After Being Reborn, I became a firefighter again?

Zhang Ning, Zhong Ling, and Fang Huai were all a bit hungry and suggested they eat.

They had hotpot.

Zhong Ling refused to let Zhang Fupo pay the bill, insisting that he was the wealthiest guy present and claimed the bill without looking back.

The two of them took the initiative to chat with Fang Huai and did not treat him like a child just because he was only a new recruit.

They were probably impressed by Fang Huai’s talents.

After the meal, Zhong Ling said it was too late and the city was too far from the base, so he asked Zhang Ning not to drive them back, to go home first, and he would take a cab back with Fang Huai.

Zhang Ning patted Zhong Ling on the shoulder, touched, and said, "Good brother!"

Fang Huai praised him on the way for being a warm man, which made him quite happy.

Fang Huai could only laugh.

In another decade or so, warm men will rank just after the boot-lickers!

Didn’t you hear what Zhang Beauty said? She married someone who had something to offer!

...

Back at the barracks that night, the lights were out, and Fang Huai, who missed the evening exercise, took a long time to get his mood back.

He felt like a hick who had wandered into the Grand View Garden and had a few more things to share after returning to the village.

He really wanted to chat with the villagers.

His fellow villagers were excited too; the quiet village had gotten someone returning from the city, and everyone was eager to learn about the latest from the city.

It seemed as if, though one had been enlisted for less than two months, the city had developed greatly, changing day by day, no longer the same as before.

Even Han Yong, who came from the big city of Changsha, kept asking naive questions.

"Are there a lot of late-night snack places in the city?"

"Do they have charcoal-grilled barbecues?"

"After we’re done with our service, will we go to those places for police dispatch?"

Hao Chengbin, resting his hands under his head, snatched the chance to answer in annoyance, covering all three questions at once.

"If those late-night snack streets catch fire from the charcoal grills and burn the nearby houses, then yes!"

Everyone laughed heartily.

Fang Huai said with a smile, "Squad leader, I bet Han Yong wouldn’t refuse if he went to those barbecue stands on police duty and was offered some grilled meat."

After thinking for a moment, Hao Chengbin seemed to agree with that answer and cursed, "Futureless idiot! Go to sleep!"

Han Yong, utterly confused, said, "Squad leader... I didn’t even say anything! He... he’s slandering me!"

Suddenly, Fang Huai remembered that they had already started busying themselves with the last big event for the new recruit group, but the task rewards were far from sufficient, so he immediately asked:

"By the way, Han Yong, did you run today? When will you slim down?"

"I... I ran!"

"Ran my ass!" Hao Chengbin suddenly cursed, "Today’s three kilometers in eighteen and a half minutes? Is that what you call running?

That’s about as good as a post-meal stroll for me!

They all run five kilometers, and you’re only doing three kilometers, yet you’re this slow!

Fang Huai, you’re not going out tomorrow, right? If not, take him for a run in the evening!"

"Yes, squad leader!" Fang Huai lied in bed, frustrated as well.

Now he’s only one task away from getting the next reward!

If leg strength is enhanced, I wonder if it will be followed by a second round of arm strength enhancement.

With his current level of strength, it’s insufficient for after service... not even considering earning money! It’s a good thing if he’s not trained to death!

To think about after service, with the new recruit group’s 20 pull-up targets, he wasn’t even sure about it.

The highest record so far is only seventeen!

Three kilometers, and he’s just reached the pass mark for new recruits! 13 minutes and 52 seconds, just under fourteen minutes!

Progress on the three kilometers is too slow, mainly because he’s been running recently, dragging Han Yong for the first 7 and a half laps before picking up speed for the last 4 and a half laps.

With Han Yong’s pace, it’s not enough to train himself.

He thought that if he completed the task and enhanced his legs, he could shave the three kilometers down to around 12 minutes.

It’s all for the sake of completing tasks, not because I don’t train myself!

Fang Huai guiltily shifted the blame in his mind.

