The standard values of a typical U.S. Navy SEAL revolve around honoring the service to the American government, voluntarily taking up arms in allegiance to the United States.
No matter how much money they come across during a mission, they would neither care for it nor dare to covet it.
Firstly, they fear exposure and accountability. Secondly, they fear losing their honor.
But Long Zhan was different.
Although he currently served as an American soldier, he had never sworn allegiance to the U.S. government. He had not enjoyed any benefits or privileges from it, and the person who enlisted and took the oath was Long Gibran—not Long Zhan himself.
Long Zhan steadfastly identified as Chinese and was far from being a "banana man" who worshipped foreign culture while deprecating his own.
Those who acquired U.S. citizenship might consider themselves American, but Long Zhan was not like them.
Everything Long Zhan was working toward now could be boiled down to one objective: making money.
The $10 million was merely the baseline. After nearly two years of planning and meticulously integrating all the details from the plot, Long Zhan was 100% confident in securing it.
In every special operations mission, as long as there was an opportunity to pocket money, Long Zhan wouldn't let it slip by.
If he could get it, he profited; if not, he suffered no loss.
There wasn't a more lucrative business in the world.
As for how long he would continue…
With the U.S. government's emblem of authority cloaking him, allowing him to travel the world openly while secretly lining his own pockets, such favorable conditions had to be exploited to the fullest—until he could no longer.
After all, Long Zhan had never taken any benefits from the U.S. government. The relationship between them was strictly contractual, a cooperative arrangement.
Getting some extra income on the side didn't make Long Zhan feel the least bit guilty.
While Long Zhan contemplated how to reverse the situation, he concealed his thoughts and assisted Brock in escorting the woman from Marshall to the rooftop platform.
Elsewhere, Jason descended from the second floor and quickly regrouped with the second team.
Through a door leading to the basement, they entered what appeared to be an ordinary storage space used by locals for supplies.
This was not Samir's hiding place—it was just a decoy basement.
The bomb-sniffing dog, Hellfire, squatted beside the right-hand wall. Hellfire never squatted without reason—only when it detected explosives.
Squatting beneath that wall meant there was a hidden entrance there.
Jason walked over and tore away the dirty, dusty carpet about a meter square in front of Hellfire, revealing a wooden panel embedded in the ground.
In a basement like this, the presence of such a wooden panel spoke for itself.
"You can run all you want, little mouse, but let's see where you can hide now," Jason muttered softly, excitement building as he stared at the panel.
Ordinary people grew more anxious and nervous in dangerous situations, but Jason thrived on it—he became more excited.
"How about we toss a grenade in and blow him up? That'd be easier, and we'd even get to catch up on some sleep," Sonny suggested, his body teeming with violent energy and a preference for solving problems through brute force.
"No, we need him alive. Let's begin," Jason calmly dismissed Sonny's idea, gesturing for him to lift the panel.
"Alright, you're the boss."
Accustomed to his suggestions being turned down, Sonny hung his light machine gun on his chest, gripped the panel with both hands, and, with help from Trent on the other side, propped it against the wall.
"Go!"
Jason issued a brief command and led the way down the stairs.
At the bottom, they found two tunnels: one leading straight ahead and the other curving to the right, with no visible end.
Hellfire descended with Jason, immediately squatting and pointing its head in the forward direction.
This meant the bomb was in that direction!
Once everyone had descended into the tunnel, Jason pointed to the other path and said to Clay, "Stay here and watch this passage and the rear. Understood?"
Jason wasn't particularly impressed with Clay to begin with, and given the complexity of the tunnel environment and their target being a bomb-crazed fugitive, any mistake could bury the entire team. Jason needed his most trusted people with him.
Assigning the newcomer Clay to guard the rear was undoubtedly the best choice.
"Understood!"
Although Clay wasn't thrilled, he didn't show it. Glancing at the other tunnel, he nodded and acknowledged the order.
"Move forward!"
After ensuring the rear was secured, Jason led the team deeper into the tunnel.
The tunnel was about 1.2 meters wide and 1.9 meters high, making it cramped and narrow. The team advanced in single file.
Hellfire led the way, followed by Jason, Trent, and Sonny in that order.
The tunnel was lit at intervals by electric lamps, making it quite bright. Jason and the others flipped their night vision goggles onto their helmets.
This winding, lengthy tunnel soon swallowed the trio as they delved deeper.
Meanwhile, once Clay saw them disappear from view, he didn't obediently stay put. Instead, he ventured alone into the other tunnel.
Having spent years as a lone wolf, Clay's instincts told him this path might lead him to the target more quickly.
If he could capture Samir—a major terrorist who had eluded capture for over 20 years—he would gain immense recognition.
The DG commanders would surely fast-track him through Green Team training, and he might even surpass the prodigy among the recruits. By achieving real combat honors, he could overshadow others' training achievements and become the most legendary Green Team rookie ever.
That's what Clay believed!
In his ambition, he completely ignored the fact that he was assigned to guard the rear. He forgot that teamwork required everyone to perform their role.
He overlooked that this wasn't a lone wolf's game.
Jason and the others had entrusted their backs to him. If an enemy approached and detonated the entrance or flanked them through the tunnel, Jason's team would be caught completely off guard.
In such a scenario, the consequences would be catastrophic.