Ultraman? (Tuesday, Seeking Follows)

The next day.

As the young men gradually got used to their surroundings, time began to fly by like a speeding train or a galloping horse.

But time was strange; once people started running, they felt time slow down.

The faster they ran, the more uncomfortable they became, and the slower time seemed to pass.

It was somewhat in line with the theory of relativity.

"Fang Huai! Three laps left, time to pick up the pace!"

Hao Chengbin stood at the finish line with his arms crossed, watching Fang Huai get closer and then farther away, constantly checking his stopwatch.

Four and a half laps, 1600 meters, and it's already been 9 minutes, and he's still not accelerating? This was the recruit corps' first physical fitness test... Was he planning to hide his true abilities?

Fang Huai felt a thousand curses rise within him when Hao Chengbin told him to speed up.

I already picked up the pace two laps ago, damn it!

My lungs are about to explode!

This situation is too awkward.

If I say I can't run anymore, he won't believe me!

Fang Huai gritted his teeth and took two deep breaths, adjusting his breathing from one breath every four steps to one breath every three steps.

He put his hands on his hips and twisted, easing the sharp pain in his waist, and then picked up the pace a bit.

Chen Zhongqiang and Hu Deli were ahead. Fang Huai could only focus on them and not fall behind.

"Fang Huai... You're so far ahead of me! No wonder I haven't seen you!"

A voice came from not too far behind him.

It was Zhao Bing.

Zhao Bing was almost catching up from behind, a full lap ahead.

The way he said that, I almost choked.

Right now, I'm the core of a pedal-powered calf, but I'm carrying the hopes of a Lamborghini calf.

This time, all the face I'd managed to save has been thrown away.

Natural evolution just can't keep up with a system explosion.

Within half a lap, Zhao Bing passed him.

Three thousand meters, 7 and a half laps, with three laps remaining.

Fang Huai had originally calculated: the first five laps, one breath every four steps to maintain a steady pace; the sixth lap, switch to one breath every three steps; and for the last half lap, switch to one breath every two steps for a sprint.

The plan was excellent, but the pace at the beginning was too slow.

He had no choice but to switch to the desperate mode of one breath every two steps ahead of schedule, swinging his arms and opening his mouth wide, gasping for air and forcing himself to speed up, running right behind Zhao Bing's heels.

His legs were going numb, and a large amount of cold air had entered his lungs. Fang Huai watched large clouds of mist dissipate in front of him with the wind.

Fortunately, running like this, catching up to the steadily moving Zhao Bing wasn't a big problem. For a full lap and a half, he hadn't fallen too far behind Zhao Bing.

But when Fang Huai had two laps left, Zhao Bing only had one lap left.

He's picked up the pace.

Fang Huai could only watch him pull away, lowering his head and relying on the inertia of his body leaning forward to conserve energy.

When he had a little over one lap left, Jiang Peng also passed him, a full lap ahead.

This guy clearly knew he was still one lap behind. As he ran past the finish line, he spread his arms wide, looking like he had won the championship.

"Quick, quick! Fang Huai! You have 1 minute and 20 seconds left!" Hao Chengbin stared intently at Fang Huai, his initial expectation of being the first in the entire company quickly falling to just passing the test.

The recruit standard was 14 minutes and 10 seconds to pass.

Fang Huai clearly remembered that in his previous life, his first running test time for three kilometers was 16 minutes and 40 seconds.

That was the achievement he was most proud of during his first test because he couldn't do the parallel bars or the pull-up bars at all, scoring zero, but at least he managed to finish the three kilometers.

After being assigned to a unit, he learned that there were no three-kilometer runs anymore. The only three-kilometer test was for military academy admission, with a passing score of 13 minutes and 20 seconds.

His time for running three kilometers was the same as the time it took veteran soldiers in his company to run five kilometers during the Iron Army competition.

The more capable ones could even run 17 minutes with an 8-pound self-contained breathing apparatus on their backs.

With 1 minute and 20 seconds left.

