At 12:32 a.m., on the border of the small Alles Mountain in Country T.
Several soldiers from Country T's patrol team passed by the boundary marker with their guns.
One of the soldiers stretched and complained, "When will this patrol end? In the middle of the night, they send us to this godforsaken place to patrol. Don't they usually just set up lookout posts?"
The leading sergeant turned to look at the complaining soldier and couldn't help but scold, "Lazy bones! It's only for a few more days! Last night the JAK Special Forces had already spotted the enemy. The entire border defense force has moved there to surround and annihilate them, and I believe the problem will be resolved very soon."
He glanced down at his watch.
"I guess there will be a result by dawn tomorrow. Let's go! Stop dawdling! After this round, we'll go back to sleep."
The soldier lightened up upon hearing this, "Sergeant, you're right, it will probably be resolved by tomorrow. I bet it's the work of the Kurd Ard..."
"Who knows..."
The group moved further away.
Shortly after they left the boundary marker, half a head slowly poked out from the bushes just twenty ters away.
After observing that there were no dangers around, the shadowy figure crouched down next to the border, pulled out a survival knife, cut a few wires of the fence, and then crawled through.
About three hours later, a panting Song Heping finally stopped.
There were no mountains in front of him anymore.
The Alles Mountain Area on the side of Persia occupied less land.
Song Heping took out his GPS to determine his location.
After comparing, he found that he had walked past the border and entered the territory of Persia.
Along the way, he had easily evaded the patrol teams of both countries.
But now he didn't want to go any further.
Because it was the town area ahead.
His current gear would definitely alarm the local Persians if seen.
He reached into his tactical bag and took out his satellite phone, turning it on.
Once he had a signal, he quickly dialed Avanti's phone number.
Although it was already four in the morning, the call was connected very quickly.
"Mr. Song?!"
Avanti on the other end obviously sounded excited.
"Yes, it's . I'm already inside Persia now, I need you to send soone to pick up."
"Where are you? I'll send a plane right away!"
"Have Oma and the others returned to Persia?"
"They arrived two days ago."
"How about Hassan?"
"He's already in our hands."
"Is he alright?"
"He's fine, very spirited."
"Then I'm relieved... I'm really tired..."
Song Heping stretched.
Avanti didn't hesitate for a second, "Are you hurt? Do you need to send a doctor over? Or is there anything else you need?!"
A series of questions made Song Heping feel both amused and helpless.
Dealing with Avanti twice, he had never seen him so unsettled before.
But one thing was certain.
Avanti really valued him.
"I'm fine, just a bit tired..." Song Heping smiled and added, "Also, I sll pretty bad, having been in the jungle for several days..."
"I'll arrange it right away. I'll have soone prepare a hot bath for you. Wait there, and the plane will arrive in no more than two hours! Rember not to wander around. If soone finds you, just tell them you are one of mine, ntion my na."
"I don't even know your na."
"Just say you are a guest of Kasim, the brigade commander of the Revolutionary Guard Special Operations Brigade. You can even give them my number, let them connect!"
This was the first ti Song Heping had heard Avanti's real na.
For soone like him to reveal his real na ant he considered you a true friend.
"Alright, I'll stay put. I've sent you my coordinates, just have them co to pick up."
"No problem! Almost there!"
After ending the call, Song Heping sat down on the ground.
This was a desolate area, away from the mountains, and it didn't feel as cold.
Song Heping pulled off his camouflage scarf, wiped his face with his fleece hat, set down his backpack on the ground, and leaned comfortably against it.
"This feels so damn good..."
He felt imnsely exhausted.
These past days, he had taken a stimulant pill.
It was one of the two pills given to him by Oma.
It was a necessary asure.
Alone in the Alles Mountain Area to contend with the "Watcher" and also to avoid being targeted by the JAK Special Forces, he absolutely needed vigorous energy, unable to afford even a slight slip-up.
Now, having passed the danger, Song Heping leaned against his backpack under the starry sky, beginning to review the gains and losses of his actions over these past days.
Although his strategy of splitting forces seed very successful, upon reflection, it was not without flaws.
He had spent too long in the highlands.
In fact, he had forgotten that they should have imdiately spread the news that Hassan had left Country T after Oma and the others returned to Persia. Perhaps then, SAD and "Watchers" might have withdrawn earlier.
Indeed, if so, perhaps it would have spared the "Watchers" a lot of casualties, which in turn would have been to their advantage.
Now, the situation of the "Watchers" remained uncertain.
But one could imagine that even if they were formidable, facing the encirclent of Country T's border defense force and the JAK Special Forces, they probably had slim chances of luck.
This operation was a huge setback for SAD.
In the future, the CIA would likely spare no effort to find out who had stabbed them in the back.
This was indeed a concern.
It seed necessary to be cautious, especially after eting Avanti, to ensure he took security seriously, as the issues involved were significant.
As for whether Avanti would use this as leverage to blackmail him into working for him in the future?
About this, Song Heping was not so worried.
This matter involved not just the "Musician" Defense, but also Persia. If things escalated, it would be troubleso for the Persians themselves.
Thus, revealing it would be detrintal to everyone.
As for helping Avanti, that depended on the money.
With Avanti as a card up his sleeve, he could probably walk sideways in Persia from now on.
Background and resources were essential for establishing a defense company.
Song Heping had a habit: either don't do it or do it best.
Since he embarked on this path, he intended to grow this business big.
