At this same time, Zayne finally arrived in Syria after a flight which took a day and a night. Unlike Charlie, he did not have the benefit of taking a Concorde flight to Turkey. Instead, he landed in Turkey, and drove across the border overnight to enter northern Syria.

When Zayne set foot in Syria, he wanted to die. He had entered the country illegally, and the route they took was convoluted in order to avoid populated areas such as cities. He was shocked by this desolate country. This devastated country was full of deserts, hills, and ruined villages and towns. The endless deserts and mountains immediately reminded him of an ancient poem, ‘The lonely smoke in the desert is straight, and the sun sets in the long river.’

After driving for 100 kilometers into Syria, he realized in his heart that without Charlie’s permission, he would not be able to leave Syria in this lifetime. Not just because he didn’t know anyone here, but also because getting out of a country where he stood out like a sore thumb would be near impossible. As this realization dawned on him, a sense of desperation settled deep in his heart. Just as his despair grew as deep as the Mariana Trench, and when he thought it would be impossible to be any more desperate, he finally reached the armed encampment of Commander Hamid.

When the car drove into the valley, construction on the fortifications on the mountains on both sides was in full swing. At the promise of such a big payout, Hamid’s friend from the construction team in Iraq arrived in Syria in just over ten hours. He had now begun to command his workers and the engineering company that Hamid had formed just last night. They were working together to hurry up to complete the fortifications.

As Zayne looked at the desolate valley in front of him, the soldiers with live ammunition all around him and the permanent fortifications being actively built, he was crying deep in his heart.

“What the hell is this place?” Located in the middle of ten thousand mountains, so remote that access was next to impossible and with a level of development which was worse than a small mountain village in China.

“I don’t know, I thought this was the base area behind enemy lines during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.”