Shadow trail of the beautiful world

Chapter 199 2. Detention

"They're called the Ten Rings Gang."

In the back room of the bar, Merlin listened to his alcohol supplier, and Alef, who had lived in Kandahar for generations, told him what he knew.

"They have been in Kandahar for a long time. When I was young, I heard from my late grandfather that they had their own power in the city of Kandahar long before the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. My grandfather said that there was a period Over time, officials in the city have been killed continuously, and every time there is a bizarre death scene, there will be a sign of the Ten Rings Gang.”

"My grandfather said that they were a group of forces that appeared on this land very early. It is said that they fled from the east. Those warriors who acted in the dark are like the legendary Assassin Like us, they obeyed a powerful chief who was said to be an immortal saint."

"Of course, these are just legendary stories."

Aleph looked at the badge in Merlin's hand with some fear, and said:

"My grandpa used those stories as legends to scare me and my siblings, but then, a few years ago, when my business was at its peak, I actually met them."

"where?"

Merlin asked.

"In the mountains south of Kandahar."

Aleph said:

"There's a lot of ravines out there, and they're hiding in one of them. A friend of mine took an order for me at the time, saying it was a group of 'jihadists' who wanted a lot of wine. But you know that too. , those who call themselves jihadists are the most paranoid and craziest believers for whom drinking alcohol is a sin."

"That shows that they are not sincere, at least not as sincere as they advertise."

Merlin said something, which attracted Aleph's frequent nods.

The wine merchant recalled the experience several years ago, and he said to Merlin:

"I was a little hesitant at the time. I also knew the virtues of those jihadists, and I was worried that something would go wrong. But at that time, my business needed funds, so in the end, I took the business."

"I went to deliver the goods myself."

Aleph said:

"They blindfolded me and went to their base with three trucks full of alcohol."

"It was a very remote canyon, full of people, Yuri, many, many people, and very messy, I saw not only Arabs in it... There are many weapons piled up in the caves there, all of which are very advanced weapons, and I saw the great, well-tended fields that opened up behind that canyon."

At this point, Alef hesitated, whether he was not sure whether he should tell what he saw.

Merlin guessed what Aleph was hesitating about, he said:

"Those fields should not be planted with crops, right?"

"Ah."

Aleph nodded, and he said with emphasis:

"It's a very evil thing."

"The raw material of poison X?"

Merlin nodded knowingly, now all the key points are connected.

"anything else?"

Merlin asked, Alef shook his head:

"No, that's all. I was scared at the time, because militants always behave inappropriately, but unexpectedly, the transaction went smoothly. I didn't meet their leaders, but The person in charge of handing over paid me very quickly. They also wanted more wine, but I refused."

"Although I'm not a particularly sincere person, it's enough to go to that kind of place once."

"Oh, that's it."

Merlin was a little disappointed, Aleph gave little news.

Both he and the dead militant said that the Ten Rings' stronghold should be in the mountains south of Kandahar, but there are many canyons in the valley, and it is impossible to locate the Ten Rings' location based on this information alone.

"How many are they?"

Merlin asked.

"At least 400 people."

Aleph recalled a moment, he said:

"They opened a cave in the canyon and lived in it. I saw their emblem printed on the tent, which was exactly the same as the emblem in your hand. It looked like something that some jihadist organizations would make. But how to say, Those people strike me as unlike any jihadist I've seen before. Like you said, they're... well, not sincere."

"They are more like a group of armed thugs, fanning the flames everywhere under the banner of faith. They are a group of villains."

"Sincere people don't sell X."

Merlin shook his head:

"In your doctrine, that is also a very wrong behavior. I know enough, thank you, Alef, take your father away, and in a few days, I will go to the warehouse where you put the wine, billed you."

"Ah."

Alef called his sons who were outside to come in, lifted his father up, and was about to leave.And just as he was leaving, he seemed to remember something again, and he said to Merlin:

"One more thing. When I left the canyon that time, I seemed to see a few white people."

"Ok?"

Merlin looked at Alef, he frowned and said:

"White people, why did they show up in a group of self-proclaimed jihadists?"

"I was absolutely right."

Aleph said:

"Although I only stayed there for less than an hour, I remember them wearing black uniforms, and a few of them were in military uniforms, because they were dressed differently from the others, so I remember them quite clearly."

"Well, I see."

Merlin nodded. He watched Alef leave in a hurry, then returned to the back room, took out his notebook, and wrote down this message on it.

