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

Back to the temporary safe house near Harvard.

Ling Ye had already habitually prepared multiple places to stay.

The fatigue on Ling Ye's face had not completely disappeared, but his eyes had regained their hawk-like sharpness.

He rejected Lin Que's suggestion that he rest and asked directly:

"Little Sparrow, what do you find by comparing the banquet guest list and the dark web bounty?"

Lin Que sat cross-legged on the carpet.

Three high-performance laptops were placed side by side in front of me.

The data stream on the screen refreshes like a waterfall.

With a lollipop dangling from her mouth, she mumbled:

"We've got the guest list for the Calvert family dinner. It's 87 people in total, all of whom are prominent figures in New York and the East Coast."

"Initial screening revealed that 19 people had either spoken directly with or had close contact with the old man."

"We are thoroughly investigating the backgrounds, financial situations, and any recent conflicts of interest between these 19 individuals and the Luo family."

She switched to a screen that displayed a complex dark web interface, with various encrypted messages and codes scrolling by.

"There are currently no bounties on the dark web directly targeting the Luo clan chief."

"But... she tapped a few keys and brought up several pieces of information that had been marked with a special algorithm."

"I caught a few vague discussions about 'custom-made neurodepressants' and 'clearing out old targets'."

"The post was published about a week before the old man's accident, and the poster's IP address went through multiple layers of intermediaries."

"It ultimately pointed to several servers commonly used by hackers in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, but they were all botnets, so we couldn't follow up."

Ling Ye stood behind her, his gaze sweeping over the cold code and information:

"What are the publisher's language habits? Word preferences? Payment method requirements? Don't overlook any features that can narrow down the scope."

"We are currently conducting natural language analysis and behavioral pattern modeling."

Lin Que nodded:

"The other party was very cautious, using only jargon and code words."

"However, payment must be made in Monero."

"This coin offers extremely high privacy."

"They are almost always the first choice for professional killers and illicit transactions."

"Moreover, the other party emphasized that 'full payment will be made immediately upon acceptance of the results,' which is very consistent with the characteristics of hiring a murderer."

"Monero..." Ling Ye murmured.

"Trace the flow of this potential transaction, even if it only goes back to the first mixer."

"It's extremely difficult, but you can give it a try."

Lin Que frowned:

"It takes time to brute-force and credential stuffing."

"Another direction," Ling Ye continued:

"The sniper who attacked the ambulance."

"That level of precision and timing is beyond what ordinary mercenaries possess."

"Check the list of active assassins who have recently entered the United States and are skilled in long-range shooting."

"Especially for those accustomed to using 7.62x51mm NATO —"

"Or .308 Winchester caliber—"

"Commonly found in long-range precision shooting equipment."

"It's already being compared," Lin Que said, pulling up another database containing profiles of various figures from the underworld.

"There are more than a dozen people who fit the 'elite sniper' label, but only three have recent entry records."

"'Magic Spirit' is a beautiful person, but she spends most of her time in the Middle East."

"The 'Eagle Falcon' is a former special forces unit of a major northern power, specializing in urban sniping."

"Furthermore, the identity of 'Hound' is shrouded in mystery, and he is said to be involved in multiple transnational conspiracies."

"But there is currently no direct evidence that they took on this job."

Ling Ye walked to the window and looked at the sky gradually darkening outside. The city's neon lights were just coming on, but they couldn't illuminate the coldness in his eyes.

"Three goals... that's too broad a scope. We need a breakthrough."

He turned around abruptly:

"Little Sparrow, give up some of the online tracking."

"Activate the 'Hummingbird' drone."

"Regarding the 19 people on the list who had close contact with the old man—"

"Conduct the first round of physical surveillance and itinerary comparison, especially the movements within 24 hours after the dinner."

"The key focus is on investigating any unusual meetings, communications, or trips to unconventional locations."

"Understood!" Lin Que immediately became excited.

She prefers this kind of "hands-on" operation to dry data analysis.

She quickly opened a specially made metal box.

