The "Hardcore" of the Military Barracks: Turning the "Impossible" into the "Possible" Through Thousands of Trials and Tribulations

This Issue's Topic: HARDCORE

"Hardcore" (硬核) — a word full of a sense of power — has evolved from its literal meaning of "hard core" into an affirmation of formidable strength or exceptional skill, carrying within it an admiration for fearlessness in the face of hardship, the pursuit of the extreme, and the achievement of the extraordinary. In the military barracks, it is precisely through grinding and tempering — through thousands of blows and a hundred refinements (千磨万击、千锤百炼) — that one forges the hard skills (硬功夫) to dare to gnaw on the toughest bones, dare to take on the most difficult missions, and dare to assault the most fortified positions, ultimately turning the "impossible" into the "possible."

Recently, a certain Rocket Force brigade conducted combat-realistic training to forge officers and soldiers' hard skills (硬功) in emergency response and adaptability. Pictured: operators relaying commands. Photo by PLA Daily special correspondent Zhang Feng.

**Victory at the Fingertips**

The first round of firing had just ended when dark clouds suddenly surged on the horizon. A light rain pattered down on the gun covers, and the wind picked up sharply.

"Wind speed 3.6 meters per second, temperature dropped 4°C, humidity up 16%!" the meteorological soldier reported rapidly.

Squad leader Hu Huibo's left hand spun the worn-bright calculation disk at speed while his right hand traced clean arcs across the calculation notebook with a pen. Within seconds, the corrected firing data (射击诸元) were clearly called out and simultaneously transmitted to all gun positions.

A new recruit muttered quietly: "Fire-control computers can correct automatically now — why bother practicing manual calculation?"

Hu Huibo rapped the calculation notebook against his palm: "Computers may be reliable, but your own brainpower has to be even more reliable. Manual calculation is our last line of victory!"

— Qin Haifan, Platoon Leader, a certain Army unit

**Tracking Shadows on a Snowy Night**

Wind and snow enveloped the border outpost. Master Sergeant (二级军士长) Ma Gangxian stared intently at the surveillance screen, his gaze piercing through the darkness.

"Squad leader, the screen is full of noise — can't make out a thing," a young soldier sighed. But Ma Gangxian pointed precisely to one corner of the screen: "The wire fence appears to have a breach. Reinforce it immediately!"

Comrades went forward to investigate and found that the wire fence did indeed have a breach — they were full of admiration.

Last year, when heavy snow sealed off the mountain, Ma Gangxian led a patrol along the border and, from a hundred meters away, spotted a loosened boundary marker at a single glance. After the matter was handled, a comrade asked how he had spotted it. Ma Gangxian said: "Watching day and night, patrolling a thousand times over — your eyesight naturally gets trained up."

— Chen Pengyu, Sergeant (中士), a certain Army unit

**"Embroidery" with an Iron Arm**

At the competition grounds, Staff Sergeant First Class (一级上士) Yu Xifu sat in the cab of an excavator, tasked with using a blade attached to the bucket to cut a cucumber in half — without popping the balloon it rested on.

Raise the arm, pull the lever, tilt the bucket. "Snap" — the cucumber split; the balloon intact.

Next, a bottle opener was fixed to the bucket and extended toward a row of soda bottles. A light pry of the opener, and four bottle caps popped off one by one.

When the competition ended, comrades crowded around to ask for tips. Yu Xifu patted the cab: "Once you've got this big thing figured out completely, you can do embroidery with it."

In the setting sun, the excavator retracted its iron arm. "Embroidery" with an iron arm — what it embroiders is precision that grows with each passing day, and more than that, the confidence to take on the battlefield. A difference of a fraction of an inch is the difference between victory and defeat.

— Liang Jiahao, Staff Sergeant Second Class (二级上士), a certain Army unit

(Compiled by Luo Cheng and Cheng Zhiyuan)

(Upcoming topics: "planting grass" (种草), "dewy-fresh" (水灵灵), "emotional code" (情感密码), "mutual pursuit" (双向奔赴) — submissions welcome)