Chapter 363 Passing List
"Everyone, thank you for your hard work!" After confirming the loyalty of these individuals, Lin Haoran showed a satisfied smile.
These were all elite members personally selected by Cui Zilong from the Manila training base in the Philippines.
However, what surprised Lin Haoran was that these faces all seemed somewhat familiar to him.
After thinking carefully, he realized that these were the same young veterans he had personally brought back when he went to Yangcheng in mainland China.
During the operation to establish the Manila training base, most of them had stayed there, undergoing rigorous training and now becoming a loyal and highly capable bodyguard team.
After all, in terms of facilities and environment, the Manila training base was far superior to anything in Hong Kong.
Although veterans could maintain excellent skills for a short period after service, once training stopped, their abilities would inevitably decline.
This rule applied to both shooting skills and hand-to-hand combat.
Thus, continuous daily training was essential to maintain and even enhance their abilities.
Even brothers Li Weidong and Li Weiguo, despite appearing busy accompanying Lin Haoran on his outings, would train in physical fitness and combat skills whenever they had free time at the villa's backyard.
Moreover, they frequently visited the police shooting range in Sheung Wan, both to maintain their shooting accuracy and sometimes to act as instructors, guiding police officers in shooting techniques.
After all, Li Weidong and Li Weiguo were now officially hired as instructors by the Hong Kong police force.
At this moment, the loyalty ratings displayed above the heads of these twenty men genuinely astonished Lin Haoran.
Among the twenty, nine had loyalty ratings above 90, with the highest reaching an impressive 93.
The remaining eleven, although not exceeding 90, all maintained a loyalty score above 85.
Normally, Lin Haoran was already very satisfied when his employees reached a loyalty of 80. Seeing these bodyguards' loyalty generally above 85 far exceeded his expectations.
Naturally, since these individuals were tasked with ensuring his personal safety, the higher their loyalty, the better.
Lin Haoran's satisfied smile stemmed from this unexpected result.
Initially, before arriving, he had estimated that if these newly selected Dark Guard candidates from Manila could achieve a loyalty above 80, he would already be very pleased.
Now, with nearly half exceeding 90 and none below 85, how could he not be delighted?
Reflecting on this, Lin Haoran understood why their loyalty was so high.
First, they had been personally selected by Cui Zilong at the Philippine training base after a thorough examination of both character and ability.
Second, many of them came from humble beginnings, experiencing the hardships of life in mainland China during this era.
Working under someone like Lin Haoran not only promised stable employment and income but also offered a chance to change their and their families' destinies.
In the past six months, they had already realized how fortunate they were to follow Lin Haoran.
Other people could not even dream of such an opportunity.
Given their background and experiences, their deep gratitude and loyalty towards Lin Haoran were natural.
He had not only dramatically improved their quality of life in Hong Kong but had also offered exceptionally generous compensation.
Under such circumstances, how could they not be full of gratitude?
While the job indeed involved certain dangers, these were men who had survived the brutal conditions of the Vietnam War.
Facing danger was nothing new to them.
They were long accustomed to surviving in adversity; this job to them was merely another kind of challenge and mission, and its rewards were far better than laboring for a few dozen yuan a month back in mainland China.
In just six months, they had amassed wealth surpassing what they could have earned in many years of hard work back home.
Thus, considering all these factors, it was entirely natural for them to display such high loyalty towards Lin Haoran.
"You should all know the purpose of returning to Hong Kong. In the future, between 10 to 15 of you will be selected as my personal Dark Guard bodyguards, responsible for my safety.
Therefore, my life and well-being will be entrusted to you. As you know, my identity is special, and there's always a risk of people targeting me.
Each one of you is extremely important to me. Of course, as Dark Guards, it is vital to master the art of concealing your identity. Ultimately, not all of you will be by my side.
But don't worry—even if some of you aren't selected due to limited spots, we will make proper arrangements for you, and your treatment will not be much different from that of the Dark Guards," Lin Haoran said solemnly, standing before the twenty men.
"Faithful in heart, defenders in action, entrusted by the boss, fulfilled at all costs!" the twenty men shouted again in unison, their voices powerful and full of energy.
"In a moment, I'll shake hands with each of you. Please introduce yourselves so I can get to know you better," Lin Haoran said warmly, smiling.
"Yes, boss!" they responded in unison.
Lin Haoran then began shaking hands with them one by one.
"Reporting, boss! I am Li Weimin from Xiangshan, Guangdong Province."
"Reporting, boss! I am Zhang Zhiwei from Shaozhou, Guangdong Province."
"Reporting, boss! I am Ping Yaojie from the Wuyi region."
…
He carefully memorized each name, knowing that most of them would become essential figures around him. Knowing their basic information was fundamental.
More importantly, by observing their loyalty ratings, Lin Haoran had already made up his mind.
The nine individuals with loyalty ratings above 90 had already passed the preliminary assessment in his mind. He planned to discuss this with Cui Zilong later.
These nine would be entrusted with protecting his safety in the future.
After all, everyone selected into this group of twenty was exceptional.
Cui Zilong had also told him that there was little difference in their strength.
Under such circumstances, it was natural to favor those with the highest loyalty to ensure his security.
Although a loyalty of over 80 was already excellent, it still couldn't compare to one over 90 when it came to critical moments of life and death.
At crucial times, a bodyguard with loyalty above 90 would undoubtedly stand up without hesitation, even sacrificing himself.
As for someone with loyalty in the eighties, there would always be a slight uncertainty.
Thus, higher loyalty naturally garnered Lin Haoran's greater favor.
Loyalty was not only a measure of reliability but also the decisive factor in determining who would stay by his side.
As for whether the final Dark Guard team would consist of ten or expand to fifteen members, Lin Haoran didn't mind; he intended to leave that decision to the team based on actual needs.
As long as his safety was guaranteed, the exact number wasn't important.
After the introductions, Lin Haoran signaled for them all to sit down. He himself sat directly on the grass, starting a relaxed conversation with them.
Simply knowing their names and hometowns was far from enough to truly understand them.
The best way was to engage in casual conversation and uncover more valuable information.
Initially, the men were a bit tense and nervous facing such a powerful boss.
But under Lin Haoran's warm and approachable demeanor, they gradually let down their guard and spoke more freely.
While they chatted, a transport vehicle from the training base slowly approached in the distance. The door opened, and Cui Zilong, whom Lin Haoran hadn't seen for some time, stepped out.
"Boss," Cui Zilong greeted immediately after getting out of the vehicle.
"Alright, you all continue with your training. I won't disturb you any further," Lin Haoran smiled and bid farewell to the twenty men.
Leaving them, he took Cui Zilong and Peng Donghai, the head of the training base, with him to the training base office.
"Boss, what do you think of this group?" Cui Zilong asked with a smile after they had settled into the office.
"They're excellent. Their spirit and morale are outstanding, and I'm very satisfied. As for their abilities, I'm not yet fully clear," Lin Haoran replied affirmatively.
"Their skills are at the international top bodyguard level. Even the American security expert we invited praised them highly," Cui Zilong added.
"Boss, I've been stationed at this training base for almost half a year now. Before joining Huanyu Security Consulting Company, I worked as a coach at a well-known international security company. Based on my experience, these men are definitely elite even by international standards," Peng Donghai said, smiling in agreement.
Lin Haoran nodded. He believed there was no reason for these two to exaggerate.
"By the way, Director Cui, Coach Peng, during my conversation with them, I found nine individuals particularly impressive. I believe these nine should pass the selection. As for the final number of Dark Guards, I'll leave it to you to decide based on the actual situation," Lin Haoran said while taking out a blank sheet of paper and writing down their names.
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