Free Web NovelChapter 217: Chapter 163: Rewards for Catching Firefighters!
Sun Jingwu drove, and Fang Huai took the commander’s seat at the front for the first time.
Instructor Cao said Car 1 was on duty, the car being driven was still Mercedes No.3.
Fang Huai suspected that they were deliberately using this car to show off their wealth.
Only our Firefighting team would have such an expensive car; which ordinary Armed Police Squadron could afford one?
Rich firefighters, poor People’s Armed Police.
The old soldiers from the Fire Brigade, who never got along with the People’s Armed Police, started to chat idly about these things since their time in the new recruit group.
The Public Security Fire Brigade and the Armed Police Internal Defense are both heavily stationed in the city, and it’s inevitable that there would be some rivalry between them.
It’s a tradition "passed down through generations."
In the early days, firefighters had guns.
And back then, without any special equipment, they practiced enemy-capturing fist a lot, and the training subjects weren’t much different from the Internal Guard, aside from less gun practice.
Back then, when catching drug dealers, fugitives, and violent criminals in the city, firefighters often joined forces, and the older generation of firefighters had aggression in their bones.
The Armed Police’s saint-like physique clashed many times with the firefighters’ golden body and iron legs in "Martial Arts Competitions."
In this life, the Second Squadron was a bit better; in Fang Huai’s previous life, the county squadron he was in shared just one courtyard’s wall with an Armed Police Squadron, and even playing basketball could result in the ball being thrown into the other side’s yard.
When both sides exercised in the courtyard, one trying to shout louder than the other, sometimes they’d feel their rhythm disrupted by the other side and start cursing across the wall. There were even times when the cursing escalated, and they challenged each other to fights at the trash disposal common to both squadrons.
Of course, the cadres from both sides kept it under control.
If they really started a brawl, it wouldn’t be just a fight, it would be a battle for the stars on their shoulders.
Besides, chances were that the Fire Brigade wouldn’t win, not because of lack of skill, but because the other side simply had too many soldiers.
Lately, the Fire Brigade made fun of the Armed Police for being too rural, everything depended on leg-powered mobility.
And the Armed Police mocked the firefighters for not being able to touch guns, saying soldiers who didn’t practice martial arts weren’t fulfilling their duties.
Of course, that didn’t represent the majority; it was just what Fang Huai saw and heard.
Times are progressing, and there are many good friendships between the two forces now.
But as long as it’s the military, the comparisons are always there.
"Snap."
Sun Jingwu lit a cigarette and then asked Fang Huai,
"Smoke?"
Fang Huai smiled, "Quit, squad leader."
Sun Jingwu still passed the pack and lighter to him. freēwebnovel.com
"Give it to them; whoever wants to smoke, take it. I’m driving and it’s inconvenient. When you’re the co-driver, you have to help the driver with tasks, watch the road. You don’t just sit in that seat for nothing."
Fang Huai nodded, adeptly opened the pack, and tapped out a cigarette for Song Lin.
Song Lin took one, lit it with the lighter, handed it back to Fang Huai, swapped places with Han Yong by the window, then started to puff away contentedly.
"Squad leader, where is Seventeen Squadron located?" Fang Huai inquired.
Sun Jingwu replied with a laugh, "Sand Whistle."
"Sand Whistle?"
"Yes, Sand Whistle Prison." Sun Jingwu began to explain, "We’ll go there soon for a joint fire safety exercise and then for a tour and some educational warning. Hehe, it would have been great if we were going to Twenty-two Squadron; they oversee the Second Women’s Prison."
"Squad leader, you’re terrible," Fang Huai chided with a chuckle.
He licked his lips in mock disapproval; his view of Twenty-two... this Detachment, rose again in his estimation.
would be a small number; a Provincial Brigade like that could easily have 2000 people.
It surely must be great being an officer in the Armed Police, overseeing so many people!
As he thought about it, the car turned onto a rough road made of a combination of stones and cement, and not far off, there was a fish pond.
