Chapter 16: Crossed with Acrobatics_2

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Pan Zhaohui actually didn't dare to hit Fang Huai, but his mouth was both venomous and fast.

"Yo! The hero who gets dizzy doing push-ups! Got any advice to offer?"

Fang Huai didn't answer, just focused on checking the System.

Not a peep, huh!

"Old Hao, the people in your squad are no good! All this trash! Got anyone who can match up to our Battalion Commander Zhang?"

That one line insulted both Yue Tao and Fang Huai, you could say the entire Squad Nine, including Hao Chengbin.

Pan Zhaohui's personality was indeed quite brazen, dubbing one of his soldiers "Battalion Commander Zhang"; if he had a battalion commander under his command, wouldn't he have to be a regiment commander?

Isn't this like an independent regiment?

Got any Italian Cannons?

[Task: Defeat Zhang Yizhang on the horizontal bar.]

[Task: Defeat Zhang Yizhang on the parallel bars.]

Fang Huai's eyes widened.

I'll be damned, is the System cutting me some slack? Two tasks at once?

Zhang Yizhang, with that name... no wonder he's nicknamed Battalion Commander Zhang.

Fang Huai turned his head to look at Hao Chengbin with a darkened face.

"Zhao Bing, go challenge Squad Leader Pan's soldier later!"

Although Fang Huai had pulled off some impressive stunts that morning, Hao Chengbin still chose a stable performer.

The time to shine was now.

Fang Huai stood at attention, "Report to the squad leader! I can do it too!"

If their squad had anyone awesome, it was only one person; if Squad Nine could put forward two, that'd be something to brag about, right?

Having said that, Fang Huai's gaze quickly swept over the neighboring Squad Eight.

He probably had an idea of who this Battalion Commander Zhang was.

The stocky young man standing before him on his flank, judging from his posture, seemed more spirited than the others and had probably served in the Armed Forces Department.

From the jawline alone, one could tell this guy was all tendon and muscle.

"You can do it too?" Pan Zhaohui, hands behind his back, looked amused as he raised an eyebrow, "Old Hao, the guys in your squad... not only are they loud, but they've got quite the big talk, huh!"

Hao Chengbin took a look at Fang Huai and without losing his composure, he nodded.

"Fang Huai won't be far off."

Pan Zhaohui heard this and turned back to compare notes, ready to pick someone to match Fang Huai.

But having only been there for a day, he wasn't sure who ranked as the solid number two in their squad's fitness. He thought for a moment, then said.

"Oh? Alright then! How about... our two squads compete in total?"

"Sure, why not! Can your squad handle it? Don't embarrass yourselves later!" Hao Chengbin seemed to have been provoked, his tone becoming mockingly sarcastic.

Pan Zhaohui didn't let the conversation drop, turning to address Squad Eight loudly, "Hear that? Squad Leader Hao says you can't cut it! Can a man say he can't do it?"

"No!" Squad Eight cried out fervently, their response resonating with a metallic ring.

"Squad Nine! Did you hear that? Can you do it or not?"

"Yes!!"

Squad Nine also got fired up, Yue Tao shouting the loudest.

Fang Huai cursed inwardly.

The two old men, with their damn kiddie reverse psychology, had completely fired up both groups of new recruits.

The squad leader of Squad Six seized the moment to stoke the flames further.

"What about the rest of you? Are we only two squads, Squad Eight and Squad Nine?"

This army's ancestral method of PUA might be a tad childish for grade-schoolers, but it was just right for these rookie soldiers.

"Squad leader, we want to compete too!"

"Let's whip them!"

Positive energy is still best when it's old and spicy.

Seeing the atmosphere, the other squad leaders stopped bragging; one by one, they started to cheer on their teams.

"Alright, let's hustle for our platoon to come out on top!"

"What about us, Squad Five? Are we vegetarians?"

The new recruits also got excited, their voices shouting so loudly they nearly took over the singing assignment too.

Wang Jian didn't bother getting up, sitting by the flower beds, grinning from ear to ear.

Warm-ups were taught, discipline in formation was emphasized, pull-ups and dips were about to get some action, and they'd even had a bit of shouting practice, it was like a lesson in collective honor. With that, the afternoon wasn't lacking anything.

"All right, enough talk! Bring on the pain, injuries, beatings! Warm up your wrist joints! Begin!"

The new recruits, fierce like wolves, warmed up their wrists so vigorously their fingers snapped and crackled.

...

Ten minutes later, the teams were all brought to the horizontal and parallel bars, ready to start.

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Squad Six Leader stood below the horizontal bar and demonstrated while explaining.

