-commissioned officers, over to compare with you one by one?

Go back and ask your Squad Leader Pan, outside these walls of the new recruit group, what level do you think you are?!"

"Fang Huai, being a Deputy Squad Leader, do you think you’re at the same level as the Squad Leader? I’ve been too indulgent with you!

You’re really awesome! The man is already pinned down, and you want to pull him up for a one-on-one fight!

Do you think you can beat up several people? If you were in the People’s Liberation Army, the Internal Guard, where everyone has a gun, could you dodge bullets?!"

"The rest of you, seeing your comrades fighting and not only did you not help, you all just watched the excitement! The only one who stepped forward was siding with one party!"

"You all so bored, huh? Fine, today I will teach you a new exercise, with a nice-sounding name, called ’Sweat Drips Down Into the Soil’. Use your sweat to dampen a section of this cement ground in front of you to my satisfaction, and then you can get up and go to sleep!"

This maneuver is even tougher than sweating through a newspaper.

The ground dries quickly, especially cement. Forget about sweat, even after a rain, it could be completely dry by the afternoon.

The new recruits kept switching hands to rest, not daring to wipe their sweat; one wipe might mean several more minutes of endurance.

"Report, Squad Leader, I... I have anhidrosis!" a new recruit shouted through clenched teeth.

Hao Chengbin frowned, stepped forward for a look, and indeed, there wasn’t a single drop of sweat in front of him.

But he reached out to feel the recruit’s back, and laughed.

"Your back is soaked through, is this anhidrosis? Don’t worry, it’s just underdeveloped sweat glands on your scalp!

Do you see the writing on your back? ’Bleed and sweat without tears, skin and flesh may tear but never fall out of the formation!’

If you really have anhidrosis and can’t undergo training, you can file a report for a re-examination, and after the doctor’s conclusion, you can apply for discharge!

Oh, since no sweat is dripping from your brow, then you can soak the winter camouflage jacket you’re wearing for me!"

On a December night, the cold wind whistled.

Yet, not a single person felt cold; in fact, everyone wanted to take off their jackets, to strip off all the clothes underneath.

The events affected everyone equally that night—this was a true depiction.

Later on, the new recruits all deeply remembered that night.

The Squad Leader said, bystanders are as guilty as those who fight.

The Squad Leader said, comrades are those you trust to watch your back.

The Squad Leader said, for soldiers, obeying orders is a sacred duty.

The Squad Leader lectured each person without cease.

The ground was littered with no fewer than six cigarette butts by the end; Squad Leader Hao’s smoking frequency was about one every five minutes, adding the time it took to smoke them, they had probably been doing push-ups for around forty to fifty minutes.

The previous record was shattered, and the unit of time for push-ups was only two butts short of being measured by the hour.

A night of agony.

They all remembered the words, but most clearly, they remembered their own inner voices.

Squad Leader, please no more talking, we want to go back to sleep!