Compared to Song Heping's caution, the cook seed very impulsive.
"I can't wait any longer! Every day that the kidnapped person isn't rescued, they are in more danger! I can't just sit here doing nothing, watching Ivan get killed in the Colombian jungle!"
Song Heping also had so understanding of the friendship between Ivan and the cook.
They had known each other since they were children, went to jail together, with Ivan being released first and the cook following later.
It was Ivan who provided him with the capital to open a small restaurant to make a living when the cook was having his toughest ti.
Although later the cook was no longer satisfied with being a small restaurant owner, sweating around the stove all day, and instead, recruited a few veterans to work as bodyguards and got involved in the rcenary business, the depth and certainty of their friendship were unquestionable.
It is said that a woman never forgets the man she ets when she is most beautiful, and a man never forgets the woman who is willing to share his hardships when he is most troubled.
Friendship is like that, too.
The person who helps you when you are at your lowest is the hardest to forget.
"Cook, can you not be so impulsive?" Song Heping couldn't help but admonish him, "Impulse is of no help and can ruin things. Even if you go to Colombia now, what then? Are you going to march into the tropical rainforest with guns to look for AUC? Do you know who kidnapped Ivan? Who should you go to for the person?"
"If I catch a mber of the AUC, I can make him talk!"
The cook's eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a ferocious beast ready to devour soone.
Song Heping sneered, "The AUC has over a dozen branches. Do you think capturing one branch mber will reveal the activities of the others? Fine, you want to go to Colombia? Go ahead."
As he said this, Song Heping looked around, his gaze sweeping over every core team mber in the company.
"Who among you is willing to go to Colombia with the cook? I won't stop you."
Now everyone in the company felt awkward.
White Bear and the others looked at each other, unsure of what to do next.
Deep down, everyone knew that what Song Heping said was most logical.
Impulsiveness doesn't solve problems.
Seeing that no one stood up, the cook suddenly felt a sense of defeat.
That sense of defeat finally allowed him to cool down a bit.
The guy sat down in a chair and punched the desk, making the computer keyboard jump.
Seeing the cook like this, Song Heping felt he still needed to save his face.
Above all, his intervention was for everyone's good. Despite the "Musician" Defense Company starting to grow, those several hundred local rcenaries couldn't always be relied on, and before becoming a large-scale defense company, the organization was still very vulnerable. One impulsive misjudgnt could lead to disintegration.
"Cook, don't be too anxious. Kidnappers always have a purpose, whether it's money or they simply want to take a life. If it's money, that's negotiable, but if they just wanted to kill, do you think Ivan would still be alive?" Song Heping advised, "The AUC's sources of funding include kidnapping for ransom, so I believe they wouldn't waste Ivan as a hostage. He's only been missing for less than two days; I estimate his family will soon receive a ransom demand. Maintain contact with his family, and agree to their terms no matter what to ensure his safety. We'll handle the rest."
In the end, the cook nodded subtly, then slowly stood up and went upstairs without saying a word.
After watching him go up, Song Heping approached Ferrari and said, "Can your friends at the DEA help us find a contact? I need soone in Colombia who is familiar with the AUC and willing to assist us in the rescue operation."
Ferrari said, "The DEA has its own discipline, and their contacts in Colombia are confidential informants internally; they won't take the risk of providing us with informants for the sake of a private defense company, and besides, Ivan is a Russian Mafia. Their own organization isn't even dealing with it, so the DEA helping us? Impossible! The fact that they can provide us with this intelligence is already a big favor."
As he said this, Ferrari seed to realize that appearing too indifferent might give Song Heping the wrong impression, especially since he usually didn't get along with the cook, so he added, "It's not that I don't want to help. Look at the Russian Mafia—they haven't even responded. It's obvious Ivan went to Colombia without their organization's consent; otherwise, we wouldn't be in this situation."
"Ferrari, I have no misunderstanding about you; I know you've done your best," Song Heping said.
Ferrari was always a sensible and wise person, which went along well with Song Heping's preferences.
"Nevertheless, now that things have co to this point, if we don't address it, I'm afraid the cook really might cause so trouble, you know..." he said, his gaze drifting sporadically in the direction of the other offices.