"Horizontal bar exercise number one! When preparing to mount the bar, first approach the end of the bar and raise your right hand and shout 'Good!' Assume a half-squat position, ready to jump up. Arms straight and backward, and when the command is given to 'Mount the bar,' leap and grab onto the bar with hands a bit wider than shoulder-width. Pulling up to the chin is a complete exercise number one! When dismounting, also raise your hand and shout 'Good!'"

"Next, I will teach you the swing of exercise number one."

Squad Six Leader dismounted and remounted the bar effortlessly.

It seems that today Squad Six Leader is teaching because he is also the most proficient in the horizontal bar exercises.

"The swing of the horizontal bar requires the coordination of your hands and body. So, first, you need to maintain the correct position!"

"When starting to swing, your arms should be fully extended, do not shake. The movement should be smooth and natural, the amplitude of the swing should not be too large!"

Squad Six Leader gave a slight kick forward with his legs, causing his body to swivel.

"Using the inertia of your body, mount the bar!"

He did so easily, pulling up once, then pausing at the highest point.

"Here, try to raise your head! Lift the chin line up! The qualifying line is right there! If, when you lift your head, your chin still doesn't reach this line, it doesn't count! This is the requirement for you new recruits! In formal assessments, especially in martial arts competitions, it's a straight-up hard pull! No old soldier will pull like that!

Embarrassing!

But you are new recruits, so I am only talking about the standard for exercise number one! Pull up and it counts!

As for the swing, as long as you master the method and utilize the inertia, it's easy for a beginner to do three to five reps!"

Fang Huai listened and laughed to himself.

Bullshit.

In non-commissioned officer assessments, those with poor physical fitness often do more swings.

If it weren't for allowing swinging, what would the staff officers and the big fatties do who are behind in physical fitness?

How did I pass in my previous life?

Hehehehe…

Thinking back, it's really a bit embarrassing.

In this life, I can't let people mock me anymore.

"Squad Leader, this is just horizontal bar exercise number one, how many total exercises are there?"

"Eight exercises," Squad Six Leader replied casually.

"Squad Leader, can you do exercises two through eight?" As expected, immediately a new recruit asked this question.

And Squad Six Leader revealed a crooked smile.

Otherwise, why would I be here today?

Squad Six Leader went up to face the bar and confidently said, "Watch carefully! Your squadron's squad leader might not know some of these moves!"

Squad Six Leader jumped onto the bar.

"Horizontal bar exercise number two, tuck and roll up!"

"Horizontal bar exercise number three, single-arm pull-up!"

"Horizontal bar exercise number four, leg hang pull-up!"

"Horizontal bar exercise number five, flex body pull-up!"

When his abdomen was over the bar, Squad Six Leader stretched out his hands: "We also call this 'double-arm stand'! There's also an extended move, which you were just chattering about…"

As he said this, Squad Six Leader exerted force throughout his body, sprung up, and stood above the bar, saluting!

"Salute from the bar!"

The new recruits all stared in amazement.

For a moment, there were at least several different pronunciations of 'Damn' in the crowd.

"That's so awesome…"

Squad Six Leader bent over, gripped the bar, swung around, dismounted, raised his hand, and caught his breath before jumping back up.

"Exercise six, that's the straddle mount!"

"Exercise seven, backward swing mount!"

"These aren't commonly used! The last one, the giant circle!... Forget it, I didn't bring gloves today, I'll demonstrate it another day! This move should start from the pendulum swinging exercise, and it's better if the bar is high! Wear protective gear, otherwise, it's very dangerous!"

Fang Huai watched with various shades of envy.

This was the bar acrobatics he dreamed of!

In the squadron, no matter how old the old soldiers are, whether they can run or not, as long as they perform these moves, the newbie eggs will have to admit defeat!

Physically, this is how the old soldiers make their living.

Of course, this is also because firefighting patrols take up a lot of time. I heard that in the People's Liberation Army where they train every day, many first-class soldiers can complete exercises one to eight.

I don't know if that's true or just a rumor.

In firefighting assessments, only exercises one and two are tested. For conscripts and second-stage officers, doing more than a dozen of exercise one and eight of exercise two is not an uncommon failing rate.

The Cooking Squad and Communication Squad in firefighting aren't as portrayed in the People's Liberation Army, where only the best can enter. They are usually where those with poor physical fitness end up, especially as new recruits dominate over old soldiers over generations, with more staying in by the second and third year. Saying they have a strong foundation is impossible.

Squad Six Leader's voice pulled Fang Huai back to reality.

"Alright, that's enough demonstration! Now, let's see whether you are a mule or a horse!"