"It's me."

Song Heping said in a deep voice.

The other end of the line fell into a deathly silence.

A few seconds later, a joyful cry came from the other end of the phone.

"Song?! Lao Song! God... you're alive! You're alive!"

Ferrari's voice suddenly rose, filled with the ecstasy of having survived the catastrophe and tremendous shock, incoherent, "Everyone outside is saying... they all said you were blown to pieces! Utekin and the others... couldn't be reached... I thought..."

The immense emotional upheaval made Ferrari's breathing heavy.

"I'm alive."

Song Heping interrupted him, his voice unusually calm, even somewhat cold.

Now was not the time for reminiscing.

Without meeting Jiang Feng and the others, nowhere was safe.

He glanced at the call duration blinking on the satellite phone screen, only five minutes.

"Listen to me, I'm currently in Gale Town. Get Jiang Feng and the others to come find me. I'll be waiting for them at the south of the town. Contact them immediately and have them come..."

He quickly reported the name of the dilapidated town where he and Sayina were at the moment,

"Understood! I'll contact them right away, tell them to go find you! God! They'll be overjoyed when they hear this news! You have no idea how everyone has been these past two days!"

Ferrari curbed his excitement instantly, his voice turning urgent and clear, swiftly repeating the meeting location.

"How are you now? Are you safe? Are you..."

"Temporarily safe. With a child. We'll talk when we meet."

Song Heping decisively said, "The time is almost up. See you at the meeting point in an hour."

"Understood! In an hour! You..." Ferrari's voice was full of worry and unfinished words.

"Click."

Song Heping didn't hesitate, directly pressing the hang-up button.

The cold busy tone instantly replaced Ferrari's anxious voice.

The lean man immediately stepped forward, swiftly putting away the satellite phone like guarding a treasure, locking it in a box.

Song Heping held Sayina, turned, and drove to the agreed meeting point outside the town—behind a few massive weathered rocks in the lee of a desolate sand dune.

He found a relatively clean shadow of the dune to sit down, placed Sayina beside him, and carefully wrapped her in his robe.

The little girl remained silent, hugging her knees, her small body curled into a ball, her chin resting on her knees, her empty eyes gazing at the distant outlines of the sand dunes as if her soul had drifted away from her little body.

Song Heping sat silently beside her, like an eternally unchanging rock.

He took out a water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and brought it to Sayina's mouth.

"Have some water." His voice was low.

Sayina had no reaction, her long eyelashes drooping like two withered butterfly wings.

Song Heping didn't insist, withdrew the water bottle, and took a sip himself.

At her age, experiencing such a huge change and mental trauma would lead to temporary autism, unwilling to communicate with people.

This is a normal phenomenon.

The cold water slipped through his dry and burning throat, bringing a momentary clarity.

He needed to think.

Faris's death, Sayina's trauma, the blood debt of the Freedom Alliance, the joint strangulation by the CIA and MI6...

Chaotic clues churned in his mind, the magma of anger rushing under cold reason seeking an outlet.

He closed his eyes, forcing himself into a state of almost ruthless deduction.

His fingers unconsciously moved over the hot sand, sketching a vague strategic map.

Priority one: stay alive, keep Sayina alive.

Next: gather strength.

Then...

His fingers drew a deep, angry mark in the sand—revenge.

The goal is clear: make the treacherous MI6, especially that high and mighty Lady M, pay an unbearable price.

She thought he was just a pawn.

Then it's time to show her he's a player at the edge of the chessboard.

Time passed second by second in the scorching air and dead silence.

Sayina finally seemed to run out of all strength, her small head nodding bit by bit, finally resting on Song Heping's arm, falling into a deep sleep.

Even in her sleep, her brow furrowed tightly, her small body jerking as if in fright now and then.

Song Heping took off his still relatively clean undershirt and gently covered her with it, like covering a small flower that could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

After an unknown amount of time, a few quickly moving black dots finally appeared at the edge of the distant sand dunes.

Song Heping's eyes instantly became as sharp as a hawk's, his hand silently resting on the holster at his waist. The black dots quickly magnified, and the outlines became clear—they were three people!

The one leading was as burly as a bear, precisely the Cook.

Behind him was Jiang Feng, moving agilely, his eyes cautiously sweeping the surroundings, and Utekin, with a scratched but steady face.

Though the Cook was using a crutch, he was practically sprinting over. His face, weathered by fatigue and smoke, now mingled with incredible joy and relief.

