"Very well, you are quite courageous," Angus said.
"Campbell told me that you believe you have the qualifications to join the Special Operations Forces, is that correct?" Angus continued.
"Yes, sir!" Zhou Yuan replied firmly.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan's eyes narrowed, and he responded loudly, "It seems that you not only have courage but also great confidence." Angus turned slightly and said to the captain behind him, "Baird, he's yours now."
The captain nodded and stood in front of Zhou Yuan. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Baird Burke, the captain of the Talis Fortress Hunter Task Force."
"I have heard that you are quite skilled in combat, but I don't want to rely solely on hearsay. I want to see just how capable you really are."
"Come, let me see if you have what it takes to join the Special Operations Forces."
With that, Burke removed his skull-shaped combat helmet and temporarily handed his weapon to a nearby team member. He was the captain of a hundred-person Special Operations Forces unit.
He came here today to serve as Angus' escort and to assess Zhou Yuan's abilities. He and Campbell had been comrades since their early days in the military, and their relationship was excellent. So when Campbell mentioned having a versatile soldier under his command, Burke had no doubts about the truthfulness of Campbell's words and immediately became interested.
There were a few positions vacant in his team, and Zhou Yuan seemed like a perfect fit.
"Yes, sir!" Zhou Yuan stepped back a few steps, assuming a combat stance.
Damn, another political maneuver, he thought. This scene reminded him of his first day at the recruit camp. How could he possibly let his superiors lose to him in front of everyone?
The brigadier general and his men stepped aside, giving Zhou Yuan and Burke the space to spar. They were all eagerly anticipating the outcome.
Campbell believed Zhou Yuan would win, while others thought Burke would come out on top. But it was all just speculation; no one dared to say for certain who would win. This was because they were well aware of Zhou Yuan's previous record of defeating forty-seven opponents single-handedly. The only regret was that Campbell was worried the incident would attract too much attention and result in Zhou Yuan being punished, so he had deleted the surveillance footage from that day.
Burke was no slouch either; he had fought his way out of Bug Mountain and Bug Sea, killing more bugs than most soldiers had ever encountered.
This was a suspenseful and thrilling battle.
"Come on," Burke strolled forward, beckoning Zhou Yuan with a slight motion of his hand.
Campbell had mentioned that Zhou Yuan's resistance to attacks and strength were astonishing. If they were to clash head-on, Zhou Yuan would undoubtedly overpower him. Burke needed to rely on skills to defeat Zhou Yuan.
"Okay!" Zhou Yuan didn't hesitate; he charged forward, fist clenched.
However, just as he was about to throw his punch, he suddenly stomped his foot, causing Burke to lose his balance momentarily, and executed a spinning kick.
"Bang!"
Burke couldn't dodge in time; he could only use his arms to block. When Zhou Yuan's left foot collided with his arms, his expression instantly changed.
He felt like a truck had rammed into him, and he was pushed back several steps, nearly falling to the ground.
"What incredible strength!" Burke steadied himself and shook his trembling arms.
He was certain that if he had taken that kick head-on, his arm bones would have shattered.
With Angus and the onlookers at the forefront, they were all astonished. How could a rookie who had just left the recruit camp less than half a month ago kick back the captain of a special operations unit?
"Did you all see that?"
"This is the boss's true strength!"
"The boss is invincible, no one can defeat him on land!"
The excitement was even greater among Zhou Yuan's teammates.
They had to patrol and couldn't leave their posts, but they were able to communicate through earpieces. Among them, Zhou Yuan's top henchman, James, was the loudest.
And what about the head of the Special Forces? Well, his head was being beaten and he was howling in pain!
Little did they know that soon their heads would be separated from their bodies.
The scene shifts back to Zhou Yuan and Burke.
After gaining the upper hand with a single blow, Zhou Yuan didn't give Burke much time to react. His footsteps danced like shadows as he stuck to Burke, delivering powerful punches and kicks that quickly suppressed him.
Although he didn't defeat Burke, everyone could see that Burke was destined to lose!
Facing Zhou Yuan, Burke was like a dung beetle facing a human, completely at the mercy of his opponent with no room to fight back.
"He's truly a monster!" Burke cried inwardly, realizing that he had severely underestimated Zhou Yuan.
Zhou Yuan's physical abilities were truly extraordinary, as strong as a fully grown bull, making it impossible for an ordinary person to even withstand a single blow from him.
The only consolation for Burke was that Zhou Yuan was only 18 years old.
Zhou Yuan was still immature, and his displayed fighting skills were not highly advanced, which was why he had been able to remain undefeated.
If Zhou Yuan possessed the mature fighting skills of Burke, he could probably defeat him within three rounds.
"Campbell, this kid is indeed impressive."
"Alright, he still has work to do tonight. Let's not burden him further."
Seeing Burke retreating while being beaten, completely powerless, Angus nodded in satisfaction.
Very well!
As the Chief Strategic Officer of the Talis Fortress Special Operations Force, he welcomed such excellent soldiers to join the special operations unit.
The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility.
The defense forces, a unit that rarely went on missions, didn't require soldiers with such exceptional physical abilities.
"Zhou, stop."
Campbell understood instantly and waved to stop Zhou Yuan.
Actually, even if Angus hadn't said anything, he had planned to stop the fight. He couldn't let his good brother lose to a rookie.
"Yes, sir!"
Zhou Yuan immediately stopped and stood aside, very satisfied with his performance.
He had kept Burke under constant pressure throughout the fight, although he hadn't defeated him completely, he had demonstrated his strength and talent.
Afterward, Zhou Yuan didn't exchange any words with Angus.
Angus took Burke and Campbell aside, speaking in a low voice that Zhou Yuan couldn't quite hear.
He only vaguely heard words like "fair", "acceptance", and "experience".
But he noticed that Burke glanced at him several times, suggesting that he had made a decision.
Two minutes later.
Angus and the others went to the Ninth Squad's garrison area, with Campbell leading the way. However, Burke stayed behind for some reason.
"Kid, did you give it your all?"
Burke followed Zhou Yuan up the watchtower and hesitated for a moment before asking.
After the fight, it finally dawned on him that Zhou Yuan had probably held back.
With Zhou Yuan's explosive physical abilities, attacking at a speed so fast that he couldn't see clearly, how could he have successfully blocked every strike?
"Damn!"
"You're truly a monster. I feel so much better now."
Seeing Zhou Yuan hesitantly touch his nose, Burke instantly knew the answer.
He sighed heavily, patted Zhou Yuan's shoulder, and said, "Normal excellent soldiers, even if given the chance to enter officer training camp, it would take about three years for them to go from Private Second Class to Second Lieutenant."
"I did it in two years, but you did it in just eleven days."
"Huh?"
Zhou Yuan's mouth hung open as he was stunned by Burke's words.