Chapter 1838 - 1388: Simon's Warning_3

He walked back to the center of the squad. Joseph and the others looked up at him.

Song Heping didn't speak immediately. His brain was running at full speed, reprocessing every variable.

The original plan was infiltration, seize Misu, exfiltrate covertly.

But now, the plan had to be completely rebuilt.

Simon's warning wasn't alarmist. The Cleaner's objective was clear.

Misu must die, and if He intervened on site, He had to disappear too.

They had virtually unlimited logistics and intelligence priority, possibly even real‑time access to tracking data from Lemont and above.

A frontal clash was obviously a bad idea.

"Plan stays."

Song Heping broke the silence quickly.

"But we push alert level to maximum. We're probably not just dealing with oilfield guards and Misu. We'll likely run into… 'professional players' sent from the United States. The orders they've received won't include 'take prisoners'. So if you see an unidentified, well‑equipped team with solid tactics that shows hostile intent, there's no need to warn them. Prioritize opening fire, eliminate the threat first."

The Mercenaries exchanged a look. Song Heping's meaning was very clear.

The squad's situation was now extremely severe.

Someone was intervening, and not some random player.

Song Heping squatted down and motioned the team to huddle under the camo net.

Then he switched his tactical flashlight to low‑light mode and quickly sketched a rough diagram of Oilfield Sector C and the surrounding terrain in the sand.

"I just got intel confirming two points," he said in a low voice. "First, the Cleaner kill team from the United States has already deployed. Their targets include us and Misu. Second, their information gap with us is closing. Lemont will give them full support."

His finger tapped the spot representing the old storage area.

"Our original plan was to go straight in, dig Misu out and take him. Now, that's very likely us climbing right into the bag and letting the Cleaner do a classic trap‑in‑the‑jar."

His finger slid to several key access routes and high points around the storage zone.

"They'll anticipate our operational logic. Since we're also hunting Misu, the most likely contact point is right here. They'll either set up ahead of us or shadow us in. Once we find Misu and are exhausted or exposed in a firefight, they'll sit back and wait, then move in at their leisure and wipe out us and Misu together."

One team member murmured, "Then we abort?"

"No."

Song Heping gave a cold laugh. "We have to grab Misu. He's our only Amulet, the only chip on the table we can use to flip it. And the Cleaner is after him too. That's exactly our opportunity."

He raised his head, eyes sweeping over each face smeared with camo paint and Shadow.

"Think about it differently. If we treat ourselves as the only Hunter chasing this 'rabbit' Misu, then the Cleaner is the 'wolf' lying in ambush, and we're the prey. But what if we stop chasing the 'rabbit' for a while and instead lock onto that wolf that inevitably has to come for the same 'rabbit'?"

He paused, letting the idea settle in their minds.

"The Cleaner is just as desperate to locate and remove Misu. Their intel may be more accurate, their movement faster. But they have a weakness: their primary target is Misu, and second is anyone who can interfere with that mission—me. Before they confirm and engage the primary target, they won't expose full firepower lightly. And they won't expect…the Hunter to become part of the trap."

Joseph picked up the thread: "Boss, you mean we switch from 'active search' to 'covert observation'? Let the Cleaner take the first hit on that hot potato Misu?"

"Exactly." Song Heping's finger scratched new Arrows in the sand. "We infiltrate according to the original plan, but we don't make direct contact with Misu until the last possible moment. We set up hidden observation and ambush positions around his likely hideouts. Our focus isn't blocking the oilfield guards, it's watching all routes into that sector—especially routes suitable for a spec‑ops team to infiltrate."

His pace quickened, thinking sharp and fluid.

"The Cleaner element won't be large, likely a single squad. They're optimizing for stealth and efficiency. They'll choose the most professional, least expected insertion paths into the storage zone. We need to anticipate their entry points and set up ahead of them. Joseph, you take two people, cover the northwest and north—these two most likely infiltration directions. Establish cross‑coverage observation posts, use vibration sensors and passive infrared. No active scanning, don't give away your position."

Joseph answered quietly, "Understood. Detect and lock, but hold fire until Signal."

"Right." Song Heping turned to the others. "The rest stay with me, hidden on the south and east sides of the storage sector. Those are next to the abandoned pipeline area and the rock piles—good for concealment and fast movement. Our positions must give us eyes on both Misu's possible warehouse hideouts and the directions you'll be warning from, Joseph."

He continued to refine the tactics, covering every detail:

"Once Joseph's element confirms the Cleaner has entered the kill zone and is moving on or making contact with Misu's position, that's our Signal. We don't move until the Cleaner is in a firefight with Misu's people, or we're certain they're about to execute on him."

His finger jabbed hard into the sand.

"That's when we strike. The Cleaner's full attention will be locked on Misu. Their formation will stretch to prosecute the target, exposing flanks and rear arcs. We hit from an angle they won't expect. Firepower must be heavy, decisive—knock out their command, comms, and heavy‑weapons nodes in the first volley. Our goal isn't to repel them; it's to wipe out that Cleaner squad as fast as possible."

One team member asked, "What about Misu? Strays or the Cleaner going apeshit…"

"It's a risk, but it's also a window."

Song Heping laid it out calmly. "Once the shooting starts, Misu either bolts in the chaos or gets pinned. While we're suppressing the Cleaner, we peel off a two‑man team and drive straight into Misu's position, grab him and move. Chaos is our best cover. With the Cleaner tied up by us, the oilfield guards will be dragged in by the volume of fire and will likely be confused about who's who. That gives us a brief but critical action window."

He scanned their faces, emphasizing, "Remember, the core objective has changed. Priority one is no longer 'find Misu'. It's 'snatch Misu out of the Cleaner team's hands and, if possible, neutralize their tracking capability'."

At the end, he added the withdrawal plan:

"Once we have him, regardless of whether we annihilate the Cleaner, we pull out on Route Z immediately. That's the desert track we surveyed—most complex, hardest to follow. Rally point stays the same, but be ready to deploy the vehicle‑mounted Signal jamming gear in an emergency, and be ready to shift the final rendezvous coordinates on the fly. Lemont and the power behind the Cleaner won't just send one squad. Assume rapid‑reaction units or aerial surveillance are in play."

The team silently absorbed the bold, high‑risk plan.

It turned a relatively straightforward grab operation into a high‑intensity ambush against another top‑tier special operations squad.

But no one objected. Song Heping's logic was clear and ruthless, hacking out a seemingly viable counter‑attack route in a dead‑end situation.

"Everyone clear on their tasks?" Song Heping asked at last.

The reply was low and perfectly in unison: "Clear, Boss."

"Check gear, especially comms silence and backup channels. Five minutes to ready." Song Heping ordered.