Free Web NovelChapter 463: Chapter 374: 3 Days, 2 Nights!
The airplane roared.
The pilot was a master of his craft, flying steadily.
Despite the low-altitude flight, the scenery outside the windows was incredibly majestic.
This was Shennongjia, the most mysterious place in China, the Central China Ridge, Blade Mountain, the swirling mists between the mountains—all part of its unique landscape.
People say that July is the best time to see Shennongjia, with the Dajiu Lake surrounded by clouds and mist.
The view on the ground wasn’t as nice, though, looking like a refugee transfer, people all sitting in a row. The almost empty plane’s carrying capacity was almost entirely taken up by passengers. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
However, they could only look from the outside, as the depths of Shennongjia belonged to a forbidden area, not open to the public. Moreover, the pilot said that there was a strong natural magnetic field inside, which could cause wireless communication systems to fail and electronic equipment to easily get damaged.
Fang Huai found a good spot, looked at the scenery below, patted his disciple Lian Xu’s head, and smiled,
"Apprentice, do you want to come up and have a look? Let your teacher give you a seat."
Lian Xu was rather helpless.
This Fang Huai had a quick tongue and not to mention, was very strong. When he first saw him, he was just a new recruit brought by the old squad leader to inquire about the martial arts competition.
But in the blink of an eye, he became the champion of the martial arts competition.
Another blink, and he was a First Class Meritorious Service.
Now...
The new recruits in his squadron were still in their bewildered phase, just beginning to get in touch with police dispatch. Many couldn’t even handle the hose properly, yet he already had a say in this top southwestern training camp.
Number 36 beside him patted Fang Huai’s leg and whispered,
"Hey... Number 1, did you have a meeting last night? Is there some sort of event today?"
Fang Huai smiled without denying it, but only said,
"You’ll find out when we get there."
"We have arrived!"
This announcement came from the pilot up front, as if deliberately contradicting Fang Huai.
At this, everyone started looking outside the windows.
"Damn... it hasn’t even been 10 minutes, right? We’re already here?"
Fang Huai glanced at the stopwatch he started at takeoff, inwardly admiring.
10:58.
"Damn, this is what a helicopter is all about! The logistics bus that went to the site to set up last night left at 10:30 pm, and didn’t arrive until almost 12, taking nearly an hour and a half on the winding mountain road. The helicopter took 11 minutes from takeoff to arrival."
In these overlapping mountains, no matter how well the road is built, those who can fly are the boss.
As the helicopter descended, someone started shouting,
"Hey! The national flag! There’s a national flag over there! It’s bare around it, who placed it?"
"No, there are several flag poles!"
Everyone pressed against the window, all looking at an open space below.
In the midst of green grassy and stony solitude, there was a highway, and by the side of the road was a smooth stretch of ground with a few flag poles erected in the adjacent grassland. The swath of red on the poles stood out vividly.
The plane approached quickly, and the flag poles grew larger and larger.
By the time the helicopter hovered four meters above the area near that flag, Hu Peizhou stood up.
"Everyone, put on your gloves, prepare your figure-eight descenders, get ready for a fast descent!"
At this, everyone unbuckled their seatbelts and stood up.
The doors on both sides opened and the ropes were dropped down.
Everyone was a bit excited.
They had done plenty of fast roping before, but this was their first time rappelling from a helicopter.
The method of descent was slightly different from the usual; they didn’t use the Italian hitch but instead figure-eight descenders.
The Italian hitch creates a lot of friction, which can wear on the rope and often cinches tight on its own even without manually locking the rope.
For a fast descent on a single rope with about fifty people, everyone was prepared with a figure-eight descender for a smoother operation.
For them, it wasn’t challenging at all.
"I’ll go first!"
Number 20 by the door shouted, grabbed one end of the rope, folded it, threaded it through the large loop of the figure-eight descender, secured it to the small loop, then connected it to the safety belt. The procedure wasn’t much different from sitting suspenders, with the left hand on top and the right hand gathering rope under the buttocks, preventing a free fall.
Just a firm pinch with the right hand and the body would immediately stop.
New recruits tend to grip the rope tightly, afraid to let go, which can lead to rope burns from friction.
But here, everyone was an expert.
Number 20 got ready, and when he reached the side door he scarcely gripped the rope at all. Relying on the figure-eight’s intrinsic buffering, he made a long hissing sound as he descended, and without any hesitation, he was on the ground.
Enjoying the smooth descent.
A few meters of distance, without the need for any pause.
Of course, from higher up, this approach can’t be used—it’s too risky.
Special forces helicopter drops, with lax ropes and no other safety equipment, purely relying on glove friction were also no problem for them, but this did not conform to the safety principles of firefighting.
One by one they descended, all very adept.
With just two ropes, in a few minutes, more than 50 people had touched down.
The co-pilot on the left side of the airplane gave everyone a thumbs-up.
This batch was the fastest he had seen in three periods.
No wonder the training task for this time was different from before.
But those on the ground had no idea that this training was different from the past. Dog Head Fang had persuaded Dog Head Hu to add a significant event for them.
They all just gathered below, staring up at the several towering flag poles.
In the middle was the red flag.
Beside it, there were five empty flag poles.
Underneath the flags, there was a blackboard set up.
