Chapter 368

Su Yang asked casually, "What do you think I should say?"

"Just introduce yourself briefly—they're all seasoned veterans, definitely don't like long speeches. As for the rest…" Liu Mengyun said, "you already have everything else covered, Major!"

Being sincerely praised by Liu Mengyun, Su Yang felt a small surge of delight.

"Major doesn't need to overthink this!"

"Why's that?"

"You're not suited to be one of those manipulative performers—you just need to be yourself!" Liu Mengyun said seriously. "All you need is to let them feel your strength, feel your confidence, and make them believe in you and willingly follow your orders…"

"I don't know other regions, but the Southwest Military is all about pragmatism!"

On the small square, forty Gold-Rank Beastmasters had already formed ranks.

The moment Su Yang appeared, all forty Gold-Rank Beastmasters locked their gazes onto him.

Among them were people Su Yang recognized.

Most of these Beastmasters had heard of Su Yang's reputation, but this was their first time seeing him in person.

He walked calmly onto the stage, spent just over a minute giving a self-introduction, briefly stated his expectations for them, then dismissed them.

Throughout, his tone remained calm; he didn't say a single word of hype.

Su Yang knew Liu Mengyun was right—just be yourself.

Flowery words mean nothing compared to actual action.

Most of the Gold-Rank Beastmasters who joined the Emergency Response Team were already past their thirties.

They weren't people you could fool.

"That's it? I thought it'd take at least five minutes!"

"Captain Su is really direct!"

"Isn't direct better? I like directness!"

"He seems very steady!"

"Maybe that's what a genius is like! At fifteen, I was still a greenhorn!"

"…"

The next day back at the Emergency Response Team, Su Yang received a meeting notice requiring all Emergency Response Team captains to attend, to discuss recruiting new members.

This matter was extremely important—he couldn't afford to skip it.

When Su Yang arrived at the military headquarters meeting room, more than half of the other thirteen captains had already shown up.

Zhu Xiaoshuang introduced Su Yang to the other eleven captains.

Shen Yan, captain of the Tenth Team, of course needed no introduction.

The other eleven captains were all fairly courteous to Su Yang.

At least on the surface.

Soon Yao Xing arrived and briefly outlined the current situation regarding recruitment of new Emergency Response Team members.

Across the entire Southwest, a total of 1,316 Gold-Rank Beastmasters had volunteered to join the Emergency Response Team and arrived in Wucheng.

Of these, 751 were originally from the various base-city military units.

The number of these Gold-Rank Beastmasters seemed astonishing.

But in reality, it wasn't nearly enough.

After all, the entire Southwest had 273 cities.

751 people spread across 273 base cities meant fewer than three military Beastmasters per city were willing to join the Emergency Response Team…

"Our plan is to recruit 900 people: all 751 Gold-Rank Beastmasters from the base-city militaries will be accepted by the Emergency Response Team."

All fourteen captains nodded; no one objected.

Beastmasters from the base-city militaries are easier to manage and more reliable!

"The remaining 149 slots must be filled from the other 565 Gold-Rank Beastmasters!"

The Emergency Response Team is indeed the unit with the highest casualty rate in the Southwest.

But the benefits enjoyed by Emergency Response Team members are unmatched by any other force in the Southwest.

Half of the High-ranking military officials in the entire Southwest Military are former Emergency Response Team members.

Nearly half of the 273 city governors in the Southwest are also former Emergency Response Team members.

So even with its heavy casualties, people still willingly risk it.

"This selection process will be jointly handled by you thirteen captains—each of you has assigned responsibilities!" Yao Xing gestured, and soldiers distributed files to each of them. "I must emphasize: recruiting Emergency Response Team members is extremely important. While we do want to recruit the strongest, I also hope you'll pay close attention to vetting, to prevent malicious individuals from slipping in!"

"Understood?"

"Understood!"

The fourteen captains responded in unison.

"First, review the documents. If you have any questions, ask me directly!"

Su Yang flipped through the thick stack of proposals and only found his name on the last page.

He was appointed Chief of Qualification Re-Review, primarily responsible for re-reviewing the qualifications of the 565 Gold-Rank Beastmasters.

"Do you have any questions?"

Su Yang raised his hand.

"Commander, what exactly is this qualification re-review?"

"The 565 Gold-Rank Beastmasters have already passed preliminary qualification reviews locally, proving they have no criminal records, clean family backgrounds, and no ties to illegal factions—but here, they must undergo a re-review to prevent impersonation or fraud!" Yao Xing smiled. "I know this is your first time doing this—I'll send a team over to assist you. Just follow the procedures."

"Then what do I need to do?"

Su Yang felt like he might be off the hook again.

"Captain Zhu specifically mentioned in her evaluation of you that you have exceptional insight!" Yao Xing waved his hand and smiled. "Just take a casual look—if you spot anything suspicious, write a note during the review."

Zhu Zhu Xiaoshuang smiled and lowered her head.

That was indeed her writing.

At nine o'clock the next morning after the meeting, qualification review began.

Su Yang received the archival files of 565 Gold-Rank Beast Tamer candidates; these files were the preliminary reviews from over two hundred base cities in the southwest. When those Gold-Rank Beast Tamers came to review, Su Yang and his team would need to cross-check them.

Only those who passed the re-review would be allowed into the military camp behind Su Yang and his team for the next round of assessments.

The archival files contained detailed information such as photographs, names, places of origin, gender, work histories, and brief records of the Beast Tamers' companion beasts.

Yao Xing dispatched three clerical staff members to review the files, as well as two Star-Flare Rank Beast Tamers.