[Task: Through your own efforts, achieve the target of 20 pull-ups on the bar.]

[Task: Run three kilometers within 13 minutes and 20 seconds through your own efforts!]

Damn, the system got mad and even added an exclamation mark this time.

Well... it’s alright, though!

Getting a bit angry and you throw me two tasks at once!

If it gets angrier... could it maybe give me two more?

This damn system...

Fang Huai was only halfway through cursing in his mind.

[Task: Run five kilometers barehanded within 20 minutes! (This task cannot be canceled, and no leg strength enhancement reward will be provided until completion)]

[This task additionally provides the "Vision Enhancement" reward once, which includes night vision. (Brief: If you want to learn night vision, start with night running.)]

In the dark night, Fang Huai’s eyes suddenly lit up.

With tears.

Dammit...

System, you can’t be serious!!

minutes! Can I even complete that this year?

In my five years of military service, I’ve never run it in under 22 minutes!

Fang Huai felt a wave of despair, as though he could feel the helplessness from his previous life when the squad leader would drag him in the squadron’s pickup truck for a run.

Frog jumps... duck walks... weight-bearing rushes up the stairs... feeling despair and agony.

I don’t need night vision, okay!

At this moment, Fang Huai’s sense of superiority as he coaxed Han Yong to run and urged him to train had completely vanished.

With sub-20 minutes for five kilometers, I would be the top performer in the squadron, what’s the use of further leg enhancement?

The cold winter was over, and now you’re giving me a down jacket?!

Thank goodness for cardio-pulmonary function enhancement... and core strength enhancement...

Fang Huai went to sleep with various forms of psychological comfort...

...

The next day.

"Eighteen... Nineteen..."

Hao Chengbin awoke to a muttering voice; as he opened his eyes, the figure of Fang Huai blocked his vision, solid and undisturbed.

The light flickered on and off.

Fang Huai, with his back to Hao Chengbin, was doing squats while keeping an eye on the new recruits making their beds.

After such a long time, Fang Huai no longer needed to personally help everyone with their beds; he had found himself a spare half hour in the early mornings.

"Why are you standing here, what are you doing?" Hao Chengbin yawned, exhaling the breath of sleep.

Folding his arms over his head, Fang Huai turned around with a snicker, "Squad Leader, you’re awake... I’m getting in some morning exercise. You have a great angle from here, and I’m not blocking their space, so I can watch them make their beds while I work out!"

"Hmm... making up for last night’s session?" Hao Chengbin offered an approving glance.

He hadn’t exercised the previous evening but knew to add on extra today, which showed a commendable level of self-awareness.

"Not exactly... Squad Leader, I’ve got to do early workouts every morning from now on! Three hundred squats, a hundred per set, and gradually increase the load up to a thousand!"

Hao Chengbin’s eyes widened in disbelief, "Three sets? How many push-ups, sit-ups do you plan to do? Is there enough time in the morning?"

"No, no, no, just squats! Squad Leader! You’ve got to keep me in check!"

Fang Huai, fully aware of his own sense of commitment, quickly threw in a reminder.

Upon hearing this, Hao Chengbin became irate, "Who trains like that? Exercise scientifically! Besides, when do I have time to keep you in check?

You think I’m like you guys? We squad leaders have to stand guard at night! The extra sleep we get in the morning compared to you guys is to catch up on sleep!

Also, go train somewhere else, don’t block my light!"

In his heart, Fang Huai almost wanted to cry. While any other squad leader might have been urging the new recruits to train, here he was, trying to exercise, and still it wasn’t good enough for his own!

...

In the afternoon, it was time for a group physical training session.

The training exercise was still Fang Huai’s favorite—running!

Fang Huai had specifically asked Wang Jian to slot him into the first group to run.

He planned to finish his run, rest a bit, and then go for another round!

Before the race, Fang Huai noticed Battalion Commander Zhang and Jiang Peng beginning with him.

Director Fang immediately threw them a provocative look, intending to make them exert themselves while he followed from behind.

