Persia.
Revolutionary Guard Headquarters underground command center.
The room was dimly lit, with a massive electronic map occupying an entire wall, flickering with lights indicating troop deploynts, radar coverage, and various intelligence markers.
The air was filled with the low hum characteristic of electronic equipnt and a faint sll of ozone.
Avanti stood before the gigantic situation map, his back turned to Major Naxin, who had just reported to him about the attack on Song Heping and the possibility of a leak.
The angry and bloody roar of Song Heping seed to still echo in his ears, each word striking his face like a whip.
"Sieve..."
Avanti's voice was low and hoarse, breaking the oppressive silence.
"He's right. Our 'Garden' has been planted with more than one poison seed by the enemy."
He slowly turned around, his face expressionless, yet his eyes burned with anger.
"Naxin!"
"Yes! General!"
Major Naxin imdiately straightened his back.
"Song Heping is within Illiguo territory, near the 'Eagle Sorrow Gorge' region in the Zagros Mountains. He is injured and evading US Army drone pursuit."
Avanti's voice was like cold iron clashing, each word carrying an undeniable weight.
"Order: Colonel Zahari is to imdiately lead his Special Operations Company to the Mahabad border crossing to assemble and stand by at the fastest speed! Public announcent: To welco an important person! Operation code na: 'Operation Homing'! Secrecy level: Top secret! Execute imdiately!"
Mahabad Town?
A trace of subtle doubt flashed in Naxin's eyes.
The location is over a hundred and fifty kiloters straight-line distance from where Song Heping is actually trapped in the 'Eagle Sorrow Gorge', separated by rugged mountains and several border patrol lines.
What is the General...
"What? Any doubts?"
Seeing his hesitation, Avanti's gaze beca aningful.
Their eyes t, and Naxin, Avanti's confidant, imdiately understood his superior's intention—creating a diversion to lure the snake out of the hole.
"Understood! General! I will imdiately relay the 'Operation Homing' order to Colonel Zahari!" Naxin replied without hesitation.
"Good."
Avanti nodded, the chill in his eyes intensifying.
"After the order is issued, I want you to use the highest clearance to monitor everyone who has co into contact with the 'Operation Homing' order! From Zahari himself, to his adjutant, communications staff, logistics coordinator, and anyone who might co into contact with this operation. Focus on monitoring all their communications, internet access logs, and unusual contacts at weird tis with outsiders! Especially all communication activities within one hour after the order is given! Dig deep! Dig three feet into the ground if you have to, but pull out the 'rat' daring to wag its tail to the Aricans! I need to know who he is, how he's passing the ssages, and who his accomplices are! Rember, Naxin, Zahari... I don't believe it's him. But evidence! I need solid evidence!"
Avanti's voice was resolute, carrying a kind of undeniable decisiveness and profound sorrow.
Although Zahari was a trusted subordinate personally cultivated within the Revolutionary Guard, Song Heping's attack was like a bucket of ice water waking him up.
The internal spy was right among them, possibly in a high position.
"Yes! General!"
Naxin's eyes were sharp; he knew what this ant.
A silent hunt had quietly begun at the highest level within the Revolutionary Guard.
The order was quickly communicated.
Soon, the shrill alarm sounded at the Revolutionary Guard's Special Operations Forces base.
Colonel Zahari quickly assembled his elite company.
The soldiers silently and efficiently received weapons, ammunition, and individual equipnt, checked communication equipnt, their faces filled with the solemnity of impending battle.
Various models of Russian-made assault rifles, RPG launchers, and sniper rifles were distributed.
Communications troops tuned portable frequency-hopping radios, and the roar of engines began to sound.
"Go!"
Zahari jumped into the command vehicle, his voice transmitted clearly through the throat microphone into each team mber's ear.
The convoy kicked up a cloud of dust, roaring out of the base, speeding towards Mahabad in the northwest direction.
anwhile, in the depths of the command center, in a room filled with screens and listening devices, the technical monitoring team led by Major Naxin was already in high gear.
The Persian Revolutionary Guard's top counterintelligence agency's system's powerful data capture and analysis capabilities were being pushed to the limit.
On the giant main screen, dozens of small windows were lined up:
Communication spectrum waterfall: Real-ti display of all encrypted and unencrypted radio signal transmitters, frequencies, and intensities centered around the Special Operations base.
Any abnormal new signals or high-intensity long-duration communications would be highlighted in red.
Internal network access log: Records scrolling rapidly, monitoring all marked individuals' internal system logins, file access records, especially operations related to 'Homing,' 'Mahabad,' 'border,' 'welco' and other keywords.
Satellite phone activity monitoring: On an independent encrypted channel monitoring screen, displaying the IMSI codes (International Mobile Subscriber Identity) status of all authorized and unauthorized satellite phones within the base.
Once any phone is turned on or tries to connect to a satellite after the order is issued, it will be imdiately locked.
Personnel physical trajectory tracking: On another screen, the real-ti position of marked personnel will be shown on a base layout with light points from all available monitoring caras, their movent paths automatically recorded and analyzed by the system.
