Time passed like a breeze through the fingers, unseen and impossible to grasp, yet leaving unmistakable traces of its existence.
Spring went and autumn came. Another year passed in the blink of an eye, and Sir Kwan, the youngest member of the Police Force's core management, had reached thirty.
As the saying went, a man stood established at thirty, but Zhou Quan had done far more than merely establish himself.
His achievements had already reached heights that many police officers could never attain in their lifetimes.
Yet this was still not Sir Kwan's limit.
As Sir Kwan entered his thirties, the world likewise entered a new century.
In the millennium year, the Police Force's first full Management Meeting of the year convened as scheduled.
The centerpiece of this meeting was naturally the finalization of the National Security Department's establishment.
On August 1, 1998, in accordance with the legislative foundations of the National Security Law, the Police Force's Security Department had been upgraded to the National Security Department.
Zhou Quan had accordingly entered Police Force core management, becoming one of its youngest leading figures and serving as the National Security Department's first director with the rank of Assistant Commissioner.
For the vast majority of police officers, Assistant Commissioner was a position they could hardly hope to attain in their lifetimes.
For Zhou Quan, too, this appointment had been an exceptional promotion.
But for the Police Force as a whole, the National Security Department undoubtedly had a lower-ranking officer in a higher-level post.
Across all the Police Force's departments, which commander did not hold the rank of Senior Assistant Commissioner?
Matching positions to ranks had always been the Police Force's system.
However, when Zhou Quan took office as commander of the Security Department, he had, after all, worn only two stars and