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

Baroque's roar of "The Cub Camp is open!" was like a bloody edict, completely altering the fate of Zero and the three new children. The mud pit in the center of the fortress courtyard, filled with broken glass and rusty nails, became their first arena for confrontation.

The mud was cold and viscous, mixed with the bloodstains left by Zero, and emitted a nauseating smell of rust and decaying earth. Broken glass and nails lay hidden beneath the mud, like vicious teeth waiting to be devoured.

The four children were brutally kicked into the pit by Baroque like sandbags, splashing up large waves of filthy mud.

"Get the hell out of here!" Baroque stood at the edge of the pit, his one eye bloodshot with excitement, a greasy leather whip lashing out with a loud crack.

"Climb over to the other side and carry that little piece of rotten wood back for me! The last one to arrive is feeding 'Little Cutie' tonight!"

His so-called "little cutie" was a desert viper with an extremely irritable temper that he kept in a cage.

The three new children were terrified and thrashed about in the mud, their cries and coughs mingling together.

Where had they ever experienced such a hellish scene? The extreme fear made their limbs go limp, their movements completely chaotic. The more they struggled, the deeper they sank, and the more wounds they sustained.

Only Zero.

He made almost no sound the moment he was thrown into the mud pit.

The moment his body touched the cold mud, he let out a muffled groan, a fleeting look of suppressed pain flashing in his dark eyes.

The old and new wounds, soaked in mud and water, and then scratched by broken glass, must have felt terrible.

But he didn't flail around like the others.

His gaze immediately bypassed the three crying and screaming people and locked onto the rotten piece of wood half-buried in the water pit on the other side of the pit.

Then, he made a move that slightly surprised the mercenaries watching the commotion by the pit.

Instead of trying to stand up (which was nearly impossible in waist-deep, sticky mud), he lunged forward, almost completely submerging himself in the mud, with only his eyes, mouth, and nose showing.

Then, like a crocodile adapted to the swamp, he began to use the strength of his elbows and knees, along with the twisting of his body, to crawl forward under the mud!

The movement was clumsy but exceptionally effective, minimizing the contact area between the body and the muddy surface, thus reducing resistance and avoiding most of the sharp objects floating on the water!

This was the method he had figured out himself, the most suitable way to move in such a harsh environment, through countless times of dodging pursuit and completing silent stealth missions!

"Hey! That little monster's got some interesting stuff!" A mercenary took a swig of his drink and grinned.

"Like an eel! Damn, I wasn't as slippery as him back in the rainforest!"

The other three children, seeing Zero's actions, were first bewildered, then filled with even deeper despair.

They tried to imitate, but failed miserably, and instead choked on more mud and water, crying even harder.

Zero's speed was not fast; the resistance of the mud was enormous, and each step forward consumed his already limited energy.

The cold sewage irritated countless wounds, and the burning sensation from Xue Yan's "special ointment" was reactivated, tormenting and tempering his body and nerves.

But his eyes were cold, fixed only on the log ahead. Hunger and the threat of the baroque were driving forces more directly than pain.

Then he saw the helpless expressions on the faces of the two other little boys and the girl's desperately thrashing arms in the mud. A flicker of emotion crossed his dark eyes, and he quickly scanned the scene.

Then, he made his choice.

He didn't go to save the children.

Taking advantage of that brief moment when everyone's attention was drawn to him, he suddenly accelerated!

With its last ounce of strength, it shot towards the rotten log that was right next to it, like an arrow released from a bow!

boom!

His body slammed against the wood, his hands gripping it tightly before he hoisted it onto his shoulders with all his might. He looked at the children and roared:

"Don't be nervous, don't struggle with each other. I'll carry the log first, you guys climb over here quickly, I'll wait for you."

These words gradually lessened the panic in the children's eyes, giving them strength like a shot of adrenaline. They slowly and laboriously crawled to Zero's side and stood behind him.

Zero then said in a childish tone, "Let's carry this together, let's walk together..."

This unexpected scene immediately excited the mercenaries at the edge of the pit, and whistles and cheers erupted.

Almost simultaneously, the silent figure appeared like a ghost in the shadows by the pit. No one noticed that his fingertips were twitching.

