After the family dinner over the weekend, early the next morning.
Zhou Quan returned to his bachelor quarters at West Kowloon General Headquarters with some of the intelligence files his uncle had prepared for him.
The intelligence came from Headquarters O Division and contained information about the Triads operating within West Kowloon District.
Although Zhou Quan had not yet been transferred to the Anti-Triad Unit, it would still be beneficial to read through the files in advance and familiarize himself with the situation he would soon face.
After all, only by knowing yourself and your enemy could you win every battle.
With the support of his elders at home, a clear goal for the future, and a bright career ahead of him,
Zhou Quan felt a heavy pressure, but he was also genuinely excited deep down.
Humming a cheerful little tune, Zhou Quan headed toward the Mobile Unit building at headquarters.
Today was Monday, and the first day of Zhou Quan's return from leave.
Since he was determined to make Superintendent before the handover, he naturally had to show up for duty on time.
To Zhou Quan's surprise, however, trouble came one thing after another as soon as he entered the building.
"Chun, come with me to Big Sir's office."
Zhou Quan arrived at the Second Squad's office, and before he could even sit down, he heard a weary voice.
Looking up, Zhou Quan saw Kwan Man Chin's gloomy face.
"What happened, Man Chin?"
Frowning slightly, Zhou Quan walked over and asked in surprise.
"Ah, don't ask! Maybe it's because the higher-ups won't let us worship Lord Guan."
Kwan Man Chin put an arm around Zhou Quan's shoulders and said wearily, "The moment Second Lord Guan's statue was removed from the Police Station, all this trouble started.
The First Group under your command is being questioned as a unit right now."
As he spoke, Kwan Man Chin explained everything to Zhou Quan.
It turned out that yesterday, the PTU squad directly under Zhou Quan's command had been involved in a traffic accident while patrolling near Beford Road.
Just as the officers were about to get out and check on the situation, a group of armed robbers suddenly charged out of warehouse number three on Beford Road.
Since they were armed robbers, they were sure to have firepower heavier than .38 Revolvers.
Several Assault Rifles opened fire on the Riot Van, pinning down Zhou Quan's squad so completely that they could not even raise their heads.
Faced with such a sudden situation, even Zhou Quan, with his impressive combat abilities, would have had to focus first on protecting himself and then look for a chance to counterattack.
The PTU officers under his command had even less ability to fight back.
And so, the PTU squad was pinned down inside the Riot Van, while the robbers swaggered away.
This morning, someone with an agenda leaked the news to the media.
As a result, the PTU squad, which had received an honor just a week earlier, was branded "PTU Cowards."
The incident had a very negative impact. Kwan Man Chin had just been holding a regular briefing for the officers under Zhou Quan's command.
But that was not the end of it. After Kwan Man Chin had warned the First Group's officers and was about to assign them patrol duties,
another incident was reported to him.
The robbers who had swaggered away from warehouse number three on Beford Road the day before had left some of the stolen money behind in the warehouse.
Since the crime scene was in Yau Tsim Mong District, the stolen money had been seized by the Major Crimes Unit at Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station.
But this morning, when the Forensic Science Division went to gather the evidence, they discovered that some of the money had vanished.
The Major Crimes Unit at Tsim Sha Tsui was now assisting Regional Major Crimes with the Internal Investigations Branch's officers.
Every officer who had been at the scene yesterday would be investigated and questioned by the Internal Investigations Branch.
After listening quietly to Kwan Man Chin's account, Zhou Quan could not help rubbing his forehead.
He had only been on leave for a week. How had the men under his command gotten mixed up in such a mess?
He had not been on duty at the Police Station last week, so the incident did not affect him much. It was his squad's officers who had to suffer.
Procedurally speaking, the firefight at warehouse number three had been a sudden incident caused by several unexpected circumstances converging, and the senior officers of the Police Force could understand that.
After all, under the suppressive fire of Assault Rifles, the PTU squad had been caught completely off guard and could not mount an effective counterattack with the .38 Revolvers in their hands.
Therefore, the incident was not serious enough for the senior officers of the Police Force to punish them.
However, with people pushing the story, it had ultimately damaged the public's perception of the Police Force.
The men had earned honors for their role in the armored-car robbery a week earlier, but their promotion process would probably be put on hold.
By comparison, the missing money from the Major Crimes Unit at Tsim Sha Tsui was the more serious issue.
As for whether this would affect Zhou Quan himself or the members of his squad,
Zhou Quan was not particularly worried about that.
Human nature was complicated, and Zhou Quan could not guarantee that every officer in his squad would resist the temptation of the stolen money.
But he could be certain of one thing: his men had no chance to steal it.
The money had been seized at Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station, while their Mobile Unit B Company was stationed at West Kowloon Headquarters.
The investigation of every officer who had come into contact with the money was just routine procedure.
Zhou Quan believed that his men would be back at their posts safe and sound before long.
Big Sir's summons was probably more about the impact of the news.
"Man Chin, take it easy!"
Zhou Quan shrugged and discreetly slipped out from under Kwan Man Chin's arm. Calmly, he reassured him, "It was an unforeseen situation. No one could have predicted it."
Kwan Man Chin smacked his lips and nodded in agreement.
"That's true. We'd better go see Big Sir first."
The weary look on his face was mainly because all these troubles had piled up one after another.
As for anxiety and worry, he did not feel much of either.
By now, what had happened had happened, and everything that needed to be dealt with had been dealt with.
The public-relations crisis over confidence in the Police Force was something for the higher-ups and the Public Relations Department to consider.
It had little to do with front-line commanders like them.
Otherwise, why would the Police Force have set up a Public Relations Department?
After Zhou Quan's reassurance, Kwan Man Chin's furrowed brow finally relaxed.
The two exchanged a glance, then headed together toward the PTU's top-floor offices.
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