In Merlin's notebook, many pieces of similar information have been written down. In the past few months, the clues of the Ten Rings Gang hiding near this city have become more and more clear.

However, there are still a few.

Some of the most critical.

Merlin didn't just come here for the Ten Rings Gang. Fury sent him here to find out the evidence of large-scale drug trafficking involving the bodies of soldiers who died in battle.

The current situation shows that the Ten Rings Gang should be the provider of those drug Xs, but even though Merlin has been trying to search for information in recent months, Merlin actually doesn't know much about the CIA's local news.

Those of my colleagues have been hiding in this place for too long, and it is not so easy to find them.What Merlin collected was more fragmented news.

The CIA has a solid base in Afghanistan. As early as the Cold War, they began to accumulate strength in this strategic location in Central Asia.

After the failure of the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, the CIA established a secret but stable system here in the shortest possible time, and also supported several forces to participate in the brutal civil war in Afghanistan that began in 1995.

If Merlin finally finds out that the evil X-trafficking operation is really involving the CIA, it means that the CIA's activities in Afghanistan are likely to cover up some evil deeds. The strategic system of intelligence may have been rotten from top to bottom.

This is an extremely astonishing state of affairs.

But what is very troublesome is that because of the CIA's decades of operation, they have a large number of people in the local area, with eyes and ears all over the land, which forces Merlin to conduct any investigations about the CIA carefully.

He can't reveal his identity, he can only wait for the opportunity.

Moreover, there is another troublesome thing that is bothering Merlin now.

This mission, according to Fury's plan, should end within a few months, and Merlin thought so at first, but during his lurking, some terrible things happened.

From the beginning of the civil war in 1995 to 1999, Kandahar, the second largest city in Afghanistan, has been under the firm control of the government forces, but three months ago, the situation changed. The armed factions near Kandahar were suddenly integrated and began to march towards Kandahar.

This turned the city into one of the battlegrounds of the Civil War in just a few months.Although the flames of war have not yet spread to the city, according to Merlin's estimate, it is only a matter of time before the city is dragged into the hell of war.

And the worst thing is that Merlin has been active in Kandahar since he entered Afghanistan. He has already touched the secret signs here. The secrets of the Ten Rings Gang and the CIA are all near Kandahar, and he cannot leave.

Merlin seemed to have fallen into a swamp caused by a war. He was stranded by this sudden war in this country that had been in turmoil for more than ten years.

Fury once suggested that Merlin abandon the mission and return to New York.

But so much energy has been invested here, and so many clues have been found, even if Fury is willing to give up, Merlin himself is not willing.

He is not a person who likes to do useless work.

"This civil war has muddied the waters, and the CIA's activities are becoming more and more secretive. It is difficult to make a quick breakthrough in their investigations in a short period of time."

Merlin thought with some regret:

"Unless I find their base camp and rush in and find the evidence."

"Then, change your mind, Ten Rings Gang."

Merlin looked at the badge he was playing with in his fingers, and a general idea had emerged.There was a gleam in his eyes:

"It seems that I have to go to the canyon that Alef mentioned. If he read it correctly, the white people who appeared in that canyon...maybe there, I can get some news."

After making up his mind, Merlin had to be ready to act.

The mountains in the south of Kandahar are very vast. The entire country is located in the Pamirs. The unique landforms of Afghanistan determine the number of canyons in the mountains, and most of those places are not very suitable for human activities. Some of the canyons are still close to danger. The natural ecology of the desert is extremely harsh.

Even for someone like Merlin, if he wants to explore that place for a long time, he must prepare a lot of necessary things.

After making up his mind, Merlin looked regretfully at the small bar he had opened for several months.

In the past few months, he has maintained a lurk, but he is used to this kind of leisurely life. To be honest, this is the most relaxing period of time he has lived in the past few years since he joined SHIELD .

"Well, the bar owner's career is coming to an end."

He turned around, poured himself a glass of wine, and added some ice.

He leaned against the bar counter, sipping the cold liquid lightly. In this empty bar except him, Merlin closed his eyes and began to enjoy his last bit of leisure time.

He is a person with strong execution ability. Tomorrow, he will start his own actions.

May all be well.

The revision has been completed, and the wrong timeline about 911 has been ruled out. I'm really SORRY, I made a common sense mistake that shouldn't be made.

(End of this chapter)