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

The upscale apartment buildings on the Upper West Side appear tranquil and expensive in the night.

Following the address provided by Lin Que, Ling Ye easily avoided the lobby manager's sight and arrived at the target floor through the fire escape.

The corridor was covered with a thick carpet, which absorbed all footsteps.

He stood in front of the target apartment, without making an immediate move.

The senses extend in like invisible tentacles, capturing the movements within.

A dead silence.

There was no breathing, no heartbeat, and no sign of any life activity.

There was only a cold, ominous silence.

Ling Ye's eyes sharpened.

Without further hesitation, he took a small tool from his pocket and gently fiddled with the door lock a few times—

It was not a violent act of destruction, but rather a highly sophisticated simulation of the electronic signals of a legitimate key.

The door lock made a soft "click" sound, and the green light came on.

He slowly pushed open the door, and a very faint, almost imperceptible scent of bitter almonds wafted out into the air.

Cyanide!

Ling Ye held his breath, his muscles tensed instantly, and his sharp eyes quickly scanned the living room.

An elderly woman in an elegant nightgown lay quietly beside the piano in the living room, her face serene and even eerily calm.

However, the lips and the edges of the nails show a faint cherry red color—a typical characteristic of cyanide poisoning.

She has been dead for a long time.

Beside her lay a shattered small glass bottle, the remaining liquid being the source of the bitter almond scent.

Suicide? To silence him?

Ling Ye quickly inspected the entire apartment.

There were no signs of a struggle or forced entry. Everything was neatly arranged, befitting the identity of a retired piano teacher living alone.

On the desk, an old-fashioned laptop screen was still lit, displayed on the login page of an encrypted email account. Next to it sat a half-finished cup of black tea.

Lin Que's voice came through the earpiece, tinged with nervousness:

"Boss, what's the situation inside? I detected the door lock has been opened..."

"The target is dead. Cyanide poisoning; the scene was staged to look like a suicide."

Ling Ye said in a low voice, while putting on gloves and carefully examining the laptop.

"Suicide? How could that be?! That signal source was clearly..." Lin Que exclaimed.

"It's to silence them," Ling Ye said coldly.

"They acted very quickly, before we could locate the area. And their methods were professional; they cleaned it up very thoroughly."

He tried to use the computer, but found that a password was required.

"Xiao Que, remotely access this computer, crack the password, and check all records, especially that encrypted email address."

"Trying... The other party is using very strong commercial encryption software... It will take some time to brute-force crack it..."

Lin Que responded, the sound of her keyboard clattering loudly.

Lingye continued the search.

He found some medication for mild anxiety and a photo album in the old woman's bedside table.

The album is mostly filled with landscape photos and her solo portraits, which look like the life of an ordinary old woman.

However, when Ling Ye flipped through the last few pages of the photo album, his fingers touched an extremely thin, hard object.

He carefully opened the interlayer, and inside was not a photo, but a tiny SD memory card!

"Found it." Ling Ye inserted the memory card into his custom-made card reader.

Almost simultaneously, Lin Que also made progress: Boss! The computer password has been cracked!

The login history was cleared, but I found some residual information in the hard drive cache...

She's been frequently visiting a classical music forum lately, but in one particular sub-forum, all the posts and replies look like gibberish... they're encrypted!

It uses a very old Cold War-era book code! The decoding book... the decoding book is very likely the open copy of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier on her piano!

Ling Ye immediately walked to the piano, where the thick sheet music was open on a certain page.

He quickly converted the garbled information that Lin Que had discovered into corresponding notes and measure numbers on the musical score.

Soon, a brief message was deciphered:

[“Pluto” command: Confirm “Carrier Pigeon” is silent. Initiate “Night Wolf” hibernation protocol. The next command will be transmitted via the “Moonlight” channel. Eradicate all traces.]

"Night Wolf" hibernation protocol? Erasing all traces?

Ling Ye instantly understood! This deceased piano teacher was not "Night Wolf" at all!

She is just another intermediary for passing on information, codenamed "Moonlight" or something else!

But the real "Night Wolf" remains hidden in the shadows!

Upon learning of the exposure of the "Carrier Pigeon" and the failure of Marcus, "Pluto" immediately activated its emergency plan, eliminating the offline delivery point that could be traced back to its source, and ordered "Night Wolf" to go into deep infiltration!

What a decisive move to cut off the tail and survive!

Just then, Lin Que remotely decrypted the micro SD card in Ling Ye's hand.

"Boss! The contents of the SD card have been decrypted! It's...it's a list! And...and some transaction records!"

Lin Que's voice was filled with shock:

"The people on the list... are many prominent figures in New York—politicians, businessmen, judges... and next to them are notes detailing their weaknesses, vulnerabilities, and even... their prices!"

"This looks like a... secret list used by 'Pluto' for manipulation and trading! There are also transaction records, using a different cryptocurrency, but the flow of funds is extremely complex!"

Ling Ye stared at the list with icy eyes.

This "Pluto" is not just about the Luo family!

He is more like a dark manipulator hiding behind the scenes, weaving a vast network by mastering secrets and manipulating others!

Ronnie Coleman is likely just a stumbling block in his plan, or one of the targets he needs to eliminate!

"Back up the list and transaction records, and encrypt and hide the originals," Ling Ye ordered immediately. "This discovery is too important, and too dangerous."

"Understood!" Lin Que's voice also became serious.

Ling Ye took one last look at the cold, lifeless scene of death.

The clues seemed to have run dry again, but unexpectedly, they caught a big fish that could stir up a storm—the secret list.

Pluto could never have imagined that the "clean" scene he left behind to silence witnesses and cut off clues would instead expose his deeper secrets.

Just as Ling Ye was about to leave quietly, his phone vibrated; it was a message from Anna.

[Anna]: Lingye, where are you? Grandpa's finger just twitched again, and Dr. Blake said it's a very good sign! He might wake up soon! I'm so happy! When are you coming back?

Grandpa is waking up!

This was undoubtedly fantastic news! But Ling Ye's heart sank suddenly!

Ronnie's awakening means he may identify the mastermind, but it also means that "Pluto" may be desperate and launch a final, and most insane, attack!

We must find the "Night Wolf" hiding deep within before the old man wakes up, and make thorough preparations!

"Little Sparrow," Ling Ye's voice was more solemn than ever before: the old man might wake up soon.

Inform Mr. Robert: High alert level! Everyone inside and outside the hospital, including even a fly, must be thoroughly investigated!

The key point is still that "Night Wolf," she might make her move at the last minute!

"Understood! I'll immediately prioritize surveillance and personnel screening to the highest level!" Lin Que replied.

Ling Ye took one last look at the cold corpse, then left the apartment like a ghost, leaving no trace.

On the way back to the hospital, the New York night view flowed past the car window. Ling Ye gripped the steering wheel, his eyes sharp as knives.

The secret list... Pluto... Night Wolf... Ronnie, about to awaken...

All the clues and crises are about to converge.

The final storm is coming. And he must be prepared for this decisive battle.

It wasn't just to repay a debt of gratitude, or for Anna, but also to thwart the massive conspiracy lurking in the shadows of the city.