Chapter 225
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Chapter 225: The Big Box of "Big-Eared Fox"
The person calling out Muhammad Magee’s name was Lila, the acquaintance who had introduced him to this place. It was this lean figure who helped him get here, giving him a job where he could fill his stomach without constantly fearing for his life. Despite being under strict management from higher-ups, and having to follow the rules here strictly, Muhammad Magee was genuinely thankful for this guy.
In Muhammad Magee’s eyes, Lila was definitely a formidable character. People outside referred to him as the "Big-Eared Fox," a type of fox that lived in the Middle East, known for its large ears and keen alertness.
Although he was bullied by the children of their village as a kid, he grew up to be remarkable. He picked up a gun earlier than Muhammad and, after roaming for a few years, returned to the village to push those who bullied him back against the wall.
Muhammad Magee distinctly remembered the sight of Lila smiling while reciting the Quran, holding a pistol to the back of each bully’s head. One by one, they fell, scarlet blood mingling with pale brain matter, splattering everywhere. Yet Lila remained calm, even smiling at Muhammad, who was watching from the side, nearly scaring him to death.
Fortunately, he was also one of the usual victims in the village and had never dared to bully anyone. They shared a mutual understanding, and that was why he had escaped the same fate from a bullet. Eventually, he ran off, became a mercenary, and gradually built his own team.
The thrill of controlling life and death was more intoxicating than using heroin.
“Gather your people! I need extra hands over here—I’m nearly overwhelmed! Hurry up and help me!”
A dozen strong men shouted in unison, working together to unload the boxes.
“Okay! My brothers!” Muhammad Magee threw his teacup aside, took a deep breath, and yelled, “Mali! Rozad! Takar Squad, assemble immediately! You idiots come out here!”
His hoarse voice echoed throughout the fortress, rising to volumes that rivaled loudspeakers, stirring chaos all around.
In the dim big dormitory, snoring ceased as people jumped up, scrambling to get dressed while grabbing their weapons, stumbling out of the door.
In the smoky, foul-smelling tavern, several burly men slammed their rancid beer mugs on the rough wooden tables, cursing as they waded through the crowds of drinkers.
In the dark quarters of a brothel, a half-aged woman, clad in tacky clothes, hurriedly threw on her outfit, ignoring the smeared cheap lipstick on her face, rushing to escape. She tossed a handful of green dollars to the lingering women behind her to buy her escape.
Figures staggered in from all corners of the fortress, some trembling, others helping one another along.
These guys muttered verses from the Quran while doing things that would be frowned upon by Allah, their hands soaked in blood.
Well, these fools had finally gathered.
“Fools! Stand straight! Begin the headcount now!”
Muhammad Magee roared, a necessary show of authority. Without firm command, how could he control these unruly characters? When he first arrived, he had to deal with at least two of them, eliminating them.
Though they were not regular troops, the rules here were clear—being executed was more common than corporal punishment. They could misbehave during breaks, but once the commander ordered, anyone who dared to slack off would face the bullet.
“One!”
“Two!”
“…Nineteen! Reporting to the Squad Leader, we have nineteen present. Takar Squad is accounted for.”
“Alright, Lila, my brother! My men are ready.”
Muhammad Magee approached his friend with a semblance of flattery, nodding and bowing in respect. Being able to lead a team and give orders showed he was quite capable.
“Very good, my brother!” Lila’s face, wrinkled like crumpled orange peel, smiled so wide his eyes seemed to disappear. His fingers, yellowed from smoke, still had traces of dried blood under his nails—an unforgiving killer.
Lila patted Muhammad Magee with his rough hand, leaving him feeling taken aback. His voice, thick with nasal tones, pointed at several large boxes. “Magee! Have your people carry these boxes over to that platform, all of them! Be careful not to damage them.”
“No problem!” Muhammad Magee nodded in agreement, rallying his men, “Quickly, move those boxes over there to the platform—be careful! If anyone drops one, I’ll kick you off the wall and turn you into a meat pie.”
