True Apocalypse Game

Ivanovic nodded approvingly.

"That’s enough."

Hall stared intently at the city he had chosen, a flash of excitement in his eyes. He immediately closed the electronic map and looked up at the distant mountains.

The place he pointed to was the heart of the entire Middle East—the Holy City!

Indeed. Only a place like that could roil the entire world and draw every power into the fray.

The three great religions, the Jews, Arabs, Persians, Eagle Country People, Britons, and Russians would all go mad over it!

The thought of the reactions from the Jewish financial consortiums and the military-industrial complex that controlled Eagle Country made Hall tremble with excitement.

’Is this the Purification Society’s plan?’

’To strike the most fatal blow while the world was still reeling from the chaos of the plague... It was like plunging a knife into the wound of a grievously injured man.’

The convoy quickly passed through the eastern region of Turkey and was about to approach the Southern Mountain Area.

Just then, a blaze of headlights flashed on the road ahead. A fortified position manned by over a thousand soldiers armed with live ammunition blocked the convoy’s path. Among their ranks were tanks and armored vehicles.

It was the Turkish regular army!

From the look of their hastily built roadblocks, it was clear they had just arrived to set up the interception.

Hall was pulled from his reverie and grew tense again. The mercenaries, including Kavan, also tightened their grip on their guns.

Setting aside what they had just done, their current appearance alone was enough to get them stopped for a thorough inspection.

"Halt! Stop your vehicle for inspection immediately!" a Turkish officer at the front shouted.

Judging by their hurried expressions, the tragic scene at Incirlik Air Force Base had likely been discovered, and Turkey was now conducting a nationwide, carpet-style search.

Hall’s eyes narrowed, and he was about to order Kavan and the other mercenaries to attack directly.

Although a direct fight would expose their location and attract more enemies, they couldn’t afford to worry about that now.

Besides, if they could just escape into the mountains, their chances of survival would increase dramatically.

Ivanovic raised a hand, stopping Hall. He got out of the car, walked up to the officer, and said with a smile:

"Hello, my respected friend. We are a special officer delegation from the Kremlin, here to conduct military training for our dear Turkish brothers. We are currently executing a redeployment mission. May I ask what’s happened?"

As he spoke, he took out a set of credentials and handed it to the officer.

The officer saw that Ivanovic was a Russian, and his guarded expression softened slightly. After verifying the authenticity of the credentials, he said:

"Something’s happened over at Incirlik. It was a damn massacre... We’ve received orders that any vehicle passing this road must be inspected, especially at night... Please cooperate."

Ivanovic smiled faintly, glanced at the officer’s uniform, and said:

"Ah, friends from the 23rd Army Brigade. You should be under the jurisdiction of the Third Army Group Command, correct? Sermara Ilkhan and I are good friends. Please wait a moment, I need to make a phone call."

Hearing Ivanovic’s words, the officer was taken aback but did not stop him.

After all, if the man really was a friend of the Army Group Commander, he was not someone the officer could afford to offend.

Ivanovic immediately returned to the car, took out his phone, and dialed a number.

Hall, at his side, had a look of utter astonishment on his face. He asked:

"Ivanovic, do you really know Sema—"

Just then, a voice came from the other end of the line, asking in Turkish: "Who is this?"

Ivanovic didn’t answer. Instead, he suddenly turned on a radio, which crackled with white noise. While rhythmically tapping the phone’s receiver with his finger to create a string of melodic sounds, he flicked his tongue and spoke in a low, hoarse voice:

"Sermara Ilkhan... awaken... God needs you... Purifier... awaken... you will become a raging fire... you will become the mountain wind... purify this world... awaken..."

His voice was hoarse and low. An expression of utter disbelief appeared on Hall’s face.

Immediately after, a muffled grunt came from the other end of the line, followed by a continuous mumbling sound from the throat, as if a person was about to wake from a deep sleep.

About a minute later, Sermara Ilkhan’s voice came through again. He sounded out of breath and weak, as if he had just recovered from a major illness, and asked in a low voice:

"Damn it... Ivanovic? Why did you awaken me?"

"We’re on a secret mission and have been stopped by men from the 23rd Army Brigade. Make them let us pass," Ivanovic said, then hung up the phone.

A few seconds later, the communicator of the colonel leading the blockade ahead crackled to life. He listened for a moment, then immediately ordered his men to open the roadblock and waved the convoy through.

The convoy didn’t linger. It quickly passed through the roadblock and sped toward the mountains to the southeast.

Along the way, they encountered several more roadblocks, but they passed through quickly each time without any inspection.

By dawn, the convoy had arrived at the abandoned farm from before.

At the farm, there were now several hundred people dressed as civilians in loose, wide-sleeved robes. The outlines of weapons could be seen under everyone’s clothing.

They had also brought many horses and mules, as well as some motorcycles.

The group abandoned their vehicles, transferred the cargo to the horses’ backs, and headed into the mountains.

The entire group now numbered over five hundred people, all fully armed and moving quickly. By noon, they had reached the border between Turkey and Syria.

Only then did Hall finally relax. Riding at the very front of the group, he smiled and asked Ivanovic:

"What was all that about just now? Is that Army Group Commander, Sermara Ilkhan, a sleeper Purifier? And how exactly does that awakening process work?"

Ivanovic chuckled darkly and said:

"Correct. He is a sleeper Purifier. As for the awakening method... each has a unique name and rhythm, known only to the director of each purification zone. I trust that with your intelligence, you’ll soon become one of the Society’s leaders as well."

Hall nodded and lowered his voice again to ask:

"Those mercenaries who were injected with the serum will turn into monsters in two days. Should we get rid of them beforehand?"

Ivanovic’s lips curved into a smirk. "No rush. We’ll deal with it when we get to the transfer station... It’s easy for a few people to die out here. Let the Eagle Country People search for clues about Incirlik on the mercenaries’ corpses..."

Just then, a low voice abruptly sounded out from behind them:

"But I’m in a bit of a hurry."

Hall shuddered. He felt a chill on his back, and then the sharp tip of a blade pierced through his chest from behind.

Ivanovic, beside him, drew his gun with lightning speed. Without even looking back, he fired several shots from under his arm, but he felt his hand seized in a grip like iron pliers before he was violently yanked from his horse.

Chaotic gunfire echoed through the mountains. Ivanovic was shocked to find that the mercenaries who had been injected with the serum were now frantically attacking the other mercenaries who had joined them later!

They had clearly been plotting this for a long time. Their positions were mostly behind or to the side of their targets, and now they had suddenly erupted in violence.

Using guns, daggers, their own bodies, and even rocks from the ground.

In the blink of an eye, caught completely off guard, the other group was all but wiped out in less than a minute!

These mercenaries who had been injected with the serum were like a pack of wild beasts!

Ivanovic was about to draw his gun again but was swarmed by several mercenaries. They broke both his arms and tied him up securely with ropes.

Kavan pulled his dagger from Hall’s back and walked over to Ivanovic. He lifted his own ballistic vest to look at his slightly reddened ribs from the impact, then pursed his lips.

Then he took out a satellite phone and dialed a number.

Soon, a low voice came from the other end of the line:

"It’s me."

Kavan spoke quickly:

"Persepolis Palace record shop. The aforementioned order is complete. Black vinyl records, fifty units, have arrived in the mountains... I want one of your slots."