673: Chapter 665 The Fog Begins to Lift 673: Chapter 665 The Fog Begins to Lift Grand Ivan’s manor, or rather his villa, was on the seaside in the western suburbs of Cape Town.
At this point, it was definitely no longer safe to go to Grand Ivan’s manor.
In the end, Gao Yang and his group drove into a community within downtown Cape Town, eventually arriving at a detached house.
The yard appeared empty, but stepping into the house, they found it full of armed guards.
Being led into the grand living room, they saw that in the vast space only Ivan was present.
The injuries Ivan had suffered had severely sapped his vitality.
Although much time had passed, his body had not fully recovered.
He had become so thin he was barely recognizable.
Although he had long been able to move around, he was still extremely weak.
Already frail, Ivan’s condition worsened with the distress caused by Grand Ivan’s trouble.
But upon seeing Gao Yang and the others, Ivan still stood up from the sofa and spread his arms toward Gao Yang.
After embracing Gao Yang briefly and greeting the others from the Satan Mercenary Corps, Ivan sat back down on the sofa, though it was more of a collapse than a proper sit.
Seeing the shaky Ivan, Gao Yang frowned and said, “Ivan, you shouldn’t be too worried.
I think you should see a doctor; you’re not looking good.”
Ivan sighed and shook his head, “No, there’s no time for doctors.
I know Test Tube is injured.
Is it serious?”
“It’s okay.
Test Tube stayed in Dubai.
He’s out of danger now.”
After nodding, Ivan gestured with his hand, “Everyone, please have a seat.
Let’s sit down and talk.
Uri, when can your men arrive?”
Uriyangko sat on the sofa, his face ashen.
After shaking his head, he said, “Some should arrive tonight.
But to bring over all the people I can use will take at least two days.
Many are in places with no flights available.
Their locations are too remote.
How many people do we have now?”
Ivan gave a wry smile, glanced at Gao Yang, and then said sternly, “Including Ram and his people, we have a total of fifty-two.”
Uriyangko’s brow furrowed even more deeply as he took a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a hard drag before spitting out with hatred, “That’s too few.
The others, none of them are willing to move?”
Ivan shook his head and replied, “All said they would come, but none gave a confirmed time.
We can’t count on them.
As for my people, some can come tomorrow, but the situation is the same as yours.
Only twelve can arrive tomorrow.
Also, I’ve prepared a sizable number of men for revenge, over two hundred.
About a hundred could come to South Africa, but they’re currently in the rainforest.
It would take at least three days for them to get here at the earliest.”
After making his statement, Ivan began coughing violently.
At that moment, Gao Yang frowned and stated, “Uri, Ivan has severe lung injuries.
Don’t smoke in front of him.”
Uriyangko extinguished the cigarette under his foot and said in a deep voice, “Sorry, I forgot.
Ivan, now we can only rely on the two of us.”
Ivan nodded and responded gravely, “Yes, we can only depend on the two of us now.”
After speaking, Ivan looked earnestly at Gao Yang and said, “Gao, I’m so glad you could come and I’m grateful for your help.”
Gao Yang waved his hand and stated, “We may not be able to help much, but we’ll do whatever we can.
Now is not the time for this.
I think the most urgent matter is to find out Grand Ivan’s whereabouts.
Whether he’s dead or alive, we need to clarify that first.”
Ivan sighed and said, “Everyone who can be sent is already out there.
But we’ve got nothing valuable.
After what happened to Grand Ivan, all those who could have spoken up have gone into hiding.”
Uriyangko tapped his fingers lightly on the table and frowned, “Have you asked in the Cape Town police station?
The police are our people.
If the police were also involved in the action against Grand Ivan, it wouldn’t have just been the military involved.
Moreover, we might not get information from the top, but we might get something from the lower ranks.”
Ivan nodded and replied, “That’s what I was thinking, too.
The people are already sent out, but gathering intelligence from the lower ranks takes more time.
Right now, we don’t even know who exactly was involved in this operation.
We have to…”
Before Ivan could finish, a person rushed out from the next room, holding a phone and urgently said to Ivan, “There’s news from the manor.
The military came.
At noon today, the Reconnaissance Assault Team deployed three hundred men, and four tanks attacked the manor.
They killed forty-six and captured a hundred and eighty-two people, and even the servants were all taken.
They’re being held in the Worcester military base.
Also, someone took away a person with chains around their neck.
That must be Khailkov.
The soldiers who attacked first went looking for Khailkov, it seems he was their main objective for attacking the manor.
After Khailkov was taken out of the manor, some unidentified people took him away immediately.”
Ivan’s face went pale as he exclaimed urgently, “Those manor guards, they didn’t manage to kill Khailkov!”
