Chapter 1101 - 994: MI6 on the Tiger's Back

London, MI6 Headquarters, "Eagle's Nest" Command Center.

Dead silence.

Suffocating dead silence.

On the huge main screen, the last faint signal of Captain Don's command vehicle and his troops, after a series of unsuccessful connection attempts, suddenly flickered a few times and completely transformed into a red cross representing "lost," then faded away.

The entire electronic map of the northwestern Sahara region fell into a cold, lifeless grayness.

"Sir... Captain Don voluntarily cut off all active transmission links... signal... lost."

An intelligence officer reported in a dry voice.

M's gaze was as sharp as ever, yet concealed a weariness and icy anger that were hard to describe.

She looked at the gray area on the screen, representing the intelligence blackout, as if she could see Don's face twisted by hatred and the troops rushing toward unknown destruction like moths to a flame.

Foolish!

Arrogant!

A fool completely consumed by anger!

M's heart was roaring.

For Song Heping, for so-called revenge, he dared to defy the highest orders and cut off contact!

This was no longer a tactical gamble; it was outright suicide!

Even scarier, this out-of-control mad bull was charging one thousand lives straight into the cunning trap Song Heping had meticulously set!

Don was no match for Song Heping!

She could almost foresee the bloodbath about to unfold at some ambush-ready location in that unknown desert.

Song Heping only needed to stall Don's steps, waiting for his four thousand mercenary "Musicians" to complete their encirclement...

The GNA's main forces, along with the remaining SBS elite inside, would be completely turned into new skeletal markers in the Sahara Desert.

"Sir, should we attempt to forcefully enter their backup emergency channel? Or activate..."

The Intelligence Chief tentatively asked, his voice carrying a last trace of hope.

"It's useless."

M's voice coldly interrupted him, carrying a kind of insightful cruelty.

"Since Don dared to cut it off, he's prepared for total blackout. He... has gone mad."

She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the boiling anger and frustration, and turned around, sweeping her gaze across the command center with a sense of determination: "Immediately connect me to General Sai Fu, top priority encrypted line!"

A few seconds later, the encrypted line was connected.

Saif's face appeared on the screen with an obvious displeasure and a hint of faint anxiety.

He wore camouflage, his background the dark night of the Sahara Desert.

"Ms. M? I am racing against time to reach Kurtan Oasis..."

Saif's voice carried a hint of dissatisfaction from being disturbed.

"General! The situation is urgent!"

M didn't offer any pleasantries, her tone crisp and forceful, and with undeniable pressure.

"Captain Don defied orders, cut off communication on his own, and is leading your main forces in Sahara at full speed toward Kurtan Oasis! The target is Song Heping!"

Saif's face showed confusion: "What's the problem..."

"Let me finish!"

M forcibly interrupted him mid-sentence.

"This is Song Heping's trap! His 'Musician' defense main forces, numbering over four thousand elite mercenaries, have already crossed the border into the Sahara Desert, with their target also being Kurtan! They intend to encircle and annihilate Don's forces! The time window is extremely narrow! Don's actions are burying your armed forces in Desert City!"

"Damn..."

Saif took a sharp breath, his face instantly becoming extremely ugly.

"It's too late to say anything now, he's already cut off all communication channels, you can't reach him, not even Yarif, so I order you!"

M's voice suddenly heightened, piercing the air like an ice pick.

"Immediately! Right now! Gather all your mobile forces! Armored units! Armed convoys! At all costs! With utmost speed, rush to Kurtan Oasis! The only target: before Song Heping's mercenaries complete their encirclement, rendezvous with and rescue Captain Don and his forces! Meanwhile, seize the opportunity to eliminate the major threat that is Song Heping! This is your only chance to turn the situation around! It is also our common goal! Understand?!"

Saif agreed without hesitation: "Ms. M, my forces to cross the desert and reach Kurtan... need time! And, we need air cover and precise intelligence support! The Americans..."

"I will strive to coordinate intelligence! You just focus on taking action! Speed! General, speed is life! Don's life, along with your over one thousand elite, is in your hands!"

M's voice carried a final warning and a trace of urgency, unwilling to involve Saif in discussing the Americans.

After all, Vincent's previous outburst still echoed in her ears.

"Act immediately! Every second is precious!"

The screen went dark.

M slowly exhaled, fatigue washing over her like a tide.

She looked at that consistently gray Sahara map without much confidence inside.

Saif's reaction speed, his forces' mobility, the desert's blockade...

And most crucially, the time difference... everything hung by a thread.

This reckless man Don has pushed everyone to the edge of the cliff.

...

Deep in the Sahara.

Song Heping's team finally caught up with the near-collapse wounded squad behind a massive dune that provided some shelter from the wind.

The scene was tragic.

Solders of Hafter's forces lay scattered, lips cracked and blistered, eyes vacant, many with worsened wounds, emitting low groans.

Even the camels appeared listless.

"Water! Food! Quick!"

Song Heping's voice was hoarse but carried an undeniable force.

Disaster Star and Wrench, like fire brigade soldiers, swiftly distributed the seized water bags and field rations.

The gurgling of clear water into parched throats, the tearing sound of packaging, the ravenous chewing of the wounded...

The breath of life, like a faint flame, struggled to reignite on this desperate sandy ground.

Disaster Star approached Song Heping, his face showing the fatigue of long-distance raids and bloody battles, but his eyes remained sharp: "Boss, we've distributed the water and ammo. We can hold on for a while. What's next? That group of Mad Dogs behind us is biting too closely."

