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

Inside Kenneth Boyle's luxury apartment on the Upper East Side, the financial district.

Despite its luxurious decor, the place was permeated with an atmosphere of anxiety and corruption.

Boyle, dressed in an expensive silk nightgown, was unable to sleep peacefully.

The whiskey glass in his hand swayed incessantly, and the threat from "The Hound"—"If he comes back to life..."—repeatedly echoed in his mind.

Suddenly, the screen of the advanced smart home system in the study flickered without warning, instantly turning into a static screen, followed by a hideous skull icon, before returning to normal a second later.

Boyle was startled, thinking it was a system malfunction, and muttered a curse under his breath: "Damn technology!"

However, a cold voice, tinged with a sinister laugh, rang out behind him without warning:

"Technology can be damning sometimes, especially when it fails to protect you, Mr. Boyle."

Boyle froze, his blood seemingly freezing instantly.

He turned around abruptly.

There was a tall and slender Asian youth wearing a black tactical uniform.

He had silently appeared in the shadows of the room without anyone noticing, as if he had always belonged there.

The young man wore a half-smile on his face, but his eyes were like two icy daggers, piercing straight into his soul.

"Who...who are you?! How did you get in?!"

Boyle stepped back in alarm, reaching for the alarm button under the desk.

"Hush—" The young man—Ling Ye—raised a finger, the movement casual yet carrying a deadly sense of oppression:

"Don't do anything stupid. Your security system, which costs a fortune every year, is probably giving me a live stream of sparrows fighting outside my window right now."

"As for how I got in?"

He smiled:

"There's a very interesting little loophole in your door lock's fingerprint and password verification logic. My people spent... well, about two seconds on it."

Boyle's face drained of all color.

He realized that the person in front of him was the "accident" that the "hound" had mentioned!

"What do you want? Money? I have it! As much as you want!" Boyle said, trembling, trying to buy his life with money.

Ling Ye slowly walked to his desk, picked up an exquisite paperweight, and began to play with it.

"Money? It's a good thing. For example, Monero to pay 'Scorpion' for custom-made neurotoxin, or a deposit to a third-rate sniper like 'Hound'."

Boyle was struck dumb; the other party knew everything!

"I...I don't understand what you're talking about..."

"No, you understand."

Ling Ye's voice suddenly turned cold, and his previous wicked smile vanished without a trace—

All that remained was a pure, suffocating chill:

"The poisoning of Ronnie Roth and the attack on the ambulance were all paid for by you."

I'm giving you two choices:

"First, tell me everything you know: who supplied the poison, who contacted 'Hound,' and who else is behind you."

"two!"

Ling Ye gently squeezed the hard jade paperweight, and it cracked with a "crack" sound, revealing several fine lines.

"I can help you remember in some less civilized ways."

Boyle was so terrified that he collapsed into his chair.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! It was... a middleman who contacted me!"

"I don't know his name; we only communicate via encrypted channel!"

"He provided the poison, claiming it was foolproof..."

"He also arranged for the sniper 'Hound'!"

"I...I'm just paying!"

"Because I was about to go bankrupt, and that old bastard Ronnie was pressuring me to pay off my debts and snatched my last project... I made a foolish mistake!"

"How do you contact the middleman? Where is the encrypted channel information?" Ling Ye pressed.

"In...in a hidden compartment in my study, in a tablet computer that's not connected to the internet!"

Boyle completely broke down, pointing behind the bookshelf.

Ling Ye whispered into the miniature microphone under his collar, "Little Sparrow."

"Roger that, boss! Signal captured, physical location confirmed, cracking encryption in progress—all done! Channel and history data obtained!"

The sound of the sparrow came clearly.

Ling Ye looked at Boyle, whose face was ashen:

"Very good. Now, one last question: how do we contact 'The Hound'? Where is his next stop?"

"I...I don't know exactly where he is...He only ever contacts me through a one-way channel...but..."

Boyle tried to recall:

"The last time we met, he casually mentioned that 'the abandoned factories by the river are always so quiet, perfect for enjoying the scenery'... I don't know which factory he was referring to..."

"That's enough."

Ling Ye said coldly. He delivered a precise chop to Boyle's neck, and the latter immediately fainted.

"Little Sparrow, call the police. Anonymously report Kenneth Boyle for financial fraud and suspected murder. Send the police some evidence of the financial fraud and this recording. Let the law play with him first."

"Understood! The police officer will be here in ten minutes."

Ling Ye's figure vanished from the study like a ghost, as if he had never been there.

Based on the clue of "abandoned factory by the river", Lin Que quickly identified several targets that met the criteria.

Consider the locations that the "hounds" might choose, which offer a wide field of vision and facilitate evacuation.

They eventually set their sights on an abandoned machine shop located by the river in Brooklyn.

