The person who suddenly appeared was none other than the deputy commander of Seal Team, who was also acting as the team leader, Lieutenant Mist.
"Song, what are you spacing out about here all alone?"
On the evening of the fourth day, as Song Heping sat at the entrance of the tent looking at the horizon and pondering how to turn the situation around, Mist suddenly appeared behind him.
"Have a seat."
Song Heping had a good impression of Mist, who at least wasn't as arrogant as Vincent, so he politely invited him to sit down.
It was clear that Mist was also in a foul mood.
The entire Mosul operation was scheduled to last seven days.
Five days had already passed.
But the Seal Team seemed to have made no further progress.
The top-ranking sniper they called the "Mosul Reaper" hadn't shown up in the past few days.
The advancements of both Sword Camp and Warrior Camp were routine at best. The setbacks from the first two days had demoralized the troops, and their resistance had not been as fierce as on the first day, which actually slowed down their pace.
So far, the clearance mission of Warrior Camp had not met expectations at all; although Song Heping didn't have the combat reports, he estimated it vaguely and guessed they had probably achieved less than half their goal.
The soldiers seemed to be merely clocking in and out, starting in the morning, pulling back on time, and withdrawing completely from Mosul by evening.
In the past few days, Major Lonnie had been as cautious as an old tortoise, never taking command up front without confirming safety first, and never stepping out of his vehicle, as if daring anyone to pierce the armor with a sniper rifle and take him down.
Of course, not everyone had the same mindset as Major Lonnie.
With just one look at Mist, Song Heping guessed right away—he was probably here to discuss a collaboration.
"Want one?"
Song Heping picked up a Coke from the bucket beside his foot and handed it over.
Mist thought about it, but accepted it anyway.
He opened the can, took a couple of sips, but hesitated before speaking.
Song Heping did not break the silence either; after all, if you don't speak, I won't ask—we'll just enjoy our Cokes together.
"Ah..."
Mist nodded with a smile.
"There are only two days left until the operation ends."
"Yeah," Song Heping chuckled silently in response, then shut his mouth again.
Mist quickly finished one can of Coke.
Song Heping handed him another.
He opened it and continued drinking.
Song Heping thought to himself, just hold it in, let's see how many Cokes you can drink without speaking.
The two continued drinking Coke in silence.
As the second can of Coke was consumed, Mist couldn't hold back any longer.
"Song, I heard that you've been devising tactics to deal with the 'Hunter' recently?"
"Oh really?" Song Heping glanced sidewards at Mist and asked with a smile, "How did you know about that?"
Mist said, "My people said you've been drawing something there every day, looks like it's a map of Mosul."
Song Heping responded, "I was just doodling."
Mist, not expecting Song Heping to say that, didn't immediately know how to continue.
Seeing his awkwardness, Song Heping added, "I'm just teasing you, yes, I was drawing a map of Mosul."
Mist said, "I've heard that you're a strategic mastermind."
With a hint of sarcasm, Song Heping said, "That's just rumor. If I really were that impressive, why would your Seal Team look down on us?"
Mist knew this was Song Heping holding a grudge over past events,
especially Vincent's deliberate naming of Song's team as the "Nanny" Squad instead of the "Musician" Squad.
It was a blatant humiliation.
"Alright..." Mist knew he won't be able to change anything today without showing some sincerity. With only two days left, he needed to find a breakthrough, or else this mission would disgrace the Seal Team.
If they couldn't handle a sniper from a Resistance Organization, they couldn't call themselves a top-tier Special Forces unit.
"I apologize for the past incident."
Seeing Mist's sincere attitude, Song Heping decided not to make it tough for him, frankly saying, "I did want to help you guys out, but Captain Vincent seems to have a bias against us. Since that's the case, I'd rather not interfere."
He paused slightly then continued, "But you're right, I have indeed been planning an operation against the 'Hunter', but I need a lot of intelligence, which I've tried to get from Major Lonnie without success. So, I had to let it go. You guys think you're so great, well, let's see you handle it. I won't meddle. Even if we don't complete the mission and lose out on the money, it's just one million dollars. Right now, I have contracts with two large oil fields in Illiguo that will keep us going, so I'm not waiting on this one million to pay my people."
He deliberately downplayed the importance of this contract to "Musician" Defense, to ensure Mist and his team's full cooperation, he had to display the right attitude—it's you who care, not us.
"What intelligence do you need?"
Mist was quite moved; for days he'd been racking his brain without any clever plan, and with only two days left before the operation ended, that meant his small unit had paid a price of one dead and one injured, yet achieved nothing.