Upon looking back, there was nothing but desolate wilderness, silent as ever, not even a convenience store or a barbecue joint in sight—nothing but cornfields around, making even the idea of sneaking some fruit from the fields seem unrealistic.
"Stop looking, this is a farm, so the surroundings aren’t going to be great," Sun Jingwu said with a laugh upon noticing Fang Huai’s curious glances.
"Hehe, our Fire Brigade’s conditions are better after all," Fang Huai muttered as he stroked the leather door handle.
After a series of turns, the car entered a large courtyard.
The sentry noticed their fire truck and clearly knew that the Fire Brigade was coming to help, so they let them in, mentioning that the Squadron Captain would come out soon.
Although the outer wall was soiled and battered, the inside was surprisingly lush with green grass.
There were plenty of tall hedgerows, and the yard itself was vast, large enough that the buildings within were a couple hundred meters away, the driveway was also broad.
Fang Huai no longer thought of riding in the Mercedes as showing off; given the size of the courtyard, the need for a water-supply truck with ten-ton capacity was undeniable.
But looking at the towering buildings in the distance, it was clear this place was of much lower caliber than the Second Squadron – it resembled a Teaching Building.
This clearly wasn’t a prison; the prison was behind the Squadron.
"Squad leader, I’m going to walk around a bit."
As soon as Fang Huai finished speaking, he got out of the car to look around.
The perimeter wall was actually quite tall and thick, fairly clean from the inside.
In the distance, a group with guns and a couple of dogs were searching for something.
Moved by curiosity, Fang Huai approached them, but they immediately shouted at him:
"Move back, move back!"
Looking back at the guard post, it was as if nothing was happening, and Fang Huai realized they were probably conducting an exercise.
Simulating prisoner escapes and how to apprehend them.
The Fire Brigade wasn’t unfamiliar with such drills; they’d occasionally select a couple of soldiers to mimic thugs attacking the Squadron, and he himself had taken the opportunity to kick an old soldier who had bullied him.
It wasn’t worth watching; it was more of a self-deception, for if someone really escaped, they wouldn’t be congregating in a group but rather scattered and searching.
Without saying much, Fang Huai turned to leave.
But just as he was turning around, he spotted two people hiding in the hedgerow he’d just passed, buried deep in the underbrush, but as the shouting started, they poked out their heads to observe the situation.
They were wearing dirty blue clothes.
Fang Huai couldn’t help but laugh, "Brother, hide better, more professionally."
Who would have thought that as soon as those two saw Fang Huai stopping to talk to them, they hurriedly approached, leaped forward, and charged at him.
Fang Huai’s eyes narrowed.
The guy coming at him head-on even had a knife in his hand.
Fang Huai looked at the two charging men, their bald heads with half a centimeter of hair at most, and for a moment, he couldn’t tell if they were real criminals or fake ones.
But there was no time to ask; he immediately stepped back, quickly breaking free from their encirclement.
They both missed their target and seemed a bit surprised. The one in the front brandished his knife and shouted fiercely, "Don’t move! Or we’ll attack!"
Upon hearing this command-like order, Fang Huai realized it was just an exercise.
But these two wanted to take him as a hostage, and if he got hijacked, where would the Fire Brigade’s face be?
He quickly pointed to his armband and reported his identity, "Fellas, I’m firefighting, and I’m not obligated to play along with you!"
After hearing this, the two rushed at him again and during Fang Huai’s evasion, one of them even chuckled and said in a low voice:
"Even better that you’re a firefighter! Capturing the Captain will surely bring a reward!"
Damn?
Fang Huai’s eyes widened.
So this is how you’re playing, huh?
It was at this moment that Fang Huai made his move.
He dodged left and right like a basketball player dribbling past opponents, seized the opportunity to strike a kick, and shouted loudly:
"Running out of jail and you can still be this arrogant?"
The kick landed squarely on one man’s thigh.
The guy was in pain but surprisingly didn’t retreat, and even tried to grab Fang Huai’s ankle.
