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

Inside the white two-story building of the county public security bureau.

Two men were sitting by the window in the reception room.

They were all dressed in dark casual clothes, sitting upright with broad shoulders, clearly people who had undergone long-term training. Their skin was a healthy tan, their finger joints were large, and there were small scars on the backs of their hands.

The older one was about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a buzz cut, a square face, and calm, sharp eyes. His name was Chen Zheng.

The younger one was twenty-three or twenty-four years old, with a faint scar on his brow bone, which gave him a somewhat cold and aloof look. His name was Lu Xiao.

Across from him, Deputy Director Zhang of the Public Security Bureau rubbed his hands together, looking somewhat uneasy.

He had just looked at the other party's credentials—it was from a department he had only seen in internal reports, with an incredibly high level of authority.

"Comrade Chen, Comrade Lu," Old Zhang licked his lips, "the people you two are looking for, we do indeed have three people in our system named 'Shi Tiezhu.' Their ages match the conditions you mentioned: you see…"

Chen Zheng took a brown paper file folder from his black briefcase and gently pushed it in front of Lao Zhang.

"What we need is their detailed information." Chen Zheng's voice was calm, but carried an undeniable weight. "My files emphasize that there must be an old locust tree at the village entrance, and whether the families of these three households reported the case to your county bureau more than ten years ago."

Old Zhang's forehead was covered in a fine sheen of sweat: "These...these are cases from over ten years ago, I need to go to the archives and look them up..."

"No need to investigate," Lu Xiao said, his voice turning cold.

We don't have time to wait for you to dig up files from more than ten years ago.

Even if you find files from more than ten years ago, it's useless, because the information has been changed or is no longer available after so many years.

Now, all you need to do is call the local police stations of the three people named Shi Tiezhu based on the information in my file.

Just ask which village has an old locust tree at its entrance, or if anyone was separated from their village more than ten years ago.

Chen Zheng took over the conversation, looking directly at Lao Zhang.

"Deputy Director Zhang, we need the immediate assistance of our local colleagues. This matter involves a very important...identity verification. Please cooperate."

"Okay, okay...!" Old Zhang quickly replied, "I'll arrange for someone to make contact right away."

After saying that, Lao Zhang immediately made a phone call to have someone inquire about it.

A short while later, the male police officer in charge of liaising with the local police station entered the room and handed a document to Lao Zhang.

When Old Zhang saw the information, he was immediately stunned: "Shijiagou?"

He looked at the police officer.

The police officer then spoke up: "Director Zhang, I called the heads of the police stations in three towns."

Because the director has changed several times, they are not very clear about it.

Therefore, they had no choice but to call the village chiefs of each village to contact them.

Based on the details we provided, Li, from Shibai Town, called the village head of Shijiagou Village.

It has been confirmed that there is an old locust tree at the entrance of Shijiagou Village.

Furthermore, the village chief confirmed that there was a family in their village whose son, named Shi Tiezhu, went missing more than ten years ago.

"Really?" Chen Zheng and Lu Xiao immediately became excited.

Chen Zheng quickly approached the police officer and said in an unquestionable tone, "Tell me quickly, what are the specific details about this family?"

The police officer glanced at Deputy Director Zhang, who nodded.

At this point, the police officer spoke up: "The head of this household is named Shi Qinglie, his wife is named Li Yingxiu, and they have a daughter named Shiliu."

"What...?" Old Zhang seemed to have heard something utterly terrifying; his hands were trembling. He looked at the police officer, "You mean, the head of this household is named Shi Qinglie...?" The police officer didn't know why his chief was so nervous upon hearing that name. He swallowed hard, "Yes...yes!"

The room suddenly fell silent.

Old Zhang recalled receiving a call from the town police station where Shijia Gou is located at noon today, saying that a vicious fight had occurred in Shijia Gou Village, and a villager was almost beaten to death. The assailant was the nephew of the county council secretary, who was also a real estate developer in their county.

The villager's name, I think, was...

Shi Qinglie.

Old Zhang's heart skipped a beat.

My throat is starting to feel dry, what should I do?

This is troublesome.

Initially, their bureau determined it to be legitimate self-defense, stating that Shi Qinglie struck first and broke the other party's leg, leading to a fierce fight that resulted in Shi Qinglie being seriously injured.

The situation is different now; the two people in front of us are not simple individuals.

Although they can't manage local affairs, they can report directly to the highest levels...

Chen Zheng and Lu Xiao exchanged a glance. As men of great stature, they had already sensed something unusual about Lao Zhang's nervousness.

Their eyes met very quickly, yet conveyed a great deal of information.

"Confirm first." Chen Zheng looked at Lao Zhang coldly. "Right now, we need to go to Shijiagou immediately and meet this Shi Qinglie."

He stood up, and Lu Xiao followed suit.

Both of them were over 1.8 meters tall, and when they stood up, the invisible pressure made the atmosphere in the room feel oppressive and tense.

Old Zhang hurriedly stood up, saying, "Okay, okay! I'll arrange a car!..."

"Then let's set off immediately."

Chen Zheng had already walked towards the door, his steps firm.

Lu Xiao followed behind, and as he passed Old Zhang, he whispered something:

"Deputy Director Zhang, you should be aware of the confidentiality level of this matter."

Old Zhang nodded repeatedly: "Understood! Understood!"

He watched the two figures walk out of the building and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Outside the window, the two got into a black SUV. The car started, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Old Zhang stood by the window, motionless for a long time.

He recalled the instructions from above, the crisis the situation presented, and how he could extricate himself...

Then he hurriedly turned around, grabbed the phone, and dialed the town's police station chief: "Hey? Xiao Li? How's Shi Qinglie from Shijiagou doing?!"

A noisy sound came from the other end of the phone, followed by the tired voice of Chief Li, the head of the township police station:

"Director Zhang... I just received the news. Shi Qinglie... didn't make it. He passed away 10 minutes ago."

"What?!" Old Zhang's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the microphone.

"And..." Old Li lowered his voice, "President Wang has said he's going to the Shi family again, and he's demanding compensation for his broken leg. This is going to escalate..."

Old Zhang hung up the phone in a daze.

He looked out the window; the black SUV had disappeared at the end of the road, leaving only a wisp of dust that had not yet dissipated.

As the sun set, the sky was dyed blood red.

The distant mountains stand silently, like a group of wordless giants looking down upon the world.