Others noticed that the buses stopped nearby, but the cooking stoves had not been unloaded.
Normally, once logistics arrived, they would find a place to set up the stoves ready for cooking, while those with no tasks would lie down on the bus to rest.
But today, the stoves were not set up, and it was almost 8 o’clock, everyone was still sleeping on the bus, probably busy till late last night.
With the flag poles erected, wasn’t this supposed to be the temporary campsite for everyone?
"Deng deng deng."
Hu Peizhou walked over to the large blackboard and knocked on it, announcing,
"This is called the Dragon and Tiger List!"
As he spoke, he picked up a piece of chalk from the ground and drew four vertical lines on the board, followed by several horizontal lines.
"This subject has been temporarily arranged for you by Number 1, given the limited conditions, we won’t be preparing any fancy posters for you!"
As soon as these words fell, everyone’s gaze immediately converged on Fang Huai, who was at one side of the formation.
"Ding ding ding!" Old Hu knocked on the blackboard.
"But! This blackboard, under the national flag, represents your military honor!"
All eyes moved upward to the fluttering red flag which, accompanied by the sound of a helicopter’s rotors fading into the distance, added a solemn air to this barren place.
"Starting today, you and Lin Chong and Li Kui, fifty people in total, will form five teams! Aside from the team leaders, the rest will be arranged in order according to your numbers!
Team leader of Group 1, Number 1!
Team leader of Group 2, Lin Chong!
Team leader of Group 3, Li Kui!
Team leader of Group 4, Number 20!
Team leader of Group 5, Number 11!
This is a three-day, two-night combat training exercise! Each group leader will be issued a cell phone for communication and will receive tasks at specified times!
Starting today, there’s no food! Any resupply in the middle of the mission will be distributed on the move! Note, those who don’t complete their tasks on time won’t receive supplies!
If you complete your tasks on time, the flags of your respective teams will be raised a notch!
The height of the team flags doesn’t signify a reward or points, it merely represents the honor of you ten people! Along the way, you can slack off or give up, as long as you can bear to see your flag beneath others’!"
Gleaming with provocation.
And damn, was it barren provocation.
Yet, that simple little flag and the flagpole beside the national flag made everyone clench their fists tighter.
A soldier with a disabled leg on the frontline of Laoshan once put it well, "If someone offered ten thousand yuan to take the main peak of Laoshan, probably no one would do it, but when the motherland and its people need it, we would willingly spill our blood without a second thought."
To have nothing, that’s what truly drives people.
If Hu Peizhou had offered a reward for first place, everyone might have found a reason to relax.
It would just be, well, I don’t need it then.
But with just the word "honor," no excuses remain.
No one would say: I don’t want this honor.
Hu Peizhou hadn’t resorted to this tactic all these days, always motivating everyone with food, and although everyone took the bait, there were some who were lackluster.
But today, he played his trump card.
This move wasn’t something to use often, but when used sparingly, it was incredibly effective for these elite soldiers.
In layman’s terms, it’s often said: Being sloppy usually doesn’t matter, but when it counts, you need to show your mettle, otherwise, you don’t deserve to be called an old soldier.
At this moment, the atmosphere had been perfectly set.
Hu Peizhou shouted, "Three days and two nights, ten tasks! The time has come to test you! Do you have the confidence to do it!"
"Yes!"
Unanimously, in a single voice.
Fang Huai stood in line, his mood becoming fervent.
True elites, ten tasks, and not a hint of hesitation when responding.
If these guys were all transferred to the Second Squadron, my work would be soaring!
However, they probably didn’t yet understand the real weight of ten tasks.
"First task! Orienteering! 20 kilometers! Starting from here, follow the red markers at crossroads, and within two hours, gather at the black power pole 20 kilometers away!
You only have two hours!
You have five minutes to get your first round of supplies from the bobcat! Dismissed!"
kilometers...?
Cross-country?
Fucking hell.
Everyone had no time to complain and quickly scattered.
Supplies were scarce.
Just a packet of compressed biscuits and a water bottle.
Bobcat, with a mischievous smile, distributed the items loudly,
"Cross-country means running freely! No set pace! It’s different from before! What we want is wildness! You can take shortcuts! As long as you can get over them! But remember, this is a big magnetic field; even compasses are useless. The only guides you have are the markers! Don’t go the wrong way!
Ah, how I envy you! Free! And here I have to sit and wait to issue your next task!"
This mouth, capable of such careless creativity.
Freedom, my ass.
Show me freedom with a forty or fifty-pound pack on your back.
Normally, everyone would just curse inside.
But today, someone strong-willed and in charge was here.
Fang Huai grinned as he took off his backpack and set it down in front of Bobcat.
"How about I talk to Captain Hu and suggest you go? Or switch with Li Kui, I’d like to see you race me."
Bobcat was stunned.
"Pfft..." the surrounding soldiers laughed.
Even Li Kui shouted, "Alright then! Let Bobcat go! Bobcat, you go! I’ll issue the tasks!"
At that moment, Hu Peizhou glanced at Bobcat.
"Alright, Bobcat, off you go. You replace Li Kui."
Bobcat’s face turned green.
"I... this... is that unnecessary?"
"Hahaha..." Everyone finally couldn’t contain their laughter.
Damn, why does the sun seem so bright today?
