After Being Reborn, I became a firefighter again?

Chapter 62: Chapter 28 The Times Have Changed

Is knowledge really a skill?

If it is,

Can knowledge enhance practical abilities? freёweɓnovel.com

After cursively cursing the System in his mind with content that’s at least 1MB in size, Fang Huai finally began to calm down and study the capabilities of this System.

First, he searched through all the knowledge available but found nothing about "ascension" or "cultivating immortality" — it mostly fell under Social Sciences.

Second, this knowledge seemed to come with practical abilities, otherwise he couldn’t see what use there was for the cheapest skill, the "Introductory Haircutting", which required just 1 military point.

Does having the knowledge in your brain mean your hands automatically know what to do?

And that similarly cheap "Hands-On Tile Leveling" — surely that’s not just about knowledge, right?

If! If all this is knowledge!

Then, presented with the "Cooking" category skill "Standard Egg-filled Pancake Preparation", how should one proceed?

Provide a recipe?

Flour, scallions, eggs, refined salt, peanut oil...

Do these also require military merit to exchange??

Therefore, Fang Huai determined that these pieces of knowledge should be considered skills with practical abilities.

This Merit System has great potential.

For instance, just by spending 5 military points to exchange for "Advanced Experience in Simple Repetitive Tasks," one wouldn’t starve to death — at the very least, one could mix with the screw department at Foxconn and even become a small group leader.

And there are quite a few skills that are even more practical than that.

Fang Huai checked earlier, and for medical knowledge in a particular domain such as neurosurgery, the highest level of mastery requires 200 military points.

The cheaper basic first aid knowledge requires 30 military points.

The differences for musical instrument mastery are quite substantial, ranging from the lowest for the harmonica to the highest for the cello, violin, and erhu, costing from 20 to 200 military points respectively.

The piano is slightly less, at 180.

He had also come across the method for calculating military merit points.

Commendation (Outstanding Soldier): 20 military points.

Third Class Merit: 50 military points.

Second Class Merit: 100 military points.

First Class Merit: 200 military points.

Each military merit award can be unidirectionally exchanged for military points.

Furthermore:

1. Finishing in the top three in any single event of a military arts competition at the regiment level or higher, depending on the scope and ranking, adds 2-10 military points.

2. Each police dispatch, based on the size of the disaster situation and the contributor’s value, adds 0.1-10 military points (military merits that have been awarded won’t be counted twice).

Police dispatch counts toward military points, so Fang Huai felt fairly assured internally.

The frequency of firefighting patrols, especially at a large squadron, averages close to two incidents a day. During peak times, there could be about ten incidents overnight. During severe storms and the like, the number could exceed twenty incidents overnight.

Regiment level, which is above the detachment level, seemed to have quite a few assessments, but getting into the top three in the Provincial Brigade... that’s damn difficult.

However, even if he didn’t place and earned no merit at all, spending five years in a grassroots squadron should accumulate a decent amount of military points, right?

Even Fang Huai in his previous life, a weakling, had responded to over 700 police dispatches in three years at the grassroots squadron level.

But many of those were minor incidents.

With a lower limit of 0.1 military points and an upper limit of 10 points... Regular police dispatches probably mostly hovered near the lower end of the scale.

With only six military points to his name, Fang Huai had almost no choice besides some introductory skills to exchange for.

But it seemed that military merits weren’t hard to obtain.

During the first physical test of the new recruit group, according to Hao Chengbin, Fang Huai should be the first in the pull-up and dip bars, granting him six points, three for each event.

So, being a soldier for five years, he should at least be able to save up three to four hundred military points. freёwebnovel.com

Doing the math, that should be enough to exchange for mastery in one musical instrument and an expert-level ability in a medical field.

But with no medical practicing license... it seemed pretty useless after all.

However, the System contained quite a few strange and peculiar techniques, especially in the life skills section where there were even basics such as "Simple Mediation Technique," "Spitting Bubbles Technique," and "One-Minute Hiccup Technique"..

There was even a "Persuading Complainants to Withdraw Charges Technique..."

This skill, surprisingly categorized as life-related, required neither a lawyering license nor a degree in legal studies; all you needed was a mouth to speak.

With a rough estimate, for just twenty or thirty military points, Fang Huai could obtain all the skills a typical Tianjin Uncle would possess.

Fast-talking storyteller, chess player, card shark, and expert negotiator.

...

While Fang Huai was still lost in thought, most of the people had arrived.

"Ten minutes!"

The Chief of Staff stepped in front of the lineup and seized control with his voice.

"An emergency assembly, ten minutes! You all are talented! Which squad leader hasn’t taught how to pack a bag or explained what an emergency assembly is? Raise your hand, I want to see!"

While speaking, some people emerged from behind the Chief of Staff in the New Training Building shouting "report," and they were taken aside by the corps staff to have their names recorded.

The Chief of Staff’s gaze swept across everyone, and he let out a chuckle.

"No one, huh?

An emergency assembly, I called for it myself, afraid you wouldn’t hear!

What about you? What are you doing?

I don’t want to talk big anymore! You’re sick of hearing it! But even laborers on a construction site know to get to work when they hear a whistle. Some of you, though, clearly woke up to the whistle blowing, what’s the response?

Curse a bit! Turn over! Go back to sleep!

No problem!

Some squad leaders, they don’t care! Letting them embarrass themselves!

Go on then! If you want to embarrass yourselves, you’ll do it together!

Today! Those who arrive at the door within 5 minutes, I’ve noted your names, your squad gets a point! Whoever arrives after 10 minutes, noted as well, lose a point!

Third Company, Squad Three, Fourth Company, Squad Six, Fifth Company, Squad One, Fifth Company, Squad Three, Seventh Company, Squad Nine, Eighth Company, Squad Two, all neatly leading their squads downstairs within eight minutes, your squad gets three points!