Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 414 Special Police Competition (Part 1)

In midsummer, the hot wind was scorching. Colorful flags fluttered and the formations surged on the parade ground of the Dongzhou Police Academy.

Chen Shu stood at the front of the special police brigade in Zhengming District, looking around at the bustling young colleagues who were also wearing special police training uniforms. He was momentarily transported back to eight years ago when he had just graduated from the police academy and was undergoing three months of closed training as a new police officer with several instructors from the special police detachment.

However, it was the dead of winter, and the wind felt like knives cutting into their faces. The twenty or so new police officers, looking bewildered, stood on the empty parade ground, not knowing where to put their feet.

Unlike now, although it's hotter, everyone is refreshed and full of energy, like an elite force holding their heads high, waiting for their leader's inspection.

Besides their Zhengming Special Police Brigade.

Chen Shu turned his head and looked at the row of dejected team members behind him, a bitter smile appearing on his lips. He knew that many of these team members had participated in the special police skills competitions organized by the detachment in previous years.

The fact that they had consistently ranked last in every year was deeply etched in their minds. Although they appeared radiant and confident during their recent training at their unit, they were actually filled with anxiety and trepidation. The closer the competition approached, the more tense and anxious they became.

This inferiority complex will only make you feel constrained during competitions and prevent you from performing at your best.

Chen Shu took a deep breath, suppressing his irritation, and turned back to wait for his leader's instructions.

"Training is for better combat, and competitions are to showcase the results of our regular training. Therefore, I hope that everyone participating in today's competition will demonstrate the courage, tenacity, and unwavering fighting spirit that our special police officers should possess."

A deputy director of the Dongzhou Public Security Bureau in charge of special police sat on the podium, reading from a prepared script. His tone was rather flat, lacking any of the passion that the words he uttered were as stirring as they were.

As the former director in charge of traffic management, Director Wang had just taken over the notoriously inactive SWAT team within the system. Still unable to shake off his discomfort, he casually read his prepared speech and then handed the microphone to the SWAT team leader sitting next to him.

The detachment leader, Lao Gao, was a tall, thin middle-aged man with a full beard but sharp eyes. He took the microphone, first expressing his gratitude to the leaders who came to inspect the area, and then briefly added a few words.

As a veteran special police officer who has served for about ten years, I'm actually getting a bit tired of these competitions. It's always the same group of young guys from the directly subordinate detachments who spend all their time training that win; the remaining district and county detachments might have a few specially recruited individuals stand out.

Nothing has changed over the years.

Somewhat boring.

"Use me in the first battle, and I will win."

The competition officially began amidst the shouts of all the special police officers present.

Chen Shu led the team to the designated rest area in the stands. Looking at the six assault team members who had been working day and night with him for the past month, he originally wanted to say a few words to boost morale with a straight face, but seeing that everyone's expression was extremely tense, he thought again that he should not put any more pressure on them.

He cleared his throat, trying to ease everyone's sense of urgency: "Do you know what our goal is this time?"

The group exchanged glances and then shook their heads.

Chen Shu looked at Chen Chuan, who was lost in thought: "Chen Chuan, tell me."

"Huh? Oh, the target?" Chen Chuan, who was standing on tiptoe observing the various teams on the playground, realized what was happening and said with a grin, "Second to last."

Upon hearing this, the other five team members couldn't help but laugh out loud. Chen Chuan wasn't annoyed and continued to look at everyone with a smile.

Xu Mingliang, who was in charge of the bomb disposal project, considered himself the oldest and patted Chen Chuan on the shoulder, saying with a smile, "Young man, you have lofty ambitions! I give you a thumbs up."

Pu Shu, who had been treating this competition as an opportunity to show his parents how he had grown, was no longer nervous and joined in the teasing: "Brother Chuan, whether we can come in second to last depends on your 400-meter obstacle course!"

Yan Song chuckled without saying anything, but his expression relaxed considerably.

Zhang Qing, who was working on the large-scale drone project, froze for a moment. He adjusted his newly bought, gleaming black-rimmed glasses and said incredulously, "Brother Chuan's grade was barely passing, how could he possibly have gotten a place?"

"Hahaha!" Everyone burst into laughter when they saw Zhang Qing asking the question in a serious tone and Chen Chuan's embarrassed expression, which made their toes look like they were digging a three-bedroom apartment. The atmosphere in the team became much more lively.

"Alright." Chen Shu clapped his hands to signal quiet, and then slowly said, "Everyone has been working very hard these past few days. I occasionally record everyone's performance when they are in good form, and then I compared it with the results of previous years' competitions. Guess what? Getting a top-three team shouldn't be a problem."

Seeing everyone shaking their heads in disbelief, Chen Shu continued, "I went to the registration team earlier to check on the applicants from various districts and counties. Except for the directly subordinate brigade of the detachment, the others haven't changed much. Correspondingly, their scores should be about the same as in previous years. Oh, by the way, the directly subordinate brigade of the detachment has only recruited new police officers this year, so their scores might not be as good as before!"

Even if they're not as good as before, they're still better than us.

"Yes, yes, yes. They're all monsters, very ferocious!"

"We can't compete. We can't compete."

Pu Shu mentioned it, and the others chimed in.

Chen Shu waved his hand and continued, "Have you ever thought about why we couldn't get good results in the competitions in the past few years? It's because we lacked the fighting spirit. Whenever we encountered difficulties and predicaments, we would shrink back and run away."

“We started to think we couldn’t do it. ‘Well, our team is always last, so what if I’m a little behind?’ This kind of thinking has been deeply rooted in everyone’s mind, making us lose the courage to fight.”

Chen Shu paused, looked around at the thoughtful crowd, and said, "If everyone thinks like this, and everyone gives up on themselves before the competition even starts, then the whole team will naturally lose from within."

Chen Shu squinted as he looked at each of the team members he had personally trained, waiting for their answers.

Chen Shu believed that although they were just a small group that had only been established for a few months, in the nearly two hundred days and nights of hard work, with his intention to unite them and with everyone's efforts, they would finally take the first step.

That is to rebuild what they have worked so hard to achieve!
It's not about the results, it's about the team's confidence!

Chen Chuan, who had been curiously gazing around, turned his gaze away, nodded, and said softly, "We are a team. If I don't lose in the 400-meter obstacle course, we won't lose either."

Xu Mingliang, who occasionally cast deep glances at the well-equipped bomb disposal team of the special police detachment, licked his dry lips: "I want them to know that experience counts, and equipment isn't everything. I won't lose here."

Pu Shu raised his young and resolute face: "I want my parents to know."

He paused, as if thinking of something unpleasant, his expression shifting between light and dark, before finally regaining his composure and simply saying, "I, Pu Shu, will not be defeated."

His tone revealed a budding confidence.

Having just tasted the sweetness of honor by receiving a third-class merit in the dismemberment case, Ma Bowen's eyes gleamed, and his words were full of longing: "One word, do it!"

Zhang Qing adjusted his glasses and remained silent, while Yan Song clenched his fists in silence.

"Actually, don't put too much pressure on us. No matter what, our results will definitely not be worse than in previous years, so we're not worried about not having chicken legs for us when we get back to the brigade at night."

Chen Shu smiled, his expression softening slightly. He then composed himself, took a step back, and stood in the sunlit aisle of the stands. He straightened his chest and asked loudly and resolutely, "Brothers, what is our goal?"

Second to last!

With a snap, the six assault team members stood at attention and responded loudly, drawing the attention of the special police officers from neighboring units not far away.

"very good."

Chen Shu nodded in satisfaction; morale was high.

(End of this chapter)