Diaz was an outstanding logistics sergeant, known for her clear and efficient approach to tasks. In less than two minutes, she had outlined the purpose of her visit.
As it turned out, the situation was just as Long Zhan had guessed.
Diaz had come to convey the orders for the B team's external reinforcements, and to everyone's surprise, there wasn't just one spot available—both Long Zhan and Clay had been selected.
Long Zhan had earned his place through his exceptional strength, decisively overpowering other new recruits with his raw power.
The other new recruits hadn't even been in the running for selection.
As for Clay, he had made the cut through a combination of sheer luck and just enough skill. This mission required someone fluent in Urdu, and the only person in the entire base who could speak the language was Clay.
The B team's mission timeline had already been tight, and with the mission set to depart by early morning the following day, there was no time to find another top-tier operative who could speak Urdu.
Long Zhan's personal strength was so remarkable that the B team commander was unwilling to overlook such a talent.
To resolve the issue, the direct commander of B team had to make a snap decision, applying to the battalion commander for approval to expand the list of external reinforcements to include two people.
Thus, Long Zhan and Clay were both selected as external reinforcements for the mission.
After understanding the whole situation, Long Zhan couldn't help but mutter to himself, *"This is probably what they call the 'supporting character halo'."*
Of course, he could only grumble in his mind.
Even so, Long Zhan was still glad that Clay had been selected along with him.
Although Clay was a lone wolf by nature, constantly competing with him out of a strong desire to win, Long Zhan knew that Clay's heart was not bad. He had simply been affected by his father's bad reputation, causing him to be overly eager to prove himself.
The immense pressure he put on himself forced him into a solo, relentless path, trying to keep up with Long Zhan.
Long Zhan believed that as long as Clay could break through the mental block he had, he would eventually grow into an excellent level one operative, just as the original TV script had portrayed.
And since Long Zhan would eventually need a partner, Clay seemed like a good choice.
…
Upon hearing the news that Long Zhan had scored perfectly on the assessment, Clay had already lost hope of being selected as an external reinforcement.
But then, out of nowhere, he received this unexpected windfall: not only had he been selected, but he would also be going on the mission alongside Long Zhan.
Excited, Clay almost wanted to hug his best friend, Brian, and kiss him on both cheeks.
As one of the "Three Musketeers" of Green Team, Brian was the only one left out. While he was a little upset, he still offered his congratulations.
Neither Long Zhan nor Clay tried to comfort Brian, as men didn't need to be so sentimental.
They simply promised Brian that when they returned from the mission, they would all head to a bar for a drink, and would help him find a beautiful woman while they were at it.
"You two should get changed and meet me in the conference room," Diaz instructed.
"Can we even attend the meeting?" Long Zhan and Clay both asked in surprise. Usually, external reinforcements like them weren't allowed to attend meetings.
Normally, they would just receive a dossier beforehand and be left to read it, then gather at the designated time for the mission's departure.
"You can thank Jason for this," Diaz said, her lips curling into a slight smile as she explained the reason. "But time's running out, you have one minute."
"Thirty seconds is enough," Long Zhan replied eagerly. The opportunity to attend a formal mission briefing for level one operatives was invaluable, and he was excited beyond words.
Before Diaz could finish, Long Zhan was already turning around, moving with lightning speed back to the dorms.
"I only need twenty seconds. This time, I'm going to beat you," Clay shouted, even more excited than Long Zhan, and raced back to the dorms as well.
Brian was left staring at their retreating figures, envious of their good fortune.
At exactly 7:00 PM!
Under Diaz's lead, Long Zhan and Clay entered the elevator for the first time, heading to the third floor of the headquarters building, a floor reserved for official team members.
As they walked down the corridor toward the conference room, both of them turned into curious children, taking in every detail around them.
After observing everything with great interest, Long Zhan recognized that the entire third floor belonged to the Red Team, based on the velcro patches on the uniforms.
The large floor was divided into several areas, each with a similar layout. Long Zhan guessed that each area corresponded to a small squad, specifically for the use of the formal team members, to avoid confusion between different teams.
With the help of the various signs on the doors and some guidance from Diaz, Long Zhan began to piece together an understanding of the DEVGRU headquarters—an institution so secretive that it had never been formally exposed to the outside world.
The headquarters building was like an office building, not intended for training activities. However, all non-training tasks were centralized here, including the command center, which was connected to exclusive spy satellites.
The command structure of DEVGRU was completely different from that of the SEAL teams.
At the top was the battalion, followed by the company, action teams, and small squads.
Though there were many senior sergeants here, each with decades of military experience and an E6 rank or higher, the battalion's structure was only equivalent to that of a regiment.
The battalion commander was a Navy lieutenant colonel (O5) and had a senior enlisted advisor (E9) to assist with the management.
Below the battalion were seven companies: Red, Blue, Gold, Silver, Black, Gray, and Green. Each of these companies was equivalent to a company in the military, and their commanders were all majors (O4).
Each company consisted of seven small squads, named A through F. Since each squad leader was a senior sergeant major (E8 or above), no additional enlisted leaders were assigned at the company level.
The action teams within the companies were special units that functioned like platoons. Within each company, squads A and B, C and D, and E and F would form action teams, with one squad assigned to assault missions while the other provided cover.
The action teams were commanded by a captain (O3), who coordinated the operation of the two squads.
The smallest unit, the squad, was led by an E8 or higher senior sergeant major. Squads were typically made up of eight members, with fixed positions for the squad leader and logistics sergeant, who could not serve multiple roles.
Other positions, like deputy squad leader, demolitions expert, sniper, intelligence officer, lead scout, medic, and fire support team members, were more flexible. Given the squad's size, each member often had to fill two or even three roles.
For combat missions, at least four people had to be dispatched to form an effective action team. For larger operations, the entire squad would be deployed. If there weren't enough squad members, temporary reinforcements would be called in.
The B team needed reinforcements because they were short on personnel, which was why external reinforcements from Green Team were selected.
Long Zhan had mostly figured out the structure and operational modes of DEVGRU. After understanding all of this, he finally entered the B team's conference room.
By the time he and Clay arrived, the room was already filled with people, and their presence immediately drew the attention of everyone in the room.
The various older men looked at them with curiosity, scrutiny, smiles, or even criticism, but Long Zhan met their gazes without flinching, calm and composed.
However, it was the gaze from the head of the table that made Long Zhan feel both awkward and somewhat amused.