[Urban] The End of Dawn (Complete) - 10-12

A

dozen minutes later, Lu Zhe came out. He didn't look like he'd been in a fight. Had Hong Shitai been the one getting beaten up?

He mustered his courage and followed, feeling a pang of guilt towards Lu Zhe. He'd been keeping things from him, and now that things were out in the open, he should tell him.

"Brother Lu..."

"Hmm?"

Lu Zhe hadn't even noticed Bai Peng's arrival.

"Just now..."

Bai Peng pointed to Hong Shitai's doorway, "you and him..."

"It's nothing...it's nothing."

Lu Zhe's expression was calm, unusually so. "Don't tell anyone."

"I know. Actually, I...I saw it that day..."

"What did you see?"

"It's...it's Hong Shitai and his wife..."

Bai Peng stammered, unsure how to express himself. But he felt Lu Zhe should understand.

Lu Zhe glanced at Bai Peng, genuinely surprised to find a witness. Hong Shitai claimed no one else knew, but this little brat Bai Peng had actually seen it. Lu Zhe didn't care how he saw it; luckily, Bai Peng had come and told him.

"Besides you, who else saw it?"

"No one else, just me. Brother Lu, I didn't mean to, I just happened that day..."

Bai Peng hurriedly explained, not wanting to be seen as a peeping tom.

"It's okay, don't tell anyone."

Lu Zhe interrupted him. He didn't want to be bothered by this anymore, and he didn't want anyone to bring it up again. He just wanted to forget about it completely.

"I know, I won't tell even if you kill me."

Bai Peng was curious how Lu Zhe would handle the situation, but he was somewhat disappointed to find Lu Zhe's expression very calm, as if he wasn't planning on making a big fuss.

"Alright, go do your thing."

Lu Zhe waved his hand. Bai Peng stared at him blankly for a couple of seconds, muttered to himself, and left.

Lu Zhe stood there, letting out a long sigh. He forcibly suppressed his anger. Hong Shitai was right; this was their territory. What could a foreigner like himself do here? He'd swallow his pride and bear the pain; at least he understood the situation and hadn't acted like a fool. Su Chen had sold her body to save him, so what right did he have to be angry? A grown man having to make his wife sell her body to save his life—what right did he have to be angry? He had no face to live! How much determination and pain and humiliation must Su Chen have endured to make such a decision? He was already incredibly kind for letting her suffer such injustice without divorcing him.

He'd pretend this never happened; it was his own fault for being so weak. A weak man can't keep his wife.

This was an age-old truth.

He had only himself to blame; there was no room for blaming anyone else.

Lu Zhe leaned against the wall in anguish, his lips trembling slightly, secretly wiping his eyes.

Humiliation could sometimes make one want to die. He remembered reading about Li Guang and being confused by his fate, thinking Li Guang wasn't a true man; a true man should be able to bend and stretch. To commit suicide when wronged was no different from being a coward. But now he understood Li Guang's feelings. The saying "A true man can bend and stretch" is easy to say, but how many people can actually do it? He now felt like he really wanted to find someone to die with.

There can't be a second time like this. If it happens again, I'd rather die!

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

"Any gains? Don't tell me you got nothing."

Hawkeye, wiping his face with a towel, leaned closer.

Zhou Xu and Butterfly were busy at the computer.

"Oh, a big gain."

Butterfly pressed a button, and the microphone emitted wild sounds of intercourse and moaning.

Zhou Xu laughed: "You're truly my idol. If you ever quit, you could probably make porn. I'd definitely become your loyal fan. Why don't you just sign an autograph for me now?"

"Why don't you just die already?"

Hawkeye gave Zhou Xu the middle finger.

"We just finished decrypting, and the data has been sent back to headquarters. Oh… there's feedback."

Butterfly glanced at it with a grin, but her expression immediately changed.

"Look what I found!"

"This phone number has appeared several times. Headquarters has confirmed that this number belongs to... What? Isn't this the casino owner?"

The photo displayed on the screen startled all three. It was a picture of Amir's friend, Aram, the owner of the casino where Amir had hidden. This guy's information was even more impressive; he was a criminal wanted by Interpol, linked to at least ten piracy cases. This guy was actually connected to Catherine.

This didn't make sense.

If Aram and Catherine were in cahoots, Amir would have been walking into a trap by joining him. But Aram didn't hand him over to the assassins sent by Tuoli; instead, he protected him wholeheartedly. This was very strange.

"Were they not cooperating at first, but are they cooperating now?"

Butterfly herself found the whole thing absurd.

"This only proves one thing: there must be a third-party force between them. Alam might be working for this third party; he doesn't directly serve the Tuoli Group. Amir might not have known his old friend's true identity back then, and Alam didn't know who Amir had offended. In other words, the third party Alam works for might have a cooperative relationship with Tuoli, but Alam is unaware of their upper echelons' affairs, which is why he unknowingly took in Amir."

"Right, it's also possible that Tuoli didn't inform his partners about Amir's situation, or didn't know that Alam was working for their partners." "

In other words, the cooperation between the two isn't that close; it's likely just a mutually beneficial relationship." "This is just a hypothesis; it only holds true if there really is such a third-party force."

Zhou Xu frowned, suddenly remembering the news: the E-country government forces were clearing out the remnants of the ICU. Wasn't Alam connected to pirates? He helped pirates launder money; could the pirates be the third-party force? No, it must be something else. The E-country government forces? Which unit exactly?

In any case, this is a clue. The wounded Luchena is still in his hands. Moreover, he has connections with this Catherine, or rather, Nuna, whatever her name may be. This is enough to prove that the two are definitely involved in the case.

"There's also a coordinate showing a mountainous area near the Iranian border. Satellite photos show it's a small village, not marked on the map, but these coordinates point to that village. Currently, it's controlled by a local Kurdistan Workers' Party militia faction. This militia group is local, and intelligence indicates that Tuoli has a contract with this armed group, providing them with employment opportunities. These militiamen receive salaries from the Tuoli Group and act as security guards."

"Don't they have their own mercenaries?"

"They're local bullies, so it's probably unavoidable. And locals have their advantages. A remote place like this is perfect as a temporary warehouse or secret prison, or for hiding things they don't want others to find."

"I think we need to go there and take a look."

Zhou Xu stared at the satellite photos, his eyes flashing with fire.

"Should we notify those guys?"

Butterfly was referring to the backup paratroopers.

"Let's not notify them yet. They're always getting in the way."

************

Feng Wu's blindfold was removed, and she adjusted to the light.

She was currently in an adobe house, the ground covered in sand. The air was dry, and the smell of dust filled her nostrils. There were no lights inside, but a small window in the wall offered a glimpse of the azure sky outside. Just by looking, she could tell the sunlight was intense and the temperature was high.

What kind of place was this? The equator? I was captured at the beach, but where am I?

Opposite her stood a burly man, broad-shouldered and with a menacing face, watching Feng Wu wake up.

"Who are you? Who do you work for?"

"I don't understand what you're saying. I'm a tourist. I encountered a shipwreck at sea..."

Feng Wu looked confused and innocent, but it was useless to the man. A slap interrupted her performance.

"Shut up! What are you pretending for? A tourist? Tourists and pirates can mix together?"

This man knew! " Was he one of those who attacked us?

" "I really don't know what you're talking about..."

This time, she received another hard punch to the stomach, and Feng Wu's body convulsed in pain, curling up like a boiled shrimp, vomiting water from her mouth.

Her hair was grabbed and lifted, the man squinting, his eyes like those of a reptile.

"We have a whole day. If I don't get a satisfactory answer, you'll know what real pain is."

He chuckled evilly, sticking out his tongue and licking Feng Wu's face.

"If I were you, I suggest you tell the truth."

A voice came from the doorway. The burly man released his grip, and a tall, blond, white man appeared in the doorway. His hair was neatly trimmed, he wore glasses, and had a refined air, somewhat like James Bond from the movies. Feng Wu glanced at the man and realized she seemed to vaguely remember him.

The burly man's attitude towards Mr. Bond was very submissive; this man seemed to be the leader.

“If you don’t tell the truth, you’re useless to us. If you’re useless to us, I don’t understand why we should keep you alive.”

James Bond walked over leisurely. “I know you’re used to pain. I understand you people, I understand the training you’ve received. We will eventually get what we need, I always will. Your mission has failed, so why not think about yourself now?”

“I’m a South Korean…”

Feng Wu looked at the man, she really felt like she had seen him somewhere before.

“South Korean, is this the cover identity they gave you?”

The man sneered, pinching her chin. “Why are you so stubborn? We can torture you until we get a satisfactory answer.”

“What kind of answer do you want? What kind of answer would satisfy you?”

Feng Wu retorted.

“You should know. You work for the Chinese. For the Chinese government, for the Chinese intelligence agency. Am I right? Your team is finished, those people are all soldiers of the Chinese army. Am I right?”

I’ve seen you, I’ve seen you. I was downstairs at Menelik's place. That time, the first time I saw Menelik, downstairs at the Djibouti port building, it was you, it was you, driving that Mercedes, we passed each other. Did you start plotting against me from then on? Was Menelik already one of yours from then on?

"Who are you?"

"You don't need to know."

"Did you and Menelik collude from the beginning? You orchestrated all of this."

"You could say that."

"I'm South Korean..."

Feng Wu spat out each word through her teeth, then roared a string of Korean, her attitude fierce, spittle even flying onto the man's face.

The man laughed, took out a handkerchief and wiped his face.

"Why are you so stubborn?"

He winked at the burly man, who came over again and punched Feng Wu twice, sending her sprawling to the ground in pain.

"I hope you'll change your attitude next time I come."

The man walked out of the room, where the blonde, red-faced beauty was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

"Is it really necessary to go through all this trouble? We all know what she does anyway. Whether she admits it or not, it's the same. All those Chinese are dead, is it necessary to keep her alive? Let's just silence her as soon as possible."

"This isn't something we can decide. The fact that she can take on this kind of task means she's not some low-ranking official."

"You mean someone wants to use her to implicate the Chinese government in a piracy scandal? That's a complete waste of effort. The Chinese won't admit it, and no country or government would admit to something like that. Even if you put the evidence in front of them, they'd still close their eyes and deny it. That's a politician's basic skill."

"Whether they admit it or not doesn't matter, what matters is how others see it. There's a Chinese saying, 'Many voices can melt metal,' and besides, they haven't been wronged yet. Like Iraq, how did the Americans initially claim they had weapons of mass destruction? Over time, people's impression of Iraq was subtly shaped, and even if no evidence was found in the end, the impression of Iraq became that they were dangerous elements."

"So, they want to ruin China's reputation in Africa?"

"That's right, two tigers can't share one mountain. Now that the US government wants to return to Africa, it must squeeze out Chinese influence there, just like China did with the US in Uzbekistan. The first step is to ruin their reputation. What could be worse than colluding with pirates? Why wouldn't we seize an opportunity presented to us?"

"China has been operating in Africa for so long; their reputation can't be ruined overnight."

"Of course, this is just a small piece of evidence. Combined with our main plan, in five or ten years, all the Chinese efforts in Africa over these decades will be in vain. To paraphrase a Chinese saying, this is just the first step of a long march; this is all we have to do. After that, the CIA and similar figures will handle the rest. As for how many years it will take to compete with China for Africa, that's their business. What we need to do is help the US government rebuild a solid foothold in Africa."

“By the way, Shemark’s child has been moved. The Russian agents have tracked down to that hospital, but haven’t found him. Our people beat them to it.”

From inside the room came Feng Wu’s painful groans and the sounds of beatings. The man frowned.

“Don’t kill her. We need her alive now.”

“Maybe she’ll talk next time we come.”

“Next time, she might not be alone. There will be many people to keep her company.”

“I hope so.”…

During her imprisonment, the concept of time was blurred. When she wasn’t being beaten, her eyes were still blindfolded. Unable to see anything, Feng Wu could only roughly estimate that about two days had passed.

In the past two days, she had been beaten three times. Each time, that beastly man came in and asked the same questions and made the same demands, but Feng Wu's answers were always the same. The man was extremely ruthless, showing no mercy because she was a woman, torturing her terribly. Later, even the Southern Kingdom used their methods, but Feng Wu endured it, finally fainting. She

wondered what the situation was like back home, whether Gao Shan knew she had been captured. But she hadn't become a traitor, and she wouldn't let them succeed.

It was a pity that she hadn't even had a chance to use her talents before she was about to perish in this... what kind of hellish place was this? She didn't even know where she was, and she didn't know how many more beatings she could endure.

What disgusted and humiliated her even more was that about six hours earlier, she had been raped. She hadn't seen who it was because she was blindfolded and had a hood over her head; she could only hear the man's beastly panting. She was powerless to resist; her pants were pulled down, and she was forced to the ground and raped from behind.

The man's penis was huge, almost tearing her body apart, filling her vagina. The tearing pain almost made her cry, but she gritted her teeth and endured the entire ordeal, tears streaming down her face. The only sounds were the man's excited panting and roaring, and the sharp crack of his scrotum hitting her skin; she herself made no sound.

Fortunately, the man ejaculated after a few minutes, shooting himself entirely into her vagina, then withdrew with satisfaction, hastily pulling her pants back up.

She had been mentally prepared for this.

Now, someone else came in; once the first, there would be a second. Her hood was removed, revealing a burly man with a face full of flesh, looking at her with disdain.

"You slut, did you enjoy being raped? Come here, let me have my way with you."

He roughly ripped open Feng Wu's clothes, and Feng Wu trembled, closing her eyes. Then she received another slap across the face. The man grinned cruelly and lewdly: "Slut, open your eyes and look at me. I want you to watch how I fuck you."

Feng Wu opened her eyes. In this line of work, no one cared about chastity. Back when she was in the Korean People's Army, her first time was with her superior instructor. Later, during her service in Korea, she experienced many similar incidents.