Uriyangko furrowed his brow, and upon hearing the name Khailkov, Gao Yang immediately remembered who it was – the man shackled like a dog in Grand Ivan’s garden for over a decade.
Although shocked, Ivan had no time to care about a ruined man, and said urgently, “The bodies?
Where are the bodies?
Is Grand Ivan among them?”
The person on the phone shook his head, “No, there’s no sign of Grand Ivan, but there is some good news – the bodyguards don’t know where Grand Ivan is.
They don’t even know if Grand Ivan was on the estate.
However, one of the maids mentioned in her testimony that Grand Ivan left his estate yesterday with only two bodyguards.
This information came from Grand Ivan’s personal maid.”
Uriyangko rose to his feet, his face tensed with urgency, “You should have started with that!
So where is Grand Ivan?
Any news?”
“Sorry, we have none.
We only know that Grand Ivan left the estate yesterday, but nobody knows where he went.”
Ivan asked softly, “What else?
Is there anything more?”
“That’s all, just this for now, boss.
I need to deliver two hundred thousand US dollars in cash to the informant right away, as per our agreement.
The informant is a Colonel named Engma Mortlan, a civilian staff with access to the files commanding the Reconnaissance Assault Team.”
Ivan nodded and added, “Give it to him, immediately, and take three hundred thousand dollars.
The extra is for you.
And try to get more information from him; whatever he asks for, give it.
You have full authority to make the decision without consulting me.
Now go.”
After the caller left, Uriyangko promptly and firmly said to Ivan, “Grand Ivan isn’t dead; he must be alive.
Whether it’s the South Africans or the Americans who made a move, unless it was Grand Ivan’s enemies or competitors, they would only want a living Grand Ivan.
If Grand Ivan were dead, they would gain no advantage.”
Ivan also spoke with a stern face, “That’s right, Grand Ivan must be alive.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have rushed to attack the estate and took particular care to protect Khailkov.
But now, merely confirming that Grand Ivan is alive is of no use.
We must find out where he is.”
Uriyangko stood up, paced anxiously, and then said urgently, “As long as Grand Ivan is alive, we still have a chance, and must rescue him at any cost, but how do we find him?
Normally as riddled with holes as South Africa is, how come we can’t get any reliable information now?
It doesn’t make sense.”
Ivan sighed and said slowly, “I’m just worried that it’s the Americans behind this.
If he has fallen into American hands, that’s trouble.
Let’s just hope it’s the South Africans who did this.”
Gao Yang knew what Ivan was worried about.
A titan of the Underworld, no matter how powerful, is still just a titan of the Underworld, unable to stand against a nation.
In comparison to a behemoth like America, a underworld giant like Grand Ivan is nothing but an ant.
Not to mention America, even a regional power like South Africa, if truly resolved to deal with Grand Ivan, would overpower him.
Only a nation can stand against a nation, and Grand Ivan, with a nation as his backing, didn’t have to worry about attacks from other countries.
For many years, countless people have wanted Grand Ivan dead, yet he’s alive and well.
Yet, once his backing can no longer protect him, Grand Ivan ultimately cannot contend with a great nation, especially a superpower.
However, if Grand Ivan was taken to America, then everything would be over, but if he is still in South Africa, there is always a chance.
Grand Ivan has deep roots in South Africa.
Even though Ivan and Uriyangko can’t mobilize Grand Ivan’s hidden strength on short notice, there is still a chance.
Unlike in America, where Grand Ivan has no foundation, and even if they resort to the most foolish methods like a forceful rescue, acting in South Africa is much easier than in America.
The key point is still to find Grand Ivan’s whereabouts quickly.
Gao Yang felt he wasn’t much help, but that didn’t stop him from trying to think of a solution.
Looking at Uriyangko and Ivan’s worried faces, Gao Yang suddenly thought of something.
He said, “Khailkov’s not in good shape, he looks downright miserable.
If he really is useful to some people, a key person, then they would have to give Khailkov a physical examination.
So, ask about hospitals, check wherever you can, perhaps there’s something to be found.”
Uriyangko and Ivan’s eyes lit up, and they exclaimed in unison, “That’s right, hospitals!”
After saying this, Ivan immediately yelled to a room, “Sergei, check if there’s anything unusual about the hospitals, tell Faru to get his cops moving.
They shouldn’t have any problems doing this.”
After speaking, Ivan turned to Gao Yang, “Even though we can’t reach the high-level contacts in South Africa right now, there’s no issue dealing with the well-fed low-level ones.
Thankfully, there are quite a number of our people, a lot indeed, in Cape Town’s police system.”
(To be continued.
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