After Being Reborn, I became a firefighter again?

The next day. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

With the sound of the wake-up whistle, the grueling Monday began.

The new recruits had already started, each holding a large mop, lined up together to mop the garage.

Four large mops combined were one and a half meters wide. After about a dozen back-and-forth sweeps by four people, the garage floor could be covered once. After twice, with a proper cleanup of the nooks and crannies, the garage would be considered mopped.

Han Yong walked with a limp, his face showing a kind of despair that suggested life wasn’t worth it, and his movements were sluggish.

Fang Huai saw that because of Han Yong’s slow movements, the "mop army" left a gap in the trail of water they were leaving behind.

His obsessive-compulsive disorder kicked in.

Fang Huai patted Han Yong’s thigh, causing him to make a "hissing" sound.

Han Yong was almost in tears, "What are you doing! It hurts!"

Fang Huai chuckled, "Hey, Brother Yong, even with reduced amounts last night, everyone only did three hundred. It can’t be that bad for you, right?"

"Reduced amounts?" Han Yong widened his eyes with tremendous grievance and said,

"Was it reduced? I was originally set to do three hundred! The amount reduced was for you and Song Lin!

You got reduced to three hundred and went at it swiftly! In the end, just I remained!

Zhang Yang, Qi Xiaohui, and Meng Qiang, those three idiot first-class soldiers! They joined the Evening Exercise and also only did three hundred!

Especially that Qi Xiaohui. He can’t beat you guys, so he takes it out on me, right?

After he finished, he just stared as I was the only one left doing them!

And he told me to do it faster!

How could I do it faster? When you all were doing it, I could still sneak in an extra two here and there. But with you three first-class soldiers watching me together?

And you didn’t wait for me when you showered! Fang Huai, you’re just a liar!!"

Han Yong’s grievance was like a plea of anguish.

Fang Huai also choked for a moment, only able to put down the mop reluctantly, then reached out to rub Han Yong’s shoulders, hehe smiling,

"General Han... calm down! Look, you can now do three sets of three hundred! What strength is this?

Given some time, won’t you become a Soldier King? Earning police commendations, success is just around the corner! When that time comes, let the Armed Forces Department hang a plaque of honor on your family’s mansion for your parents to see!

Lose weight? It’s only been three months, and you’re already close to the standard figure! After a year, you’ll dazzle them all!

Song Lin, Xiao Haishan, I’m telling you, General Han’s family has wealth in the billions!

When he arrived, his card was loaded with hundreds of thousands just for pocket money!

Be good to him, and when we can go out to spend, General Han will treat you to the good life, with yummy food and spicy drinks!"

As soon as these words were out, the two guys beside him were astounded.

Xiao Haishan was also from the seventh platoon of the new recruit group and had heard about such a person who brought hundreds of thousands in cash upon enlistment, but after two days of rumors at the start of training, no one talked about it anymore. Being quite distant from Squad Eight, with almost a hundred people in the platoon, they never knew who it was.

He thought it was a fake news story.

Hearing this now, Song Lin and Xiao Haishan’s eyes went wide.

Damn?

This little fatty, who would’ve known!

"Are you for real?" Song Lin asked in surprise.

Xiao Haishan swallowed hard and stepped forward, gripping Han Yong’s chubby hand tightly, "General Han, I’ve long heard of your stories! I just never imagined it was you!"

Song Lin was just two seconds behind.

Then he pushed Fang Huai aside, taking over his spot at rubbing backs, and loudly scolded,

"Damn! Fang Huai! Last night I said we should wait for General Han to take a shower with us! But you wouldn’t let us!

You you you... are too bad! To treat our General Han like this!"

"Right!" Xiao Haishan immediately chimed in,

"It was him! Don’t worry, General Han! No matter how late, we two will wait for you to shower!

If Fang Huai wants to shower, let him go by himself!

I have strong hands! I’ll scrub your back!"

Fang Huai was dumbstruck.

All he said was intended to garner more care for Han Yong.

He did not anticipate these two to be so shameless.

Yesterday, after finishing Evening Exercise, they ran off to shower so quickly. Now, they were deftly shifting blame with one word after another.

"I’m gonna..."

