Chapter 59: Strength Can’t Be Hidden
After running the five kilometers, Jin Hongjie was leaning on her knees, her hands and feet weak, panting like a bull. She looked at the two next to her and was secretly amazed. She was already considered to have very good physical fitness. It wasn’t that she hadn’t run five kilometers before, but she had never run under such a scorching sun.
Zhou Wanfeng pulled at the collar of her training uniform to get some air.
Liu Shupei drank half a bottle of water, then took a deep breath, turned, and handed the water to Zhou Wanfeng with a smile. “Rehydrate.”
“Thanks,” Zhou Wanfeng said, glancing at the mouth of the bottle. Seeing that Liu Shupei didn’t mind, she took a sip to soothe her throat. Just as she was about to return it, Liu Shupei pointed at Jin Hongjie, who was waiting eagerly.
Jin Hongjie grinned. “Thanks, sister. I’ll treat you next time,” she said, and then drank the rest in one go. She even poured the little bit left on her face to cool down.
“Let’s go and sit over there for a bit. The squad leader has gone to get the others,” Jin Hongjie said, pointing at a spot, preparing to wait for the squad leader and the others to come.
They had run in a circle and come back. Now, the shady spots were all taken, and the water dispenser was also crowded.
Jin Hongjie glanced at the two of them. “You two are good. You almost left me behind. I had to hold my breath to keep up with you.”
Liu Shupei smiled and looked at Zhou Wanfeng, not hiding anything. “I’ve had some contact with some of the projects in the army. I guess I’m just an early bird.”
“You’re still an early bird?” Jin Hongjie shook her head, feeling that Liu Shupei was being too modest.
But Liu Shupei pointed at the silent Zhou Wanfeng next to her. “Compared to her, I feel like I’m just an early bird.”
“Zhou Wanfeng, have you practiced before?” Jin Hongjie was puzzled.
Zhou Wanfeng chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “I guess so.”
The three of them were chatting while they were resting. They saw the squad leader, Yu Aijun, coming back with the others in the distance.
Zhou Wanfeng called for the three of them to get up, squeezed into the crowd, and went up to them with a large tea mug.
“Have some water.”
Hu Yinping let the others drink first. She was hot and thirsty. She took it and drank it all in one go, then passed it to the person below.
“Thanks.”
“Thanks.”
After all the cadets had returned, had a drink, and rested, each squad lined up and was led back to their own training ground.
The training base was very large, about the size of ten soccer fields. Unfortunately, there were very few buildings in sight. A row of small houses was the cafeteria, a restroom was in the distance, a four-story building was the office, a building next to it was for indoor training, and then there were the barracks and dorms.
Yu Aijun had all the cadets sit down. “Today’s five-kilometer run was a surprise test. The cadets who didn’t finish, remember where you fell behind and strengthen your training in the future. The standard for the front-runners today was 30 minutes for five kilometers. For now, during your new recruit training, this will be the standard. You can do extra training during your break time. A surprise attack like this can happen at any time.”
“Everyone, get up… at ease, at attention,” the training content began with drill practice. The movements had to be standard, and they had to be practiced repeatedly, for a long time, until they were ingrained.
The whole morning was spent practicing standing at attention, squatting, and getting up.
The duty officer blew his whistle. It was break time.
Their stiff bodies could finally relax. With their backs to the sun, the squad leaders of the nearby squads would gather to chat. It was a rare sight to see the serious-faced squad leaders smile.
There was also a basketball court on the training ground. It was said that every army unit had a basketball hoop. The moment Jin Hongjie saw the basketball hoop, her eyes lit up with excitement. She even leaned closer to Zhou Wanfeng’s ear. “Do you know how to play basketball?”
“No,” Zhou Wanfeng said, shaking her head truthfully.
Jin Hongjie frowned and sized up Zhou Wanfeng’s height. “You have good physical fitness. I’ll teach you the rules and techniques. In the future, we can team up. I’ll be the power forward, and you can be the guard. Whenever the school organizes a basketball game or something, it will be our world,” Jin Hongjie said. After today’s five-kilometer run, she had a completely different opinion of Zhou Wanfeng. This was definitely a formidable girl.
