Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 1013 Vasily's Roar
At the eastern anchorage of Alexandria, the massive steel hull of the "Seagull" lay silently in the leaden-gray seawater.

The golden-red afterglow of the setting sun painted its rusty, peeling paint hull and superstructure, but instead of bringing warmth, it accentuated a sense of decay and decline.

Seagulls circled noisily near the mast, and the salty sea breeze, carrying the distinctive smells of rust and engine oil of the harbor, poured in through the open cargo hatches.

Deep inside the cargo hold, the light was fragmented and cut off by the jungle of steel.

A huge shadow swayed on the bulkhead, where the steel behemoth, firmly secured to the bottom of the cabin by thick iron chains and welded supports, was the core component of the SAM-6 air defense missile system: the 2P25 Transport Erection Launcher (TEL).

The deep green paint appears almost black under the dim light, and the sharp, angular outline exudes a chilling murderous aura.

The long missile launch tube was covered by a specially made canvas cover, like a sleeping venomous dragon.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of metal coolant, engine oil, and ozone from welding.

Vasily, a veteran technician from the former Soviet air defense forces, was acting like a grumpy foreman at that moment.

His muscular upper body was bare, and beads of sweat rolled down his bronze skin and thick chest hair, leaving dark spots on the oil-stained and rust-covered deck.

He brandished a wrench, roaring in English with a heavy Russian accent, his voice booming and echoing in the huge cargo hold, drowning out the hissing of welding and the clanging of metal.
"Andrei! You stupid Siberian bear! That damned hydraulic lock! One millimeter more off, and the missile will fall over like a drunkard! Aim! Use your eyes, not your ass!"

He spoke with spittle flying, pointing to a key fixed node at the rear of the launch vehicle.

Andrei, the man called out, was a Slavic man of similar stature. He wiped the sweat and grease from his face, silently picked up the heavy hydraulic jack, his thick arm muscles bulging, and recalibrated the heavy component. Each fine adjustment was accompanied by a teeth-grinding metallic scraping sound.

At the other end of the cargo hold, Igor, the core of the technical team and a communications expert, was caught in a silent war.

On the portable workbench in front of him lay a huge schematic diagram of the SAM-6 "Straight Flush" fire control radar system.

Several radar control units with their chassis opened were scattered haphazardly, their exposed circuit boards and dense cables resembling tangled nerves.

His brow furrowed into a tight knot as his fingers flew across the dusty keyboard, scrolling through lines of dazzling diagnostic codes and error waveforms.

Sweat trickled down his pale cheeks, dripping onto the circuit board and evaporating instantly.

"Damn...damn!"

Igor slammed his fist on the table, making the surrounding parts rattle. "Interference...huge background noise! ​​This wrecked ship is a mobile electromagnetic junkyard! Engines, generators, damn harbor clutter...the radar receiver is being overwhelmed! Without a clean signal, we're blind!"

His voice was hoarse with despair.

Vasily strode over, grabbed the half-empty bottle of vodka from Igor's table, and took a large gulp, the strong smell of alcohol instantly filling the air. "Blind man? Igor, listen up!"

His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the technical expert.

"Boss Song gave us such generous treatment and rewards, not to make us blind! He wants us to shoot down those damn 'eagles'! Two days! Just two days! You must make this pile of scrap metal open its eyes! Otherwise..."

He made a throat-slitting gesture, his eyes fierce, "We're all going to be shark food in the Black Sea!"

The cargo hold fell silent instantly, with only the muffled whistling of the ventilation ducts and the faint sound of ship horns from the distant port.

The immense pressure felt tangible, weighing heavily on everyone's shoulders.

Time is an invisible noose, tightening quietly with each passing second.

Almost simultaneously, Vasily's roar and Igor's despair echoed in the sweltering cargo hold of the "Seagull," thousands of kilometers away, in the northeastern corner of Africa, on the Red Sea coast within Eritrea,
Inside a private military base belonging to a military contractor.

In the base's core command center, a huge rock wall screen displays a highly encrypted, high-resolution dynamic satellite situation map of North Africa and the Mediterranean region.

Countless points of light, representing different satellites and orbits, move slowly and intertwine on a grid background, forming a complex and intricate cosmic star map.

Qin Fei, the owner of this base, was standing in front of the screen, assessing the situation.

Just as he was engrossed in his thoughts, the cell phone on the table began to vibrate.

He glanced at the encrypted number that had never appeared in his contacts but which he had memorized by heart. His face showed no surprise, only a knowing "it's finally here" expression.