Halfway through Fang Huai’s exclamation, the other three were united in their animosity, staring at him:

"Hmm?"

Especially General Han, who now carried the gravitas of wealth with every move he made.

Fang Huai conceded defeat, sheepishly approaching, "What I mean is... he scrubs your back, I’ll massage your legs, General Han."

Heck, I’m all for unity among same year soldiers!

After Han Yong revelled in the star treatment for a bit, he pulled Fang Huai aside to ask,

"What about that song of yours, how’s it going? Squad Leader Xiong said we can make calls next weekend, do I need to find someone to help you?"

"No need," Fang Huai said with a smile, shaking his head and patting his shoulder with confidence, "It’s already being taken care of. Just focus on training well and don’t worry about too much.

I asked you to come with a bit of ulterior motive, but I’ve thought about it. We’re comrades, after all, and same year soldiers, so it’s better to keep the relationship pure.

Since you’re here, just be a good soldier, don’t worry, if there’s anything, I’ll definitely help you."

Listening to this, Han Yong looked puzzled, "Really, no problem?"

Fang Huai shook his head, "Really, no problem, and pretty soon my song will start making money, probably even more than we thought."

"Alright," Han Yong said, smiling indifferently at the mention of money, "If there’s anything else, you can come to me."

"Maybe it will be you coming to me?" Fang Huai teased with a smile.

Han Yong shook his head firmly, "No, you come to me."

"You come to me."

"You come to me!"

The two began to argue again.

...

"Assembly~ assembly!"

"Fall in for drill!"

"New comrade, head to the back training equipment warehouse, get the ’Empty call’!" Liu Jianfeng bellowed from upstairs.

Han Yong stood downstairs, hands on hips, "Squad leader, what’s an ’Empty call’?"

As he spoke, Liu Jianfeng had already descended, stretching out his hand in invitation,

"Follow me!"

A group of new recruits followed him to the backyard equipment warehouse.

Liu Jianfeng pointed to the racks and the cylinders nearby,

"Grab those over there that are full of air—one breathing apparatus back frame and one oxygen cylinder each. I’ll teach you how to strap the oxygen cylinder to the back frame!"

Once the back frame’s interface is connected, it becomes a complete air-breathing apparatus."

This is called a ’breathable apparatus’ for short!"

There’s a tube on the back frame, which connects to the face mask, and you can breathe oxygen through it. This is essential equipment for us when entering a fire scene!"

From now on, you’ll be wearing the breathable apparatus for every morning exercise and when running outside. Only by carrying the weight can you quickly improve your performance!"

Once you get used to the weight of the breathable apparatus, your barehanded performance will naturally increase!"

Also, become familiar with the equipment!"

"Liu Jianfeng had barely finished speaking when he suddenly noticed that the four new recruits had already picked their oxygen cylinders and back frames, looking at him expectantly."

He was somewhat taken aback.

These new recruits are really eager!

In the past, at their age, or even the second years today, the mention of weight-bearing running would have them looking like they lost a parent."

Heh, they’re probably just curious. Wait until they try it, then they’ll know.

...

At 6:40 a.m., on the city highway, a group of figures dressed in camouflage uniforms were scattered along the lengthy street.

"Move it! Move it!"

Liu Jianfeng was urging the three that were running at the front to hurry up.

Beside them were Zhang Yang and an excited Qi Xiaohui."

Qi Xiaohui’s stride was both long and steady, and since he wasn’t wearing the breathable apparatus, gliding past the new recruits seemed a breeze:

"Why are you so slow? Get a move on!"

As he spoke, he also kicked the three in the rear while running.

Last year today, it was he who was kicked while running on this same street by Liu Jianfeng and chided by Squad Leader Zhao. Now he too had become the one doing the urging, and it was exhilarating.

What had been a cheerful mood for Song Lin and Xiao Haishan quickly turned tense with each kick.

Fang Huai managed to avoid the kicks using his quick reflexes.

But next to him, Zhang Yang was watching him closely, constantly berating him:

"I told you to move your ass faster. Can’t keep up? Once we return to the squadron, you’ll do two sets on the single and double bars! Followed by push-ups in the prone position!"

The tone was clearly that of Liu Jianfeng’s direct disciple.

