There was actually no particular reason why Instructor Liu chose Su Yang. It was purely because Su Yang was one of the few actors whose names he could remember.
Before the training began, Wu Feng had especially exchanged a few words with him. He told Instructor Liu that Su Yang was going to film the close-up of the tank and had asked Instructor Liu to take care of him. Hence, Instructor Liu had a deep impression of him.
Furthermore, Su Yang was the first person in the line. Therefore, since he had the intention to simply pick someone, he might as well start with the first actor. ‘None of them will be able to do it anyway!’
Su Yang was still very professional to his work, he would behave exactly like an actor in the production crew whenever he was there. Therefore, he stomped his foot and raised his head as he shouted, “Sir, yes sir!”
Instructor Liu pointed at the tank simulator. “Come here and try it!”
Su Yang replied, “Yes sir!”
Su Yang marched and got into the tank simulator.
By tank simulator, it was actually a large metal chair. The surface of the chair was crudely equipped with various instruments and items that one would find inside the tank cockpit.
Su Yang walked into the simulator from above. He was lying flat on his back as he entered the simulator of the tank. Then, he gripped the lever with both hands and looked forward as he sat upright.
As soon as he sat down, he could feel the natural instincts that came from [Tank Driving Ability] returning to his system. He was like a tank soldier who had been driving a tank for many years and was extremely familiar with all the controls before him.
Instructor Liu’s eyes lit up as he sized Su Yang up. ‘He’s not doing too bad actually. Neglecting everything else, just his posture as he “got into the tank” is pretty decent.
‘However… getting a tank is easy, actually driving it, not so much.
‘One has to understand how difficult it is to drive a tank, not only because the tank driver has little to no vision, but also because it’s very, very difficult to control the joystick and the clutch…
‘Due to the tank’s size and weight, the joystick will feel so stiff as though it was covered in rust. Also, the clutch has to be in the right position for the gears in the gearbox to be changed properly which is a very difficult thing to get the hang of.
‘All of these have been perfectly replicated in this simulator, hence it is enough to make a beginner fumble in his toes.’
However, Instructor Liu did not do it to teach Su Yang a lesson. Instead, he wanted all the actors to correct their attitudes through Su Yang’s flustered actions. Hence, he said to the other actors, “You guys can form a circle and watch him operate.”
“Yes sir!”
After the actors replied in unison, they looked at each other before smiling and surrounding the tank simulator. They wanted to see how Su Yang would operate it.
Instructor Liu did not hesitate. When the actors were all in position, he shouted loudly, “Fire up the tank!”
Su Yang looked straight ahead and shouted, “Yes sir!”
All the actors who were undergoing training turned to look at Su Yang curiously.
They saw Su Yang lowering his head to check the clutch before looking at a yellow switch on the left. Then, He then shook the black handle under his feet.
This series of actions stunned all the actors because they had no idea what Su Yang was doing…
Instructor Liu’s eyes slowly widened because the other actors did not know, but he knew…
‘Su Yang is actually going through the procedures of firing up a tank!’
Previously, Instructor Liu had only taught the actors some simple maneuvering methods to let the actors gain a feel for it and roughly learn how to operate it. That way, the actors would be able to act realistically, but… he did not explain in detail how one should properly begin operating a tank.
In the end, he realized that not only did Su Yang know all of the procedures, he was doing them very well!
He could not help but frown as he watched Su Yang’s actions. Su Yang’s first step was to check if the clutch was in neutral position. The second step was to check the yellow switch which was the switch to check the fuel distribution. The third step was to shake the fuel pump to eliminate the excess air in the fuel supply system…
‘He’s going through each step of the procedure to clear the tank of any excess air correctly!
‘How does he know how to do all this?
‘Did I include it in my lecture in the morning?’
Instructor Liu was doubting himself as he recalled his memories. ‘I might have… Mentioned it?
‘Could he have remembered after I very casually mentioned it?’
Instructor Liu was in disbelief.
‘Perhaps… he’s only remembered the first few steps?’
However, Su Yang’s next actions slapped Instructor Liu square in the face. He skillfully used his left hand to turn on the air pressure bottle’s switch and checked the air pressure. Then, he connected the phone’s main switch and stepped on the accelerator…
‘He’s completed all the procedures correctly, he seems to be very familiar with all this…’
Instructor Liu was shocked!
‘He doesn’t look like a newbie at all! In fact, he looks like a tank driver who has been driving for at least 3 to 4 years!
‘How is this possible!?’
Perhaps because he had witnessed an unbelievable scene, Instructor Liu ignored his original objective of “educating” the actors and directly began his training.
He glared at Su Yang and shouted, “Turn to your left!”
“Yes sir!” shouted Su Yang.
Then, he slowly stepped on the brake and reduced the accelerator to the lowest speed possible, teetering on the edge of shutting off the engine entirely before he pulled the left joystick to change the tank’s direction. After the joystick was in place, he stepped on the accelerator all the way!
‘All the steps have been completed in one go!
‘The tank’s stiff controls doesn’t seem to be an issue to him at all! He’s able to operate it so smoothly!’
Instructor Liu was completely stunned this time.
‘How… How is this possible?
‘Su Yang’s maneuvering is absolutely incredible! He’s maneuvering it so familiarly!
