Chapter 1827 - 1384: Witness Department

The sound of the explosion in Badi Town seemed to still echo in his ears.

Song Heping sat at the edge of the bed, without turning on the light, nor taking off the dust-laden combat uniform.

His mind replayed that scene repeatedly.

The thermal imaging picture on the screen, that uniform orange-yellow heat source; the eerie smile on the old man's face as he calmly turned; those unusually clear eyes that seemed to have seen through everything; and then a violent explosion at the last moment.

It was practically a kind of ritual.

Clearly, the old man was prepared, knowing that the US Special Forces would appear before him.

He was waiting there, completing a meticulously planned performance with his life.

And those words—

"Witness it. Witness how what you have sown with your own hands will grow into a thorn that devours you."

This wasn't said for the Delta Force soldiers rushing into the room, it was meant for the people behind the camera.

Song Heping closed his eyes, fingers pressing against his pulsing temples.

All the clues began to piece together in the darkness:

Three days ago, the mysterious appearance of a USB drive at his door, containing part of the Misu and "Seeder" plan files.

From the limited information, it is known—the "Seeder" plan, initiated in June 2013, recruited Middle Eastern scientists to infiltrate extremist organizations.

The internal special department "Witness," directly controlled by the White House National Security Advisor, was disbanded on-site in early 2016 due to Misu's betrayal.

What was the purpose of the insider who delivered the USB drive to him?

They chose him because he was an outsider.

But who was that person?

Lemont?

Duke?

Or some third party outside them?

If it was Lemont, as the CIA on-site coordination officer, why would he reveal the scandal of his own department? If

it was Duke, as a US Army Major General and the commander of the operation, why would he undermine his own command? If

it was a third party, then how did that person get the USB drive into the heavily guarded base, how did they know Song Heping's room location, how did they evade all monitoring?

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

Three knocks, neither too light nor too heavy, rhythmic and controlled.

Song Heping did not respond immediately.

He glanced at his watch.

Six forty-seven in the morning.

Less than an hour had passed since the explosion in Badi Town.

At this hour, who would come looking for him?

Milosh should still be on perimeter watch, Duke and Lemont should be dealing with casualties and aftermath...

The door knocked again, still three knocks.

Song Heping slowly stood up, hand on the pistol at his waist, walked to the door, and peeked through the door crack.

The visitor surprised him.

It was Major General Duke.

He was alone, without an aide, without guards.

Song Heping hesitated for a second, then opened the door.

Duke did not speak, just nodded slightly, then stepped inside. Song Heping closed the door and locked it again.

The darkness in the room made Duke pause for a moment, his eyes adjusting to the light, then he walked to the room's only chair, sat down, moving slowly like an old man.

Song Heping did not turn on the light, nor did he sit, he just leaned against the wall, keeping a distance of three meters from Duke.

This distance was safe enough, and close enough to hear every word the other person said clearly.

The two were silent in the dark for a few minutes.

Only the vague noise of the base outside the window, and the slight sound of their breathing.

Finally, it was Duke who spoke first:

"Six people."

He paused, as if needing strength to continue.

"Team A went in, six people. Captain Marcus, forty-two years old, two daughters, one eight years old, one six years old. Sergeant Carter, thirty-nine years old, wife seven months pregnant. Corporal Reynolds, twenty-five years old, just selected from the Ranger Battalion into Delta, this was his first combat mission. And then Miller, Jenkins, Chen."

Duke recited each name, each name like a stone, heavily hitting the floor.

"Now they're dead. Not dead in crossfire, not dead under a sniper's gun, but dead in a carefully laid trap. That old man waited there, waited for my soldiers to walk in, then pressed the button."

Duke lifted his head.

In the dim light, Song Heping could see something flashing in his eyes.

Not tears.

Soldiers do not believe in tears.

It was something harder, hotter.

"Do you know what's the most ridiculous?"

For the first time, Duke's voice showed an emotional fluctuation, it was anger suppressed to the extreme.

"All our reconnaissance, including drones, satellites, ground reconnaissance teams, all intelligence said there was only one person in the building, no large-scale explosives, no threats. We believed that intelligence. Because we trusted our technology, trusted our analysis, trusted the damned CIA department's multi-billion US Dollar intelligence system."

He took a deep breath, his voice became a bit more stable:

"But we were played. Completely played. That old man obviously knew we would come looking for him and staying there was deliberately attracting our attention, probably to buy more time for Misu to escape."

Song Heping said nothing, just quietly listened.

He knew Duke didn't need his response, just needed a listener.

"You reminded me before."

Duke continued, his gaze falling on Song Heping's face.

"You said the building was odd, the heat source was odd, the street was odd. You were right. But I didn't listen. Because I trusted the CIA's intelligence, believed in our meticulously crafted plan, believed we wouldn't make mistakes."