As night deepened, the abandoned factory resembled a lurking steel behemoth.

In a top-floor room with an excellent view overlooking the river and most of the factory area.

"hound"--

A middle-aged man with a sinister expression, disguised in a ghillie suit—

He was observing his surroundings through a high-powered sniper scope.

After meeting Boyle, he instinctively felt uneasy and immediately moved to this backup location.

He was very cautious and installed simple warning devices at the entrance and on the stairs.

But he didn't know that his opponent never followed the usual path.

Like a gecko, Ling Ye climbed up the factory's outer wall with his bare hands, his movements light and agile, avoiding any angles that might be observed.

He sensed the subtle fluctuations in the air, like the most perceptive predator.

Arriving at the window of the floor where "The Hound" was located, he hung in the shadows and observed quietly.

Inside the room, "Hound" seemed a little anxious and tried to contact the middleman again, but there was only static on the channel.

"Damn it..." he cursed under his breath, put away the communicator, and prepared to move again.

Just as he turned around to pack his equipment—

"Snap!"

A soft cracking sound rang out! It wasn't a bullet, but a tiny steel ball that shattered the window latch!

Almost simultaneously, the window was flung open! Ling Ye's figure darted in like lightning in the darkness!

The "hound" reacted extremely quickly, instantly grabbing the sniper rifle leaning against the wall!

But Ling Ye was faster! While he was still in the air, he had already unleashed a fierce whip kick, accurately striking "Hound's" wrist!

"Crack!" A clear sound of bone breaking! The hunting dog yelped in pain as the rifle flew from its hand!

The hound was a ruthless character; it immediately drew its pistol with its left hand! But before it could raise it, Ling Ye had already closed in on it!

With a nimble grappling move, he instantly disarmed the man's pistol magazine, while simultaneously pressing his thumb into the pressure point on the web of the man's left hand!

The intense pain and numbness instantly rendered the hunting dog's left hand powerless! The pistol fell to the ground!

The hound barked angrily and used its still-functioning right hand to draw a dagger and stab Ling Ye in the abdomen!

Ling Ye neither dodged nor evaded, but merely turned slightly to the side, the dagger grazing his tactical uniform and sending sparks flying.

His left hand gripped the hunting dog's wrist, which was holding the knife, like an iron clamp, and twisted it forcefully!

Another sickening crack of bone breaking! The dagger clattered to the ground!

In just two or three seconds, the hunting dog's hands were completely useless! It was utterly incapable of resisting!

Ling Ye slammed him against the wall, his cold gaze fixed on the man's face contorted in pain.

"Who provided the poison?" Ling Ye's voice was devoid of any warmth.

"Pah!" The hunting dog spat out a mouthful of blood, its eyes fierce.

Without saying a word, Ling Ye punched him directly in the abdominal nerve plexus.

The force was controlled so well that it did not cause permanent damage, but it brought extreme pain and a feeling of suffocation!

The hound curled up like a shrimp, its eyes bulging, barely able to breathe.

"Who provided the toxin?" Ling Ye asked again, his tone as calm as if he were asking about the weather.

"Scorpion... scorpion... it's 'scorpion'..." the hound squeezed out the words through clenched teeth, the immense pain shattering his will.

How do I contact him?

"I only contacted someone through a middleman... I don't know how to contact them directly..."

Who is the middleman?

"No... I don't know... his code name is 'Carrier Pigeon'... it's always him contacting us one-way..."

Ling Ye knew that this was probably all the information he could get from an assassin of this caliber.

He took out a miniature syringe and injected a clear liquid into the hound's neck.

"What...what did you hit me with?" the hound asked in terror.

"Something that lets you get a good night's sleep and temporarily forget how to speak."

Ling Ye said coldly, "You'll be keeping Boyle company in prison."

The hound's eyes quickly glazed over, and it fell into a coma.

Ling Ye took out a communicator:

"Little Sparrow, send the location information. Notify Interpol and give them a 'Hound's' package—the charges are enough to put him in jail for life. Anonymously send them the leads on 'Scorpion' and 'Carrier Pigeon' as well."

"All done! Boss, you're awesome!" Lin Que's cheerful voice rang out. "But... 'Scorpion' and that mysterious 'carrier pigeon'..."

Ling Ye gazed at the dark river outside the window, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

"The 'Scorpion' and the 'Carrier Pigeon' are the key. Boyle and the 'Hound' are just pawns. Once the pawns are moved, the player behind the scenes... will soon be exposed."

He erased all traces of his presence, disappearing silently into the New York night, just as he had come.

What remains are two criminals about to be punished by law, and a mystery pointing to a deeper darkness.

The hunt has come to a temporary end, but the real contest has just begun.

Ling Ye knew he had to find "Scorpion" and the real culprit as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, the next attack might not produce another miracle.

The Rothschild family and Anna remain in danger.