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**Long Zhan's plan was extremely concise and clear, with two key focal points standing out.**
First, establish contact with base.
Second, urge the base to act as soon as possible.
If these two objectives could not be completed, a whole series of troublesome issues would follow. Long Zhan clearly laid all this out for everyone present.
Murphy understood—according to Long Zhan's plan, the critical juncture was the approaching nightfall.
In all other aspects, the plan had no discernible flaws.
Personally, he was quite satisfied with Long Zhan's strategy. If everything could proceed according to what Long Zhan outlined, the mission would carry very minimal risk.
However—
The Navy SEALs are a unit that operates on teamwork. The commander never acts like a dictator. Even though Long Zhan's new plan was solid, it still needed to go through due process.
"Long Zhan has already described his plan in detail. All in favor of implementing it, raise your hand," Murphy said, raising his own hand first.
Marcus, Dietz, Matt, and Long Zhan himself immediately followed suit, raising their right hands.
**Unanimous approval!**
The new plan was thus adopted. Next came the task of putting it into action. Murphy began assigning everyone their updated roles.
"Long Zhan, the shepherds and the flock are yours. Any problems?" Murphy asked.
"No problem. Leave it to me," Long Zhan replied.
"Matt, you'll continue with full-spectrum reconnaissance of the village. Pay close attention to Shah—no matter what he does, if there's any abnormal activity, you must inform me immediately."
After giving Matt his orders, Murphy turned to Marcus and said, "You'll assist Matt. Take turns keeping watch and resting—make sure to stay sharp."
That left Dietz, who became the fake comms operator. Murphy simply had him assist directly, responsible for monitoring the satellite phone at all times.
The moment the phone picked up any signal, Dietz would immediately notify Murphy to contact the base.
Each of the five team members received new assignments. The previously anxious, high-strung atmosphere began to ease, and no one panicked despite the appearance of the shepherds.
There was no repeat of the previous sequence—where the three shepherds had been released, leading to a hurried scramble to reposition and find a new observation point.
After Long Zhan finished restraining the two shepherds more securely, he climbed back into the tree to keep watch. Everything returned to how it had been before the shepherds' arrival—virtually no change.
The time quickly reached **10:20 a.m.**
Just as Long Zhan had predicted, with the shepherds detained here, the village didn't send anyone else to investigate.
Murphy, who had been dozing under the tree for nearly an hour, was woken up by Dietz.
**There was a signal on the satellite phone.**
These satellite communications had a roughly ten-minute window every two hours. Murphy immediately dialed the **Heisler-Orlett Operations Command Center.**
*Ring… ring… ring…*
Ever since the previous call had dropped, Christensen Yue had been sitting by the phone, not daring to leave.
The moment it rang, he grabbed it and anxiously asked, "Mike? Is that you?"
"This is Michael Murphy. I need to speak to the commander urgently. Please get him right away." Due to transmission distortion, Murphy didn't recognize Christensen Yue's voice.
"I *am* Christensen Yue. Mike, what's your situation over there?"
"Commander, finally I've reached you."
Murphy let out a long sigh and reported: "We've confirmed the target—Shah. There was also an unexpected situation—some shepherds wandered into our observation zone."
"Shepherds?"
Christensen's heart skipped a beat. His brows furrowed as he quickly asked, "Is the situation still under control? Can the mission continue?"
"The situation is currently under control. Long Zhan proposed a very effective solution. As long as we make our move before nightfall, there shouldn't be any issues."
Murphy paused briefly, then asked, "Since the target has been identified, when will Operation Rick James commence?"
"You killed the shepherds?" Christensen, upon hearing that the plan came from Long Zhan, instantly recalled his imposing build—and naturally assumed violence had been involved.
"We're not butchers," Murphy replied. "We've just restrained and secured them."
He briefly explained, then returned the focus to the mission. "There's no telling whether more unexpected factors might arise. Can Operation Rick James begin before nightfall?"
"I'm afraid not. The risk of a daytime operation is too high."
Christensen rejected the suggestion on the spot. Perhaps sensing the precarious situation Murphy's team was in, he offered an explanation: "The village of Katako has over 200 Taliban fighters. Acting during the day would lead to significant casualties."
All of the U.S. military's small-scale special operations in Iraq and Afghanistan were carried out at night **90% of the time**.
They relied on night-vision equipment and other tech to strike under the cover of darkness, catching the enemy off guard while they slept.
Using superior gear for overwhelming force, these operations typically resulted in very low casualty rates.
A daylight assault, however, meant a frontal assault. Casualty rates would spike. Such missions were rarely authorized.
Murphy understood the conditions in the Middle Eastern theater, but they couldn't hold out until deep into the night. He pushed again:
"If the shepherds don't return to the village by nightfall, someone will definitely come to investigate.
No matter what method we use, we can't guarantee zero exposure.
If we pull out before nightfall, we can't ensure that Shah will remain in Katako.
At that point, the entire mission could fail.
Commander, I have a responsibility to my team. I'm asking you to initiate the operation early."
Christensen caught Murphy's meaning. He didn't want the mission to fail—and he didn't want his team to fall into danger either.
He too wanted to get the mission underway and eliminate Shah and his armed group as soon as possible.
But as the lead commander of the entire operation, he had to think globally—not just for one reconnaissance team.
If reducing the risk to Murphy's team meant **increasing** the risk to a rapid-response force of several dozen operators…
From a command perspective—
That was simply **not** worth it.
So Christensen's response was blunt: "A daytime operation is far too risky and likely to result in civilian casualties. I don't want that kind of fallout."
"Mike, the scheduled time for the operation is 9:00 p.m. I believe in your team's capabilities—you'll figure out a way to make it work."
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