As time passed, the reports coming in from all along the front remained optimistic. The rear reported that the bunker-buster bombs were already on their way. Just as Weather Witch had predicted, the Russian military had "sponsored" the joint forces with five high-yield bunker busters in one go. They weren't the most advanced models, but they'd be more than enough to deal with an unreinforced natural cave. According to Xiang Qian's rough estimate, used properly, the bombs' combined yield would be enough to trigger a landslide and completely bury the underground cavern.
"These guys really did inherit the old Soviet penchant for brute force. They never planned to leave any terrorists alive." Vector handed Xiang Qian a cup of coffee, giving her another excuse to strike up a conversation with him.
Xiang Qian took the coffee but didn't drink it. Instead, he studied Vector thoughtfully. "You're a little nervous." It wasn't a question, but a statement.
Vector was briefly startled by the sudden remark. People whose thoughts had been seen through tended to feel a little guilty without meaning to.
"I thought I wasn't nervous. Sky Team had prepared for this a long time ago, too, but the longer this goes on, the more worried I get... I never expected the mission to go this badly..."
"You're a new recruit in the Special Task Force. This is probably your first official mission, so it's no surprise you're nervous." Xiang Qian raised the coffee and took a sip, then frowned slightly. Food supplied in a war zone never tasted very good. "There's a popular saying among field agents: if not a single thing goes wrong during a mission, that's the most surprising thing of all."
His vague words of comfort didn't do much for Vector. Instead, she had a new question for Xiang Qian. "What about you? Why don't you look nervous at all? You're a technical consultant, not a field agent. You probably don't get many chances to go on missions, do you?"
Xiang Qian nodded noncommittally. "People's nervousness mainly comes from two things: facing the unknown and facing what they can't control. If you take it a step further, it boils down to facing something you don't feel confident about. An athlete facing a formidable opponent in the arena, a struggling student facing an exam paper, a soldier facing a chaotic and uncertain battlefield, and so on. But once you clearly understand your own mental state, you can take control of your emotions. Negative feelings like nervousness will have a much harder time affecting you."
"And don't underestimate me. I may be a technical consultant, but I've seen my share of big events." Xiang Qian smiled smugly. "I was there for the Statue of Liberty Incident. I saw the whole thing with my own eyes."
"The Statue of Liberty Incident?" Vector thought for a moment before recalling what the phrase referred to. It had indeed been a world-shaking event at the turn of the millennium. The X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants, representatives of the two major mutant factions, had fought a fierce battle atop the Statue of Liberty. In the end, the X-Men had foiled Magneto's terrorist plot, but they'd also reduced the Statue of Liberty, a major symbol of American history and national identity, to rubble. It had taken years to restore it.
But... that battle had been earth-shattering, and the Statue of Liberty was a famous tourist attraction. Thousands of bystanders had watched the whole thing from nearby. Wasn't this so-called "seeing it with his own eyes" a little less impressive than he made it sound?
As Xiang Qian and Vector chatted, Weather Witch's voice suddenly came over the battlefield comms. "Xiang Qian, we've got a problem. The Ten Rings have launched a large-scale attack on the cordon. Saber, Vector, get ready."
Xiang Qian's relaxed expression turned serious. "Give me the details." Vector watched him tensely. At that moment, she didn't realize she'd already accepted Xiang Qian's authority over the operation on a subconscious level. That acceptance came so naturally that she hadn't even questioned it.
Weather Witch's voice came through their earpieces, hurried but clear. "The Ten Rings appeared on the flank. We don't know their numbers, but their firepower is extremely heavy. The Tajik troops on the front line who engaged them couldn't hold out and have started falling back to establish a second defensive line."
Xiang Qian found it hard to believe. "Tajikistan has an entire infantry battalion guarding the front. How many Ten Rings are there in the cave? Even if they all came out, could they field a company? They're up against a whole battalion of regular troops!"
"They let their guard down too much, and the Ten Rings appeared very suddenly with overwhelming firepower. It looks like the Ten Rings were extremely well prepared. They must have stored those heavy weapons in the cave beforehand. There must be a huge hole in the intelligence for the joint operation." Weather Witch's voice remained steady, unaffected by the allied troops' confusion. "You were right about Hashimov. Something's definitely wrong with him. Without help from powerful local figures, the Ten Rings wouldn't have been able to operate so freely in the Kuliya region, or keep their activities so well hidden."
While speaking with Weather Witch, Xiang Qian picked up a tablet. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to help them stabilize the front line first. If the fighting spreads, there'll be massive casualties. We can't just stand by and let them die." Weather Witch sounded apologetic. "Things are worse than expected, so I can't send many people back to you."
"That's fine. I only need two assault teams here. The civilian staff at headquarters need protection. Stay safe. Help them if you can, but don't put yourself in harm's way to cover for the allies' mistakes. Don't worry about me. I'll handle things here." Xiang Qian watched the tablet screen, his eyes narrowing slightly. The disruption to the plan didn't bother him. Instead, he watched the latest movements of Hashimov's forces with keen interest: two police armored vehicles and an infantry force of at least fifty men had suddenly left their area and were advancing toward headquarters.
Xiang Qian winked at Vector. "Looks like the unexpected problems on this mission really are worse than we thought. If you're nervous again, I promise I won't laugh at you."
Vector rolled her eyes. That was the third... fifth... well, she'd lost count of how many times Xiang Qian had annoyed her today.