It was all about serving superiors, a glorious and sacred mission—at least that's how she was taught. She remembered her instructor saying that if she couldn't even do this much, she'd be even less likely to be able to blow up bunkers or block machine guns when the motherland needed her. Looking back, it seems like utter nonsense, but at the time, she genuinely believed it. Later, she defected to China, feeling her body was already tainted, and simply became a prostitute, dealing with strangers and acquaintances daily. Later, she met Gao Shan and joined the security department; she was no longer concerned about such things.

Facing rape, she felt no hatred towards the man, only a murderous intent to avenge her comrade.

“That’s right, you slut, that’s it, my cock is going to fuck you.”

The man roughly flipped Feng Wu over, her naked body revealing two white breasts that dazzled the eye. The man chuckled lewdly, grabbing her nipples and kneading them obscenely, his movements rough. Feng Wu gritted her teeth in pain, her cheeks bulging.

The man’s mouth moved closer, biting and licking. At the same time, his hands quickly unzipped his pants, pulling them down to his knees. Among the thick pubic hair on his lower abdomen, a fierce, imposing penis stood erect. The deep purplish-red glans looked swollen and engorged, emitting a strong, fishy smell.

Feng Wu knew at a glance that this time it would be even more painful than before; with something like that inside her, how could she feel any better?

The man completely ripped off Feng Wu’s pants. Feng Wu was unsteady on her feet, her hands still bound, her body swaying, her breasts swaying alluringly. The man laughed wildly, grabbing Feng Wu’s legs and rubbing them against his face, then ripped off her panties. He put on a condom, spat on his hand, and forcefully pulled Feng Wu's hands above her head, pressing them to the ground. He then pushed her down, spreading her legs apart. He smeared his spat-on hand on her genitals, then forcefully forced his enormous glans open her labia, thrusting his hips roughly and brutally all the way in.

Because she had been raped by an unidentified person before, her vagina still contained semen, so it wasn't completely dry. However, this thrust made Feng Wu feel as if her tender flesh had been chafed, causing her to involuntarily groan in pain. She curled her legs up, reflexively trying to push the man away. But this insignificant resistance was useless to the man; instead, it excited him even more. He pressed Feng Wu down tightly, pounding into her alluring body like a raging bull. The more Feng Wu twisted and struggled, the deeper he penetrated, the more intense the pleasure.

“Oh…oh…slut…from now on you’re a public toilet…everyone can fuck you…oh…oh…”

The man pressed down on Feng Wu, his feet kicking wildly on the dirty ground, his buttocks swaying, his hips forcibly spreading Feng Wu’s naked legs wide apart. Feng Wu couldn’t close her legs, and could only let the man brutally open her body again and again, repeatedly forcing that ugly genital into her body.

The only thing Feng Wu could do was grit her teeth and remain silent. This was the only resistance she could offer now.

The man got excited and spat on Feng Wu’s face and mouth. At the same time, he violently pounded into the woman’s body. He didn’t care whether he could get pleasure or not; just seeing this woman’s pain gave him enough pleasure. He raped women not only for his own pleasure, but also to torture them. The more pain his victim suffered, the more excited he became.

Feng Wu was in excruciating pain down there. She frowned and clenched her teeth, her eyes wide and bloodshot, sweat streaming down her face. At the same time, she secretly tensed her hands, straining to the point where she felt her bones would break, desperately trying to hold onto the ropes.

She truly would rather die than suffer this torment; she would rather break her bones than be bound.

This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This man was so close to her, completely unguarded, his vitals exposed. As long as her hands were free, she would snap his neck the moment it was within reach. Even if she were shot next, she would still snap this beast's neck.

But then the man changed his position, scrambling up and pulling her up from the ground, sweeping everything off the table, and throwing her a few steps so she would fall face-first onto the table. Taking advantage of the situation, he pinned her down from behind, forcibly twisting her bound hands behind her head. He grabbed Feng Wu's hair and, standing like a horse, thrust forward from behind.

Feng Wu's hair was pulled straight up, the pain making her scalp feel like it was being torn apart. She couldn't help but scream. The man, excited, pulled her back even harder. Feng Wu's face flushed crimson, the muscles in her arms tensed, and the sounds of her being pounded echoed loudly. The man pressed firmly against her buttocks, using the force of the pull to thrust forward. His brutal genitals completely filled the space of her vagina, her lower abdomen and buttocks pressed tightly together, swaying back and forth only with the movement of her body. He wanted to be completely inside her; he didn't want to come out or move anymore. He felt that he could ejaculate just like that.

Just as the man was pressing Feng Wu against the table, raping her, a gunshot rang out outside the door. The man stopped, but didn't leave the woman's body. The door opened, and several more people entered, all dressed as local militiamen. Two of them were pushed in, both wearing hoods and with their hands tied behind their backs. One seemed to have a leg injury, limping in and collapsing immediately. The other trembled and was knocked to the ground by a militiaman's rifle butt. There

appeared to be a corpse on the ground outside.

When the militiamen entered, their eyes lit up at the sight of the naked Feng Wu, and lewd grins spread across their faces. They shouted in the incomprehensible local dialect, and the men responded in the same dialect. At the same time, they slapped Feng Wu's buttocks hard a few times, and the group of men burst into laughter. Some of them were already aroused, their pants bulging.

The man resumed his actions. The militiamen didn't leave; they took off their guns, leaned against the wall, and squatted on the ground smoking and watching the spectacle , clearly waiting for the man to finish so they could continue...

****************

... Zhou Xu and his two companions were dressed in US military-style desert camouflage uniforms and tactical vests, complete with tactical sun hats. Hawkeye carried his old M21A1 sniper rifle, fitted with a suppressor. He firmly believed that true snipers should use such manually operated, single-shot rifles, and he distrusted any electronic devices added to a gun. Zhou Xu and Butterfly each carried an M4 assault rifle, a common sight in Iraq, with a scope and foregrip mounted on a tactical rail, also fitted with suppressors. Each of them also had an M9 pistol in their leg holsters, and their tactical vest ammunition pouches were full of magazines. Their attire looked just like that of the private security guards active in Iraq. "Hey, is someone coming? Look at the village entrance," Hawkeye said. Through the binoculars, a truck, kicking up dust, drove into the village and stopped in front of a house. Three militiamen got out, and three hooded men escorted them down from behind. One of them was limping, and although their faces weren't visible, all three recognized him almost simultaneously: Luchena! The other two prisoners were unknown, but they appeared weak and exhausted from being jostled around. Now it was clear: the African gang of pirates was obviously colluding with the Tuoli Group; otherwise, Luchena wouldn't be here. Clearly, they had somehow transferred Luchena from Africa to this location, probably trying to evade B country's surveillance network, but they had been caught off guard. "They probably have a platoon," Hawkeye counted through the scope. His side was clearly at a significant disadvantage. A direct confrontation was obviously a bad idea; the best option was to regroup with reinforcements and launch a surprise attack at night, giving them ample time to reconnoiter and plan. But what happened next took everyone by surprise. One of the prisoners suddenly turned around at the door, stumbling and trying to run away. Someone walked up to him and shot him in the back. The bullet pierced his chest, a puff of smoke exploding from his chest, and blood spurting out. The man staggered one step, then spun around twice as if drunk and collapsed to the ground, motionless. "Damn it!" Butterfly exclaimed, her eyes wide. "They've started killing people." Killing one could easily lead to killing another, which meant the other side didn't value these prisoners and considered them dispensable. If they encountered one or two agitated prisoners, they might just pull out their guns and mow them all down without a word. It didn't matter if others died or not, but Luchena was still inside. They couldn't afford to let anything happen to him. Zhou Xu and Hawkeye hadn't expected the situation to suddenly turn so bad. There was no time in America to wait until dark; they had to take immediate action to rescue him, even if it meant a head-on confrontation. "Contact Viper immediately. We must act now." After getting through to the Turkish reinforcements, Hawkeye said, "They told us to stay put and continue reconnaissance; they won't arrive for two hours." "Two hours? We can't afford to waste a minute now. Tell them we must act immediately." " They replied that they'll arrive in two hours and told us not to make any rash moves." "Idiots, what good are they! They let us down at crucial moments," Zhou Xu cursed angrily. "Tell them the situation is urgent, the enemy's morale is very unstable, and they could kill again at any moment. We can't risk waiting any longer; we will act immediately to rescue them." " The three of us... against an entire platoon?" Butterfly was sure she hadn't misheard. “We’ve fought before, we can’t just stand by and watch him die. Last time I had no choice but to abandon Luchena, now I have to get him out, he’s counting on us now. Hawkeye, you cover us.” With that, he crouched low, gun in hand, and quickly circled around from the side and behind in a standard tactical stance. Butterfly and Hawkeye exchanged a glance, both seeing the bitter smile on each other’s faces. Butterfly then followed, and the two disappeared behind the rocks in a few quick movements. Hawkeye took a deep breath; it was time to get to work. His hands were always particularly steady at times like this. Through the scope, he could see two targets in Zhou Xu and Butterfly’s flanking route. These two were positioned rather far away from the others, so he’d take them out first. The crosshairs pressed firmly against one of the men’s heads. After adjusting his breathing, Hawkeye pulled the trigger. A muffled “thud” followed, and a faint flash of light escaped from the muzzle. The unfortunate man targeted was lighting a cigarette. He'd just tossed the match aside when his head felt like it'd been slammed into it by an invisible hammer. A terrifying, soft thud, and a hole appeared in his thick Arabian turban. The bullet's immense force bent his neck at a 90-degree angle, lifting his legs off the ground before he crashed heavily to the ground. Another idiot, his back to him, heard the commotion and turned around, puzzled. "Hey, why is he lying down? Why isn't he watching where he's going?" he wondered. Just as he was about to investigate, a second bullet pierced his head. His hat flew off with a wisp of smoke, a dark red hole appearing in his temple. He was thrown to the ground by the force, his gun falling from his hand. The whole process took less than three seconds. Two nails were silently pulled out. Then, Zhou Xu and Feng Wu emerged from behind a broken wall. Cautiously aiming his gun left and right, he stepped over the corpses on the ground and headed straight for a building on his left that might be a temple or similar structure. They had already mastered the terrain while observing from above and were in sync with each other regarding the attack route. Behind this building, there were probably three or four militiamen. Two of them gave instructions using sign language and then crept over like two stealthy cheetahs. Hawkeye's view was blocked by the building from above, preventing him from providing support. However, he could observe the situation on the other side of the village. Clearly, the five or six people there were completely unaware of the ordeal of their people fifty meters away, either chatting and laughing or wandering aimlessly. These people… were so unprofessional! Hawkeye didn't know whether to feel lucky or not. There weren't any professional soldiers guarding the area; it was all these half-baked militiamen. If it were well-trained Tuoli mercenaries, they would probably have already noticed something was wrong, but so far, he hadn't seen any professional mercenaries. Had they simply not sent anyone here, or…? Hawkeye cleared these thoughts from his mind; his priority now was to concentrate. In the village below, Zhou Xu and Butterfly, using the terrain as cover, had already approached their prey and successfully infiltrated their attack position.

Zhou Xu gave a "go" signal, swiftly sidestepping and moving, his gun already raised and aimed, firing a double burst. Because of the silencer, the first man didn't react in time, as if he'd suddenly crashed into an invisible wall while sprinting at full speed, being knocked down by the bullets. Almost simultaneously, Butterfly also fired, bullets pounding into the opponent's chest, knocking him down without a sound, a cloud of blood dissipating in the air. With

two companions killed, the remaining two reacted reflexively, raising their guns before even seeing the attackers' exact location, but before they could pull the trigger, a deadly hail of bullets knocked them down. In the instant they fell, two figures swiftly passed before them, not even glancing at them.

Six people had been taken down so far, and the attackers hadn't even noticed—a good sign. Although there were nearly thirty of them, Zhou Xu's goal wasn't to challenge them all. Rescuing them without alerting them would be ideal, after all, bullets don't discriminate.

She ran a few steps and crept to the back of the cell where the prisoners were held. There was a window at the back, and strange noises were coming from inside, like something was shaking and a man's heavy breathing. Zhou Xu drew his pistol, screwed on the silencer, and nimbly climbed onto the window. Butterfly circled around to the front door, gun at the

ready, to keep watch. Feng Wu's waist was being gripped painfully by the beast-like man behind her. Her arms were tense to the point of near numbness, and the pain in her lower body was even worse. The man's brutal violation made her feel that even a mop handle would be more bearable. The drooling expressions of the pale-faced, yellow-toothed lechers around her made her nauseous. She had always thought she didn't care, but now she realized she wasn't as indifferent as she thought. She didn't know if she could endure it. If she couldn't, she might as well fight back.

Without warning, the man noticed that the woman who had been silently allowing herself to be raped suddenly burst into a wolf-like howl, then suddenly struggled, lifting him up. Then, as if possessed by a demon, the woman's arm muscles bulged, and the ropes binding her hands suddenly snapped with a terrifying, seemingly inexplicable burst of strength!

"Ah?"

The man, startled, raised his hand to restrain her, but suddenly heard a soft thud, followed by a deafening metallic clang in his mind. In his final moments, he saw a figure in the window before plunging into eternal darkness.

Zhou Xu didn't hesitate, firing in rapid succession. None of the three militiamen inside had time to resist or escape; a precise and rapid hail of bullets felled them all within two seconds. The gunman then leaped through the window, firing two more shots at the one still moving, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder and blood. The two prisoners wearing hoods, bewildered by what had happened, dared not move. The woman who had just been raped rolled quickly off the table, grabbed an AK-47, and simultaneously ducked behind one of the prisoners, confronting the person at the window.

Feng Wu was truly surprised to have escaped from a desperate situation. Regardless of who this person who suddenly appeared was, he certainly wasn't with the enemy. She pointed her gun at the man who had entered through the window, and was stunned when she saw him: "It's you?"

Zhou Xu was also taken aback; he'd run into this woman again. How could he keep running into her everywhere? Last time on the bridge, she almost killed him; if he hadn't been lucky, he would have been at the bottom of the river long ago. How did she get involved here? What was she doing here? She seemed to be a prisoner too, and her sudden burst of power just now had impressed him; she was undoubtedly a ruthless character. Could this woman also be involved in this matter?

