Free Web NovelChapter 126: Chapter 83: Who is Practicing After All?
"The one who spoke just now, and the one who led the team to take cover from the rain, step forward!"
The captain dismissed all their reasons and, seeing that no new recruits responded, began to issue orders.
Fang Huai and two other new recruits who had spoken up made their report and stepped out of the formation, standing beside the queue.
The captain pointed at the three of them.
"You, later on the playground, will be responsible for carrying the dummy, moving foam buckets, and gas cans!
"Everyone else, wait on the top floor of the training tower! Your duty will be to collect the hoses and send them back down!"
Fang Huai thought to himself that it was all over.
The three of them were going to tend to the four-hundred-meter supplies evacuation.
In the four-hundred-meter supplies evacuation, the first fifty meters were to be run empty-handed.
At the fifty-meter mark, there was a 120-pound dummy to be carried and run with for another fifty meters. freewebnovёl.ƈom
Arriving at the location, the dummy was to be placed in a designated area, then pick up two 32-pound foam buckets and run for a hundred meters.
After putting down the foam buckets, there would be a 30-pound gas can to carry and run with for a hundred meters.
The last hundred meters was an all-out sprint to the finish line.
It was one of the individual events of the Iron Army Martial Arts Competition hosted by the Public Security Fire Brigade.
Casually referred to as the "Iron Striking" event.
After one person completed a circuit, the weighted tools naturally had to be returned to their starting places.
If each of the three of them was responsible for returning an item, then after every run they would have to reset the items once.
Looking around, there were at least forty or fifty people.
What did that mean?
If everyone took a turn, they would have to reset the weight-bearing items forty or fifty times.
"Commander! Is there a hand trolley?" Fang Huai asked.
Normally, there would be a hand trolley to pick up the items and pull them back to the start.
Especially the dummy, weighing 120 pounds for fifty meters, forty runs would equal two kilometers! Who could manage that?
Plus, they would have to return to the final destination of the items, another two kilometers on foot!
This was what really should be called "Iron Striking," right?
In his past life, Fang Huai couldn’t complete this four-hundred-meter supplies evacuation because he was unable to carry that 120-pound dummy.
The dead weight of 120 pounds and the weight of a living person were worlds apart.
Fang Huai could carry a living person who weighed 180 pounds, but couldn’t manage a 150-pound dead weight.
Thirty minutes to an hour after death, the body stiffens completely, and all the organs seem to wind up springs, fighting against the person trying to carry them.
The firefighting training dummy was even worse, not only were the filling materials hard, but the outer skin was slippery too. Just a little bit of rain, and when the skin absorbed the water, even just lifting the dummy was a big job.
The captain’s face was half-smiling, "You seem pretty knowledgeable, but no, there’s no hand trolley!
However, someone will come to rotate every half hour!
Don’t worry, if it’s too much, you can take your time! We will wait for you!
But you must follow the equipment you’re responsible for! Wherever the equipment is, that’s where you’ll be!
You three sort it out amongst yourselves! Whether it’s two people carrying the dummy and one person handling the buckets and gas cans, or if you take turns, it’s all the same!"
Upon hearing this, the old soldiers around them began to loosen up, shaking out their limbs and observing the ten new recruits.
Fang Huai realized then.
Today wasn’t about the old soldiers training while the new recruits watched, it was about the old soldiers taking turns tending to the new recruits.
What kind of assistance was this?
Moving two hoses up and down the training tower wasn’t hard; today’s true initiation was on the playground.
The half-hour each person was assigned was the real physical training of the evening. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
The three of them "who had erred" were the first batch of experience members. Based on a two-hour roster, if ten people were divided into three groups, those in the first group to start could potentially endure two rounds.
The lieutenant colonel with his hands clasped behind his back didn’t seem inclined to argue with the new recruits; he must be the Special Duty Squad leader. He directly addressed the two squadrons under his command.
"First Squadron will start with the four-hundred-meter supplies evacuation, Second Squadron with the load-bearing climbing; complete the tasks within an hour and then switch!"
The two new recruits nearby, along with the seven others in formation, seemed to have not fully grasped the situation.
We’re just helping to move some stuff during their training, right?
There’s no timer!
One veteran non-commissioned officer from an earlier period saw the new recruits looking relaxed and even curiously looking around and chuckled, "Let’s all give it our best, guys! Don’t hold up our new comrades from moving stuff! Let the new comrades see our Special Duty Speed!"
The old soldiers all started laughing.
The groups quickly split up and headed in their respective directions.
