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

The atmosphere in the General Staff Operations Conference Room, which should have been solemn and serious, was somewhat off-track at this moment.

As soon as Zeng Long and Li Weiguo stepped through the door, they were startled by a burst of loud laughter that made their eardrums itch.

Army General Liu rushed forward, his large, fan-like hand grabbing Zeng Long's shoulder and slapping him forcefully.

His face was so wrinkled from laughing that it looked like a chrysanthemum. Luckily, Old Liu was tall enough that he could reach it by standing on tiptoe.

Hahaha! You little rascal! How did you even get your head shaped like that?

Last night, a few of us old guys were still figuring out how you mobilized those two armed groups, but this morning, after checking the international news, it all became clear! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!

Zeng Long was so startled by the slap that he almost dropped the half-eaten fried dough stick in his hand, looking completely bewildered.

"Mr. Liu, please...please slow down, I haven't finished my breakfast yet..."

"Why bother with breakfast! You've done a great job!"

Old Liu was so excited that his spittle flew everywhere:

"Those guys from Country D in the Middle East were arguing with us a few days ago, and they absolutely refused to let us send troops into the country to rescue them."

"Well, this morning, their Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted us urgently, requesting that we send special forces to resolve the oil field and hostage issues as soon as possible! Their attitude was incredibly sincere!"

Navy veteran Zhang also smiled and came over, unable to resist standing on tiptoe and ruffling Zeng Long's head (in a manner similar to ruffling his own husky):

"Wasn't it because they were scared by the sudden gathering of Imperial and Cypriot armed groups on the border?"

"The government of Country D is already on the verge of being overthrown by reactionary forces; how can it possibly tolerate these two hungry wolves lurking nearby?"

"Furthermore, our oil fields and hostages are a hot potato in their hands, so they're taking advantage of the situation and begging us to take care of them quickly!"

"Now that's great, we can go in legitimately and without any problem!"

"You've achieved your goal, cleared yourself of international suspicion, and even muddied the waters to make your operation easier—a triple win!"

Air Force veteran Wang also chuckled and stood on tiptoe to pinch Zeng Long's cheek (it seemed to feel quite nice):

"Exactly! How did you even get into that mind? If my silly grandson were half as smart as you, I'd be laughing in my sleep!"

Zeng Long: "..."

He felt like a monkey being watched in a zoo, the kind that's holding half a fried dough stick in its hand.

He struggled to break free from the clutches of the old generals, hid behind Li Weiguo, and quickly took a big bite of a fried dough stick to calm his nerves.

"Hey bosses, all the praise is fine, but don't get physical!"

Zeng Long mumbled, "Are the equipment and logistical supplies from Country C ready? I'm about to assemble with my team."

"Rest assured! Three hours later, three of the latest Y-XX strategic transport aircraft will take off on schedule!"

"The guys you wanted, and all those 'good toys' prepared for your team, are all in there!" Old Liu assured him, patting his chest.

At this moment, Old Zhang's smile faded slightly, and he asked with concern:

"Speaking of which, Xiaolong, about San Francisco... are you really confident you can rescue 'Pigeon' within two hours? CIA bases aren't playgrounds."

Zeng Long swallowed the last bite of the fried dough stick, licked his fingers, and the sight made the old generals' eyes twitch.

He walked up to the huge electronic screen, his tone as casual as if he were going downstairs to pick up a package:

"Two hours? That's enough. Perfect timing, it's getting dark in San Francisco, time for the show to begin. Let's give you a live broadcast, just a moment, I'll contact the on-site director."

The generals: "..." Live broadcast of a rescue of a top agent held captive by the CIA? Could this kid be any more outrageous?!

And... why is he still thinking about that half-eaten fried dough stick at a time like this?!

Zeng Long didn't care what they were thinking, and took out his satellite phone to make a call:

"Little Sparrow, connect to the conference network and prepare the live broadcast signal."

"Okay, boss! Just 30 seconds!" A crisp female voice, with a hint of... chewing, came from the other end of the phone.

