Northwest Illiguo, Badi Town.
"That's a smoke bomb!"
Rod put down the satellite phone, his face suddenly darker than the bottom of a pot.
"We've all been played! Samir's forces never intended to attack here, now I understand…"
He seemed to have discovered a major secret.
"The 'People's Power' was just a feint before—they led us here! Damn it! That guy surnamed Song is too cunning!"
After saying this, Rod turned and waved his hand: "Withdraw! Emergency retreat to Siria!"
Ten minutes later, Ahmair stood in the command post staring at the empty table in amazement.
The Americans left as soon as they said they would, not showing him even the slightest respect.
"Damn American pigs! They just left like that!"
The subordinates standing on both sides exchanged uneasy glances, unsure how to respond.
From Badi Town to the border didn't actually take much time.
After all, it was less than thirty kilometers away.
Rod received a call saying Baghdadi's hidden location in Siria had been discovered, and Song Heping was leading the attack, attempting to capture Baghdadi.
For the CIA, collaboration with Baghdadi was something that absolutely couldn't be exposed.
Song Heping's combat capabilities were well-known to the people at the Secret Action Department, to the members of the "Watcher" unit, and to Rod.
He had no doubt Song Heping could capture Baghdadi—or at least, he didn't yet know that there was another secret tactical unit sent by the "Satan" organization already deployed there, engaging in a fierce fight with Song Heping.
What Rod didn't know was that Song Heping had initially suffered significant losses.
The black-clad unit from the "Satan" organization was actually a clever maneuver by Deputy Director Pence, who secretly connected with Campbell to issue the orders.
The goal was to protect Baghdadi.
It was meant to be a contingency strategy, and there was nothing wrong with it in conception.
Unfortunately, Pence did not coordinate with Kelly or communicate effectively, instead privately striking a deal with Campbell.
People who worked in intelligence and secret operations often had this habit—they liked making things airtight and foolproof.
But Pence never anticipated that his mistake would bring disaster to the "Watchers."
At the Urmia Base on the Persian Border, two Mi-17 helicopters descended slowly onto the training grounds, their navigation lights gleaming in the night.
Song Heping stepped out of the helicopter, personally greeted by Avanti.
However, Song Heping had no time to acknowledge him. Instead, he turned and commanded the people inside the helicopter: "Quick, carry the wounded down!"
The severely injured were carried out one by one from inside the helicopter.
Medical personnel who had been waiting on scene pushed stretchers forward to take the wounded away. Standing at the edge of the helicopter cabin, Song Heping watched as each injured person was carried out, until the bodies of the dead began to be brought down.
One…
Two…
Three…
Four…
Five…
"Wait."
He suddenly stopped two special operations soldiers.
Then walked over to one of the body bags.
Everyone froze in place, as if the world had paused.
Song Heping unzipped the body bag, revealing a familiar face: Gabri.
The special operations commander Song Heping had high hopes for was now just a lifeless corpse—his face pale, eyes closed, a bullet hole visible below his throat.
"Sigh…"
At the end of the day, Song Heping could only let out a long sigh.
Such an outcome for a mercenary seemed all too normal.
Yet the losses tonight were truly staggering.
Since departing from Venezuela, Song Heping had taken two special operations platoons with him.
These two platoons were meticulously trained over the course of a whole year, the earliest established and most mature units.
They were the backbone of "Musician" Defense's future combat capabilities and the pool from which future key personnel would be cultivated.
Tonight, nearly half were lost.
Especially losing someone as valuable as Gabri—Song Heping's anger burned silently alongside his deep self-recrimination.
"Avanti, I need a word with you."