"It's me."
Song Heping said in a deep voice.
The other end of the line fell into a deathly silence.
A few seconds later, a joyful cry came from the other end of the phone.
"Song?! Lao Song! God... you're alive! You're alive!"
Ferrari's voice suddenly rose, filled with the ecstasy of having survived the catastrophe and tremendous shock, incoherent, "Everyone outside is saying... they all said you were blown to pieces! Utekin and the others... couldn't be reached... I thought..."
The immense emotional upheaval made Ferrari's breathing heavy.
"I'm alive."
Song Heping interrupted him, his voice unusually calm, even somewhat cold.
Now was not the time for reminiscing.
Without meeting Jiang Feng and the others, nowhere was safe.
He glanced at the call duration blinking on the satellite phone screen, only five minutes.
"Listen to me, I'm currently in Gale Town. Get Jiang Feng and the others to come find me. I'll be waiting for them at the south of the town. Contact them immediately and have them come..."
He quickly reported the name of the dilapidated town where he and Sayina were at the moment,
"Understood! I'll contact them right away, tell them to go find you! God! They'll be overjoyed when they hear this news! You have no idea how everyone has been these past two days!"
Ferrari curbed his excitement instantly, his voice turning urgent and clear, swiftly repeating the meeting location.
"How are you now? Are you safe? Are you..."
"Temporarily safe. With a child. We'll talk when we meet."
Song Heping decisively said, "The time is almost up. See you at the meeting point in an hour."
"Understood! In an hour! You..." Ferrari's voice was full of worry and unfinished words.
"Click."
Song Heping didn't hesitate, directly pressing the hang-up button.
The cold busy tone instantly replaced Ferrari's anxious voice.
The lean man immediately stepped forward, swiftly putting away the satellite phone like guarding a treasure, locking it in a box.
Song Heping held Sayina, turned, and drove to the agreed meeting point outside the town—behind a few massive weathered rocks in the lee of a desolate sand dune.
He found a relatively clean shadow of the dune to sit down, placed Sayina beside him, and carefully wrapped her in his robe.
The little girl remained silent, hugging her knees, her small body curled into a ball, her chin resting on her knees, her empty eyes gazing at the distant outlines of the sand dunes as if her soul had drifted away from her little body.
Song Heping sat silently beside her, like an eternally unchanging rock.
He took out a water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and brought it to Sayina's mouth.
"Have some water." His voice was low.
Sayina had no reaction, her long eyelashes drooping like two withered butterfly wings.
Song Heping didn't insist, withdrew the water bottle, and took a sip himself.
At her age, experiencing such a huge change and mental trauma would lead to temporary autism, unwilling to communicate with people.
This is a normal phenomenon.
The cold water slipped through his dry and burning throat, bringing a momentary clarity.
He needed to think.
Faris's death, Sayina's trauma, the blood debt of the Freedom Alliance, the joint strangulation by the CIA and MI6...
Chaotic clues churned in his mind, the magma of anger rushing under cold reason seeking an outlet.
He closed his eyes, forcing himself into a state of almost ruthless deduction.
His fingers unconsciously moved over the hot sand, sketching a vague strategic map.
Priority one: stay alive, keep Sayina alive.
Next: gather strength.
Then...
His fingers drew a deep, angry mark in the sand—revenge.
The goal is clear: make the treacherous MI6, especially that high and mighty Lady M, pay an unbearable price.
She thought he was just a pawn.
Then it's time to show her he's a player at the edge of the chessboard.
Time passed second by second in the scorching air and dead silence.
Sayina finally seemed to run out of all strength, her small head nodding bit by bit, finally resting on Song Heping's arm, falling into a deep sleep.
Even in her sleep, her brow furrowed tightly, her small body jerking as if in fright now and then.