King Of War: Starting with Arms Dealer

Chapter 149: Chapter 149 Near-Death Pleasure

'Hemostatic Forceps' was a better swimmer than anyone present, even better than the instructors.

With no unnecessary movements, her hands moved through the water as gently as fish fins, seemingly effortlessly maintaining her body's balance with one hand while providing upward buoyancy.

Treading water in the same way, 'Hemostatic Forceps' had silky smooth movements in her legs, a kind of indescribable sensation, as if she was born to live in the water.

Joe Ga was already very tired at this point, but he still tried to imitate 'Hemostatic Forceps' movements, only to instantly swallow a big gulp of water.

Nis, beside him, couldn't help but pull Joe Ga, then she too swallowed a mouthful of water.

Seeing this, Joe Ga quickly waved his hand to indicate he was alright, but then things took a turn.

With a malicious grin, Vito handed Joe Ga a 2-kilogram dumbbell, saying, "Everyone has to persist with it for ten seconds, then pass it on.

Does having the edge of the pool nearby give you a sense of security? But that will soon be gone, haha..."

Already aware of the training content, Joe Ga swallowed another mouthful of water, then couldn't help but utter a curse word. Struggling to persist for ten seconds before passing the dumbbell down the line.

This progressively intensifying training forced Joe Ga to involuntarily start adjusting his body movements, meaning the comfortable water-treading techniques that worked in the past were no longer viable.

Learning the movements of 'Hemostatic Forceps' didn't go smoothly, but Joe Ga quickly found new pointers in Antar's actions.

Maintaining focus, slowing down movements, minimizing the amplitude of actions as much as possible. As long as he didn't panic, he wouldn't choke on water by just keeping his mouth and nose above the surface.

Joe Ga tried hard to maintain his focus, but it wasn't as simple as eating or drinking; keeping focused under pressure was really difficult.

Seeing Nis, who normally wasn't as good a swimmer as himself, still maintain her rhythm, Joe Ga gasped for air and said, "What exactly did you learn in sniper school?"

Nis was actually nearly spent, but she still said, "Maintain focus, ignore the pain, believe in yourself..."

Seeing Nis choke on water after a few words, Joe Ga quickly signaled her to stop talking. In just that short moment, as the dumbbell continued to be passed around, someone else had drowned.

Each incident of someone fainting in the water added pressure to those remaining.

To ignore the situation around them and stay focused was easier said than done!

The training had now been going on for over an hour and a half. When the dumbbell was finally taken back by Vito after making the rounds, he beamed and said, "You guys are doing great. Now, let's gather in the shallow area."

Joe Ga knew there was more to come. He sighed and started swimming toward the shallow area, telling Nis and Antar, "Stay back later, try to even out your breathing as much as possible."

Nis and Antar were still okay, but the Latina who had been dragged along all this time by 'Hemostatic Forceps' was indeed at her limit.

As she forcefully swam, she asked, "What's next?"

This time, Joe Ga didn't need to answer before 'Hemostatic Forceps' said, "A 30-meter underwater swim, from the shallow to the deep end. Once you surface, report your number and branch of service, or say something else—it doesn't matter, as long as you let them know your mind is clear.

This is the selection training for the Marine Corps Recon, once in the morning and once in the evening, three hours each time. Today is like this, and so is tomorrow."

As she spoke, 'Hemostatic Forceps' looked at Joe Ga and said, "This is really good water training, but for those who aren't strong swimmers, the workload is too much and too painful."

Joe Ga quickly swam to the shallow area and let his numbing feet touch the bottom of the pool, then let out a comfortable sigh of relief.

Swimming had always been an aerobic exercise, and as soon as the pain eased, the brain began to release dopamine.

In just a few seconds, Joe Ga felt unspeakably exhilarated.

In response to 'Hemostatic Forceps'' comment, Joe Ga pointed to Tony and Lao Niu, who were still soaking in the water, and said, "Anyone who drowns three times in a row but still wants to keep going can join them.

Unfortunately, so far, only those two have withstood the fear of drowning.

Merchants are people who make a living with a gun. I find it hard to believe that those afraid of drowning won't fear combat.

Of course, I know I set the bar a bit high, but you have to know the ones selected now are your future comrades-in-arms. The stronger they are, the better it is for you."

While Joe Ga was speaking, the instructor Vito loudly explained the next task to the rest.

"Swim underwater close to the bottom until you reach the end, surface when you touch the wall, and loudly report your number and combat position. If you surface without touching the wall, it's a failure, and you'll have to start over."

With that, Vito clapped his hands energetically, shouting, "Come on, complete this training and you can rest onshore!"

What sounded like a simple task had become a nightmare for many.

If you inhaled too much air you couldn't dive, and without enough air, you couldn't complete the distance.

Under normal circumstances, everyone could use the strength of their arms and legs to forcefully dive, but at this moment, everyone had reached their limits.

