Using nothing more than an unremarkable sliver of wood, he had managed to craft a key that could unlock the door?
Was this something a human could even do?
He had merely glanced at the key while being locked up, yet he had replicated it perfectly. His memory and dexterity were simply beyond belief.
No matter how much the tall instructor refused to believe it, the evidence was right in front of him, leaving him with no choice but to accept reality.
"This has to be a coincidence. It must be."
Muttering to himself, the tall instructor clutched the broken wooden key, trying to force himself into believing it. He had to—otherwise, the worldview he had built over decades would crumble.
A coincidence might have been a flimsy excuse, but at least it gave him some semblance of a reasonable explanation.
Having force-fed himself this comforting illusion, the tall instructor was left with no choice but to implement a new set of examination rules to prevent such incidents from happening again.
From this moment onward, every trainee would undergo a full-body search after each interrogation.
Not just their mouths and bodies—even their anuses had to be checked.
With nothing but his own abilities, Long Zhan had single-handedly forced Green Team to alter its long-standing SERE examination protocols, completely shifting the tall instructor's perspective.
The instructor's initial curiosity had now turned into astonishment—and even respect.
And this was only the beginning!
Long Zhan's will to take the initiative had not wavered in the slightest, which meant that forcing Green Team to change its rules was just the appetizer. The transformation of the examination process was inevitable.
Summarizing his failures from the first two escape attempts, Long Zhan began formulating his third plan.
His first two attempts had taken place during interrogation sessions, where he was constantly surrounded by sparring partners. The moment an alarm was triggered, failure was inevitable.
That meant if he tried a frontal approach again, the outcome would be the same—failure.
If a direct approach wouldn't work, then he needed a new angle.
He'd do it in secret!
A covert escape required one crucial condition: avoiding the sparring partners' line of sight as much as possible. Ideally, he would move when they were off duty.
That way, even if things escalated during the escape, he would only have to deal with one or two guards on duty.
He could avoid the nightmare scenario where a blaring alarm summoned a dozen hulking brutes to subdue him.
But when exactly did Green Team go off duty?
Being trapped in an underground facility without windows, Long Zhan had no way of knowing whether it was day or night outside, making it impossible to determine Green Team's shift hours.
Moreover, since this was a SERE examination period, the schedule was likely adjusted, adding another layer of uncertainty.
The only solution was to deduce it himself!
And no matter what kind of deduction he needed to make, he would require sufficient intelligence and data to support it.
However, Long Zhan currently lacked enough information for a proper analysis. If he wanted intel, he would have to gather it himself.
With a new plan and direction in mind, Long Zhan began preparing in secret.
The first step was to start behaving.
By appearing obedient, he would lower the instructors' guard while quietly collecting the data he needed.
Seeing Long Zhan suddenly fall in line, the tall instructor, who had been on edge, finally let out a quiet sigh of relief.
The trials and torment for the trainees were now proceeding in an orderly fashion.
Following the auditory torture, a new ordeal began.
The incessant blaring of the loudspeakers stopped. Instead, the air conditioning roared to life, sending an icy breeze into the confinement area. The room's temperature began plummeting.
From an initially comfortable level, it quickly dropped to around 12°C (53.6°F).
This was no accident.
The temperature had clearly been calculated with precision, chosen specifically to make the trainees suffer without causing permanent harm.
Prolonged exposure to temperatures below 10°C (50°F) could result in frostbite due to excessive heat loss.
A human's core body temperature ranges between 36°C and 37°C (96.8°F to 98.6°F). At around 10°C, frostbite was unlikely, but the chilling sensation would be undeniable.
Especially for Long Zhan and the other 10 trainees, who were dressed in nothing but training uniforms.
These specially designed training uniforms had many advantages—they were lightweight, highly breathable, and excellent for wicking away sweat and heat during intense exercises.
But breathability and insulation were opposites.
Wearing these in the cold was no different from wearing nothing at all.
The icy wind from the air vents howled through their thin garments, sending chills straight into their bones.
Within half an hour, every trainee was covered in goosebumps.
An hour later…
The heat loss became unbearable. All of them began trembling uncontrollably, their teeth chattering against their will.
It was their body's automatic defense mechanism—shivering from muscle contractions to generate warmth.
Two hours later…
Their limbs turned ice-cold, and their fingers and toes went numb, forcing them to huddle together, rubbing their hands and feet for warmth.
This, too, was the body's self-preservation instinct.
By sacrificing the extremities, the body conserved energy to sustain its vital organs—a principle akin to sacrificing lesser pieces in chess to protect the king.
Four hours later…
Their sense of touch began to fade. Even their ability to think slowed.
They were freezing to the point of mental dullness.
That was the perfect way to describe their current state.
Just as every trainee felt like they had lost control over their own bodies, their limbs stiff with cold, convinced they were about to freeze to death—
The cold air abruptly stopped.
*Clang!*
The heavy iron door, shut for hours, was forcefully pushed open once again.
A new round of interrogations had begun!