After Being Reborn, I became a firefighter again?

Chapter 220: Chapter 166: Beggars Can’t Be Choosers

The martial stage was so rudimentary, and the procedure was not at all flashy.

"Ready, begin!"

The veteran soldier opposite Fang Huai didn’t do much feinting, he just made sure Fang Huai had gotten his footing, then came at him with a synchronized straight kick, closing in on Fang Huai.

"Ha!"

There was a big opening in the move, and it didn’t seem very powerful, but the old soldier still shouted loudly.

Fang Huai kept a close watch on his movements. Accompanied by the veteran’s shout, he spotted the follow-up strike that was sure to come. Instead of dodging widely, he sidestepped as the veteran changed his move and, sticking close to his thigh, elbowed him hard.

Indeed, the veteran soldier’s foot lashed out several times, but Fang Huai interrupted him. Getting elbowed in the thigh, the veteran retracted his leg and backed away.

The veteran had wanted to kick him out of the ring in one move.

A one-hit KO, that would be the most intimidating show of dominance.

Following that hit, Fang Huai grew much more confident.

He can’t hit me.

However, the veteran patted his leg, just as confident, saying, "Indeed, quite agile. But you lack power, kid. Are you relying solely on dodging?"

That Little Gailun who had tried to ambush Fang Huai in the afternoon but hadn’t been hit by Fang Huai immediately shouted, "That’s right, squad leader! He definitely hasn’t trained much; it’s just quick reflexes! Today, if I chased him, I would’ve gotten hit by me early..."

"Smack!" The captain gave him a slap on the back of the head.

"Would you do it? If you lose, you’ll spend the night on your stomach in my office!"

The person fell silent.

Meanwhile, Fang Huai took the opportunity to quickly search for inexpensive combat skills in the system.

The old soldier took a beating yet seemed unharmed. Without a change of strategy, there’d be no damage done today, and he’d definitely get beaten up.

He found a suitable one.

"Boxing - Punching Techniques," 5 points of military merit value.

Fang Huai gritted his teeth and exchanged.

This short stint as a small cop had allowed him to save up 26.5 points, which were now deducted to 21.5.

Damn it, saying I don’t punch hard enough.

Amidst the discussions of the surrounding people, Fang Huai suddenly raised his hand and beckoned the old soldier over.

The noise instantly ceased.

This gesture was full of provocation.

The veteran opposite Fang Huai responded in an instant.

"Hai!"

With that shout, he quickly closed the distance, looking to engage Fang Huai in close combat.

Time to try out the practiced moves.

There was no sign of power in either of the veteran’s hands.

Rushing knee!

"Ha!"

As the veteran came close, he let out a loud yell that almost startled Fang Huai.

This time, Fang Huai sensed something, he didn’t dodge, instead crouched down and delivered a very powerful straight punch to the face.

What are you joking about? With my long reach, and you, a little shorty, trying to hit me with half your body retracted?

Playing like this is clearly to take advantage...

"Thud."

The squad leader took a direct hit to the face from Fang Huai’s fist.

That hit made Fang Huai feel fantastic.

He’d fought street brawls in his previous life but had never had someone charge headfirst into his fists.

Even if they did, he hadn’t seized the opportunity.

The veteran suddenly retreated, shook his head, and spat on the ground, checking for blood.

That punch really hurt like hell.

This kid was holding back.

But Fang Huai seized the opening and delivered another rushing punch, mimicking the veteran with a loud shout:

"Spitting anywhere, are you?!"

The veteran was shocked and hastily retreated, crouching down for a sweeping leg kick.

But Fang Huai changed the direction of his punch, catching the veteran on the side of the head with a hook as he turned.

Simultaneously, Fang Huai, whose body couldn’t keep up with his brain, was too slow to retract his move and got swept to the ground.

Change of move.

The two fell to the ground, head to feet, their bodies quite close, looking at each other’s feet.

"Damn..."

Fang Huai felt like his shin had gone numb from the kick, and just when the pain hit him, he saw the veteran prop his foot up.

He’s going to grab my leg as he gets up!

If he caught hold now, Fang Huai would be in real trouble.