Fang Huai pushed himself to the limit again.

He didn't even know how many steps he was taking per breath, but Fang Huai opened his mouth wide, desperately snatching every bit of oxygen.

The discomfort of running was perhaps less than that of the push-ups that day, but breathing was more difficult. The more cold air he inhaled, the more his lungs felt like they were burning.

300 meters, accelerate.

200 meters, accelerate.

Fang Huai kept telling himself to accelerate, running without any semblance of proper form.

As Fang Huai saw Hao Chengbin, his throat felt incredibly raw. He lowered his head again, charging forward with the momentum.

He crossed the line, but couldn't catch his breath.

He fainted onto the ground.

This time, he managed to hold on until he was next to a large mat for sit-ups before he passed out.

"14 minutes and 32 seconds... not passing... Fang Huai, don't sleep on the ground after running, walk around a bit!"

"Fainted again?"

"Hurry and send him to the infirmary!"

"Roll him over, give him some air! Undo his jacket!"

This time, Fang Huai could hear the voices around him clearly.

Because he was faking it.

He hadn't expected that the direct fainting technique he taught Chen Shuang at the People's Armed Forces Department would actually be used on himself.

If he didn't fake it now, he'd have to run 100 meters in half an hour. With his current leg explosiveness, he'd be nothing but a workhorse, and his old face would definitely be embarrassed again.

He'd leave that memory for Squad Leader Hao.

A stretcher was quickly found. There were plenty of them at the fire department's training base.

Fang Huai was carried by two veteran soldiers towards the infirmary.

"Damn, this kid fainted during the 3k run too?"

"Hurry up! He's fainted before, remember? He fainted during push-ups that day, I saw him, he was really giving it his all!"

"Is he just prone to fainting? Poor blood circulation? Maybe he has a heart problem!"

The infirmary was in the administrative building, quite far away. The two non-commissioned officers carrying him chatted as they walked.

Jiang Peng, who was catching his breath and stretching nearby, heard it all clearly.

As soon as he entered the warm infirmary, Fang Huai gradually started to blink his eyes, preparing to "wake up."

"Doctor! Someone fainted! Take a look!"

No one spoke, but the sound of hurried high heels approached.

A woman, wearing perfume.

It wasn't strong, but it smelled expensive.

Pleasant.

Fang Huai made his judgment. Feeling a hand about to pluck at his eyeball, he quickly twitched and slowly opened his eyes.

"Where am I..."

He looked up and around, seeing familiar faces.

Squatting on the ground extremely close to him was a female Captain.

The squad leader of the first squad, Sun Yi.

The squad leader of the sixth squad, whose new nickname was "Flying on the Parallel Bars," Yang Hui.

Sitting on a stool nearby was another person.

He never would have expected that someone else from his company would be going to the infirmary with him this time.

Han Yong.

The recruit who brought over 300,000 yuan when he enlisted, and who fainted during the run yesterday.

Damn it, his plan backfired.

He was now on the same level as Han Yong.

The sixth squad leader didn't seem to think he was faking it. Seeing him about to get up, he quickly said, "Lie down first! You fainted just now!"

"It's okay, it's okay, Squad Leader, I... I can do it! Let's go back!"

"You guys... were doing a physical fitness test?" the female Captain asked, her eyes filled with suspicion at how quickly he recovered.

The military doctor had seen this kind of thing many times. Faking illness to avoid training was very common.

The new recruit sitting there was an example. He insisted his ankle was sprained, and the non-commissioned officer who brought him in also said he had indeed sprained it. But she couldn't tell at all. Wherever she touched his foot, he cried out in pain. This didn't seem like a sprain; it was more like he'd been run over by a truck.

The two squad leaders understood what she meant.

Yang Hui glanced at Han Yong with some disdain and then explained, "It was the 3k run, he fainted after finishing. He's our company's top trainee, first in parallel bars and double bars."

Hearing that, Fang Huai's face flushed with embarrassment. He wished he could borrow money at exorbitant interest from the System and run it again.

