Jiang Feng moved quickly.

In less than fifteen minutes, he returned to the dining room, drenched in sweat, carrying a large fiber bag.

"Twenty kilograms of screws, all six-centimeter long steel self-tapping screws."

While speaking, he tossed a heavy burlap sack on the ground, the metallic clatter piercingly sharp.

"The hardware store owner looked at me like I was crazy."

Song Heping squatted down, opened the bag, and weighed a handful of screws in his hand.

In the dim light of the safe house, the silver metal gleamed coldly, with sharp-edged threads capable of tearing flesh.

"Perfect."

He looked up at White Bear, who was assembling explosives.

"Is the TNT ready?"

White Bear patted the metal box beside him.

"6 kilograms of military-grade TNT, plus 10 hand grenades. The detonation device is triggered by mobile phone signal, with double insurance."

He picked up a modified old-model Nokia phone.

"Even if there's electronic interference, we can use a backup line to detonate."

Song Heping quickly calculated the yield in his head. 6 kilograms of TNT plus 10 hand grenades, along with twenty kilograms of metal fragments, would be enough to turn any non-armored vehicle into a sieve in an enclosed space.

He spread out the map of the hotel parking lot on the floor, pointing to a turn at the exit of the underground parking lot.

"Here. The convoy must slow down when leaving, and there usually aren't any bystanders here. We'll install the IED in that abandoned Toyota Corolla."

He marked the location on the map with a red pen.

"White Bear, layer the screws and explosives, with screws on top, to ensure they spread in a fan shape upon detonation."

White Bear was already at work, his thick fingers skillfully shaping the TNT into blocks.

"Boss, should we add ball bearings? We have some in stock."

"No need, screws and hand grenade fragments will suffice."

Song Heping turned to Jiang Feng: "You monitor the front entrance of the hotel and notify us immediately when Pence starts moving."

"Have you contacted Weber?" Jiang Feng asked.

"I have." Song Heping said, "When we set off, Weber will relay the information. MI6 will use dual channels to tip off the CIA that 'Shepherd' has been intercepted by us. It should reach Pence's ears within two hours."

Song Heping glanced at his watch—it was 5:30 PM.

The sunlight outside was beginning to redden; N'Djamena's dusk was approaching.

He picked up the satellite phone and dialed a number.

"Weber, we're ready to go. The message can be sent now."

He got straight to the point once the call connected.

Weber's voice sounded a bit reluctant: "Are you sure you want to do this? Such methods increase our risks."

"Cut the crap. Stop harping about risk all day; don't I face as much risk as you?" Song Heping replied coldly: "Stick to the plan. Remember to emphasize that I've arrived in Chad and am in N'Djamena."

With that, he hung up without giving Weber a chance to agree.

"Will he refuse our plan?"

Jiang Feng sounded a bit worried.

Song Heping pointed to his temple: "Use your head. He's not stupid, he'll comply; otherwise, it benefits them nothing. Gather your gear, final checks, we're leaving in five minutes."

After instructing, Song Heping began inspecting his M24 sniper rifle.

It's an old gun but maintained as if it just left the factory, with the rifling in the barrel reflecting a cold bluish light under the lamp.

He carefully loaded five .308 Winchester rounds into the chamber, having meticulously inspected each bullet the night before to ensure not a single warhead had the slightest scratch—after all, today he would be sniping a human target at 1000 meters, surpassing the M24's effective range of 800 meters.

"Boss, the IED is ready."

White Bear's voice came from behind. Song Heping turned around to see an ordinary-looking cardboard box, neatly packed with TNT blocks inside, topped with those twenty kilograms of screws.

Two modified phones hid on either side of the box, antennas cleverly disguised as the box's handles.

"What about the disguise?"

White Bear grinned, pulling out a local supermarket plastic bag and a few French newspapers.

"Once in the car, I'll cover it with these. It'll look like someone's forgotten shopping bag."

Song Heping nodded in satisfaction.

He had seen these homemade IEDs in Illiguo many times: simple, brutal, effective. Now it was their turn to use this trick against the Americans.

White Bear usually appeared carefree but did things quite meticulously; at critical moments, he never faltered.

This was what Song Heping appreciated about him.

"Let's move." He slung his sniper rifle over his shoulder: "You guys head to the parking lot to install the IED. I'll set up a sniper point on the commercial building roof. Remember, confirm Pence is in the convoy before detonation to ensure a hit."

The three of them left the safe house separately.

Song Heping donned a local wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses, blending into the evening street crowd with his guitar case containing the sniper rifle.

Twenty minutes later, he arrived at the building he visited that afternoon, once again bluffing past the guard with Doctors Without Borders credentials.

The same guard from the afternoon recognized Song Heping and even glanced at the large guitar case on his back.

"You like playing guitar?"

"That's right, it's just a small hobby of mine."

Song Heping smiled, explaining to him.

"Every man needs a little hobby, you know."

"Yeah, yeah..."

He cleared the check smoothly, exchanging smiles with the security guard, and took the elevator to the top floor.

The rooftop was deserted at this time as it was dinnertime; Song Heping took out the observation mirror and scouted around, finding the personnel manning Pence's sniper posts still in place.

He then looked toward the hotel; the light in Pence's room was on, clearly indicating he wouldn't leave even for dinner.

But that wasn't important.

Not important at all.

Song Heping found the optimal shooting spot, set up the M24, and observed the hotel rooftop through the scope.

Two guards remained by the helicopter pad, pacing aimlessly and occasionally communicating via radio.

The sound of Jiang Feng's breathing came through the headset: "I'm in position. There's minimal surveillance in the parking lot; we're finding a spot to park."

Song Heping adjusted the lens focus, keeping the crosshairs steady on one guard's chest. 1000 meters distance, wind speed of 3 meters per second, 40% humidity—this distance was the extreme range for the M24, but not for him.

