The sound of the explosion in Badi Town seemed to still echo in his ears.
Song Heping sat at the edge of the bed, without turning on the light, nor taking off the dust-laden combat uniform.
His mind replayed that scene repeatedly.
The thermal imaging picture on the screen, that uniform orange-yellow heat source; the eerie smile on the old man's face as he calmly turned; those unusually clear eyes that seemed to have seen through everything; and then a violent explosion at the last moment.
It was practically a kind of ritual.
Clearly, the old man was prepared, knowing that the US Special Forces would appear before him.
He was waiting there, completing a meticulously planned performance with his life.
And those words—
"Witness it. Witness how what you have sown with your own hands will grow into a thorn that devours you."
This wasn't said for the Delta Force soldiers rushing into the room, it was meant for the people behind the camera.
