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As Dragon's squad entered the building, a target wearing a bandit hat and wielding a weapon emerged abruptly from the corridor ahead.

This wasn't the humanoid target used in previous training sessions but a role-playing sparring partner.

This level of difficulty was a notch above standard training.

The point man at the front maintained control of the field of view. Although the sparring partner playing the role of a bandit was a retired special forces soldier, their abilities had been significantly diminished for the exercise.

The "bandit" charged forward with a weapon but was immediately neutralized on the spot.

Faced with such a sudden assault right at the entrance and the constant sound of gunfire from the cadets in earlier evaluations, Dragon realized that the mock enemy force must be vast.

Standing before a corridor split just five meters ahead, leading left and right, Dragon knew he had to approach the situation with utmost caution.

It was not only about ensuring his team's safety but also about completing the mission successfully.

Dragon decided against splitting his squad further into more efficient units. Instead, he divided the team into two two-person groups, each assigned to clear the left and right paths.

He stationed one member at the T-junction to secure it while the remaining three focused on clearing the right side first.

With someone guarding the junction, the advancing team didn't need to worry about attacks from the rear and could concentrate on the task ahead.

To compensate for the time lost in not fully dividing the team, Dragon adopted a more aggressive clearing tactic: grenade breaching.

Having finalized the tactical plan, Dragon, as the squad leader, didn't need to explain it all at once. His role was to execute the strategy and guide his team step by step.

"Move!"

Dragon gave the order, and the team advanced in a standard CQB formation.

"Pew-pew-pew-pew…"

As they reached the junction, two more enemies appeared but were promptly taken out by the vigilant Bravo Team, posing no threat to the squad.

"Hold position!"

Dragon ordered one of the point men, signaling with tactical gestures to secure the left side of the junction.

"Continue forward!"

He then led the other two members into the corridor on the right.

After advancing less than three meters, they stopped outside a room.

Dragon tapped the shoulder of the teammate in front, signaling them to halt and take position on the other side of the door to maintain control of the field of view.

The team member behind Dragon prepared to breach the room with him.

To ensure safety, Dragon first tested the door handle, cautiously rotating it to the left and right.

When he found it could move to the left, he confirmed that the door was closed but not locked.

"Stun grenade!"

Using tactical hand signals to avoid alerting those inside, Dragon instructed his teammate.

(A stun grenade, also known as a flashbang, is a non-lethal device designed to create a blinding flash and deafening noise to disorient enemies, incapacitating them without causing significant harm.)

The teammate retrieved a training stun grenade from their tactical vest and handed it to Dragon.

This training device had no actual destructive power; it merely produced a brief flash and a sound similar to a firecracker. However, in this training scenario, it was considered equivalent to a real DG Special Operations stun grenade.

A real stun grenade could emit an intense flash of approximately nine million candela and a deafening noise of around 180 decibels.

In a confined indoor space, such a grenade could leave targets temporarily blind for 5–10 seconds due to the afterimage effect of visual cells. If no auditory protection was used, the noise alone could render a person unconscious.

Using conventional methods to clear an unseen room would be time-consuming and risky. By deploying a stun grenade, the process became far simpler.

Dragon took the grenade with his right hand, nodded at the teammate to signal readiness, and slung his weapon to free both hands.

Holding the door handle with his left hand, he simultaneously pulled the pin with his teeth.

He then turned the handle while pulling the pin and pushed the door open just enough to toss the grenade inside.

As the door opened about 20 centimeters, the grenade slipped through the gap. Dragon immediately pulled the door shut after delivering the grenade, all in one fluid, seamless motion.

Two seconds later:

(The CQB-specialized grenades for indoor operations have shorter fuse times than regular grenades, making it impossible for opponents to pick them up and throw them back.)

"Bang!"

The grenade detonated, and Dragon immediately reopened the door.

Following his earlier instructions, the teammate prepared to breach kicked the door open and stormed in.

Inside the room, two armed bandits stood frozen, doing nothing as the teammate entered.

While the training grenade posed no real harm, a genuine DG Special Operations stun grenade would have incapacitated them entirely.

The two bandits would either have been unconscious or curled up on the ground in agony.

The teammate quickly neutralized them without resistance.

"Clear!"

Hearing the signal, Dragon moved past the door, tapping the shoulder of the teammate guarding the corridor.

The guard joined Dragon in taking point as they moved toward the next room, while the teammate inside followed closely behind.

From breaching to clearing and leaving the room, the entire operation took less than ten seconds.

Watching Dragon's efficient and aggressive leadership, the training instructor, Adam, and the mobile coach observing from the overhead walkway both nodded in approval.

Though aggression is often associated with recklessness, Dragon demonstrated "calculated aggression."

This unique and striking command style left a lasting impression on Adam and the other instructors, who saw immense potential in Dragon.

DG needed such "aggressive blood" to counterbalance the aging force and increasingly conservative tactics within their ranks.