Suddenly, the satellite phone vibrated.

Song Heping picked it up and opened the message.

After reading, he notified Jiang Feng and White Bear over the channel: "Weber's message confirmed. The CIA has received the intel; they're likely contacting Pence now!"

Song Heping's index finger gently rested on the trigger.

The game was on.

Through the scope, he saw a sudden commotion on the hotel rooftop.

A man in a suit hurriedly ran to the guard's side and said something, and the two guards immediately looked as if facing a great enemy, drawing their handguns from their waists and quickly entering a state of alert.

"They know now, the bodyguards inside the hotel are starting to move." Song Heping whispered, "Get ready to welcome our guests."

The next twenty minutes felt like slow motion.

Six fully armed bodyguards suddenly burst out of the service entrance at the back of the hotel and quickly checked the surroundings.

Then a black Range Rover and two Toyota Land Cruisers drove to the entrance, engines kept running.

"The cars are in position." Jiang Feng's voice came through, "The IED is installed, disguised as a garbage bag placed on the backseat of that Corolla."

"They are activating two plans at once, the convoy is also ready..."

Song Heping's scope shifted to the top floor of the hotel.

The helicopter hasn't arrived yet, but given the current situation, it should be there soon.

After all, Pence is an old fox.

He probably has more than one escape plan prepared.

Actually, I could launch a sniper attack on him from the rooftop.

But the success rate of that isn't high.

It's not a matter of whether I can hit him; Pence's bodyguards are very professional, they won't expose even the tiniest gap for me to get a shot at Pence.

No matter how good my gun skills are, it's useless.

If the first shot misses, the other three snipers positioned by Pence near the hotel will find me and attack immediately, not giving me a second chance to shoot.

Thus, rooftop sniping isn't a wise choice.

It's just a method to intimidate Pence.

Suddenly, behind the glass on the top floor, a group of bodyguards appeared within view — Pence, wearing a bulletproof vest, surrounded by six bodyguards, quickly moved towards the elevator, disappearing behind the curtains soon after.

"Target sighted, moving towards the elevator." Song Heping reported in a low voice, "White Bear, Jiang Feng, I'll drive him underground, be ready."

Jiang Feng said, "That old fox really has a backup. Just wonder if he'll leave via the underground parking..."

"He will... he's most afraid of me..."

At this moment, a helicopter appeared in the distant sky, flying towards the hotel.

Song Heping couldn't see the bodyguards or Pence in the building's glass anymore.

But he reckoned that Pence and the bodyguards must be in the stairwell leading to the rooftop, waiting for the helicopter to arrive.

He had to calculate the timing precisely, too early wouldn't work, too late either.

It had to be just right...

He steadied his breathing, the crosshairs firmly locking onto one of the guards on the rooftop helipad.

"Distance 980 meters, wind speed stable."

Song Heping whispered to himself, gently applying pressure with his finger. The M24's trigger travel was tuned to be extremely sensitive, requiring only 1.5 pounds of force to fire.

The helicopter came closer.

Finally, it flew over the top floor of the hotel, starting to hover and descend.

The two guards raised their hands to block the gusts from the rotors, one of them pressed the communication button to inform the others hiding in the stairwell.

"The helicopter is here, VIP can come out."

The helicopter continued to slowly descend.

8 meters from the ground...

5 meters...

3 meters...

In the stairwell, the bodyguard team leader of Pence was already standing by the door to the rooftop, watching the helicopter about to land.

"GO! GO! GO!"

He turned back, waving to his colleagues surrounding Pence at the stairwell corner.

"Get the VIP out and onboard!"

After speaking, he charged onto the rooftop first, holding an MP5 submachine gun...

At this moment, Song Heping in the distance pressed down the trigger.

BANG—

The M24 spouted a tongue of fire.

At the moment the gunshot rang out, the head of the guard standing by the helipad exploded like a watermelon.

The bullet entered through the eye socket, and the spray of blood from the back of the head formed a ghastly orange-red mist under the sunset.

"Sniper! There's a sniper!"

The bodyguard team leader was so shocked he immediately dropped flat, frantically shouting in the channel.

Song Heping quickly chambered another round, the second bullet penetrated the neck of the second guard, tearing open the carotid artery.

The blood sprayed in a fan shape onto the white markings of the helicopter helipad.

Even with a bolt-action rifle, Song Heping could achieve a near semi-automatic rate of fire.

The third bullet was quickly loaded into the chamber.

Aim, shoot.

BANG—

The third bullet hit directly on the side glass of the helicopter cockpit.

CRACK—

A spiderweb crack appeared on the glass.

"OH! SHIT!"

The helicopter pilot shouted in fright, yanking the control stick abruptly, stomping the left and right balance pedals, causing the helicopter to make a huge maneuver, elevating sharply from a position of three meters to a dozen meters above the rooftop.

In the stairwell, the bodyguard team leader crawled back and stood up, shouting to everyone, "Helicopter not safe! Repeat, helicopter not safe!"

He decisively issued a new order, "Activate backup plan, switch to ground evacuation! Ground team get ready, VIP coming down now!"

The three security teams' sniper teams now began frantically searching for Song Heping.

After three shots, they finally figured out the shooting direction, all turning their guns to aim at the rooftop location where Song Heping was.

However, they saw nothing.

By this time, Song Heping was already in the elevator.

As he descended, the elevator stopped once, a few white people and locals came in.

Song Heping politely stepped aside, hiding in the corner.

He subtly smiled.

The plan was unfolding as expected — Pence would think the sniper had controlled the helicopter escape route, and would have no choice but to leave by car.

Well, it's up to Jiang Feng and White Bear to perform now.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com