The following day at noon.
On the large training field of a military unit at the border.
A Zhi-8 helicopter landed on the helipad like a giant bird.
Song Heping stepped out of the fuselage and immediately spotted Duke of Thunder standing beside the pad.
"Duke Lei," he said, "where is my friend now?"
As soon as he entered the border area, Song Heping had gotten in touch with Duke of Thunder. The response team quickly arrived at the scene and whisked Song Heping away in a dedicated car, swiftly transferring him to this location by helicopter.
From the phone call, he learned that Grey Wolf was not dead.
But Song Heping could tell from Duke of Thunder's tone that, although Grey Wolf was alive, his injuries seemed quite serious.
"He's at the General Hospital of the Military District," Duke of Thunder replied. "Our people have already made arrangements."
Duke of Thunder saw Song Heping clad in filthy garb: covered with mud and camouflage paint, and some fresh bits of plant leaves clinging to his neck and other places.
"Do you want to arrange a place for you to rest and take a bath?"
"Bath, my ass!"
Song Heping was frantically worried.
"Can you arrange a plane right now to take me to the General Hospital?" he urged. "I want to see Grey Wolf."
"You're going to the General Hospital looking like this?" Duke of Thunder pointed out.
Song Heping glanced down at his gear and said, "What's the problem? Haven't they seen all sorts of things at the General Hospital before? Back when I was in the specials, didn't we send injured comrades there from live ammunition training?"
Duke of Thunder said, "But is it the same? Can't you see all the blood on you? And who brings in that many hand grenades and explosives? Besides, look at your teammates..."
Song Heping looked at Hunter and then at the bloodstains on his clothes, unconcerned, "We'll unload our gear on the plane. You deal with it. At the hospital, I'll have him cover his face with a camouflage scarf. Just get us inside."
"Fine then," relented Duke of Thunder, knowing it was impossible to stop Song Heping from seeing Grey Wolf. Judging by the man's determination, he seemed capable of anything for his friend: "Let's go, get on the plane right now."
So, Song Heping left one aircraft only to board another.
Once settled inside the cabin, he extended his hand to Duke of Thunder and asked, "Duke Lei, do you have any water?"
Duke of Thunder promptly fetched two bottles of mineral water, giving one each to Song Heping and Hunter.
"You did a good job. The mission was very successful. You disrupted a CIA operation and their control over a drug trafficking network. It will take them some time to rebuild, which will ease the pressure on our side when it comes to drug enforcement operations."
"It wasn't a complete success..."
After guzzling half a bottle, Song Heping couldn't help revisiting a sore point, "Duke Lei, what's wrong with your intelligence personnel? A team of Seals suddenly shows up, are you trying to screw me over?"
Duke of Thunder said, "Stop bringing that up. You knew the Seals were involved before you made your assault. We genuinely didn't receive that piece of information beforehand; it was a last-minute decision by them because the CIA planned to stir things up in Myanmar soon, making KIK attack another armed group to take over their territory, as the other group didn't accept their control. Joyce's visit to Batchai was impromptu; no one was aware in advance."
He paused before adding, "Your biggest mistake was not anticipating the Seals would use the entire platoon of the Civilian Military as a shield to catch us off guard, a tactical error on your part. It's a lesson for you, number 12; don't get cocky again, don't boast about being a tactical wonder-boy."
Stung by Duke of Thunder's rebuttal, Song Heping fell silent.
Indeed, it was his oversight that had led to this outcome.
But he still felt uncomfortable, so he retorted in a gruff tone, "Don't call me 12. Number 12 retired a long time ago."
Duke of Thunder remained silent.
After a while, Song Heping felt that his previous outburst was perhaps a bit too harsh. After all, Duke of Thunder was once his instructor; much of his own skill was learned from the man.
The age-old Chinese tradition holds that one should regard a teacher with the respect due to a father for life.
Even though this wasn't the practice in the military, it still wasn't right to talk back to Duke of Thunder like that.
"Duke Lei... I was just a bit anxious earlier... and I had an attitude problem. Please, don't hold it against me."
Lei Ming waved his hand, "It's not your fault. You're exhausted and worried about your men; I understand."
As he spoke, he suddenly paused, hesitated, and then said, "Your friend's injuries are quite serious..."
Song Heping took a deep breath, trying to compose himself.
He was indeed very tired.
When people are extremely exhausted, they can become irritable.
He tried to keep himself awake and calm.
"Tell me, how serious it is. I can take it."
Lei Ming said, "That bullet shattered his entire leg bone. The doctors have put it back together, but it will probably take half a year of recovery. Even if he does heal... he won't be able to return to the battlefield."
Song Heping and Hunter exchanged glances.
"I understand..." He forcefully rubbed his face with his hand.
"All of us mercenaries are prepared for this; as long as we're alive, that's all that matters. No one can be a mercenary for life; retirement is inevitable."
Hunter placed a hand on Song Heping's shoulder to comfort him, "Boss, actually, this isn't such a bad outcome. Even if Grey Wolf can't work on the front line, he can still go to the training department, right?"
Song Heping understood what Hunter meant.
People like Grey Wolf were unlikely to willingly leave the company's operational division to do logistical training.
But now, things were different.