While serving as cannon fodder in the Middle East, the burly Asian man was blown sky-high by American special forces and met his end—only to transmigrate and reincarnate, just like in those novels he’d read back home.
His soul crossed over into the body of a US special forces operative, landing in a world that blended in various films and TV shows.
In his previous life, he'd been a mercenary hunted down by American special forces. Now, after his death, he'd become one of his former enemies, shifting from outlaw to law enforcement.
The Asian man couldn't help but marvel at fate's twisted humor, as he lay in a hospital bed, exploring his newfound memories.
His original name before death was Long Zhan, an ordinary retired soldier from China. The body he traveled through time and space to occupy belonged to Long Gibran.
Gibran was a Marine participating in BUD/S (Basic Underwater Demolition) training to qualify for the SEALs and become a special forces operator.
Joining the SEALs was the dream of most American soldiers.
However, during blast escape training, Gibran suffered a training accident, sustaining a head injury that had him rushed to the hospital, where he was soon pronounced dead despite every possible measure being taken to save his life.
Long Zhan's soul, drawn by some unknown force, entered this world and inhabited Gibran's body.
To those in this world, it appeared as though the deceased Gibran had been "resurrected" by his tenacious will and vitality, but in reality, he had become a completely different person.
Long Zhan not only took over Gibran's body but also inherited all of his memories.
After being dazed and confused for a period of time, Long Zhan accepted this bizarre rebirth and felt grateful for a second chance at life.
In his past life, he'd been forced overseas as a mercenary to scrape together enough money for a dowry, only to die miserably abroad, his body likely left unclaimed.
That night in the hospital, Long Zhan deeply reflected on his previous life’s failures.
He concluded that the reason his life was so difficult, to the point that he couldn't even earn enough to marry, was ultimately due to his own inability.
Faced with this heaven-sent opportunity at a second life, he vowed to cherish his life and make the most out of it.To avoid repeating his mistakes and living as pathetically as before, worse than a maggot in the gutter, condemned to society's underbelly, he swore an oath to himself.
"This time, I'll live brilliantly and with style. I'll do everything I couldn't last time, to make up for every regret. Cars? The best. Houses? The biggest. Women? The most beautiful. Even in death, my urn must be the most expensive."
Driven by this burning ambition to succeed, and drawing from Gibran's memories of familiar faces in this world, Long Zhan, an avid novel reader, speculated that he might be in a parallel world that has fused several films and television shows.
Given the popularity of the TV series SEAL Team, the SEAL unit Gibran aimed to join was likely tied to it.
In that show, during one of the missions, a side character in Bravo Team discovers a drug lord's stash, containing nearly $10 million dollars in total.
The side character was the only one present at the time.
While he was watching that scene at the time, Long Zhan thought to himself, If It were me, I'd definitely find a way to pocket it all.
A soldier’s annual salary was only tens of thousands of dollars. If he could pocket $10 million in one go, there would be no need to risk his life working as some grunt. He could just retire, go home and live a comfortable life with a wife and some children.
In this parallel world, his old daydream had a shot at becoming reality, and his new identity fit perfectly.
Then, a thought struck him, "I may not want to fight for the US government, but sticking around as a special operator for the money? No shame in that.
With my knowledge of the SEAL Team's plot, if things unfold like in the show, snagging that fortune is highly likely."
10 million US dollars is over 60 million RMB, a sum Long Zhan had never dreamed of in his previous life.
The chance to turn a small gamble into a jackpot, not just a bike to a motorcycle, but straight to a supercar, fueled his urgency to succeed.
Desperate to make a name for himself in this life, Long Zhan made a decision without hesitation.
Ignoring the doctor's advice to "ring the bell" and quit SEAL selection due to his injury, he pushed on with the assessments. Special forces training would make him stronger while laying the groundwork for claiming his prize.
Over the next two grueling years, fueled by relentless determination and the accidental activation of his transmigrator perks, superhuman memory and physical recovery!
Long Zhan completed the first stage of his plan, experiencing a dramatic improvement in his abilities, completing his transformation from mercenary to special forces soldier.
Not only was he successfully selected as a Navy SEAL, he also received notice to train with the DEVGRU’s Green Team.
Although his demeanor, cultivated over a decade of mercenary service, made him feel alienated from his fellow soldiers, he won over all his superiors through his skill.
As long as he could persevere through the Green Team's training and overcome the notoriously demanding instructors, Long Zhan would be able to join the world's most elite special forces unit.
DEVGRU!
