Chapter Eight: The Mousetrap Operation

Ding Jun picked up the phone, staring at the now-darkened LCD screen.

"Mr. Ding, did you think of something?" Fang Qing, sharp-eyed and quick-witted, immediately grasped the slightest nuance in Ding Jun’s unusual behavior.

"I..." Ding Jun turned the satellite phone over and over in his hands.

"Hey, if you have something to say, say it! Out with it!" Master Zhu grew impatient, stomping his feet repeatedly as he pulled a polished cigar case from his pocket.

"Stop smoking! It’s suffocating!" Vulcan spoke up, his words directed entirely at Master Zhu.

"What I smoke is none of your business! Listen here, kid, watch your mouth. Don't forget that trouble comes from the tongue—" Master Zhu flipped open the case, pulled out a cigar, clamped it between his teeth, and struck his lighter with a sharp *snap*.

A soft *pop* followed, and the cigar fell from Master Zhu’s lips, leaving only the brown filter in his mouth. In an instant, Vulcan had drawn a suppressed pistol and fired a shot that had precisely severed the cigar.

"I said, do not. Smoke." Vulcan flicked the pistol in his palm, raised it a second time, aimed it at the center of Master Zhu’s brow, and made a clicking sound with his mouth.

Master Zhu wanted to erupt, but after casting a glance at the other two members of the Five Poisons Sect, He Wuqiu and He Xiangjun, he swallowed hard and forced himself to endure it.

"Little Ding, if you’ve thought of something, tell us. At this point, I can handle any bad news," Shi Miaoshou said with a bitter smile.

Ding Jun pondered for several more seconds before speaking slowly: "Uncle Shi, where are the photos I brought?"

Shi Miaoshou felt his pockets and retrieved the stack of photos from his coat.

Ding Jun stood up, spread all the photos out on the coffee table, picked one up, and showed it to everyone.

The photo depicted a massive, earth-brown sandstone cave. A special forces soldier in full American gear was hunched over, searching toward the side. In front of him lay a clear pool of water, with a stream gurgling out from a natural stone fissure deep within the frame.

"This is my comrade, Shi Hai, Uncle Shi’s only son. This photo was taken at the westernmost end of the Bamiyan Valley in Kabul, Afghanistan. The cave is located in the winding valley between the two small villages of Doba Bay and Kannolan. Forty-five men participated in this operation to clear out terrorists, codenamed 'Mousetrap' by our superiors. Before this photo was taken, the Fifth Squad, which I led, and Shi Hai’s First Squad had already successfully destroyed the terrorists' supply depot in the valley, killing fifteen enemies without a single casualty on our side." Ding Jun had described such combat scenarios countless times; it was the iron-clad discipline of the Delta Force to conduct a scientific summary after every battle, regardless of victory or defeat, to improve a commander's leadership skills.

"Hey, hey, get to the point..." Master Zhu grew impatient again.

No one paid him any mind, as everyone could see that what Ding Jun was saying must be related to Shi Hai’s death and the death threat Master Shi had just received.

"After the primary operation concluded, Shi Hai received a call. He then ordered all five squads to change direction simultaneously, advancing into the deep valley to the right of the supply depot for a second hunt. As the overall commander of Operation Mousetrap, he had the autonomy to adapt to the situation, so the captains of the second, third, and fourth squads did not question him and immediately acted on his signal. However, I heard something strange in that phone call—" Ding Jun held up the phone to show everyone. "The situation then was just like when I heard Uncle Shi on the phone just now; it was only vaguely audible, not entirely clear."

He Wuqiu’s eyes flickered, a sudden realization dawning on him. He asked urgently, "Could it be... that the content you heard is related to today's events?"

He Xiangjun, possessing an even sharper mind, followed up: "The two calls—were they made by the same person?"

This speculation was so shocking that she was frightened by her own words, raising a hand to cover her mouth. With the photos laid out on the table, she naturally saw the gruesome state of Shi Hai’s body, torn limb from limb. If the caller were the same, wouldn't it imply that Shi Miaoshou, Shi Hai’s wife Si Qin, and even the unborn child would meet the same horrific fate?

In retrospect, Ding Jun realized there were many irrational aspects to Shi Hai’s battlefield command during that operation, but since the other party was the commander of Operation Mousetrap, he had no choice but to obey.

Soon, the five combat groups moved near the cave shown in the photo, using the terrain to search the dozen or so caves nestled against the mountain one by one.

Shi Hai pulled Ding Jun away from the main group and whispered, "Use the camera to record everything I do. If I die, give these photos to my father."

This request was bizarre, but Shi Hai’s expression was deadly serious—he was not joking.

Ding Jun held the same rank as Shi Hai and they were close, so he had no reason to refuse such a sincere request, though he did ask casually: "Who called you? Your informant?"

Shi Hai’s face changed drastically. He lowered his head, stroked the large-caliber military pistol at his waist, and gritted his teeth. "An enemy."

Ding Jun was startled and immediately pressed, "Shi Hai, is your leading the troops here a personal matter? If so, we should pull back immediately. Do not act on your own; that violates combat discipline and will cause massive trouble."