External communication tadata analysis: The Revolutionary Guard has activated a collaborative channel with the telecommunications departnt, and although it cannot directly decrypt encrypted content, the system monitors the communications records, text ssage sending records, and suspicious base station switching information of all marked personnel's registered phone numbers after the order is given.
Ti ticked by, minute by minute.
In the secret room, there was only the sound of keyboard tapping and the rapid, muted exchanges of the analysts.
"Report! Colonel Zahari and his core command group's communications are normal, all using internal encrypted channels, content related to mission deploynt, no abnormal external contact detected!"
"Report! Target personnel's phone communication records have been screened, one hour after the order was issued, no suspicious outgoing or incoming calls found!"
"Report! Internal network access is normal! No abnormal downloads or access to sensitive files!"
Naxin furrowed his brow.
Could the judgnt be wrong?
Or is the mole exceptionally cunning, evading all conventional monitoring thods?
His sharp gaze swept across each screen.
"There's a discovery!"
An analyst responsible for monitoring physical movents in the arsenal area suddenly shouted.
"Captain Beiyang Hosaini, manager of the third sub-arsenal. Fifteen minutes after the order was issued, he left the office and headed to the main warehouse! System records indicate he swiped his ID to enter the 'Special Equipnt Reserve Area,' where he stayed for 8 minutes! Nearly double the usual equipnt distribution check ti!"
Captain Beiyang!
Naxin imdiately recalled this person's dossier: clean background, good service record, responsible for managing and distributing so special equipnt for the Special Operations Forces.
"Retrieve all internal surveillance from the Special Equipnt Reserve Area during this period!"
Naxin ordered.
A few seconds later, a sowhat blurred surveillance footage was magnified on the main screen. In the footage, Captain Beiyang, dressed in military uniform, appeared to be conducting a routine inspection of neatly arranged equipnt boxes. He walked to an area where backup communication gear and individual electronic devices were stored, paused in front of a box, turned his back to the cara, seemingly bent over to organize the contents. His actions seed innocuous, but the duration was noticeably long, and the angle of his body cleverly obscured the specific movents of his hands.
"Magnify! Slow motion! Analyze his hand movents!"
Naxin stared at the screen intently.
The technician magnified and sharpened the footage fra by fra.
At a certain mont when Beiyang bent over, his right arm made a very brief movent towards the side and rear waist area, the motion was minimal, and then it returned.
"What did he do at his rear waist?" Naxin asked, "That area isn't near the equipnt boxes!"
"Report! There is a slight blind spot in the surveillance of that area! Unable to see clearly!"
The technician responded helplessly.
"Check what equipnt he retrieved!"
Naxin turned to another analyst responsible for the equipnt managent system.
"System records show... During his ti in the reserve area, Captain Beiyang retrieved..."
The analyst looked at the screen, his voice tinged with disbelief, "...two 'spare' satellite phone encrypted batteries? And... three soldier tactical terminals and GPS modules specifically allocated for Special Forces... registered reason was 'equipnt maintenance testing.'"
Satellite phone batteries?
GPS modules?
After Zahari's company just collected a full set of equipnt and departed?
Just for maintenance testing?
This is highly inconsistent!
These items are small, valuable, and...
They all contain independent electronic components that can be externally tracked or activated!
Suddenly, a cold glint flashed in Naxin's eyes.
All suspicion instantly converged on this Captain Beiyang of the arsenal.
His timing, reason for retrieving these small electronic components, and that suspicious move in the surveillance—he very likely concealed so form of micro beacon in those batteries or modules, or used them as cover to transmit intelligence!
If he did this, he could obtain the operational tracks of the Special Forces at any ti.
"Lock onto Beiyang Hosaini! Full-scale surveillance! Including all his movents after work! Check all his communications, financial transactions, contacts over the past three months! Pay special attention to any indication of usage of non-registered encrypted devices!"
Naxin ordered sharply, "Additionally, imdiately notify the General!"
When Naxin reported the preliminary findings of Captain Beiyang's incrimination to Avanti, the Revolutionary Guard commander's face showed no surprise, only an icy murderous intent.
"Beiyang? The arsenal?"
Avanti's fingers lightly tapped on the table, producing a dull sound, like the prelude to battle drums.
"He's just a Captain. How could a Captain possibly know in advance that Song Heping would co to Persia? And how could he know Nura's arrangents, secret routes that even I know only vaguely in terms of ti and area? Naxin, this 'Poison Seed' is only the first to erge. Behind him, there must be soone with access to higher-level, more core information."
He pulled up the internal system, and an encrypted list was projected on the screen.
The list was not long, only a dozen nas, each representing a crucial node in the Revolutionary Guard's intelligence system or Special Operations command chain.
At the top of the list were several nas of high-ranking generals and staff officers.
"Investigate everyone on this list! Start by following the line from Beiyang upwards! Check who recently had access to summaries of Song Heping's itinerary! Check who had unusual contact with Beiyang! Investigate who has the capability to bypass conventional monitoring for secret communications!"
Avanti's voice was like quenched steel.
"I've raised your investigation authority to the highest level, use all necessary resources! Rember, I don't want a little mouse, I want the Poison Snake behind him!"
"Yes, General!"
Naxin felt enormous pressure.
He had followed Avanti for many years, encountered great storms, but it was rare to see his superior so angry!
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