Almost all special forces selection training aims to push a person to their physiological limits—running until you vomit, swimming until you are completely exhausted and at risk of fainting at any moment.

When some soldiers with poor swimming abilities start to forcefully exhaust their physical faculties in the last event, in-water fainting became a common occurrence.

They would take a breath the moment they surface, and then rapidly sink; by that time, they had already lost consciousness.

Fainting due to diving at the limit was a frequent incident in training, and those medical teams that maintained their focus were there to address such situations.

Carbon dioxide in the blood gets depleted, causing the brain to fail in sending a signal for the desperate need of breath, making even instincts lose their function. At this point, a person would faint, and without rescue, they would die without any awareness.

Joe Ga, in order to meet the standard, hadn't taken a full breath and had almost grazed the bottom of the pool for a distance of 30 meters. The moment he touched the wall, he forcefully kicked with his legs, wanting to ascend quickly.

But as he raised his hand to signal his code the moment he broke the surface, he heard a drumming sound in his ears, then he felt his body soften, and everything became very comfortable before he lost consciousness.

When Joe Ga woke up, he found himself lying on his side at the edge of the pool, with Vito holding a small oxygen bottle and placing a breathing device over his mouth and nose.

Seeing Joe Ga open his eyes, Vito grinned and said, "How does it feel to faint underwater?"

Joe Ga quickly regained his senses as he breathed in the oxygen, blinked his eyes to recall the recent experience, and shaking his head he said, "It felt great; death doesn't seem as scary as we imagine!"

Vito, seeing that Joe Ga was alright, took away the oxygen bottle, helped him sit up, and then said with a smile, "Unless it comes from sickness or accident, death indeed isn't as frightening as people imagine."

With that, Vito pointed to his temple and continued, "Our brain releases a lot of chemicals when we feel there is no hope left, allowing us to die without pain."

Lack of oxygen isn't scary; what's terrifying is when your brain thinks you're about to die, and then it makes you pass out.

The purpose of combat diving training is to make you overcome that damn instinct and confront painful torment.

Once you pass this training, you can take on the deep sea, and even if you decide to take on the sky in the future, it will be beneficial.

At the very least, it can help you save yourself with a clear mind in case of a parachute failure or watch yourself crash into a mush with clarity."

Joe Ga grasped Vito's hand to rise, took a deep breath, and said, "That's not a very pleasant thought, but I think I understand.

It's training us to maintain a clear mind under extreme conditions!"

Vito nodded and explained, "More precisely, it's about controlling your thoughts, restraining instincts, and staying calm in extreme environments, learning to digest bodily pain, overcoming the brain's lethargic instincts, and letting yourself struggle to the very end, even in dire straits."

Dorian said you want to control your nervousness before the enemy; you've come to the right place. When you can control your heartbeat in extreme situations, you can dominate your body.

At that time, you'll feel your instincts disappearing, and you'll truly be the master of your own body!"

After listening, Joe Ga glanced at the few unlucky ones who woke up from the emergency treatment and also at Nis, who was standing behind him wanting to say something but hesitating. He shook his head and said, "I'm fine, actually it felt pretty good just now!

There was a fighter who said the feeling after fainting from a choke hold was great; I thought he was just bragging, but now I believe it."

Joe Ga looked at Vito and said with a laugh, "Essentially you're saying, don't let yourself 'enjoy' it but rather endure the pain as long as possible, so your mind stays clearer for longer."

After hearing this, Vito touched his nose and nodded, "You can understand it that way if you'd like. The pain of living and the pleasure of dying should be an easy choice to make.

Sometimes surpassing oneself and overcoming instincts can also provide a sense of pleasure. To my knowledge, those who feel this way are among the most formidable warriors."

Joe Ga responded, waving his hand, "You might as well just say that the SEALs and the legendary SBS special boat service are badass."

Vito shook his head, "I've never met an SBS member, but I've seen SEALs.

Not every one of them can handle underwater demolition training. The general SEAL teams are only T2 level combat teams.

The real T1 combat units are the SEAL Team Six. I've participated in a joint exercise with their Gray Squadron, and those guys are monsters."

Joe Ga, intrigued, asked, "Are they really that impressive?"

Vito nodded with a smile, "I can't quantify them exactly, but you can refer to number 4.

He comes from the Rangers and must have undergone formal combat diving training. He's definitely from the 75th Ranger Regiment Reconnaissance Team.

The Rangers Reconnaissance Team is a T2 level unit in the United States Army, one notch below SEAL Team Six and the legendary Delta Force.

Now that he's injured, you can wait for him to fully recover and then challenge him or test him to get a sense of his level of skill. If you imagine his skill a notch higher, you can roughly gauge the level of SEAL Team Six.

Those monsters might still die when bombed or shot, but they can drag many enemies with them to hell before they go."