"Yes, that's me. How may I help you?" Joel inquired.
"It appears that you have requested to volunteer yourself for an experimental training program, the CERBERUS Program. I'm here to ask if you're sure about this decision. Remember, once I put your name in, there's no turning back," said the Lieutenant.
CERBERUS, short for Cybernetic Enhanced Regiment and Battlefield Elite Reconnaissance Unit Service, was the ideal battle group capable of surviving, thriving, and even turning the tide of battle with just a single squad. It excelled in all forms of missions.
In other words, a perfect soldier unit.
The training program would begin with six months of high-intensity training in a specially designed environment. Those who passed would receive cybernetic enhancements surgery, followed by a month of physical therapy and fine-tuning, and then three months of super-intensity training to help the body accept the cybernetics and undergo final fine-tuning.
This training program was exactly what Joel needed. With his family and home gone forever, all he needed now was strength—enough to hunt down and destroy those responsible for his misery.
The catch was that volunteers needed to work for Astral PMC for two years. Afterward, they could choose to return to the US Army with advanced power armor and cybernetics from Astral Tech, or they could enjoy Astral PMC benefits according to the new terms, negotiated to suit their desires.
The offer is incredibly lucrative and tempting for all the soldiers. Joel believes that even without CEO Cao's display of leadership when he plunged into the battlefield to rescue them, many would still volunteer.
Now, with CEO Cao's reputation, nearly all of the soldiers who survived that town are volunteering for this training program. Moreover, more US citizens are starting to show interest in joining as Astral PMC troops.
Joel knew that this war might end with a peace treaty between the US and the Confederacy. Now that the Liberty House knew about the Confederacy's bio weapons and nuclear arsenal, it was likely that the war would end in peace. Supreme General Moor, the dictator, would probably escape consequences.
The reason? CEO Cao's words. He had stated that brave warriors deserved accommodations that matched their bravery and glory. If anyone were to ask Joel, he believed CEO Cao was subtly recruiting US soldiers into Astral PMC by offering them the privileges enjoyed by troopers under Astral PMC.
And it's working like a charm. The incident had also significantly boosted CEO Cao's and Astral Group's reputation. All the soldiers were praising Astral PMC as the place to be for anyone aspiring to be a professional soldier or warrior, or simply to live an adventurous life on the battlefield.
It was exactly where people like Joel wanted to be. He had already read about the benefits Astral PMC offered its troops. Calling them lucrative would be an understatement. The benefits for an average soldier were on par with those of a high-ranking officer in the US Army, like the Lieutenant who had visited Joel earlier.
Additionally, they enjoyed free health insurance from a hospital equipped with the most advanced medical technology in the world.
Joel believed that even without CEO Cao's reputation, just the benefits alone would attract a lot of people to immediately queue up to sign up for this program. However, when combined with the reputation, even more people would be enticed to join.
Other than that, another reason why Joel decided to enter this program, it's because he remembered the feeling when he first saw CEO Cao descend into battle and lead the charge himself. CEO Cao's battle prowess and reflexes were beyond human capabilities. He witnessed CEO Cao fight for hours without rest, yet he never seemed to tire or need a break.
The feeling of witnessing someone's battle prowess beyond human capabilities, that sense of awe and inspiration it brought, made Joel also aspire to achieve such heights.
Later, he inquired with some of the Astral PMC troops and learned that CEO Cao appeared to be an augmented human. This discovery indicated that cybernetic augmentation was very safe for humans and had already passed the field test. This was evident from CEO Cao, Nicholas Sullivan, the seasoned leader of the Astral PMC troop squad, and some other troops with body augmentations.
Realizing this, Joel understood that the cybernetic augmentation in the CERBERUS unit was comparable to Nicholas Sullivan's, which was incredibly impressive. It could essentially turn a person into a formidable killing machine. In essence, the CERBERUS Unit was at a higher level than the regular Astral PMC troops.
Now that everything is going his way, he starts to mull over his life, looking at some old pictures he has and resting. He prepares himself during these three days of leave to get full rest before undergoing training.