That reaction and movement were quite fast.
But, what kind of joke is this?
Watching your moves is like watching them in slow motion, at ×0.5 speed, got it?
Fang Huai cursed inwardly, quickly retracted his foot, closed in tight, and landed a solid punch to the stomach, then grabbed the man’s hand for a twist.
"Ow!"
A cry that had not been heard for a long time rang out.
People around started running this way.
No matter how fast Fang Huai was, he couldn’t subdue both at the same time and could only deal with the knife-wielding attendant first, using him to block the other’s attack.
The man’s arm twisted by Fang Huai turned his whole face red.
Seeing their Captain approaching and with one criminal acting freely, the other one stopped and stood still.
But the one seized by Fang Huai kept crying out in pain while desperately trying to stand.
With the Captain and platoon leaders around, getting abused by a firefighter like this, wouldn’t he be treated to a ’special’ meal arranged by the platoon leader tonight?
But as soon as he resisted, he felt an immense force in his hand, and then another kick hit his backside.
"Kneel down!" Fang Huai barked while pinning him down with one hand.
"Hold on, hold on! It’s just an exercise, brother!"
A Lieutenant with single stripe and three stars strode forward, and several guys from the car rushed over too.
From the start of the fight to now, it had only been about 10 seconds.
Fang Huai smiled but didn’t let go of his grip.
"You’re having an exercise? But he’s carrying a knife! He wanted to take our firefighter hostage! I thought I had scored a major accomplishment today!"
Only then did the Captain step forward, tapped Fang Huai on the arm holding the man, and pointed to the distance, saying:
"It really is an exercise, brother. Look over there, Warden Yang is watching."
Fang Huai released his grip.
The Captain, seeing Fang Huai’s insignia, didn’t bother him further, helped the man up, and asked:
"Are you hurt?"
The man shook his head but his face was still tense.
Fang Huai, a bit embarrassed, pointed to the other "criminal" and said, "Boss, I didn’t mean to be so rough! He said there was a reward for capturing a firefighter, so I fought back!"
The Captain’s face immediately darkened, and he walked up and kicked the man’s backside with a "thump," saying:
"Shut your damn mouth! Get back there!"
The treatment was as different as heaven and earth.
Fang Huai silently guessed that the one helped up was an old soldier, while the one kicked must be a conscript.
The Lieutenant turned and smiled at Sun Jingwu, the highest-ranking officer present, asking:
"Brother, what brings you here? Didn’t Instructor Cao say he would only arrive around five o’clock?"
Sun Jingwu immediately shook his head, indicating he was unaware.
Upon hearing this, Fang Huai felt like a black line was forming on his forehead.
Five o’clock, wasn’t that the normal time for him to return from leave?
F*cking Old Cao, waiting for me to come back and clean the place at that hour. With such a big courtyard, arriving at five means going back without even a meal!
I was even thinking about bringing you a duck. Just wait, next time, I’ll bring you a chicken neck!
"Your Special Duty firefighter brother sure is fierce," the Captain chuckled. "This young fellow, he’s got some skills! He’s the squad leader of our Second Platoon Fifth Squad!"
Sun Jingwu immediately laughed, "Boss, I definitely wouldn’t stand a chance, but the Squad One Leader was unlucky to encounter the pillar of our squadron!"
"Oh?" The Captain turned to look at Fang Huai, the corners of his mouth revealing a smile. "Young man, were you from a sports school before enlisting?"
Fang Huai stood at attention, saluted and said, "Sir! Full-time high school student!"
"Impossible, right? You’re so agile, haven’t you learned before?"
"Reporting, sir, our squadron. It was Squad Leader Hao who taught us!"
Hearing this, the Captain immediately looked back at Sun Jingwu and smiled with a curve of his lip:
"Instructor Cao said today that he wanted the new recruits from your squadron to come over and have a Martial Arts Competition with our new recruits. Since your squadron has a squad leader trained in combat, why didn’t he join you? Such practical combat skills, let us also learn a thing or two!"
