125
---
Long Zhan presented real cases as evidence, genuinely looking out for the squad's well-being.
Murphy was eventually persuaded.
He adopted Long Zhan's "overly cautious" recommendation, preparing for the reconnaissance mission to combat-ready standards, and clearly told Long Zhan he would try to request the appropriate gear and supplies from logistics.
As for whether they could get everything, Murphy couldn't guarantee.
After all, he was new here and didn't know the situation at this temporary command center. If certain items weren't available, there was no way to conjure them out of thin air.
For Long Zhan, that was already enough.
All preparations before departure were complete, and the entire process went relatively smoothly. Long Zhan's confidence in successfully breaking through on this mission grew steadily.
After lunch, the two returned to the dormitory, where Murphy's team had already woken up.
Some picked up laptops to contact their families; others headed to the mess hall to fill their stomachs; some went to shower; the special forces rookie, Sean, curiously wandered around the airport.
Everyone busied themselves in their own way, scattered about, and soon the afternoon passed in the blink of an eye.
At night, after dinner, Long Zhan left the camp alone and headed to the air force base's only bar—the place he had previously arranged to meet Scott.
But Long Zhan didn't get to see Scott; he only received a note passed on from the bar.
The note was written by Scott, simply saying: "Sorry, my old buddy, I have to go hunting tonight. I'll find you after I'm back."
"Hunting?"
Long Zhan smiled and shook his head.
He knew exactly what those two words meant—there was a 90% chance Scott had a sudden operation tonight and had already left the base in the afternoon.
There wasn't even time to come notify Long Zhan in person, so he had to leave a note through someone to be delivered to the bar.
"This guy has probably already joined DEVGRU. After all, he's one of the main players in the counterattack. There's no way he's been stuck in the Green Berets for nearly three years. The reason he hasn't revealed his identity is probably the same as mine."
Thanks to Sean's sudden no-show, Long Zhan had basically deduced his identity.
The bar was mostly filled with a bunch of older men; the few women there looked lost and out of place—a perfect example of too many men, too little porridge.
Drinking alone here was the most boring thing imaginable.
Long Zhan originally planned to have a couple of drinks and then return to the dorm to access the air force base's internal network, hoping to find any open database information about "Jialuo Mountain."
Samir was way too over the top. Long Zhan still hadn't pinpointed the exact location of the place he picked.
He knew there was a "golden mountain" somewhere, but no way to find the route.
It was truly frustrating.
Just as Long Zhan finished his first drink and the bartender was bringing the second beer...
*Ding ding dong dong\~*
The wooden bar door was pushed open, and the doorbell rang out crisply.
Four people entered the bar: three men and one woman, all wearing desert camouflage uniforms, but without any rank insignia or unit patches.
"Heh, this just got interesting."
Seeing these four extremely familiar faces, Long Zhan squinted slightly.
This mission was Operation Red Wing; he'd run into Scott from the counterattack force at the airport that noon, and now he had met the elite of "Dane Military Resources Company" at the bar.
It was truly miraculous.
Long Zhan wasn't sure whether he should call his luck "good" today or whether Afghanistan was chaotic enough to attract all sorts of monsters and demons.
Just the name "Dane Military Resources Company" sounded like an ordinary PMC; most people wouldn't think much of it.
But if described differently, it would immediately spark memories in many.
Led by a scheming, cold, and ruthless old patriarch, the company had four top commanders under him: Big Bear, Cockroach, Athena, and Ghost.
From covertly overthrowing a national regime to murder and looting, this was Europe's highest-priced PMC team.
Anyone familiar with military affairs would instantly recognize this description.
Wasn't this the villain group from *Wolf Warrior 2*?
Exactly!
The four standing before Long Zhan were the biggest antagonists from *Wolf Warrior 2*—the same internationally top-tier PMC unit responsible for killing Long Xiaoyun.
The only one missing was Ghost, the Chinese martial arts and firearms expert.
Long Zhan had watched both *Wolf Warrior* and *Wolf Warrior 2* and was well aware that each of these five PMC members was highly skilled and deadly.
Their reputation as Europe's top PMC team was not exaggerated.
When watching the movies back then, Long Zhan envied these openly operating PMCs—unlike his own somewhat dirty past as a mercenary of a dozen men—who could live openly under the sun.
Therefore,
Long Zhan, who had been a mercenary of a dozen before and was no cleaner than the old man's crew, didn't have much aversion to Dane Military Resources Company.
As long as they didn't conflict with his own interests, Long Zhan wasn't about to recklessly start trouble.
From the moment Long Zhan entered, he had been subtly observing the old Dane group.
True to their international top-tier PMC status, their awareness and perception far exceeded normal people.
Old Dane quickly spotted the tall, well-built Long Zhan in uniform.
With a smile, he raised his glass and saluted from across the room.
With that warm smile, anyone who didn't know him would think he was just a friendly uncle next door—not someone linked to ruthless killing.
Long Zhan didn't refuse the greeting; he raised his glass to return the toast and then drained his drink.
The exchange was silent.
Athena and Cockroach also noticed Long Zhan but, not being leaders themselves, they were obviously one level lower in cunning and status.
They didn't greet Long Zhan but instead compared him with Big Bear, chatting and laughing among themselves.
Big Bear, standing nearly 1.9 meters tall and looking like a bear, had once been a WWE professional wrestler.
Seeing Long Zhan just as burly and strong, his eyes showed a flicker of interest.
If Old Dane hadn't stopped him with a glance, Big Bear probably would have come over to arm wrestle with Long Zhan.
After all, Big Bear's personality was that of a brute—an embodiment of a dumb strongman, exactly the opposite of Long Zhan's "big guy with big brains."
With their different statuses and missions, their interaction stopped at this silent toast.
Long Zhan didn't know exactly why Old Dane and his crew had come to Afghanistan or whether their presence was connected to Scott's mission.
He wanted to probe but, after some thought, gave up.
Trying to extract information from a PMC veteran who had operated for over a decade—even taking on missions to overthrow governments—was practically impossible.
So, after finishing his second drink, Long Zhan glanced once more at Old Dane's group, then left the bar and returned to the dormitory to rest.
---