Challenging an ard force single-handedly is practically a joke, so Mrs. Song found it even harder to believe that it was true. Watching Lin Chuan's car slowly disappear, Mrs. Song had no choice but to turn around and leave.
Lin Chuan headed straight for the airport, making a beeline for Yen.
The situation was urgent, and circumstances changing by the second; no one knew what might happen next. If he didn't arrive at the battlefield promptly, nobody could guarantee Song Xiaojia's safety. Especially after Mrs. Song appeared before him, Lin Chuan beca intensely anxious. He was sowhat panic-stricken and even more fearful; he feared losing Song Xiaojia and dreaded the feeling of a life-and-death farewell.
Heading to Yen was Lin Chuan's most critical mission at the mont.
In that mont as he rushed out, Lin Chuan suddenly felt a common man's sense of duty weighing heavily upon his shoulders once again.
Lin Chuan was extrely anxious inside.
To reach Yen as soon as possible, Lin Chuan contacted Silver Fox. Upon learning that Lin Chuan needed to head to Yen, Silver Fox utilized all his connections dostically. A flight originally taking off from Shanghai and passing through Singapore to Yen was unexpectedly diverted to make a stop at Jiang Province International Airport. Lin Chuan, via the VIP passage, boarded the plane directly, and the over two hundred passengers on board were none the wiser that an extra person had suddenly joined their flight.
The plane flew to Changi Airport in Singapore, where it stopped for an hour and forty minutes before imdiately heading towards Sanaa.
Although Yen was engulfed in war, the local militants, in an effort to secure recognition from the United Nations, always kept the airport and main roads accessible. The airport was also manned by local ard forces. On the surface, they controlled the airport, but they did not control the flow of planes; instead, they kept the airspace route open.
After dozens of hours of bumpy air travel, Lin Chuan finally arrived in Sanaa.
Sanaa is a famous historical city with a rich cultural heritage, one of the earliest human settlents. It is said that Shem, the oldest son of Noah, once lived here. The earliest historical records of Sanaa can be traced back to the first century AD, and Sanaa was once the capital of the Himyarite Kingdom in the sixth century. Historically, Sanaa was a hub for traffic on the Arab Peninsula, bustling with traders. It was under the rule of Arab Persia and the Osman Turkish Empire at different tis. Due to human and natural disasters, the city had been destroyed and rebuilt multiple tis. After the Yen Revolution in 1962, Sanaa was established as the capital of North Yen; in May 1990, with the unification of North and South Yen, Sanaa beca the capital of the unified Yen Republic.
Regrettably, the peace did not last long. Not much later, Yen once again plunged into dostic chaos, with never-ending civil unrest. The conflict between ard militant groups and governnt forces persisted, bringing suffering to the civilian population and destroying many ancient cultural edifices.
Descending from the plane, Lin Chuan caught the faint whiff of gunpowder in the air. Upon scenting this gunpowder, his entire body shuddered. It was as if wolves had caught the scent of rotting flesh, and the blood inside him began to boil instantly. That trace scent of gunpowder always managed to stimulate the fervor within Lin Chuan.
"Ah, that familiar sll," Lin Chuan stood at the airport exit, inhaling deeply.
Having not been here for many years, Lin Chuan always felt as if a force was summoning him. This was not his first ti in Yen, nor would it be his last. In this place, so of his brothers had fallen in battle, and so enemies had been killed by his own hand.
Upon exiting the airport, darkness surrounded him. Going from day to night, after flying for more than ten hours, he had finally arrived at his destination. However, Lin Chuan was now all alone, without the support of a powerful intelligence team behind him, aning he had to rely on himself to gather information anew.
Luckily, Lin Chuan already had his plan.
Carrying his bag, he got into a small taxi. In Yen, the taxis were operated by aging n in tiny Tata cars with limited space, which drove with considerable bumpiness. Lin Chuan communicated nimbly in English with the driver and inford him of his destination.
The driver was steady, but as they entered the city, the roads beca bumpier, pockmarked with ammunition holes, and the car jostled crazily en route to the destination.
After getting out of the car, Lin Chuan left ten US Dollars and walked away.
The driver paused, picked up the ten dollars, inspected it several tis to confirm its authenticity, and clenched his fist excitedly. His joy was evident without words.
Standing among the low-rise buildings, Lin Chuan was watched warily by several dark-skinned n around him. Their eyes were filled with hostility. Years of warfare had made them more vigilant and defensive. Perhaps anything in these places could threaten their lives at a mont's notice, especially upon seeing soone of a different skin color, their guard went up even more.
