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

Dragon Kingdom, capital city.

Thirty meters below the surface, inside an underground facility of an old factory building, heavily encrypted and absolutely hidden.

This is the core headquarters of the Dragon Kingdom's Security Department, so quiet that only the low hum of sophisticated instruments can be heard.

Inside the minister's office, Minister Li Weiguo was intently examining the sixteen photographs spread out on his large desk.

These are the known member photos of "Squad Zero".

Behind each photo lies a figure who walks on the edge of a knife, possessing extraordinary combat power.

His gaze lingered on the topmost photo for a long time.

The young man in the photo is unusually young, yet he possesses a coldness and fortitude that belies his age.

His brows were sharp as a knife, and even through the photograph, one could feel a chilling sharpness in his eyes.

And a faint, almost imperceptible, sinister aura.

Minister Li's brows furrowed slightly, and his fingers tapped unconsciously on the table.

"So alike...so very alike..."

He muttered to himself, his gaze once again carefully scanning every detail of the photograph!

"Especially the contours of his brow bone, the lines of his nose... it's practically a carbon copy of Lao Zeng's stubbornness when he was young..."

His heart skipped a beat, and an absurd yet irresistible thought surfaced in his mind:

"Could it be... impossible... what a coincidence!"

He immediately dismissed the idea, shaking his head vigorously as if trying to shake off the unrealistic notion.

"That old man is as frail as a candle in the wind, unable to withstand any more blows after the initial hope has been dashed... What if it's not... the consequences..."

He sighed deeply, leaned back in his chair, and looked at the young face in the photo with a complex expression.

"Zero... the sharpest blade of 'Hellfire,' the absolute soul of the team... At such a young age, how much hellish training did he endure to crawl out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood and lead the team to complete those legendary missions?"

Li Weiguo's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible regret and admiration:

"Even if... even if it were true, what would he think? Would he acknowledge it? Acknowledge parents who 'abandoned' him at birth? This is too difficult to resolve..."

Just then, a cautious knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in."

A secretary in a smart uniform, with a serious expression, strode in, stood at attention, and reported:

"Minister, 'Bloodslayer' Baroque, leader of 'Hellfire,' requests an encrypted video call with you."

Li Weiguo's heart tightened suddenly!

It was him? At this time? He glanced instinctively at the photo on the table and asked in a low voice:

Did he explain the specific reasons?

"No, Minister. They only said they had something important to discuss with you."

"Take it." Li Weiguo sat up straight, his face regaining its usual composure.

The secretary quickly made the operation and quietly left the office.

The screen on the opposite wall lit up, and Baroque's weathered face, bearing a hideous old scar, appeared on the screen.

"Mr. Baroque, hello, we meet again."

Li Weiguo spoke first, his tone calm:

"Is there anything important happening this time?"

The Baroque man on the other side of the screen seemed somewhat hesitant to speak, carefully considering his words:

"Minister Li, this matter... is important in some ways, but also easy in others."

"It all depends on how your Dragon Kingdom views what I'm about to say."

"Please speak." Li Weiguo's heart skipped a beat, a sense of foreboding creeping over him.

"Um……"

Baroque stammered for once, which was uncommon:

"It's... the captain of Squad Zero, Zero... he's going to your Dragon Country soon."

"What?"

Li Weiguo jumped up from his chair as if he had been pricked by a needle.

The movement was so forceful that it even bumped into the desk, making a dull thud.

His eyes flashed like lightning as he stared intently at the Baroque figure on the screen. His voice rose sharply, filled with disbelief and fury:

"Why? What mission is he coming to China for?! Who's been so foolish as to provoke him?"

Countless worst-case scenarios flashed through his mind in an instant, and his heart nearly jumped into his throat!

If this god of death were to cause trouble in China, the consequences would be unimaginable!

"Calm down! Calm down, Minister Li!"

Baroque was startled by his reaction, quickly waved his hand, and said with a wry smile:

"This matter... sigh, let me explain slowly, please don't interrupt me."

Li Weiguo suppressed his surging anger and slowly sat back down in his chair.

But his eyes remained sharp as a hawk's, and he leaned forward, ready to deal with the worst news at any moment.

Baroque took a deep breath and quickened his pace:

"Zero went to the capital of China alone, without any team members. He wasn't going on a mission; he was going to... the capital to find out about his origins."

"Thump!"

Li Weiguo suddenly stood up again! He bumped into the table once more!

His eyes were wide open, almost bulging out, staring intently at Baroque, as if he had heard a fairy tale!

Baroque, fearing he would interrupt again, almost rushed to speak:

"Eighteen years ago, when I was dealing with a traitor in the capital of China, I found Zero in a garbage dump in the capital."

"I don't remember the exact date very well, and there's a time difference so I can't convert it precisely, but it was probably around XX month XX day."

"That's all the information he knows about his origins!"

"He went there this time hoping to find some clues!"

"Thud—!"

A crisp cracking sound rang out!

The glass of water that Li Weiguo had just picked up slipped from his hand and fell onto the hard floor, shattering instantly!

Warm water splashed onto his trouser legs, but he didn't notice!

It was as if a thunderbolt from the heavens had struck him squarely on the top of his head!