Zhou Wanfeng smiled.
“Don’t be like that. Why don’t we try it during the lunch break? I’m not bragging. I used to be on the school basketball team. And you have to find some fun in your life. Apart from physical training and studying, you have to find some recreational activities to de-stress.”
Liu Shupei tilted her head and said that Jin Hongjie was right. “Then you can teach me too.”
“Of course. The three of us, I’ll be the power forward, and you two can be undecided for now. We’ll find some time at noon to go to the basketball court and try it out. I feel like you two will be amazing with just a little guidance,” Jin Hongjie said. She had a cheerful personality, a slightly chubby face, and a large frame. When she had introduced herself as a tomboy, you could probably understand why.
She did have a bit of a masculine air about her.
Zhou Wanfeng was also tall, but her frame was not large. She was tall and thin. Her palm-sized face and deep-set eyes made her features look three-dimensional. Her expression was cold, and she had a proud and heroic air about her.
In fact, the overall impression she gave was not very approachable, with a sharp and piercing feeling like a sword.
The whistle blew, and the training continued.
The cadets at the training base had limited freedom. There was a break at noon. Some would go back to their dorms to rest, and some would be washing things at the faucet with a basin.
Not only Jin Hongjie had seen the basketball court, but the male cadets had also seen it.
They asked their squad leader for a basketball. They could borrow a ball from the indoor training area by registering their squad leader’s name.
Jin Hongjie was full of confidence, holding the ball with one hand and spinning it with the other. The three of them were going to play basketball, and Wei Jiahui, Xia Mengmeng, and Hu Yinping were going with them.
Before they got there, they saw that the basketball hoops were surrounded by many male cadets.
Zhou Wanfeng had her hands in her pockets and was following behind. Jin Hongjie was the first to run over, wanting to find a less crowded spot. Then she came in and out, and beckoned to them.
Some of the male cadets on the court had taken off their jackets. Some were wearing military green short-sleeved shirts, and one had even taken off his shirt and was playing.
When the female cadets came over, the male cadets automatically made way. There were more boys than girls here, and in the future, they would be in the same school, or even the same major.
The few of them stood on the sidelines for a while, watching the boys play.
He Yunfei, on the court, noticed the few girls standing on the sidelines, and one of them, a tall one, was holding a basketball under her arm. He suddenly clapped his hands, signaling for a timeout.
“Want to play together?”
Jin Hongjie glanced at her companions behind her, hesitated for a moment, and said truthfully, “We have a novice on our side. If you don’t mind.”
“We don’t mind, we don’t mind.”
“What’s there to mind?”
“Let’s play together.”
Seeing this, Jin Hongjie immediately looked at Zhou Wanfeng and Liu Shupei with excitement. “Let’s go, let’s go on the court.”
She dribbled the ball over gracefully and did a three-step layup. The ball went in with a thud. Hu Yinping and Xia Mengmeng cheered, and the boys also cheered.
Zhou Wanfeng took her hands out of her pockets, rolled up her sleeves, and looked unhurried.
He Yunfei took the lead in clapping. Ma Jun went over and nudged him. “What are you pretending to be a good person for?”
“We’re all classmates. We’re just getting to know each other.”
Jin Hongjie was dribbling on the court. You could tell that she was very skilled. The ball was very obedient in her hands. She could do whatever she wanted with it. Seeing that Zhou Wanfeng was ready, she immediately threw the ball to her with both hands and shouted, “Zhou Wanfeng, you try dribbling. Liu Shupei, you try to steal the ball. Anyway, the goal is that basket. Whoever scores, scores.”
With that, she joined in the steal.
Zhou Wanfeng caught the ball with a smack, bounced it on the ground a couple of times, and the next second, Liu Shupei was in front of her, reaching for the ball. Zhou Wanfeng quickly turned to block, her reflexes fast. She blocked the ball with her body the whole time. By the time Jin Hongjie came over, Zhou Wanfeng had lost the ball.
