"Are you an idiot?!"
Colonel James rudely interrupted Freddie's explanation.
"Use your brain and think about it!"
He pointed at his own head.
"Why hadn't you detected the signal before, and now today you did? That's because they are looking for the signal! The signal is poor in the jungle! Tell me, is the signal detection point located at a high spot in the jungle?!"
"Yes...,"
Freddie's face was burning with embarrassment.
James was an expert, having commanded countless real combat missions.
How could such a trivial trick hide from him?
The atmosphere became tense.
The two men stood face to face, yet remained silent for a long time.
James had no way to deal with Freddie.
After all, they didn't belong to the same national military force, nor were they in a direct subordinate relationship within the same troop.
He had merely joined this operation as a consultant and instructor. Although he was nominally in full command, the sovereign authority here belonged to the Colombians.
What more could he do?
Although this kind of issue would constitute a serious breach of military discipline in the US Special Forces, involving the dismissal of relevant supervisors,
here was different. Could he possibly dismiss Freddie?
"Increase the search intensity. We aim to locate the target within two days, otherwise you and your government will face a riot, possibly under severe pressure,"
James was also sincere, directly pointing out the potential outcomes: "Lieutenant Colonel, do you understand what I am saying?"
Freddie nodded. "I understand."
He paused, then added, "Now we've detected that the signal is still appearing intermittently. I've already dispatched a platoon to intercept."
"Where is the signal located?" James asked.
Freddie responded, "It's moving east along the Tame River. I believe the target is trying to escape our search by water and break out of the encirclement."
James stood still, contemplating. He didn't respond immediately.
Freddie asked, "Should we increase the number of manpower stationed along the river to intercept?"
It was then that James shook his head. "Lieutenant Colonel, our target is much more formidable than you think."
"What do you mean?" Freddie was confused, not understanding what James meant.
James sneered, "Your men won't find anything. I guarantee it, that's just a decoy, an illusion."
After speaking, he suddenly turned around and strode back into the tent, quickly stopping in front of the map, his gaze landing on the Tame River.
"They're not heading east..."
Having said that, he turned to face the communications officer: "Relay my orders, immediately adjust the troop deployment, focus all search teams on the western area of the Tame Jungle, command our four squads to immediately move from Tame City to between Leibo City, the target will break out from there."
Northern part of the Tame Region Jungle.
Song Heping and Morins were threading through the pitch-black jungle.
It was now two o'clock in the morning.
Two hours earlier, they had finally found a signal at the peak and sent out a pre-edited message to Morins' confidant.
According to Morins' estimation, starting tomorrow, the ELN armed forces will definitely begin various attack operations nationwide and issue a statement demanding the immediate withdrawal of military forces from the Tame Region.
Whether the government could be successfully pressured would depend on the means of the ELN forces.
After sending out the information, Song Heping put his cell phone into a waterproof bag, tied it to a piece of wood, and then threw it into the river.
Afterward, he and Morins sprinted northward.
"Why didn't you keep the cell phone just now?"
After holding back for a full two hours, Morins finally dared to ask Song Heping what he was thinking when he disposed of the cell phone.
"That thing is useless now; as long as the message is sent and confirmed, keeping it is not an option as it might reveal our tracks, it's better as a decoy."
Song Heping's answer was very straightforward.
"Do you think the search teams deployed nearby will all follow the river to chase after that cell phone?"
Upon hearing this, Morins had a moment of realization.
"You mean the people in the north were mobilized by us?"
"They definitely would have been," Song Heping said. "They surely have an electronic detection system. They would definitely detect the civilian signals hidden within military signals. It can't be anyone but us."
After running for a while, they arrived in front of a valley.
Song Heping pointed toward the distance and said, "Do you see that valley?"
"I see it. I remember this place; it leads to Pestodaka. I've been here before."
"That's right."
Song Heping said, "We're just one step away now. Through the valley is the northern edge of the Tbilisi Mountain Range. From there, we can enter the mountainous terrain, then head southwest to reach your camp there."
Morins exclaimed, "Are you sure?"
"Certain," Song Heping said.
Morins asked, "Don't you need to look at a map?"
Song Heping pointed to his head. "The map is right here. Let's go! Pick up the pace; it's just about three kilometers away, we're almost victorious!"
Hearing this, Morins suddenly felt not tired at all.
He had been running to the point of exhaustion, and Song Heping's words rejuvenated him.
The entrance to the valley was getting closer; just entering the valley entrance, burrowing one kilometer inside, turning left over a mountain, that would mean they were out of the Tame Jungle. The Tbilisi Mountain Range was within reach.
This valley should have been a heavily guarded pass. It should have been guarded.
"Wait here for me."
At a distance of only one hundred meters from the valley, Song Heping asked Morins to stop.
"I'll scout ahead to see if there's anyone. If there's no one, we'll cross."
"Okay!"
At this moment, Morins was extremely excited inside.
After being a lost dog in the jungle for more than three days, they had finally managed to fool the searching troops.
After this return, he surely would have an impressive story to tell for a lifetime.
Soon after, Song Heping returned.
"No one in the valley. Let's go!"
"Thank God, we finally made it out..."
Before Morins could finish speaking, a dull sound of helicopter rotors suddenly came from the sky.
"Damn it! What is this?!"
Morins looked up at the sky.
Two Black Hawk helicopters swept over their heads.
Song Heping quickly grabbed him, and the two rapidly dove behind some tree roots.
"Someone's coming..."
The excitement in Song Heping's heart suddenly cooled down.
He realized he was dealing with experts.
The other side had seen through his little trick; the cell phone decoy didn't work.
They even figured out the route he was planning to take.
These were no ordinary people.
"Let's go back," he said.
"What?!"
"This way is blocked, it's a dead end, understand? Idiot!"
Song Heping's mood was sour, seeing that they were so close yet so far from escaping.
If he hadn't spent twenty minutes scouting the valley and had directly charged through with Morins, they might have already left the Tame Jungle by now.
But not scouting was absolutely not an option, as no one knew if the valley concealed any enemies. Recklessly charging in could have been a death trap.
"Such a pity..." He could only sigh deeply in his heart.
Just a bit more!
It's all fate!