Lin Chuan urgently shouted, "Muhammad, Muhammad!"
"Muhammad!" The dark-skinned n also began to shout.
Lin Chuan approached and said fluently in English, "God bless, I've finally arrived in Sanaa, I'm here to find Amu Xi."
"Amu Xi?" The n paused.
"Yes," Lin Chuan nodded hastily, saying, "The leader of Hezbollah."
"Oh, you've co at just the right ti," one of them smiled and then said, "Amu Xi happens to be here!"
"Oh, Allah bless us, this is fantastic." Lin Chuan was overjoyed and said, "Quick, take to him!"
Having said that, Lin Chuan hurriedly stuffed a ten-dollar US bill into their hands, and their eyes lit up with joy, all of them grinning from ear to ear. The leading dark-skinned man was wearing homade plastic bottle flip-flops that made a loud noise when he walked. All of them were wearing floral shorts and colorful vests.
The leader laughed and said, "Brother, you've co at the right ti. Amu Xi has just returned these past few days. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to et him."
"Mm-hmm," Lin Chuan nodded.
Before long, they skirted around a pile of ruins. This pile had once been a building more than ten stories high. Unfortunately, the building was destroyed by a rocket launcher during a conflict and had never been cleared away since both sides were too busy fighting. The ruins had turned into hiding spots for cats and dogs and a playground for children.
After circling around the pile of rubble, the group imdiately entered a low, dilapidated building with three floors and lights still on. A few ard dark-skinned warriors stood at the entrance, carrying carbines on their shoulders and bandoliers of bullets slung across their bodies.
The dark-skinned man leading Lin Chuan spoke a few words to the n at the door and was imdiately allowed to pass.
Turning his head, the man said, "Let's go, Amu Xi is about to leave soon."
Upon hearing this, Lin Chuan felt relieved that he had co at the right ti. Otherwise, his trip might have been in vain. With Amu Xi's help, he could at least get so clues about Song Xiaojia. Amu Xi was part of the local ard forces and often engaged in fierce confrontations with governnt troops.
They went up to the third floor and stopped in front of a room.
The man said, "Brother, I can only take you this far. Go in by yourself."
Lin Chuan looked up at the door, then knocked. A rough male voice ca from inside. Although Lin Chuan couldn't understand it, the general aning was clear. He imdiately pushed the door open and went inside.
The room was a ss, with boxes of grenade launchers and so light weapons stacked in a corner.
The man was sitting at a table, sorting sothing. When he suddenly saw a man with an unusual skin tone walk in, he was taken aback. The man caught a glimpse of Lin Chuan and, astonished, exclaid, "My God, it's actually... actually you?"
"Heh heh, Amu Xi, long ti no see, how have you been?" Lin Chuan smiled.
The man before him was dressed in white robes and had a traditional Arab headdress wrapped around his head, a typical Muslim believer. He excitedly walked towards Lin Chuan and gave him a big hug, saying, "Allah bless you, you've appeared before again. I've had no news from you and thought you might be dead?"
"Don't worry, I won't die that easily!" Lin Chuan grinned.
"What brings you to this ti?" asked Amu Xi curiously.
"I'm seeking so information," said Lin Chuan.
"Oh? What information?" Amu Xi asked curiously.
"I heard that in your recent clash with the governnt troops, you captured a group of international peacekeepers?" Lin Chuan inquired with curiosity.
Amu Xi looked at Lin Chuan with a wary face and said, "You wouldn't happen to be here to rescue those people, would you? Because if that's the case, I can't help you!"
"No, I'm here to rescue just one person," Lin Chuan said quickly.
"Then I can't help you either," Amu Xi said with regret. "Although I'd like to help you, I'm truly powerless. After all, those hostages are not in my hands; they've been taken away by Ramsey, who plans to exchange them for so military funding."
"Is that so?" Lin Chuan frowned.
Ramsey was the leader of the largest local ard force. It was said that he instigated the recent conflict, using his powerful military forces to coerce various other local ard groups to rebel alongside him. This battle reportedly resulted in the deaths of over a thousand people, not to ntion the capture of nurous tourists, and even escalated to a confrontation with the United Nations peacekeeping police, ultimately killing many and taking several officers prisoner.
"Yes," nodded Amu Xi. "So, it's no use coming to ; unless you go to Ramsey."
Lin Chuan sighed and said, "As you know, I have a conflict with Ramsey, so even if I go to him, it'd be no use. Who knows, things might even get worse."
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