Free Web NovelChapter 549: Chapter 428: Did He Break the Rules?
He Zhijun paused for a moment.
Fang Huai’s words hit him where it hurt.
Although he had begun to admit that Fang Huai was stronger than him, it was an acknowledgment of a fellow strong competitor, not an admission of defeat.
Fang Huai’s emergence fully stimulated him.
The relentless pursuit had never stopped; without an upper limit for Fang Huai, he had none either.
Fang Huai understood this fighting spirit, which is why he never pulled his punches in speech.
"Next time, I will give it my all," He Zhijun gritted his teeth, confidently said.
"Hey, you originally had two chances to try, but now you’ve only got one left, you’ve already failed the first one."
Fang Huai chuckled lightly, took out his rope, and stepped forward to prepare.
The preparation time was not long.
In just a few seconds, Fang Huai’s gaze became laser-focused, intently watching the rope as the world in his mind shrank to this very moment.
"On your marks!"
The referee didn’t give him any extra time.
"Ready!" Fang Huai raised his hand.
"Set, go!"
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Fang Huai’s rope flew through his hands almost as quickly as He Zhijun’s.
This was something that He Zhijun had nearly perfected, being able to throw a knot in the air with one hand using the rope; despite all of Fang Huai’s efforts, his speed was only close to He’s.
But after tying the knot and hooking up the safety, Fang Huai’s takeoff was more fluid.
The competition was on their training ground, giving Guiyang Regiment an unbeatable home advantage. Fang Huai had practiced many times; he knew exactly where each handhold was without looking. As he jumped, he just had to raise his head and reach out directly to grab it.
The grab was so secure it could only be described using a Xi’an accent.
Firm!
Then, in the following moment of the climb, Fang Huai was no longer stable.
As soon as he stepped firmly, his free hand started to reach upward. After grabbing the next hold, he pulled lightly on the edge, borrowing just a bit of force. With a bow of his waist, his upper body leaned back fiercely, and with a strong kick from his legs, he switched hands in mid-air, ascending with a precarious stance!
Three consecutive upward movements were all done in the same manner!
Only those standing below could see that it was his legs forcefully kicking upward.
From the outside, it appeared as if a weightless man was simply leaping upward!
Lightness skill!
Yes, lightness skill!
Damn it, he actually dares to jump!
To jump off a handhold, many could muster the strength for it.
But considering the human body structure and the way the legs generate force, one has to lean back somewhat to create space in front, or grab the holds above with both hands, coordinating the strength in arms and legs to make the jump.
However, leaning back meant falling.
Grabbing with both hands to stabilize before jumping wastes time.
Fang Huai, in fact, quickly jutted his waist outward slightly, taking advantage of the rapid elongation of the waist rope and the immediate locking by the differential lock at that moment. He managed to leverage a force from the pull on his waist,
The differential locks at the Corps Martial Arts Competition were quite sensitive and fast because they were concerned that if the climbers ascended too quickly, the rope wouldn’t keep up and would lose protection.
Fang Huai exploited this sensitivity, slightly cheating.
This move required an extremely fast speed of waist twisting and rope pulling to trigger the lock.
The referee below had already spotted this leveraging method.
And he really wanted to call it out.
But according to the general climbing rules, hands and feet cannot be left dangling, which meant that normally, it was impossible to borrow such force.
Yet, this guy, with his hands on the grips, used the technique of waist twisting to cunningly borrow a force and rationally applied it to maintain balance needed for upward jumping!
Damn.
How can he twist his waist so fast? That differential lock sensitivity has been deliberately adjusted, and under normal circumstances, it requires a speed drop of at least 0.8 meters before the rope locks!
Do they have to change the rules and readjust the lock sensitivity just for him?
Talk about being late, but in that quick moment.
Fang Huai had reached the platform, not stopping in place, but stepping back half a step while swiftly connecting the traverse protection. Then, he surged forward two steps.
Swim!
Ordinary climbers turn in place and hook onto the rope to start climbing.
But Fang Huai powerfully bounded off as if he was side-stroking in freestyle swimming, gliding far before his body flipped over to start a rapid ascent on the rope!
This leap was yet another technique.
Although the rope appeared smooth, it had resistance; one couldn’t jump too high nor too low, or they would be bounced by the rope and lose balance.
You had to glide almost at the same height of the rope to complete this seamless flight.
The referee’s mouth twitched, eager to speak.
Inside, he was on the verge of tears.
Rascal, such a rascal!
The traverse was not regulated.
Because this section of the competition had been exhaustively studied by experts, any flawed safety knot or improper climbing and traversing techniques would find their comeuppance in the results.
Whether falling or dropping or unable to climb.
But these maneuvers, in this manner, had never been done before; at least, not in a competition setting.
The entire process was so smooth, requiring an unimaginable level of proficiency.
It could only be the Guiyang Regiment that hoarded the facility every day, with all the dimensions of the competition venue so tightly controlled, right?
Damn it, wall jumping, rope swimming! ƒrēewebnovel.com
If I don’t blow the whistle, someone might report me!
The referee hesitated just for a moment.
The man had already crossed to the other side.
Fang Huai turned around after crossing the bridge, unhooked the rope bridge protection lock, reconnected the suspension protection of the seat, turned again with a silky leap downward!
Glide!
He symbolically tapped the wall without slowing down, swinging slightly and landing with both feet on the ground, bending over slightly.
Jumping, swimming, flying, all in one breath!
"Great!" Fang Huai shouted the instant he landed.
The atmosphere became still for a second or two.