Butterfly burst through the door, raising her gun and aiming it at Feng Wu as well.

"Who are you?"

"We're here to rescue someone, who are you?"

"Am I with them or not?"

"Hurry up! There's no time."

Butterfly said, going up to remove the hoods from the two men. Sure enough, one was Luchena, and the other was a white young man he didn't recognize. He looked like he had suffered a lot, his face covered in dirt and scars, staring at them in terror. Luchena's eyes lit up when he saw Zhou Xu and Butterfly, his face showing undisguised joy.

"Who are you?"

Zhou Xu asked the young man.

"I'm an Australian citizen, my father is..."

"Stop talking nonsense, if you want to live, come with us, help him, don't try anything funny, understand?" Zhou Xu interrupted him. Who cares who your father is, even if he's Li Gang, it's none of my business. The troublesome thing is this mysterious woman in front of him. Maybe it was a chance encounter last time, maybe not. But there's no time to get entangled in that now, as long as he's sure she's not hostile.

"Okay, let's go our separate ways, okay?"

Zhou Xu lowered his gun first. Feng Wu thought for a moment, then also lowered her gun and quickly straightened her clothes. Butterfly, helping Luchena to her feet, frowned as she looked at her.

"Retreat!"

Zhou Xu ordered; every second they stayed was dangerous.

"Wait!"

Butterfly hesitated, looking at the woman before her, remembering the deceased Lynx.

Lynx had been her lover, their relationship very close. Lynx had once mentioned having a sister in the North Korean army and had shown her a photo. Although the photo was from many years ago, this woman vaguely resembled…

It was a bit… too much of a coincidence, wasn't it? She was Asian, and looked about the same age.

Lynx's sister later defected, contacting them once, but only by phone.

For some reason, despite finding it unbelievable and absurd, Butterfly felt that this woman… was… that sudden surge of intuition, that sixth sense, was incredibly strong. Could there really be a divine intervention? Was Lynx's spirit in heaven protecting them?

"What's wrong!"

Zhou Xu looked at Butterfly's strange expression, staring blankly at the woman, wondering what was wrong with her.

"You...are you North Korean? Your name is...Kim Zeyu?"

Zhou Xu was stunned, staring at Butterfly and then at Feng Wu with disbelief.

Feng Wu's expression changed instantly; even her usually steady hand holding the gun trembled for a moment, almost unable to believe what she had just heard. Kim Zeyu—this name was almost forgotten by her, representing a past she had completely abandoned.

"Who...are you?!"

her voice trembled.

"We are your brother's comrades..."

Although Feng Wu didn't answer, her expression said it all. At this point, Butterfly couldn't hold back her tears.

On the hilltop, Eagle Eye waited anxiously. Zhou Xu and his men had clearly broken in, so why hadn't they come out for so long? Had something happened inside? That shouldn't be the case. There were no signs of fighting; what were they dawdling about inside for? Just as he was growing impatient, several militiamen suddenly emerged from behind a mud wall on the left and walked towards them. It seemed they would see the corpse on the ground after just one more bend. Hawkeye looked inside the house again, but there was still no movement. He gritted his teeth, aimed at the first target, and pulled the trigger.

The target's head exploded, and he fell to the ground, leaving only a wisp of smoke and dissipating blood mist in the air.

But the remaining men were stunned by this sudden attack. Having heard no gunshots and not knowing where the attack was coming from, they all huddled together, shouting and screaming. Hawkeye seized the opportunity and fired again, this time hitting the torso. The target spun around and fell. The crowd erupted into chaos, scattering like headless flies, shouting and yelling like wolves, firing indiscriminately in all directions. The entire village was thrown into utter chaos, gunfire and shouts mingling together, chickens flying, dogs barking, dust billowing – a scene of utter disarray.

Then, Hawkeye saw Zhou Xu and his men rushing out of the house. It wasn't just them; there seemed to be many more than when they left. Butterfly and another woman, disheveled and with bare legs, were engaged in a firefight with the militiamen, guns at the rear. Zhou Xu and another man were carrying a stretcher and running forward. The woman's background was unknown, but her tactical movements were very practiced. However, the militiamen were surging towards the source of the gunfire from all directions, some chasing after them, others flanking them from the sides. The situation below was extremely dire.

"Run! Run!"

Hawkeye muttered, pulling the trigger again. One of the militiamen closest to Butterfly was firing when he was suddenly shot in the groin. The immense force shattered his pelvis and fractured his spine, causing him to fall to the ground screaming like a broken rag doll. The remaining pursuers finally realized a sniper was firing, but they got the direction wrong, firing wildly at the opposite hilltop. The others followed suit, firing haphazardly. Only after Hawkeye took down another one from behind did they finally figure out the direction, and a hail of bullets rained down on the hilltop where Hawkeye was.

"Idiot, die!"

Bullets flew wildly over Hawkeye's head, but he wasn't afraid. If this aimless firing hit him, it just meant he was incredibly unlucky. Besides, he had temporarily drawn the enemy's attention here, which would be advantageous for Zhou Xu and his team's retreat. He fired another shot, but missed, the bullet exploding at the target's feet, kicking up a cloud of dust. He cursed, quickly ejected the spent cartridge, chambered a chamber, pulled the trigger, and the bullet struck his torso, causing him to fall backward, sprawling.

At this point, the enemy split into two groups, one firing at him, the other continuing the pursuit. Gunfire continued ahead, clearly indicating that Zhou Xu and his team were trying to break through the enemy's encirclement.

"Damn it!"

Hawkeye cursed again, trying to move to a different position. But out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly noticed a blinding white smoke flying towards him from a corner. Looking closer, he saw that the rocket was already right in front of him. He screamed in fright and threw himself backward with all his might. With a deafening roar, the hot air blasted his back, and countless pieces of rubble and dirt exploded into the sky along with black smoke and flames, raining down like raindrops, while a black column of smoke rose into the air.

Zhou Xu, who was below, heard the explosion and looked up to see the black smoke rising into the sky. He knew that Hawkeye had definitely been exposed. At this moment, he raised his gun and fired rapidly to the left. Two militiamen rushed over one after another but were knocked down. The others took cover behind the wall and kept firing in their direction. Bullets flew through the air like locusts with terrifying whistles. The earthen wall they were using as cover shook and swayed under the impact of the bullets, riddled with transparent holes, and the bricks and stones inside were shattered. It was about to collapse.

To be honest, he wasn't unprepared for this tough battle; it was just that a series of unforeseen events delayed him, ultimately leading to this situation. The militia on the other side weren't very well-trained; they were just a bunch of armed farmers, their skills no match for seasoned elite soldiers like himself. However, their advantages were also obvious: they were fearless and outnumbered.

If they charged recklessly, it would be dangerous. That's exactly what happened. Despite being constantly being shot down, they pressed forward relentlessly, firing as they charged. Even though their aim was inaccurate, when four or five submachine guns opened fire simultaneously, a hail of bullets covering their heads, no one dared to peek out and gamble on their luck.

"Fuck you!"

Zhou Xu pulled out a grenade and threw two over the wall. Two loud bangs, smoke billowed, and screams echoed. Then, steeling himself, he dashed out, followed by a roll, bullets whizzing past him.

At this moment, Butterfly and Phoenix Dance came up from behind, their AKs and M4s spitting fire, their precise bullets killing two people in quick succession. The rest were forced to retreat, only daring to raise their guns above their heads and fire randomly without aiming. Zhou Xu seized the opportunity to rush across the open ground, flashing into the enemy's territory. The charred ground from the explosion was still smoking, with one person lying on the ground and three others firing wildly. Suddenly seeing the enemy rushing towards them, they panicked. Zhou Xu fired two consecutive double-shot bursts, killing two of them. He aimed for the third, but the trigger jammed when he pulled it. The enemy yelled and fired at him.

In that life-or-death moment, he almost moved with lightning speed, quickly throwing his gun behind him, then pulled out his pistol and pulled the trigger all the way down. The bullet grazed Zhou Xu's ribs, leaving a groove in his tactical vest as if it had been sawed by a chainsaw, even tearing his clothes underneath, and blood came out. Zhou Xu was pulled back by the force and fell to the ground, his pistol falling from his hand. However, the militiaman opposite him was hit six times in the chest, riddled with bullets, his legs leaving the ground and flying backward a meter before collapsing dead, sprawled on his back.

Gunfire erupted again, the deadly whistling of bullets echoing through the air. Clearly, the pursuers had caught up again. Feng Wu and Butterfly turned to engage them, followed by the explosion of grenades.

"Damn it!"

Zhou Xu cursed, trying to get up, but the pain in his ribs made his arms weak and unable to support him. Two more militiamen emerged from behind the nearby mud house, charging forward with guns spitting fire. Zhou Xu knew he was done for. Several bullets hit him, exploding the ground, and others flew overhead. Although their marksmanship was terrible, he was powerless to retaliate or dodge. His pistol had fallen, his rifle jammed—he had truly trapped himself. They would be upon him soon, and then they would hit him. In that instant, his mind went blank; he simply waited for the bullets to strike him.

Two muffled thuds echoed as bullets shattered bones upon impact. Two militiamen, struck by bullets flying from the side, had their heads knocked to the side, their cervical vertebrae shattered, and their bodies were thrown to the side as if hit by a speeding car. (Episode 11, March 1st)

Zhou Xu shuddered, finally regaining his senses. Hawkeye finally appeared, his M21 still emitting smoke. He took two steps forward, pulled Zhou Xu to his feet, and helped him retreat. At this moment, Butterfly and Phoenix Dance, who were covering the rear, also arrived. They saw a thick green smoke billowing behind them; someone had thrown smoke grenades. The pursuers on the other side of the smoke couldn't see the situation clearly and dared not approach recklessly, only continuously firing into the smoke. Bullets flew through the air, but no one knew where they were going.

"Retreat!"

Hawkeye's face was ashen. "I see a convoy coming from the other side of the mountain; it's their reinforcements." Zhou Xu, enduring the pain, looked up and indeed saw dust billowing on the distant road, with many cars speeding towards them. How could they possibly outrun a car in their current state? Suddenly remembering the truck the other side had used to transport prisoners on their way here, Butterfly and the others exchanged a glance and immediately understood.

"Give me the Claymore."

A few minutes later, a convoy of pickup trucks, Land Rovers, and trucks arrived at the village entrance. They were from a nearby village, all belonging to the same Kurdish tribe. Hearing the gunfire and seeing the thick smoke billowing up, they knew something was wrong. When they arrived, they saw the entire village unrecognizable, corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, and thick green smoke billowing everywhere. Several militiamen were hiding behind walls, firing continuously into the smoke, their targets unclear.

When they saw the truck already far away in the distance, they realized they had been tricked. The village chief hurriedly told the survivors to get in the car and give chase. The lead pickup truck had only gone a few dozen meters through the thick smoke when a sudden flash of light and a violent explosion occurred by the roadside. The powerful blast wave and countless steel balls completely overturned the lead truck, smashing it to pieces. Instantly, thick smoke and flames filled the entire road, throwing the convoy into chaos, resulting in a chain reaction of collisions.

Zhou Xu and his group, sitting in the car, clearly saw the explosion in the village and knew the broadsword mines had been used.

This was a last resort. Ideally, someone should have stayed behind to lure the enemy away, but that would defeat the purpose of rescuing people. Saving one only to lose another would be a waste of effort. Moreover, the situation ahead was unknown, so it was best not to split up.

Now, their only option was to run for their lives towards the Turkish border, hoping to rejoin reinforcements as soon as possible.

Soon, the village convoy emerged, consisting of seven or eight vehicles, bringing the total number of people to several dozen. Moreover, the other side were locals and familiar with the terrain. Zhou Xu had Butterfly treat his wounds, then looked at Feng Wu. Honestly, he still felt this was fate. Their first meeting was a life-or-death struggle, and only on their second meeting did they realize they weren't strangers. Lynx's sister, now named Feng Wu, was also working for their former superior, Gao Shan, and had become an agent for the Ministry of State Security.

Although she was Lynx's sister, she was still a stranger. What he wanted to ask most now was why she had gotten involved in their mission, what her relationship was with the Tuoli Group, and why she had been captured. Was it related to his mission? But now wasn't the time to ask. Frankly, it was uncertain whether they would see the sun rise tomorrow; they should wait until they survived this ordeal before considering anything else.

Thinking this, he sighed again at the cruel twist of fate; they had just figured out each other's identities, and now they faced another life-or-death test. Every encounter with her was fraught with danger. The last time they met, it seemed to be a gunfight and a car chase, and this time was no different—perhaps it was a fateful incompatibility.

The vehicle sped along the terribly damaged dirt roads of the mountains, with a long line of pursuers following closely behind.

Before long, the locals' advantage became apparent. Two vehicles cut off the road ahead, forcing Eagle Eye to veer into the wilderness in the face of oncoming bullets—a truly desperate gamble. The pickup truck and Land Rover pursued, firing as they went, the gunshots echoing through the valley.

Finally, the truck drove east to the foot of an unnamed hill, a strangely shaped area of wind-eroded mushroom rocks—terrain suitable for defensive operations. It was better to hold out here and await reinforcements than to run aimlessly.

"Check the ammunition!"

Zhou Xu said through gritted teeth.

"You should have a backup plan, right? Where are your reinforcements?"

Feng Wu, having experienced this frantic chase and gunfight, was now fully engaged. She actually knew very little about her brother's comrades-in-arms, and wasn't particularly familiar with them. She had contacted them once before, hoping to use their connections in the Ministry of State Security to obtain legal status in China, but that hadn't even been successful. Of course, meeting Gao Shan later was a different matter, but that's when she learned about their relationship with him.

"This is the backup plan!"

Zhou Xu had already transmitted their location's GPS data back. Hawkeye was shouting on the radio, but the radio, which had been working perfectly a moment ago, was now unresponsive; they didn't know what was wrong. Whether the reinforcements would receive their distress call in time, or even arrive on time, was up to fate. The terrain was relatively advantageous, but after counting their ammunition, the situation became less optimistic.

