Chapter 1834 - 1387: The Vanished Ghost (Part 2)

"Alright, SIR." The tech sergeant quickly got to work, the sound of the keyboard clattering.

Soon, the main screen began playing back footage from different cameras.

Lemont pulled over a chair and sat down, leaning forward, eyes fixed on the screen.

Time fast-forwarded, showing personnel and vehicles coming and going, mostly routine patrols and supply convoys.

He instructed the tech sergeant to focus on last night's recordings.

"Stop!" Lemont suddenly commanded.

The footage froze at 22:37 last night, on the east personnel passage.

A vehicle was swiping a card at the gate.

As it reached the gate, the window rolled down, revealing half a face on the screen.

Although the camera angle and lighting made the face somewhat obscure, Lemont recognized the person as resembling Song Heping at a glance.

"Zoom in, on the face."

The tech sergeant zoomed in, making the pixelated image even blurrier, but the sharp eyes that stood out at night, and the jawline, were enough to confirm the identity.

"Alone?"

"It appears so, sir. Records show he only swiped his own ID card."

The officer immediately checked the electronic entry/exit records from that time slot.

"What about vehicles? Any vehicles leaving at the same time?"

The tech sergeant switched the screen to check vehicle passage records.

A few minutes later, he shook his head: "Within half an hour around that time, there are no registered vehicles under 'Musician' company or associated with Mr. Song leaving. I'll need some time to pull up the perimeter checkpoint records."

"Check immediately."

Lemont's heart sank.

Song Heping chose to leave the heavily guarded joint operation base alone in the dead of night; this was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

The checkpoint record came in quickly—around 22:45 last night, Song Heping did drive a Toyota SUV out of the base.

Song Heping indeed slipped away.

Right under everyone's noses, in the tense moment following the operation's failure in Badi Town, he vanished silently.

Lemont felt a chill run up his spine.

He recalled a brief conversation with Song Heping outside the command center a few days ago...

Song Heping seemed to have accepted the approach of "following procedures" at the time, but deep down, there was disbelief and determination in his eyes.

Did he find out?

Or does he intend to interfere?

What is his purpose?

How would it benefit him?!

"Damn it!"

Lemont cursed under his breath and quickly returned to his quarters next to the base command center.

The room was small, but it had strict security measures, with electronic scanning and physical soundproofing.

He locked the door, pulled the heavy anti-spy curtains, and then from the bottom of a portable metal security case, he took out a bulky satellite phone with evident encryption modules.

Taking a deep breath, he dialed a number that wasn't stored but was etched into his memory.

The sound of the connection was exceptionally clear in the silent room.

After five rings, it was answered, without a greeting.

"It's me, Lemont." Lemont lowered his voice, speaking quickly, "There's been a change in the pursuit plan. Song Heping, the head of 'Musician', has disappeared. Last night, he left the base alone, destination unknown."

On the other end, there was two seconds of silence before a slightly distorted, encrypted male voice spoke: "Reason?"

"I suspect he perceived the sensitive level of the Misu incident, possibly... found out parts of the 'Seeder' plan. He hasn't been acting right since the Badi Town operation failed. I asked others, and everyone was evasive, clearly covering up."

Lemont reported quickly: "Most importantly, Misu still hasn't been found. If Song Heping gets there before us..."

"How likely is it he could find Misu?" the voice interrupted: "What benefit would he get from it?!"

"Uncertain. But he's been operating here for years, has his intelligence network, and his familiarity with the local terrain might surpass ours. Besides, he has a team of elite mercenaries, most within the base but entirely capable of being mobilized secretly."

Lemont analyzed, "If he finds Misu, and Misu reveals what happened back then, he could very well use it as some sort of leverage for profit..."

"Enough." The voice turned cold: "You mentioned in yesterday's briefing that Song Heping seemed to speculate on Misu's real background after the Badi Town operation?"

"Yes, he directly asked me about the 'Seeder' plan, someone seemed to have provided him with some inside information."

Another brief silence, filled only with the faint hiss of the encrypted signal.

"Understood." Finally, the voice said: "I will report this immediately and make the necessary arrangements. You stay at the base, monitor the 'Musician' mercenaries and Duke's movements, trust no one, and attempt to ascertain Song Heping's possible whereabouts. Also, the priority of capturing Misu must be adjusted. Await further instructions."

"Yes." Lemont replied.

The call ended.

Lemont put down the satellite phone, his palm slightly damp.

He knew what it meant to make this call.

Things were already spiraling out of the range of what he could control as the field intelligence coordinator, rapidly escalating.

Ten minutes later, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.

A massive campaign rally was underway in the city's central park.

A huge stage was adorned with red, white, and blue lights and flags, with a prominent "HILLARY" and Donkey Party symbol on the backdrop.

Below the stage, tens of thousands of supporters waved signs, the atmosphere electric.