‘Not even a tank soldier who has 1 month worth of experience will be able to achieve this!
‘Since it is a replica of a tank’s size and weight, all the controls are stiff and heavy. An inexperienced tank driver couldn’t possibly drive with ease, most of them would not have enough strength and would end up fumbling, making a fool of themselves instead.
‘But… Not Su Yang!
‘Moreover, because the structure of the tank was different from that of a car, the handling of the tank is mainly focused on the speed on the 2 belts of the tank while turning. Therefore, the greater the acceleration, the lower the handling. Therefore, when driving the tank, the driver has to be infinitely close to the edge of the engine completely becoming idle without the engine giving way before pulling the joystick. Once that’s done properly, the driver then steps on the accelerator with everything they got!
‘This is a skill and knowledge that only those who has truly driven a tank before would be able to know!
‘Yet, how does Su Yang know?!
‘How did he do it?
‘Could it be that he’s a tank enthusiast who has looked up on all sorts of information and practiced whenever he was free?
‘However, to be able to do it so skillfully on the simulator and operate it so smoothly despite it being his first time, he’s a complete genius!
‘How is this possible…’
Instructor Liu suppressed the shock in his heart. He did not believe it and continued to issue various instructions for Su Yang to perform. However, Su Yang was still able to complete all of his given instructions smoothly and skillfully.
Su Yang’s smooth movements and his confident demeanor stunned all the actors. ‘Although I don’t feel that it’s too difficult to drive a tank, Su Yang’s driving is way too cool!
‘Even though he’s just driving in a simulator, the aura he exudes makes it feel like he’s actually driving a tank into war!’
On the other hand, Instructor Liu was getting more and more surprised. He realized that Su Yang was too skilled! He was so skilled that he looked completely like a veteran tank soldier.
After a round of training, Instructor Liu looked at Su Yang in silence for a long time. After a while, he asked, “Have you driven a tank before?”
How could Su Yang possibly admit to that? Hence, he simply smiled and shook his head. “Of course not, sir.”
Instructor Liu looked at him and remained silent.
When he came back to his senses, Instructor Liu suddenly realized that he had done something stupid…
‘No matter how surprised I was, I can’t just go asking such a question! Wouldn’t that be telling others that I was shocked?
‘Furthermore, that was such a silly question. Not even ordinary soldiers are able to get their hands on a tank, so how could Su Yang, an ordinary person, possibly have driven a tank before?’
It was just as he had expected. Instructor Liu had been very influential among the actors who had come to train. However, after his lecture in the morning, the actors thought that the tank was simple, so they were a little arrogant.
However, now that they heard Instructor Liu’s slip of the tongue and felt his shock, the actors exchanged glances. They could see the suppressed laughter in each other’s eyes.
If their eyes could communicate, they would probably mock Instructor Liu. ‘Isn’t he being too ignorant? Even if Su Yang has driven well, he didn’t have to think that he has driven before, did he?”
Moreover, they really believed that it was not difficult to drive a tank.
Because of Instructor Liu’s explanation in the morning, these actors mistakenly thought that driving a tank meant stepping on clutch, getting in gear, pulling the joystick, and stepping on the accelerator, as simple as that.
In their eyes, a car had a steering wheel that could spin 360 degrees, but the tank only had two joysticks. Therefore, it was obviously not as difficult as the car.
Coupled with the fact that they had just witnessed Su Yang’s fluid operation, they were even less concerned about driving the tank. ‘We’re all here for training, so if Su Yang was already able to drive it so well. No matter how bad we are, how bad could we be?’
Initially, Instructor Liu had wanted to rely on Su Yang to shut down the restlessness of the actors. However, he did not expect them to be even more impetuous.
Instructor Liu’s face darkened when he noticed the commotion in the training room.
Honestly, he did not believe it.
‘I’ll admit it! Su Yang is a genius! He has only just learned how to drive a tank, yet he could already drive so well.
‘I’ll also accept the failure in my plans to “teach the others a lesson” as well!
‘But! I refuse to believe that there can be another genius within this crew!’
Therefore, he looked around at the actors with a dark expression and shouted to one of them, “Tan Da! Step out!”
“Yes sir!” The actor called Tan Da immediately stood out.
Instructor Liu waved his hand. “Get in the tank!”
“Sir, yes sir!” Tan Da walked to the tank simulator with ease.
Seeing this, Su Yang jumped out of the simulator and stood at the side. Tan Da mimicked Su Yang’s previous style as he entered the simulator.
However, the ergonomics of the simulator’s cockpit way out of his expectations. Furthermore, it was his first time entering a tank’s cockpit, so he had no experience. Thus, Su Yang’s “cool” movements ended up looking like he was crawling into the simulator instead.
There was a little more laughter in the crowd. ‘Compared to Su Yang’s fluid movements, Tan Da looks so clumsy.’
However, everyone only thought that Tan Da was not as nimble as Su Yang, hence they did not pay much attention to it.
As he entered the cockpit, Tan Da imitated Su Yang again and held onto the joystick. Then, he looked ahead and waited for the instructor’s orders.
Instructor Liu shook his head slightly. With just one look, he knew that this Tan Da would not be able to do well. ‘His movements are absolutely sloppy and are out of place.’