The Rise of a Special Forces Soldier Abandoned by a Wealthy Family

One day passed.

Anna Roche searched almost every possible corner of the Harvard campus and hospital.

They asked everyone who might have seen Ling Ye and Lin Que, but all they got were blank shakes of their heads.

Ling Ye and the other person's phones were always switched off.

All communication software is grayed out and offline.

It was as if these two people had never existed in her life.

Panic and despair, like an icy tide, slowly engulfed her heart, eventually causing it to break down.

"Mom...he's gone...he just left like that...without even saying goodbye..."

Anna finally broke down in tears in her mother Emily's arms, her voice hoarse, her tears soaking her mother's clothes.

She trembled like a child who had lost her most beloved treasure.

Her long golden hair had lost its former luster, and her bright blue eyes were red and swollen, filled with endless grievances and heartache.

"I can't find him... I can't find him anywhere..."

Emily held her daughter tenderly, offering gentle words of comfort, but she couldn't offer any answers.

She could understand why the young man named Ling Ye left.

His world seemed to be inherently full of danger and secrets.

But his sudden departure was undoubtedly a cruel blow to Anna, who was deeply in love with him.

Inside the ward, Ronnie Roth, who was now able to sit up and speak, listened to his granddaughter's wailing outside the door, his aged face filled with complex emotions.

He learned the whole story from Robert, and he knew long ago that Ling Ye was the mysterious codename "Zero".

"He saved me twice, no, countless times... He snatched the Luo family back from the clutches of death..."

Ronnie's voice was weak but clear, carrying deep gratitude and a hint of helplessness:

"This kindness is something that even if our Luo family gave everything we have, we could never repay."

The old man sighed, his eyes filled with a world-weary wisdom.

"It's just that Anna has suffered..."

Meanwhile, a huge storm was brewing in the outside world because of Ling Ye!

The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN...

The same news story dominated the front pages of almost all mainstream media outlets!

"A medical miracle! A mysterious young man from the East brings the dead back to life, creating a miracle of life!"

"The Hand of God? Traditional Chinese Medicine in China Shocks the Western Medical Community!"

"The hero behind Ronnie Roth's miraculous recovery—a little-known young man from China!"

The report details (according to Dr. Blake's team) how Ling Ye used miraculous silver needles to keep her alive, how she performed a highly complex surgery with astonishing precision and speed, and how she created a miracle by combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine.

In the accompanying video, Dr. Blake was visibly emotional and lavish in his praise:

"That's not medicine, that's art! That's a miracle! I've never seen such exquisite technique or such a profound understanding of the human body! He is truly a divine healer!"

"Medical miracle".

The term "human mythology" was mentioned repeatedly.

The entire United States was curious and searching for this mysterious young man from China. He was like a shooting star, shining brightly before disappearing into the night sky without leaving a trace.

They were destined not to find it.

Because at this moment, all the images of Ling Ye and Lin Que in the surveillance videos had been completely erased by Lin Que beforehand, as if they had never existed.

The media frenzy will ultimately amount to nothing more than a clamor without any answers.

In another corner of the city, inside a secluded safe house.

The atmosphere was completely different from the hustle and bustle outside and Anna's sadness.

Ling Ye lay on his back on the sofa, his arm over his forehead, covering his eyes, revealing only his tightly pursed lips and his cold, hard jawline.

He was like a frozen sculpture, radiating a low-pressure atmosphere that kept strangers at bay and a deep weariness.

On the other side...

Lin Que was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, holding a huge, glistening braised pig's trotter.

They were munching away with such gusto, their hands and mouths covered in oil, making satisfied smacking sounds, completely immersed in the world of food.

"Burp~" She let out a loud, satisfied burp.

Ling Ye frowned, lowered his arm, and revealed his dark eyes, which were filled with disdain and helplessness.

"Little Sparrow, can't you act a little more like a normal, pretty young lady? Be a little more elegant? Be a little more refined? Okay?"

Even a pig that hasn't eaten for ten days wouldn't be this extreme!

Lin Que lifted her sauce-covered face from the pig's trotter, her dimples seemingly brimming with grease, and mumbled her explanation:

"Hmm... tracking... fighting... killing... people... is... very... physically demanding... I need to replenish my energy!"

She forced down a large mouthful:

"Brother, just lying there pretending to be depressed won't help. Why don't you think about where we're going to wander off to next? We can't go back to the base anyway."

Ling Ye closed his eyes again, his voice muffled:

"I don't know. The world is so big, it seems there's nowhere I can find refuge."

Lin Que blinked her bright eyes and mumbled a suggestion while munching:

"Why don't you... look into your background?"

"Since you can't go back to base anyway, why not enjoy a peaceful life while you keep looking?"

"At least Leng Ci, Tie Dun, and I know which direction our home is in in China, and who our parents are."

"But you don't even know this? You should at least figure it out, right?"