Under the iron-clad rules of the Delta Force, unauthorized changes to operational plans for personal gain were an unforgivable capital offense.

Shi Hai drew his gun, ejected the magazine to carefully check the rounds, then clicked it back into place. He looked up into Ding Jun’s eyes: "If they want me dead, I will make them die first. If people do not offend me, I do not offend them; if they do, I will surely strike back. Ding Jun, you aren't me; you can’t understand what I have to do. This has gone beyond the scope of war; it concerns the survival of my entire family... Listen to me. Do not participate in the combat; just help me take photos. I can handle my own affairs. Those who want me dead must become ghosts under my gun today!"

"Who wants you dead?" Ding Jun was always calm, capable of careful deliberation before action in any situation.

"I don't know," Shi Hai shook his head.

"The girl who called?" Ding Jun had keen hearing. Before, when Shi Hai took the call, he could tell the voice on the other end was a young girl’s, and he could distinguish that she was speaking Chinese.

Shi Hai gave a strained smile. "That’s right, it was a girl who called, but she represents a massive power. It is that power that wants me dead, that wants every member of the Shi family, young and old, to die. If it were you, what would you do?"

Ding Jun was speechless; in such an emergency, he could not fathom the predicament Shi Hai was facing.

"We are men, we are soldiers. We cannot retreat; we can only advance, even if there is a wall of fire ahead like a harvester. We must fight forward and perish with the enemy." As Shi Hai said this, he took the five standard-issue grenades from Ding Jun’s belt and placed them in his own pockets.

"Who are they? What can I do to help you?" Ding Jun felt vaguely that Shi Hai had already made a fatal resolution.

"Don't worry about it. Just help me take photos, and when you hear me yell 'retreat,' run back and find reinforcements." Shi Hai placed his hand on Ding Jun’s shoulder, his eyes already bloodshot. "Brother, honestly, I shouldn't have dragged you into such danger, but you’re the only one in the whole squad I trust. I can only entrust the photos to you because I believe that whatever you promise, no matter how much trouble it brings, you will shoulder it alone and never shirk. Good brother, knowing you is my blessing—"

Suddenly, a deathly silence descended upon the valley. The special forces members who had been searching ahead all fell quiet.

Ding Jun, a veteran of a hundred battles, immediately pulled Shi Hai down into cover.

A moment later, Ding Jun put his little finger in his mouth and blew a rhythmic whistle. According to protocol, the captains or liaisons of the other squads should have responded with the same whistle. But this time, there was no reaction at all. Those special forces soldiers, who had been full of life just minutes ago, seemed to have been swallowed by the caves.

"Something is wrong. Let’s fall back fifty paces," Ding Jun made the most correct judgment.

"No, listen to me. Forward." Shi Hai immediately unslung his submachine gun. "Good brother, I am the operation commander. This time, listen to me."

Ding Jun tried to stop him, but Shi Hai was already hunched over, moving into the first cave.

The cave was empty, its twenty-pace depth visible at a glance, with nothing unusual.

Then, Shi Hai entered the second and third caves. The situation was identical: neither enemies nor signs of his own men were to be found.

The emergency occurred in the fourth cave. After Shi Hai entered, Ding Jun took the first photo of him with the field digital camera. Only three seconds later, he heard Shi Hai’s urgent shout: "Retreat! Retreat! Retreat!"

Ding Jun turned and sprinted, clearing the valley in minutes to reach another observation post to report the situation. By the time he returned to the valley with the main force, all he saw were his comrades with their throats slit and Shi Hai, who had been torn limb from limb.

While recounting this, Ding Jun kept raising the photos to show everyone. Except for him and Shi Hai, the cause of death for the other forty-three soldiers was a knife wound above the Adam’s apple, cutting the trachea. Only Shi Hai had died in such a brutal and bizarre manner.

"When Shi Hai was on the phone, I heard the 'drip' of water falling from a height into a pool. Based on the long echo, I could determine the caller was in a near-hermetic cave. Just now, when Uncle Shi was on the phone, I heard the same sound. Furthermore, the girl’s voice in both calls was ninety percent similar," Ding Jun carefully stated his judgment.

He Wuqiu coughed lightly and asked slowly: "Brother Ding, you must understand that a person’s voice changes in complex ways when transmitted through radio. The timbre, reverberation, texture, and mode all change. For example, if you listen to a recording of your own voice after a phone call, you might be surprised by how you sounded..."

Ding Jun nodded, indicating he understood the point.

He Xiangjun gently stroked her hair, frowning as she looked around at everyone’s faces, before continuing in a heavy tone where He Wuqiu had left off: "We know Mr. Ding is an elite of the special forces, battle-hardened, but truth becomes clearer through debate. We must know: is the person who killed Shi Hai with the 'Five-Horse Dismemberment Curse' the same one currently threatening Mr. Shi’s life?"

In her other hand, she held the bloody photos of Shi Hai’s reassembled remains.

"They... they want the jade tablet, I’ll give it; they want my life, I’ll... give it. But my little grandson is the only heir of the Shi family. They want his life, and I won’t give it—even if I die, I won’t give it..." Shi Miaoshou trembled uncontrollably, his facial muscles twitching, his expression caught somewhere between crying and laughing.