Inside were several tiny drones, each the size of a bee, yet equipped with high-definition cameras and signal acquisition capabilities.

"Release them tonight!"

"Be careful not to get detected by counter-surveillance equipment," Ling Ye warned.

"Relax~ My 'hummingbird' is specially made."

"Extremely small radar cross-section, silent motor, and simulates insect flight trajectory."

"Unless the other side has a military-grade anti-drone system, it simply won't be detected!"

Lin Que was full of confidence.

For the next 48 hours, Ling Ye and Lin Que barely slept.

Lin Que piloted a miniature drone, traversing the skyscrapers of New York City, collecting massive amounts of information.

Lingye is like a highly sophisticated processor.

They were analyzing all the videos and audios that had been sent back, as well as the fragmented data that Lin Que had mined from the depths of the internet.

The intense work made Ling Ye's face even paler, but the light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Finally, in the early hours of the third day, a crucial clue surfaced.

"Boss! We've found something!" Lin Que shouted excitedly, his eyes bulging with dark circles.

"One of the guys on the list, Kenneth Boyle."

"A partner at a hedge fund is competing with the Luo family for an energy project in Southeast Asia!"

"His financial situation has been terrible for the past six months; he's on the verge of bankruptcy!"

She pulled up a blurry but recognizable video:

"Look! This was photographed by a hummingbird last night!"

"He went to a private club on the Upper East Side late at night, but the person he met wasn't a regular at the club!"

"I captured the face from the security camera at the entrance. Although the person was wearing a hat, the match was successful!"

Another screen pops up with a sharpened photo of a face, along with a brief file.

"The 'Hound'!" Ling Ye's eyes sharpened. "That mysterious sniper! They've met!"

"And this too!"

Lin Que then played another audio clip.

It was a drone using a laser eavesdropping device—

The sound, reconstructed from vibration signals collected from the club's glass windows, is somewhat distorted, but the content is enough to send chills down your spine:

[Boyle (voice tense)]:

"...I've prepared the Monero coins as requested...but I need to make sure this is completely over! Ronnie must die!"

[Hound (deep, hoarse voice)]:

"The target was originally doomed. But... an accident happened. Someone who shouldn't have been there interfered."

[Boyle]: "What do you mean?! He's not dead?! He took my money..."

【hound】:

"Shut up! Our agreement is to take care of the target, and I'll do it. But the person who interfered... he's dangerous and messed everything up. I need an additional 50% reward to handle this unexpected situation."

[Boyle]: "What?! You…"

【hound】:

"Either you get more money, or I disappear and you deal with that 'accident' that might pull you back from hell. Think about it, Mr. Boyle, if Ronnie comes back to life and finds out what you've done..."

The audio abruptly ends here, as if the other party has discovered something or moved to a different location.

The safe house was completely silent.

Ling Ye's lips slowly curled into an extremely cold and sinister smile, but his eyes were devoid of any warmth, only filled with bloodthirsty killing intent.

"I've found you," he said softly, his voice sounding as if it came from the deepest hell.

"Boss, what do we do now? Notify the Luo family to arrest them?" Lin Que asked.

"No," Ling Ye shook his head:

"Boyle is just the one who paid for the hit; there might be someone else behind him. Moreover, that 'hound,' and the 'scorpion' he mentioned providing the venom, are the more dangerous targets. If we alert them, they'll hide even deeper."

He picked up his coat: "Sparrow, pinpoint Boyle and 'The Hound's' real-time locations. We're going to... have a 'talk' with Mr. Boyle. As for 'The Hound'..."

Ling Ye's eyes turned incredibly dangerous: "He wants to offer more money to deal with this 'accident'? Very well, I'll personally deliver the 'surprise' to him."

As night deepens, beneath the dazzling lights of America's financial center, a city that never sleeps, a hunt orchestrated by an evil god officially begins.

Ling Ye is no longer the classmate who is sometimes wicked and sometimes gentle; he has completely transformed back into the fearsome battlefield freak—Zero. And his prey has entered its countdown.