Jin Hongjie got the ball and dribbled it to a distance, dribbling arrogantly, telling the two of them to come and steal it.
Zhou Wanfeng glanced at Liu Shupei, and the two of them chased after her.
Jin Hongjie was very proud of her skilled dribbling, but she had underestimated the agility of Liu Shupei and Zhou Wanfeng. With a wolf in front and a tiger behind, Jin Hongjie wanted to run, but she couldn’t.
“Bro, here, help me hold this,” Jin Hongjie actually passed the ball to He Yunfei. He Yunfei, who had caught the ball, was taken aback and stood there. He saw two girls running towards him.
He immediately raised the ball high. They shouldn’t be able to reach it now, right?
Liu Shupei was taken aback and slowed down. She glanced to the side. Zhou Wanfeng’s speed had not only not slowed down, but had even accelerated.
He Yunfei’s eyes were wide. He was about to open his mouth and say “hey, hey,” but he was so scared that he turned sideways, afraid that she would crash into him.
Zhou Wanfeng did a high-jump whirlwind kick and intercepted the ball. She caught the ball with both hands, and while he was still stunned, she walked to the basket and threw the ball with both hands. The basketball went into the net in a beautiful parabola.
“One point, or two?” she said, turning to look at Jin Hongjie.
“No, that’s not how you play basketball…”
“You didn’t explain the rules at the beginning,” Zhou Wanfeng naturally knew the basic rules of basketball. With that, she pointed at Liu Shupei. She even went straight to pick up the ball on the ground, preparing to stand under the basket and shoot for a score.
Jin Hongjie held her head. “Oh my, you guys have to play by the rules of basketball! How can you be like this?”
But Liu Shupei and Zhou Wanfeng’s style of play was to steal the ball, one attacking and one defending. It was a completely different way of playing, and the two of them were enjoying it.
The onlookers could also tell that the two of them were not playing basketball at all. It was as if they were competing in something else.
The two of them were testing each other, confirming that both of them were very strong.
It wasn’t until the whistle blew that they ended and returned to their lines.
Jin Hongjie knew a few of the guys and had arranged to play basketball with them when they had time.
In the afternoon, they first practiced the drill training, turning, standing at attention, at ease, and then they learned to salute, to count off, to stand at ease, and so on. It was simple and boring, just repetitive training. By the time the whistle for a break blew,
a cadet in the line was yawning with his mouth wide open.
Seeing this, the squad leaders of the nearby squads immediately called their squads together. “Come on, come on! You’re sleepy, right? You think what you’re learning is simple and boring, and it’s just repetitive training. Don’t underestimate these things. What you’re learning now will be essential in your daily life in the future. Now I’ll teach you a new game. I guarantee you won’t be sleepy after you’ve played it.”
All they saw was a squad leader from the next squad draw two lines on the ground, about thirty centimeters apart.
At the same time, he found two male cadets, one on each side.
A squad leader explained, “The area between the two lines is called the neutral zone. You can stand in it with both feet, or with one foot, but once you’re in, you can’t retreat. Then both sides will extend one arm, hand to hand. When I say ‘go,’ the one who pulls the other person into their own camp wins.”
“This is called a tug-of-war. It tests your strength, agility, and reflexes. Come on, give it a try,” the squad leader said, telling the two male cadets to extend their hands. “The belt, the collar, the hair can all be targets. Be careful.”
The two boys were competing. There were no extra movements. They just held hands and pulled. There was no skill involved.
“Hey, hey, this is not a pure tug-of-war. You can use skills and speed. Don’t just use brute force. Of course, brute force is also an advantage.”
Yu Aihua sat on the ground and watched as the squads took turns. He glanced at the female cadets in his squad. Their eyes were all excited, and they looked eager to try. He randomly pointed at Wei Jiahui. “Go up and challenge.”
Wei Jiahui was not at all timid and went straight up. The other female cadets cheered for her.
Yu Aijun’s gaze fell on Liu Shupei and Zhou Wanfeng, who were sitting and resting. Both of them had a faint expression, and they didn’t seem to want to go up.