Currently, he had no choice but to depend on others, to work for others, and even had to observe the Aricans' faces, but that might not be the case in the future...
Thinking of this, he rembered sothing else.
He quickly took out the satellite phone to call the cook.
The cook wasn't quick to answer the phone; it connected after a while.
"Damn! Have you co back?! Where are you now?"
"I just arrived in Persia, safe now."
"That's great! I heard from White Bear and the others, you lured the 'Watcher' away all by yourself, hahaha! I thought you were crazy when I heard the news! How could you dare to be so reckless?! I was worried you wouldn't make it back!"
Song Heping took a long breath and said, "I've always said I'm tough, can't be killed that easily. By the way, have you asked Ferrari about how things with Yusuf are being handled these days?!"
"Sorted! All sorted!"
The cook stated in a tone seeking credit, "The task you gave , how could I not keep an eye on it? Three days after you left, we provided bodyguards for those seventy-sothing officials, and now they treat us like lifesavers!"
Song Heping said, "I don't want to be their lifesaver, I want their loyalty. Providing these services to ensure their safety is to get special export permits for certain goods; that's the key."
"No problem!" the cook said, "I thought you were asking about sothing else! I know what you're thinking, so these past few days I've been in touch with Yusuf to arrange the special export procedures for our goods. And believe , they have contacts in all sorts of departnts. It took them just one day to get it done for . Let tell you so good news, guess what it is!"
Good news?
Could it be that they've already sold the first batch of arms?
"Could it be that you've made the first arms deal?"
Song Heping couldn't believe it.
Was it that quick?
Or was the cook's friend in Russia's underworld that reliable?
"Exactly!" The cook laughed heartily, "All sold out, except for a small part we kept for ourselves. The rest is all gone. I did the math, you spent over 1.1 million US dollars on this batch, and I sold it for 3 million US dollars! The profit is nearly 200%!"
It sounded indeed like a good deal.
But it seed too easy.
"Sold to whom?"
"To the underworld, of course! Who else but the underworld, since they have business connections!"
The cook's explanation sounded very reasonable.
"Which underworld?"
"Colombian underworld."
"Oh..."
South Arica, huh...
Honestly, Song Heping wasn't very familiar with that region.
"Is the deal reliable?"
"Reliable!"
Song Heping could even feel the cook thumping his chest through the satellite phone waves.
"Back when I was in prison, I t a good buddy of mine who was doing well in his gang, and had business dealings with South Arica. Just when their gang wanted a batch of weapons, and I happened to ask him about arms sales, he did this favor smoothly."
"Is that so..."
Song Heping nodded thoughtfully.
"But I've heard it's pretty chaotic over there in South Arica, how much advance did you get?"
"Advance?"
The cook said, "What advance?! Would he dare to swallow my goods?! I would have my buddy kill him! Damn, you have no idea how formidable our Russian underworld is!"
Seeing the cook so confident, Song Heping couldn't say much.
After all, he was the founder of the "Musician" Defense Company.
"Alright, just be careful in handling it."
"No problem, the goods have already been shipped out, they're near the Colombian coast now. A small boat will co to transfer them, very safe! They smuggle herbs this way too, so they are pretty experienced!"
"Hmm. By the way, how's the situation at our oil fields lately? Any troubles?"
"None! Ever since we took down the Freedom Army, no one has co by. There's not even any shelling, damn, my brother, we're famous now! I heard from a friend in the allied forces that their superiors are considering giving us military contracts."
"Military contracts?"
Song Heping's heart stirred slightly.
Such contracts weren't ordinary at all.
Military contracts involved direct orders from the military.
It wasn't anything like handling security orders for comrcial companies like Wood Energy.
Military contracts, which companies like Black Water have a chance to handle, are quite lucrative and well-funded, a sort of order that many defense companies long for.
The companies handling such orders wouldn't be called re security companies; they're typically referred to as "strategic resource" companies.
The orders cooperated between Black Water and the CIA belong to this category.
Including capturing important wanted persons, interrogation and detainnt, escorting, etc.
Even performing so actions inconvenient for the CIA to show up in, colloquially known as dirty work.
And if such a contract cos from the allied forces, then the contract isn't so dirty, but the danger involved is greater.
Like assisting the allied forces in attacking a city, helping them clear out resisters in the city, or taking over patrol and control of a whole city including key targets like power stations and water plants.
This isn't uncommon; after all, the allied forces are limited in manpower, and many critical projects and targets are entrusted to PMC company personnel to secure.
Although military contracts are profitable, they carry greater risks, and facing consequences of any mishap is severe, potentially leading to court trials.
"Let's discuss the military contracts when I'm back and take it slowly."
Song Heping always felt the cook was too impulsive in his actions.
Growth was good.
But the cook dared to take on any job, his courage as big as a water tank.
Sotis, he needed soone by his side to pour so cold water on his fiery head.
"Fine, we'll discuss it once you're back."
"Alright, let's leave it at that."
Song Heping was just too tired.
Knowing that things were okay on Illiguo's side, he felt relieved.
Everything else could wait until he returned.
Right now, all he wanted was a good sleep.
He set his wristwatch alarm; the helicopter was expected to arrive in about two hours.
He decided to sleep for an hour first.
He found a wind-sheltered and concealed spot, laid out the waterproof mat, pitched the solo tent, and crawled inside to begin a deep sleep.
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