Long Zhan's teasing had some effect, making Clay realize his current "junior position," and he ultimately stopped fantasizing about lounging in a hammock to fall asleep.
He asked Davis for a sleeping pill and honestly strapped himself to a chair.
22 hours later.
Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.
The C17 transport plane carrying Long Zhan and the rest of Bravo Team finally crossed the Atlantic and arrived at its destination, landing at the military airport in the capital.
After placing their luggage in the dormitory and having breakfast, it was already 8 AM.
The mission time was tight, so they needed to act quickly.
The intelligence team led by Mandy, along with the action team commanded by Eric, including the two new foreign aid members, Long Zhan and Clay, were all summoned to a warehouse temporarily converted into a command center.
Although this was only a makeshift command center, it was well-equipped.
Especially notable was a two-story model of an African-style building, about 1.5 meters high, located on the left side of the meeting room, which was clearly expensive due to its fine craftsmanship.
The basics of the situation had been briefed to them before departure, so once everyone arrived, the meeting began and they went straight to the point.
The intelligence team transferred the drone’s live feed to the LCD monitor at the front of the meeting room. The clarity of the image was decent, but Lionheart’s compound was nowhere to be found.
Various shades of gray, black, and brown smoke obscured the entire compound.
"These are not clouds, this is smoke. The whole city is engulfed in flames. This is clearly intentional, as the smoke prevents the drone from capturing high-altitude images."
The report came from a male intelligence officer responsible for monitoring the area.
His naturally curly black hair was quite recognizable.
"This is indeed a big problem. If we can't confirm Samir's presence at the scene, we won't be able to take action." Every operation required partial approval from one party, and the "higher-ups" Mandy was referring to was the CIA.
"Are you kidding me?"
Jason stood up abruptly from his chair, glaring at the curly-haired officer and said, "If it’s such a big issue, why didn't you inform us earlier?"
"Two hours ago, in the early morning, we could still see through holes the smoke, but just an hour before you arrived, a large number of civilians began to set fires in the town where Lionheart is based. Now even the soldiers in Lionheart’s camp have joined in."
The curly-haired intelligence officer appeared quite helpless. Upon hearing this, Long Zhan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "since they don’t have high-tech weapons to shoot down the drones, they are using primitive methods to render this era's advanced technology ineffective.
“Even if you can see people with thermal imaging, it’s useless if you can’t identify who they are. This General Lionheart has some tricks up his sleeve."
General Lionheart’s use of primitive methods to counteract advanced technology made Long Zhan realize that the “backward” terrorists in Africa were also evolving.
Although he knew the plot of this mission, facing such a cunning general like Lionheart, the actual operation would still carry significant risks.
To avoid dying before even starting the mission, it was necessary to be extremely cautious.
At the same time, he began to recall the plot of the TV series, trying to pick apart every detail of this operation to see if there was a chance to obtain Samir's gold.
Since even the CIA was taking this seriously, the amount of gold would definitely not be small.
If he could get a little lucky this time, he might retire early!
Even though there was already a guaranteed minimum of 10 million dollars just waiting for him to pick up, and that even thinking about snatching food from the powerful CIA's mouth could be a recipe for disaster
Still…
Who would ever complain about having too much money?
If Mandy's intelligence was indeed true, and Samir had really been amassing gold for over 20 years, it was certainly worth the risk for Long Zhan to try his luck.
As for how to complete his little actions without alarming others during the operation...
Long Zhan was still figuring that part out.
At that moment, Ray suddenly remembered something and stood up to ask the curly-haired intelligence officer, "Did you just say that General Lionheart’s soldiers also joined in on the arson?"
"Yes, a large number of rubber products caused the drones to be unable to observe."
The curly-haired officer's answer inspired Mandy. She also thought of what Ray was thinking and excitedly said, "This means that General Lionheart is providing cover for Samir in advance. Samir is likely to appear soon."
"It’s not just likely, it's certain."
Seeing that the situation was not as bad as imagined, Jason's mood lightened considerably. With a confident and bold smile, he turned to Ray and said, "Since the drones are no longer effective, why don't we go in ourselves?"
"In person?"
Before Ray could respond, Mandy was startled and nervously said, "That area is General Lionheart's territory. Your appearances are too different from the locals, it’s impossible for you to get close to the target building.
“If your identities are exposed, it won't just mean mission failure, your lives will also be in danger."
Mandy's concerns were quite valid.
In a world where the malnourished and skinny black people lived, Ray, being a lean black man, was fine, but Jason, Sonny, Long Zhan, and the others, with their muscular builds and tall statures, were clearly not ordinary tourists.
Walking in there would be like lighting a 100-watt bright lightbulb in the dark.
"Clay, I think before the mission, we could jump into some crude oil for a quick bath. What do you think?"Foreign aid team members were not qualified to participate in the action plan discussion, so Long Zhan joked around with Clay.
"Hell no. If I had to choose, I'd rather face General Lionheart’s army head-on."
Clay grimaced, expressing strong disdain for Long’s little joke.
Long Zhan and Clay continued their banter, while the official members of Bravo Team, under Jason's leadership, had already discussed and finalized the action plan.
A second-hand eight-seat minivan, with severely chipped paint, which Jason humorously referred to as the “scuba van,” would have its windows covered with cloth.
Each person donned a set of local traditional robes and headscarves, completing their disguise.
After the five official members of Bravo Team and the two foreign aids were ready, they set off in the dilapidated minivan once it was completely dark outside.
One had to admit, this was indeed quite a bold move.
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