Hawkeye had the most ammunition left, with 155 rounds, but his 7.62mm rounds could only be used with his M21A1; they couldn't be used with other guns. Feng Wu had the least ammunition. Her first AK-47 was a cheap, poorly made knock-off that malfunctioned and had long been discarded. Now she carried a Remington shotgun, only effective in close combat, and with only 22 rounds. Butterfly and Zhou Xu each had over 70 rounds of ammunition in their M4s. Butterfly also had a pistol, while Zhou Xu had lost his. The four of them had a total of three grenades and one smoke grenade.

That was all they had. Their opponents were arriving in droves, their numbers exceeding the size of the village they had just encountered, and their pickup trucks were equipped with machine guns. However, they seemed unhurried, disembarking and pointing around in a chaotic, market-like manner. Everyone had a gun, but no one charged forward.

"What are they doing? What are they waiting for?"

Eagle Eye wondered. The newcomers seemed to be watching a spectacle, gathering on the opposite side. Were they fighting?

"They're probably waiting for nightfall,"

Feng Wu frowned. The enemy was familiar with the terrain and clearly unafraid of their repositioning.

Just as they finished speaking, gunfire erupted from the opposite side. Heavy machine guns on two pickup trucks roared, spitting out massive tongues of fire as a hail of 14.5mm bullets rained down, the deafening gunfire echoing through the weathered rock valley. The already fragile rocks were shattered by the bullets, sending up endless dust clouds that covered Zhou Xu and his men from head to toe.

"Quick, quick, quick!"

Butterfly shouted, and everyone quickly moved into their pre-selected firing positions. However, they found that the enemy was merely bombarding their area with machine gun fire, seemingly as a show of force. The infantry remained silent. After waiting a while longer, they realized the enemy had run out of ammunition and were busy reloading, and a temporary silence fell over the battlefield.

The same thing happened again; the enemy seemed to have a penchant for machine gun fire, aimlessly spraying bullets at their rocky area, while the infantry watched the spectacle. Having discovered this pattern, Eagle Eye observed from above, while the rest of the group descended and sat beneath the massive mushroom-shaped rock, completely ignoring the enemy's fire and patiently awaiting reinforcements.

Time ticked by, and a comical scene unfolded on the battlefield: Kurdish soldiers fired aimlessly at the weathered rock formation, taking no other proactive action. Meanwhile, Zhou Xu, Feng Wu, and the others, under the cover of the boulders, chatted leisurely, questioning the only outsider among them, without even returning fire.

"Who are you?"

Zhou Xu stared at the trembling white young man. This guy had miraculously survived the hail of bullets; he was truly lucky. However, he was clearly terrified, his legs shaking uncontrollably, as if he couldn't stand. Faced with Zhou Xu's question, he didn't know how to answer.

“Don’t act like a girl.”

Zhou Xu patted his leg. “Can you stop shaking?”

“I… oh… I’m sorry… I’ve never experienced anything like this before…”

“Who are you?”

“I’m an Australian citizen. My name is Sam Talport, and my father is Kentalport.”

He seemed to perk up a bit as he said this, observing Zhou Xu’s expression, but disappointedly, he couldn’t read anything. Everyone present, except for Feng Wu, seemed completely bewildered, clearly not recognizing his father.

“What’s wrong? Do I need to know your father?”

Zhou Xu turned to look at Butterfly and Luchena, who shrugged as well.

“Your father is Kentalport?”

Feng Wu seemed interested.

“Who is he?”

Zhou Xu asked impatiently.

“The owner of Sundanza Resources Limited in Australia, an international iron ore giant, the richest man in Australia. A few days ago, he and his board members were in a plane crash over the African coast. There were no survivors.”

“No! My father’s death was not an accident. He was murdered!”

Sam suddenly became agitated.

"Murder?"

Feng Wu frowned. "Was it the group that kidnapped you?"

"I don't know. But someone received a distress signal from the plane before it crashed. And some of the wreckage was recovered, but the black box was never found. I came to Africa to handle his funeral arrangements, and by chance, I met a local who was a radio enthusiast. He said that on the night my father died, he received a distress signal, but the signal quality was very poor."

"That's it?"

"Later, I privately hired experts to analyze the wreckage, and different people came to the same conclusion: the plane had already disintegrated before crashing into the sea, and there might have been an explosion on board."

“Later, I had someone investigate the matter. Apparently, apart from that radio enthusiast, no one received any signals that night, and the radio equipment and radar of two fishing boats in the area were interfered with. My detective told me this indicated that there might have been military-scale electromagnetic interference in that area that night, and it's very likely my father's plane was attacked in the air.”

“Then what was your father doing in Africa?”

“It was related to an iron ore project. He was competing with a Chinese company. He wanted to snatch the mine from that Chinese company, but someone didn't want him to do that, so… It must have been that Chinese company. They were afraid my father would ruin their business, so they murdered him.”

“How can you be so sure? Maybe it's a coincidence?”

Feng Wu sensed something. Could the Chinese company's name just happen to be Dongxing?

“The detective I hired was also murdered last week, shot in his own home. Is that a coincidence?” “And my father had connections with the Yemeni president. When he went to places like Africa, he usually hired Yemeni Air Force fighter jets to escort his private plane. The day my father’s accident happened, the Yemeni Air Force also announced the crash of two training planes. Could that be a coincidence too? I spent a lot of money to inquire in Yemen and finally bribed an air force officer. He told me that their plane was shot down by unidentified fighter jets that night!”

“So your father’s plane might also have been shot down by the same plane?”

“Definitely. After I found out the situation in Yemen, I was preparing to return home when my friend and I were attacked in the hotel. When I realized what was happening, we were already in this country. Where am I?”

“Iraq, near…maybe the Turkish border.”

Feng Wu wasn’t quite sure where she was either.

“God, how did I end up in this godforsaken place?”

Sam was completely bewildered.

“Someone’s starting to come up!”

Eagle Eye’s voice came from the mushroom-shaped rock above, followed by his sniper rifle firing. The gunshots, unsuppressed, were sharp, but were quickly drowned out by the roar of the machine guns.

A dozen or so enemy soldiers were slowly crawling forward. Zhou Xu and Butterfly hadn't fired; they couldn't afford to waste bullets now. However, the enemy seemed to lack momentum, retreating after being hit twice by Eagle Eye. But the machine gun fire intensified, along with 60mm mortar shells and 40mm rockets. Shells exploded one after another in the rocky area, billowing dust that engulfed most of it. Shrapnel and rock fragments flew everywhere, and the weathered rocks teetered precariously. Zhou Xu and his men's hiding place was severely threatened, but they had no way to retaliate against the shelling.

Those present were all experienced veterans; they immediately recognized that the enemy was trying to drive them out of their forward positions with heavy firepower. The second assault had begun, with twenty-odd gunners providing cover as they advanced, firing as they went.

"Aim and fire! Don't waste bullets!"

Zhou Xu switched his rifle to single-shot mode, firing long bursts. However, the enemy opened fire with both light and heavy firepower, a veritable rain of bullets. Bullets whizzed past, stray bullets flew erratically, sometimes making it difficult even to peek out, let alone aim, thus compromising shooting accuracy. After seven or eight shots, someone was finally shot down.

But this time, the enemy did not retreat easily, and their firepower intensified. Shells exploded one after another, and soon, they were surrounded by billowing smoke and dust. Not only Zhou Xu, but everyone else felt they couldn't hold on any longer; if this continued, casualties were inevitable.

But they had no way to retreat.

Bullets weaved and danced in the air, but from the beginning, they flew mostly from east to west, with far fewer flying in the opposite direction, and gradually decreasing in number. The entire rocky area had been completely transformed into a smoke-filled region by bullets and shells, every rock face riddled with bullet holes of varying sizes, some with collapses and rubble from the explosions.

"When are the reinforcements coming?"

Butterfly shouted, having just fired her last rifle bullet. She threw down her rifle, drew her pistol, and prepared for a final desperate fight.

"Viper! Viper! Answer me!"

Zhou Xu had run out of bullets and was frantically shouting into the radio.

Feng Wu's face was cold and hard as she gripped her Remington rifle tightly. Luchena lay on the ground, unable to help due to his still-healing thigh wound, only able to clutch his paratrooper knife.

The only one returning fire was Hawkeye, but under the enemy's dense fire, he couldn't guarantee a high hit rate. So far, they had taken down four people; this loss was insignificant to the enemy, but Hawkeye was also running low on bullets.

"Put out smoke; we can't hold out any longer!"

Feng Wu felt there was no need to fight to the death here. The last smoke grenade should buy them some time to retreat. Holding out here and waiting for reinforcements was possible, but if they all died before reinforcements arrived, it would be meaningless. As long as they survived, they could always find their way back to the organization, even if they missed the reinforcements.

Was it really that bad...? Zhou Xu was also starting to waver. At this moment, Hawkeye slid down from the top of Mushroom Rock. The enemy's firepower was concentrated on him; he could no longer hide.

Seeing the dire situation, Zhou Xu made a decision and took out his last smoke grenade.

"Friendly forces in the theater, please respond! Friendly forces in the theater, please respond!"

The radio miraculously crackled to life at that moment. Everyone's eyes were drawn to the previously silent radio; Butterfly had even thought it was malfunctioning. Its sudden sound was like heavenly music to their ears.

Zhou Xu snatched the radio and roared, "Reinforcements, come quickly!"

"Arriving at your position in one minute."

"Fly along the ridge. A six-man team is to the west of the smoke. We suggest attacking from the south. Attack conditions are good."

Zhou Xu threw the smoke grenade, which landed in the middle of the battlefield. Green smoke began to billow out, and the enemy indeed stopped, unsure of what the enemy was up to.

Zhou Xu looked up and saw two Mi-35 helicopters flying out from behind the hill.

"Wings level,"

the radio message indicated that the attack was ready.

"Attack permitted!"

Zhou Xu roared. At that moment, chaos erupted on the enemy's side. Many saw the two helicopters appearing behind them; several vehicles reversed and turned to flee, and the crowd scattered. Those who were halfway through the attack also turned back. Then, a hail of rockets and machine gun shells rained down from the sky, pelting the crowd like raindrops.

The enemy's position was completely engulfed in flames. Orange-red fireballs exploded continuously, thick black smoke billowing into the sky. Pickups were blasted several meters into the air by rockets, almost falling apart upon impact, becoming burning scrap metal. Human limbs and debris flew high into the air. Several people engulfed in flames screamed and rolled on the ground, finally lying motionless. The militiamen who had been so arrogant and firing their cannons were reduced to a grotesque mass in just a few seconds; the rest scattered and fled at an alarming speed, quickly disappearing from sight.

A scorching shockwave, carrying flames, swept everything away…

After the helicopter slowly landed, Zhou Xu and his team emerged from their hiding place. The assault team that disembarked surveyed the battlefield, finishing off anyone still breathing. Those who had already escaped were no big deal. The Turkish government forces and Iranian troops frequently crossed the border to conduct armed operations against Kurdish tribes in Iraq, employing all sorts of brutal methods, both overt and covert. These helicopter raids were commonplace, and both sides were used to it. This incident would most likely be blamed on Turkey or Iran.

"Is anyone injured?"

the major leading the team shouted.

"One!"

Zhou Xu helped Luchena onto the helicopter, and someone immediately came to help him up.

"Get out of here quickly!"

The major's face was very grim. He belonged to a field unit, while Zhou Xu and his team belonged to an intelligence unit. He felt frustrated to be here as a backup for these idle agents, and now Zhou Xu and his team had deliberately bypassed them and acted on their own, almost causing a total annihilation. He had decided that when he got back, he would definitely report this guy to his superiors.

Zhou Xu knew that he would probably face a lot of lawsuits when he got back, but he didn't care. He said to Feng Wu, "What are your plans? Why don't you just come back with us for now? It's probably not safe for you to be here alone."

"Do I have any other choice?"

Feng Wu shrugged. Actually, she also felt that Zhou Xu and his team probably knew some information that she needed. Her life or death was probably unknown back home. She had to report the specific situation to her superiors as soon as possible and also notify Gao Shan first. This failure was likely due to a leak, and he had to investigate immediately.

"Please, take me with you!"

Sam pleaded.

Zhou Xu glanced at him and nodded in agreement. The group, crouching low, braved the massive blast and dust kicked up by the propellers. They had only taken two steps when a deafening roar and a burst of fire erupted ahead. The helicopter, preparing for takeoff, was struck squarely. The explosion blasted a large hole in the left side of the fuselage, and one wheel was blown off. The helicopter, as if drunk, lifted off, wobbled twice, and then crashed heavily back down. The cabin was ablaze. A barrage of grenades from afar struck with pinpoint accuracy, sending sparks and debris flying and exploding in the black smoke. Those inside desperately jumped out.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden catastrophe. Feng Wu was the first to react, shouting, "We've been ambushed!"

At that moment, another helicopter hurriedly took off, but a deafening roar erupted from behind the southern mountains. An American-made OH-58 Kiowa Warrior armed reconnaissance helicopter appeared out of nowhere, pouncing aggressively like a hungry tiger. Flashes of fire ripped from its pylons as a barrage of rockets rained down. The Mi-35 was hit on the tail rudder, spinning in the air billowing black smoke before crashing into the mountainside and exploding, plummeting down the slope amidst thick smoke and flames.

Figures appeared at all the nearby strategic points, all dressed as mercenaries. Among them was someone they recognized: Catherine! Or perhaps Nuna. The woman they should have kept in the dark.

With a wave of her hand, the mercenaries, guns drawn, surrounded them, completely taking control of the scene. The assault team was either dead or wounded, rendered incapable of fighting, and Zhou Xu and his team were utterly helpless. Having just escaped the threat of the militia, the situation is now virtually unchanged, or even worse.

Even the most foolish person would realize they've been tricked by now.

Zhou Xu glanced at Hawkeye and noticed his pale face.

The truth is clear: they're scheming against each other, and the other side is scheming against them. It's highly likely that when Hawkeye went to play with this woman, they already knew his identity and turned the tables on him. To make it seem real, they used real bait, making them believe they'd truly rescued Luchena, only to launch a surprise attack and wipe them out once their reinforcements were deployed. It's possible the other side has been monitoring the battle from the beginning, and those militiamen were just cannon fodder.

