Free Web NovelChapter 137: Chapter 93: What is 119?
"What’s the emergency?!"
Loud inquiries kept ringing out in the building.
A few seconds later, a voice came from the first floor: "Emergency response! Ring stuck on finger! Just send one truck!"
"Crooked day..."
Bursts of chatter echoed throughout the building, the surrounding tiles reflecting the sound loudly.
Fang Huai listened to the cursing upstairs and felt a bit like laughing.
In his previous life, he was discharged in the winter of the twelfth year. In the second half of the eleventh year, "League of Legends" was launched and became wildly popular.
In his last year, Fang Huai also got hooked on the game but, as if cursed, in ten games, he would encounter Police Dispatch five times.
His Garen skill was mastered to perfection, yet he never reached the gold tier; later, he got reported by teammates and was banned for more than thirty thousand days, over a hundred years.
Bogging down teammates is not necessarily something only little kids do, it could also be firefighters.
The new recruits curiously watched the two squad leaders who stood still.
The new recruit group’s squad leaders had taught them before: sixty seconds at night, forty-five seconds during the day, the fire truck must leave the barracks. Once the alarm bell rings, everyone must immediately stop all work, suit up, and board the truck.
"Squad Leader, do we not need to go on dispatch?" Song Lin asked, puzzled.
Only then did Squad Leader Xiong speak with a mild smile:
"You don’t need to respond to dispatches for now, thanks to you guys, the two of us squad leaders don’t need to go for usual minor emergencies either.
However, every time you hear the alarm bell, you must assemble at the garage as quickly as possible.
This is your first time hearing the alarm bell, so it can be a bit slower, but I’ve explained the rules this time. Pay attention next time."
Liu Jianfeng also spoke in a cold voice: "Next time the fire truck is dispatched and you haven’t reached the garage, you’ll be doing 200 push-ups!"
Xiong Jie waved his hands, indicating there was no need to scare the new recruits:
"Let’s go, let’s go take a look."
At the stairwell on the second floor, downstairs leads to the garage.
Such a short distance, yet by the time Xiong Jie and Liu Jianfeng led the new recruits to the garage, a truck had already sounded its siren and was leaving.
However, before the truck could reach the gate, it stopped again.
A girl in her twenties was walking towards the squadron with one hand raised, holding a chicken leg in her other hand, and waving at the fire truck, shouting as she walked.
"No need to go! No need to go! I’m here!"
Xiong Jie smiled and walked toward the gate with his hands behind his back, the new recruits also immediately followed with curiosity.
Fang Huai was accustomed to such incidents but hadn’t heard the familiar alarm bell in a long time, and he felt somewhat moved.
That sound seemed to pull at every cell in his body, immersing him once again in this familiar yet estranged environment.
After his rebirth, the things that gave him such feelings were sounds.
The first time, it was the constant "Squad Leader, hello" when he joined the new recruit group.
The second time, it was the alarm bell he just heard.
The old soldiers who came down from the dispatched truck walked in front.
"Did you call 119?"
The girl nodded: "Sorry! I was eating across the street, and accidentally got my ring stuck while breaking a bone. After calling for help, the staffer told me there’s a Fire Brigade right across, so I came over myself!"
The old soldiers couldn’t help but laugh and cry: "Why are you holding up your hand?"
The girl pointed to one of her fingers with the chicken leg: "It helps to promote blood circulation! I tried to pull it off myself, but it didn’t work! The ring has turned my finger all blue!"
With that, she took another bite of the chicken leg in her hand.
All the new recruits except for Fang Huai were witnessing an emergency response for the first time. The sense of honor and belief they had just started to build was devastated.
Such a major commotion, the entire building shaking, all for this?
A broken ring?
In those days when the internet was not fully widespread and firefighting publicity was not so comprehensive, it was the first time the new recruits were opening their eyes to such incidents.
Squad Leader Xiong looked back at the new recruits’ uncomfortable expressions, guessed what they were thinking, and began to explain patiently in a low voice:
"Our Firefighting Dispatch services cover a wide range, broadly divided into fire rescue and emergency response.
