After changing into local clothing, the two men meticulously applied makeup.
They glued on large beards to their chins and cheeks, darkened their skin tone with paint to resemble the weathered locals, twisted Arabic headscarves around their heads, donned long robes, and almost couldn't recognize themselves when they looked in the mirror.
Camouflage Technique is a skill mastered by all Special Forces members, and makeup is one form of it.
It's not enough to look the part; one must also act the part.
Luckily, Song Heping and Mist had spent no short amount of time in Illiguo and were fairly familiar with the local life customs.
Mist spoke some Arabic, which piqued Song Heping's curiosity as he didn't expect him to know the language.
Mist explained that it was for the language allowance.
In the US Special Forces, knowing an additional language means extra linguistic proficiency allowance.
By now, Song Heping's Arabic could handle everyday conversation.
Compared to his initial arrival, his progress was astonishing.
He had a gift for languages, and being in Illiguo provided him with an excellent environment for learning, hence his rapid improvement.
The two men bid farewell to their brothers and climbed onto a donkey cart.
To get used to the donkey's temperament, they circled around the Warrior Camp twice with whips in hand while seated on the cart.
This was a prudent measure.
Donkeys can become as stubborn as if their four legs were nailed to the ground, and no amount of whipping can persuade them to move.
Therefore, it was important that the donkey had a good temperament,
especially for a mission like this.
One can imagine the disaster if the donkey, once inside the city, decided to be stubborn in front of a crowd—it could be fatal, attracting unnecessary attention or even leading to their deaths.
Only after confirming that the donkey was gentle and obedient did they leave the camp gate and head towards Mosul City, treading the road with a rhythmic motion.
Mosul, despite being besieged,
still had a few access points into the city, complete with US Army checkpoints.
There weren't many people entering the city.
More were leaving.
After all, no one wanted to stay in a city under attack, and escaping seemed like the only option.
Yet some, reluctant to leave their homeland, still held on.
Currently, Mosul City's total population was less than a third of what it was before the war.
And because there were still civilians in the city, it couldn't be starved out; essentials like food had to be allowed in, or else starving an entire city would badly damage the coalition's public image.
This was also part of their cost of war.
For Song Heping and Mist, this was not good news; fewer people entering the city meant they would draw more attention.
"I didn't expect you to know how to handle a donkey,"
Mist expressed his surprise at Song Heping's adeptness with the donkey cart.
Song Heping said, "I used to do it when I was a kid back home. What about you? I see you can handle a donkey too. Where did you learn?"
"Afghanistan" Mist replied. "I was deployed in Afghanistan before being temporarily assigned here. After this mission, I need to go back to Afghanistan. The mountain paths there are plentiful; sometimes, a donkey is more useful than a vehicle."
"Oh!"
Song Heping understood now.
The few kilometers journey wasn't far, and the two chatted idly as they reached the interior of Mosul City.
Since he was unfamiliar with the roads, Mist had to quietly glance at the GPS hidden inside his robe every so often.
For safety reasons, neither of them brought much surveillance equipment with them for this mission.
To guide an aerial attack, ground-based designators and communication radios were necessary.
But such items could not be placed on the cart without being obvious.
The two simply concealed a pistol with a silencer on their persons, while rifles and other items were all tied to the cart's underside and covered with a tarp.
There were two large sacks in the cart, both filled with nan.
Food was the most common type of supply to bring into the city.
These items were also urgently needed within the city, making the transportation of food seem very reasonable.
"Turn right, at the next junction, take a right..."
Mist glanced at the GPS hidden inside his robe.
Song Heping, while driving, carefully surveyed his surroundings with peripheral vision, watching for any activity inside the buildings on either side.
There was a little girl squatting by the roadside, seeming to grab at something.
Out of curiosity, Song Heping took a longer look, then felt a shock in his heart.
She was catching insects in the grass...
Each time she caught one, she would pop it into her mouth, eating with relish.
Song Heping felt a violent shake inside.
It seemed the city was indeed short of food.
There were two bags of nan on the cart.
He really wanted to get off and give the little girl a few pieces of nan.
But he quickly suppressed the urge.
This was no time for unexpected complications.
He was acutely aware of this.
"What are you looking at?"
Mist noticed the change in Song Heping's expression.
Song Heping struggled to control his emotions, saying quietly, "There's a girl on the roadside picking up insects to eat."
Mist looked back briefly, but he said nothing.
Because there was nothing to say.
The cart, drawn by the donkey, continued to move forward, drawing ever closer to the rendezvous point.
It was a building on the outskirts of Mosul City.
All they had to do was reach it and use the agreed-upon covert signal; someone would mark the entrance with three overlapping circles drawn in chalk.
Upon seeing the symbol, they would drive the cart right up to the courtyard entrance, where someone would be waiting to receive them.
"Be careful, we're being watched."
Just a hundred meters away from the rendezvous point, Song Heping suddenly noticed three armed individuals lurking in the shadows of an alley, seemingly having spotted him and Mist.
One of them even dared to step out from the gloom of the alley, observing them closely.
This was an ominous sign.