As for Han Yong, he had already fallen behind. Today, the entire squadron was out for the exercise, and there were Squad Leaders to keep an eye on him.

Chased to run, the thigh soreness from doing 300 squats the previous night disappeared completely.

Hao Chengbin followed behind the first group, silently observing."

Fang Huai’s stepping didn’t seem to be deformed. Meanwhile, Qi Xiaohui, who strutted with a wide gait beside him, was slightly drawing his legs inward.

Soon, they reached that deadly corner, coming up to the last uphill stretch back to the squadron."

"Speed up! Speed up!" Liu Jianfeng started urging again.

The two First-class Soldiers beside him suddenly got energized and began cursing and throwing their limbs around."

"Faster! Damn it!"

...

"Look to the right! Align!"

"Look forward!"

After the morning exercise, the group returned to the squadron and was greeted not by the duty Squad Leader but by Hao Chengbin, the newly appointed acting platoon leader, standing in front of the formation."

"Count off!"

"1, 2, 3..."

"Missing two!"

"Conscripts stay behind, the rest, dismissed!"

At that command, the crowd dispersed."

Zhang Yang and Qi Xiaohui were also chatting and laughing, ready to go upstairs for a rest, have some water, and then come down to supervise the new recruit training.

As they passed by Hao Chengbin.

"You two, not conscripts? Where do you think you’re going?" Hao Chengbin sternly called out to them.

The two of them stood still, somewhat dumbfounded.

Zhang Yang, being slightly bolder, asked, "Squad Leader, what’s up?"

Hao Chengbin smiled and said, "Stay back for single and double bars training."

Zhang Yang suddenly felt disgruntled, "After morning exercise, it’s supposed to be the new recruits that go for additional single and double bars training. Why should we stay?"

Hao Chengbin didn’t explain much, merely stating coolly, "Squadron orders—I discussed it with the leadership. A few First-class Soldiers, including you, aren’t meeting the physical standards, so you’ll join the recruits for additional training."

The new recruits laughed.

Just now they were saying we were running slow. Now, come on! To the bars!

The two of them were stunned, and Qi Xiaohui’s face, which was glowing with pride just moments ago, instantly filled with fear.

Zhang Yang was starting to get angry, "Squad Leader, how am I not meeting the physical standards?"

"Your year’s overall performance is quite weak. A First-class Soldier not being able to do 35 pull-ups is not up to the mark."

Zhang Yang was choked with frustration. They had already been given additional training last night, and more today?

"What about Chang Ming and Meng Qiang? Don’t they need to train?"

"Oh, Qi Xiaohui, go upstairs to the Communication room, call Meng Qiang over, and Chang Ming—when he’s not cooking, he’ll train with you guys, too."

...

In front of the single and double bars.

Four rebellious new recruits, four resentful First-class Soldiers.

Hao Chengbin, with hands behind his back, shouted loudly:

"Starting today, Zhang Yang versus Fang Huai, Qi Xiaohui versus Song Lin, Meng Qiang versus Xiao Haishan, Chang Ming versus Han Yong! Pull-ups, First-class Soldiers must outdo the new recruits by five! A five kilometer barehanded run must be a minute faster! "

"If they meet the requirements, First-class Soldiers can rest afterward! If not, they will join the recruits for daily additional training! Compete in pairs! This is the plan put forward by the Squadron Cadres based on your physical fitness levels! "

"If new recruits let the First-class Soldiers get ahead and rest, there will be a punishment too! An additional 200 reps in every exercise during the evening workout!"

As soon as the words were spoken, everyone looked nervously at their opponents.

Fang Huai couldn’t help but reveal a smile at the corner of his mouth.

They were giving him a chance for revenge!

He could do twenty-eight pull-ups, just four short of Zhang Yang.

He didn’t believe that his progress would be slower than Zhang Yang’s.

As he was basking in his smugness.

Hao Chengbin glanced at the bars and then at Fang Huai, his tone teasing yet serious, "Fang Huai, I heard you ’gifted’ Squad Leader Fang two pull-ups during the initial test? Today I’m here, how many do you plan to ’gift’ me?"

Fang Huai’s smiling face instantly froze.