Spy-x-War Showdown
Chapter 1271 - 1276: Traces

Chapter 1271: Chapter 1276: Traces

Four cars advanced in a fan shape through the quiet desert, the headlight beams casting a dim glow ahead.

Crossing the border isn’t particularly difficult; with GPS guiding the way, there’s no need to worry about the most troublesome problem in desert travel—losing direction. As long as there’s a pre-arranged rendezvous point and you follow the GPS directions, you can get there.

That’s where Azar comes in; only he knows where the rendezvous point is.

The cars stopped in the desert, and Azar whispered to Yang Yi, "This is the place."

Yang Yi glanced around at the pitch darkness and whispered, "Do we just wait?"

"Yes, they should be coming."

Azar got out of the car and looked around; in the abyssal darkness, he couldn’t see anything at all. After a moment, he returned to his car to fetch a night vision device. After a brief observation, he pointed in one direction, saying, "There they are."

Without turning on the lights, Yang Yi gradually saw a car lumbering towards them, and then a man wearing a robe and headscarf jumped out of a pickup truck.

Azar walked over and shouted, "Hello."

The newcomer removed his headscarf and embraced Azar. Without saying a word, he said in a low voice, "Let’s go, follow behind."

The pace was a bit slow, but Yang Yi wasn’t in a hurry. He directed Reggie to drive slowly behind the pickup, taking out a satellite phone to call Aaron.

"Sir, we’ve made contact. Do you have any new instructions?"

Aaron replied blandly, "Contact me again once you reach Mosul; there’s no new directive for now, just stay on standby."

Yang Yi hung up the phone.

This mission was unlike the usual tasks—or, more accurately, unlike normal missions. This time felt more like he was executing Aaron’s personal desires. So, Yang Yi wasn’t met by any CIA Middle East personnel, and there would be no support. Even if he encountered issues, getting aerial support or cover was impossible.

On the flip side, Yang Yi could contact Aaron directly, which other CIA agents might envy.

"How long are we going to keep traveling like this? Can’t we ask them to turn on the car lights?"

Reggie was getting impatient and finally vented to Yang Yi.

Yang Yi couldn’t help but smile, saying, "Impossible, they’re afraid of aerial strikes and won’t dare turn on the lights."

Reggie took his hands off the steering wheel, spreading them wide, "What a joke! Do night attacks still need lights now? Come on, what century are we living in? If visual confirmation is necessary for attacks, what are these people thinking?"

Yang Yi shrugged, "Better than driving with lights on. And, don’t forget, the ones striking them are the Russians—perhaps they believe Russian night bombing relies on visuals."

Reggie paused, then shook his head, "I won’t comment any further. Alright, let’s just keep moving along slowly."

Azar softly replied, "Just proceed like this. These people... are quite stubborn. It’s better to act according to their perceived logic."

After driving in darkness for over three hours, the leading pickup finally turned on its lights, and the convoy once again hit the road.

They had now entered ISIS-controlled territory.

The leading car hung a large black flag on the back, and although the road was bumpy, their speed increased significantly.

Azar finally breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Just a few more hours, and we’ll arrive—there won’t be any more danger."

As dawn began breaking, Yang Yi looked at the scenery outside. Though there was desert on either side of the road, some traces of war were visible.

Especially on the road, there were frequent dense potholes. Some were due to old neglect, but quite clearly, many were shell craters.

Yet the marks of war weren’t very apparent until Yang Yi saw several bodies discarded by the roadside.

For the first time, Yang Yi felt the brutality of war; he had seen conflicts in Ukraine, but the civil war there hadn’t impacted him deeply.

This place was different because the bodies Yang Yi saw clearly belonged to a family—or might not be, but it naturally seemed so when the roadside bodies included a man and a woman and two children.

He knew war was ongoing, yet seeing children’s bodies was a first for Yang Yi.

Cars quickly bypassed them; no one showed interest in the already decomposing bodies by the roadside, but Yang Yi noticed the face of one corpse.

The decaying face had hollowed-out eyes, which felt like a heavy blow to Yang Yi’s heart suddenly.

Yang Yi averted his gaze and looked at Azar.

Azar remained indifferent; he might not have realized Yang Yi was already shaken by the roadside corpses.

"We might not meet Barham today; hm, he’s busy now."

Sensing Yang Yi’s gaze, Azar thought Yang Yi was concerned about other matters. After explaining briefly, he lowered his voice, saying, "Once you reach Mosul, you can relax a bit, though you might not quite enjoy it—the women there aren’t particularly... noteworthy."

Yang Yi shook his head, replying, "It’s okay. Though sooner is better, I understand."

Finally approaching Mosul.

Mosul, though not large, was rich in history—a renowned city. But now, Mosul was left in ruins.

The car started entering the city. Despite many armed personnel, upon seeing the black flag on the newcomers’ car, no one attempted to stop them.

It seemed fairly straightforward to blend into ISIS.

Naturally, while blending into ISIS was easy, getting close to Baghdadi wouldn’t be.

Yang Yi and the others were taken directly to a house that seemed intact from the outside—an entirely stone-built structure that was narrow but visibly aged and, importantly, very sturdy.

Yang Yi and the others settled in, and then the leading pickup departed. Azar, who got off the car with Yang Yi, said exhausted, "That’s just their way of doing things; don’t worry, someone will soon attend to us. Everything is ready here, so you can choose a room and rest."

In a war-torn city, finding a clean and tidy place to rest wasn’t easy even at the best of times. And the place Yang Yi and the others found seemed orderly enough, though not particularly clean.

Stepping into the reception room, the setup was complete. There was even a tapestry on the wall. Standing before it, looking at the tapestry and the large black patch of blood on the nearby wall, Yang Yi breathed out, "Well, I definitely don’t want this room."