Song Heping was intercepted and searched by the military at Asab Port, but in the end, news of his safe and uneventful departure reached Illiguo.
The CIA station chief, Simon, was naturally furious.
He couldn't understand how, with the formidable capabilities of the CIA, they still couldn't kill an arms dealer.
Even more bizarre, other than the Somali Pirates that were counter-killed by Song Heping, there was unexpectedly no SA-9 missile system on the "Man Tianxing."
This was the most shocking revelation.
When ISA relayed the news to the US Army headquarters in Eritrea, Peter, after reading the message, couldn't help but ask the person next to him, "Are you sure there's no SA-9 missile system on the ship?"
"Certain," his subordinate gave a very affirmative answer. "After inspecting Song Heping's three containers, the military guarded 'Man Tianxing' during the unloading, checked all the containers, and came up empty-handed."
Peter's eyes lit up, a smirk inevitably appearing on his lips as he shook his head while sitting there, "This Song, he really is something... Strange, where did those three SA-9s go?"
While several intelligence agencies were speculating about the whereabouts of Song Heping's three SA-9 missiles, Song Heping had just entered a hotel room in the capital of Eritrea, Asmara.
After inspecting the room and locking the door, Song sat on the sofa, then took out a satellite phone and sent a message to Ferrari: "I have arrived safely, everything as usual."
Before long, Ferrari replied with a message: "Understood."
Song Heping turned around, took out a new phone from his backpack, inserted a SIM card, and then turned it on.
Soon, the phone booted up.
Song Heping checked the signal, then placed it on the bedside table.
He glanced at his watch, then took out a hamburger and a bottle of mineral water he had just bought downstairs, and sat at the table to hungrily devour his meal.
He was being watched.
There was no doubt about it.
The people wanting to put him to death were definitely the intelligence agencies.
Apart from the CIA, it now seemed even Africa was unsafe; maybe even the French were after him.
Song Heping was not afraid.
On the contrary, he was somewhat excited.
To have the opportunity to contend with these formidable players in his life, he felt it was well worth it.
The recent thrilling encounters had stirred his combative spirit. In fact, every soldier from the Special Forces has a strong fighting spirit, an attribute assessed during selection. Those with determination and fighting spirit would persevere through adversity, never giving up until their goals were achieved.
Outsmarting those who wanted him dead brought more joy to Song Heping than anything else in the world.
After finishing his meal, he went to bed and set his alarm clock.
There were still three hours until the agreed time.
At eight in the evening, barring any unforeseen events, he would receive a call from Salafi's contact, Jimado.
Perhaps he was truly exhausted, for Song Heping quickly fell into a deep sleep.
In his dreams, he saw his parents, remembered going to the market with his father in the village, working in the fields with his mother, the excitement he felt when his younger siblings were admitted to university, and his stern drill instructor throwing shock bombs into his room every morning, yelling, "You've got five minutes, grab your stuff and get out!"
He didn't know how long he slept, but Song Heping was abruptly awakened from his sleep and sat up startled.
His forehead was drenched in sweat.
Gazing at the table, the electronic watch alarm was blaring cheerfully.
He reached out to turn off the alarm and looked around the room.
It was now 7:30 in the evening; aside from the light in the bathroom door, the room was dark.
He got up, tiptoed toward the bathroom.
Somehow, he had developed a way of walking quietly and liked to move with a light step.
After taking a quick cold shower in the shower room, Song Heping returned to the bed, got dressed, and the new phone on the bedside table suddenly rang.
He checked the number; it was Jimado calling.
He pressed the answer key and put the handset to his ear.
"Mr. Song, you were too conspicuous at Asab Port," came the voice.
"Jimado?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Someone leaked information; I've changed the plan for this deal."
"I've heard that the military combed through the entire ship at the dock and didn't find the SA-9. Are you sure you brought the merchandise?"
"You just need to have the money ready; don't worry about the rest. I've just changed the plan, but you will still get the merchandise," Song replied.
"You're not going to explain?"
"It's not convenient to talk over the phone, let's discuss when we meet."
"Okay."
Jimado said, "Ten minutes from now, you go downstairs, turn right after leaving the hotel, and keep walking straight. I'll give you directions in real-time."
"Sounds very mysterious," Song Heping was tempted to tease this contact person.