Just a few steps away from Song Heping, his calloused hands had already opened, tossing aside the crutch, and with a powerful gust of wind, he tightly embraced Song Heping!

"God bless! Song! I knew it! I knew that even the Devil in Hell wouldn't dare take a ghost like you. It couldn't be that easy for you to die! They said you were dead, but I didn't believe it!"

The Cook's embrace was almost bone-crushing, his voice filled with the ecstatic relief of surviving disaster, resonating in one's eardrums.

The intense smell of gunpowder, sweat, and a hint of blood instantly enveloped Song Heping.

"Damn CIA would be more upset seeing you standing than eating tons of shit in a toilet! Hahaha!"

He pounded hard on Song Heping's back, making a dull sound.

Song Heping was almost out of breath from his grip, but the tension that had been building finally completely relaxed at that moment.

He raised his hand, patting the Cook's broad, wall-like back with rare warmth: "It's good you're alive too, old man."

Then he turned to Utekin: "There weren't any surprises in your attack on Ashala Town, right?"

"We're all okay."

Utekin stepped forward, the fresh scratch on his face glaring in the bright sun.

He looked deeply into Song Heping's eyes, the uniquely deep blue of the Slavs swirling with complex emotions—admiration, and respect.

He said nothing, just extended a fist to heavily bump against Song Heping's fist.

All understood without words.

Jiang Feng came forward and hugged Song Heping too but quickly released him. His gaze sharply scanned Sayina in Song Heping's arms and the surroundings, like the most precise radar looking for potential threats.

"We still need to leave here quickly, the target is too large!"

"Who is this child?"

The Cook's gaze finally fell on Sayina, showing a trace of confusion and a subtly gentle look.

"The daughter of my benefactor." Song Heping's voice deepened suddenly: "Her father was named Faris. After I jumped off the cliff, I drifted downriver, where she found me unconscious on the riverbank and told her father, and they saved me. But this morning, a group called the Freedom Alliance attacked their village. By the time I got back, he was already dead."

The three men's expressions suddenly became grave.

Song Heping said no more, quickly bringing the topic back on track, his voice back to its customary, indisputable coldness: "Cook, Utekin, I need you to take action immediately."

He pointed south, in the direction of the Bilge Desert, his gaze sharp as a blade.

"Forty kilometers south of Uelda Village, the Bilge Desert is the stronghold of the Freedom Alliance. It was their people who attacked the village earlier. There should still be remnants in the stronghold."

His gaze swept over Cook and Utekin: "Take all the Wakner Brothers you can mobilize to 'greet' those bastards. Remember, leave no one behind."

"Leave no one behind?"

The Cook licked his slightly cracked lips, his eyes gleaming viciously like a butcher excited by the sight of a lamb to be slaughtered.

"Understood! We'll avenge Brother Faris and get justice for the girl! Not even a rat will escape!"

He clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking audibly.

Utekin's eyes were calm, without any unnecessary expression, just nodding firmly, his movements crisp and precise, like a machine receiving orders.

Jiang Feng then quickly began checking his portable communication equipment.

"You handle the details of the operation yourselves. After completion, return directly to the Damascus base to rendezvous." Song Heping issued the final directive: "Jiang Feng and I will take Sayina and leave first."

He did not waste words with Cook and Utekin.

Neither side needed excessive sentiment.

This small favor, Utekin and Cook were more than happy to help with.

"Then we'll go first, divide and act, see you in Damascus!"

Cook and Utekin didn't waste any words, immediately turning around and getting into their cars to gather their Wagner troops.

Their convoy quickly merged into a cloud of dust, bringing a chill of killing straight to the Bilge Desert.

Perhaps the people of the Freedom Alliance wouldn't realize whom they had provoked today.

Watching Cook and them leave, Song Heping felt inexplicably lost.

He could now casually give an order to completely obliterate a small armed organization.

This power was something many dreamed of achieving.

But even so, he couldn't save one Faris.

Couldn't even dare to return to his own country, or contact his siblings.

He felt it was ironic.

"Jiang Feng, let's go."

Suddenly, he lost all interest in destroying the "Freedom Alliance" armed group, turned around, picked up Sayina, and walked towards the pickup truck.

Now, what he needed was a cold shower and a quiet place to carefully plan the next moves.

Since Lady M wanted war, he would grant her her war!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com