Standing frozen in place, completely still!

His mouth opened wide without his noticing, wide enough to fit an egg!

His eyes were wide open like saucers, filled with extreme shock, bewilderment, and an almost insane disbelief!

He froze! His brain seemed to overload instantly, going completely blank!

Only Baroque's words echoed and collided wildly in my mind like a spell!

"Eighteen years ago...on a certain day of a certain month...in the capital...found in a garbage dump..."

These keywords, like heavy hammers, slammed into a switch in his memory!

A secret and source of pain that he deliberately ignored, and even dared not think about deeply, that happened eighteen years ago, and which was the biggest secret and source of pain for the Zeng family...

That time...that place...that event...

Highly overlapping!

Over 90% accuracy!

"Oh my god..."

Li Weiguo muttered to himself unconsciously, his voice trembling uncontrollably:

"No...no way, it can't be that much of a coincidence?! How...how is this possible?!"

He snapped back to his senses, forgetting his lapse in composure, and practically yelled at the screen:

"Mr. Baroque! Please! You must! Wait for me for three hours! Just three hours! We'll contact you again in three hours! I have something extremely important to confirm!!"

After saying that, he didn't wait for Baroque's response at all and almost frantically cut off the video call!

The screen went black instantly.

Li Weiguo, however, acted like a madman, grabbing the photo of number zero on the table and staring intently at the cold-faced young man in the picture!

Then, comparing it to Zeng Sheng's equally resolute face in his mind...

The more I look at it, the more it resembles it!

The more I look, the more alarmed I become!

"It's him! It must be him! God!!"

He was so excited that his whole body was trembling. He grabbed the internal red secure phone and pressed the speed dial key with his fingers shaking slightly from excitement.

The call connected almost instantly.

"Old Zeng..."

Li Weiguo shouted into the microphone, his voice hoarse with excitement:

"What's the point of holding a war meeting?!"

"Stop right now and let someone else take charge."

"Listen up!"

"I just got some bombshell news: a young guy who looks seven-tenths like your mother."

"And he was abandoned in the capital's garbage dump right after he was born!"

"The timing...it perfectly matches the time when your family had that accident!"

"The location is the capital city!"

On the other end of the phone, Zeng Sheng, a middle-aged general who was attending a meeting of the Central Military Commission, suddenly stood up from his seat, his face turning deathly pale in an instant, and the pen in his hand fell onto the battle map with a "thud"!

"What...what did you say? Old Li! Say it again?"

Zeng Sheng's voice trembled so much that he could barely speak. The enormous shock caused even this seasoned general to lose his composure instantly!

There's no time to repeat myself. Call the old chief right now!

Then have every able-bodied person in your family who lives in Beijing, immediately!

We rushed to the old leader's courtyard house as quickly as possible to assemble.

I have his photos and some other things here...

I'm going to get some of his experiences to the old commander! Hurry...!

Li Weiguo practically yelled what he said, then slammed the phone down without waiting for Zeng Sheng's response.

He grabbed his coat and the crucial photo, dashed out of the office like a whirlwind, and tossed a sentence to his secretary:

Cancel all arrangements!

He rushed to the private elevator and headed straight for the underground parking garage!

His heart was pounding the whole way, and his palms were sweaty.

Zeng Sheng, on the other end of the phone, stood frozen for a few seconds, holding the busy signal.

Then his eyes flashed with disbelief and an almost frantic urgency.

He tossed a sentence at all the astonished subordinates in the conference room: "The meeting is adjourned! It will be chaired by Deputy Chief of Staff Liu!"

He rushed out of the conference room without a second thought, dialing a number etched into his very being with trembling hands as he ran—

The old man's private line.

At the same time, he quickly contacted his wife, brothers and sisters...

In an instant, the Zeng family, a huge and influential family in China, started operating at an unprecedented speed, just because of Li Weiguo's phone call!

After receiving the call, the old man remained silent for a moment, then, in a voice that, though aged, still held great authority, issued the simplest family summons:

"Those in Beijing, please gather at the old residence within two hours. Those from other places, please prepare to connect via video."

Orders are absolute!

Military vehicles, special vehicles... all kinds of vehicles sped from every corner of Beijing, and even from bases in the suburbs, at top speed, disregarding traffic rules (while ensuring safety) towards that quiet and prestigious courtyard house in the core area!

Meanwhile, on the other end, Baroque, whose video call had been abruptly cut off, stared blankly at the black screen, completely bewildered.

"What...what happened?"

He scratched his messy hair, puzzled:

"It's just... providing a clue for finding relatives, is it really necessary to get so worked up? You even smashed a cup? Minister Li's reaction is way too much..."

He simply couldn't understand what a child who had been abandoned meant to a family like the Zeng family.

He couldn't even imagine what would happen if this child was indeed the one the Zeng family had lost years ago, and if this child was the world-renowned "Number Zero"...

That would be more than just a family reunion; it would be tantamount to dropping a nuclear bomb—enough to cause structural tremors—on the highest echelons of the Chinese society!

A storm is quietly brewing.

At the eye of the storm, Li Weiguo clutched the stark photograph tightly in his hand as he sped toward the courtyard house that symbolized supreme power and the vicissitudes of time.