I started with a portal, then turned around and handed it over to the nation.

Long Fei threw the marker back into its slot with a thud, breaking the silence.

He pulled out a chair and sat down, his long legs casually stretched out, his ruthless bandit aura, which seemed capable of turning the other world upside down, still lingering.

His eyes were still fixed on the swamp on the holographic map, and his mind seemed to be rehearsing the scene of being bombarded by fire.

Zhao Zhenguo unscrewed the thermos and blew away the tea dust floating on top.

His gaze passed over the rising steam and landed on the young man next to Long Fei.

"Lin Mo".

"arrive!"

Lin Mo, who had been sitting upright, sprang up reflexively, knocking over the notebook beside him.

This is muscle memory developed under the high-pressure environment of the base; upon hearing a name, the body reacts faster than the brain.

Zhao Zhenguo put down the cup, the bottom of which bumped against the table with a dull thud.

"You heard what Captain Long just said."

"Heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, they even wanted to bomb the place flat. Such firepower would be a disaster in any city during peacetime."

Zhao Zhenguo's fingers were interlocked, his body leaned slightly forward, and his eyes, which had witnessed countless lives and deaths, were fixed on Lin Mo:

"As the core of Project Tianmen, what are your thoughts?"

"Or... as a recent graduate, wouldn't you think we're too radical, too violent?"

All eyes in the conference room immediately turned to him.

Sun Dehai took off his glasses and breathed on them, Chen Yan stopped twirling his pen, and even Wu Qian, who had been looking down at the data, looked up.

The air felt somewhat stagnant.

After all, the mere thought of such a tactic of turning people into mincemeat is terrifying enough for ordinary people.

Lin Mo stood still, his hands pressed tightly against the seams of his trousers.

He could feel Long Fei's scrutinizing gaze, as if he were watching a wolf cub that hadn't been weaned yet to see blood.

"Reporting, sir!"

Lin Mo's voice rang out in the quiet conference room, initially trembling slightly, but quickly becoming firm.

"I have no objection."

His gaze swept across the grotesque swamp on the holographic map, a place that represented death and decay.

"On the contrary, I feel...very safe."

Lin Mo took a deep breath, his chest heaving slightly, and looked directly at Zhao Zhenguo without flinching.

"In that swamp, when I was holding a broken stick and hiding in the mud, afraid to breathe, I wasn't thinking about cultural exchange or exploration and discovery."

His hands clenched unconsciously at the seam of his trousers, his knuckles turning white, as if he had returned to that night filled with the stench of blood.

"What I was thinking at the time was that if I had a gun, even a homemade gun, I wouldn't have to live such a miserable life, and I wouldn't have to burrow in the mud like a rat."

Lin Mo turned his head and looked at Long Fei beside him.

Long Fei was tilting his head to look at him, an unlit cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with amusement.

"The powerful weapons that Team Dragon just listed are not violent to me."

Lin Mo looked at Zhao Zhenguo again, his eyes burning:

"It's the confidence to survive."

"I am incredibly grateful that I decided to hand over the portal to the nation. At this moment, I am more certain of this than ever before."

At this point, Lin Mo paused, his voice rising a few decibels:

"As for radicalism..."

"When facing monsters that crave human flesh and blood, I think we can be even more radical!"

"I don't want to be a burden, nor do I want to be a mascot protected behind bulletproof glass."

"No matter how tough the training gets from here on out, no matter how much it takes to break my skin, I can handle it!"

"Please rest assured, sir! Please rest assured, nation!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Mo remained standing at attention, his chest heaving violently.

The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.

"Oh."

A soft laugh broke the silence.

Zhao Zhenguo leaned back in his chair, the serious scrutiny on his face disappearing, replaced by a meaningful smile.

He turned his head and looked at Long Fei, who was about to light a cigarette.

"Long Fei."

"Here." Long Fei took the cigarette out of his mouth and tucked it behind his ear. He didn't stand up, but just sat up straight.

"Has your training these past few days been a bit sluggish?"

Zhao Zhenguo pointed to Lin Mo, who was standing ramrod straight, and said with a hint of teasing:

"Look at this kid, he's got a strong voice, even louder than mine."

"What you just said was so inspiring, you didn't look tired at all. Your energy and spirit are even better than mine."

Zhao Zhenguo shook his head and tapped his finger on the table:

"Looks like our special forces' 'Hell Week' has turned into a 'Health Week' in your hands?"

"Or is it that you, Captain Long, took pity on them because they're college students and deliberately went easy on them?"

"I think his confidence is a bit too high, which doesn't seem like the state of a new recruit who has been trained to the point of exhaustion."

Long Fei was stunned for a moment.

Then, a chilling, sinister smile appeared on his angular face.

"Whoosh—"

Long Fei suddenly stood up, and the gust of wind he created blew several sheets of paper off the table.

"Reporting, sir!"

Long Fei's loud voice made the ceiling light shake.

"Heaven and earth bear witness! When has Long Fei, in command of my troops, ever shown any mercy?"

He turned around, his tiger-like eyes fixed on Lin Mo, sizing him up like a hungry wolf eyeing a clueless little white rabbit.

"It seems to be my negligence."

"Comrade Lin Mo's physical recovery speed has exceeded my expectations. He even has the strength to deliver a passionate speech."

Long Fei stuck out his tongue and licked his slightly chapped lips. His gaze made Lin Mo's previously excited heart instantly turn cold, and a chill ran down his spine.

"Since Comrade Lin Mo has such high awareness, he is willing to 'shed several layers of skin'."

Long Fei deliberately emphasized the phrase "shed several layers of skin," making each word sound like it was being squeezed out from between his teeth.

He turned to look at Zhao Zhenguo and gave a standard military salute:

"Sir, I request that Lin Mo's training plan be adjusted."

"The planned Level B adaptive training has been cancelled."

"Go straight to Grade A."

"In addition, there's stress training and night raid drills. Since we're going to be using heavy machine guns, our physical fitness has to keep up."

Long Fei grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth, and chuckled at Lin Mo:

"If I don't train him so badly that his legs go weak at the sight of me and he can't even speak before the next mission, then I, the captain, will resign!"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

A burst of laughter erupted in the conference room.

Chen Yan laughed so hard he dropped his laser pointer, Sun Dehai couldn't help but chuckle, and even the usually serious Wu Qian's lips curled into a smile.

There was no sarcasm in that laughter.

Everyone could see that Lin Mo's words had transformed him from a lucky guy with a golden touch into a comrade-in-arms ready to fight alongside them.

Zhao Zhenguo smiled and waved his hand, gesturing for the two to sit down.

"Alright, there's no joking in the military."

"Lin Mo, you just made a pledge, and you have to accept Long Fei's offer, even if you have to kneel down."

Lin Mo looked at Long Fei's face, which was filled with "you're dead," and swallowed hard.

The harsh words I just uttered have now turned into real pressure.

But he didn't back down. Meeting Long Fei's gaze, he gritted his teeth and squeezed out two words:

"receive!"