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

Zeng Long practically flew away, leaving Liu Lao's office, which had caused him "significant losses," with lightning speed.

Even with his composure, the memory of those old generals "robbing" him still made him feel lingering fear, and he wished he could get away from that "place of trouble" immediately.

They hadn't gone far from the General Staff Building when Li Weiguo's slightly breathless shout came from behind: "Xiaolong! Wait! Wait for me!"

Zeng Long seemed not to hear him and instead quickened his pace. He now suspected that Li Weiguo was also an "accomplice".

Seeing this, Li Weiguo had no choice but to jog after him, stepping aside to block Zeng Long's path. He was slightly out of breath, both amused and exasperated.

"Hey kid, you're still holding a grudge? You're even ignoring Uncle Li? Why are you running so fast? Is there a tiger chasing you?"

Zeng Long stopped, rolled his eyes dramatically, and complained irritably:

"If I don't hurry up and stay there, am I going to be 'cared for' by those old...old seniors? They're so shameless, I'm afraid if I stay any longer, they'll strip me naked and confiscate my underwear!"

"Hey! You little rascal!" Li Weiguo was amused by his exaggerated statement, pointed at Zeng Long, and laughed heartily.

"You've finally met your match! All you ever thought, scheming and plotting, always so calculating, you'd be 'beaten' by a bunch of old generals working together, huh? Hahaha!"

Seeing Li Weiguo's gloating expression, Zeng Long became even angrier and made a move to walk around him and continue walking.

"Alright, alright, I wasn't joking with you anymore." Li Weiguo knew when to stop, his smile fading and his expression turning serious.

"Let's get down to business. Actually, besides that matter, there are three other important things we need to discuss with you today."

He extended his first finger:

First, it concerns the force that is secretly investigating you.

Our personnel within the military surveillance system have discovered unidentified individuals attempting to obtain information about your military background through extremely covert channels.

However, the other party is very cunning, their movements are elusive, and they use untraceable stepping stones and encryption methods. We are currently unable to pinpoint the specific source or obtain conclusive evidence.

Li Weiguo's eyes sharpened: So, after discussing it with Mr. Liu, we came up with a preliminary idea.

Alternatively, we could loosen the gate a bit more, deliberately revealing a few seemingly crucial flaws to lure them into a deeper investigation.

As long as they make enough and fast enough moves, they will inevitably leave more traces, giving us the opportunity to follow the clues and catch them red-handed!

Zeng Long listened quietly without interrupting.

Li Weiguo extended his second finger:

"Secondly, as you previously mentioned, be aware of any unusual access to traffic and security surveillance data. I've assigned someone to monitor the relevant data access logs and permission records 24/7. But..."

His tone carried a hint of confusion and seriousness:

Since the deployment, the feedback has been that there have been no abnormal access records! It's as if the other party is completely unaware of this shortcut, or... simply disdains to use it.

From this perspective, the other party is not only extremely cautious, but also frighteningly vigilant.

They seem to be intentionally avoiding any conventional investigative methods that could leave electronic traces or be easily traced back.

Just as Li Weiguo was about to raise his third finger to continue with the third matter, Zeng Long abruptly raised his hand, interrupting him: "Wait...!"

Zeng Long's brows furrowed instantly, his eyes becoming vacant yet focused, as if all his energy was concentrated in his rapidly working brain.

Li Weiguo's words, like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, stirred up ripples in his mind.

His extraordinary sense of danger and conspiracy, honed from childhood in extreme environments and almost instinctive, began to take effect.

All seemingly reasonable and logical acts of caution may, in certain contexts, become the greatest irrationality!

His brain, like the most sophisticated supercomputer, began to frantically unravel and dialectically reason through the known information.

Positive logic, negative logic, and various possibilities collided fiercely in his mind.

Since the other party is so eager to investigate my specific whereabouts and location, why would they voluntarily give up the fastest, most direct, and most informative way to obtain surveillance data?

What is the underlying motivation behind this conscious and thorough avoidance? Is it out of fear of something? Or is it something being avoided?

Time seemed to freeze. After about ten seconds, Zeng Longkong's empty eyes suddenly focused, a chilling glint flashing in them, and a mocking and confident smirk appeared on his lips.

He raised his head, looked at Li Weiguo who was still waiting for him to continue, and spoke in a steady and clear voice:

"Uncle Li, I think... the other side made a crucial, and fatal, mistake."

"His seemingly incredibly discreet and cautious operational methods inadvertently exposed a huge logical flaw!"

Li Weiguo perked up and quickly asked, "What loophole?"

Zeng Long spoke faster, analyzing:

Why didn't the other party touch the surveillance camera? It's definitely not because they didn't know about it or thought it was unnecessary!

On the contrary, it's precisely because he knows me so well! He is well aware of my counter-surveillance capabilities and also clearly knows about my close relationship with you and the Ministry of Security!

