100

The weekend of revelry passed in the blink of an eye, and for once, the entire duration was free of random summons. This allowed Long Zhan, Clay, and the other two teammates to thoroughly enjoy themselves.

Six months of the nine-month training cycle had already passed.

A new phase of training had begun!

As a phase designed to enhance professional skills, the remaining 11 recruits, including Long Zhan, faced a wide variety of training disciplines.

First up was more refined firearm training—

**Special Operations Shooting Training!**

This included, but was not limited to, combination shooting drills, rapid response shooting, moving target shooting, combat shooting techniques, and team-coordinated shooting.

This single discipline alone spanned nearly four weeks.

The purpose of such rigorous training was clear: to ensure that every recruit, regardless of their tactical position, mastered all firearms and shooting techniques.

The machine gunner had to be able to act as a backup sniper, and the sniper needed to wield a machine gun for suppressive fire.

Everyone was to become an elite marksman!

Another core training component borrowed from the Navy SEALs—

**Maritime Boarding Operations!**

From small boats only a few meters long to giant ships exceeding 100 meters, every existing type of vessel became Long Zhan and his team's training ground.

During the first month of Phase 4, mornings were dedicated entirely to special operations shooting practice, while afternoons were spent almost exclusively at sea.

Recruits learned how to swim through surf zones near the shore, evade harbor security seals, apply SCUBA techniques, avoid sonar detection for silent infiltration, and even ship demolition methods, practicing every aspect thoroughly.

(SCUBA: Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus)

After a full month of this training, Long Zhan and his teammates became "boarding combat experts."

Once the core skills of the first month were completed, one might think that the training in the second month would ease up or become less complicated.

If so, you'd be completely wrong!

The second month's training was even more complex and significantly more dangerous than the first.

This included land combat, urban warfare, communication and coordination, beach assaults (amphibious landing operations), comprehensive parachuting techniques (low-altitude low-opening, high-altitude low-opening, high-altitude high-opening, glider-based parachuting), extreme rock climbing, rapid descent training, and more.

In just one month, over 20 specialized training courses were covered—

Nearly one specialization per day!

It was sheer torment!

This not only tested each recruit's prior skillset before joining the Green Team assessment but also evaluated whether they were truly "all-stars" from their respective units.

It further examined whether they could quickly adapt to complex scenarios under high-pressure environments.

After all, the missions DG undertakes are the most dangerous, often involving unpredictable circumstances that demand mastery of a wide range of skills.

Each additional skill or expertise could be the difference between life and death.

Ordinary special forces wouldn't demand such an extreme level of expertise. As long as you were proficient in common special operations, personal skills weren't required to be pushed to their absolute limit.

But DG is the "special forces of special forces," requiring recruits to operate at the very edge of human capability.

Fortunately, the remaining recruits had all demonstrated extraordinary skills, earning the nickname "Elite Pros." Their individual capabilities were impressive, with each recruit outshining the next.

Though the second month's training was grueling, far surpassing the intensity of the first month's physical conditioning, it wasn't enough to break these 11 recruits.

For Long Zhan and his teammates, while the challenges were undoubtedly uncomfortable, they did not exceed their limits.

Instead, the high-intensity, high-frequency training served to further enhance their capabilities.

Long Zhan, with his unparalleled physical recovery and monstrous strength, stood head and shoulders above the rest, cementing his status as the king of this cohort.

He had reached the pinnacle of human capability, solidifying his place as the undisputed leader of this generation.

However, Long Zhan's greatest satisfaction that month didn't come from his personal growth.

What thrilled him most was ensuring Bryan's safety during parachute training.

Through meticulous preparation, including a pre-deployment inspection of Bryan's parachute pack and accompanying him for every jump, Long Zhan ensured that Bryan survived unscathed.

The tragic incident in the original storyline, where Bryan fell to his death due to a parachuting accident, was averted thanks to Long Zhan's careful protection.

The "Green Team Trio" remained intact.

The difficulty of the second month's training during Phase 3 had tortured every recruit, giving them a true taste of what suffering meant.

It was likely the last time in their lives they would endure such grueling training.

The final month's training stood in stark contrast to the second phase, with physical exertion being almost negligible.

That's because, during this final month, Long Zhan and his team engaged in a new training module—

**VIP Protection Training!**

This module required a full month, not just because it was new to the recruits, but because of its critical importance.

Here, VIP doesn't refer to "members" as commonly understood but to "Very Important Persons" or key figures.

For DG, a Tier 1 special forces unit, the VIPs they protected were individuals of such significance that their actions could shake nations.

Think of them as "American-style Secret Service bodyguards."

For example, the personal security detail for Afghanistan's former President Hamid Karzai was exclusively handled by DG's elite operatives.

Given the importance of these figures, the attackers they faced were far from ordinary.

Ensuring that these threats and dangers were entirely neutralized before they could harm the VIP required more than just a few training sessions—it demanded familiarity with an entire security system.

From utilizing drones and ground surveillance cameras to underground vibration and acoustic sensors, recruits learned to build comprehensive, 360-degree surveillance systems.

They trained on how to position themselves to physically shield VIPs from every possible shooting angle when moving outdoors.

They rehearsed vehicle convoy tactics to evade ambushes using satellite navigation or command center-guided routes.

They practiced providing 24-hour close protection while respecting the VIP's privacy.

They learned to identify every known odorless, tasteless, and lethal poison in existence to prevent the VIP from being assassinated.

And much more.

The sheer number of protective measures—excluding the innumerable details—exceeded a hundred distinct methods.