217: Chapter 217 Blood for blood, tooth for tooth

Houssa listened quietly, waiting for everyone to finish venting before slowly speaking: "So, we can only wait for death? Or like dogs, wag our tails and beg those butchers for a shred of survival?"

The tent fell silent.

"I've been outside for seventeen years and seen many places." Houssa stood up and walked to the center of the tent, "I've seen how real armies fight, and I've seen people like us use the smallest price to make those self-proclaimed powerful enemies bleed incessantly."

He pulled a hand-drawn map from his breast pocket—it was instantly generated by the system and transmitted to his tactical tablet, then hand-copied by him onto parchment.

"Here, the territory of Bani Khalid, fifteen kilometers to the south, are the Al-Hada Mountains." Houssa's finger traced across the map, "The mountain structure is limestone with a network of natural caves that served as a guerrilla base during the war. The entrances are hidden, easy to defend and hard to attack, and can accommodate at least five hundred people for long-term stationing."

"Here, on the coast of the Red Sea, the abandoned fishing village 'Saleh Port'." His finger moved to the west side, "Although the port facilities were bombed, the underground cold storage and fuel tanks are still there. Most importantly, there is a pre-war underground water pipeline connecting to the mountains—one point two meters in diameter, enough for a person to crawl through."

Houssa looked up, his gaze sweeping over everyone's face: "I need these two places. In return, I will establish a training camp here to teach your young people how to fight; I will open smuggling channels to trade mountain ores for weapons, medicine, and food; I will organize operations to let the Saudi Arabians and the people of the Squid Nation know that the people in these mountains are not yet extinct."

Elder Mahmoud and several chieftains exchanged looks.

"What do you want these two places for?" the elder asked cautiously.

"To establish bases." Houssa did not shy away, "Training bases, supply bases, strike bases. But I need..." He paused, choosing an explanation that better fit the local perception, "I need Allah's blessing, so these places become fortresses invisible to the enemy."

This sounded mystical, but everyone present understood—Houssa needed to "sanctify" these two locations, making the tribesmen believe they were blessed so they would keep the secret.

"Very well." Elder Mahmoud finally nodded, "The caves in the Al-Hada Mountains were originally the traditional hunting grounds of the Bani Khalid. Saleh Port... it has been abandoned for ten years; if you want to use it, take it. But Houssa—"

The elder's tone became serious: "If you bring the Saudi Arabian army here and cause the tribe's blood to flow like a river, I swear by the name of my ancestors, I will be the first to kill you."

Houssa knelt on one knee again, his right hand over his chest: "Blood for blood, a tooth for a tooth. I bring only the fire of revenge and will never involve the innocent of the tribe."

Late at night, deep in the caves of the Al-Hada Mountains.

Houssa stood alone by the shore of the dark underground river. Stalactites hung from the cave ceiling, and the sound of water dripping into the dark river echoed in the vast cavern.

He activated the system communication.

"Overlord, the preliminary rooting of the Yemen line is complete. I have controlled the Bani Khalid tribe and three subordinate small tribes, gaining recognition from local elders. Requesting to establish coordinates: Al-Hada Mountains main cave, Saleh Port underground facilities on the Red Sea coast."

[Coordinate data uploading...]

[Estimated establishment cost: 80,000 points. Requesting approval.]

In the secret room in Naypyidaw.

In front of Zhang Cheng, a second confirmation window popped up:

[Advanced Agent 'Houssa' requests to establish permanent summoning coordinates ×2]

[Coordinate locations: Mountainous area southwest of Taiz, Yemen / Red Sea coast]

[Coordinate stability assessment: Grade A- (Remote location, weak enemy surveillance)]

[Establishment cost: 80,000 points]

[Approve?]

"Approve."

[Points deducted: 80,000 points]

[Establishing coordinates...]

[Coordinate One (Al-Hada Cave) established, stability 91%]

[Coordinate Two (Saleh Port) established, stability 88%]

Almost simultaneously, Houssa's second list arrived:

[First wave summoning request—]

[Personnel: 300 Junior Death Soldiers, disguise template 'Southern Yemen Tribesmen', all male, aged 18-40, implanted with basic Arabic and tribal custom memories.]

[Equipment: 50 Toyota pickups (modified armed type); 20 82mm mortars (2,000 shells); 10 sets of 'Strela'-10M air defense missile systems (80 missiles); 100 PKM general-purpose machine guns; 50 RPG-29 'Vampir' anti-tank rocket launchers (500 rockets).]

[Supplies: Flour, rice, canned food (can sustain 300 people for 45 days); diesel (20,000 liters); first aid medicine, water purification equipment.]

[Estimated total cost: 5,000 points. Requesting approval.]

Zhang Cheng scanned the list.

The combat environment in Yemen was different from Gaza. It was more vast, more dependent on mobility, and required dealing with potential aerial threats. The equipment list Houssa requested was very practical: pickups provide mobility, mortars provide fire support, air defense missiles deter helicopters and small drones, while heavy machine guns and anti-tank rockets are the core of infantry combat.

"Approved. Additional: 20 sets of individual radios (encrypted), 5 sets of satellite communication terminals (disguised as civilian models)."

[Additional cost: 5,000 points]

[Total cost: 20,000 points]

[First wave summoning in preparation... Estimated delivery time: 8 hours]

In the secret room, the system interface in front of Zhang Cheng showed the real-time status of both sides:

[Middle East Expansion Plan · In Progress]

[Line A · Gaza: 3 coordinates established, countdown to first wave summoning: 6 hours]

[Line B · Yemen: 2 coordinates established, countdown to first wave summoning: 8 hours]

[Cumulative points consumed: 117,000 points]

[Current points balance: 3,395,000 points]

Nearly one hundred and twenty thousand points were poured in, in exchange for preliminary rooting at two key strategic nodes in the Middle East.

Old K, standing to the side, pulled up a global strategic map. On the screen, the green area representing the Federation of Myanmar sat firmly in the Indochina Peninsula, while at this moment, in distant West Asia, two tiny red light spots were flashing—one in the ruins of the Gaza Strip, and one in the mountains of southern Yemen.

These two points were still very small and dim.

But Zhang Cheng knew that as long as there were coordinates, the subsequent delivery of supplies and personnel could continue. Sinwar and Houssa were seeds, and system points were the nutrients to irrigate them. In time, what these two seeds would grow into was something even he could not entirely predict.