Mercenary I am the king

Chapter 905 The Situation is Tricky
"Jiang Feng, contact Utkin immediately."

Song Heping twirled the satellite phone in his palm and handed it to Jiang Feng.

“Tell him I’ll be in Cairo tomorrow night.”

Henry pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting the blue light of the computer screen: "Boss, aren't you worried this might be a trap?"

His fingers typed a string of code on the keyboard, bringing up an encrypted file.

"The Russian military is currently undergoing a major internal purge, and the conflict between the newly appointed Minister of Military Affairs, Zhao Yigu, and the cook has become public. Rumors suggest that two months ago, at a dinner at a Moscow officers' club, Zhao Yigu publicly smashed a wine glass and vowed to make the cook 'get out of Russia.'"

"So we definitely have to go... If we don't, the cook's body will probably just rot there and nobody will care."

Song Heping's voice was as cold as ice: "Immediately prepare false identities and evacuation routes for Jiang Feng, the other five team members, and me. This time, I'm only taking these six people to Egypt. Also, put all the company's combat units on standby. If I don't receive a safety signal within 48 hours, activate the backup rescue plan."

That evening, Song Heping handed over Senna's affairs to Ferrari, while he himself secretly set off with Jiang Feng and five other team members.

They traveled in three modified Land Cruisers, crossed the border into Darfur, Sudan, then passed through their territory in northern Darfur into southern Egypt. After disembarking at the southern border, they transferred to a northbound cargo ship and sailed down the Nile to Cairo.

The convoy arrived at the designated rendezvous point at dawn—an abandoned cotton processing plant.

The rusty metal gate still bears bullet holes, a reminder of the bloody conflicts that once plagued the area.

Five dark figures emerged from the shadows, led by an Arab man wearing a red headscarf.

“Mr. Song?” the man in the red headscarf asked in heavily accented English. “The ship is ready.”

The transfer process only took ten minutes.

Three off-road vehicles were pushed into a pre-dug pit, which was then quickly covered with camouflage netting.

Song Heping and his team followed the guide through the reeds. A rusty cargo ship was moored on the bank, with the words "Son of the Nile" painted on its hull in Arabic.

"There's a hidden compartment down there."

The red headscarf lifted the camouflage on the deck, revealing a narrow entrance that could only allow one person to pass through at a time.

"There's enough room for the six of you, but don't make a sound. Although the border guards haven't been checking too strictly lately, I don't want to cause trouble."

The dark compartment was stuffy and humid, filled with the smell of diesel fuel and fish.

Song Heping sat down against the cabin wall, half-closing his eyes as he continued to think about the next steps.

The cabin suddenly began to shake violently, and the roar of the engine was deafening.

Jiang Feng leaned closer and whispered, "We've entered the main channel of the Nile."

His voice was almost drowned out by the noise.

Two hours later, the cargo ship safely docked at the Nasser Reservoir.

It was already dawn. Song Heping climbed out of the dark compartment, greedily breathing in the fresh air. His camouflage uniform was soaked with sweat and clung to his back.

Three dilapidated Toyota SUVs were parked on the shore, and an Egyptian man in a floral shirt was leaning against one of the cars smoking.

"Mr. Sergei?"

The man in the floral shirt asked in Russian, while warily scanning his surroundings.

"Comrade Yevgeny?"

Song Heping answered the code.

They exchanged a knowing smile.

An hour later, the SUV Song Heping was riding in was speeding along the coastal highway.

Looking east from the highway, you can see the azure Red Sea.

Egypt's coastal areas and the Nile River basin are prosperous urban areas, while the rest of the country is mostly desert.

So the scenery on both sides of the highway is completely different – ​​on one side is the sea and buildings of coastal towns, and on the other side is a desolate desert and sand dunes.

Normally, this highway would be bustling with tourist buses, but right now Egypt is in complete chaos.

The Arab Spring movement also affected Egypt. In the past year, Gaddafi of Lebia was overthrown and the country fell into chaos; the Moroccan government collapsed and society was in turmoil; Egypt was no exception, with the long-time ruler Mohammad also being overthrown by the so-called "democracy" movement on the streets.

Those who had passionately overthrown Muhammad's regime thought they were overthrowing a dictatorship, but they never expected that the Muslim Brotherhood, which adhered more to fundamentalism, would come to power.

As a result, the opposition and the public continued to cause trouble...

For a country that relies on tourism as its main source of income, the consequence of unrest is recession, recession, and more recession.

Compared to what Song Heping saw when he passed through Egypt two years ago, what he saw now was truly heartbreaking.

However, precisely because of this, Song Heping's smuggling did not encounter any obstacles.

Henry still had some connections in North Africa, so arranging for Song Heping to secretly infiltrate Cairo was not difficult at all.

Egypt is now more corrupt in all sectors than ever before, dozens of times more corrupt than when Mohammed bin Salman was in power.

With US dollars, there's nothing that can't be done here.

"Sergeant, Henry has sent a new message."

Jiang Feng, who was in the passenger seat, turned around and handed over a military-grade laptop.

Song Heping took it; a document was already opened on it.

Inside is the background information on Zhaoyi Valley that Song Heping instructed Henry to investigate, as well as the inside story of the conflict between him and the cook.

After reading the background check on Zhao Yigu, Song Heping gasped.

His first thought was—the cook's mother went too far!
Although Zhao Yigu comes from an architectural background, his father is a high-ranking official.

His mother's background was also impressive; she was a descendant of a military general.

Zhao Yigu's decision to go into construction was a rebellious act. After graduating from the Lasnoyarsk Polytechnic Institute with a degree in architectural engineering, he worked his way up from a construction worker to a manager.

After experiencing the harsh realities of society, he came to terms with the situation and, through his father's connections, switched careers to work for the National Construction Commission, where he was in charge of infrastructure projects.

