This was Song Heping's first time wearing an Arabic robe and donning a headscarf.
To enter Gaiala City without drawing attention, he even applied makeup and attached a big beard to his face.
The thing was glued on with adhesive.
Still not feeling assured, he perched a pair of cheap sunglasses on the bridge of his nose.
Given the circumstances, he had to make do.
But a plaster that draws pus is a good plaster and now, unless someone looked closely, Song Heping was just a middle-aged Illiguo uncle.
For this trip to Gaiala City, Song Heping decided to bring only Samir with him.
Although the cooks strongly opposed it, thinking that Song Heping was taking too much of a risk by doing so, Song Heping had made up his mind to take only one person with him.
If you're afraid of danger, then don't engage in reconnaissance.
The two of them didn't take the SUV either.
That vehicle wasn't something ordinary people could afford to drive; to be more grounded, they temporarily got an old, battered Nissan pickup from Haymour.
The vehicle was already twenty years old, its body riddled with rust and poorly maintained, a manual transmission that probably had a worn gearbox; shifting gears at slightly the wrong speed would result in a grating screech, as if the gears were about to snap at any second.
The two hid the assault rifles and most of their weapons under the seats of the pickup and carried only pistols, concealed underneath their spacious robes.
From Sherbut to Gaiala was only 80 kilometers, but the atmosphere along the way was palpably tense, with checkpoints set up by Country M's soldiers everywhere.
The fight in Mosul hadn't ended for a day, making the US Army in this northwest area particularly on edge. To prevent supplies from reaching Mosul, they had closed off all roads within a hundred kilometers of Mosul.
Fortunately, "Musician" Defense was a legitimate PMC company, and they had a military contract with the US forces stationed in Country M.
The situation was very delicate.
The reason Song Heping had taken on this contract at all costs lay right here.
Once you receive such a military contract, it's like being included in a whitelist, with a pass issued by the US Army that allows you to move freely in the northwest region.
Sometimes this kind of convenience simply can't be bought with money.
So the journey was relatively smooth, and they managed to get through several checkpoints without any issues.
Looking at the soldiers from Country M on the road, Song Heping found the situation somewhat ironic.
The CIA went to great lengths to find the gold, yet they didn't realize that the gold was actually right under their noses.
It was in Gaiala City, inside their encirclement.
Perhaps this was why both Haymour and Avanti were so anxious to act immediately.
The resistance forces in Mosul probably wouldn't hold out much longer, and the US Army would eventually gain full control of the city.
Once Mosul fell, it would mean that the US Army had completed control over most of the territory, and any remaining resistance could only be sporadic attacks. Sooner or later, Gaiala would also be swept clean, and the Suicide Squad hiding there would surely have a hard time remaining undetected, with the gold bound to be discovered sooner or later.
Ferrari sold himself last night to get a layout diagram.
The factory site covered a large area; after all, land over there was cheap.
A full 50,000 square meters, with a total of twelve buildings inside, including office buildings, workshops, warehouses, and so on.
There were four entrances and exits in total, with the main gate being the most spacious. The back door could only accommodate the passage of a truck, while the small doors on the south and north sides were only for personnel access and difficult for vehicles to pass through.
The entire factory area was encircled by a two-meter-high wall, making it a sealed area. If Haymour's information was correct and the gold was in the basement of the main office building, then the main building would definitely be a focal point of defense.
Song Heping had to ascertain the entire factory area's troop deployment and personnel distribution.
Including how many patrolmen at night, what the security measures were, how the firepower was arranged, and the locations of the watchtowers and sentry posts, especially the hidden posts.
In defense of such a facility, positioning watchtowers at high points is almost something every commander would do; if Song Heping were a Commander of the Suicide Squad, he would make the same move.
Sealed areas are the easiest to defend. Although they can't withstand attacks by armored units, they are more than enough to fend off light infantry.
If some strong fire points were placed at the critical parts of the factory area, then storming in would be very difficult.
Now, the problem facing Song Heping was not tactical, but one of manpower.
His two platoons were responsible for the defense of two oilfields and a water supply station, and it was impossible to allocate personnel.
Even if he could allocate personnel, Song Heping would not use these local mercenaries.
Not a whisper of this matter could be leaked.
But without the local mercenaries, the people he could mobilize were down to nine.
Nine people attacking a factory defended by 300.
Even for a tactical expert like Song Heping, this was a headache.
By ten o'clock in the morning, the two finally entered Gaiala City in their pickup.
Before entering the suburbs, Song Heping noticed an advance camp set up by the US Army just outside the city. After a glance, it seemed to be a mechanized infantry battalion.
Since Gaiala City was to the southeast of Mosul, only sixty kilometers away, and served as a throat to this region, the US Army had deployed troops here to control the traffic supply line into Mosul, preventing other armed organizations from reinforcing the area.
The US Army's base was only 5 kilometers from the city center. Hurriedly, Song Heping took out the map and checked the distance.
He found that the fireproof factory was only 7 kilometers away from this mechanized battalion's camp.
Too close.