"How do you know it won't work if you haven't tried?" Song Heping countered.
Chen was stunned, it took him a while to start laughing: "They say that there are many crazies in Unit 203, and it indeed isn't false."
Song Heping asked, "How do you know so much about Unit 203?"
Chen was stunned again.
He really wanted to slap himself. Just when he had eased the killing intent between them, he stirred up this matter again.
"I also heard about it."
He picked up his coffee cup, took a sip, and hid his embarrassnt.
"Let's get back to the point. With your current capabilities, even if I told you the location of the captivity, you wouldn't be able to rescue anyone."
He began to speak at length.
"...If it was an organization like the ELN, which is quite large but at least not in cahoots with the governnt army, that would be one thing. But this is the Ard Organization AUC. They have endless connections with the Colombian military. To confront them, you could even be targeted directly by the military. They could concoct any excuse to arrest you..."
"Wait a minute."
Song Heping interrupted Chen's narrative, "The things you're talking about, I'm well aware of. I don't need you to repeat them. I only want your intelligence. You set your price, I give the money. As for how to do it or whether it can be done, that's my business."
Chen was taken aback.
He suddenly realized he had been talking too much.
Being too talkative isn't a good habit.
"I've seen stubborn mules, but I've never seen anyone as stubborn as you," Chen sighed. "Fine, since you're a fellow townsman, I'll charge you five hundred thousand US dollars for this piece of intelligence and find out where that Ivan is hiding within one day. Besides, you've been told my rules by Ferrari, haven't you?"
"You've ntioned them. Besides money, it's also about a favor," Song Heping said. "What do you want to do for you?"
"I don't need anything at the mont, just your promise," Chen said. "When I need it, I will co to you for it."
"The difficulty won't exceed that of the AUC level?" Song Heping probed.
"That's correct," Chen confird very straightforwardly. "I have very strong professional ethics. In our line of work, reputation is critically important."
The two of them negotiated the terms and agreed on how to carry out the trade. Just as Chen was about to get up and leave,
"By the way, what would be the consequences if I owed you a favor and didn't repay it?"
Song Heping asked out of curiosity just before parting.
Chen smiled: "Young man, you'd better not harbor such thoughts, or you'll definitely regret it."
With that, he finished his coffee in one gulp, stood up, and left.
After walking a few steps, he suddenly turned back and said to Song Heping, "I have so connections in South Arica. If you really run into a problem you can't solve, you can co back to . To tell you the truth, I don't dislike you, kid. Rember—"
After saying that, he pointed his finger at Song Heping and then disappeared at the door.
Song Heping did not rush to leave but sat there and finished his coffee.
He was pondering over Chen's previous words.
It seed Chen still had resources he could sell.
Just waiting for him to quote a price again.
Suddenly, his mobile phone rang.
Song Heping picked it up and saw it was from Ferrari, so he pressed the answer button.
"How did the talk go?" Ferrari sounded relieved on the other end of the call, "Did he agree?"
"He agreed," Song Heping said.
Ferrari asked further, "How much is he charging?"
"Five hundred thousand US dollars," Song Heping said. "You prepare the money, he will give you the account, and then you transfer it to his account."
"Five hundred thousand? That's cheap?" Ferrari was surprised.
Song Heping was also surprised, "Five hundred thousand US dollars and you think it's cheap?! Has the cost of living gotten so high? Where I'm from, I could live a lifeti on five hundred thousand US dollars."
Ferrari's tone imdiately turned sarcastic, "You really haven't seen the world, have you? Do you think five hundred thousand is a lot for a piece of intelligence? You don't consider the cost behind providing this intelligence. You people really are..."
Song Heping said, "What? Is raising an informant that expensive?"
Ferrari scoffed, "Who do you think could provide this kind of information unless it cos from soone inside the AUC?"
Song Heping said, "Of course it would be soone from inside the AUC."
Ferrari corrected him, "And it's not just any AUC mber. Do you think you could get this level of intelligence from just anyone in that organization? It has to be soone significant to know the specific hiding locations. How much would it cost to bribe such a person? And once they receive the money, they absolutely need to flee. Otherwise, the whole family would be buried with them. The ruthlessness of the AUC is well known. You think there's no risk involved? It's like ; the other operational team mbers in the company think I have it easy, sitting in an air-conditioned room and just typing on a computer to get my share of the mission profits. But they don't see how many years I've had to work to have this capability today. Everybody notices the thief eating at, but nobody sees the thief taking a beating…"
He continued passionately.
"Furthermore, do you think Chen just paid money to acquire this informant? He definitely had to sort out a problem for this guy, that's the favor he talked about. Now you see why he wants people to owe him a favor besides giving him money? It's all about knowing other people's secrets and exchanging them. The more he knows, the more people want him dead. Chen agreeing to et you was a surprise to precisely for this reason."
Ferrari seed to get carried away, while Song Heping just silently listened, silently sipping his coffee...
He did not tell Ferrari about the content of their conversation.
It was a secret between him and Chen.
He felt that Chen's background was not simple, and he vaguely sensed it had to do with dostic matters.
Chen also realized that Song Heping was not simple.
But neither of them breached this thin layer of paper.
There are benefits to not tearing it.
So things are better left unclear.
"Ferrari, prepare the military maps of Colombia. After I return from Istanbul, I will imdiately make the relevant action plans. Get Chef and the others ready. If we can transport weapons over there, that's best. If we can't transport them, can you find a weapons dealer on-site to make a local purchase?"
"Leave that to ," Ferrari said. "I don't get paid for nothing by the company."
Song Heping thought Chen would only bring the intelligence by late the following day, but unexpectedly, Chen's call ca early the next morning.
After a brief negotiation, Song Heping received the information he wanted.
Upon opening it, he saw that the captivity site was located in a place called Latagua, on the fringes of the Amazon Jungle, near the border junction of southern Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru in Putu Mayo Province.
"Again the tri-border area..."
The AUC's captivity location was indeed cunningly chosen.
If their camp was attacked, they could retreat into the Amazon Jungle. In critical tis, they could even cross national borders through the jungle, rendering the pursuers helpless.
Ard organizations rarely occupy big cities; they engage in activities on border edges and rule over the mountains by resorting to guerrilla warfare.
The money was quickly transferred to the account designated by Chen. After receiving it, Chen sent a ssage to Song Heping—it was the number of a contact person.
"When you get there, you can contact this person, and he will provide you with the latest intelligence support."
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