Thirty seconds later, the main screen in the conference room lit up.

The image shows a girl with an afro resembling Einstein's, a chubby face, and dimples.

She was facing the camera... vigorously gnawing on an enormous braised pig's trotter, her face glistening with oil.

"Um... um... Hello, esteemed leaders and officers!"

The little sparrow waved its pig's trotters and greeted everyone enthusiastically.

"Have you eaten? Freshly slaughtered wild boar, made by the old butcher Baroque, it's incredibly fresh! Want a bite?"

In the conference room, all the generals, including Li Weiguo, had their mouths agape, wide enough to fit a pig's trotter.

This... this is the legendary, monstrous genius hacker who can use AI for military and intelligence purposes and dominate the cyber world with his keyboard?!

This image... is so different from the cool and edgy dark web queen I imagined!

Did the signal get mistakenly connected to a food livestream?!

Zeng Long painfully covered his face with his hand, his embarrassment visible through his fingers:

"Little Sparrow!!! How many times have I told you! Mind your manners! Be a lady! A lady! You're galloping wildly down the road of barbarism and won't turn back!"

The little sparrow pouted sadly, but didn't stop gnawing on the pig's trotter:

"Boss! How dare you say that! You left me all alone in this godforsaken, run-down base! Do you even know what kind of environment this base is in?"

"Just grab any retired mercenary; their eyes are so fierce they could scare a wild boar to death!"

"Their snoring is like thunder; it could kill a whole flock of sheep!"

"Eating and drinking is like fighting a war; they have bottles of liquor on the left and AKs on the right, as if someone's trying to rob them!"

"He basically shouts when he speaks; his voice is so loud it could scare a whole bunch of birds flying in the sky to death!"

"You still want me to be a lady? I'm already being very kind of you by not turning into a female Zhang Fei!"

Zeng Long was so angered by her retort that his veins bulged, and he was speechless.

"...Okay, okay, you win! Hurry up and switch the signal to Cold Thorn and the others!"

"Okay!" Little Sparrow muttered, his greasy fingers clattering on the keyboard (the old generals looked at the greasy keyboard with concern).

The screen immediately switched. The background became dark, seemingly a ventilation duct or corner of a building.

Leng Ci, Guo Wei, and Qi Liang lurked silently like cheetahs in the dark.

Cold Thorn calmly reported to the camera (the tablet camera in his hand), his voice devoid of any emotional fluctuation:

"The rescue team is in position. All 'Sprites' have been released and are conducting infiltration and reconnaissance. Awaiting final operational instructions."

Then, the screen began to split, switching to several different perspectives—some were from the perspective of a low-lying rat, crawling quickly on the warehouse floor, transmitting back the dim environment and the boots of patrolmen.

Some cameras have a bee-like perspective, buzzing through the corridors and penetrating the door cracks to clearly transmit back the warehouse's internal structure, guard positions, and camera angles.

There were four guards at the outer gate, two guards at the inner gate, an elevator that required a password, and three cameras above the elevator... The intelligence was quickly compiled and reported by Leng Ci.

"The elevator is the key to the underground; it's coded," Coldthorn added.

Zeng Long gave the order:

"Little Sparrow, hack their surveillance system. Start playing static images on a loop in five minutes."

"Send a 'mechanical ant' to lurk next to the elevator keypad and record the password when someone enters it."

"Send a few more 'static fly mosquitoes' to be ready. When the person enters the elevator, they will attach themselves to it and follow them down to investigate the exact location of the 'pigeon' and the internal security situation."

"Understood!" came the even more intense keyboard sounds and... the smacking sounds of someone gnawing on a pig's trotter from Little Sparrow's side.

"Cold Thorn, inform Lawrence that his 'fireworks show' can begin."

The scene shifts again. This time it's a street about 800 meters outside the warehouse.

Two groups of people, clearly not to be trifled with, were locked in a tense standoff, ready to draw their swords.

