Beach City is one of the key locations in the U.S. East Coast defense system, and this has given the O'Hina Naval Air Base its significant strategic position.
The base is fully equipped, from the air station and naval ship ports to the soldiers' barracks and training centers.
Within the base, there are two special forces units—the SEALs, which are among the top 10 special forces in the world, and the Navy's elite, DEVGRU, which split off and was renamed.
Many of the basic training facilities and spaces are shared between the two forces based on mutual agreement.
However, the official rules are rigid on paper, and in practice, DG (DEVGRU) has priority most of the time. The elite SEALs are given more training resources, and the White SEALs (those in basic training) often find themselves waiting if they need to use certain facilities.
With Sonny, the "local big shot," personally leading the way, Long Zhan's journey proceeded smoothly.
He made his way easily across the entire Beach City, passed through the heavily guarded gates of the O'Hina Naval Air Base, and arrived at the final destination of this trip—
The headquarters of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group!
Since DG has only around 300 members, with elite centralized management, everything from office and command to eating and personal needs for the seven teams is all consolidated into one large building.
Long Zhan had reviewed a large amount of internal DG-related materials to complete his plan, so he was well-versed in this basic information.
"OK, we're here. The laid-back surfer boy from the West Coast hopes to meet you on the second floor."
Sonny didn't get out of the car to escort him or even turn around. He raised his right hand behind him in a cool gesture and drove directly toward the underground garage entrance.
This boldness, tinged with a clear arrogance, was Sonny's unique personality.
The fact that he didn't even bother to tell Long Zhan his name further indicated that he was just helping out as a favor, not considering Long Zhan as a potential friend.
Having spent many years navigating the "underworld," Long Zhan could easily tell this.
However, despite wanting to build a good relationship with Sonny to lay the groundwork for joining Team B in the future, Long Zhan did not chase after him to ingratiate himself.
After coming back from death and "resurrection," Long Zhan had fully realized that in life, strength is the only thing that matters—everything else is irrelevant.
If he wanted to gain respect and recognition, the best way was to show his power.
He believed that as long as he demonstrated his strength in the evaluation, Sonny would eventually come up to introduce himself, rather than Long Zhan having to embarrass himself by asking.
"Hey, big guy, are you the new recruit from the Green Team?"
Hearing someone shout from this direction, Long Zhan turned his head toward the voice and asked in surprise, "Are you talking to me?"
"The big guy over 200 pounds—there aren't many like that around here. If it's not you, then who else could it be?" joked the E4 sergeant at the door.
"Well, though I'm not a fan of being called 'big guy,' since you've said it like that, I'll just take it as you admiring me," Long Zhan said as he struck a signature Schwarzenegger pose.
"I do admire you, actually, but unfortunately, no matter how hard I try, I won't grow another 6.3 feet and become a big guy like you," the African-American logistics sergeant said, seemingly a fan of strong men. He chatted enthusiastically with Long Zhan and even came over to guide him in parking the motorcycle before leading him inside while introducing himself: "Jennifer, I'm in charge of welcoming new Green Team members today. Nice to meet you."
"You can call me Long. I'm from Team Three, also nice to meet you." Long Zhan shook Jennifer's hand.
As they walked through the entrance together, they exchanged a basic introduction.
As they made their way through the lobby towards the Green Team office area, Jennifer took the opportunity to introduce Long Zhan to the various sections of the building on the first floor.
He especially highlighted one important detail—**never go up to the second floor.**
The second floor and above belong to the DG command and office areas, and no one other than official members of SEAL Team 6 is allowed to go up there.
Not even Jennifer!
Jennifer was just a logistics staff member serving Team 6, a "temp worker" technically still considered a White SEAL.
Strictly speaking, his role wasn't much different from Long Zhan's status as a new recruit.
Both temporary workers and Green Team trainees are only allowed access to the first floor and the outdoor training areas.
Going to the second floor was the dream of all White SEALs and served as a form of motivation for Green Team recruits.
Fortunately, the first floor has very well-equipped facilities. Apart from the Green Team leadership's office area, everything else necessary is available.
In fact, the first floor has one additional feature that even the second floor lacks—
A dining hall!
All soldiers in the building, including Green Team recruits, logistics staff, and official DG members, eat in the restaurant on the first floor.
In the U.S. military, officers and enlisted men are in separate systems, and their meals are typically strictly segregated.
Hearing that everyone dines together in the first-floor restaurant, Long Zhan was both surprised and pleased, as this gave him a chance to mingle with the main and secondary characters from TV shows.
Especially with Jason, the team leader of Team B—Long Zhan's key focus.
Being able to join Team B and earn $10 million, as well as the right to select new recruits, Jason was truly a critical figure.
Long Zhan believed that if he could get familiar with Jason early, it would improve his chances of getting into Team B.
Just as Long Zhan was thinking about how to make a good impression on Jason, someone else had already done it for him.
"Hey, J, you don't look too good."
Sonny emerged from the elevator on the third floor, where the Red Team was based, and ran into his captain, Jason. He casually handed him a paper bag and said, "Spicy chicken from 64th Street, my favorite. Eat it, it'll lift your mood. Want to give it a try?"
"No thanks, I've already had lunch," Jason declined, shaking his head.
Team B had lost a member during a VBSS (Visit, Board, Search, and Seize) operation two days ago, and that team member was Jason's best friend.
As the captain, Jason was under a lot of pressure and had a lot of post-operation work to handle.
After attending the "post-operation reflection" yesterday, he had just finished a "30-minute dialogue test" with the psychologist. His mood was understandably quite bad.
"Old buddy, it's all over now. Let go of it," Sonny said, not wanting to see Jason in such a bad mood. Though he didn't know how to comfort people because of his personality, he decided to shift Jason's focus.
Thinking about meeting Long Zhan earlier, he decided to try to distract Jason with that.
As they walked toward the command center, Sonny said mysteriously, "I met a really interesting newbie on my way to the base today."
"A newbie?"
Jason's curiosity was piqued by Sonny's "strategy."
"I've been in Team B with you for so many years, and this is the first time I've heard you mention a newbie. I'm definitely surprised."
"This guy's from San Diego on the West Coast. At 25, his rank is just one level below mine, completely different from the other calendar boys. I'm really curious about what he did during his deployment to get such recognition. J, can you pull his file for me?"
The second SEAL Team from San Diego was known for a calendar photo shoot where they posed shirtless, an event ridiculed by East Coast SEALs for supposedly selling their looks.
"This newbie does sound exceptional. Too bad I can't access his personal file. The commander might be able to, but it wouldn't be appropriate," Jason replied, his curiosity fully sparked, raising an eyebrow. "But… we could go observe the Green Team's training. We need to replenish our ranks in Team B."
"After this mission, let's go check out the Green Team and see if the wonder kid you mentioned doesn't disappoint me."
"I hope he doesn't disappoint either, haha."
Sonny laughed as he chewed the spicy chicken, and the two of them entered the command center together.
By now, the meeting room was already full, with everyone looking serious, and the Red Team commander, Major Blackburn, had taken his seat.