70: Chapter 69 The Gold Medal Fighter 70: Chapter 69 The Gold Medal Fighter Lao Liu, clutching their passports and twenty thousand US dollars, got off the car halfway, while Gao Yang and the others wiped off fingerprints from the big Benz they had driven, left the handguns in the car, then simply abandoned the car by the roadside, leaving the doors open with the engine still running.
In Moscow, a big Benz idling with doors open and not a person in sight will undoubtedly get stolen if left that way—it would be against all common sense if it didn’t.
As for Gao Yang and his group, they had already taken a taxi to the airport long ago.
While waiting in the airport for Lao Liu to handle the visa applications, Li Jinfang seemed unconcerned about everything, showing no signs of nervousness from start to finish, while Gao Yang and mother-daughter Natalia and Yelena were incredibly anxious.
Gao Yang felt that Natalia and Yelena’s attire was too eye-catching, impossible to ignore, so he simply gave the mother and daughter some money to buy new clothes.
While waiting for Natalia and Yelena to shop, Gao Yang, with time to kill, couldn’t help but turn his attention to the mysterious Li Jinfang.
“Jinfang, your skills are really impressive, to tell the truth, you gave me quite the scare, and rightly so for an ex-special forces.
You’re using combat skills from the military, aren’t you?”
Li Jinfang shook his head and said, “Yes and no, let me explain.
I took out three guys; for the one in front of you, I used a kick.
Although it’s a leg technique from the military combat training, the force application was in line with the Tan Leg style, so it should count as Tan Leg.
The one in front of me was indeed taken down using military close combat techniques, which everyone in our unit can use—it’s nothing special.
The third guy, the one I knocked away with a punch, well, that technique isn’t part of the military’s repertoire.
What I used was Xingyi Fist.”
Gao Yang was stunned.
The reason he had offered money and risked getting caught to help Li Jinfang escape was precisely because he admired Li Jinfang’s special forces background; a professional-level fighter brought in was a strong asset.
But to Gao Yang’s delight, Li Jinfang wasn’t just any professional-level fighter—he was like a super-champion fighter.
“Holy shit, I didn’t expect you to have so many fighting styles.
You’ve trained, haven’t you?”
Li Jinfang nodded, hehe smiled, and said, “In our village, many practice Xingyi.
In my mom’s village, many practice Tan Leg.
I started learning Xingyi and Tan Leg since childhood, and used to get beaten by my dad for being afraid of hardship.
When I thought of sneaking off to my grandma’s to slack for a few days, hey, I’d just end up getting beaten by my uncles too, and kept practicing until I graduated from high school.”
Gao Yang exaggeratedly said, “Holy shit, you’ve got the best of both worlds there.
By the way, where is your hometown?”
Li Jinfang smiled and said, “I’m from Xingtai, and my mom is from Cangzhou.
You know these places, right?”
Gao Yang gave a bitter smile and said, “They’re both from the same province; how could I not know?
Both are renowned martial arts homelands in our province, even famous nationwide for martial arts.”
Li Jinfang grimaced and said, “As a kid, I wasn’t keen on practicing martial arts.
My dad would beat me, and so would my mom.
As I grew up, well, that’s when things went bad.
I’m a straightforward guy with a quick temper, always getting into fights.
I caused serious trouble several times, and as a result, my parents no longer let me practice martial arts.
But how could I forget all the training I had over more than a decade?
After discussing it, my parents decided that I should join the army.”
Gao Yang responded with a wry smile, “So your skills are inherited from your family.
That’s impressive.”
Li Jinfang brimmed with pride and said, “Hey, not bad, right?
In my second year of service, I took first place in our division’s hand-to-hand combat competition and third in the army’s overall martial arts competition, earning a third-class merit and becoming a non-commissioned officer as a squad leader.
I didn’t retire and, in the third year which was last year, I took second place in the army-wide martial arts competition.”
Surprised, Gao Yang said, “You are so good, I thought you must have been first.”
Li Jinfang let out a long sigh and said, “Ah, don’t mention it.
In our unit, I have a cousin and a second cousin, all enlisted in the same batch.
Although we are not in the same division, we have to compete together during the army-wide competition.
My two brothers trained harder than me.
My cousin has been molded through hardship since childhood, and my second cousin also was trained strictly from a young age.
If they ever neglected their practice they would get beaten, but for me, since junior high, I would get beaten if I dared to continue martial arts.
So, of course, my skills dropped.
Sigh, my second cousin recovered, but my cousin is still there, and that’s why I went from third to second place.”
Gao Yang laughed heartily and said, “Fine job, you three have become celebrities.
Impressive, truly remarkable.”
Li Jinfang’s face, which had been filled with pride, suddenly fell, and he said listlessly, “What celebrity?
Last year, my cousin and I both caught the eye of the selection officers.
I don’t know which unit he went to, but it was definitely a special forces unit.
As for me, I trained for half a year and almost became a special forces soldier, but then, something went wrong, and I ended up here with you.”
Gao Yang patted Li Jinfang on the shoulder and sighed, “Well, what can you say?
As long as you have a clear conscience, that’s all that matters.
By the way, which unit are you from exactly, and what are you good at?
What weapons do you prefer?
Since we’ll be working together under fire from now on, I need to know your strengths.”
Li Jinfang sighed and said, “I’d rather not say which unit, to avoid embarrassing my old unit.
The number of the unit where I received training is classified, so I can’t tell you.
At most, I can say I was with the Reconnaissance Company, which was affiliated with a division.
What we dealt with mainly falls under field operations.
I know the usual infantry tactics.
Then I also learned a bit about how to use reconnaissance equipment, and there’s some special driving.
As for parachuting and airborne operations, I hadn’t got around to training for those; they were on the agenda after officially joining the special forces squadron.”
After finishing his explanation, Li Jinfang clenched his fist and shook it in front of Gao Yang, “If you’re talking about what I’m best at, it’s close-quarters combat.
During training, I even overpowered the instructors, and I’m also fairly good at special driving.
As for firearms, I’m proficient with all the light weapons used by Huaxia infantry.
I was about to start training with foreign military light weapons, but that’s supposed to happen after joining the Reconnaissance Company officially.
My shooting skills are just average within our company.
I’m best with automatic rifles, handling middle and short-range shooting without a problem.
I can use pistols and sniper rifles, but not as well—both are slightly inferior compared to my automatic rifle skills.
And because of my proficiency in close-quarters combat, I’ve always served as a firepower assaulter in our team.”
Li Jinfang was vague about his former unit, stubbornly refusing to reveal the number, which made Gao Yang incredibly curious.
Fortunately, Li Jinfang had shared his specialties, but what puzzled Gao Yang was whether Li’s reference to being “average” was genuinely modest, or if it was an understatement.
After a moment’s thought, Gao Yang asked, “When you say average, what level are we talking about?
Let’s put it this way, how does it compare to that of a regular soldier?”
Li Jinfang thought for a moment and said, “To be honest, I can’t match you with a pistol, but I’m definitely better than a regular soldier.
Before I joined the Reconnaissance Company, I’d only fire ten pistol rounds in a year.
As for the rifle, I was above average in the Reconnaissance Company, not the best, but before I joined, I was at least in the top three in our regiment when it came to shooting.”