Battalion Commander Zhang was completely baffled.

Damn, hadn’t his relationship with Fang Huai been pretty good lately?

Ever since the fight, they’d gotten along quite well, chatting during evening exercises, group training, or any other collective activities in their free time.

Why the hell was he changing his tune now?

This guy must have a dog’s face!

Jiang Peng felt a cold sweat run down his back.

It was over, damn it.

Ever since finding out about Fang Huai’s connections, he hadn’t issued a squad command in a long while, fearing an encounter with Fang Huai.

Every time he saw Fang Huai, he would take a wide berth around him.

He dreaded dragging his uncle into trouble and knew he wouldn’t get off easily himself.

Luckily, Fang Huai seemed to hold no grudges against him, acting quite normally during their occasional encounters.

But today, upon seeing him, Jiang Peng knew it was over!

This guy still harbored a grudge! With Fang Huai’s scheming mind, he probably had already figured out how to exact revenge!

He had to be cautious!

...

And so, an unexpected three-kilometer run began.

As Fang Huai ran for all he was worth, Battalion Commander Zhang slowed down, a frown on his face as he watched him.

"What’s up? You were looking at me earlier, what’s the matter?" Battalion Commander Zhang, keeping pace with Fang Huai with apparent ease, steadied his breath as he spoke.

Out of breath and panting like a dog, Fang Huai waved his hands dismissively, "Nothing, nothing."

"Tell me what it is!"

"I... really, it’s nothing! Can we not talk right now?"

"I knew there was something! Why can’t I talk to you?"

"Damn it..."

Battalion Commander Zhang wouldn’t stop talking.

As they passed the starting line, Pan Zhaohui got angry.

"Damn it! Battalion Commander Zhang, why the hell are you tailing Fang Huai? Jiang Peng, you motherfucker, why are you running behind him? You two want extra training, is that it?! Don’t you know that Fang Huai’s bad at running? Out of all his good qualities you could learn from, you just have to pick up his bad habits!"

Fuck your father, Pan Zhaohui!

Having endured a psychological beating, Fang Huai abruptly sped up.

Battalion Commander Zhang, running effortlessly by his side, continued to nag.

"What the hell is wrong with you? Tell me!"

As Fang Huai turned back to look, Jiang Peng was also there, maintaining a steady pace without appearing overly taxed, seemingly trying to move out of Fang Huai’s line of sight.

Battalion Commander Zhang pressed again, "Come on, tell me! What’s up? What did I do to you now? Make it clear!"

In frustration, Fang Huai exclaimed, "I’m talking about your father! Run faster! I’ll chase after you!"

Only then did Battalion Commander Zhang flash a satisfied smile, patting him on the back, "That’s more like it! Hurry up, catch up, I’ll wait for you at the finish line!" 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

After messing with Fang Huai’s head, he sped past him like the wind.

Once he passed him, he didn’t even give Fang Huai a chance to catch up; he strode ahead, creating a gaping distance.

Inside, Fang Huai could only curse.

Turning back once more, there was Jiang Peng, shadowing him furtively, refusing to overtake him; Fang Huai felt as if he was about to be backstabbed by Lao 6.

Grinding his teeth, Fang Huai suddenly picked up the pace.

But the pursuing Jiang Peng, like some damn persistent plaster, was impossible to shake off.

Fang Huai’s morale was in tatters.

The run became erratic—sprinting then slowing, surging forwards and then resting when he couldn’t keep up.

When he reached the finish line, his time wasn’t much better than before, and might have even been worse.

Thirteen minutes and fifty-seven seconds.

He had completely fallen apart on this run.

Gasping for air at the finish line, Fang Huai turned to the timer, Wang Jian, and said, "Wang Lian, I need a break... then I’ll go for another round!"

Wang Jian smiled, patting him on the back.

"Your spirit is admirable, but there’s no more time. Take a rest and head back; Secretary Zhang and Secretary Zhong are waiting for you."

(Sorry about that, just finished writing!)