(Full name: Naval Special Warfare Development Group, formerly known as SEAL Team Six, and more commonly known to military enthusiasts as DG.)
The main characters of the series SEAL Team were part of this elite within the elite - DG.
By joining, Long Zhan could connect with the show's protagonists, boosting his odds of securing the cash dramatically.
He'd invested two years of blood, sweat, and tears into this plan of his, and nothing would be allowed to get in his way.
The reason he took action today was because the black and white bank robbers had disrupted his plans.
In Long Zhan's view, ambushing them and taking their stolen loot was fair compensation for the disruption to his day they had caused. So in a way, the robber's death was self-inflicted.
That was the mindset of a mercenary-turned-SEAL, ruthless but righteous, at least in his eyes.
…
"1, 2, 3... $197,800. Bank robberies really do pay off fast. In under an hour, the profit nearly matches my total military earnings over the years. If it wouldn't derail my plans, I'd be tempted to assemble a crew of my own and make this my gig."
Long Zhan counted his "found" money, genuinely tempted.
But recalling his past life's mercenary peak, leading a team in Africa, living large, only to then be crushed like an ant by the state apparatus, he shelved the idea.
“If I want to make a fortune and live comfortably, the old way won’t work. I have to find a new path. Once I get enough money to start my own business, I’ll just walk away.”
Muttering expectantly, Long Zhan rose, shoved aside the worn leather sofa he'd been sitting on, lifted a floorboard, and retrieved an iron box.
An iron box, filled to the brim with neat stacks of dollar bills.
"This $200,000 plus my saved wages over the years should suffice. I’ll drop it off tomorrow to tie up loose ends, then head into Green Team assessment with peace of mind."
Stuffing the cash into a canvas bag, an image flashed before his eyes, a delicate face streaked with tears, a look that would make anyone feel pity.
"Sigh... if only that hadn't happened..."
Long Zhan sighed uncomfortably, shaking off the unwelcome feeling before turning on the TV.
It happened to be the evening news…
"Political turmoil in the northern African Republic of Ivia as terrorist groups and rebels storm the capital. Evacuation efforts for foreign nationals are underway...
"Is this the beginning of Operation Red Sea?"
Seeing the familiar content reported in the news, Long Zhan instantly thought of which TV series it came from.
He opened a can of beer and chuckled to himself mid-sip, "I have to say that this world is really magical. So many Movies and TV series are bunched up together without being messy, and they are arranged one after another in a very logical manner.
“I just don't know if the plot of "Navy SEAL Team" will be the same as the TV series I have seen. If the plot content is the same. If it is, then it would be like having a cheat code.“With basically the ability to predict the future, getting that huge sum of cash is basically a foregone conclusion.”
The more he thought about it, the more excited he felt.If it was really as he guessed, then not only would he be able to spend the money without having to hide, he would even be able to show it off.
"Too bad there’s been no chance to verify anything in person. The plots that have already appeared are of no use. It seems I'll have to wait until I join the Naval Special Warfare Development Group and hope it's the SEAL Team I know."
Anticipation surging at the thought of stepping into SEAL Team Six's base, the news on TV lost its appeal.
The 10 million green US dollars kept floating in front of his eyes.
In order to suppress the excitement in his heart, Long Zhan opened the refrigerator and took out a can of ice-cold beer, chugging it down. He switched off the TV and entered the adjacent gym, working out to the limit of the shabby equipment.
He began crazily pumping iron, training that has never stopped for even a day in the two years since he crossed over, making his body more and more akin to a deadly weapon.
The only easy day was yesterday! This was the SEAL’s motto!
Long Zhan combined this sentence with his own personal experience and forged his own creed:To make life easier, you have to better yourself.
The night passed uneventfully.
With only two days left before the deadline for reporting to Green Team, and Chicago over 800 miles from Virginia, nearly 20 hours by highway, Long Zhan had to leave today to arrive on time.
Yesterday's detour to the chaotic bank district was his final step of his preparation, but the plan got changed due to things out of his control.
The ensuing Russian doll of betrayals was just an unforeseen bonus to the day.
He crammed clothes into a duffel bag, strapped it to the motorcycle's rear, and slung the cash bag across his chest.Long Zhan started the motorcycle with one foot and rode the motorcycle slowly out of the garage.Before heading to Coronado, California, he rode to Chicago's North Side Hospital, depositing all the money into a medical account.He then asked a doctor to pass a letter he had written in advance to her, and got rid of the last thing on his mind.
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