“Lila, what’s in these boxes? They look huge,” Muhammad Magee rolled up his sleeves, ready to pitch in.
Lila’s yellow-brown eyes, resembling those of a large carnivore, narrowed slightly. After a moment, he returned to normal with a somewhat stiff smile. “My brother, don’t forget the rules here. Less talking, more working!”
That smile on his dark, wrinkled face was hardly more pleasant than a cry, enough to hush even a crying child.
Startled, Muhammad Magee quickly nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes! I won’t ask! I won’t ask, Lila. Let’s pretend I didn’t say anything.” In that instant, cold sweat drenched his back; damn it, how could he forget this deadly taboo? Each month, one or two fools disappeared for asking or saying the wrong thing, getting shoved to the cliff’s edge and kicked off, smashed to pulp hundreds of meters below.
Feeling as if he had just escaped death, Muhammad Magee quickly distanced himself, hollering and cursing at his subordinates to follow Lila’s instructions and begin working, sternly warning them not to speak or act carelessly.
“Big-Eared Fox” Lila stood still, watching the boxes being lifted. He pulled out a walkie-talkie, adjusting the signal. “Tell Mr. Lawrence that the items will be ready in one hour.” He finished speaking, turned off the device, and fell silent, a cold smirk creeping across his face.
“How’s it inside?” Second Squad leader Han Xiaoren asked the electronics technician in his squad during their communication with the First Squad leader.
“Interrogations are in progress; we can hear the target’s screams. Voice recognition suggests it’s ‘Lapis Lazuli’. I’m currently coordinating with the First Squad’s ‘Potato’ for dual remote surveillance.”
Holding a device resembling a huge beer bottle—like an oversized handgun—aimed towards the “Lapis Lazuli” fortress, a beam of infrared laser invisible to the human eye fired out, scanning every window and door, detecting movement within the fortress and converting the vibrations into sound relayed through the headset to the electronics technician.
This was an infrared laser listening gun, combined with a dual-mode digital telescope, transcribing footage into sound and images.
“What a poor guy, being tortured in a fortress that shares his name. What an odd twist of fate! Don’t worry, just hang in there a bit longer; we’ll come to rescue you.”
The ear-piercing sounds of agony, the sharp whip cracks, and the incessant angry shouts indicated that both the First and Second Squads’ objectives were suffering brutally in this inhumane punishment.
“All units are in position!”
The communications soldier relayed a report on the infiltration team’s location; these men excelled in camouflage and stealth.
“Nice hiding spots, boys!” Han Xiaoren observed through the telescope, spotting several figures crouched silently in the shadows of the fortress, draped in “Flounder” optical camouflage fabric, blending seamlessly with the surrounding rocks. From this angle, anyone looking from the fortress wouldn’t notice them, and in just a few minutes, they’d be inside.
This ‘Flounder’ optical camouflage was embedded with countless tiny LEDs, weighed fifteen pounds, and had multiple cameras on both sides capturing the surroundings, sending the data to a powerful processor. After specialized simulation processing, the LEDs would display images matched to the nearby environment, creating an optical invisibility effect.
In this monotonous, desolate sandy landscape, with nothing but barren hills reflecting painfully bright sunlight, the sharp contrast with the small patch of shadow beneath the fortress weakened the guards’ observation abilities significantly.
“Alright, in half an hour, we attack on time. We must rescue the target. Notify the Dragon Knight; I need him to arrive on the dot—no earlier, no later. We’re in a countdown now.”
Through the laser communication device, Han Xiaoren maintained continuous contact with First Squad leader Huang, confirming the attack time. To avoid detection by any potential radio surveillance inside the fortress, they relied primarily on laser communication for data exchange.
Unlike the spread of electromagnetic waves, laser beams are unidirectional and impossible to intercept, greatly enhancing the Night team’s combat capability in unique environments.
The special communication techniques of the two squads guaranteed maximum information confidentiality. Even against the highly technologically armed U.S. military, their critical information would not be leaked in any way.
