Ignoring the praise, Deng Shiyang continued to open the tan-colored wooden box.

"Look what I found!" he exclaimed excitedly like a child with a new toy.

Semler came over at the sound and saw a pistol and two empty magazines inside.

“A P210?” he asked after examining it for a while.

"That's right, and it's an original Swiss model," Deng Shiyang replied, pressing the release button on the grip to slide out the magazine, then inspecting the pistol closely. He caressed the walnut grip with slight regret, saying, "It’s a pity the grip has been changed; it’s not the original plastic."

This Sig P210-2 pistol was in excellent condition. Its matte-finished surface looked nearly new, except for the scratches left when the safety and short position handles are pulled, there are no obvious scratches on the surface of the frame and slide, and they are almost the same as when they first left the factory.

“This is really Swiss-made?” Semler seemed skeptical.

“Absolutely.” Deng pointed to the cross shield marking on the front of the slide.

"This is the model that the Swiss Army issued as their ‘Model 49’ pistol," he said, flipping it over to show the serial number on the left side of the slide and frame. “The ‘A’ prefix means it’s from the army,” he added, pointing to a small “P” on the trigger guard, “and this indicates private ownership—it was given as a keepsake to a retired soldier.”

“You know so clearly.”

“My grandfather had one, though his was a German Sauer sports model. He always wanted a Swiss military original model, but he never got the chance before he passed.”

By 3 a.m., the cleanup of the battlefield was mostly complete. The corpses of the guards, servants, and attendants were all removed from the mansion. Two Porsche Cayennes parked in the garage were repurposed as hearses to transport the bodies to the front yard.

A total of 67 intact bodies were counted, excluding those blasted to pieces by mortars and burned beyond recognition in the barracks. All bodies were laid out on a vacant lot in the front yard, covered with sheets or plastic tarps.

The mercenaries suffered two fatalities: Du Preez, as well as one Black soldier from the team that stormed the mansion’s front. A bullet had struck him about two inches above his armor plate, piercing his neck and severing his left carotid artery. He died before the battle was over. Two soldiers carried his body to the back garden of the mansion, laying it next to Du Preez’s and covering it with a sheet.

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In addition, sixteen Black soldiers sustained minor injuries, mostly from shrapnel grazing their limbs. The most severe injury involved a man shot in the left shoulder by a ricochet; the bullet was removed, and he was disinfected without further complication. Notably, the man who inadvertently caused Du Preez’s death was left with only a slight bruise on his chest, aside from a ruined plate and a burned vest.

Probable Black soldiers weren’t the best fighters, they certainly excelled at clean the battlefield. During the cleanup, they also combed through the mansion for valuables, piling up items in the entrance hall. Cash, jewelry, and other small valuables, however, likely went straight into pockets.

At first, Deng Shiyang allowed this behavior, but ultimately, he took Semler's advice to divide the valuables equitably, easing tensions among soldiers who hadn’t joined the cleanup.

The national radio station was in the west wing of the mansion. Someone had thrown a grenade into the broadcast room during the battle, but the thick soundproof glass blocked most of the shrapnel, sparing the radio transmitter and equipment. However, since no one could operate the complex setup, they had to wait for Jansen to handle it.

In the basement of the three-story building in the front yard, the mercenaries found a securely locked iron door. They burn open the lock with a welding gun, revealing a storage room packed with weapons and ammunition—enough to supply a 200- or 300-man force for months.

Once the presidential palace was cleared, Deng Shiyang used the satellite phone to contact Keith on standby aboard the *Kristo* and used their agreed code to report that the presidential palace was secured. Keith relayed the message to another contact, saying simply, "'eagle' has landed in the Sea of Tranquility."

By 5:30 a.m., as dawn’s first light appeared in the east, two Mi-17 helicopters carrying reinforcements arrived at the presidential palace. Keith and Jansen brought the remaining 51 Black soldiers, along with six mortar team members.

The reinforcements quickly took over the palace’s defenses, relieving the exhausted squads from the night’s fighting. They set up mortar positions in the front and inner courtyards, reinforced the guard towers, and built additional firing points on the rooftops of several taller buildings.

At 6 a.m., Keith and Jansen joined the mercenary leaders for breakfast in a small dining room originally used by the president. That morning, Deng Shiyang had discovered several boxes of thinly sliced roast beef in the palace kitchen’s cold storage. He made sandwiches with beef, cheese, lettuce, and mustard on French bread, which he brought to the dining room along with coffee for everyone.

After they greeted each other, Deng Shiyang broke the news of Du Preez’s death, then briefly recounted the events of the previous night’s battle.

Keith listened in silence, then asked, “And the military?”

“Last night, a company-sized unit gathered at the road junction and launched a few probing attacks, but retreated after the shots were fired,” reported Mark, who’d overseen the perimeter defenses. “When they heard the sound of helicopters, they withdrew before you arrived.”

“News of Ndofa’s death has likely already spread,” Deng Shiyang said. “Their response was weaker than expected—it seems the military government’s control over the army is even weaker than we thought.”

“I agree,” Keith nodded. “This coup is nearly a success.”

At these words, an unmistakable look of joy crossed Semler’s face. He shook his head and asked, “So what do we do now?”

“We wait,” said Deng Shiyang and Keith in unison.

“Wait for what?” the German asked, scratching his head in confusion.

Deng Shiyang stuffed the remaining half of his sandwich into his mouth, chewing quickly, then sipped his coffee. After swallowing, he replied, “We wait for the new government.”