The visitor was Seras.
"Mr. Song, my father has already arrived and is staying in this hotel. He would like to meet you and express his gratitude in person."
"Meet me?"
Song Heping was somewhat surprised.
He hadn't expected the Army Major General to fly to Ecuador in person.
Still, the man was a big deal; although Venezuela wasn't considered a major country, it still had considerable influence in South America.
After all, there weren't many countries in South America that dared to stand up against the United States.
"Alright. I'll change my clothes and come down. Where shall we meet?"
"In the restaurant on the second floor, room A1."
"No problem, please ask your father to wait a moment, give me five minutes, and I'll be right down."
"Then I'll go down first and wait for you in the restaurant," Seras said.
The two exchanged pleasantries, and Seras left. Song Heping closed the door and stood still, thinking.
Seras's father...
He seemed to remember the name as Ramas.
As Song Heping got dressed, he pondered what Ramas might want to discuss with him.
He had a feeling that the other party didn't fly here just to say thank you.
Dressed, Song Heping took the elevator to the second floor and was guided by the waiter to the agreed-upon room.
At the door stood two burly men who were clearly bodyguards.
Song Heping explained his purpose, and one of the bodyguards opened the door to report inside.
Soon, Seras came out to guide Song Heping into the room.
The A1 room was spacious, as was the table, but only one person was sitting at the table. Song Heping guessed it must be Seras's father, the Major General, because the two of them looked as if they were cast from the same mold.
When Song Heping first saw Seras at the K1 camp, the man looked as unkempt as a wild man. After sprucing up at the hotel in Quito, he was completely transformed, and could easily pass for a spirited young man.
Looking at Seras's father, Major General Ramas, dressed in a light blue shirt, simple yet stylish, wearing blue jeans, with a typical military buzz cut and somewhat greying hair, he exuded a discreet and steady temperament.
Seeing Song Heping enter, Ramas stood up and extended his hand.
"Mr. Song, welcome and thank you for coming," he said.
Song Heping quickly shook his hand, responding politely, "It's an honor to meet you, General Ramas."
Ramas glanced at Seras beside him, then released the handshake and gestured for Song Heping to sit down. "Please, take a seat."
The three of them sat down at the table, the bodyguards closed the door, and soon, the waiter delivered breakfast: coffee, milk, bread, and two stuffed items resembling burgers, filled with fresh cheese, minced meat, and avocado.
"Let's talk while we eat," Ramas suggested.
Ramas picked up his coffee and took a sip with a relaxed air, then picked up the burger-like item and said to Song Heping, "This is our Venezuelan meal; it's a thin cornmeal pancake with minced meat, cheese, and avocado. It's very tasty."
After saying that, he took a big bite.
Song Heping could only follow suit, drinking some coffee and taking a bite of the corn pancake himself.
And it really was quite delicious.
"How does it taste?" Ramas asked.
Song Heping nodded and gave a thumbs-up. "Very tasty, much better than KFC's burgers."
Ramas laughed heartily. "Exactly, not everything from the United States is necessarily good."
Song Heping detected the underlying meaning in his words, so he cracked a slight smile, nodded but didn't speak, effectively agreeing.
"Mr. Song, are you the owner of PMC company?"
Ramas suddenly shifted the conversation to Song Heping's identity.
"Yes."
Song Heping simply nodded and continued to eat, feigning ignorance.
He was now one hundred percent sure that General Rama's personal visit to Ecuador was not just about expressing gratitude.
"I heard from Seras that you're here in South America to rescue a friend from Russia," said Rama, his words seemingly probing deeper with each step.
Song Heping continued to watch and see how things would unfold, nodding again, "Yes, General, you're right. My friend was kidnapped, so I came to rescue him. It was a fortunate coincidence that I encountered Seras, and we managed to rescue him too."
"I heard it was a dispute over arms dealing?" Rama spoke, "I heard that the AUC Armed Organization intercepted a shipment of your arms, right?"
"Correct," Song Heping said, "the arms themselves weren't particularly valuable. It's just that my friend from Russia came to negotiate with them and got kidnapped unexpectedly."
Rama said with a meaningful smile, "The South American arms market is not as simple as you think. Selling arms here, the waters run deep."