He quickly pressed the call button.

The encrypted satellite connection is established.

After a brief silence, a deep, hoarse yet remarkably clear voice came from the other end of the line, carrying the weariness of a long journey and an undeniable sense of urgency:
"Qin Fei?"

"Song Heping?"

Qin Fei's voice was calm and composed, as if it possessed a magic that could transcend time and space, instantly soothing the unease caused by the faint background noise unique to encrypted channels.

"Have your 'goods' arrived in Alexandria?"

He cut straight to the point, confirming this crucial juncture that both sides were paying close attention to.

"We have arrived safely in Alexandria."

Song Heping's voice confirmed his speculation, but it was followed by a deeper worry.

“But time… is too tight. There are significant technical bottlenecks, and my men are facing difficulties. But time waits for no one; the ‘Eagle’ will be flying overhead in two days.” He paused and said, “I need… ‘eyes’ to see them, to lock onto them. Team Leader Lei said you can help me.”

On the other side of the screen, Qin Fei remained silent.

These brief few seconds felt exceptionally long and heavy, accentuated by the cold air in the command room and the faint background noise characteristic of the encrypted channel.

Song Heping could even hear the heavy pounding of his heart in his chest.

"'Eye'……"

Qin Fei smiled and said, "I do have the technology you're looking for."

He paused for a moment, then his tone suddenly became extremely serious.

“But listen to me, Sergeant. Now, I can give you your ‘eyes,’ but they… are top secret. This ‘multi-star collaborative gaze tracking’ is codenamed ‘Eye of the Sky,’ and it’s the latest achievement.”

Song Heping's pupils suddenly contracted.

Even he had only heard of this vague concept from Vasily, which represented the core and most cutting-edge field of the Dragon Kingdom's space-based reconnaissance capabilities.

What can it do?

Song Heping lowered his voice involuntarily, filled with awe and respect for this top-secret force.

"It can..."

Qin Fei spoke each word clearly and forcefully, each syllable striking Song Heping's taut nerves.

"Multiple space-based platforms with different orbits and functions can abandon their original missions at a specific time and in a specific airspace, and like 'staring,' instantly focus all detection resources—synthetic aperture radar (SAR), infrared, electro-optical, and electronic reconnaissance—on the same moving target. The resolution, positioning accuracy, and anti-jamming capabilities far exceed those of conventional modes. Not to mention an aircraft, even a seagull skimming across the sea cannot escape its tracking."

Song Heping felt a surge of electricity coursing through his body.

In the midst of despair, Qin Fei calmly pushed open a crack in a door leading to the impossible.

This power is awe-inspiring.

"If I were to use it, what would be the cost?"

Song Heping's voice was unusually calm.

He knew that this power was never used lightly, and the constraints behind it must be extremely strict.

"The price is that it cannot be exposed to light."

Qin Fei's voice was firm and unwavering.

“Your people can’t handle it, so I’ll make the arrangements. I’ll send someone over immediately. Codenamed ‘Iron Wolf.’ He’ll be carrying a specially designed terminal and a one-time encrypted channel key. He’ll only have this key once. It’ll be activated before the mission begins, and after the mission, regardless of success or failure, he’ll take everything with him, erasing all traces. The terminal will be physically destroyed, and the key will self-destruct. ‘Eye of the Sky’ will only ‘gaze’ at your target once, and then disappear completely, as if it never existed. Understand? Any leaks will have consequences… none of us can afford them.”

"clear."

Song Heping answered without the slightest hesitation.

He was well aware of the weight of this "eye," as well as the national will it represented and the absolute obligation of secrecy that he had to bear.

This is the discipline of 203.

At this point, he could roughly guess Qin Fei's true identity.

"it is good."

Qin Fei's voice softened, carrying a hint of entrustment.

"'Iron Wolf' will arrive in Alexandria as quickly as possible to meet up with your people. He will disguise himself as an electrical maintenance engineer at the shipyard. You should notify your people to prepare for his arrival and ensure his safety."

"No problem! Leave everything to me!"

Song Heping responded solemnly.

"beep--"

call ended.

Silence returned to the command center, broken only by the low hum of the cooling fans in the large server racks.

Qin Fei put down his phone and turned his gaze back to the enormous star map.

Meanwhile, Song Heping, standing in the distance, still wore the weariness etched on his face. But deep within his eyes, the nearly extinguished flame had been rekindled by the "Eye of the Sky" brought by Qin Fei, burning fiercely and filled with the resolute and ruthless killing intent of a lone wolf.

　Asking for a monthly ticket! Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)