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

Villa, Zeng Long's room, 2 a.m.

The lights were adjusted to a soft, cool white, illuminating three solemn faces.

The air was filled with the slightly bitter aroma of hot coffee, but it couldn't dispel the chilling feeling brought back from the abandoned factory, a mixture of blood and despair.

Ye Feng stood ramrod straight, like a javelin.

He recounted the entire operation—from infiltrating, stunning the observer, rapidly storming the room, to the final suicide of the three men—in the most concise and precise language.

There is no embellishment, no emotion, only cold facts and time points accurate to the second.

Zeng Long leaned back in his chair, an unlit cigarette between his fingers, listening quietly.

His eyes were unfathomable, and his pupils only contracted almost imperceptibly when he heard the details of "seeing the light means destruction" and the three people biting open the poison sacs.

Xiaoya was lying on another worktable filled with electronic devices.

Hands flew between multiple keyboards and touchscreens, the scrolling data streams and code on the screens were dazzling.

She had been busy for over an hour.

After Ye Feng finished his report, the room fell into a brief silence.

"Boss." Xiaoya finally raised her head, rubbing her sore eyes, her face showing the fatigue of staying up all night and a hint of frustration, "The target's communication equipment... is very clean."

She turned a tablet toward Zeng Long and Ye Feng, displaying the analysis results.

"Around the time when Brother Feng suddenly took control of them, the device only recorded one sent text message."

Xiaoya zoomed in on the record, "The content only contained five words: 'Discovered, removed.'"

"The recipient number was a virtual number that had been redirected multiple times and is now completely invalid, making it impossible to trace its origin."

"besides,"

She switched screens.

"The device had no pre-stored contact numbers, no call logs, no social media login history, and even the browser history was blank. The system has been thoroughly cleaned."

Zeng Long listened quietly, without showing any surprise on his face.

He picked up a match, slowly struck it, lit the cigarette, took a deep drag, and the smoke blurred his deep eyes.

"A person who can decisively take poison at the brink of death, leaving no chance of survival..."

Zeng Long's voice came through the smoke, eerily calm, "Naturally, I wouldn't leave any low-level flaws in the communication tools."

He looked at Ye Feng: "What do you think?"

Ye Feng remained silent for two seconds, his eyes sharp as knives.

"Analysis of the operation pattern: long-term infiltration, professional reconnaissance, rapid response, decisive withdrawal, and ultimately, preferring death to leaking secrets."

Ye Feng's voice was cold and hard. "These are not temporary hired soldiers, but a highly professional, disciplined, and deeply brainwashed or controlled elite squad."

"Every step is like the operation of precision gears," he added. "The people behind it are not only ruthless, but also have even stronger control, capable of making such people willingly die."

Ye Feng paused for a moment, then asked the crucial question:

"Boss, what is their purpose? Just surveillance? That doesn't make sense. Going to such lengths and using such assassins, their goal is definitely more than just 'seeing what we're doing.'"

Zeng Long gently flicked the cigarette ash into the crystal jar, leaning forward slightly.

"I've basically identified the person behind it all." He slowly uttered the name, "Wu Jun."

Ye Feng's eyes sharpened. Xiao Ya also stopped what she was doing.

Zeng Long succinctly explained his previous analysis of Wu Jun's files to the two of them:

"The eldest grandson of the Wu family, a top-tier wealthy family, retired at the height of his career at the age of 26, controlled global business but had no record of leaving the country, opened a mysterious club to serve foreign dignitaries... and now, he has such assassins under his command."

"He is not a simple-minded playboy, but a deep-thinking, ruthless, and unfathomable character in terms of resources and power."

Zeng Long concluded, "Such a person will not do things without clear benefits and long-term plans."

His gaze swept over Ye Feng and Xiao Ya, and he issued a new instruction:

"Since he likes to spy on people..." Zeng Long's lips curled into a cold and wicked smile, "then we'll play along with him."

"Ye Feng, Xiao Ya, your next task is to find out Wu Jun's permanent location, daily routine, and core social circle as soon as possible."

"Then, we need to find a way to implement 24/7 monitoring and surveillance."

He stood up, walked to the window, turned his back to the two of them, and gazed at the deep night outside, his voice tinged with mockery:

"Playing surveillance, infiltration, laying hidden traps..."

"We are their ancestors."

"Alright," he turned around, his face regaining its usual composure, "You've worked hard tonight, go and get some rest. We'll refine the action plan tomorrow."

Ye Feng nodded and silently left the room.

Xiaoya yawned, packed up her equipment, and left.

Zeng Long was the only one left in the safe house.

Instead of resting, he took out his phone, pondered for a moment, and dialed a highly encrypted satellite phone.

The phone rang five times before being answered.

"brother."

The voice of Bai Jiu came from the other end of the phone. It was still steady, but it revealed an undisguised fatigue and even a slight hoarseness.

"I was planning to call you tomorrow morning. I didn't expect you to be still awake so late and call first."