His gaze was sharp as a knife, as if it had pierced through layers of mist:

He knew very well that once he touched the sensitive nerve of official monitoring data, you would immediately notice and use the highest level of security authority to trace the data access clues all the way down!

In that case, no matter how well he tries to hide it, he will inevitably leave an indelible electronic footprint in the massive system logs, thus exposing himself!

Zeng Long's conclusion was earth-shattering:

Therefore, this opponent lurking in the shadows is definitely one of our own, someone we know well!

Moreover, he is extremely familiar with your job duties and authority, Uncle Li!

Someone who has an in-depth understanding of me, and is so knowledgeable about you and the workings of the security department...

His identity is definitely not simple! The scope can be greatly narrowed down to—the innermost circle at the very top of the capital!

After hearing this meticulous and reverse-engineered conclusion, Li Weiguo's pupils contracted sharply, and his face was instantly filled with extreme shock and realization!

His gaze as he looked at Zeng Long was filled with disbelief, and at that moment, he too felt a strong urge—

I really want to reach out and touch this kid's head to see what's inside! His almost monstrous reasoning ability is terrifying!

Such subtle and seemingly flawless caution was actually torn open by Zeng Long from a completely opposite angle in just over ten seconds—

The scope of the investigation was precisely narrowed down from the vast sea of ​​people to a very small and highly targeted circle!

Zeng Long didn't notice Li Weiguo's almost monstrous look; he was lost in his own thoughts and continued:

Uncle Li, the scope of our target is much clearer now.

You must act quickly and utilize all reliable resources to find someone who fits this description—someone within the top circles of Beijing who knows both you and me well.

Please compile all their detailed information, including but not limited to family background, interpersonal relationships, recent activities, properties under their name, overseas connections, etc., and send it to me as comprehensively as possible.

"Okay! No problem!" Li Weiguo suppressed his shock and nodded immediately, his tone resolute:

"I'll personally deploy the team when I get back, mobilizing the most capable and reliable intelligence analysts to thoroughly review the information on all suspicious individuals within this area, and give you results as soon as possible!"

He paused, remembering one of the main events of the day, his expression softened, and with a hint of relief, he said:

"The third thing I want to talk about is about Shi Tiezhu's background... We've found some clues."

"Really?!" Zeng Long's usually calm and composed face instantly broke into an expression of barely suppressed excitement!

He suddenly grabbed Li Weiguo's arm with such force that Li Weiguo winced slightly. "Uncle Li! Are you telling the truth? You have leads on Tiezhu's family?!"

Li Weiguo understood his feelings, patted the back of his hand to signal him to calm down, and explained in detail:

"Based on the timeline of Shi Tiezhu's abduction, more than ten years have passed. Even if his family reported it to the police back then, the relevant records are extremely difficult to find due to the passage of time and changes in institutions, and the clues have almost been lost."

His tone carried a hint of helplessness, but also a hope born of tireless effort:

So, I switched to the dumbest, but probably the most effective, method.

I had someone retrieve household registration data from the northern regions of the country (based on Tiezhu's accent and fragmented memories), using the period from 10 to 20 years ago as a benchmark, to screen all male household registration records registered under the name "Shi Tiezhu".

Li Weiguo held up his fingers to indicate the name:

Initial screening revealed that a total of 87 people matched this name and age range.

Currently, I have deployed a large number of internal and external staff, divided into groups, to conduct thorough on-site visits and background checks on each of these 87 leads. Verification of 42 individuals has been completed so far.

His eyes were filled with encouragement and expectation:

Although there hasn't been a direct match yet, Xiaolong, if Tiezhu's family used the name "Shi Tiezhu" on his household registration when he was born, and it wasn't changed...

So, with our current speed and intensity of this comprehensive search, I believe it's only a matter of time before we find his family! And it won't be long!

"That's wonderful! Uncle Li! This is really... wonderful!" Zeng Long gripped Li Weiguo's hand tightly, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. His eyes shone with genuine joy and a sense of relief.

He took a deep breath, calming his turbulent emotions, and his tone became low and filled with emotion:

Uncle Li, you don't know this. Of the original four members of our Zero Squad, only Tie Zhu's background is still unknown.

Since Ye Feng found his parents and the family was reunited, Tie Zhu never said anything, and on the surface he still had that honest and cheerful look...

However, as his leader, we are brothers who have crawled out of gunfire and bloodshed together, so I know him too well.

A hint of heartache flickered in Zeng Long's eyes:

"I could see the loneliness and sadness he was trying so hard to suppress and carefully conceal deep in his eyes. He just didn't want us to worry, so he kept putting on a brave face... Now, there is finally hope!"

Finding clues about his brothers and relatives was far more exciting and thrilling for Zeng Long than any business game or power struggle.

This long-dormant search for relatives has finally seen a ray of light piercing through the fog.