Rong Family Mansion, 09:30;

The next morning, Rong Yufan woke up, exhausted. Pinching the space between his brows, the man groaned as a sharp sensation shot through his head. Urgh! Hangover. He couldn't deny he'd enjoyed last night, still. The sight of Rong Xinghe protecting her Bro Bo. He was there, standing next to the archer, holding onto the binoculars. It was thrilling. Everything that concerned the Superfamily was rip-roaring for him, to be precise.

It was a shame he had to get rid of the bowman, though. But he couldn't just hypnotize a person into committing a crime and let them live, could he? As much as he relished playing the game of cat and mouse with Rong Xinghe, he was not going to step out from the dark. It was riveting, the feeling of acting almighty, looking at everyone around him as if they were his puppets.

"Hey.", it was now that a feminine coquettish voice reached him. Furrowing his brows, the man turned to look at the woman beside him, lying naked, a flirtatious smile across her mouth. Right. The girl from the lounge.

Climbing down the bed, Rong Yufan reached for his trouser, running his fingers through his hair. "Get out.", he commanded a minute later, his tone cold. It wasn't his first one-night stand, of course. No strings attached. How convenient. After all, that's what women did best. Sex. Dance. Drink. That's all he'd ever found them useful for, anyway. Pleasure.

"No.", the woman laughed, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders, stretching comfortably by herself. Infuriated by her carefree tone, the man turned around, staring daggers at her. He did not have time for this. Grabbing his phone, he was about to call security when the woman smirked at him challengingly, "There's something you should know, Mr. Rong.", she said, "About Rong Xinghe. Even though it's not confirmed yet, you, of all people, wouldn't want to miss it."

"What do you mean?", Rong Yufan questioned, finally distracted by the mention of the name. The woman sat up straight, satisfied by the man's intrigue.

_________________

Afghanistan, 08:30;

Sharia Enterprises;

Leaning back in his chair, Aftaab Ali stared at the white ceiling in his office, dazed. A man sitting across from him, sipping tea, a grim silence between them.

"What are you going to do about Country X?", the visitor, Hasan Mir questioned, his tone solemn.

"Who am I to decide that?", Aftaab Ali chuckled, shaking his head, "I can only serve Commander Fadhil. He will have the last say, obviously."

"Right.", Hasan scoffed, eyeing the two CCTV cameras inside the room. "So do we have any directions from the Commander? The boys are getting impatient."

"Well... I did receive a call from him. He wants to meet that Albert Fedorov first.", Aftaab said, finally looking at the man in front of him, "Keep the lads under control, Hasan. Country X is Commander's only priority right now. Most necessarily, that woman. Rong Xinghe. It won't be enough. To just kill the public. That woman will have to die too."

"Understood.", the man nodded, "By the way, this guy, Albert, is he really trustworthy?"

"He is.", Ali smiled, "I had suspicions about him as well, initially. But it has been months, and I've watched him. Observed him, from up close. Corruption, embezzlement, human trafficking. Nothing about that man is clean. He can be an asset for us, believe me."

"So the Commander is really going to meet him?", Mir raised his brows.

"It is time, yes.", the man shrugged, "Moreover, he has proven himself worthy over the past few months. He is a soldier, ready for the greater mission. For Jihad."

Hasan Mir did not say anything further. Although he had his speculations concerning this Albert Fedorov, he was not in the position to question Aftaab Ali's judgment, for the person had an unparalleled intuit for such things. Besides, Aftaab Ali was more dedicated to their causes and wars than anyone ever had been. Him, their Commander too, of course.

________________

Military Sanatorium, 10:30;

Rong Xinghe was still under observation. She was to be discharged from the place by noon, as instructed by Su Rogguang. Two days from now, they were to marry. She, and Xi Yuan. It was wonderfully scary, the reality of it all, for her.

"Can I speak to Xinghe alone?", Elijah Williams knocked on the door to the girl's room, as Xi Yuan fed her the last peel of the orange from his plate. "Sure.", the man smiled, snatching his laptop from the quiet woman, "Sleep for an hour, alright? Work can wait.", he said to her sternly, "I'll go and talk to your brothers."

"Fine.", the girl sighed as she watched the man walk out of the ward. "What work?", Elijah stared at the girl, closing the door behind him.

"I was going through my mails.", the woman shrugged, "Expecting some sort of lead from our informers. It's weird how Ahmed Ali Fadhil hasn't made a move yet."

"Oh. Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about.", Williams rushed over to the woman, readjusting the pillow behind her. "I had a question."

"Shoot.", Rong Xinghe smiled thankfully.

"You've seen Fadhil in action, Xinghe. He was your mission.", the man pointed out, "Now that he's had Four plastic surgeries to date, how would Abram or Jackson even recognize him down there? How will any of us recognize him, for that matter? We might be aiming in the dark, for all we know. Unless... you know something 'noteworthy' about him."

The girl pondered over the man's words for some time as she attempted to remember her encounter with Fadhil years ago. She had it right on tip of her tongue. The one thing that she could feel was very crucial to this manhunt, that she was missing. Something of immense importance. It was then that her darling's voice resounded in her ears. A suggestion he'd made back when this problem had initially come up.

'A person can change their appearances, and methods, and tactics. But their combat technique is a subconscious part of them. No matter how many people learn Taekwon-do, every individual has their own signature move. This person should be no different, Xinghe.' That's what he'd said.

Suddenly, the girl looked up, "Did I not tell you about Ahmed's psychotic post-assassination proclivity last time?"

"No.", the man shook his head, "As far as I remember, you simply mentioned that you'd found a solution to the problem. But what exactly, that we're yet to know."

"He has the habit of marking a cross across his victims' foreheads, so as to announce his claim of valor.", Rong Xinghe remarked, "Inform each one of the Hybrids about it, as soon as possible. We'll need to keep an eye out for such dead bodies around in Afghanistan once we reach there."

"Got it, Alpha.", Elijah smiled, reaching for the door handle, "That helps a lot. Thanks."