Song Heping leaned against a bullet-ridden, snatched-up armed pickup truck and quickly unfolded a crumpled, captured desert terrain map in the dim morning light.

His fingers, rough and stained with blood and sand, pointed with exceptional stability at two points on the map.

"Wrench, contact White Bear and Ferrari! Confirm their real-time position and estimated arrival time!"

His voice was devoid of any superfluous words.

Wrench immediately crouched down, opened the encrypted radio, and rapidly tapped on the keyboard. The hissing of the current was especially clear in the silent morning.

A moment later, he looked up, spoke rapidly: "Got them! White Bear and Ferrari lead the main vanguard, have crossed the border, entering the Sahara! Coordinates confirmed! They are... approximately 35 kilometers away in a straight line! Terrain is complex, dunes are high; they estimate at the fastest... it'll take two hours before they can join us!"

Two hours.

This word fell like a piece of ice on the hearts of Disaster Star, Wrench, and several squad leaders who gathered around.

Everyone instinctively looked southward.

"Captain Don's men..."

Wrench licked his cracked lips, voice hoarse.

"If they abandon the wounded, traveling light and fast... given their pickup and armored vehicles' speed and the traces we've left... at the latest in an hour, no, possibly forty minutes, they can catch up with us!"

A weary force of over a hundred, carrying dozens of severely injured who almost lost combat capability, was to confront more than a thousand armed-to-the-teeth lunatics in this open desert...

At least hold out for an hour?

This wasn't just throwing an egg against a stone; it was the prelude to being crushed to powder!

This battle, too difficult...

A desperate atmosphere began to quietly wind around, like a cold vine.

But Song Heping's gaze was fixed unwaveringly on the map; his fingers traced an almost invisible dotted line southeast from their current position. His mind was racing, the battlefield situation unfolded clearly in his mind: pursuing Mad Dogs (Don), the weak bait (wounded squad), the deadly reinforcements (White Bear/Ferrari), and possibly approaching Sayif's main forces from the north (timing unknown)...

As well as this desert beneath their feet, a coexistence of death and survival.

"Split forces!"

Song Heping abruptly looked up, his eyes bursting with a compelling brilliance, his voice firm and decisive, instantly dispelling the surrounding oppression.

"Split forces?"

Disaster Star was stunned.

"Yes!"

Song Heping's finger firmly tapped their current position on the map.

"Wounded squad! You personally lead! Take all severely injured and half the water, food! Continue on the original route, head towards Kurtan Oasis!"

His fingers suddenly switched direction towards the southeast: "I! Will lead the two sections of the Special Forces, along with all Haftar soldiers who can still run and fight, a total of about 120 people! Change route! Advance southeast! Target—"

His fingertip traced a short, powerful diagonal line on the map, stopping on a complex terrain symbol marked as "Wind Erosion Rock Area."

"Here! Five kilometers away, the 'Razorback' Wind Erosion Rock Area!"

"Wrench!"

Song Heping's gaze was as sharp as a knife.

"Immediately notify White Bear and Ferrari! Change the rendezvous point! Abandon the Kurtan direction! Move towards 'Razorback' at full speed! Tell them we will pin down the pursuers there! Command them to encircle at the fastest speed!"

Disaster Star and Wrench exchanged a quick glance, seeing the shock and a hint of realization in each other's eyes.

Disaster Star hesitated: "Boss, are you planning... to use the wounded squad as a decoy, luring Don's main forces towards Kurtan? But we change direction southeast, the tracks are equally obvious, they can track..."

"Of course they can track!"

Song Heping's lips curled up in a cruel smile, a confidence in understanding the prey's psychology.

"Don is now like a mad dog with bloodshot eyes! He sees the forked tracks, one heading towards 'safe' oasis, one towards the seemingly 'fleeing' desert depths... guess, which will he chase?"

Wrench's eyes lit up: "He will definitely think we're feinting, using the wounded to attract him, while the main force tries to slip away southeast!"

"Exactly!"

Song Heping's voice carried a steely resolve.

"He hates me to the core, the target is my head! Kurtan direction has fewer tracks, slower speed, it's clearly the bait! Southeast direction has dense tracks, it's the main force's fast movement! He will definitely pursue! And without hesitation!"

His gaze swept across Disaster Star and Wrench: "At 'Razorback,' we'll prepare three 'Iron Gates' for him! 120 people, divided into three blocking groups, relying on the natural fortifications of wind-eroded rocks, echelon deployment, in-depth defense! First line of defense, delay and consume! Second line of defense, focus on lethal damage! Third line of defense, reserve force and the last barrier!"

"Each line, like a nail, will be firmly nailed into the sand! Our only task: drag! At all costs, drag Don, that mad dog, at 'Razorback' for an hour! As long as we hold for one hour, reinforcements led by White Bear and Ferrari will flood in from the southeast, completing the encirclement! By then, it'll be Don who gets encased!"

Disaster Star and Wrench still appeared slightly puzzled.

"Heard of the Iron Original Blocking Battle?"

Song Heping mentioned this famous battle example with a cold smile.

With absolutely inferior troops, relying on terrain and will, blocking in sections, layer upon layer of consumption, to gain a deadly time window for the main force to encircle!

"Understood!"

Disaster Star and Wrench's eyes immediately lit up.

They had heard of this battle example.

So that's it!

"Execute!"

Song Heping's command was like an unsheathed sabre, gleaming coldly.

"Disaster Star, wounded squad is entrusted to you, depart immediately! Wrench, notify reinforcements to change route! The rest, follow me! Target—Razorback! Build a fortress of flesh and blood for our 'guest'!"