Song Heping stopped speaking.
He knew that anything he said would be superfluous.
They were all adults, entitled to make their own choices.
And once a choice is made, it's best for others not to interfere with the consequences, for it's neither beneficial nor necessary.
He unscrewed the cap of the mineral water bottle and took a hard gulp.
The locally produced mineral water carried the unique earthy taste of the desert and the flavor of the plastic container, sliding down his parched throat.
Utekin whispered, "We weren't wrong about Isriye, remember, if it weren't for us, once 1515's people entered the city, don't mention fleeing, not a few would've been beheaded. We were saving lives, we were on the right side, weren't we?"
Song Heping looked into Utekin's eyes, which held the vicissitudes of a veteran.
He was silent for a few seconds, finally nodding, "Don't worry, I won't let these terrible things affect my mood."
His voice was deep and weary, avoiding the unanswerable question.
Right or wrong?
On this cursed land, where's the right or wrong anymore?
Those are things long soaked in blood, blurred beyond recognition.
An hour later, the micro-soldier communicator in Song Heping's ear emitted a faint static "zzz", followed by Jiang Feng's deliberately lowered, whisper-like voice:
"Vanguard calling Wolf's Den... Vanguard calling Wolf's Den... reached observation point. Visibility good. Target area... confirmed."
Song Heping's heart sank sharply, a foreboding instantly gripping him.
In Jiang Feng's voice, under that familiar calmness, there was actually a hint of suppressed tension.
That was definitely not just a reaction to seeing a large number of enemies.
"Wolf's Den received. What's the situation?"
Song Heping responded immediately, his voice equally low, as if the wind in the valley also held its breath.
On the other end of the communicator was a few seconds of suffocating silence, only faint static noise.
Then, Jiang Feng's voice sounded again, each word like being retrieved from an ice cellar:
"Deir Ezzor... completely surrounded. Iron barrel formation. Preliminary observations... East, South, and North of the city... at least three reinforced battalion-sized defensive rings. A large number of armed pickups, mortar positions... and..."
At this point, Jiang Feng's report stopped.
"And what?!"
Song Heping sensed something amiss, immediately pressing, "Quickly."
"Confirmed tank presence, T-55, at least three, deployed around the northern main road and the southern old airport perimeter... their purpose is probably shelling to suppress the airport, preventing air support..."
Song Heping's breath caught slightly.
Tanks!
Damn!
This is beyond the equipment level of ordinary militants!
Haven't seen in two years, has 1515 become so well-off?
Have they developed to such an extent?!
Underestimated that Buckdadi who almost got taken down by me back in the day.
Looks like 1515's investment this time is shockingly big!
Me and my mere dozen people, a few light armored vehicles, charging in would be like striking a stone with an egg.
Even with another battalion of Wake Na Mercenaries, breaking into the city would likely come at a horrific cost...
"Have you found an infiltration point?"
Song Heping continued to press on, his voice carrying a trace of urgency he hadn't even realized.
"Hard... very hard."
Jiang Feng's voice carried defeat and heaviness.
"The outer defense is very deep, both obvious and hidden sentries are dense, patrols overlap almost without a dead angle. To the west near the river, the riverbank is also controlled by them, with heavy machine guns installed. The only somewhat weak-looking area... is the edge area near Gelbi Mountain in the west, the terrain is complex there, with many abandoned buildings and collapsed factory zones. However..."
Jiang Feng's voice stopped, the communicator emitted a faint sound of clothing rubbing against rock, as if he adjusted his observation position.
Soon after, he spoke again:
"But... old sergeant, they're... killing people. Right in the open space in front of the abandoned factory in the city's western edge... executing... civilians."
The four words "executing civilians" shot into Song Heping's ears like four cold bullets. All the blood in his body seemed to instantly solidify.
Almost at the same moment, in the background noise on Jiang Feng's side of the communicator, extremely faintly but unmistakably clear, came a scream of anguish that was horrifically inhuman——
It was a woman's piercing shriek, filled with extreme pain and terror, in her last moment of life!
This sound, like a ghostly hook, instantly dredged up the memory Song Heping had just suppressed.
On the streets of Isriye, a mother holding her dead daughter, the heart-wrenching wailing she made, along with the distant yet clear dying scream coming through the communicator now, transcended the distance in space, resounding in his mind.