The content of emergency response is very complex, with over ninety specified types of emergencies.
Our 119 hotline is known as the Omnipotent Hotline.
Weird incidents like this happen a lot.
Last month, a drunk insisted on calling 110, asking the police to take him home.
transferred the call to us, and we had to go 20 kilometers to a mountain and search for over half an hour before we could find him and take him home.
And that guy even vomited all over the vehicle.
We spent half a day cleaning the truck, and we were angry, too, but could we leave him there? What if he froze to death, drunk and in the middle of nowhere?
You all remember this, the principal of our Firefighting Dispatch is to save lives; protection of life safety is always the top priority. Then comes the rescue of property safety. Anything related to these two, we must do.
Catching cats, rescuing dogs, poking wasp nests, catching snakes, cutting rings, anything that endangers the safety of people’s lives and property is a problem we need to solve!
Only by genuinely solving problems for everyone can we bring prestige and honor to our Firefighting forces!"
Everyone listened and began to watch the scene in front of them with a more serious attitude.
The old soldiers had already moved a stool and a table from the Guard Pavilion and had the girl sit down, placing her hand on the table.
A few men they perceived as Special Duty tough guys carefully gathered around the table to discuss strategies.
"Soapy water won’t work, her finger has swollen up, she needs to have it broken open quickly."
A third-term Non-commissioned officer looked at the girl with his hands behind him: "Girl, we’ll have to cut your ring off, is that okay?"
Seeing her finger swelling more and more, the girl nodded reluctantly.
"Bring the pliers," the third-term officer called out.
The First-class soldier who had been watching them from the truck immediately ran to the backyard.
"Squad Leader Fang, let me do it," a second stage officer said.
But the third-term officer, Squad Leader Fang, shook his head: "This one’s tricky, hold her flesh down a bit later, make some space."
Seeing the experienced Non-commissioned officers taking it so seriously, the new recruits craned their necks to get a better look.
The pliers were brought over, and Squad Leader Fang searched the Guard Pavilion for a thin metal strip, carefully trying to insert it in the middle of the girl’s ring.
He struggled for quite some time without success.
Squad Leader Xiong explained to the new recruits: "Don’t think tasks like these are easy to handle. Below is someone’s finger; if handled improperly, it can cause injury. If we ask you to do it, not to mention properly handling it, even figuring out how to approach the problem is tough."
The new recruits watched the girl’s brows grow tense and heard her occasional cries of pain, feeling a bit of trepidation themselves.
"No good, it’s not going in. Little Black, help me hold the metal strip under her ring to block the pliers!"
At Squad Leader Fang’s command, the non-commissioned officer carefully held the metal strip steady, securing the girl’s hand while trying to pry the swollen flesh aside with the other hand.
The 30-centimeter pliers opened, the sharp end carefully targeting the metal strip beneath the ring.
With a forceful clamp, the girl let out a loud yell.
"You didn’t get hurt, did you?" Squad Leader Fang asked, frowning.
"No, no... it didn’t cut through! Got a bit of it, try again!"
The girl, a bit embarrassed, said, "I... I just got scared..."
As she spoke, the chicken leg that was left in her hand also landed on the table, no longer appetizing. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
They aimed again and took another cut.
"It’s cut, it’s cut!"
After a serious operation, they finally managed to break both ends.
But Han Yong, this goods, actually started clapping, he was just short of shouting "well done."
Fang Huai hurriedly pulled him aside.
The girl burst into tears immediately.
Squad Leader Fang, who had put down the pliers, immediately looked over, pointed at Han Yong, and then quickly comforted the girl in a gentle tone.
"It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s already been cut off..."
Squad Leader Xiong turned his head and also gave him a glare.
"What are you clapping for?"
Fang Huai quickly turned back to look and thankfully, Liu Jianfeng was not there; it seemed he had gone to the cafeteria. Otherwise, this goods would probably be getting a kick in the rear.
Han Yong looked somewhat bewildered, not understanding what he had done wrong.
