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

The lively barbecue stall outside Beijing Tsinghua University gradually quieted down.

Zeng Long and his three roommates sat around a small table, which was littered with bamboo skewers and empty beer bottles.

Hao Shuai, Du Ziteng, and Zhao Yiqun remained indignant, surrounding Zeng Long and pressing him for details.

"Brother Long, what's going on? Did those cops give you any trouble?" Hao Shuai took a swig of beer, his brows furrowed.

Zeng Long finished off the last skewer of meat, smiled casually, and spoke as if he were talking about someone else:

"It's nothing, just a false alarm. A distant relative of mine happens to have some connections in the system, so he went over and inquired about the situation, and got me out of trouble. It was a misunderstanding, purely a misunderstanding."

Upon hearing this, Hao Shuai slammed his hand on the table:

Damn it! Even if it's a misunderstanding, this is just too much!

I immediately called my father-in-law, and when the people he arranged arrived, they told me that I had been released on bail.

I'm so angry! They're pulling this stunt right under the noses of the capital! I'm going to have my grandfather say something about it when the time is right!

His face was full of indignation, revealing the kind of zero-tolerance attitude towards injustices that is typical of young masters in the capital.

Ziteng pushed up his glasses, his face also showing worry:

"I made quite a few calls, trying to find someone to help, but unfortunately..." He sounded apologetic, as if he felt he hadn't done his best.

Zhu Yiqun added:

Brother Long, after you were taken away, Sun Xiaomeng and I contacted the alumni at the next few tables, and everyone was willing to testify for you!

We had planned to go to the police station to express our demands rationally if we hadn't heard from you by this morning! He waved his arms, looking quite like a student leader.

As Zeng Long listened to his three roommates chatting away, a warm feeling welled up in his heart again, even more intense than the night before.

He didn't need this help, but he cherished this friendship immensely. It was the purest brotherhood, untainted by any calculations of self-interest, as clear as the waters of Weiming Lake.

He picked up a newly opened bottle of beer, raised it, and wore a genuine smile.

"Nothing more to say, I, Zeng Long, will remember the brotherhood we've built! Come on, let's drink until we drop tonight!"

"We won't leave until we're drunk!" The four beer glasses (beer bottles) clinked together loudly, and the laughter of the young people dispelled all the gloom.

As the gentle morning sunlight bathes Jingqing University, gilding the ancient buildings and awakening the youthful campus...

An invisible undercurrent of numbers has already surged forth, maliciously attempting to taint this pure academic land.

Today's Headline News:

"Shocking! Students from Jingqing University clashed with a triad gang in the street, resulting in serious bloodshed!" (The accompanying image is an edited screenshot highlighting the violence and chaos.)

Multiple accounts on platforms such as "Teyin" and "Shishou Video" simultaneously disseminated the two videos.

A title:

"A disgrace to prestigious universities? A full record of the bloody brawl between students from Beijing and Tsinghua Universities and gangsters!"

The other passage is even more insidious:

"Unveiling the 'Student Gangster' Zeng Long: Suspected Protector, Able to Mobilize Triad Forces for Large-Scale Clashes?"

The campus forum of Beijing Tsinghua University exploded instantly, with posts flooding the screen. Related topics on other major social media platforms and short video apps also saw a strange surge in popularity.

"Students from the Beijing-Tsinghua University underworld."

"Zeng Long's background."

"The Dark Side of Top University Admissions"

Like sharks smelling blood, online trolls swarmed in, copying and pasting vicious comments under every news article and every video:

"How did this scumbag get into Tsinghua University? He must have used connections!"

"He's obviously a hoodlum; he's a disgrace to the reputation of this prestigious university!"

"I heard his family has high-ranking official connections; they wield immense power!"

"This must be thoroughly investigated! Expel him from school! Pursue him criminally!"

"Jing Qing, get out here and give us an explanation! This kind of black sheep cannot be allowed to live!"

There are images (edited).

There is a "truth" (distorted).

There is sound (the noise of online trolls).

For a time, Zeng Long's name seemed to become a synonym for heinous crime, and Jingqing University was also pushed to the forefront of public opinion, bearing enormous pressure.

Countless netizens, unaware of the truth, were misled and angrily denounced the situation.

At this very moment, Zeng Long, the absolute epicenter of this media storm, was comfortably sitting in the passenger seat of a moving black sedan.

The driver was Minister Li Weiguo, whose face was dark and who exuded an aura of "I'm very unhappy".

Zeng Long, on the other hand, was wolfing down two golden and crispy fried dough sticks in his left hand and a cup of thick, hot soy milk in his right, his cheeks bulging out of his mouth. He had no manners whatsoever.

"Um... um... Uncle Li, not to be mean, but..."

He swallowed a large mouthful of fried dough stick with difficulty, then gulped down some soy milk to help it go down.

Last night I was so busy drinking that I didn't eat a single grain of rice, and I also racked my brains to come up with a battle plan. When I woke up this morning, I felt like I could swallow a whole cow!

You've got some nerve, this is all you're going to treat me to? A breakfast that costs less than six yuan in total?

You are blatantly destroying the future pillars of the nation and abusing the good young people of society!

Li Weiguo's hand gripping the steering wheel throbbed with a pulsating vein. He gritted his teeth, stared straight ahead, and forced out a sound through clenched teeth:

"You brat, if it weren't for my right foot needing to press the accelerator and brake, and my left foot not being allowed to exert force independently by the physics of the universe, plus my hands having to grip this damn steering wheel, you'd already be a superhero, vanished from this passenger seat! Understand?!"

This reason was so compelling that even I (the author) almost believed it.

Zeng Long blinked, his face full of "amazement":

"Wow! Uncle Li, that's impressive! So all that using your hands and feet wasn't to drive, it was to launch me? Then why are you even taking planes when you travel abroad? You'll save on airfare!"

Li Weiguo didn't react for a moment, and asked in bewilderment, "...What does this have to do with plane tickets?"

Zeng Long slowly took a bite of the fried dough stick and said calmly:

"Because you can go to heaven."

"Holy crap!" Li Weiguo nearly spat blood onto the windshield, and the steering wheel even trembled.

You little brat! You're insulting me indirectly, aren't you?! You heartless bastard!

That meal that ripped me off last time wiped out more than a year's worth of my savings! I hope it goes to meet the Queen Mother of the West soon!

I don't dare spend more than five yuan on breakfast these days! I added a fried dough stick to make it six yuan, which is already more than enough for you!

"It's five yuan and fifty cents!" Zeng Long corrected earnestly, shaking the fried dough stick in his hand. "The old lady selling fried dough sticks at the entrance gave me a fifty-cent discount because I'm handsome! So strictly speaking, you only paid me five yuan and fifty cents!"

Li Weiguo: "..." He felt his blood pressure soaring and urgently needed to take antihypertensive medication.

The black sedan weaved steadily through the morning rush hour traffic, while outside, a tidal wave of online turmoil surged.

Inside the car, however, was the ensuing heated debate about the economics of five cents and a silent history of soaring blood pressure.

The two main characters, one eating without a care in the world, the other so angry that his liver and stomach ached, seemed to have no connection with the overwhelming public opinion.

The car eventually left the main road and turned onto a quiet, tree-lined road, speeding towards a heavily guarded and extremely secluded special area.

The real storm response has only just begun. Right now, the minister's hunger and frustration are clearly more important.