At the TerraNova Corporation's base headquarters, the security control center housed a massive screen divided into countless smaller segments, displaying satellite images from various locations across the planet.
From the surveillance footage of the base itself to the bustling mining areas, the hidden dangers of unknown beasts in dense forests and deep pits, and the quietly floating asteroid belts in space, the daily task of the security team was to patrol these regions.
Although the security team consisted of over thirty members, controlling the defense of the entire planet was still a daunting task. Fortunately, after the departure of the large corporations, the planet's environment was relatively safe, and there were usually no significant threats. Thus, even occasional lapses in surveillance did not lead to severe consequences.
At this moment, Deputy Head of Security, Torres, was standing in front of the screen, fully absorbed in his work.
In reality, many tasks no longer required his personal handling. Advanced chip technology could automatically process a vast amount of affairs, uploading all data and anomalies to the system.
These chips, with a computational capacity of billions of operations per second, were more than capable of handling most surface data and intelligence. Human intervention was only necessary in special circumstances, to escalate the priority of incidents, and to conduct detailed reporting and processing.
Torres was on duty for at least eight hours today.
At this moment, a slender figure hurried into the control center:
"Boss."
"Let's talk privately."
The newcomer was Torres' capable assistant, Karim.
Torres signaled to the security personnel nearby and then followed Karim into an adjacent room.
The door closed gently.
Karim's voice carried a hint of seriousness:
"Security has just added a new member, the one we saw this morning. Carlos personally recommended and invited him to join; he's already reported for duty and is being received by Maughan. I checked, and he's now equipped with an H3 citizen chip, with physical standards met, and his current rating is H4."
Torres was clearly surprised.
He still had an impression of the newcomer named Ryan.
When he saw him this morning, he only had an H2 national chip.
Torres had thought he posed no threat to himself and believed it would be at least a few months before he could join the team.
Unexpectedly...
Carlos had acted so swiftly this time!
In less than half a day.
All the admission procedures had been completed.
"How did he manage to gather a million dollars in such a short time?" Torres asked.
Karim replied:
"I've checked; the newcomer was on a mission today, handing in 640,000 in raw ore. Needless to say, this must be Carlos' doing... The rest of the funds must have been provided by Carlos."
"It seems we've pushed Carlos to the wall; he's even started funding new talent from his own pocket."
Torres sneered.
Karim continued:
"Boss, now that Carlos has started taking this seriously, we also need to prepare in advance. Carlos has been in the security team for two years and has a lot of resources at his disposal. If he breaks through to G-level now, we will be in a very disadvantageous position."
"Relax, G-level is not that easy to break through."
Torres looked disdainful: "However, we must guard against Carlos cultivating Maughan and this newcomer fully, bringing us trouble. After all, TerraNova is his stronghold... Alright! The next transport mission is in two weeks. Carlos will definitely escort it personally, and I'll have to go along too. When the time comes, I'll find a way to keep you at the base."
When he said this, Torres didn't continue.
Karim understood and revealed a cold, cruel smile: "Alright, I'll make the arrangements."
...
The moment Ryan received the invitation, he rushed to the Security Department immediately. Guided by Maughan, he quickly completed the admission procedures and received a uniform specially designed for security personnel. The mining machine in his living quarters had also been upgraded to an H5 patrol machine, 'Bluebird'.
This security uniform was H5-level equipment, not only with the basic temperature control functions of ordinary clothing, capable of withstanding water, fire, wind, and cold, but also with active anti-stab, anti-puncture, and bulletproof features.
Controlled by the intelligent butler Astra, the uniform could predict and calculate the surrounding environment, and immediately activate the defense mechanism in case of danger.
As for Bluebird, since it was equipped with a weapon system, Maughan spent more time instructing, emphasizing the safe use of weapons and daily maintenance.
"According to the boss's arrangement, after you join the security team, you will be in the same shift as me, and I will take you through the work." Maughan had a good first impression of Ryan and was explaining in detail all the way.
"Our security team currently has thirty-six people, in addition to six people who travel with the transport ship, the other thirty are stationed at the base headquarters. Now with you, there are a total of thirty-seven people."
"We are usually divided into groups of five, two people are responsible for monitoring, three people for patrolling, and we rotate every eight hours."
"Besides Maughan, who are the other three members of our team?" Ryan asked.
"Follow me, you will meet them soon." Maughan led Ryan to a rest room in the security department.
There were already three members waiting inside, and Ryan knew all of them.
In the rest room, Ryan met several people who were about to become his colleagues. One of them was Kazemi, who had a red nose from long-term drinking and was lying in bed to rest at the moment.
The other two colleagues obviously enjoyed the gathering last night, and they stood up and greeted Ryan warmly when they saw him.
"These are Michael Brown and David Wilson, you should have met them before." Maughan introduced.
"Ryan is now our official member, we are all family from now on, you should take care of him more." Maughan had a certain prestige in the security department, and his words revealed expectations for Ryan.
"No problem!" Michael Brown responded immediately, his attitude was very friendly.
"Ryan, welcome to join us. I can show you around when we are on duty next time." Michael Brown took the initiative to offer.
But Maughan rejected his proposal: "No, the boss specifically instructed that I will personally take him through the work for the next few days."
"Okay, let's make an appointment next time." Michael Brown was a bit disappointed, but quickly adjusted his emotions.
Ryan had some understanding of Michael Brown's character. Although Michael Brown was also a member of H5 level and had excellent strength, he was still slightly inferior to Maughan in terms of talent, character, and enthusiasm, which was also the reason why he failed to surpass Maughan.
David Wilson gave a steady and honest impression.
"Let's go." Maughan said to Ryan.
"I'll take you to get the equipment first, and then we'll do some live-fire training. As a security officer, we must have certain combat capabilities, especially you, as a person personally recommended by the boss, and we can't let people down."
Ryan nodded seriously, he knew in his heart that this was the real reason why Carlos arranged for Maughan to personally lead him.
Ryan was well aware that his behavior was not only related to personal image but also affected Carlos's reputation. Maughan would be personally guiding him in the next few days to familiarize him with every corner of the TerraNova Corporation. This kind of treatment, even in his previous life, had never been experienced.
As for the live-fire training...
To be honest, Ryan didn't care much about it. The shooting training facilities provided by the TerraNova Corporation only offered some basic and simple firearms, whose lethality and recoil were relatively small, easy to operate, and had limited impact on the outcome of the battle. These weapons have gradually been phased out on the modern battlefield.
With the assistance of the citizen chip, almost everyone could quickly become a marksman. Ryan believed that it would be better to spend time exercising his physique or going out to hunt those lone fierce beasts, which might be more conducive to improving his actual combat capabilities.
Of course, he couldn't show these thoughts. As a new member, he needed to adapt to the local customs and integrate into this new group as soon as possible. This was the security team's rules and procedures, and it was also valuable experience he learned from his military career - People who stand out or act differently are often ostracized by those around them.