No wonder they got their hands on her phone so easily; it was all deliberately given to them.

No wonder there weren't any mercenaries in the village, only low-quality militiamen—they were making things easier for them.

They could kill you anytime; keeping you alive was just a way to lure out their reinforcements so they could eliminate you completely.

This was a true case of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind!

This time, it was truly over! Zhou Xu saw Eagle Eye's expression, and Feng Wu and Butterfly, among others, were all ashen-faced. Sam was so terrified he collapsed to the ground. At this critical moment, they didn't know who could come to their rescue. Zhou Xu gritted his teeth, thinking of Yang Fang far away in B country, and realized that this time they were probably really going to die here. They had weathered so many storms, but they never expected their final resting place to be some unknown desolate mountain near the northern border of Iraq.

Oh well, so be it, at least they could take someone down with them before they died. Looking at the others, they all seemed to have the same resolute look in their eyes.

The encirclement was tightening, and the woman walked over triumphantly, gun in hand.

"Throw away your guns!"

Several guns, empty of bullets, were thrown on the ground.

"You didn't expect this, did you?"

"Now you have."

"What are your last words? Now is the time to say them."

The woman's eyes revealed mockery.

"You stole our plane, didn't you?"

The woman smiled, not denying it.

"What does she have to do with this?"

Zhou Xu pointed at Feng Wu.

"You colluded with Menelik to ambush us, and you ordered Menelik to betray us."

Feng Wu glared at the woman, her eyes bloodshot, gritting her teeth.

"Anything else to ask?"

The woman's words were tantamount to an indirect admission.

"Did you already know our identities?"

"What do you think?"

The woman's expression was so infuriating that one wanted to punch her.

"You've done so much for Tuoli, you know so much, how long do you think they'll let you live? No matter what Tuoli's plan is, you won't live to see that day."

Zhou Xu made a final effort, trying to disrupt her composure.

"Oh, it seems we have something in common."

The woman smiled, giving Hawkeye a flirtatious wink.

"I had a great night, I'll miss you."

Then she raised her pistol.

As the final moment approached, Feng Wu steeled her resolve and was about to make a move when a series of crisp explosions suddenly rang out overhead. A strange cloud of smoke quickly filled the area, engulfing everyone. Zhou Xu only inhaled a wisp of the smoke, and his head immediately spun violently. "

What a powerful sleeping gas..." That was the last thought before he lost consciousness. The last thing he saw was the OH-58 exploding in mid-air, turning into a fireball and crashing down...

A long time passed...

When he was awakened, the first thing he saw was a white man. This guy seemed somewhat familiar, as if he'd seen him somewhere before.

"Where am I?"

Zhou Xu moved his head; it felt heavy, but his body felt normal. This person didn't seem malicious, and he wasn't being held against any rules. Looking at the surroundings, he seemed to be inside a ship's cabin.

"A safe place,"

the man said in fluent English.

"Who are you?"

Zhou Xu sized him up, the more he looked, the more familiar he seemed.

"The man who will save your life."

The man took out two pills. "Take these; they'll help relieve the dizziness. People who are exposed to special gas for the first time often feel disoriented after waking up. It's normal."

Zhou Xu did indeed feel his reaction was sluggish, so he took the pills and put them in his mouth.

"You are...it's you!"

After a while, feeling his mind clear up, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him—he remembered seeing this guy somewhere before.

"You...you...Russians?"

Zhou Xu truly remembered, and at the same time, it dawned on him. This guy was the Russian pimp who had tried to pick him up on the streets of Agra. Back then, he looked incredibly sleazy, but now he showed no trace of that sleazy air, as if he had become a completely different person.

Russians, Russians, Zhou Xu now understood this guy's true identity. How laughable that he had thought his plan was so secretive. First, Tuoli saw through his scheme and turned it on him, and then he was used as a pawn by the Russians.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russian intelligence organizations hadn't been very active on the international stage, and last year's sensational case of the beautiful female spy made people think that the Russian intelligence service had deteriorated significantly.

Now it seemed that these were all superficial phenomena; the Russians in front of him were the true strength of the Russian intelligence service.

The plane loss wasn't just their business; the Russians were involved too. Moreover, there was a traitor within their ranks, and there was absolutely no reason not to investigate. Zhou Xu just hadn't expected them to also be in the Middle East, and… he suddenly realized that these guys might have been waiting in the shadows all along. His pimping for him back then wasn't a coincidence, and there was also the drunken couple watching the "hitchhiking incident" with Hawkeye and Nuna nearby…

That's right, the Russians had been observing everything from the shadows.

Now, they were the ultimate winners.

"You're right, we found out that the hospital where that traitor Shemark's son was transferred was in Manchester, England. By the time our people arrived, the person had already been taken away. But we found out that one of the hospital's behind-the-scenes shareholders was the Tuoli Group, which is why they came to the Middle East."

"Your target is also Nuna?"

"That's right, but it's too risky to act on her own turf, and the chances of success are slim. It's fortunate that you appeared to attract her attention, thereby drawing out her forces, so we can wipe them all out in

one fell swoop." Damn it! He'd been used as a pawn again.

"Do you know how many of our men died!"

Zhou Xu was instantly enraged, glaring at him.

"This is war, and sacrifices are inevitable in war."

The man appeared calm, but didn't avoid his gaze.

Was this the attitude of an ally, a collaborator? Zhou Xu gritted his teeth, but ultimately didn't react.

The other man was right; the world of espionage was full of lies, betrayal, and exploitation. Being tricked and sold out only meant he was outmatched; blaming others was pointless. If they

were in his shoes, he would certainly use them without hesitation.

That was the game.

"What do you plan to do? Kill us?"

"Is it necessary? Although we don't know what the future holds, we still have a common enemy."

"Where are my men?"

"They're fine. The wounded have been properly cared for. The rest are in another compartment."

"I want to see them."

"Where are you going tomorrow?"

Lü Zhe lay in bed reading CNN news, while Su Chen was online.

The two hadn't spoken much these past few days. A woman's intuition is very sensitive. Su Chen suspected her husband might have noticed something, and she herself felt guilty but didn't dare ask, only trying her best to appear composed in front of Lü Zhe. Lu Zhe was also brooding over something, extremely annoyed. Seeing his wife, he felt a loss of affection, a lack of connection to her, and a reluctance to see her. So, although they slept in the same bed, they barely touched each other.

"Going to the tribal area,"

Su Chen said, offering no further explanation, as saying more would only make her feel guilty. Now that they had signed an agreement with the tribe, Dongxing had become a partner, and it was normal for her, as a primary translator, to frequently travel there.

"Oh!"

Zhou Xu responded casually. Suddenly, he asked, "Is Hong Shitai going?"

Su Chen flinched, a movement not escaping Lu Zhe's notice.

"Not sure, maybe he will,"

Lu Zhe said without another word, getting up from the bed and leaving. He returned after a while and went back to bed. Su Chen clearly sensed her husband's unusual attitude, but she didn't ask where he had gone.

The night passed like this…

The next morning, Su Chen left. Lu Zhe should have accompanied her, but considering his health, he was ultimately allowed to rest at headquarters.

Is everything really alright? The moment Su Chen left, Lü Zhe felt an emptiness in his heart. Who was she with now? His mind kept replaying that disgusting, obscene video. Could it be… that damned black chieftain… that he might get addicted… that he might try to take advantage of her again…?

Su Chen didn't know about the video; Lü Zhe had deleted it. He didn't want this last layer of secrecy to be broken. If Su Chen discovered the video and knew he had seen it, their marriage would be over.

This wasn't the outcome Lü Zhe wanted. The more

he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt, a constant feeling that something was going to happen today. He felt he should rush to his wife's side. Only then could he feel at ease.

He finally made it to noon, feeling restless and unable to concentrate on anything.

Now, hearing that Su Chen needed to go to the tribal area, to that black man's territory, felt like swallowing a fly—utterly disgusting. Last night, he went to find Hong Shitai and asked if it was that black guy who was behind it. His murderous look terrified Hong Shitai. After understanding his purpose, Hong Shitai swore that he would keep an eye on Su Chen and would never let the same thing happen again.

But now, Lü Zhe suddenly realized that even if it really happened again, he might not know.

Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Hong Shitai.

"Hello? Lü Zhe!"

His tone was urgent, as if his mother had died.

"What's wrong? What happened to Su Chen?"

Lü Zhe's heart skipped a beat when he saw it was his number. He had a feeling that something had happened to Su Chen.

"She... I think I saw one of Mojiya's bodyguards talking to her just now. Now I can't find her... I'm afraid something happened... Oh wait, I saw her."

Hong Shitai was panting and a little exasperated on the phone.

"She was taken into a car."

"By whom?"

Lü Zhe's hair stood on end. An inexplicable anger flared up and pierced the sky.

“Mogia’s bodyguards! She’s been taken away… taken away by Mogia’s bodyguards, it must be Mogia… You need to come quickly!”

Hong Shitai’s voice grew increasingly anxious.

“Stop them! Stop them!”

“It’s too late, they’ve already gotten in the car and left!”

“Where are you? I’m coming right now!”

“I’ll come pick you up, it’ll definitely be the same place as last time!”

Hong Shitai said, then hung up the phone.

Lü Zhe ran downstairs as fast as he could and reached the hotel lobby entrance. Soon, Hong Shitai appeared in his car. Lü Zhe didn’t wait for him to come over and ran straight to him, getting into the car and asking, “Where are you?”

He was surprised that Hong Shitai appeared so quickly, but there was no time to ask.

"They went back to the city for lunch, which isn't far from here. The afternoon was supposed to be spent at entertainment venues. Su Chen didn't want to go, and when I was about to come back, I saw Mojiya's bodyguards..."

"Drive!"

Lü Zhe didn't care about any of that now.

They quickly arrived at the place from last time and saw Su Chen being pulled out of the car by a black man, his face filled with panic and unease, as they entered the building together. Hong Shitai's car was stuck in the road, and Lü Zhe couldn't wait any longer. He pushed open the car door, jumped out of the road, and chased after them. He shouted Su Chen's name, but Su Chen and the black man had already gone inside and couldn't hear him anymore.

Lü Zhe's eyes turned red instantly. At this moment, there was nothing else in his vision except that door.

He only wanted to kill now. Anyone who dared to block his way would be torn to pieces. He had never wanted to kill as much as he did in his life. He crossed

the road and rushed to the door like a madman. Without stopping, he leaped up and stomped hard on the door.

This kick, delivered in a fit of rage, felt like it could shatter a mountain. A deafening crash echoed as the door shattered, then toppled inwards, the lock flying off the wall. Lü Zhe burst through the door

.

Behind it were two burly black men who, seeing someone break in, simultaneously reached for their guns.

Lü Zhe's body reacted instinctively, all the skills he thought he'd forgotten, honed in the army, suddenly erupting within him. Without thinking, he punched the man on the left hard in the neck, instantly knocking him to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth. The other gun was already drawn, but Lü Zhe grabbed it and twisted it with a swift, precise grappling move, snapping the trigger guard and severing the man's index finger. The black man screamed and fell to his knees, then was kicked in the chin, rolling over and the gun was now in Lü Zhe's hand.

Holding the gun, a long-forgotten feeling surged through him.

"If you've already gone this far, go all the way." Having already beaten both of them, he wasn't about to let it go. With "If you've already gone this far, go all the way" still on his mind

, Lü Zhe grabbed his gun and charged inside. Inside was Mogiya's "game room." Hearing the commotion inside, Lü Zhe gritted his teeth in rage. He aimed at the door lock and pulled the trigger. Two shots rang out, the muzzle flashing, the lock shattering. Lü Zhe, like a raging lion, eyes red with fury, charged in. Gunshots

followed from inside .

And everything that happened up to this point was faithfully recorded by hidden surveillance cameras in every corner…

Editor's Note: Two months have passed, and these two months have been incredibly painful. My grandfather, who raised me from childhood, was hospitalized with late-stage diabetes. Seeing him suffer from the pain and being unable to do anything about it was heartbreaking. I had no heart for writing. On the night of the 14th, he finally passed away. Even now, thinking about it still hurts.

I'm gathering my thoughts and posting this now, since it's been so long and I don't want to keep everyone waiting. This text was originally half of what was planned for part 6, but I'll post it anyway. The part about Jin Lin is just a cameo; I wouldn't dare compare it to Monkey King's masterpiece, it's just necessary for the plot. If Jin Lin fans want to criticize, I'll accept it.

June 9th, Isliya, Syria.

Under the night sky, the cold, earthy wind felt like a piercing knife scraping against one's face. Vehicles still came and went on the highway, with military vehicles and armored convoys full of soldiers passing by from time to time. There was a government army barracks nearby, where troops transferred from elsewhere were gathering before heading to their destinations.

In March, a dozen young people in Daraa wrote anti-government slogans and were thrown into jail, and as a result, the situation in Syria suddenly spiraled out of control. Many places became overrun with mobs almost overnight, and the whole country was in chaos. Large-scale armed riots against the current government and president have broken out in Hama and Homs, cities near Lebanon. Local police and security forces are overwhelmed, prompting the military to intervene.

Government convoys, along with tanks and artillery, are arriving daily to gather in opposition areas. According to refugees who have fled, the area is in complete chaos, essentially a war. Both sides are using real weapons; artillery shells are flying in the air, and the ground is littered with corpses and rivers of blood. The opposition, numbering 100,000, has almost completely occupied the city. In Lebanon, there are people specifically supplying weapons and ammunition to the opposition from the black market; the entire Lebanese black market is now practically monopolized by Syria. These opposition members claim to be peaceful protesters, but they attack police and soldiers indiscriminately, setting fire to police stations and outposts. There are already over a hundred deaths among the military and police, with countless others injured.

The government forces blockaded the city, and several attempts to break in were repelled. Finally, driven to desperation, they deployed artillery to bombard the city and then used tanks to force their way in. It's said that the entire city of Homs was filled with the roar of machine guns and artillery throughout the night.

