Chapter 52: The Difficulty of Crossing Over

Rubber picked up Arthur, and they drove over forty kilometers to the mountainous area near San Fernando.

There used to be a shooting range here, but the Flames of War company had just acquired it and bought the surrounding land, expanding into a medium-sized training camp in the valley.

Danny came to inspect this newly built training camp, which is why he had time to meet Arthur. This was different from what Arthur initially thought; he believed Danny had flown to Los Angeles just to meet him.

However, the fact that Danny took the time to check him out already proved that he valued Arthur.

In the reception room of the Mount Lukens training camp, Arthur met Danny.

Danny was discussing something with a few people, but when he saw Arthur and Rubber enter, he stood up to greet them.

Danny was different from what Arthur had imagined. He thought Danny would be like Frank, exuding a tough military demeanor, but upon meeting Danny, he understood why Frank and John always said Danny was a businessman.

Standing a little over 1.7 meters tall, Danny was not particularly tall for a white man, and his physique wasn't well-maintained, showing a bit of a beer belly and a slightly overweight figure—nothing close to being rugged or lean.

Dressed in a dark gray suit with a red and blue striped tie neatly knotted at his neck, a meticulously styled haircut, and a confident yet gentle smile, Danny perfectly fit the image of a senior corporate manager.

Danny greeted Rubber, "Larry, long time no see. How have you been?"

Arthur only now learned that Rubber's real name was Larry.

"Don't call me Larry; just call me Rubber."

Danny then extended his hand to George, smiling, "George, it's great to see you again. Welcome back. You know my stance; I've always awaited your return."

George shook hands with Danny, and they exchanged a brief hug.

Finally, Danny turned to Arthur, extending his hand with a smile, "Hello, I'm Danny Inglewood. You can call me Danny. You must be the Mad Dog Rubber mentioned."

Arthur paused, finding it hard to believe someone would call another person Mad Dog upon their first meeting.

He wanted to ask Danny if he knew any manners, but instead, Arthur extended his hand, shook Danny's hand respectfully, and said, "Hello, I'm Arthur. Nice to meet you."

After shaking hands vigorously a few times, Danny withdrew his right hand and smiled, "Thank you for coming. Rubber and George both recommended you to join our company. They say you're an excellent young man, a talent. This piqued my curiosity. You just completed a mission in Colombia, where you killed at least fourteen people in a guerrilla camp with a handgun and saved Bottle Cap's life. Is that correct?"

You can’t be modest in front of Americans. After thinking for a moment, Arthur said, "Yes, that’s correct."

At this point, a man sitting in a chair without moving spoke up, "Is it worth our assessment just because he killed some drug dealers?"

The man was in his thirties, very sturdy, wearing a T-shirt, and his exposed arms were as thick as Arthur's thighs.

Rubber looked at the man and said, "That was the Gowu guerrilla organization, not drug dealers. If you’re unconvinced, you can go and try it yourself."

Rubber, always straightforward, or rather blunt and fond of provoking others, retorted without hesitation.

Danny smiled, pointing at the man who spoke, "Let me introduce myself, this is Hans, my assistant, and this is Blue, our HR manager."

Hans was the muscular one, but Blue appeared quite normal, wearing glasses, tall and thin, looking quite scholarly.

However, Blue didn’t seem like a normal name. Arthur hesitated and asked, "Does Blue mean blue?"

Blue nodded and smiled, "Yes, it does."

After waiting for Arthur and Blue’s brief conversation, Danny calmly said, "The Flames of War military group has strict regulations and a comprehensive process for recruiting new members. But Rubber and George are old friends of mine, and I trust Frank's judgment. So when Rubber asked me to personally recruit you into the Flames of War, I was both curious and surprised because this is the first time Rubber has recommended a recruit to me. Therefore, I had to come and personally assess you."

Arthur nodded, "Thank you."

"You’re welcome. So, are you ready?"

"I’m ready."

