On the brightly lit Jordan Road, a Riot Van converted from a long-wheelbase, five-door Land Rover Defender drove slowly along.
The vehicle carried ten officers. Other than the Riot Van's driver, everyone aboard was a PTU officer on patrol duty that night.
These officers belonged to the First Group of the Second Squad, B Company of the Mobile Unit.
The commander of this First Group was PC15827, Probationary Inspector Zhou Quan.
By now, Zhou Quan had been serving with B Company of the Mobile Unit for more than half a month.
As a Probationary Inspector with one pip on his shoulder, and with the trust of Kwan Man Chin, the squad commander, he had naturally become the Second Squad's deputy commander.
The First Group of the Second Squad reported directly to Zhou Quan.
The eight officers in his group included He Wenzhan and Shao Meiqi.
After his impressive display at the Police Station Shooting Range that day, He Wenzhan and Shao Meiqi had also come to trust their new commander deeply.
His vicious shooting method, Two to the Torso, One to the Head, had made Zhou Quan's reputation spread throughout the entire West Kowloon District.
As one of the Police Force's Six Regions, West Kowloon District was home to no shortage of expert marksmen.
But this shooting method, so well suited to real combat and combining precision with ruthlessness, had still left the officers of West Kowloon deeply shaken.
From top to bottom, almost everyone in every division and department had heard that B Company of the Mobile Unit had gained a Probationary Inspector with godlike marksmanship.
After spending more than half a month together, Zhou Quan had also gotten to know the officers under his command fairly well.
Of the eight officers in the group, Sergeant He Wenzhan had made the strongest impression on Zhou Quan.
That was because He Wenzhan often repeated a certain line in everyday conversation.
"Once you put on this uniform, you're one of us."
He didn't just say it. He had made it his guiding principle.
As a veteran PTU officer on the front line of crime, He Wenzhan wasn't rigid, and he was never one to be bound by rules and regulations.
When dealing with criminals, he never stuck to convention. He could even be said to stop at nothing.
But when it came to fellow officers wearing the same uniform, He Wenzhan was a warmhearted colleague.
He was a man steeped in the ways of the underworld, with his own sense of honor and principles.
As Zhou Quan learned more about He Wenzhan's personality and character, his memories of him grew increasingly clear.
Like Ma Jun, Chan Wing Yan, Yeung Kam Wing, and the other classmates Zhou Quan had met at the Police Academy, He Wenzhan was also someone from his memories.
Just as Zhou Quan sat with his eyes closed, quietly pondering He Wenzhan's story,
the Riot Van's radio broadcast the evening's Hong Kong Island Current Affairs News.
"This morning on King's Road in North Point, an armored car robbery took place..."
At that, Zhou Quan's eyes opened slightly, and an almost imperceptible flicker passed through them.
It's here!
Leaning back slowly in his seat, Zhou Quan felt a few ripples stir within him.
"Driver, sorry for the trouble, could you turn up the broadcast?"
At the same time, Sergeant Shao Meiqi's voice came from the rear compartment.
Although Zhou Quan was sitting in the passenger seat, Shao Meiqi obviously didn't dare trouble her superior.
The Riot Van's driver readily complied and turned the broadcast up a few notches.
"Four armed robbers stole foreign currency worth a total of eighteen million from the vehicle.
"A uniformed police officer who was shot in the head while pursuing the robbers failed to respond to treatment and died fifteen minutes ago."
The news left the entire Riot Van in silence.
A moment later, the officers in the rear compartment began voicing their different opinions.
Then one officer let something slip, drawing a loud rebuke from He Wenzhan.
"Quiet!"
Even through the partition, Zhou Quan could hear the gravity and displeasure in He Wenzhan's voice.
"One of our own is dead, and we're sitting here making snide remarks?"
"What if people outside hear us? What if his family hears?"
"Once you put on this uniform, you're one of us!"
He Wenzhan had interrupted the officers' comments not only because of the principles he stood by, but also because Zhou Quan was sitting in the passenger seat of the Riot Van.
If you mocked a colleague who had died in the line of duty in front of your superior, what did you think that would do to your future?
After more than half a month together, He Wenzhan and the others had gradually become familiar with Zhou Quan's character.
They knew their superior wasn't the sort of officer who fussed over trivialities.
But no matter what, this was still something that would deeply offend anyone.
He Wenzhan's rebuke plunged the compartment into silence once again. In the end, Sergeant Shao Meiqi was the one who tried to smooth things over.
"Whatever happens, the most important thing is getting home safe."
Zhou Quan paid little attention to the voices from the rear compartment, simply acting as if he hadn't heard them.
He wasn't going to go after his men over a minor verbal slip.
At that moment, his thoughts were mostly weighed down with concern.
In this world where Hong Kong crime dramas had all merged together, robberies like the one that had happened that morning didn't occur every few days.
But there were always one or two every month.
After all, the foreigners at the top of the Hong Kong Government did nothing, and even deliberately let law and order on Hong Kong Island descend into chaos.
Zhou Quan had little influence at his current rank. All he could do was make his utmost effort to bring criminals like these to justice whenever he encountered them.
Closing his eyes again, Zhou Quan waited quietly for the Riot Van to reach its destination.
Amid this silence, the Riot Van slowly came to a stop at the intersection of Jordan Road and Canton Road.
"Check your gear. Get out!"
The moment the vehicle stopped, Zhou Quan abruptly opened his eyes and gave the order in a low voice.
He straightened the Blue Beret on his head, then pushed open the door and jumped down.
"Yes, sir!"
At the same time, all the officers in the rear compartment hurried to follow their commander.
"Attention!"
At Zhou Quan's command, the eight officers stood in neat formation before him.
"7366, take two officers and patrol east."
"26316, take two officers and head west."
"The last two rookies, come with me!"
His gaze swept over He Wenzhan and Shao Meiqi, and Zhou Quan assigned patrol duties as usual.
"Yes, sir!"
The two saluted and answered in unison, then called over the officers who usually patrolled with them and set off as Zhou Quan had instructed.
In the end, only two rookies who had just joined the Mobile Unit, and had served in the force for less than two years, remained behind to follow Zhou Quan.
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