What happened next?
The Quick Reaction Force must be close by now, right?
They've been on standby, with a Quick Support Detachment consisting of 4 Apache and 4 Chinook helicopters deployed near Hanix last night. It's not far from here as the crow flies!
Not only was Song Heping, who had been in a daze in the car all this time, incredulous, but so were Niki and the others at the ISA camp in Kandahar.
The operation had been going too smoothly up to this point!
But Mist couldn't keep smiling for long.
Because he noticed the convoy was slowing down.
So he was forced to slow down as well.
A few minutes later, Song Heping saw a huge mountain appear in front of them.
What surprised him the most was the tunnel at the foot of the mountain.
The mouth of the tunnel was pitch black, like a gaping maw ready to swallow people whole.
An ominous premonition emerged.
Song Heping's heart was hung up once again.
Every time this premonition appeared, nothing good ever happened.
And the reality proved—his premonitions were too accurate.
The convoy drove into the tunnel and suddenly stopped.
"What are we stopping for?!"
Mist's smile disappeared; his hand immediately moved to the side of the car door where the AKM assault rifle lay.
The doors of the Nissan off-road vehicles in front flung open, one after another, and people alighted.
They all had guns in their hands, coming this way.
Song Heping asked Rabbani, "Have we been exposed?"
"I don't know!"
Rabbani also had no idea what was happening.
He was also worried about the firefight that might ensue here.
He didn't know whether the news of his betrayal of the Revolutionary Brigade had leaked.
Cold sweat poured out from his forehead.
However, he still gritted his teeth, got out of the car, and asked Hula, who was coming towards him, "What's the reason for stopping here, second in command?"
Hula said, "Have Boss Han and his bodyguard get out of the vehicle."
Rabbani had no choice but to go back and convey Hula's message.
"FUCK!"
Mist cursed under his breath.
But there were no other options at this moment.
You couldn't even hesitate.
Any hesitation, any dawdling, might arouse suspicion.
There seemed to be no point in opening fire now.
If you're going to fight, you need to get out of the car.
Both of them had to get out, still holding their AKM assault rifles.
The people opposite saw the guns in their hands and immediately became alert, lifting their gun barrels.
The light inside the tunnel was dim, the air stuffy, and the smell of gunpowder seemed to hover in the air, invading everyone's nostrils.
The atmosphere suddenly turned tense...
Song Heping's back was drenched with cold sweat.
Now he didn't know what was happening either.
But he had to react, how was he going to react? If the reaction was wrong, mistakes could be made, things could be messed up.
In a flash, Song Heping's quick thinking was displayed to the fullest extent. He pulled a face, looking very angry and said, "What the hell is this, second in command?! Why are you stopping here, are you planning to do something shady?"
Then he said to Rabbani, "Translate exactly as I said."
Rabbani had even more cold sweat on his forehead than Song Heping.
"Exactly as you said?"
"Translate it now!"
Anger filled Song Heping's tone.
Rabbani bit the bullet and translated Song Heping's words verbatim.
The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet; the only sound to be heard was the whooshing wind near the entrance of the tunnel, like a spectral cry hiding in the darkness.
After Rabbani finished translating Song Heping's words, Mist and Song Heping's fingers were already on the triggers.
Both only had one thought, if things really went south, they'd fight it out.
If they died, so be it! It wasn't such a big deal!
"Hahaha!"
The tense atmosphere was finally broken by Hula's burst of laughter.
"You think we're going to kill you here? Boss Han, we're certainly armed, but we don't kill our own customers. Do you really think I'd do that to you?! Hahaha!"
Song Heping initially didn't understand what he was on about.
But seeing Hula laugh, and his guards laughing along, it seemed it wasn't anything bad.
The string that had been tight in his heart relaxed just a little bit.
Then, Hula rattled on about something more.
After listening, Rabbani seemed relieved, like someone who'd finally found relief after days of constipation, telling Song Heping, "They want to conduct counter-surveillance here because US Army drones often fly around this area. For safety, you must hand over all personal items. Leave them in your own vehicle, then ride with them. Once the tour of the processing plant is over and you return, they will give back your vehicle, equipment, and weapons. Please rest assured."
They couldn't avoid it after all...
Song Heping smiled wryly in his mind, realizing he'd been happy too soon.
Though he expected this, he still felt a little disappointed.
"Alright, we'll comply, but can I bring my laptop? If I find everything satisfactory in the processing plant, I'd like to place an order right away, a big one, of at least ten million US Dollars' worth of goods! I can only make the transfer to you on my laptop."
He dangled the bait deliberately.
Under the pretext of a trade.
Unexpectedly, Hula didn't take the bait. He quickly responded—no, the trade can be discussed after seeing the processing plant, at another location. But absolutely no electronic devices are to be taken to the processing plant.
After hearing Rabbani's translation, Song Heping was helpless but complied anyway.
Fortunately, his belt was still on...
"Alright, I've put everything back in the car, but I can keep a handgun with me, right? I need to feel safe!"
He lifted his clothing, revealing the Beretta 92F.
Hula looked at the handgun after hearing the translation.
A moment later, he gave a nonchalant shrug to Rabbani, saying, "Tell him he can bring one handgun, no problem."
In Hula's eyes, what was one handgun?
Forget one handgun; even if it were an automatic rifle, no one would dare make a move inside the processing plant, or they would stir up a hornet's nest.
A guard stepped forward, examined Song Heping's handgun to ensure nothing was hidden, and then nodded to Hula, signaling all was clear.
Song Heping thought the pat-down was over and said to Rabbani, "Let's go. Have them take my car; I'll go with them."
Unexpectedly, Hula raised a hand: "Wait a second!"
Song Heping, who'd thought everything was fine, was now dumbfounded: "What now?!"
Did they discover there was a trick to his belt?
Hula babbled something else.
A guard turned and retrieved two sets of clothes from the Nissan.
Hula said to Rabbani, "Tell them to take off their clothes too and change into these two sets."
"Change clothes?!"
Song Heping feigned anger: "What's wrong with my clothes?! I'm not comfortable wearing that robe of yours!"
Changing clothes meant that he couldn't keep his belt either.
Damn, how crafty these armed men were.
They even thought about changing clothes.
Great, now he couldn't bring anything in at all.
How was he supposed to direct the bombardment then?
"These are our rules." Hula said, "Boss Han, please abide by our rules here, or you can take your car and leave now. We won't host you then."
With that said, the ball was back in Song Heping's court.
To strip or not to strip?
If he really changed clothes, it would mean losing all location devices.
Then one could truly say it was going deep alone.
And given the situation, even if they changed cars, it would be impossible for drones to keep an eye on all five vehicles after exiting the tunnel.
Too damn crafty!
Song Heping truly wanted to shoot Hula dead.
But reason told him it would be a foolish act.
Now he faced two options, leave or continue!?