Hama suffered a similar "sweep," with thousands of military and police forces driving armored vehicles to break through roadblocks and enter the city. Opposition fighters responded with machine guns and grenades, turning the entire city into a battlefield.

In Baniyas and Muazamiyah, government special forces engaged in fierce fighting with foreign militants who had secretly crossed the border, seizing a large quantity of smuggled weapons, including tens of thousands of grenades and bombs.

Syria is now on the verge of spiraling out of control.

"These people are still causing trouble. Don't they sleep at night?"

Feng Wu looked out the window at the group waving Syrian flags on the street, shouting and saluting passing military vehicles—a routine they'd been doing for days. It seemed as if nothing less than this was enough to demonstrate their patriotism.

About two hundred meters across the street, there was a construction site belonging to the Dongxing Group. This surprised Feng Wu greatly; she didn't know if it was a coincidence or something else. She knew Dongxing's background and its projects in Africa, but she hadn't expected to see the Dongxing Group's presence in the Middle East, in Syria. It seemed their business was truly large. Of course, the gate to the construction site was tightly closed, but people were occasionally peeking out from over the wall. Outside, a group of people were cheering and shouting loudly, and locals were waving the five-star red flag as if celebrating something.

Inside, the television was showing Syrian President Assad giving a speech, surrounded by a group of generals in military uniforms and high-ranking government officials, stating that he was doing everything in his power to wage an uncompromising struggle against terrorists who were destabilizing the country, and that social order would soon be restored. These were the only broadcasts on Syrian state television these days; Western programs like CNN news were no longer available.

After his speech, the people around him began to applaud and cheer enthusiastically in support of the president. Of course, in such occasions, those around him were all confidants of the Assad family, and they would applaud and support him no matter what he said.

"Who cares about sleeping these days? It's better here than Libya,"

Zhou Xu said, leaning against the wall, glancing outside, and lighting a cigarette.

Since the beginning of the year, the entire Middle East has been in the midst of a political earthquake. Traditional powerful families have suffered an unprecedented collapse, with riots, protests, and civil wars erupting everywhere. The current situation in Syria is relatively better than its neighboring countries, at least the vast majority of the army remains firmly on the side of the Bashar al-Assad family.

The Saleh family in Yemen is under attack from both tribal forces and al-Qaeda. The elite counter-terrorism forces trained by the Americans were used in the civil war, resulting in American dissatisfaction and their abandonment; their collapse is only a matter of time.

Tunisia experienced the Jasmine Revolution; President Ben Ali dissolved the government and fled abroad, and the transitional government is preparing a trial in absentia. The entire country has completely changed.

The downfall of Egyptian strongman Mubarak is also only a matter of time.

Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have seen Shiite riots, and both governments have taken strong measures to suppress them, with tanks rolling into the streets and heavily armed soldiers patrolling.

And Libya is being relentlessly bombed…

Amidst the chaos and conflict throughout the Middle East, no one noticed the presence of several foreign faces in a normally law-abiding private factory in Islamabad.

“What are those people doing at the gate?”

Feng Wu asked curiously, looking at the group waving Chinese flags and singing and dancing at the entrance of the Dongxing construction site.

“I heard the UN voted, and the EU’s proposal to sanction Syria was opposed by China and Russia. NATO’s months of efforts have failed.”

Zhou Xu took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled a smoke ring.

“Those people are definitely supporters of President Assad. They’re thanking China for standing with Assad, so any Chinese person benefits too.”

Feng Wu looked out the window, silent. The Russians and Zhou Xu definitely suspected her identity; they were testing her with their words. But she wouldn’t admit it, and they couldn’t do anything about it.

Although Zhou Xu was her brother's comrade-in-arms and had once worked under Gao Shan, who knew his background now? And those Russians weren't exactly saints either. Her mission was too sensitive; she shouldn't reveal her identity before understanding the stakes. Let them have their suspicions; she would maintain that she was a professional mercenary, here on behalf of her employer, and that her employer's identity shouldn't be revealed.

However, now that she was in their hands, it was impossible not to reveal some concrete information. Feng Wu selectively told them about her mission, mixing truth and lies, but omitting crucial details. She said she was here to hijack a ship for an anonymous employer, and she didn't know what was on board. She explained that she had been double-crossed by Tuoli's men and captured. Anyway, the ship had been taken by Tuoli's men; if the Russians wanted to know what was on board, they could ask Tuoli's men themselves.

Zhou Xu secretly observed Feng Wu's expression. To be honest, he had limited trust in this woman he had never met before, even though she was Shanmao's sister, but the current situation was rather sensitive. Moreover, it seemed that Jin Zeyu was even more cunning than her brother. He genuinely suspected she worked for the Chinese government, but he also knew she wouldn't tell him the truth.

But what connection did she have with the Tuoli Group? He'd run into her during his operation in East Africa, and now they were together again—it couldn't be a coincidence.

"Why were you there last time?"

"My job required contacting some people. I was assigned to go there to pay a deposit, that's all."

Clearly, that casino was involved with both Tuoli and the pirate group, but it was truly working for Tuoli. But why did they hide Amir from Tuoli last time?

"Both of our encounters were amidst gunfire."

"That's what we do, isn't it?"

"Your Chinese is quite good."

"Of course, I stayed in China for several years after escaping from North Korea."

The subtle probing had no effect, but Zhou Xu remained unfazed. He didn't know the full extent of Feng Wu's involvement in their mission. Based on the intelligence they had gathered, the missing fighter jet was likely somewhere in East Africa, as the Tuoli Group had a base and engineering projects there, making it a short and easy place to hide. From

the

information Feng Wu provided, they also noticed the news about the anti-piracy operation in E country, which was likely the battle where Feng Wu was double-crossed. However, the news made no mention of any cargo ships. This indicated that the E country's government forces, or one of their units, were involved.

Perhaps the real owner of that casino was this? A faction within the E country's military? This seemed more plausible, given their local influence.

And the downed Australian tycoon was most likely also the work of the Tuoli Group. The project he was trying to stop was an iron ore project between China's Dongxing Mining Group and a local tribe. The contract had already been signed, and the project had officially started. The Tuoli Group was playing a technical support role.

Zhou Xu had heard of Dongxing Group before. It was a large enterprise nominally backed by the Chinese government, often referred to as a "shadow state-owned enterprise." They acted as the vanguard for the Chinese government in expanding its influence in the international business arena. Essentially, these large investment projects were carried out under the orders of the Chinese government, and they often served as cover units for Chinese intelligence agencies. Dongxing Mining was a subsidiary of Dongxing Group, and Huashi Company, the largest cover agency for the Chinese Ministry of State Security, owned shares in Dongxing Mining.

The latest information, based on the timeline, came shortly after Feng Wu's incident. Dongxing Mining's project in the area also ran into trouble; the local chief was murdered, and the suspect was reportedly an employee of Dongxing Mining, currently at large. This sudden incident led to the project's halt, and Dongxing Mining employees are now under house arrest. The Chinese consulate and relevant agencies are coordinating the matter, and the Vice President of Country E, as the President's special envoy, is also mediating.

Is there more to this than meets the eye…?

What has Tuoli been doing so far? He stole our plane, hijacked Feng Wu's ship, clearly colluded with a certain military force in Country E, and is still cooperating with Dongxing. To determine if there's a connection, the last three points must be clarified.

What exactly was the cargo on the ship involved in the double-cross?

Which unit was responsible for the "anti-piracy" operation in Country E?

What were the specific details of the cooperative project with the Chinese?

"What are your plans next? Your mission failed; how will you explain

it to your superiors?" "Oh, I'll find a way to get the goods back. Don't worry

about that." Feng Wu smiled. Although the Russians and Zhou Xu had been subtly questioning her, she had obtained some useful information. Although not much, it was enough for her to determine her next step. At least she knew that Tuoli was behind it all. And that Lü Zhe, the unlucky guy she had used, now a fugitive murderer, was a member of Dongxing Mining. Tuoli was involved in Dongxing Mining's local projects.

If one hadn't met Talbot, they might have thought that Tuoli's attempt to contain China had failed, so they were trying their best to get involved in this project to demonstrate their presence. However, Tuoli went so far as to use extreme measures to shoot down an aircraft for the Dongxing project, indicating that he wasn't unable to contain it, but rather deliberately allowed the Chinese to obtain the project, or rather, he desperately needed Dongxing or the Chinese to do the project. But what benefit did Tuoli gain from this? This doesn't align with Tuoli's consistent style of suppressing China. The only conclusion is that Tuoli has invested so much, there must be an even bigger trap waiting for the Chinese later.

But what does this have to do with the hijacking?

Right, when the intelligence gathering in Germany failed, the higher-ups decided to activate the backup plan, resulting in her returning to E country. Dongxing was also in E country. Miraculously, while obtaining intelligence on the target ship, Dongxing Mining signed a contract on the same day. Her mission was ruined, and Dongxing's project was also stalled. Looking back now, it's clear that Tuoli was behind all of this.

While they obtained intelligence, Tuoli also obtained intelligence.

Was this intelligence itself a conspiracy by Tuoli?

Then who exactly was the intelligence provider? Feng Wu knew that there was actually a mysterious contact person within the Dongxing Group. She didn't know who this person was, but it was this person who helped her select Lü Zhe as the target last time. Even Gao Shan, the superior, hadn't revealed this person's specific identity at the time; he probably didn't know either.

Could it be this person?

But if even that old European expert with all his connections couldn't obtain this intelligence, how could he possibly get it so easily?

If that's the case, why list him as a backup plan? Why not just contact him directly from the start?

But this is just intuition, just speculation.

The current situation is that Tuoli is colluding with a certain military force in Country E, and the ships are likely in their hands.

Tuoli is deliberately facilitating Dongxing's Country E project, which is very unusual.

The provider of the ship intelligence is actually working for Tuoli; this person should be in Country E, otherwise they wouldn't have asked me to come to Country E to collect the intelligence.

Now it's obvious that the old black-haired pirate, Mennilik, was betrayed. The most likely person to betray him is that guy from the casino, and his real boss is likely the military that attacked me. This person needs to be found.

Also, what role does Tuoli play in Dongxing's project? This needs to be investigated. It would be best to find Lü Zhe directly; he's a direct participant, but I don't know if he's still alive.

Is the source of the ship intelligence related to Tuoli's project in Dongxing?

There are too many things I don't understand yet; for now, I can only take it one step at a time. Or I should start with Tuoli's affair with Dongxing, but should I contact the people back home? Or perhaps she should contact Gao Shan first. Right now, she was all alone, and Gao Shan probably didn't even know she was alive. She really wanted him to know she was alive.

"Maybe we should join forces; at least we have a common enemy,"

Zhou Xu said sincerely.

"With you, I can accept it, but with those guys, I can't trust them. They sell people out like it's nothing. You should be careful."

"I will,"

Zhou Xu smiled. "So when are you leaving?"

"How do you know I'm leaving?"

"Of course you'll leave if you're not cooperating, otherwise what's the point of staying here? Are you confident? Those Russians aren't so easily fooled. They won't let you leave easily."

"I was trained by the Korean People's Army Special Forces..."

Feng Wu smiled and turned to leave.

The next morning, the Russians informed her of Feng Wu's disappearance, knocking two burly Russian men unconscious before leaving.

The pimp, looking surprised, pretended to ask Zhou Xu what the two had talked about the previous night, but Zhou Xu could see the sly smile in his eyes. However, when his technicians came to tell him an hour later that the signal from the subcutaneous tracker secretly implanted in Feng Wu had inexplicably cut off, his expression didn't change, but the sly smile in his eyes vanished instantly. "

Well done!" Zhou Xu thought to himself.

"I want to say something first. Since we're all looking for the same thing, and we share the same enemy, I think regardless of what happened before, our relationship should move forward. Sharing our intelligence will make our work more efficient."

The pimp rambled on, but Zhou Xu and his team listened expressionlessly. Unlike Feng Wu, they were currently investigating the case jointly with Russia, essentially allies. The Russians, however, were using them as pawns. Although they later came to their rescue, Zhou Xu's side had already suffered casualties, which greatly damaged their relationship. Zhou Xu had already reported this to his country, and it seemed that the country had protested to the Russians. Faced with pressure from above, the Russians' attitude softened.

Only after he finished his rambling did Zhou Xu express understanding, offering a bunch of insincere platitudes about sincere cooperation. He himself had received instructions from home to swallow his anger and not fall out with the Russians, since the country still needed their support. If the Russians stopped doing business, they would at most lose some money, but if he stopped doing business, national defense would be in danger.

Enough of the preamble, let's get to the point.

"According to the interrogation, the stolen fighter jet was refueled in Iraq. But besides that, that woman doesn't know anything else. She was only responsible for some secret affairs of Tuoli in Iraq, but she didn't know the final plan. She had contact with a wide variety of people in Iraq, often people connected to Western military and government forces."

The pimp listed people on the computer screen. Zhou Xu glanced at them; they were all influential figures. He recognized one of them—the man he'd seen having dinner with that woman the other day. This guy was a US Air Force officer, a major.

"What's the relationship between that woman and this guy?"

Zhou Xu asked, pointing to the major.

“Lover, she has lovers with many people. This woman seems like a slut.”

The pimp’s lewd expression reappeared; now he really looked like a pimp.

“No other relationships?”

“If there are, she’ll tell us. Don’t underestimate our interrogation skills.”

Judging from his confident demeanor, he’d probably used some kind of drug; Russians are notorious for this.

“Have she had any financial dealings with anyone?”

“I couldn’t get that out of her. Maybe not, maybe it’s not her responsibility.”

The pimp gave a vague answer. Zhou Xu felt this guy was probably still hiding something from them and decided to cut to the chase.

“Did she say anything about the stolen plane?”

“She was only responsible for finding the airport and contacting fuel, but she gave me a name, The World.”

“Mr. World… what does that mean?”

“That’s their organization’s title. She calls herself The Popess, the High Priestess.”

“Then who is this Mr. World…?”

Zhou Xu found it strange; it sounded like tarot cards.