Danny smiled warmly and said, "This is our newly built training camp, soon to be opened for training the National Guard and law enforcement units in California. You’re lucky to be the first person to be tested here. Alright, let’s begin."

At this point, Rubber quickly added, "I need to make a point, everyone. Mad Dog is a newbie. He has never received any formal training, so keep that in mind during the assessment."

Hans immediately responded, "So, he's just a rookie who knows nothing. I’m curious, is being a rookie now considered a bonus?"

Rubber quickly retorted, "If a rookie can perform so well, imagine what he could do with a bit of training!"

Danny smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Let Arthur’s performance speak for itself. Alright, everyone, let’s get started."

No wonder Danny is the big boss. After Arthur subtly indicated that he didn’t like the name Mad Dog, Danny immediately started calling him Arthur. Although his pronunciation wasn’t perfect, at least he didn’t call him Mad Dog anymore.

Arthur felt a bit nervous, so he quickly asked, "May I know the content and standards of the assessment?"

Blue immediately replied, "We have a comprehensive set of standards for combat personnel. For administrative or support roles, there are different standards. We use a GPA scoring system. As for the specific assessment content and scoring standards, we can’t tell you that yet."

Arthur exhaled and said, "Alright, I’m ready."

Danny promptly said, "Let’s start with shooting. Rubber says you’re a shooting prodigy, and I’d like to see that."

Blue, however, quickly interjected, "Sorry, I need to start with the written part first."

Arthur was surprised, "There’s a written test too?"

"Just a few simple questions. Do you have any military experience? If so, which unit did you serve in?"

Blue picked up a form and a pen. Arthur hesitated for a moment and said, "I have no military experience."

Blue marked an X and continued, "Do you have any specific combat skills? Specifically, skills beyond basic infantry abilities, such as specialized driving, operating certain weapons, or using and maintaining any large equipment like airplanes, tanks, armored vehicles, helicopters, ships, or drones? If you have any such skills, please tell me."

Arthur opened his mouth but finally could only say, "No."

Rubber quickly said, "Mad Dog is a linguist. He speaks Spanish, he’s from Hua Xia, so he speaks Chinese, and you’ve seen his English skills. Isn’t that a special skill?"

Blue looked at Rubber and said, "Please don’t interfere. Asking questions is my job."

Then Blue looked at Arthur and said, "Regarding languages, please describe your proficiency."

"I speak three languages. Chinese is my native language, and I can communicate fluently in English and Spanish."

Blue wrote something on the form and then said seriously, "So, you’re not a qualified infantryman. Can I understand it that way?"

"Yes."

Blue marked a big X on the form and said to Danny, "No need for further questions. We can proceed to the next part."

The muscular Hans immediately said aggressively, "Follow me. Let’s see how good your handgun skills are."

Burdened with the title of prodigy, Arthur grew nervous, especially as he stepped onto the outdoor shooting range to showcase the shooting skills that had piqued Danny’s interest.

Using his M1911, Arthur fired a magazine at a 25-meter target. After that, Danny and the others started whispering among themselves.

"His handgun skills are very ordinary. Not bad, but not outstanding either."

Danny looked a bit serious, while Hans quickly said, "Too ordinary. Just an average level. I don’t see any prodigy here."

Blue marked a C in the handgun shooting section and said softly, "My rating is C."

At this point, Rubber, although he couldn’t hear what Danny and the others were saying, couldn’t wait any longer and said, "Mad Dog, shoot with your left hand. Use both hands. Relax, just like you did in the jungle. You can’t be the same as everyone else if you want to show that you’re a prodigy!"

After that, Rubber added seriously, "Don’t embarrass me!"

The problem was, that Arthur didn’t know how to live up to the title of prodigy, even though it was a title Rubber had forced upon him.

Danny waved his hand and said, "Let's see the rifle shooting, and also the sniper rifle shooting."

So Arthur shot with the M4 rifle and then the scoped Remington M700.