Damn it... that high-interest loan was too expensive!

The female captain nodded. "Oh..."

"Can you walk?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I'm really fine! I just ran too fast just now!" Fang Huai quickly got up, stumbling again.

"Alright." The female captain glanced at Fang Huai, feeling that there really wasn't any problem, and nodded. "It shouldn't be a big issue. Go back and rest, you'll be fine after sitting for a while."

This was exactly what Fang Huai wanted. As long as he could skip the 100-meter dash and not embarrass himself, that would be enough.

Both squad leaders nodded. Yang Hui seemed to remember something, looked at Fang Huai, and then asked the doctor, "He fainted once a couple of days ago. Is he okay?"

Fang Huai quickly answered, "I'm fine, Squad Leader. I just pushed myself a bit too hard in training."

The female captain also said, "Next week, the new recruits will be scheduled for a physical examination at the PLA 44th Hospital. We'll check his heart and blood sugar then... It's most likely a blood sugar issue. Young man, don't just train, eat more."

Fang Huai quickly nodded.

"Right, right, right, he just hasn't eaten enough!"

Yang Hui nodded and pointed at Han Yong.

"Doctor, that's also from our company. Can he go back?"

The female captain looked at Han Yong with a meaningful expression.

"If he wants to go back, he should be able to."

"Squad Leader, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!" Han Yong was being supported by two squad leaders, his mouth chattering like a machine gun as he wailed in the administrative building.

Fang Huai followed behind, walking absentmindedly.

He had just... thought about women.

The female captain had a beautiful face... no, she had a gentle demeanor unique to women, and that faint scent of perfume. In this iron-blooded military camp... perhaps it was also because his body had become young again, making him have some expectations towards women again.

He wasn't thinking about that female captain, of course.

There were plenty of beautiful female firefighters. If he were to be attracted to someone, it wouldn't be this older sister who was at least 10 years his senior.

Never mind being reborn, he could still use his previous 35-year-old aesthetic to look at women. Although these women had become younger, Fang Huai had to face a reality: when he was thirty-five in his past life, they were already around forty-five.

He was young now, and it would be much easier to find young and beautiful women, and it wouldn't be considered an old cow eating young grass.

It felt pretty good.

So after thinking it over and over, the person he ended up thinking about was Yang Shaoqing.

The soft touch and the shy demeanor of the young girl he hadn't paid much attention to when he hugged Brother Yang on the day he enlisted, now made his palms tingle.

His infatuation lasted less than half a minute before a loud voice shattered his fantasy.

"Who's howling over there?"

Another Brother Yang appeared.

The Chief of Staff, Yang Yonghua.

The real Brother Yang.

Hearing this voice, Fang Huai's hormones retreated like a tide.

That dark face also made Han Yong's howling stop abruptly.

"Chief of Staff! The new recruit sprained his ankle and we're taking him to the infirmary. We're bringing another new recruit over and picking him up!" The younger Brother Yang, Yang Hui, immediately replied.

The older Brother Yang, Yang Yonghua, looked at Han Yong with his hands behind his back, then at Fang Huai behind them.

He frowned.

He recognized this kid.

"Young man, why is it you again? You're from Hao Chengbin's squad, right? What happened this time?"

Fang Huai also felt a bit regretful. This was truly embarrassing, all the way to the Regimental Headquarters.

"Reporting, Chief of Staff! Nothing!"

"He fainted while running just now. He woke up as soon as he got to the infirmary and said he wanted to rush back to training," Yang Hui added as an explanation.

Yang Yonghua touched his forehead. "Why did he faint again?"

"It was the 3-kilometer test. He fainted after reaching the finish line. The doctor said it might be a bit of low blood sugar!" Yang Hui replied.

Yang Yonghua suddenly understood. No wonder he was being supported even when eating.

"If your body is weak, rest well! Replenish yourself! If you can't handle the training, don't force it! Don't cause trouble for the regiment!"

Fang Huai's mouth twitched, not knowing how to explain.