Through his father's connections, he gradually became acquainted with Ye Liqing, who was in power at the time, and gained his trust, becoming the head of the Civil Defense, Emergency Situations and Disaster Mitigation Committee.

In 99, Ye Liqing suddenly decided to retire, and the successor he chose was Pu Huang.

However, the succession process was not smooth.

Because the opposition was very strong. At that time, Ye Liqing only had one last straw to grasp. According to the law, half of the Duma's seats were to be elected by local constituencies, and many of the local officials were people he had personally promoted and who supported him.

Therefore, the Kremlin planned to organize local forces and form a new political alliance.

Soon after, 39 governors formed the Unity Party and joined forces to participate in the Duma elections.

The leader chosen by this alliance is Zhao Yigu.

In other words, if the cook joined the "St. Petersburg clique" after being introduced by a friend and became a close friend of the Emperor after his ascension to the throne, then Zhao Yigu can be considered one of the original shareholders of the core of the Emperor's power.

The fact that the cook is now going against someone like Zhao Yigu shows how risky it is.

When Song Heping met the cook in Moscow, he knew that the cook had already made a name for himself and reached a high level of success.

But I never expected it to open up like this, to be so high up, so high that it has already entered the core power struggle.

No matter how smart Song Heping was, or how many life-or-death battles he had participated in, he still held a deep sense of awe towards the game of power struggles.

Nothing is more cunning, insidious, and ruthless than career politicians.

It is clear that the cook has fallen into Zhaoyi Valley's trap, and even getting involved in this matter himself carries a great risk.

Zhao Yigu was also closely monitoring Utkin's every move. It was possible that GRU secret agents had already entered Cairo and were waiting for him to appear.

Song Heping's nerves tightened involuntarily.

Further down the page, you'll find inside information about the conflict between the cook and Zhao Yigu.

After reading the whole thing, Song Heping only saw two words: profit.

The trigger was the cook's personality, which was as foul as a rock in a latrine.

During the tenure of former Minister Anatoly, the cook took on the responsibility of supplying food to the Russian army and made a fortune.

This also explains why the cook was able to mobilize the GRU to help him rescue Ferrari, and why he was able to eat so well in Moscow and enjoy such a luxurious life, even disdaining the dividends from the "Musician" defense shares.

However, Shoigu's sudden appearance signaled the end of the cook's good days.

He took over as minister at the end of last year and began to purge Anatoly's influence from within the organization, including the cook, who was also identified as one of Anatoly's men.

Zhao Yigu first canceled the food supply contract with the chef.

Because "cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents," the cook harbored a deep grudge against Shoigu.

Song Heping continued watching; the screen displayed the latest details of the conflict between Zhao Yigu and the cook…

On February 14, Wagner's forces defeated opposition troops in Deir ez-Zor. The cook, at a press conference, claimed, "We could win even without air support," implicitly criticizing the Ministry of Defense's command.

Song Heping's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

The cook's big mouth will get him killed sooner or later.

Scroll down to find a meeting transcript:
At an internal military meeting on March 1st, Zhao Yigu slammed his fist on the table and roared, "A mercenary leader is more capable than our entire staff! This is a slap in the face to all officers!"

"Look at this."

Jiang Feng opened an audio file.

The cook's drunken voice came from the loudspeaker—

"That kid Zhao Yigu knows nothing about war! He's barely even touched a gun; all he does is count kickbacks in his office all day."

A burst of laughter came from the background of the recording.

Song Heping slammed his laptop shut. Such remarks were tantamount to suicide within the military system.

At this point, the highway outside the car window began to enter the edge of the city, with dilapidated slums and luxury hotels forming a stark contrast.

Cairo’s outline gradually became clear, and the pyramids appeared and disappeared in the twilight.

Song Heping's satellite phone suddenly vibrated; it was an encrypted message from Henry:
[GRU agents have been confirmed to have arrived in Cairo. A change of meeting point is recommended. New coordinates have been uploaded.]

Song Heping entered the coordinates into the GPS, and the screen displayed an apartment building located in the Giza district.

“Change route,” he told the driver. “We’re not going downtown.”

The convoy turned off the main road and into the intricate network of alleyways.

In the street-side cafes, men were glued to the Muslim Brotherhood leader's speech on television, completely oblivious to the few inconspicuous cars.

Song Heping inspected the pistol; the cool touch of the metal reassured him somewhat.

"We'll be there in ten minutes."

The driver spoke in Arabic, while cautiously checking his rearview mirror.

Song Heping looked out the window.

The last rays of the setting sun were being swallowed by the desert, and the lights of Cairo began to twinkle. In a corner of this ancient city, a former GRU major awaited them.

Further afield, in the Syrian desert, his old comrades may be fighting for survival.

"Jiang Feng, keep an eye on things."

Song Heping closed his laptop, a sudden wave of exhaustion washing over him. "I'm going to take a nap."

He had barely closed his eyes when he dreamt of the little river in his hometown. The water was crystal clear, and his younger brother was waving to him from the bank, his smile brighter than the sunshine.
"Old squad leader! Wake up! We're here!"

Jiang Feng's voice pulled him back to reality.

Song Heping sat up abruptly, his tactical instincts instantly bringing him to his senses.

Outside the car window, a dilapidated apartment building stood in the night, with a faint light shining from a window on the third floor.

"What time?" he asked, rubbing his temples.

"It's 9:20 PM." Jiang Feng handed him a bottle of water. "You slept for an hour."

Song Heping downed half the bottle in one gulp; the cool liquid completely sobered him up. He checked his weapons, then opened the car door.

The heat of Cairo hits you, and the distant chanting of prayers echoes from the minarets. In this turbulent city, a dangerous game is about to begin.

(End of this chapter)