First Blood

The suspected robbers of this morning's armored car heist had appeared, and Zhou Quan no longer hesitated.

Although he was somewhat surprised that, even now, the leaders of the two small gangs had yet to show up and fight.

But after a moment's thought, Zhou Quan immediately understood what had happened.

The leaders of those two small gangs had both been lured here because of Fat Sha.

But to claim all the credit for himself, he had already taken Fat Sha out of the picture.

They were just a couple of gangsters, after all. Zhou Quan wouldn't think too much of them.

The credit Zhou Quan truly cared about had always been for the four robbers who had held up the armored car.

"You two, go arrest that car thief."

Stepping out from behind the car, Zhou Quan immediately issued a series of orders.

"The rest of you, come with me to check the IDs of those four people at the T-junction."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Quan had already strode more than two meters away.

At the same time, his right hand went straight to the Quick-Draw Holster at his waist.

Facing four robbers who were certain to be armed, Zhou Quan naturally had to stay fully alert and on guard.

The T-junction was about fifty meters from where he stood.

If he walked just a few meters closer, all four robbers would be within his shooting range.

The Point Three-Eight might have an effective range of only thirty meters, but Zhou Quan's near-supernatural marksmanship was enough to let him hit whatever he aimed at from within forty-five meters.

Zhou Quan's orders took the officers behind him somewhat by surprise.

Their shift was about to end, so why were they still checking citizens' IDs?

But their Assistant Superintendent had already given his orders, so all they had to do was follow them.

The eight PTU officers immediately split into two groups.

The two rookie plainclothes officers went to catch the car thief, while He Wenzhan, Shao Meiqi, and the others followed Zhou Quan.

"West Kowloon PTU! Citizens ahead, stay where you are and wait quietly for an ID check!"

Once he had quickly entered the range that he could sense almost instinctively, Zhou Quan no longer concealed his intentions and shouted a warning.

By convention, police officers at the time should have identified themselves as the Royal Police when giving a warning.

However, Zhou Quan's heart was firmly with the mainland. Unless absolutely necessary, he was unwilling to label himself a Foreigners' man.

Zhou Quan's booming voice clearly caught the four robbers at the T-junction off guard.

However, anyone bold enough to rob an armored car undoubtedly had nerves of steel.

Without a moment's hesitation, the four robbers immediately prepared to fight back, reaching for their duffel bags and their waists.

Of course, to He Wenzhan, Shao Meiqi, and the other officers, they looked as though they were searching for their ID cards.

But in reality, only Zhou Quan knew that the four robbers were about to draw their guns and fight back.

His sharp eyes could already see the grip of a pistol partly exposed at the back of the leading middle-aged man's waist.

Already on high alert, Zhou Quan naturally wasn't going to let the four robbers get their way.

His right hand, resting on the Quick-Draw Holster, shot up. Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled the trigger.

"Bang... bang... bang... bang..."

Four Point Three-Eight bullets tore through the night sky. In the blink of an eye, they punched bloody holes into the foreheads of the four robbers.

The four robbers' bodies slumped to the ground. The long guns and handguns they had half-drawn fell from their hands and clattered to the ground.

The sudden turn of events made the eyes of several PTU officers contract sharply.

Why had their Assistant Superintendent suddenly drawn his gun? And why had he shot the four men across from them dead?

They were shocked, but the officers under Zhou Quan were undeniably the elite of the Police Force.

They drew their service pistols at once and took up a firing position in a combat formation.

Even the two plainclothes officers moved with crisp efficiency.

He Wenzhan, always fiercely protective of his own people, even stepped directly in front of Zhou Quan.

Zhou Quan was certain that the four robbers were well and truly dead, but He Wenzhan's instinctive move still touched him.

"Don't worry, Ah Zhan!"

Holstering his pistol, Zhou Quan patted He Wenzhan on the shoulder and said with an easy smile, "I have complete confidence in my marksmanship!"

Because he felt close to He Wenzhan, Zhou Quan had changed the way he addressed him from "Sergeant He" to "Ah Zhan."

He Wenzhan's nervousness eased a little. He turned to look at Zhou Quan and said in disbelief, "Assistant Superintendent, you..."

He didn't finish speaking, but Zhou Quan clearly understood what he meant.

"Take some people over and look at the bodies. You'll understand."

Zhou Quan didn't explain anything. Instead, he simply told He Wenzhan to go forward and check the situation for himself.

"Two of you, come with me."

He Wenzhan nodded firmly, waved over two officers, and headed toward the four robbers' bodies with his gun raised and at the ready.

Before they had even reached the bodies, the pistols scattered beside them, along with the long guns partly pulled out of the duffel bags, made the three men break out in a cold sweat.

Two pistols were already dangerous enough, not to mention the two long guns in the duffel bags.

Having served in the Mobile Unit for many years, He Wenzhan recognized the famous AK-47 Assault Rifles at a glance.

In Hong Kong Island today, the Foreigners' inaction had allowed criminals to run rampant.

Ordinary firearms weren't particularly rare, but that only applied to handguns.

Rifles like the AK-47 might be classified as light weapons.

But within Hong Kong Island, they absolutely counted as heavy firepower-the standard arms of robbers.

Fortunately, their Assistant Superintendent had reacted quickly. If those two long guns had been drawn, some of their squadmates might have had to be covered with the Union Jack today.

He Wenzhan gave the four robbers' bodies a cold glance, then carefully began checking the duffel bags and backpacks.

Once he had fully opened the zippers, rows of Queen Elizabeth's portraits came into view.

"Assistant Superintendent, we've found something!"

He sprang to his feet and reported in shock, "Their bags are full of long guns and Pound Sterling."

Zhou Quan's expression was perfectly calm. After all, he had already known the truth about the four robbers.

At that moment, his thoughts weren't even on the four robbers anymore.

The pleasant notification ringing in his mind was what he cared about most right now.

[System notification: The player has achieved the First Blood achievement and received the reward: Tactical Proficiency.]

When his four bullets had just struck their targets with pinpoint accuracy, Earth Online had promptly delivered the good news.

Now, as he led his men toward the four robbers' bodies, he carefully savored the new achievement reward he had received.