The two squad leaders were even more speechless.

He was weak? Couldn't handle it?

The day before yesterday, on the parallel bars, he was doing dozens of reps with ease!

"Understood... Chief of Staff!"

Yang Yonghua stopped talking, sighed with his hands behind his back, and left.

Sigh, this batch of recruits has bodies that are too weak. He was supposed to be a model of perseverance in training to win the Outstanding Soldier award, to encourage new recruits to continue training hard after joining their units. He didn't expect the model they found to be a sickly person.

Back on the training ground, Hao Chengbin was standing with his hands on his hips, urging Yue Tao, who was being assessed on sit-ups, to hurry up.

He turned and saw the four returning, looking somewhat surprised.

"Why are you back again? Are you awake now?"

Yang Hui waved his hand. "The doctor said he might not have eaten enough, and has a bit of low blood sugar. If he eats more and rests, he'll be fine."

"Pfft..."

Yue Tao, who was doing sit-ups with grunts on the mat, almost couldn't catch his breath.

He had personally seen Fang Huai eat two large bowls of noodles this morning.

"Squad Leader... he, he didn't eat anything?"

Hao Chengbin turned around impatiently. "Hurry up and do it! What's all the nonsense?"

Hao Chengbin was also a bit confused about Fang Huai's physique. When he's strong, he eats like a beast, devouring several basins of food, flying on and off the parallel bars. When he's weak, he only eats two steamed buns and struggles to even pass the 3km run.

He's like that Ultraman, sometimes powered up, sometimes not.

This won't do! What if he runs out of power during a mission? Lives could be at stake!

Even if he trained at home, who trains by hanging onto parallel bars? The standard for new recruits' 3km run has been lowered by 50 seconds. Even if they don't aim for the "excellent" time of 12 minutes, they should at least pass, right?

"Alright, Squad Leader Hao, I'm leaving him to you. I still need to hand over these recruits from Class Eight to Squad Leader Pan... they'll probably be joining the Flying Tigers."

After speaking, Yang Hui led Sun Yi and Han Yong away.

Hao Chengbin stepped forward, pulled Fang Huai to the side, and said softly with a worried expression.

"What's going on? You're breathing so heavily? ...Have you, have you never trained at home?"

Fang Huai had already prepared his response.

"Squad Leader... I really haven't trained! My home is in Chongqing, you know that! That place is all uphill and down dale, how can I train? I was a student before! But... Squad Leader, if you have time to watch me, I can sleep half an hour less at night and come to the training ground for extra practice, directly practicing the 5km!"

Hao Chengbin suddenly understood. "Oh... I see. Alright, as long as you're willing to train, I'll find opportunities for you. With your height, it won't be difficult to train for middle-distance running. However, training every night won't work. I'll have to inform the duty officer. Also, you can't run the 5km every day; it'll hurt your knees. You need scientific training!"

Fang Huai nodded gratefully. "Okay! Thank you, Squad Leader!"

Fang Huai had no other choice.

All day, no matter how much he mentally recited, the mission hadn't triggered again. Perhaps the "Newbie Gift Pack" had already been distributed, and missions weren't that easy to get anymore.

Fortunately, he hadn't taken out that high-interest loan. Otherwise, he wouldn't know when he could ever pay it off. This system was ruthless; it would probably do the same with predatory loans. If they deliberately withheld missions and then added late fees, he'd never be able to level up in his life.

Therefore, he had already decided that even without Butcher Zhang, he wouldn't eat a pig with its hair on. He had to fix this weakness no matter what.

"Yue Tao, 52!" the NCO in charge of counting shouted loudly.

Yue Tao, who was beside him, immediately sat up, his face full of anticipation.

"Squad Leader... that squad leader just now mentioned the Flying Tigers... What are the Flying Tigers? Are they like the special forces in Hong Kong movies?"

Hao Chengbin turned around and gave him a flick on the forehead.

"Yes, special forces! Do you want to go? I'll sign you up!"