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But everyone quickly dropped their worries. Once the V-22 Osprey dropped off those two weird metal gadgets, it circled the valley. Then, more than a dozen fully armed soldiers rappelled down. They wore biohazard suits—no gas masks though. After that, a funky-looking military Humvee was lowered out, with a giant coil of metal wire wrapped around it. Nobody had a clue what it was for.
Colonel Han peered through his binoculars and noticed their uniforms were all different colors, and their hair was wild. They didn’t look or act like typical American special forces at all. Suddenly, he realized, "Hmm—are those guys mercenaries?"
Fiona Tang snapped up her binoculars and checked, then nodded firmly. "Yep, those are mercenaries hired by the Americans. They’re probably from Alpha Security—I saw a wolf-head tattoo on one guy’s shoulder. Weird, huh? Why would the U.S. military send money-hungry mercs into that valley?" (Wolf-head tattoos are the mark of Alpha Security, a notorious private military company.)
Major Akram jogged over, looking serious. "That valley’s called Wolf Valley, right on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The terrain is super complicated, with a bunch of old Soviet tunnels—perfect hiding spots. Because it’s so close to the border, a lot of anti-American jihadist groups use it as a base, slipping between Afghanistan and Pakistan and fighting guerrilla battles with the U.S. Most of the fighting there is like that. To avoid trouble, we should probably take a detour."
Han shook his head. "Yeah, but listen to all that gunfire—the resistance in the valley sounds pretty intense! No way a dozen mercenaries, no matter how tough, could handle that. The Americans must be hiding something big!"
Just then, a few of the Afghan locals traveling with them stepped forward, all excited, gesturing and speaking Arabic to Major Akram. Turns out, they were anti-American fighters themselves and admired the jihadist groups in the valley. They wanted to join the fight!
Major Akram thought for a second, then told them in Arabic, "You guys go scout the valley first. Our job is to get our Chinese friends to Peshawar. We promised, so we have to deliver!"
The Afghan scouts nodded, grabbed their weapons, and dashed off to check the valley. The rest of the group kept moving slowly toward the Pakistan border, extra cautious now that fighting had broken out in the valley.
About half an hour later, the Afghan scouts came running back in a panic, faces pale with fear. They crowded around Major Akram, waving their arms and shouting in Arabic about what they’d seen. Shawn Young and the others watched, realizing the jihadist fighters in the valley must have run into something seriously terrifying!
Colonel Hank Han immediately asked Major Akram, "What did they find in the valley?"
Major Akram shook his head. "They couldn't really tell what it was. All they said was that it was some terrifying new American weapon—crazy powerful! They warned us to stay far away."
When Han heard it was a new American weapon, his eyebrows shot up, and he said with great interest, "Then ask them what it looks like! How powerful is it, really?"
Major Akram asked the scouts as Han requested. The Afghan men, clearly terrified, started gesturing wildly and speaking excitedly in Arabic. Major Akram translated, "They said it was two really weird humanoid machines! Super fast! Insane firepower! The resistance fighters hiding in the valley were getting shredded—casualties everywhere. They were all holed up in caves and tunnels, too scared to poke their heads out. The mercenaries kept tossing suffocation grenades into each cave and tunnel entrance! You know, there are over two thousand well-trained, battle-hardened resistance fighters in that valley!"
Fiona Tang chimed in, "Oh, I get it. The Americans must be paying mercenaries to do live battlefield tests for their new weapons. They do this all the time! Before any new weapon gets officially adopted by the military, it goes through tons of tests—especially real combat trials. They collect and calibrate all the data, then submit it to the Department of Defense. After strict review, the DoD orders the equipment, and only then does mass production start. But field testing is risky—friendly fire accidents happen a lot. Still, somebody's got to do it, and American soldiers are too valuable, so they just hire mercenaries. Those guys want money, not safety. The Americans have cash to burn anyway!"
Han nodded, his eyes lighting up. His military instincts told him this new American weapon was a huge deal. The gunfire and explosions from the distant valley grew even fiercer. They could even pick out the sound of RPG rockets exploding. Mixed in with all the blasts, Han could faintly hear the strange, heavy grinding of metal machines. Suddenly, he blurted out, "How about we go check it out?"
Fiona reminded him, "Colonel Han, we still have a mission to finish!"
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Han couldn’t help himself. "I know our mission’s not done, but don’t worry, we won’t get mixed up in the chaos. I just want a peek at that new weapon. I actually know a thing or two about American tech. I think we should send some of our people to scout it out! Uh—Comrade Shawn Young, you want to come with me and check it out?"
Shawn was stunned. He’d been wondering why Han wanted him to tag along. When he looked up and saw Han winking at him, Shawn got it—Han wanted to see the action but was worried Fiona wouldn’t approve. Since Shawn was on good terms with Fiona, Han hoped Shawn would help plead their case. After all, Fiona was the Paranormal Task Force leader and outranked Han. On joint missions with special forces, she had the authority to call the shots.
So Shawn braced himself and said to Fiona, "Uh, Fiona, how about I go with Colonel Han and the others to check out that new weapon? That way, we can get firsthand intel on the Americans and bring it back home—know your enemy, right?"
Fiona glanced at Shawn, then at Han and the rest of the Dragon God Special Ops team, who were all itching to head toward the valley. She sighed and nodded, "Alright! Let’s all go have a look!"
Shawn was surprised and quickly asked, "Uh—Fiona, you want to go too? You’re still not fully recovered!"
Fiona shook her head. "My job in the Paranormal Task Force’s Foreign Affairs Division includes a special mission: we have to collect intel on secret new weapons developed by other countries and bring back firsthand info for our experts to study. Don’t worry! I might not be able to use my full powers right now, but I can still run away if things get hairy!"
Seeing how determined Fiona was, Shawn fell silent. Han said, "Alright, Team Leader Tang, let’s get moving then."
With Han’s decision made, Shawn told Fiona, "Okay, but you have to stick close to me. If anything dangerous pops up, at least I’ll be able to look out for you."
Fiona’s pale, pretty face flushed slightly, her heart warmed. She nodded, then stepped forward to join Shawn. After a quick round of preparations, the group followed the Afghan scouts toward Wolf Valley.