Presumably, the mysterious female assassin, Red Death, was “Death.”

"It's her boss; he was the one who orchestrated this that day."

"What's Mr. World's real name?"

"She doesn't know."

"Who else is in their organization?"

"Only Mr. World knows."

"So that means there's nothing there?"

Zhou Xu was getting annoyed. Was this Russian deliberately playing them, deliberately stalling for time? However, he knew that if Feng Wu were here, she had mentioned Mr. World to him before, but unfortunately, the Russians wouldn't know that lead now.

"Of course not. Now that we know Tuoli is the mastermind, things are much easier. Based on the plane's refueling information, Tuoli only has a few strongholds within the flight range, and the only one where our surveillance capabilities are weak is East Africa. No trace of the plane has been found in other areas, so the most likely scenario is that the plane went somewhere in East Africa. Furthermore, Tuoli colluded with the E country's government forces in a double-cross, and then killed Talbot, making a series of large-scale moves in Africa. We can conclude that he has a major plan in Africa, and it's very likely that our plane's theft is related to this plan."

"Do we have to go to Africa again?"

Zhou Xu raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Tuoli is currently involved in a Chinese iron ore project in E country, and according to our intelligence, the government forces they're colluding with are troops belonging to the local tribes that signed contracts with the Chinese. We don't know if the Chinese are also involved in Tuoli's operations, but there's something strange."

"We checked the information about the ship your little sister described; it departed from the port of Hamburg, Germany, but the cargo on board is quite unusual."

The pimp paused here, leaving everyone in suspense.

"Drugs or weapons?"

"Neither. It's a unique technology possessed by the European Physical Society: a high-temperature superconducting electromagnetic device, a cutting-edge nuclear technology device applicable to nuclear physics. Its original destination was Japan, but it was intercepted en route."

Zhou Xu gasped. He knew the Russians' intelligence capabilities were sufficient to uncover this, but he was truly unprepared to learn such significant information. Feng Wu was incredibly audacious; she dared to take such a thing? He then realized that Feng Wu must have powerful backing, likely a government; otherwise, it would have been almost impossible for her to succeed with civilian resources alone.

"Based on our assessment, China is the most likely target. But this is strange. Tuoli is involved in Chinese business on an iron ore project. Since they are partners, why would they target Chinese secret operations? What kind of relationship do they have? And then, the tribe's chief died mysteriously. It's said the murderer was an employee of Dongxing Company, and his whereabouts are currently unknown. This is another question. Is this Chinese retaliation for the hijacking?"

"The missing Chinese assassin, Lü Zhe, is likely an insider. Finding him will reveal everything."

"There might be others searching. We need to act quickly."

"What do you mean? You mean Tuoli's people?"

"Your North Korean sister, her backer is likely Chinese. Where do you think she'll start if she wants to cause trouble for Tuoli?"

The pimp deliberately emphasized the word "North Korean," clearly suspecting Zhou Xu was hiding something from him.

"Furthermore, according to our latest information, a batch of rare alloy materials has appeared for sale on the Somali black market. These are likely components for the electromagnetic generator. The Japanese JCIA (Cabinet Intelligence Agency) has already dispatched personnel to Africa. They won't let any related clues slip by. Clearly , this Chinese man named Lü Zhe is also on their radar. We need to hurry.

" ... ********** ... In the conference room on the hotel's rooftop, only a few people sat silently watching the video recording. On the screen, Lü Zhe, like a raging lion, wrestled with security guards, knocking two down before bursting into the room with a gun. Gunshots rang out, and Lü Zhe quickly ran out in a panic. Although there was no direct footage of him killing someone, in their territory, this evidence was sufficient. The chief's brother, the current chief, was furious, pointing at the screen and roaring. On the other side, a tall, robust black man in his fifties tried to calm him down. Meanwhile, the Chinese ambassador to E country watched with a grim face, his translator quietly translating the shouts from the other side. He glanced occasionally at the scholarly-looking middle-aged man behind him; this man, from China, seemed calm, as if the shouts from the other side hadn't affected his thinking at all. Finally, the agonizing meeting ended. After the new chief stormed off in his car, the burly black man and the ambassador's entourage left the hotel. "Thank you so much for your help in this matter, Your Excellency Vice President," the ambassador said first. Knowing he was in the wrong, he felt compelled to express his gratitude. It was utterly shameful for his own countrymen to cause such a commotion. If word got out, the negative impact on China's international image would be unimaginable; if he didn't handle this properly, his political career might be over. “We’re old friends, so there’s no need to mention this.” The Vice President spoke fluent English. “Developing trade relations with China and improving the foreign investment environment are policies personally decided by the President. In short, we must strive to make things develop in a positive direction. However, although the matter can be controlled and not publicized, the perpetrators must still be brought to justice. Otherwise, it will be difficult to handle without giving them an explanation. You know, tribal politics in our country have a great influence on the central government. If he continues to make trouble, we are not confident that we can suppress him, and our Chinese company personnel will have to stay here for a while longer. Of course, we will definitely not let them suffer. We can agree to his demands for the perpetrator to be caught, for the company personnel not to leave the country before he is caught, for not issuing a public apology, and for additional investment. Of course, I will continue to work on his case.” “I understand. In any case, thank you.” “Nobody wants this to happen, nobody wants our cooperation to be affected, and I will do my best to do what I can.” After the Vice President finished speaking, he got into his car and left. After watching him leave, the ambassador and the scholarly-looking middle-aged man who had been following behind him got into the car. "You were sent from the country. What do you think of this? This wasn't your intelligence department's doing, was it?" "No, we didn't do it." The middle-aged man's tone was very calm, as if he didn't care about the matter at all. "No? I've seen Lü Zhe's file. He's a retired paratrooper. Doesn't your First General Bureau like to recruit from there?" The ambassador's face was very unpleasant. He had just been acting all humble and subservient to the man, and now he was in a terrible mood. “We recruit people with stable mental fortitude; someone as impulsive as him would be eliminated in the first round of screening.” “Hmph!” The ambassador snorted. “So what do you plan to do?” “Find this Lü Zhe.” “Who knows if he’s still alive? These local tyrants are capable of anything.” “If he’s dead, they’ll definitely let us know. For them, it’ll be the end of it all, no evidence against him. Don’t forget, there’s no video of the shooting; we actually know nothing about what happened in that room. It’s hard to say whether Lü Zhe is really the murderer. I think he was used.” “How so?” “The starting point of this matter is very suspicious. Why is Lü Zhe’s wife, that Su Chen, involved? How did she get involved with the deceased, and how did Lü Zhe find out about it? How did he, a stranger in this place, end up here? It’s all too coincidental. Now even Su Chen is missing. Where is she?” “Didn’t that guy say that Lü Zhe and Su Chen conspired to murder his brother?” "He's talking nonsense. He was on his own turf, and he has that videotape as evidence. As long as it's confirmed that our people killed him, the reason doesn't matter. He can say whatever he wants. There's definitely something going on here!" "This matter is related to your operations in the open sea..." "It's hard to say now, but I'm in full charge of this matter, and I will give Beijing a plausible answer." "Good, since you say so, the matter is entrusted to you. This matter has already affected the central government's foreign policy. The Security Council voted against it. There must be a factor in the failure of this operation. Relations with the EU are actually deteriorating, and they're not acknowledging anything now. You can imagine how much pressure there is. Let me know in advance if you need any cooperation."

The ambassador shifted all the blame onto the middle-aged man, thinking about how to report back home and downplay his own responsibility.

Just then, the man's phone rang. He took it out, glanced at it, his expression unchanged, but a glint of lightning flashed in his eyes.

"Hello, is the line secure?"...

"I understand. Where are you now? You need to report to me immediately."...

"I'll send someone to pick you up. Someone will be looking for you in the yellow zone. Security code 51." The middle-aged man only spoke three sentences during the entire call before hanging up. The ambassador glanced at him; he knew these intelligence agents were always cunning and secretive, and there were several like that in his embassy.

"Any progress?"

"Maybe, it's still uncertain. I have many things to sort out. I need to make another call."

With that, he dialed a number using a dedicated secure phone line.

"Hello, is this Xiao Hou? This is Gao Shan . " ...

********** ... This was the designated yellow zone for the rendezvous. Honestly, hearing Gao Shan's voice made her feel safe; it was as calm, steady, and gentle as ever. But was he also in Syria? Right now, Gao Shan was the only person she could trust and rely on. A while later, a car arrived. Feng Wu immediately sensed that this car was likely there to see her; it was extraordinary—a stretched black Lincoln with a small flag on it. It quickly stopped in front of Feng Wu. The driver's face appeared behind the window—a very beautiful young woman, seemingly Asian. "Are you Feng Wu?" the beautiful woman asked softly, speaking fluent Mandarin. "Who are you?" Feng Wu countered in English. "I'm here to pick you up. Tell me your security code." The woman recited a string of numbers, perfectly accurate—the security code for the rendezvous. Feng Wu thought to herself, "I never knew one of my field colleagues was such a beautiful woman. It's unbelievable." However, she still gave her security code. Then the car door opened, revealing another stunningly beautiful young woman inside, who looked remarkably like the driver. Their attire was also similar: the signature black leather jacket, tight black leather shorts, black stockings, and black pointed-toe boots of a vampire warrior from *Underworld*. This all-black ensemble, combined with their beautiful faces, exuded a somewhat eerie charm. Feng Wu was utterly stunned. Finding even one woman like this was rare, and now there were two! The security department was truly full of hidden talents; anyone who didn't know better would think this was a movie set. "Please sit," the beautiful woman in the back seat smiled and gestured. Feng Wu got into the car and sat down. The car started and drove along the highway towards the suburbs. "You... are also..." Feng Wu hesitated, tentatively probing as she assessed the car's direction. "Don't we look alike?" the beautiful woman smiled, a captivating smile that made Feng Wu's heart flutter. These two women didn't seem like secret agents. Their demeanor was so measured and pleasant, as if they had received specialized training. They resembled noble ladies-in-waiting from an ancient court. Although Feng Wu had never seen what ancient court ladies looked like, these two women gave her that impression. "You're both very beautiful, so beautiful. You don't seem like... well... too eye-catching." "You're beautiful too, and your temperament is... indescribable, a beauty with a strong, sharp edge. You were in the military before, weren't you?" The beautiful woman scrutinized her with a measured gaze, which gave Feng Wu goosebumps. "Her temperament is very similar to Sister Feng Yun's." "Who is Feng Yun? Are you... sent by Gao Shan?" Feng Wu couldn't stand their judgmental comments and, at the same time, felt that these two women didn't seem like secret agents from the Ministry of Security, so she couldn't help but feel suspicious. "I was sent by my master to pick you up. Ask him any questions when you see him." "Master..." Feng Wu was even more confused. What did that mean? In this day and age, people still use such titles? They encountered a government roadblock ahead, causing a traffic jam. The Lincoln slowed down, but didn't completely shut off. Instead, it turned onto another military access road. A soldier at the checkpoint waved to stop the car, about to yell at them. The beautiful driver smiled and handed over a pass. The soldier was startled to see it was a high-level pass issued by the Department of Defense. He immediately stood at attention, saluted, and let them through without even checking who the passengers were. Under the watchful eyes of all the soldiers standing at attention and saluting, the car passed the checkpoint. Feng Wu had taken this route on her way here; the barracks were not far ahead. The car had actually driven straight into the barracks. If it weren't for the security code matching, and if it weren't for her confidence in Gao Shan, she would have already taken action. The barracks were full of vehicles, and soldiers in full gear were moving about in neat rows. Various supplies were unloaded and piled up like mountains on the roadside, and armored vehicles and tanks were everywhere. But the beautiful driver bypassed these obstacles and drove directly onto an airstrip inside the barracks. Several Soviet-made attack helicopters were parked on the runway, and a military transport plane was unloading cargo. However, Feng Wu's first noticeable feature was a Gulfstream minivan, and under its wing, a black Mercedes-Benz with government license plates was parked. Two men were talking intimately beside it—a young Chinese man and a Syrian man. Seeing the Lincoln approach, the two exchanged a few more words, then shook hands warmly. The Syrian man glanced back at the parked Lincoln, then got into the Mercedes and drove away. This person… seemed familiar… In that fleeting glimpse, Feng Wu felt she vaguely recognized the departing Syrian man. She had no doubt about her memory; she was certain she had seen him before. As she tried to recall, the beautiful woman gestured for her to get out of the car. The three of them got out together, and Feng Wu clearly saw the young man before her. He wasn't old, no more than thirty. He was a little taller than her, with regular, refined features, and wore gold-rimmed glasses. He wasn't exactly handsome, but he was very energetic, with bright eyes and a subtle smile always playing on his lips. Facing this person reminded Feng Wu of a high mountain. She had the same indescribable feeling when facing mountains, as if this person wasn't a person, but a solid mountain, unshakable by any storm. With him as her support, she could always feel at ease.

But at the same time, she thought of another person… the “James Bond” who sent people to imprison and torture her.

Like Gao Shan and the man in front of her, the three shared a similar temperament.

This person… had a leader's aura… what was his background?

Feng Wu looked up at the Gulfstream and was shocked to find the words “Dongxing” prominently displayed on it. Dongxing, the Dongxing Group? What were they doing here? Right, there was a Dongxing construction project here, but who was this man to Dongxing? Did Gao Shan send him? How did he know Gao Shan?

“Hello, you must be Feng Wu?”

he said in a perfect Beijing accent.

“Who are you?”

Feng Wu hesitated.

“We have mutual friends. Gao Shan sent me to pick you up. He’s waiting to see you. Let’s not waste any more time, let’s go.”

The man gestured for her to leave.

“Go? How?”

Feng Wu was a little confused. Was she supposed to leave on this plane? Syria was so chaotic right now; their airspace was probably closed. How could she just leave like that? Did he think this was his own backyard?

“Let’s take a plane, isn’t that convenient?”

The man smiled, seemingly finding the question strange.

“Is this your plane?”

Feng Wu wondered why she had asked such a stupid question.

