Guests who come to offer birthday felicitations are expected to arrive before the meal is served, as at least a show of respect to the host.

To arrive after the banquet has ended and then require the very household to come out and welcome them personally is quite another matter.

Song Heping concluded that these latecomers must be of no small significance.

Otherwise, they would never receive such treatment.

As Song Heping speculated about the identities of the arrivals, three off-road vehicles pulled up to the entrance.

From the vehicles in front and back, seven or eight armed bodyguards descended, chattering and laughing with their weapons at the ready as they spread out to occupy key positions in front of the building.

The people inside came out to greet them, with the leader warmly exchanging greetings with someone who got out of the co-pilot seat, evidently an old acquaintance, as their interaction appeared quite intimate.

Finally, the door of the middle vehicle opened, and out came two Western bodyguards followed by a lean, tall Caucasian.

"A Caucasian?"

Song Heping was taken aback.

"What's the situation?" he turned and asked Jing Wengui.

Jing Wengui's forehead was beaded with sweat as he shook his head, "I don't know who it is. According to intelligence, there shouldn't be such a person appearing. We'll have to wait for confirmation from the intel."

Grey Wolf, holding a camera, aimed his lens at the lanky figure and began to snap photos rapidly.

Even in the darkness, the figure could not hide from the reconnaissance camera, and Grey Wolf soon captured this person's visage.

Swiftly, the captured images were transmitted directly to a military PAD and sent back via satellite for facial recognition analysis.

Jing Wengui immediately took out a satellite phone to notify Lei Ming about the new development, asking him to run the incoming photos through their database to confirm the stranger's identity.

Five minutes passed quickly.

"Has the identity been confirmed?" Song Heping asked.

Jing Wengui watched the screen and said, "Not yet. We have only a few satellites of our own, so the transmission speed is limited; it will take a bit more time."

In the distance, the two groups had finished their cordial greetings and were heading together towards the house.

Grey Wolf's lens remained firmly focused on the shorter man, not daring to slack for even a moment.

The walk to the house was the only chance to capture a clear frontal shot; identifying them would be much more difficult once they entered the building.

In the work of intelligence collection, identifying individuals is of paramount importance; unexpected appearances of important figures without identity confirmation could lead to unnecessary losses if acted on rashly.

Therefore, any unexpected occurrence would need to be assessed and conclusions drawn before any action could commence.

But the party that had descended from the vehicle had already walked into the courtyard and soon disappeared inside the building.

Sweat beads formed on Song Heping's forehead.

He didn't like this feeling.

Any snag in the operation implied that luck was not on their side tonight.

After another five minutes, Jing Wengui's satellite phone vibrated at last.

He rushed to answer it, and after a brief conversation, a trace of excitement appeared on his face.

"Confirmed?"

He quickly hung up and then told Song Heping, "It's Joyce!"

"Who?!"

Song Heping was completely baffled.

"He's a CIA operative, the head of operations at their Southeast Asia station!" Jing Wengui said. "His presence here means something big is happening – he's a big fish!"

Song Heping said with a wry smile, "You seem rather excited?"

Jing Wengui stated, "Captain Lei said we have to capture him alive!"

Song Heping remarked, "That's going to be tough!"

Jing Wengui paused, only then realizing the significant impact Joyce's presence could have on their operation.

Two more bodyguards and eight more militiamen joined.

That meant the difficulty had just increased.

Besides, the two Caucasian bodyguards were surely from the CIA's action team, not just any ordinary militia or white-faced group's bodyguards.

These were all tough nuts to crack.

But he also understood that if the operation were successful, the rewards would be immense.

"The target has been confirmed, should we proceed with the mission?"

Grey Wolf seemed quite excited, ready and eager to start.

Song Heping sighed, "This time it's going to be quite the challenge, everyone damn well be careful, don't get yourselves killed tonight. If I'd known we were gonna run into CIA guys, I would've had Jiang Feng and his team come over..."

Song Heping was truly annoyed now.

He had now confirmed that he just did not mesh with the CIA.

He bumped into those guys wherever he went!

He couldn't avoid taking them out even if he didn't want to.

A real damned nemesis!

Soon, Jing Wengui's satellite phone began vibrating again.

This time, the message from Lei Ming announced the identities of the two Caucasian bodyguards; they were members of the Seal Team deployed in Southeast Asia.

"This motherf..."

Upon hearing the news, Song Heping almost snatched the phone to demand more money.

Capturing two people alive from a group of white-faced traffickers' bodyguards and two Seal Team members— that's right, by now he had given up hope of capturing Da Biao alive.

That guy had already become insignificant among this crowd.

What was more important was that Song Heping had originally wanted to capture Da Biao alive to cough up those two million, and now... well...

He couldn't count on that anymore.

Kill and be done with it.

"Listen up, I don't need Da Biao alive anymore; dead will do, and the same goes for Batchai and Master Long. The only one we need to capture alive is Joyce."

His words startled Jing Wengui, "Our mission directive was to capture Master Long alive! Why don't you want him alive anymore?"

Song Heping rolled his eyes, "Damn it, look at how many we are; we'll be lucky to even get in there and kill everyone, let alone capture them alive. If we're concerned about this, we might end up losing our lives instead. Honestly, I can't even guarantee we can capture Joyce alive. There's a couple of Seals here; we can only try our best."

Jing Wengui insisted, "That's not acceptable, a mission is a mission, and it must be completed without exceptions!"

Song Heping said, "I'm not under your command; I'm a mercenary, and I have to make decisions based on the situation and consider my men. If you think it's not acceptable, then consult with Captain Lei and see if he agrees or if we call off the action tonight and wait till I can bring more people for another operation. I guarantee you, if you ask him, his answer will be the same as my decision, believe it or not?"

On hearing about a delay, Jing Wengui became anxious, "That's unacceptable... Joyce doesn't show up every time! It's rare to track this guy down; we're lucky tonight! Wait, I'll consult with Captain Lei again."

Song Heping ignored him and turned to the others, "These Seals are definitely combat veterans, everyone brace yourselves and don't get complacent!"

"Boss, with so many more people on the first floor, what are we going to do?" Grey Wolf couldn't help asking, "It's practically impossible to enter silently and unnoticed."

"Then we hit them hard, no other choice, White Bear, Disaster Star, Hunter, you guys are the main attractions tonight. Remember, maximum firepower, hammer them to death!"

Song Heping gave a sign to Grey Wolf, "Grey Wolf, get in position!"

"Ok!"

Grey Wolf and White Bear descended the hillside and slinked toward the back of the house.

Jing Wengui's call was over, he said to Song Heping, "Captain Lei agrees with your opinion."

"What did I say earlier?" Song Heping said, "Why bother consulting with Captain Lei when you have me? Are you from 203? Which batch? Don't you know that back when I was being selected for training, I had a nickname, 'The Tactical Prince?' Who else would you trust if not me?"

"I joined just the year before last..." Jing Wengui said.

"Ah..." Song Heping said, "I'm your senior, you better listen to your squad leader's words, got it?"

His scolding almost made Jing Wengui roll his eyes in exasperation.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com