Finally, Zero, carrying the log with the three children, climbed back to the starting point, threw it at Baroque's feet, and then collapsed into the mud, panting heavily.

The girl beside him, still shaken and stumbling, experienced the cruelty of the ordeal but also felt the protection of Zero, who was like an older brother to her.

The other two boys, having experienced the cruelty of the food chain and the faint brotherhood they felt, silently buried it in their hearts and even in the deepest recesses of their souls...

Baroque picked up the piece of wood with satisfaction, glanced at the four mud-covered children, and finally fixed his gaze on three of them, letting out a sinister grin:

"Hmph, you're lucky, 'Little Cutie' ate her fill today!"

Zero watched all this indifferently, slowly pushing himself up from the mud.

His gaze swept over his companions, then finally fell to his own hands, which were covered in mud and blood. He didn't know why he had gone to help them in the first place!

Perhaps it was because they shared the same plight, or perhaps they regarded them as trustworthy companions...

Xue Yan walked over at some point, took out a notebook and wrote: "...In an extremely competitive environment, the probability of attacking and harming each other of the same kind is 87%."

Subject Zero, by exploiting loopholes in the rules to forcefully intervene and achieve unity, clearly prioritizes efficiency.

Survival strategy assessment and overall leadership...highly effective.

Silence has long since disappeared.

After training, the four were thrown into a corner and given a small piece of hard, almost tooth-crushing black bread, along with half a bowl of murky water with suspicious oil floating on it.

Zero ate silently, ignoring the burning pain on his body and the cold, damp clothes.

The girl and the two boys huddled together, looking around in fear.

After finishing his own portion, Zero's gaze fell on several breads covered in mud that hadn't been touched much.

He suddenly stood up like an arrow released from a bow, walked over with lightning speed, and said in a booming voice!

There are no tears, no fear, no hunger, and no escape here.

All that remains is endless acceptance and endurance.

The food in my hand was like a lifeline, put into my stomach. At least there was still a cruel tomorrow. If I didn't eat, I might not even have the next night.

The little girl was so frightened that she shrank back involuntarily and said tremblingly:

"Hey sir, when did you get in here?"

Zero didn't look at her; her youthful yet resolute face was like a mountain shrouded in mist, appearing and disappearing in a hazy, indistinct way.

He said softly, "I don't know. It's as if I was born here, yet it seems not. When I can consciously see the scenery in front of me, I am already here."

That tender face and that tender voice seemed to be the voice of the injustice of heaven and the tragedy of reality!

The little girl asked curiously, "Big brother, are your mom and dad here?"

Zero kept his head down, a cold glint in his eyes, as if talking to himself:

"Perhaps they are far away in the sky. I have never seen them, and I don't know if they have a father and mother there."

After saying that, he quickly retreated to his corner...

Confusion and helplessness surged into my heart like a tide, carrying with them the longing and intangible yearning deep within my soul.

At this moment, in a luxurious shopping mall in the capital of the Dragon Kingdom, a beautiful young woman was leading a boy of about seven years old, selecting expensive clothes.

Two young men, who looked like attendants or bodyguards, followed closely behind him.

The little boy muttered:

"Mom! It's too tiring to try on all these clothes. Why don't we take them all home and try them on slowly at home?"

"Now I'm hungry. I'm going to go to Quanjude, the best roast duck restaurant in Beijing, to eat roast duck. After I'm full, I'll go to the amusement park to ride the roller coaster."

"However, I want Grandpa to book the whole place for me, because too many people will spoil my fun."

The beautiful mother didn't know how to respond to her son's words.

At this moment, it felt as if a thousand needles were piercing her heart at the same time, causing unbearable pain and an inexplicable stinging sensation, as if her heart and internal organs were being forcibly torn away.

Two different parallel regions cannot prevent a mother from sleeping alongside her son's soul.

Yet, all of this is so hypocritical and normal, so untouchable!

Because this beautiful mother is none other than Zero's biological mother: He Jing, while the little boy beside her is Zero's replacement: Zeng Linglong.

Zeng Linglong enjoys immense wealth that doesn't belong to him.

Zeng Linglong is experiencing cruel torment that should not be his.

Everything is subject to the whims of fate, resulting in this intertwining of falsehood and reality...