Having already landed two punches on his head, igniting his temper, he expected the veteran to grapple with him on the ground and toss him around.

Acting on instinct and with the power of his hips, Fang Huai sprang up and kicked hard towards the veteran.

As if his foot had eyes, he kicked straight into the chest of the veteran who was just about to get up.

The veteran fell back down.

Fang Huai’s prediction was off, but his kick landed perfectly; in battle, sometimes you need a bit of luck.

The veteran was frustrated inside.

He had just been dazed by two punches and was standing up only to be welcomed with another kick.

Right in the chest, that kick nearly threw his heartbeat off rhythm.

Fang Huai got up to see the veteran was still lying on the ground, clutching his chest and gasping for air with an expression that screamed chest pain.

"Are you okay, squad leader?"

Fang Huai got up and reached out to help him up.

The veteran pushed his hand away, didn’t get up, and stared at the ceiling, lost in thoughts.

After a while, the veteran catched his breath and stood up, saying,

"I lost."

Fang Huai was stunned, "Huh?"

"If you had come at me with a few heavy punches while I was down, I would have been severely injured," the veteran said in a low voice.

The surroundings fell silent.

Fang Huai was utterly dumbfounded.

What the heck, heavy punches? I don’t know how!

Now he’s imagining himself severely injured?

"Young man, you’re impressive!" Even the captain started to speak up, clapping.

But the applause that followed was sparse and scattered.

The captain, understanding the situation, noticed Fang Huai’s astonishment and laughed as he explained:

"Up until that moment, if he hadn’t gotten up before you could get close to him, it indeed counted as a loss. freёwebnovel.com

In real combat, once you are up close, victory and defeat are a matter of a few punches and kicks. We’re all ordinary people—if you use a ruthless move, one opportunity could take someone down.

If your punch hadn’t knocked him to the ground just now, and he had swept you off your feet instead, you would’ve lost.

Or, if you hadn’t kicked him and you both got up, then you could’ve continued fighting."

With that, the captain approached, grabbed Fang Huai’s hand, and lifted it high, shouting loudly:

"To our comrades in Firefighting!"

"Learn!!!" This time, with the captain leading a loud shout, everyone around joined in unison and then burst into applause.

Understanding the rules, Sun Jingwu also quickly shouted:

"To our comrades in the People’s Armed Police!"

"Learn!"

Although the three new recruits were excitedly barking, their momentum clearly lacked a bit.

Fang Huai silently gave himself a thumbs up inside.

Not getting flustered, being able to take wins and losses with a smile—whether or not they are soldiers, they still uphold martial decency.

The captain waited for the sounds to die down before letting go of Fang Huai’s hand and turned to care for the Old Soldier:

"Old Nine, go to the infirmary and apply some medicine; your eyes are all swollen. And you still say someone’s hits lacked strength?

You really can take a beating, using your face to ram into someone’s head. I’m starting to wonder if you’re throwing the match! How come you didn’t get killed?"

"Squadron leader, I..." The Old Soldier felt an immense sense of frustration inside.

"Alright, don’t underestimate your opponent next time. I didn’t tell you earlier, but he can climb a rope in 20 seconds, do at least 60 pull-ups—his physical strength is better than yours. If I had told you earlier, you might have been more cautious."

The Old Soldier stopped talking when the captain interrupted him and gave Fang Huai a deep look.

There was suddenly complete silence around them.

What the hell? 60 pull-ups?!

The Old Soldiers began to pull the new recruits who had been present earlier to inquire about what happened.

Shortly after, everyone’s view of Fang Huai changed.

It was filled with obvious respect.

pull-ups, whether in Firefighting or the People’s Armed Police, was a level of strength worthy of showing off on the whole corps’ competition stage.

Fang Huai didn’t explain either.

His pull-ups were clean, straight up and down. If you added even a slight swing, not to speak of full-blown kipping, 60 wouldn’t be too difficult.

"Brother, you must be tired from the afternoon. How about having dinner here?" A lieutenant and platoon leader came over to invite them.

Fang Huai repeatedly waved his hands:

"No, no, after eating it’ll be dark. Leader, how about you take us for some target practice instead!"