"At least we should know why it was thrown in the trash, right?"

Ling Ye suddenly opened his eyes and looked at her sharply.

Lin Que shuddered at the stare and quickly hid the pig's trotter behind her back.

"I...I just said it offhand..."

Ling Ye didn't get angry; he just remained silent.

The sharpness in his eyes was gradually replaced by a deep confusion and a faint longing that even he himself was unaware of.

Searching for...one's origins?

"China is so big, how am I supposed to find it?"

His voice was deep:

"Are we going to make a big fuss about placing a newspaper ad to find our parents? Is 'Number Zero' looking for his/her parents?"

He gave a self-deprecating twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"Ask the old swindler!"

Lin Que perked up again:

"Although he doesn't know your specific background, he must know where he found you in the trash heap... oops! Where he picked you up, right?"

"By defining the city area first, we can narrow it down a lot!"

Her analysis was very logical and well-reasoned:

"You were only a few days old then, weren't you?"

"Then the person who gave birth to you must be in one of the hospitals in this city!"

"A woman who has just given birth can't live too far from the hospital where she gave birth!"

Ling Ye fell silent and remained silent for a long time.

Only the faint nibbling of sparrows remained inside the safe house.

This suggestion, like a pebble thrown into the still lake of his heart, created ripples.

The question of finding one's roots—a topic he had almost never dared to ponder deeply—became incredibly clear and alluring at this moment.

After a long time, long enough that Lin Que had almost finished gnawing on the pig's trotters, he slowly sat up and took out the encrypted satellite phone.

His finger lingered on the keypad for a moment, his eyes filled with complex emotions, before he finally dialed Baroque's number.

The call was connected.

"Old bastard," Ling Ye's voice was calm, yet carried a solemn determination:

"I've made up my mind. I want to go back to the Dragon Kingdom."

He paused, then added:

"Searching for my own origins."

"Didn't you always tell me I wanted to live a peaceful life?"

"I went to China, to... attend school, and to look for something."

"At least, I need to know why they abandoned me so heartlessly back then."

Baroque fell silent on the other end of the phone; only his heavy breathing could be heard.

After a long silence, he finally spoke, his voice heavy with unprecedented weariness:

"Alright... since you've already made up your mind... then I'll tell you."

The place where I found you was...

"The capital of the Dragon Kingdom."

The capital city...!

Ling Ye's pupils contracted slightly.

"But, you little killer," Baroque's tone became extremely serious:

"The Dragon Kingdom is a forbidden zone for all those with armies and the underworld! The rules are extremely strict!"

"And your identity... is too sensitive."

"Putting everything else aside, just take the incident where you rescued the little sparrow's parents. The Dragon Kingdom's Security Bureau already knew about your existence."

"Especially you, 'Zero,' I believe your photo and some of your 'glorious deeds' are already on the desks of the highest-ranking officials in the security department and the military!"

"You want to keep a low profile? Absolutely not!"

Ling Ye's brows furrowed tightly:

"What should I do? What if I get invited for 'tea' as soon as I enter the country?"

"That's not necessarily true."

Baroque then changed the subject:

"Because you rescued Professor Lin and his wife last time, the official attitude of the Dragon Kingdom towards you is generally friendly, and it can even be said that they owe you a favor."

"Besides, you yourself are a Chinese."

"Minister Li of the Ministry of State Security of China even had a video call with me to express their sincerity."

Baroque's voice carried a hint of solemnity:

"He said, 'Zero and Little Sparrow, among other members, are from China, so China is their root. I, Li Weiguo, and China, have an obligation to protect them when they are harmed.' These are his exact words."

The Dragon Kingdom is their root... We have an obligation to protect them...

These words, like a gentle warm current, unexpectedly struck Ling Ye's frozen heart, bringing a strange and unfamiliar thrill.

A vague feeling, something called "belonging," seemed to flicker for a moment, but he immediately suppressed it as he habitually did.

"So," Baroque continued:

"I'd better contact Minister Li first and tell him your situation and thoughts truthfully."

"Honesty is the best approach."

"Otherwise, given their capabilities, you'll indeed be 'invited' for tea as soon as you get off the plane. Wait for my news."

The phone hangs up.

Ling Ye held his phone, remaining motionless for a long time.

He raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the wall, looking towards the distant east.

The capital city…the place where he was found…the place where his life began, or rather, where he was abandoned.

This time, it's no longer aimless wandering, but a journey home with a clear destination, even though this journey home is destined to be anything but peaceful.

Lin Que leaned closer, patted his arm with her greasy hand, and a rare serious expression appeared on her small face:

"Brother, go ahead. I'll go with you. We can even meet up with my parents," she tried to lighten the mood.

Ling Ye looked at her, and finally nodded slowly, but then added that the old killer might not agree.

The return journey is set, but the road ahead is unknown.

But this time, in addition to the usual coldness and evil aura, there seemed to be a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes.