Tehran Grocery Store: My Intelligence is Priced Clearly

Shahra glanced at Zhang Jian, who was leaning against the sofa, and took a deep breath.

"Reporting to the general, no."

Her tone remained the same as always, without much emotional fluctuation.

"Mr. Zhang has always been within my sight."

"Except when he went to the bathroom, he never avoided making or receiving any phone calls from me."

"As for weapons..."

Shahra paused.

"In addition to the standard firepower issued by the General Staff, I also bought a few spare AKs and M4 assault rifles, as well as a few sets of body armor and tactical helmets at the bazaar."

"To prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, they also bought two kilograms of C4 explosives."

"This has already been used in the previous grocery store."

On the other end of the phone, Aiharid frowned slightly and confirmed again.

"Are you sure? You don't have large-caliber sniper rifles?"

"I'm sure, General."

There was a long silence on both ends of the phone call, lasting more than ten seconds.

The only sound was a faint electrical hum coming from the phone's speaker.

Zhang Jian held his teacup, gently blew on the tea leaves floating on the surface of the water, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Okay, I understand."

Aiharid finally spoke, his voice filled with exhaustion and a hint of irritation.

"Take good care of Zhang, I'm hanging up now."

"Report to me anytime if you have any questions."

"clear!"

Shahra responded.

The phone hangs up.

Shahra finally let out a long breath, and her tense shoulders instantly slumped.

This was the first time she had ever lied.

Zhang Jian picked up the teapot, poured her another cup, and pushed it towards her.

"Well done."

Shahra picked up the teacup and gulped down the water, ignoring the temperature.

"General Aiharid won't believe it so easily. He's naturally suspicious, and these words can only appease him temporarily at best."

"That's enough for now."

Zhang Jian stood up, walked to the window, and lifted a corner of the curtain to look outside.

The sunlight was blinding.

"If we delay any longer, many things will be out of his control."

Unlike Zhang Jian's side.

Conference room of the Supreme Command in Tehran.

The air was thick with smoke, and the oppressive atmosphere made it hard to breathe.

"Snapped!"

A heavy document was slammed onto the oval conference table and slid a long way away.

Foreign advisor Farooq suddenly stood up, pointed at several military leaders across the table, and began to hurl insults.

"Idiots! A bunch of unreasonable brutes!"

"Who is Langley? He's the top official in the CIA's Middle East division!"

"He is currently our only major bargaining chip that can make the Americans hesitate and sit down to negotiate!"

Farouk was so angry he was trembling.

"And now?"

"We're out of chips!"

"His head was smashed against the wall of the slum like a watermelon!"

"Do you even understand what this means?"

Farouk gripped the table tightly with both hands, the veins on his neck bulging.

"This means we are about to completely break with the Americans!"

"That means the Americans will unleash all their anger on our soil!"

The acting commander of the Revolutionary Guard, Darius, sitting opposite him, sneered, not even glancing at Faluk, and took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it again.

Darius took two deep breaths, exhaled two thick puffs of smoke, and then slowly opened his mouth.

Farouk, there's no point in saying more.

"The man is already dead. Do you expect me to find a tailor to sew Langley's head back onto the Americans?"

"you!"

Farooq's knot.

"What do you mean, 'me'?"

Darius pointed at Farouk with his fingers, which were holding a cigarette, from a distance.

"You've been kneeling for too long; you can't stand up anymore!"

"Even if Langley were alive, do you think the Americans would suddenly become merciful and reduce the frequency of their attacks on us?"

Stop dreaming!

"As long as Xiao Yi is here, this war will never end!"

"Don't you know what they're thinking?"

"They've already put a knife to our throats, and you're still thinking about how to kowtow to them to lessen the pain of being stabbed?"

"If you ask me, it was good he died! A quick and painless death!"

"Whoever fired that shot, I have to raise a glass to them!"

"What's this called? This is called a flag sacrifice!"

"Since there's no room for negotiation, then let's fight!"

"Our Revolutionary Guard has over a million men, are we afraid of them?"

The atmosphere in the meeting room was so tense it felt like it could ignite at any moment.

"Fight? With what?"

Farouk did not back down and retorted loudly.

"General Darius, have you been in the military camp for too long? Don't you even know the prices outside?"

"Don't you realize how badly our economy has deteriorated?"

"The Americans have imposed sanctions on us for twenty years, twenty years!"

"Given our current situation, can the arsenal keep up with production capacity? How much anti-aircraft missile stockpile do we have left?"

"Once war breaks out..."

"Our oil refineries, power plants, military bases, and civilian buildings are all within range of attacks from the US military and Israel!"

"If a real war breaks out, the country will collapse in less than three months!"

Farouk turned his head and looked at Massoud, who was sitting in the main seat and had not spoken.

"Mr. President, we cannot be buried with these lunatics!"

"The most urgent task now is to immediately send a message to Washington through third-party channels."

"Put the blame for Langley's death on extremist groups, or on internal traitors!"

"We could even make some concessions, opening some facilities for inspection in exchange for de-escalation!"

"And Ahrid!"

Farouk gritted his teeth and fiercely uttered his final demand.

"He was in full charge of this arrest operation, and yet he made such a huge blunder!"

"Not only did they have Langley sniped right under their noses, but to this day, they haven't even identified a suspect!"

"This is a serious dereliction of duty!"

"I propose that Aiharid be immediately dismissed from his post and handed over to a military court for severe punishment!"

"Only in this way can we give an explanation to the domestic public and also make a statement to the outside world!"

"Bullshit!"

Salish, the commander of the Holy City Brigade who had remained silent until now, could no longer hold back.

He stood up abruptly, slammed his general's hat on the table, and pointed at Farouk's nose.

"Akhalid has already done enough, why are you stabbing me in the back?"

"If it weren't for Al-Khalid's decisive action in taking down Langley's safe house, we'd still be being led by the nose by the CIA like blind men!"

"The arrest failed because of a leak from an insider!"

"Why don't you, Farouk, investigate the mole within the organization, but instead punish those who have rendered meritorious service?"

"I'd like to ask, could the mole who leaked the information be among one of you people who's always shouting for peace talks!"

Salish's words were extremely hurtful.

Farouk's face instantly turned bright red.

"Salhi! You're making baseless accusations! You're framing me!"

"Whether it's a frame-up or not, you know the answer in your heart!"

The meeting room erupted into another argument.

The pro-war faction and the conservative faction each held their own views and refused to yield.

And just one door away in the corridor.

Al-Khalid stood leaning against the door.

Hearing the roar coming from inside, the muscles on his face trembled slightly.

The adjutant stood beside him, sweating profusely with anxiety.

"General, Farouk and his gang are trying to pin all the blame on you."

"Should we go and explain?"

Aiharid shook his head.

"Explanation? Explain what?"

"Langley did indeed die after we launched the attack; that's an undeniable fact."

Seeing that the adjutant wanted to say something more, he interrupted him directly.

"Alright, the General Staff has its own considerations, and it's not our place to interrupt."

Although he said that, his tightly clenched hands betrayed his inner anxiety.

This time, I really didn't take proper precautions.

Langley died during his own actions; that's an undeniable fact, and someone has to take the blame.

And he was the most suitable one...