The platoon leader persisted enthusiastically, "Our meals are really good! It’s a buffet with three meat dishes! The captain said, since you Firefighters don’t eat well, we’ll treat you to a good meal!"

The five Firefighters: ???

What kind of nonsense is this?

This platoon leader, just graduated, right? Not too knowledgeable, huh! How can you believe everything the squadron leader says?

But they all hesitated to speak out, as they still hoped to be offered a few bullets to enjoy.

Fang Huai’s urge to tease was getting harder to suppress.

The squadron leader immediately coughed awkwardly and intervened:

"Never mind, never mind! Our military food is too greasy! If they eat it, they won’t be accustomed when they get back! Third platoon leader, get ready and take them to the firing range!"

Fang Huai looked around in slight awe at the soldiers who, upon hearing the squadron leader’s words, were filled with joy.

"We Fire..."

He was about to speak when the captain coughed loudly again.

Fang Huai locked eyes with him, sensing the warning in his gaze: If you want to shoot, cut the chatter.

Alright, alright.

Living in a dream isn’t all that bad.

"Yes, yes, yes, we wild hogs can’t digest fine bran," Fang Huai said sheepishly.

...

The five men waited nervously outside the building, rubbing their hands together, until the squadron leader went to the armor room to get the firearms.

"Damn, Fang Huai, you’re quite something! Today we might get lucky thanks to you and shoot some guns!"

Sun Jingwu was especially excited.

He hadn’t been very willing to come today, but it turned out to be really worth it. He’d have something to brag about when he got back!

It was his second term, and he hadn’t even touched a gun yet!

"Exactly, exactly, following Fang Huai, we’ve never been shortchanged!" Song Lin said happily.

Anybody who voluntarily joins the army wants to handle a gun.

Xiao Haishan was even more awesome, slinging his arm around Fang Huai’s shoulder, "Big brother, when can you... take us to see some military aircraft?"

"My gosh..." Fang Huai was about to curse, but with the squad leader present, he pointed at Han Yong instead:

"Why are you asking me? Go to General Han! His family has connections in the People’s Liberation Army! Let him take you to see the planes!"

Han Yong was speechless: "You guys want to mess with guns and planes, why did you join Firefighting?!"

They were still chatting when the captain came out with two platoon leaders, holding two guns and a small wooden box.

Upon seeing this, Fang Huai couldn’t help but tease:

"Leader... just the Type 81? No Type 95?"

Fang Huai hadn’t handled a gun before, but he knew a bit about them.

The Type 95 was stable.

Using it for target shooting was much more satisfying.

The squadron leader also paused for a second, looking back at the two platoon leaders before saying, "Of course we have it! But the Type 95 is for welcoming guests, the Type 81 is for confronting enemies!"

As he spoke, he took one of the guns from a lieutenant’s grip, patted it, and said, "This is the real deal! It uses large caliber bullets, with a long range! Understand?"

Fang Huai quickly picked up on the captain’s sense of guilt in his speech.

Good lord, the Type 03 was already being issued, and yet you don’t have the Type 95.

The collective pride of the entire squadron rests solely on your lips.

While it’s not true that the more recent the firearm, the better it is, the Type 95 does look sleeker than the AK-style Type 81-1, and it’s more stable for shooting, making it easier to score well.

The Type 81 rifle has earned widespread trust; succeeding the Type 56, it has one of the longest service records, low failure rates, adapts to all kinds of environments, has a long range, but also a significant recoil—its 7.62mm bullets are powerful over medium to long distances.

The Type 95, generally referring to the Type 95 assault rifle, has a smaller recoil, is bullpup configured, quite handy and comfortable; its 5.8mm bullets have strong penetration at distances within 150 meters. As for maintenance, it’s a bit more delicate.

The QBZ-03 Type... based on the Type 95 with an added stock, but compared to the 95, it’s not particularly stunning. With both the Type 81-1 and the Type 95 available, this one seems redundant and is mostly equipped by border forces.

Fang Huai came to shoot, certainly looking forward to the joy of hitting targets. If both the Type 81 and the Type 95 were available, that would be even better.

Well, beggars can’t be choosers. Time to shoot!