Smart people never need too much explanation.
Ferrari naturally understood what Song Heping was worried about.
Not helping the cook would firstly cause resentnt on his part, as the company developed on the foundation of his created team. As a founder, not receiving due respect would likely cause issues in his mind.
Secondly, considering the cook's impulsive nature, if the issue remained unresolved, he would certainly go to Colombia and would undoubtedly bring White Bear and his wife along with Grizzly.
All of these were old friends who had followed him from Russia to make their mark on this side, and even if they knew that Song Heping's judgnt was correct, they would still follow the chef to South Arica out of respect for the friendship.
This could easily lead to their annihilation.
This was the last thing Song Heping wanted to see.
"Ferrari, aside from your friends at the DEA, is there any other way to find those people over there?"
"In South Arica, apart from the Aricans and so countries' secret intelligence agencies, who would dare to oppose these anti-governnt ard forces?"
Ferrari laughed helplessly, "You should know, even drug lords have to be wary of such a formidable anti-governnt army. Didn't you see that the batch of goods we passed on through Ivan was sold to a drug trafficking group, and the AUC intercepted and devoured it without even blinking?"
"That's true..." Song Heping also chuckled bitterly: "Intelligence reports say the AUC's ard force has reached more than 30,000, holy shit, more than 30,000..."
Speaking of this, he couldn't help but shake his head.
An ard force of more than 30,000 that had been fighting a guerrilla war against the governnt army in the tropical rainforest for years.
Song Heping did so quick ntal calculations—if he were to airlift the entire staff of his company to Colombia, they still wouldn't be enough to fill the gaps between the AUC's teeth.
If they were to launch a decapitation strike, there would also have to be strong logistical and intelligence support, and precise information on the whereabouts of the opposing leader or Ivan's detention would be needed to act or to effect a rescue.
Otherwise, it was all groping in the dark.
In South Arica, only the Aricans could accomplish these things.
Did he need to go ask Peter for help?
"I just rembered soone!"
Just as Song Heping felt helpless, Ferrari suddenly beca a bit excited.
"He might be able to help us."
"Who?" Song Heping, hearing that soone could help, quickly pressed Ferrari, "Tell ! As long as it helps us, the reward can be negotiated!"
Ferrari said, "But this guy..."
His face showed difficulty.
"Asking him for a favor isn't just a matter of money."
"What, then?" Song Heping chuckled, "He also wants won?"
Ferrari said, "That's not it, but this guy has a rule; when you ask him for a favor, in addition to paying, you also owe him a favor. When he needs it, he'll co to collect, just like a debt."
"A favor after all, it should be," Song Heping said.
Ferrari chuckled: "His favors are not that simple. Why do you think he has such strong intelligence capabilities and operational capacity? Do you think the people who seek his help are benevolent, and not a single one dares not to repay the favor?"
Song Heping was taken aback.
Oh crap!
He secretly thought that Ferrari made a good point!
Logically, those seeking this man's help were no ordinary people; how did he collect on the favors they owed?
The only reason could be that if he dared let others owe him, he ensured he had the capacity to collect.
"Is his favor his source of intelligence?" Song Heping couldn't help but inquire.
"That's right," Ferrari said: "This guy's na is Chris Chen, he's known in the trade as Lao Yinbi, and he's Chinese too. You have to go to the Dark Web to find him; everyone in the trade knows this person, but no one will seek his help until they are desperate, because not only does he charge a high price, but the favors owed are too difficult to repay. It's said that the favor and the help he provides are of equal difficulty and value. You get what I an?"
"You an, if he provides support this ti to help us rescue Ivan from the AUC, then when it's ti to repay the favor, it will at least involve facing an opponent of the sa caliber as the AUC?"
"More or less," Ferrari said, "Are you sure you want to find him?"
After pacing around the office for a while, Song Heping stopped and asked Ferrari, "What kind of assistance would he offer? He can't expect to owe him such a big favor just on the basis of providing information, right?"
"It won't be just that," Ferrari said. "As for the specific assistance, you can arrange a eting and talk about it. If you find it worthwhile, then you can finalize the agreent. The guy has professional ethics and would never force a deal."
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