The General said, "The Joint Chiefs of Staff have assessed that we cannot win in two days. Looking at the current situation, all ELN militants have entered the jungle to wage guerrilla warfare. It will take at least a month to eliminate them, and we no longer have ti. There is news that the Senate Military Committee intends to hold a hearing on this matter. If we do not cancel the operation promptly, it will be troubleso later."
"The Military Committee!?" Colonel Lai De was shocked. "How did they respond so fast!?"
"That's reality," the General said. "The order to stop the operation has been issued. Within 24 hours, all our personnel will retreat from the operation, and the Colombian Governnt Army will also cease their activities. You will follow this narrative during the press conference."
"But..."
Colonel Lai De felt sothing was amiss.
Since when had the Senate Military Committee been so responsive? The news had only broken less than three days ago, and they were already preparing to question the Departnt of Defense (DOD)?
By this ti, Lai De also understood that the operation could no longer proceed.
The Senate Military Committee held great power because they controlled the annual defense budget allocation.
If it was proven that the operation cooperated with a militant force like the AUC, which had murky ties to drug traffickers, heads would roll within the DOD.
"Alright..."
Colonel Lai De knew it was futile to say more.
Whether the operation was terminated or not was not his responsibility; he was rely a spokesperson, a mouthpiece.
"I'll go prepare the materials for the press conference."
He stood up, saluted, and left.
Unbeknownst to Song Heping, all of this was happening within the Pentagon.
At the mont, he was squatting next to the body of a CCOPE Special Forces mber, searching for anything useful on the corpse.
Searching bodies was sothing any combatant would do.
Particularly now, replenishing ammunition and food from a body was very helpful.
For safety's sake, the radios were silent, and he had even turned off his satellite phone. Arican electronic surveillance technology was undoubtedly formidable, and one could not be careless and expose their whereabouts.
"They are from AGLAN."
Morins ca over and threw an ID card on the ground.
Song Heping glanced at it.
It was a soldier's ID from the AGLAN forces.
"I expected as much. Thankfully, it's not the Special Forces of the US Army; otherwise, it wouldn't have been easy to deal with."
Song Heping took the hand grenades and ammunition from the body, raided the first aid kit, and finally began to search through the tactical backpack, where he found a Claymore mine.
"This is nice..."
He was pleased with the find.
In jungle warfare, mines and hand grenades like these were very useful for setting traps.
"Tell the others to check their backpacks; collect any explosives and mines they find. We don't know how long we'll have to stay in the mountains."
Morins stood by. After a while, he said in a low voice, "Song, I'm sorry for getting you involved in this."
Song Heping was taken aback but then chuckled. "Taking people's money to do their dirty work. I have professional ethics, don't worry."
Morins said, "We're good buddies."
Song Heping laughed again. "If this fight goes well, make sure you pay the rest of my fee quickly—it's the least you could do to treat as a buddy."
After saying that, he looked around and said, "Let's go deeper into the mountains. Do you have a camp around here?"
Morins responded, "Not a camp, but about 40 kiloters from here, there's a small village on a mountain road, with a handful of families. We can spend the night there, lay low."
"It's ti."
Song Heping glanced at his watch, gestured to the radio operator to co over, and had him turn on the radio to contact the other troops.
"Instantly inform the combat troops in the Ta Region, the south, and the north that the current situation is highly unfavorable for us, but ti is on our side. Spread out into the jungle areas—tactics should aim to delay, avoiding direct confrontation. As for how to fight it out, that's not my concern; surviving is a victory."
"That's it?" Morins saw that Song Heping had issued all the combat instructions in just one sentence and asked with so concern, "Aren't you going to give them more detailed directions on the map about where to go and how to fight?"
"Fight what!"
Song Heping snapped, "Micro-managent at this stage? That's asking everyone to dig their own graves. Morins, you'd better learn this; our entire defensive area is in disarray, and just because we are the highest command does not an we understand the battlefield better than the commanders below. Let them use their own brains, free up their hands and get to work. The people in command of these areas are the cadre you sent to for training; I have already taught all the basics, and now it's up to them to grasp the essence of the tactics."
Morins was still uneasy.
Song Heping continued, "Consider this an assessnt to sift out the talented commanders for you. Use well those who show results in this operation."
Morins asked, "What if they aren't up to standard?"
Song Heping shrugged easily. "Simple: they'll go et their maker."
Having said that, he pulled out his satellite phone and called soone nad Fei Er, first discussing the pressure he currently faced and then telling him that, for safety reasons, his phone would only be on for five minutes every hour—the rest of the ti, his communications would be cut off.
Fei Er had good news for Song Heping.
"Song, Nancy stirred things up in Congress. They seem to be gearing up for a hearing to interrogate this military operation in Colombia. If that's true, the big shots at DOD will surely make their final decision within two days."
Song Heping guessed this was Angel's handiwork, so he asked Fei Er, "What are the chances they will cancel the operation?"
"High chances," Fei Er replied. "The Military Committee is no small-ti editor like ; once they convene such a eting, it is akin to a public tribunal. They must answer each question honestly, and aside from the consequences they might face, just being strung up on TV for public ridicule is embarrassing enough."
"How much longer until the operations here cease?"
"No more than two days, possibly even before the press conference tomorrow," answered Fei Er. "Song, good luck. If you can hold out for the next day or two, you might just be saved."
"Let's hope so."
Song Heping checked the ti again; he had to be careful, limiting communications to less than five minutes each ti. After ending a call, he needed to move from the spot imdiately, or he might attract a bombing.
"I've got to cut our conversation short. I estimate we're already monitored here, and damn it, the US military has sent electronic surveillance planes over, making extra jittery."
"Take care of yourself."
After ending the call, Song Heping imdiately shut off his satellite phone and waved his hand. "Let's move out, leave this place, and move quickly!"
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