“It’s mine, but it’s pretty much the same as the ones our group uses. Don’t worry, I know a few people in the Syrian government. Our plane will be fine once it’s airborne. Let’s go.”

He turned and went up the gangway.

Feng Wu followed behind him, increasingly convinced that this man was the one she was thinking of.

“What’s your surname?”

she asked tentatively.

The man climbed into the cabin, sat down, and opened a can of cola.

“No need for formalities, my surname is Hou.”

Hou! Although Feng Wu had already guessed, she was still surprised to hear him admit it himself. “You’re Hou Long…”

Before she could finish speaking, a loud bang was heard in the distance, followed by flames and thick smoke. Most of the troops outside were still maintaining discipline, but some were in disarray, and others were rushing towards the direction of the explosion.

“This damn place… it’s so damn noisy!”

the man cursed, turning his gaze away. The two beautiful women who had followed him sat down next to him. One of them looked in that direction and said, "The opposition must be causing trouble again." The plane began taxiing on the runway and accelerating.

"Brother Tao, sit tight, we're about to take off,"

the other woman said.

"Are you Hou... President Hou of Dongxing?"

Feng Wu never expected to meet such a legendary figure. His age, appearance, demeanor, the two beautiful women beside him, and the plane—it was definitely him.

"That's right, it's me,"

the man readily admitted.

It really was him! Feng Wu felt a surge of excitement. What was this big shot doing in Syria? Was he here specifically to pick me up? Right, "I know a few people in the Syrian government..."

This sentence suddenly sparked a thought in Feng Wu's mind. She remembered the Syrian man from earlier; she had seen him on TV, one of Assad's close associates. Because he hadn't been on screen much, Feng Wu didn't remember him well. The

Syrian government person he mentioned must be that one. Although she didn't know what he did, he must be a high-ranking official in the president's faction; otherwise, he wouldn't be in that position. With this person looking after her, the journey was naturally smooth. Feng Wu also realized that he hadn't come specifically for her; perhaps he was in Syria on business and was just giving her a ride.

"Do you know Gao Shan?"

"We have some dealings."

The man's expression was enigmatic.

"You're in Syria... on business?"

"You could say that. Our group has projects here, and I personally have some investment dealings with some groups here."

The man said briefly and then stopped.

"You know about your iron ore project in East Africa?"

"Yes, I'm going to E country next, so I'm taking you to see Gao Shan on the way."

"Gao Shan in E country?"

Feng Wu was startled. Gao Shan hadn't said where he was on the phone, but she didn't know he was already in E country. This was bad news. Tuoli had so much influence in E country now, even the government forces were colluding with them. If Gao Shan's identity was exposed, he might be in grave danger. She had experienced their methods firsthand.

"I don't know where he is. I just followed his instructions to get you to your destination. Don't misunderstand, I'm just a cameo character in this story. After I get you there, the author will probably have me disappear and return home. If you're looking for help, don't even think about it. It's still your turn to shine. Now, I suggest you get a full medical check-up, take a good shower, and relax."

Feng Wu complied with his suggestion, but later discovered that the plane was quite well-equipped. It had the latest electronic scanning device, scanning her entire body. No suspicious signals were found, and all her bodily functions were basically normal, with no infectious diseases detected. Apart from the subcutaneous implant in her arm, nothing else was added. However, she had already removed that device herself, at the cost of a small wound on her arm.

The flight attendant skillfully treated the wound, using some kind of medicine, but the effect was very obvious; the wound immediately stopped hurting and quickly scabbed over.

The bathroom space was large enough for one person, and the lighting was soft. Feng Wu sighed at how the wealthy knew how to enjoy life. A bathroom on an airplane, complete with chilled wine bottles and glasses—what could be more luxurious?

Now, she too could experience bathing thousands of meters in the air. She quickly undressed, filled the tub, and settled in. Soaking in it felt incredibly comfortable. These past few days had been a rollercoaster of life and death, filled with anxiety among the Russians. This rare chance to relax was incredibly precious. As she soaked, her eyelids grew heavy, and she felt sleepy.

Just as she was drifting off, another person entered the bathroom. Startled, Feng Wu jumped up as if electrocuted. Her eyes swept over the person, and her hand instinctively reached for the wine bottle. The newcomer smiled sweetly, gently putting her index finger to her lips in a shushing gesture, while simultaneously pointing outside. Feng Wu then

recognized the newcomer as one of the two beautiful women—presumably the female driver. Then she listened carefully to the outside. Because of the good soundproofing, she couldn't hear anything outside when the door was closed, but now that the door was a crack open, she could faintly hear the panting and moaning of a man and woman making love.

The beautiful woman's smile seemed somewhat ambiguous.

Feng Wu climbed out of the bathtub and peeked out, only to see on the sofa that a man's muscular, naked body was pressing down on a woman's sexy, alluring body, writhing wildly. She could vaguely see a large, erect penis peeking out from the shadows where they were joined, like a ferocious beast relentlessly violating a vagina engorged with excitement. Feng Wu stared, dumbfounded. She had never seen such a magnificent genitalia before, probably even more impressive than those of male actors in European and American pornographic films.

The woman's joyful and excited moans floated in the air, mixed with the man's heavy breathing full of masculinity, and the sound of flesh rubbing and slapping. All of this converged into a lewd torrent, stimulating Feng Wu's hearing and sight. Perhaps it was because her body and mind were too relaxed at this moment, but she actually felt a surge of spring within her.

The man rolled over and lifted the woman into his arms. She straddled his hips, her neck arched back, her long, glossy black hair flying wildly. He buried his face in her neck, kissing her smooth skin passionately, while his hands gripped her waist, thrusting upwards powerfully.

The woman clung to his neck, reveling in the pleasure of their physical intimacy, her body swaying with each movement. His thrusts were clearly powerful, her weight almost negligible.

Feng Wu realized she was somewhat captivated. It seemed she was still flesh and blood after all; her training could only suppress her instincts, but primal desires remained. She wanted to touch herself, but she hadn't forgotten the person beside her, and felt a little embarrassed by this spying. Yet, the passionate, entwined desire seemed to have a magical hold on her, so much so that she only realized it when the mature, beautiful, naked female body was completely pressed against her from behind.

"Oh..."

Feng Wu initially tried to pull away, but the feeling of being touched by the woman was too pleasurable. Her hands, as if possessed by magic, roamed over her chest and lower abdomen, while gently embracing her from behind. Her slender fingertips seemed to carry a magical current, instantly awakening and igniting her desire.

A moan escaped her throat involuntarily. For the first time in her life, Feng Wu felt weak and powerless, wanting to immerse herself in this exquisite pleasure and never wake up.

She slowly sat back until she was fully nestled in the woman's lap. The woman kissed Feng Wu's neck and wet hair with wet kisses, her tongue gently and skillfully teasing her earlobe. Her jade-like hands, like serpents, slipped between Feng Wu's legs, arousing her desire. Feng Wu's legs tightened; she felt the woman's fingertips penetrate her body, while her sensitive spots were constantly rubbed, her clitoris swelling, and her body secreting fluids at an accelerated pace.

She had never experienced anything like this with a man recently. In Iraq, she had only been brutally raped by Tuoli's mercenaries, experiencing only pain and anger, without any pleasure. Back in North Korea, she felt like a machine, devoid of any sensation. Even when those leaders pressed her down on the bed, she felt no pain.

In China, working as a prostitute sometimes brought shame, but mostly a decadent pleasure. Now… this feeling…

before… it seemed like she'd experienced it before…

that man named Song Bin…

The woman's fingers slid to her nipples, skillfully kneading them. Waves of pleasure surged through Feng Wu's tailbone, a tingling, throbbing desire coursing through her body. She let out a comfortable moan, her arm arching behind her to stroke the woman's hair. The woman's lips gently pressed against her back, the fiery red phoenix tattoo on her back radiating a steam of lust. Unable to resist the hand's teasing, Feng Wu suddenly grabbed the woman's arm, then let out a labored moan, her body tensing for a few seconds before trembling and going limp. The woman's face remained pressed against her shoulder blade, her soft, full breasts pressing against her back. At the same time, the woman gently withdrew her hand, revealing glistening, silvery, sticky fluid on it.

A finger was brought to Feng Wu's lips, and Feng Wu found herself not hesitating at all. She parted her lips slightly and took the finger, covered in her own bodily fluids, into her mouth, then sucked on it again and again in the most ecstatic way she could imagine. Then she turned around, caressed the woman's legs, spread them apart, and pressed her face between them.

Good heavens… what's wrong with me?

Feng Wu cried out inwardly, but at this moment, she was like a drunkard, her mind beginning to wander, her body out of control, her desire already burning. She diligently licked the woman's clean, beautiful labia, occasionally brushing aside the neatly trimmed pubic hair. The woman's body heaved with excitement, and she began to breathe heavily.

The steam in the bathroom filled the air with eroticism, and Feng Wu's tongue teased the woman's clitoris, skillfully slipping and sliding into the mucous membrane between the labia.

Another pair of hands reached out from behind. This time, Feng Wu's reaction wasn't as intense. The woman's fragrance filled her nostrils, her body pressed against hers, her hands caressing her breasts. Another beautiful woman had quietly entered as well. The three women's naked bodies intertwined, their wanton moans echoing in the air. Feng Wu felt another surge of desire within her, the passion of lust once again taking over her mind.

A strong arm wrapped around her thigh. A man? Feng Wu immediately realized it might be him, that young, legendary business tycoon. He had joined the game too. His muscular physique and magnificent penis flashed through Feng Wu's mind. That thing entering her body… she would be filled, she would be…

would he treat her gently? "Or forcefully conquer my body..."

Feng Wu's fantasy made even herself blush, but at this moment she felt she had no self-control, no strength to refuse. Then, a hard, hot object touched her inner thigh, and at the same time, the man's body squeezed into her flesh. The strong masculine scent immediately occupied all her senses. She found that she was not disgusted, but rather somewhat intoxicated. "

Let him come..."

The powerful force spread her labia, and a huge, hot pleasure filled her vagina, reaching all the way to her cervix. She couldn't help but let out a long sigh, and then her body began to contract and tremble violently, and an orgasm surged forth.

The man leaned down, kissing her neck from behind. After her climax subsided, he began to thrust rhythmically. Feng Wu was overwhelmed by the intense pleasure, and the man's movements intensified. Two women sandwiched them, rubbing her sensitive spots with their soft skin. Feng Wu collapsed completely onto the women, the man pressing down on her buttocks from behind, thrusting excitedly. The sound of flesh slapping against flesh was filled with sensual, decadent pleasure.
The plane flew through the clouds, below which stretched the boundless blue ocean, leaving the clouds behind. The vast African continent was already visible on the distant horizon.

"Oh, baby..."

The man held Feng Wu's waist, churning his penis inside her. Copious amounts of fluid flowed down Feng Wu's thighs. The woman licked their genitals, while her fingers played with their anuses. Another woman faced Feng Wu, kissing her lips. Their saliva smeared their faces and chins, the soft, wet sounds making it seem as if they were savoring a delicacy.

At this moment, Feng Wu could only moan softly, feeling herself melting, melting into the intertwining and rubbing of flesh against flesh. She had completely transformed into a female beast seeking carnal pleasure, desperately wanting more, while the man's strong penis had already churned her vagina into a muddy mess.

The man's breathing became heavy, and Feng Wu instinctively began to thrust backward, her greedy labia completely enveloping the man's penis, layers of tender flesh gripping the fibrous shaft. The man began to growl, thrusting with all his might to the very depths.

A wave of scalding heat poured into her body, and Feng Wu's body convulsed wildly as if electrocuted, her vision blurring. Then, the desire within her surged forth like a burst dam. She arched her body as she tried to straighten, and the man held her tightly in his arms. Then, all four of them collapsed onto the floor, the room filled only with the panting of passion after the storm…

The plane landed, taxiing on the runway for a while before coming to a stop.

Feng Wu was gently shaken awake from her sleep; it was one of the best sleeps she'd ever had. Once awake, the first thing she recalled was that wild and absurd passion—it felt like a dream. She moved her body, finding it incredibly comfortable, light and energetic; she'd recovered remarkably quickly.

The bedroom door opened, and a beautiful woman entered with a set of clothes, smiling as she helped her change.

"Our brief time together is probably coming to an end," she said,

her tone tinged with regret.

Feng Wu's eyes cleared, and she calmly asked, "Is it Gao Shan who's here?"

"Ask Brother Tao," she replied.

Outside, the man was impeccably dressed in a suit and tie. Seeing Feng Wu, he nodded to her but said nothing more.

Actually, Feng Wu was afraid he would say something—that her identity meant they could never cross paths; perhaps she was just a minor interlude in his life, but wasn't the same true for her?

"Where's Gao Shan?"

The man handed her a piece of paper. Feng Wu glanced at it, then burned it.

"Goodbye."

Stepping onto this country's soil again, a terrible emotion surged within Feng Wu. So many comrades, all dead in this godforsaken place. Tuo Li! You wait! It's your misfortune that you didn't kill me; now that I'm back, it's my turn to deal with you.

She wanted to grit her teeth, but when she actually saw Gao Shan, Feng Wu felt a strange mix of emotions.

Inside the car, Gao Shan remained as calm and composed as ever.

Facing the man who had nurtured, supported, and promoted her, Feng Wu had always regarded him as her respected and trusted mentor. He had defied all opposition to assign her this task, and now she had ended up in such a disastrous situation; she was too ashamed to face him. Feng Wu forced herself to look directly at the man opposite her, biting her lip.

"You've suffered..."

"I'm sorry... I messed it up..."

Feng Wu finally couldn't bear it anymore. As soon as she opened her mouth, her nose stung, and tears almost welled up. She had never cried in the face of countless hardships; she had never been so weak since entering this world. But now, facing Gao Shan, she truly felt she had let down the man's trust.

"Report the situation."

"Yes."

Feng Wu quickly wiped away her tears and then recounted everything she knew.

"Tuo Li Group... the Russians..."

Gao Shan pondered, "It seems my judgment was correct. There's a lot more to this than meets the eye. It seems someone wants to copy this..."

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