Chapter 1902 - 1409: Hot Potato (2)

"Notify Milosh, tell his men to get ready, but keep a low profile."

Song Heping said, "We'll take fifty vehicles and head to Baghdad right now to receive the first batch of weapons. First Battalion goes in full strength with the convoy, Second Battalion will disperse and move to standby positions around the base in the south suburb of Mosul, and make sure that before the weapons are brought back, no one can get anywhere near that storage site."

He looked around at the scenery.

It was quiet, but danger was still everywhere here.

No one dared guarantee that once a large shipment of weapons arrived, there wouldn't be someone who'd want to blow them sky-high.

Who the hell knows…

Even those losers under Lemont probably aren't ready to admit defeat deep down.

If they get the chance, they'll definitely try and stir up some trouble for themselves.

They had to be cautious, extremely cautious—nothing could be allowed to go wrong.

Jiang Feng nodded, already taking out his radio to start issuing orders.

Song Heping stayed alone on the platform, once again gazing toward the distant city.

Mosul was waking up—or rather, the ruins of this city were going through yet another hard day of survival.

Just then, the satellite phone started vibrating.

Song Heping picked up, and soon heard Samir's voice coming through the receiver, with a clear note of anxiety in his tone:

"Boss, I've received three 'greetings' from different directions."

Samir was using code: it meant three different armed factions had already expressed "interest" in this shipment.

"Some are proposing 'joint safekeeping', some are demanding a 'reasonable allocation', and some are directly threatening that if we don't share, they'll make sure the convoy 'meets with misfortune'."

"As expected," Song Heping answered calmly. "Tell them all equipment will be used, per the Illigo Ministry of Defense's orders, primarily to strengthen the Tenth Division's combat power to ensure the security of Nineveh Province. Any unauthorized approach will be treated as hostile action. If they're thinking of playing dirty, they'd better weigh their own strength first."

"They won't accept that, Boss." Samir's voice was low. "In these places, the word 'Ministry of Defense' has already lost its meaning. People only recognize whoever actually controls the weapons."

"Then we'll make them face reality," Song Heping said. "Your troops must complete a lockdown of a five‑kilometer radius around the base in the south suburb of Mosul within two hours. Don't open fire unless attacked, but you have to show enough presence, make it clear to all those harboring fantasies that if they want weapons, they'd better have the strength to match."

After hanging up, Song Heping closed his eyes and ran through the entire plan again in his head.

Every single link carried risk: the convoy could be ambushed en route, the storage site could be assaulted, insiders could be bought off, the US Army could set traps during handover…

Fuck!

This shipment looked damn tempting, but actually swallowing it and digesting it was no easy task at all.

But he had no choice.

If these weapons fell into the wrong hands, the security situation across Northern Illigo would deteriorate further, and could even trigger a new round of factional war.

And besides, after he'd risked his life to get this stuff back, those bastards wanted to sit back and enjoy the spoils?

Then they could pay with their lives.

"Any changes to the plan?"

Jiang Feng finished his communications and walked back to him.

"Just added a few variables."

Song Heping said in a deep voice, "Have our people check the condition of all vehicles, make sure every one has enough fuel, spare tires, and emergency supplies. Issue ammunition at double the standard load, especially anti‑tank and air‑defense weapons. Notify the medical teams to be ready for treatment en route."

"Already arranged," Jiang Feng said. "Milosh also suggests installing simple explosive‑device detectors on the lead and tail vehicles. They can't fully counter IEDs, but at least they can give some early warning."

"Agreed." Song Heping walked down from the platform, his footsteps echoing in the empty iron stairwell. "Also, get in touch with our intelligence network in Baghdad. I need to know every abnormal movement around the Green Zone today, including changes in US Army patrol routes, unusual reinforcement at Illigo checkpoints, and any suspicious clustering of vehicles. Don't miss any detail."

Milosh came up to meet him. "First Battalion has completed the final checks; all fifty vehicles are ready to roll at any time. The advance elements of Second Battalion are already on the way to the south suburb of Mosul, and are expected to reach their designated positions in an hour."

Song Heping walked to the map, his finger moving from Mosul, which marked their current location, tracing the highway south to Baghdad, then pointing to the positions of the other five bases.

"We're facing not only transport and security issues."

He said to Jiang Feng and Milosh, "It's also a complex political and military puzzle. The quantity of this equipment is enough to alter the regional balance of power, and everyone knows it. The US Army knows, the Illigo Government knows, the armed factions know, and the intelligence agencies in neighboring countries know as well."

He paused to make sure everyone was listening closely. "Our advantage is that we're the only entity with official authorization to receive it. And our strength is the greatest in the Northwest Region—ordinary people don't dare mess with us. But in this world there are always lunatics who, even if they can't get it themselves, will still make sure we don't get it either."

Milosh asked, "Boss, if we run into obstruction from local armed groups, what are the rules of engagement?"

"Open fire when necessary. Do whatever needs doing—ensuring the safety of the weapons is the top priority. There's nothing to hesitate about. If anything happens, I'll take the heat." Song Heping gave a crisp and decisive answer.