Hard to Reveal the True Countenance

Twenty minutes later, Hou Rui, traveling at lightning speed, had already left the urban area of Kismayo. Along the way, he encountered quite a few deserters from the Alliance. A few of these fellows even harbored thoughts of hijacking his motorcycle, so Hou Rui did not stand on ceremony. Using only his Type 92 automatic pistol, he swiftly dealt with five short-sighted individuals.

When the speeding Hou Rui finally overtook the majority of the Alliance soldiers fleeing the city, he pressed forward for over another hour before spotting a reasonably organized convoy on the makeshift highway leading east.

Based on Hou Rui's distant observation, the lead vehicle of this convoy was still an old BTR armored vehicle. However, the armed pickup trucks lined up directly behind it were clearly top-tier: M2 heavy machine guns, 14.5mm ZPU anti-aircraft guns, and 82mm heavy mortars were ubiquitous among the vehicle-mounted equipment. Most exaggerated of all, Hou Rui actually spotted an antique SA-5 anti-aircraft missile.

Judging solely by the weaponry of this convoy, Hou Rui knew he had finally intercepted the genuine General Garcia. The problem now, however, was how Hou Rui, entirely on his own, could confront this heavily armed defensive convoy.

Within Hou Rui's field of vision, the General's convoy was fleeing Kismayo at a speed of forty-five kilometers per hour. If Hou Rui could not think of a good solution in a short span of time, the convoy would quickly vanish from his sight.

There was no time to think or formulate a detailed plan. Hou Rui's mind spun rapidly, and with a hasty toss, he discarded his AK-47 rifle. He then restarted his motorcycle, continuously accelerating as he pursued the armed pickup truck bringing up the rear of the General's convoy.

"Hey! Wait for me! I am Second Lieutenant Douglas Wang, and I have urgent matters to report to the General! Wait for me!" Hou Rui yelled at the top of his lungs from a considerable distance.

Soon, Hou Rui's shouts and the approaching motorcycle caught the attention of the Alliance soldiers in the rearguard pickup. When the machine gunner in the truck bed aimed his M2 heavy machine gun at Hou Rui, that pickup and another off-road vehicle slowly decelerated and came to a halt. Following that, several Alliance soldiers, led by a lieutenant, dismounted and blocked Hou Rui's path.

"Lieutenant Douglas?"

"That's me."

"Lieutenant, I've heard your name. Why are you appearing here? What important business do you have to report to the General?" The stern-looking Alliance lieutenant gazed suspiciously at Hou Rui, as if the fierce assault the Liberation Alliance had just suffered in Kismayo had failed to affect his emotions in the slightest. The lieutenant remained just as earnest, cautious, and loyal.

"I discovered that the attackers are the United States Air Force, and prior to the airstrike, I personally killed an American infantryman. I suspect their squad has infiltrated this region and most likely established an ambush position somewhere nearby."

Pressed for time, Hou Rui could only spout sheer nonsense, exaggerating the threat to intimidate the lieutenant. Fortunately, this statement was half-true and half-false, preventing the Alliance lieutenant from immediately seeing through it.

"What? You say there might be US ground troops nearby?" Evidently, this news also gave the Alliance lieutenant a major start, causing him to instinctively glance around at the dark surrounding mountain forests, as if wary of American special forces suddenly popping out of nowhere.

"Indeed! Lieutenant, the Americans planned such a massive airstrike and then launched a major offensive against the city; all of this must be aimed at dealing with General Garcia. Now that the Americans have driven us out of the city with airstrikes, they will certainly arrange for men to ambush us along the way. This matter poses a grave threat to the General's safety, so I must see him immediately and report this to him." Seeing that his rhetoric had taken effect, Hou Rui laid it on even thicker with constant embellishments.

Finally, the Alliance lieutenant was persuaded by Hou Rui. Staring at Hou Rui, he unclipped the walkie-talkie from his waist and began calling the leading convoy in a local dialect. A dozen seconds later, Hou Rui suddenly heard a chorus of screeching brakes from the road ahead, indicating that the General's convoy had temporarily ceased its advance.

"Get in the car, Lieutenant Douglas. I will take you to see the General." With those words, the Alliance lieutenant dragged Hou Rui into the off-road vehicle, while two bodyguards immediately followed, raising their weapons and keeping them vaguely trained on Hou Rui, maintaining a high degree of vigilance toward him at all times.

As the off-road vehicle carrying Hou Rui caught up with the convoy from the rear, Hou Rui did not idle away his time. He quietly observed the layout of the entire convoy, because what would happen when he next met General Garcia was something even Hou Rui himself could not ascertain. Perhaps the situation would soon turn so grim that Hou Rui would need to fight the entire convoy, and so he prepared himself right then and there.