Fang Huai pulled him aside and said with a frown, "Don’t laugh or clap when on a police dispatch!
When people come to us, they’re in pain. You’re clapping on the side, what does that make us look like?
At a dispatch scene, even if you come across something funny, you have to hold it in!"
Only then did Han Yong nod his head in crestfallen acknowledgment, while Song Lin and Xiao Haishan also seemed contemplative.
Squad Leader Xiong’s ears twitched, and only when he saw the girl had stopped crying did he turned back to Fang Huai and said with some satisfaction:
"Fang Huai’s understanding is correct!
Moreover, once this kind of behavior is discovered, if the grieving party beats you up and curses you out, you’d still be getting off easy!
Do you know the fate of the last one in our squadron who laughed at a fire scene?
He’s already discharged!
He was a fire truck driver! He got caught laughing while chatting with bystanders, just as the City Television Station’s camera recorded it.
While the homeowner was devastated by the fire, the driver’s smiling face happened to be captured in the same frame as the victim.
Because of that one shot, the Detachment leadership got criticized, and both the Big Team and the Squadron got penalized! A soldier, who was otherwise outstanding, didn’t make it to become a second stage officer!
I’m telling you, don’t take any matter lightly. The moment we step out of this squadron and face the public, everything we say and do represents the image of the Firefighting forces!
If you’re wearing a military uniform, then you also represent the image of the Troops. There is absolutely no room for tarnishing it, understand?"
"Understood, Squad Leader!" all four of them said earnestly.
These words instilled them with a sense of responsibility.
Even Fang Huai couldn’t help but wonder if his original intentions were right. Even if he made a lot of money, should he not be too ostentatious?
In his past life, he had never seriously considered these issues.
Mainly because, even if he wanted to show off wealth, he didn’t have the means to do so.
...
Soon, Fang Huai and the other three were assigned by a few second-year soldiers to help out in the kitchen.
Today was Saturday, and the old soldiers had all gone to rest. Even Squad Leader Xiong, after introducing them to the squadron environment, handed them over to a First-class soldier and went off to the "Happy area."
The First-class soldiers seemed to have plenty of energy, running over to the cafeteria to supervise their work.
However, they arrived late today, and most of the work was nearly done, with only waiting to serve the dishes left. Even the keen and sharp Fang Huai could only find the task of wiping down the prep table.
The four second-year soldiers didn’t seem to have figured out how to "torture" them yet, and were just standing by, bragging and laughing.
"Hey, Fang Huai, right? I heard you play the guitar well, and even the Detachment noticed. Perform for us sometime, will you?"
"Han Yong, with that physique of yours, you really need to exercise! You’re even chubbier than Squad Leader Chang and Squad Leader Meng!"
"Song Lin, you can street dance, too? Can you do a Thomas flair?"
Aside from Meng Qiang, who didn’t seem to be in the best spirits, the rest were just making fun of the new recruits.
The new recruits could only keep saying "yes, yes, yes."
Finding relief at last as all the dishes were cooked,
Chang Ming, spoon against the edge of the pot, finally looked official. With a stern face, he pointed to Fang Huai, who was standing furthest out:
"Go, let Squad Leader Xiong blow the whistle to start the meal!"
Before Fang Huai could respond, Little Hui had already pulled him back.
Then somewhat smugly, he took out a whistle from his pocket.
"No need, I have a whistle! I’ll blow it!" he said before leaving the cafeteria.
"Jujujuju..."
A series of sharp and forceful whistle sounds rose outside the courtyard.
Fang Huai’s face went dark in an instant.
Crooked day... These first-class soldiers better not drag me down.
After five seconds of silence throughout the building, numerous heads popped out of the windows, and a wave of cursing erupted from bottom to top:
"Who blew the emergency assembly whistle?"
"Damn it! Qi Xiaohui, you dumbass, who taught you to blow the whistle like that?"
"I’m going to kill you when I get down there!"
Fang Huai watched as Qi Xiaohui, who had left in triumph, panic-strickenly ran back inside, smashed the whistle into his hand.
"You blow it—blow it again! Quickly!"