The three Cold Thorns blended into the crowd, and then Lawrence, that show-off, appeared. He was wearing a flashy purple suit and even had a glass of red wine in his hand, chatting "friendly" with the other party's leader.

Suddenly, he seemed to receive a command in his earpiece. He elegantly took a sip of red wine, then with a flick of his wrist, a small pistol magically slid from his sleeve into his hand!

"Bang!"

A crisp gunshot rang out! A bloody hole instantly appeared on the forehead of the opposing leader, his eyes still showing shock.

"Send them to meet God!!" Lawrence roared, then rolled awkwardly but effectively to hide behind cover.

Instantly, gunfire erupted in the streets, accompanied by shouts of killing and screams of agony! The standoff had turned into a fierce street brawl!

Taking advantage of the chaos, Leng Ci and his two companions escaped the battlefield like ghosts, disappearing into the shadows once more.

The conference room screen switched back to the interior of the warehouse.

Sure enough, a guard at the door heard the report in his earpiece (about the "gang fight" outside), his expression changed, and he quickly walked to the elevator and entered the password.

"Password recorded," came the little sparrow's voice.

The elevator doors opened, and the guard entered.

Several tiny biomimetic robots, almost imperceptible to the naked eye—"static mosquitoes" and "mimicry spiders"—silently adhered to his trouser legs and the hem of his shirt.

The elevator descended to the second basement level. A guard reported to a man who appeared to be the leader:

"Sir, there's a fight between two local gangs outside, fighting over territory. We've already notified the police. It looks like they're from an Italian gang."

"Shit! These damn scum! Keep a close eye on them, don't let anyone get close!" the leader cursed impatiently.

"Yes!" The guard turned and walked towards the elevator back to the ground.

The few "little passengers" he brought with him quickly detached themselves after he left, flying off like real insects into different passages and rooms to begin exploring this secret nest.

Inside the conference room, several veteran generals held their breath, intently watching the constantly switching live feeds transmitted by different "wizards" on the screens. The corridors, lounges, monitoring rooms…

suddenly!

A video transmitted back by a "mechanical bee" has attracted everyone's attention!

It was a brightly lit interrogation room! Three white men in CIA uniforms were assaulting a man who was strapped to an electric chair!

The man—his face was covered in blood, his left eye was just a bloody hole, his mouth was stuffed to prevent him from biting his tongue, an electric shock pad was attached to his chest, and his whole body was convulsing violently from the continuous electric shocks, he was almost unrecognizable!

But Li Weiguo recognized it at a glance. He suddenly stood up, his eyes bloodshot, and let out a suppressed, painful growl: "Pigeon! It's Pigeon!!!"

The other generals also clenched their fists instantly, their facial muscles contorted, and their eyes blazed with endless anger and heartache!

Those are their comrades! Heroes of the Dragon Kingdom! And they are suffering such inhuman torture right now.

On the screen, an executioner said impatiently:

"This Chinese guy is really stubborn! We've used drugs, electric shocks, and physical torture in turn, and he still hasn't said a word after days!"

Another said, "Increase the dosage and the electrical current! Let's see how long he can hold out!"

The third one said coldly, "At the maximum dose, he can live for at most another hour. But if he doesn't speak up soon, there's no point in keeping him alive. Get ready."

"Agreed. Go get the medicine."

Hearing this conversation, the generals in the conference room felt their hearts bleeding! Their anger and murderous intent almost burst through the roof!

Zeng Long watched the pigeons' pitiful state on the screen and listened as the enemy coldly decided the pigeons' fate.

The last trace of a joke vanished from his face, and his eyes turned icy cold, like a thousand-year-old block of ice.

Speaking into the microphone, his voice, forced out through clenched teeth, was like a death sentence, clearly issuing his final command:

"Cold Thorn! Move out!"

Command: Annihilate all!

The cold thorn on the other end of the screen simply replied with two words: "Received."

The killing began amidst the fury in the conference room.