Counting from the very tail end of the single-file convoy, there were first two armed pickups equipped with M2s, followed by two transport trucks fully laden with supplies, and then three large trucks each carrying twenty bodyguards. Next came the launcher vehicle carrying the SA-5 and the wheeled armored vehicle equipped with a 14.5mm anti-aircraft gun, and finally, nestled tightly in the center of the convoy under heavy guard, were four large off-road vehicles.

As for the front half of the General's convoy, it was blocked from Hou Rui's view by a small hill beside the road. Yet the sheer scale of this half-convoy before his eyes and the number of bodyguard soldiers were already enough to make Hou Rui offer a bitter smile in frustration. By this time, Hou Rui had been led by the Alliance lieutenant to the vicinity of the second-to-last off-road vehicle.

"Lieutenant Douglas, this must be our first time meeting!" Under the close surveillance of the Alliance lieutenant and the bodyguards, Hou Rui dismounted and approached the off-road vehicle. Through the opaque window, a deep, middle-aged to elderly voice spoke to him first.

"Yes, General. I feel deeply honored." While saluting the car window, Hou Rui was also quietly utilizing the reflection on the glass to observe the situation behind him.

At that moment, not only the lieutenant and the two bodyguards, but the number of Alliance soldiers holding weapons behind Hou Rui had increased to six. These men stood in a fan-shaped formation, their pistols and AK-47s faintly aimed at Hou Rui's back. If they were to discover any abnormal movement from Hou Rui right now, he would be turned into a wretched, bullet-riddled honeycomb in a fraction of a second.

"I heard you anticipated a possible American ambush. Tell me about it now!" the man inside the off-road vehicle continued to ask. Although Hou Rui still could not figure out the other party's true identity, besides obediently answering the questions, there was truly nothing else he could do at the moment.

"Yes, General." And so Hou Rui repeated his fabricated story once more for everyone to hear. This time, it finally commanded the attention of the bodyguard soldiers present, causing their previously resolute expressions to turn tense.

After seeming to ponder seriously for a moment, the man inside the off-road vehicle spoke again after a brief pause: "Lieutenant Douglas, do you have any evidence to support your speculation?"

"I don't have any at the moment, but I did indeed kill an American soldier at the military hospital. Furthermore, judging by the precision of the airstrike just now, there must be American ground personnel guiding the bombardment."

"In terms of infiltrating to guide airstrikes, Lieutenant, your view is not incorrect. However, we cannot simply amplify the Americans' intelligence-gathering capabilities in the Kismayo region based on that alone. You must know that my choice of this route was a temporary decision made on the spot; no matter how high-tech the Americans are, they surely cannot predict my thoughts! Therefore, your claim that they might set an ambush in this area fails to convince me!"

Not good! It appeared things were developing in the direction least favorable for Hou Rui to make a move!

Hou Rui, whose proposal had been rejected by the General, steadied his nerves with some difficulty before continuing, "General, while I cannot be one hundred percent certain, it certainly wouldn't hurt for us to be a bit more cautious now. Shall we change our route and continue forward, or perhaps split the convoy into two and move separately to confuse the enemy?"

"No, we will continue forward along our current route. Lieutenant Douglas, I am very interested in you. Once the convoy reaches a safe area, we will find an opportunity to have a good chat. I feel that you and I surely have many things of mutual interest." Having rejected Hou Rui's proposal flat out once more, the person inside the off-road vehicle commanded the Alliance lieutenant who had brought Hou Rui over, "Take Lieutenant Douglas away first, find a place for him in the convoy, and then we shall proceed."

"Yes, General. Lieutenant Douglas, let's go take a seat in the truck at the rear!" With those words, the Alliance lieutenant led Hou Rui toward the back of the convoy. Even during this process, the bodyguard soldiers following behind Hou Rui did not relax their vigilance in the slightest, their weapons remaining pointed directly at his back.

As Hou Rui distanced himself further and further from that large off-road vehicle, he felt that his hope of mission success was slipping further and further away. If he were to follow the General's convoy all the way to Lieutenant Colonel Gordon's controlled zone, who could guarantee that no accidents would occur? One had to remember that Hou Rui had barely passed through layers of grueling tests to scrape by in front of Captain Muru and Lieutenant Timo! Therefore, when Hou Rui walked up to the armored vehicle loaded with the SA-5 anti-aircraft missile, he had already mentally reviewed the entire process of his conversation with the person inside the car.

Recalling the respectful demeanor the Alliance bodyguard soldiers and officers had displayed toward him while standing by his side when the man in the car spoke, and recalling the cautious posture of six men holding guns while watching him alone—although he never caught sight of the other's face—Hou Rui still held over seventy percent certainty that the person sitting inside that large off-road vehicle was none other than the General Garcia he was hunting.

Immediately following that, the retreating Hou Rui made a startling decision: he was prepared to strike right here, and under heavy defense, forcefully assassinate General Garcia.