Zeng Long's heart sank slightly.

White Eagle, the former ace agent and now the controller of a global intelligence network, has always remained unfazed even when faced with a collapsing mountain.

This tone is extremely rare.

"What happened?" Zeng Long's voice was calm, but his eyes had already sharpened.

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a barely audible sigh.

"The overseas force that you asked me to investigate before—the one that's investigating your background."

Bai Jiu's voice was low, as if he were avoiding something, "The people I sent out... have all disappeared one after another."

"What?!"

Zeng Long's usually calm and composed demeanor, which remained unchanged even in the face of a collapsing mountain, suddenly cracked at this moment.

The veins on the back of his hand, which was holding the phone, were slightly bulging.

"Missing? What exactly happened?" He spoke faster, each word seeming to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"I changed several groups of people, and started the investigation from different channels and under different identities."

The white vulture's tone was solemn.

"But as soon as you get even a little close to the core clues, or touch a key point... people and intelligence will completely disappear in a short time. It's like being silently swallowed by darkness, leaving not even a distress signal or a trace."

He paused, then added:

"Based on my experience, we are facing... a behemoth."

Their intelligence defense system, counter-surveillance methods, internal hierarchy, and cover-up mechanisms are so sophisticated, efficient, and ruthless... beyond imagination.

Zeng Long felt a chill slowly creeping up his spine.

Who is Bai Jiu?

They are veteran ace who can handle the encirclement and suppression by multiple top intelligence organizations overseas with ease and have successfully built their own global network!

He trains and sends out the elite of the elite!

But now, they've suffered repeated defeats and can't even figure out the outline of their opponent?

"You mean, all the intelligence agents we sent out... failed?" Zeng Long's voice was dry, a ache he himself didn't even realize.

"Yes."

The white eagle's answer was only one word, yet it carried immense weight.

So I originally planned to wait until tomorrow to compile a detailed analysis of all the failed cases before reporting to you.

This force... is very strange.

They seem to have an unusually high level of vigilance and defensiveness regarding the matter of "investigating your background".

Powerlessness.

This was a feeling Zeng Long hadn't experienced in a long time.

It's like a powerful punch that hits empty air, yet still makes your blood and energy surge.

The opponent was hidden behind the thick fog, and no matter how many moves he made, he couldn't even touch the hem of the opponent's clothes.

If even the White Vulture is helpless... there has been no relevant news from Baroque so far. Clearly, the mercenary emperor who has dominated the underworld for many years is also completely unaware of this force.

What kind of being is this? Why is there so much "attention" towards him? And how is he able to hide so well?

Zeng Long paced back and forth in the quiet safe room, his brain working frantically at an unprecedented speed, deducing, and eliminating possibilities.

A few minutes later, he stopped, his eyes regaining their sharp light.

"White Vulture," he said into the microphone, his voice regaining its usual calm and decisiveness, "adjust the direction of the investigation."

"Concentrate all available resources and channels and abandon any direct investigation into that 'invisible force'."

"Target changed to: Wu Jun."

He gave the order clearly, word by word:

"I want the true equity structure, fund flow, and core customer list of all companies under Wu Jun's name—especially those so-called 'overseas listed companies'."

"I want his complete VIP list for his 'Above the Universe' club, records of every important reception, and the club's security and intelligence system."

"I need a detailed map of all the people and their influence who have close ties with Wu Jun—whether it's business cooperation, personal interactions, or secret contacts—the more detailed the better."

"Currently, Wu Jun is our only and clearest point of breakthrough." Zeng Long's voice carried a sense of desperation. "We'll start from here and tear a hole in the enemy's defenses."

"Understood." White Eagle's voice regained its firmness. "I will redeploy."

Just as Zeng Long adjusted his strategy and directed all investigative efforts towards Wu Jun—

Wu Jun's office was deathly silent.

Wu Jun leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest. His fingers unconsciously tapped lightly on the smooth armrest, the rhythm steady, as if he were silently counting something.

Suddenly he opened his eyes, and a meaningful smile, the kind of smile that belongs to a chess player, appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Zeng Long...you should already be investigating who's behind this, right?" He spoke as if to the void, "With your abilities and methods, what can you possibly find out?"

He chuckled softly and shook his head.

"The game is finally entering an interesting phase."

After a moment's hesitation, he turned to his assistant in the shadows and issued a new instruction, his tone calm yet carrying undeniable authority:

"Tomorrow morning, in my personal capacity, I will invite Comrade Hao Yuan, Secretary of the Jingtong District Council of Beijing, to dinner. I will tell him that I want to treat him to dinner that evening, and he can choose the location."

"Tell him that I want to talk to him about the future development of the Jingtong District, especially the new opportunities and challenges brought about by the establishment of Longyu Group..."

The assistant bowed slightly: Young Master, why not above the pinnacle of the universe?

Wu Jun's deep eyes suddenly turned cold: Above the pinnacle of the universe! He's not qualified yet...

"Yes."

The assistant left silently.