The three-day "government-funded leisure" period had come to an end, and everything was about to return to the state it was in before the mission.
The action team, who had crossed the ocean to complete their mission, once again traversed the entire Atlantic and returned to the DG headquarters in Florida Beach City.
The members of Team B, including Mandy's intelligence unit, dispersed immediately after deplaning.
Jason, eager to escape the anxiety-filled days, was dealing with a wife who either wanted a divorce or insisted that Jason retire from the force, and together they were planning to attend their daughter's high school event, trying to salvage their crumbling family.
Lei rushed home to embrace his heavily pregnant wife, who was about to give birth any moment.
The second-in-command of Team A, Deri, met up with the first-in-command, Captain Full Metal, and together with their wives, they headed to his home for a regular family gathering to celebrate another safe return.
No matter how good the outside world was, it could never compare to the warmth of home. This sentiment was perfectly exemplified here.
Those with wives and children rushed home, enjoying the warmth of their family by the stove, savoring the happiness.
The single men and those without children also had their own way of unwinding.
Sunny enthusiastically invited Long Zhan, Trent, Brock, and others to the newly opened restaurant on 64th Street, to enjoy his favorite spicy chicken.
Later, they planned to visit the bar next door, to sample some newly arrived brandy.
Everyone else had no pressing matters, happily accepting Sunny's invitation, except for Long Zhan, who couldn't join in on the carefree outing.
The reason was simple.
As a rookie still undergoing training in the Green Team, Long Zhan didn't have the same freedom as these seasoned DG members.
If Long Zhan wanted to enjoy the same carefree lifestyle, he'd first need to endure the next six months of training until he had his own personal locker on the third floor of the headquarters.
After taking a ride back to base from the airport, Klein and Long Zhan arrived at the Green Team office area on the first floor of the headquarters to report back, and another round of training began.
The third phase of training was even more challenging than the second, focusing more on professionalism.
The physical training time was again compressed, with only one class in the morning each day, and the rest of the time devoted to various special operations theoretical teachings.
The physical training that used to build their bodies now became a way to sharpen their minds.
The core of counter-terrorism special operations, CQB (Close Quarters Battle), became the primary subject of the third phase. Due to the importance of CQB in special operations, the third phase was unprecedentedly long, lasting three months.
Long Zhan had heard a rumor when he was still in SEAL Team 3.
If you could make it through the indoor close-quarters combat training in the Green Team without being eliminated during these three months, it meant you had one foot in the special development battalion.
Although this rumor wasn't confirmed, it was enough to highlight the importance of CQB training.
Adam, the special training instructor of the Green Team, made many deliberate adjustments to ensure the quality of the indoor combat training.
For example, the swimming partner system was officially introduced, where trainees paired up to form teams, developing a tacit understanding between each other.
Whether it was SEALs or DG, every mission, whether with four or eight people, was based on the two-person pairing model for coordination.
From breaching doors to handing over firepower, everything was based on two-person coordination, and then extended to the team level.
Having newcomers form swimming partnerships and help each other during the three-month training period would help correct bad habits, which was beneficial for future teamwork.
For someone like Klein, who was overly competitive and a lone wolf, this stage would be particularly difficult.
If he couldn't correct his bad habits during these three months, he would be eliminated from the team selection process.
The only possible outcome for Klein would be being ruthlessly cut.
Due to Long Zhan and Klein's participation in the B-team mission, which took a total of six days, the Green Team had already started the third-phase training during this time.
As a result, Long Zhan and Klein had no choice but to pair up as "swimming partners."
Neither Long Zhan nor Klein was happy with this.
Klein thought Long Zhan was just too strong. After participating in the B-team mission, he no longer had hope of surpassing him.
Teaming up with such a strong rookie would only make him a supporting character.
Klein was very ambitious. He craved the chance to showcase his abilities, not to live in the shadow of someone stronger.
Even if it meant clinging to someone else's success, he was very averse to that.
On the other hand, Long Zhan, whose personal combat ability had already reached an impressive level, needed a "perfect support."
Someone like Brian, who had a strong team-oriented mindset and was willing to sacrifice his own interests to help others, would have been Long Zhan's ideal swimming partner.
But Klein's competitive nature made it clear they wouldn't be a perfect match.
It was like two professional marksmen playing on the same bottom lane, both wanting to last-hit minions and carry the team.
If they couldn't coordinate properly, their bottom lane would collapse.
Unfortunately, by the time they returned from their mission, the other 24 trainees were already paired up and had been training for almost a week.
It was impossible to break up the already established pairs just to accommodate Long Zhan and Klein.
Reluctantly, Long Zhan and Klein had no choice but to accept Instructor Adam's arrangement and begin their third-phase training as swimming partners.
As for whether they would learn to compromise with each other, or whether one would dominate the other, making this the most mismatched swimming partner combination in history—only time would tell.
The outcome? No one could predict!