He pointed at Seras, "Do you know why my son was kidnapped?"
An idea struck Song Heping, "Could it also be because of an arms dealing matter?"
Rama didn't shy away from nodding, "Exactly."
Song Heping was slightly taken aback.
First, he didn't know that Seras was also involved in arms trafficking.
So it seemed they were in the same line of business.
Secondly, the son of such a high-ranking general was also involved in arms dealing.
The fact that he didn't avoid the topic with him, that was quite forthcoming.
Seeing Song Heping remain silent, Rama laughed, "Do you find it strange that Seras is also dabbling in arms dealing?"
Song Heping, seeing the other man's candor, also decided not to beat around the bush and admitted, "Indeed, I didn't expect that."
Rama then said, "The arms market in South America is a big cake, but do you know who the biggest player is?"
After a short pause, Song Heping ventured a guess, "Drug cartels?"
Rama shook his head, chuckling, "From the perspective of buying and selling, drug cartels are merely consumers."
Song Heping suddenly remembered something. Since Seras himself was involved in arms trading, it meant that the players in the South American arms market were not just underground arms dealers or drug cartels. Could it be someone with official backing?
And who had the greatest influence on this soil of South America?
He suddenly recalled a phrase—this is America's backyard.
Once he got to the heart of the issue, everything seemed to become clear.
In the end, Song Heping gave his own answer, "General, don't tell me it's the Americans..."
"Actually, it is!" Rama responded.
"Not only are the Americans the biggest arms dealers in South America, but also in the whole world. Official purchases are just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath, organizations like the CIA control almost decisively the arms market here, with their front companies. Besides them, other arms dealers are small fry, do you understand?" Rama explained.
"Before the Soviet Union collapsed, there was someone to balance out the Americans here, as everyone was supporting governments they had established. They channeled arms here through various means to the regimes they supported, to help them consolidate their rule. But after the collapse, even though some former KGB fronts are still doing business here, their scale and share have greatly diminished. Now, this arms market is under the control of the American intelligence agencies."
"The AUC forces dared to intercept your arms, and I believe the intelligence came from the CIA. The current Colombian government army is supported by the Americans. AUC and the government army flirt with each other. Their opponents are left-wing organizations like FARC and ELN. The Americans will absolutely not allow them to grow too influential. If your weapons come here and are meant for these two organizations, the Americans won't allow it."
Song Heping said, "Our client is a drug cartel, not FARC or ELN."
"Are you sure?" Rama swallowed the last bite of his corn pastry, his eyes crinkling in a smile as he looked at Song Heping, implying deeply, "Have you investigated who's backing that drug cartel? In Colombia, every drug cartel has a close relationship with an armed organization or an anti-government force behind it. For example, if you deal drugs in northeastern Colombia, and you don't have good relations with FARC, you won't be able to do business. Similarly, if you're in the southeast, and your relation with ELN militants is poor, it's going to be hard to get your drugs out. All drug trafficking within Colombia is related to different militant factions, understand?"
"I think I do."
Now Song Heping had somewhat of an understanding of the situation.
Rama continued, "In South America, if you want to do arms business, either you work for the CIA or you can sell to anyone you want, but when they need to use your channels to support a regime or subvert an anti-government force, you must also work for them."
"So which side are you on, General?" Song Heping suddenly raised an interesting question, "I hope you don't take offense at my asking."
"Of course, I don't take offense," Rama said. "We're not involved with the Americans, but we do want to grab a share of the market. It's beneficial for us to support forces we want to have power here and squeeze the Americans out of the business, preventing them from being too arrogant."
Song Heping was aware that Venezuela had always shown its fangs to the Americans.
Rama's tone seemed to indicate he was looking to recruit Song Heping into the fold.
But was it worth offending the CIA for his sake?
While Song Heping was still weighing his options and had not yet decided, Rama had already made his proposal, "I think you should consider working with us. Don't your Chinese people have a saying that unity is strength? If we work together, with your supply of goods and your talent, along with my influence in this region and our intelligence, and the ability to provide transport security in certain areas, I believe we can challenge the CIA. Are you interested?"