His rifle performance was just so-so, average, and standard, but he completely failed in the sniper rifle section.

This was because Hans provided a sniper rifle with an unadjusted scope. Arthur had to adjust the scope before he could shoot accurately, and adjusting the scope was part of the assessment for using a sniper rifle.

Arthur fiddled with the scope but ultimately couldn’t get it right because he had never handled one before, and no one had taught him. The knowledge he had learned online didn’t seem to help, so he ended up scoring zero.

Blue rated Arthur’s mid-range rifle shooting as a D and his sniper rifle shooting as an F.

The GPA system was on a 4-point scale, with five grades: A was 4 points, B was 3 points, C was 2 points, D was 1 point, and F was 0 points.

Now, Arthur’s scores were all individual ratings, and he would eventually receive a final overall score. But based on Arthur’s current performance, things weren’t looking good.

Arthur endured feelings of embarrassment and shame as he finished his shooting assessment, but what happened next was his real nightmare.

In the physical fitness test, Arthur’s running speed was rated C, but his long-distance running was rated D. His strength was rated F because he was too skinny and didn’t meet the minimum strength requirements for the Flames of War company.

As for the basic tactical maneuvers required of an infantryman, Arthur received all Fs. He had never been in the military, let alone the U.S. military, so how could he know those tactical maneuvers? He knew nothing.

Everyone’s expressions grew increasingly grim. Danny still managed to keep a smile, but aside from him, everyone else felt their time was being wasted.

Arthur himself felt like he was wasting time. This didn’t feel like a recruitment test for a PMC company; it felt like an entrance exam.

Finally, Rubber couldn’t hold back and said, "What’s the point of this assessment? Since when did the Flames of War start testing like this?"

Danny calmly replied, "Every industry needs a standard. We are the best, so we must have a high standard. You said Arthur is qualified to join the Flames of War elite unit, but based on his current performance, he doesn’t meet the basic requirements to become a PMC."

With that, Blue put down the form in his hand and said, "I think we can end the assessment now."

"Shut up! You don’t know how good he is with a handgun! I’ve already said, he hasn’t received any military training. Give him three months, and he’ll be the best soldier!"

Rubber shouted, then pointed at Arthur and said, "Go, run and shoot with your handgun. Show them how you play with a gun."

Arthur was already very tired, but hearing Rubber’s words, he still looked at Danny.

Danny shrugged and smiled, "Rubber has never praised anyone like this. In his eyes, everyone else is inferior. Since he insists, Blue…"

Blue sighed and said, "This is a waste of time, but since we’re continuing, let’s follow the standard procedure. The next item is hand-to-hand combat."

Rubber’s eyes lit up, and he said, "Mad Dog, show them your kung fu! Quickly, get a stick, let them see how good you are!"

Blue frowned and said, "A stick? A baton? We don’t test that because we don’t use sticks. We only test hand-to-hand combat."

Rubber was stunned for a moment, then immediately said, "No way! If not a stick, then use a knife. Mad Dog is excellent with a short knife. Come on, get a training knife. I’ll spar with him!"

Rubber was eager to complete the sparring he never had time for, but Danny shook his head, and Hans laughed, saying, "A short knife? Alright, but his opponent can’t be you; it has to be me."

Hans continued with a light smile, "You’d say I’m bullying him in hand-to-hand combat, but there’s no such issue with knives, right?"

Rubber was speechless, and Arthur’s heart sank.

Blue immediately said, "Alright, short knife combat will replace hand-to-hand combat. Let’s begin."

Hans picked up two training knives and tossed one to Arthur, smiling, "Come on, let’s do this."

Arthur held the training knife, looking at Hans, who was twice his size. After hesitating, he finally asked, "Can you tell me which unit you retired from?"

Hans was a bit puzzled but quickly said, "Delta Force. Got a problem with that?"

Seeing Hans holding the knife in a reverse grip with his left hand poised, Arthur exhaled and said, "Army, huh? No problem then. Let’s go."