The finish line referee’s voice rang out, slowly, and loudly.
"33 seconds, 73!"
Damn your mother!
The overseeing referee felt like weeping inside.
Now, it’s completely unclear!
This is more than just a Corps record? Just as he hesitated, a national record was born!
And it’s probably an unbeatable national record at that.
Luckily, this was at the edge of the playground, and right beside an NCO was carrying a camera, recording the whole scene. The referee immediately looked at him and shouted loudly:
"Did you get that on tape? The process just now, did you record it?"
The NCO was also stunned.
Regaining his senses after being shouted at, he said, "Uh, yeah, I recorded it, I think I did, um, since he started climbing the wall."
Recorded... Good, it’s recorded.
The referee looked nervous:
"Keep that video safe, I need to consult the leadership team! This concerns a national record!"
Actually, the referee was a bit too concerned.
The leaders in the distance had already watched the entire scene unfold.
"How... how did he do that?" Secretary General Hao was stunned, put aside his leadership demeanor, and expressed the innate human curiosity for the unknown.
Then, he looked toward the two firefighting leaders beside him.
Light body technique to scale a 7.5-meter wall, staying on the rope for at least two or three seconds, and the landing wasn’t strange—it just seemed that he drew an arc and landed steadily, that’s all.
The Secretary General now had a question on his mind.
You learned some impressive firefighting skills and now you can fly?
What principle did you make use of?
Newton, Einstein, Coulomb?... Jin Yong, Gu Long?
Or is it the latest craze, zhttty?
Boss Wu at the side had more materialistic logic. Seeing this speed, his first reaction was to beckon over the fifth-term NCOs following him.
"Little Jiang, go ask for me, what was the time? Did I just hear 33 seconds?"
Horizontal climbing is a foundational skill in high-altitude rescue, and because of the necessity of this skill, the national firefighting community bought over 100 sets of multi-use platforms and began studying high-altitude rescue techniques.
Boss Wu had a rough idea of the overall scores for this event in his mind.
seconds... that’s quite something.
"Yes, sir!"
Squad Leader Jiang immediately responded and was about to run over.
Boss Wu felt something was amiss and quickly added:
"Never mind, just call the referee over!"
Secretary General Hao suggested, "Why don’t we go over and take a look?"
If it weren’t for the leaders present, Boss Wu would have already gone over to see that kid, whose performance was becoming more and more exaggerated.
Upon hearing this, Boss Wu looked at the other leaders and asked:
"Shall we go over and see?"
"Let’s go have a look."
A group of leadership observers moved towards Fang Huai’s direction.
"Greetings, Commanders!"
"Greetings, Commanders!"
Seeing the leaders approach, the soldiers immediately shouted.
Everyone knew that Fang Huai’s abnormal maneuver just now probably drew the leaders over.
Clearly, many eyes from afar were now fixed tightly on this spot.
If there weren’t so many leaders on the field, people would already be calling out loudly.
Right now, about sixty or seventy meters away, under the training tower, Gui Qiang was muttering under his breath.
"Damn, damn, damn!"
The soldiers on the playground who saw this scene couldn’t help but feel that this guy was crushing their confidence.
Probably only the bunch of leaders could manage to smile at this.
"Referee, what was Fang Huai’s time just now?"
"Report to the Corps Captain! 33.73 seconds!"
"Oh..." Boss Wu, having confirmed the information, changed his originally planned question of "What was our Corps’ previous record?"
If he wasn’t mistaken, the previous record was far behind this one.
To ask that would make our Corps seem poor.
"What is the national record for this event?"
This question baffled the referee.
"Uh... It shouldn’t be less than 36 seconds... That’s what I’ve heard anyway."
Now Boss Wu was also baffled.
This... makes it seem like the whole national firefighting community is inadequate.
The other leaders felt it was a good day, having witnessed a national record, amazing.
The colonel from active duty office grimaced.
People break records by milliseconds, and you do it by seconds?
"A record in the thirty-something seconds, shattered by more than two seconds in one go? Any violation of the rules?"
The referee got a little nervous: "According to the rules, no... but climbing the rock wall... there’s a suspicion of taking advantage."
The surrounding government leaders realized then.
Oh, so that’s what it was.
Cheating?
Boss Wu gave a light cough and stared sternly at the referee.
I just said he’s representing our Corps in the Grand Martial Arts Competition, and in front of outsiders, you accuse him of cheating?
Taking advantage, that’s called innovation! What suspicion? Are you even using the right term?
With just that look, the referee felt a chill down his spine, realizing that when he goes back to work, he’ll have to weigh whether to enter the office with his left or right foot first.
Boss Wu felt the matter needed to be taken seriously. He looked at the NCO with the camera and asked the same question.
"Did you get it on video?"
"Corps Captain, I... didn’t record everything, but I got most of the climbing!"
Boss Wu nodded: "Go and send the video to the War Training Department for evaluation now. Determine whether the climbing process was in accordance with regulations. If it is compliant, the record must be filed in the Corps archives! There should be credit given! The leaders personally witnessed the record, whether it’s taking advantage or innovating, we need an on-the-spot explanation."
"Yes, sir!"
Fang Huai’s action just now was clear to everyone, truly amazing. Even if the War Training Department deemed it cheating, they need to state the 123s, give a specific explanation. Only a minor part might have violated the rules while most parts were outstanding.
The referee might not be clever, but the War Training Department wouldn’t be so foolish.
But at this moment, Fang Huai spoke up.
"Report to the Corps Captain, he mentioned that ’advantage’ I took—I’m willing to redo it."