"Let’s have two of us carry the dummy! The remaining one can move the buckets and the gas can! Those moving the buckets and the dummy can switch every two runs!"
Fang Huai took the initiative to speak with the other two.
One immediately glared, "How can that be? There are three of us, definitely three locations, one each!"
The other also began to chime in, "Right! Otherwise, carrying the bucket and the can will require running 200 meters! Can’t stand it!"
Fang Huai’s face twitched, then pointing at the dummy, he said, "Fine, about that dummy, who’ll go first?"
The first to speak immediately said, "I’ll go first! After two runs, you guys decide who will take over for me, alright?"
Fang Huai smiled, "Okay, let’s see if you can complete two runs first."
Unexpectedly, that person glanced at the dummy and said with a cunning smile, "What’s there to be afraid of? If I can’t carry it, I can drag it!"
Fang Huai didn’t say much more and simply stated, "Then I’ll carry the bucket first, it’s heavier."
The three of them reached an agreement.
As soon as the starting whistle blew, Fang Huai saw a figure in a camouflage uniform charging wildly.
Normally, this drill should be carried out in an emergency rescue suit, but there aren’t so many rules for training.
When that person reached the dummy, he almost didn’t hesitate at all, grabbed the dummy’s hands before it was fully upright, and with a bent-over motion, hoisted the dummy onto his shoulder, roared, and charged forward as soon as he stood straight.
To lift up the dummy took probably no more than four seconds.
With just that one move, he already showed the strength of an ordinary squadron’s core member.
As the man rushed past Fang Huai, the dummy was thrown onto the ground with a "thud."
In some squadrons’ training, many couldn’t deal with a 120-pound dummy and would use a 100-pound one.
That kind of dummy is either visibly hollow for a portion inside or smaller in size.
But with this one, just listening to the sound it made on landing, and observing its size, at about 1.7 meters, it was definitely a solid 120-pound dummy.
Fang Huai, who still had a glimmer of hope up to that point, sighed internally and started running alongside the non-commissioned officer who had already picked up the bucket.
By the time he put down the two buckets, Fang Huai stopped watching the show, only hoping to squeeze out a bit more rest.
Once he got a grip, it really was damn heavy.
Two buckets, 64 pounds, running at full speed.
However, Fang Huai felt there was something off about these buckets.
No, there was a little bit missing, the water wasn’t filled to the top, probably a few pounds less.
When Fang Huai carried the buckets back to the 50-meter mark, he couldn’t help but laugh.
The brother who had been full of bravado about carrying the dummy first was squatting there, struggling with the dummy, huffing and puffing.
Fang Huai put the buckets back in place and said with a laugh, "Damn, if you could lift the dummy like that, you’d impress all the non-commissioned officers."
The guy caved in, "Big brother, give me a hand, will you?"
Fang Huai smiled, helped prop up the dummy, overcoming the hardest step, and embracing the dummy so he could free up his hands.
"Quick, quick, get it on your shoulder, once it’s on the shoulder, it’ll be fine."
The man hugged the dummy’s crotch and tried to hoist it onto his shoulder.
Fang Huai gave him a hand as well.
After much effort, they finally got the dummy onto the brother’s shoulder, but at the moment Fang Huai lessened his grip.
"Damn... Damn! Help!"
His facial expression began to show doubt.
"It’s on...it’s on the shoulder... how is that good? Can’t... can’t move!"
At this point, Fang Huai couldn’t be of much help anymore, so he could only say, "Is your posture wrong? Shake it off! Adjust it!"
"Shake it off..." As the man said it, he really gave a shake.
The dummy wasn’t held securely, flipped over, and fell from the shoulder.
In this situation, he couldn’t even hold it steady on his shoulder, yet he even tried to catch it.
The dummy’s descent was barely slowed, but the guy let out a huge shout.
"Ow! Damn! I think I broke my hand!"
...
Reality is quite cruel.
Fang Huai still lent a hand, and together with the two of them hauled the dummy over.
Carrying it didn’t actually save much effort, as the two could not lift it properly, bending at the waist, and by the time they reached the starting point, their backs felt nearly broken.
The old soldiers laughed.
Before the two could catch their breath, a cadre already began speaking with a furrowed brow:
"What the hell is this? Running for less than two minutes, and three people recovering the equipment took over three minutes! Next one, hurry up and start!"
As the words fell, a whistle sounded, and a figure dashed out swiftly.
He even turned back and smiled at them.
The brother beside Fang Huai stared blankly at the swiftly moving figure.
