Recaps

Zhou Quan exposed Fake Ruan Wen's false identity and had her arrested after she challenged the Police Force. The Security Department took over the case, while Zhou Quan left open whether she was Painter and ordered Lee Man transferred.

• Zhou Quan issued an arrest warrant for Ms. Yuen Man, prompting her to accuse the Police Force of framing her friend and abusing its authority.
• Zhou Quan cited Fake Ruan Wen's gloves, evidence from the Tsim Sha Tsui hotel murders, and information from Mainland police about the real Yuen Man.
• Fake Ruan Wen collapsed after hearing that the real Yuen Man had never left her home, and Chow Sing Sing and Chung Kam-ming took her to the interrogation room.
• SACP Ho praised Zhou Quan for resolving the crisis and asked whether Fake Ruan Wen was Painter.
• Zhou Quan said Painter's identity could not yet be confirmed and ordered Inspector Ho to transfer Lee Man to the Security Department.

Zhou Quan began interrogating Lee Man about Painter and the counterfeit-money cases, while Ho Wai-lam watched from the observation room with SACP Ho. Zhou Quan saw through Lee Man’s performance and began probing him by bringing up Yuen Man.

• SACP Ho told Ho Wai-lam to observe Zhou Quan’s interrogation carefully and address him by rank during work.
• Zhou Quan dismissed the restraints and introduced himself as the officer in charge of Lee Man’s cases.
• Lee Man claimed Painter was dangerous, denied killing anyone, rejected the evidence from the Tsim Sha Tsui hotel, and asked to be sent back to prison.
• SACP Ho reacted angrily when Lee Man brought up Ho Wai-lam’s crude interrogation methods, but kept quiet so as not to disrupt the proceedings.
• Zhou Quan recognized that Lee Man was feigning fear and began probing him by asking whether he knew Yuen Man.

Zhou Quan confronted Lee Man with the arrest of the fake Yuen Man, while Lee Man tried to conceal his connection to her and coordinate their stories. After she was removed, Lee Man began recounting his version of the story about Painter.

• Zhou Quan told Lee Man that Yuen Man had arrived with a barrister and guarantee letters, but he had arrested her.
• Lee Man asked to see Yuen Man and claimed he would tell Zhou Quan everything afterward.
• Chow Sing Sing brought the fake Yuen Man into the interrogation room, and Lee Man called her Sau Ching while urging her to explain their supposed history.
• Zhou Quan ordered Chow Sing Sing to remove Sau Ching and warned Lee Man against coordinating their stories.
• Lee Man sighed and began telling Zhou Quan a version of the story about Painter.

Lee Man spun a story portraying himself and Wu Xiuqing as victims of Painter, but Zhou Quan exposed a fatal weakness by drawing the real person Lee Man had used as the model for Painter's invented identity. Lee Man realized the portrait could unravel his account and deepen suspicion about his involvement in the murders.

• Lee Man claimed Painter had forced him and Wu Xiuqing to make Super Dollars, and that Wu Xiuqing had rescued him after the Tsim Sha Tsui hotel betrayal.
• Lee Man said he had been caught in Thailand after using counterfeit money and had prepared his account to protect himself and Wu Xiuqing from murder charges.
• Lee Man described Painter as Wu Fusheng, a Hong Kong Island native, while Zhou Quan drew a portrait from his description.
• Zhou Quan showed Lee Man the portrait, and Lee Man panicked when he recognized the person he had used as Wu Fusheng's model.
• Lee Man realized the Police Force could identify the model and expose his story as fabricated.

Zhou Quan exposed Lee Man’s story as a fabrication and had the man in his portrait identified as an innocent vehicle commander. Confronted with the evidence, Lee Man refused to say anything further rather than confess to the Painter Group’s crimes.

• Zhou Quan challenged Lee Man’s account after drawing a portrait of the person Lee Man claimed to have seen, then left to investigate the man.
• Zhou Quan asked Chow Sing Sing to have Ah Nin check whether the portrait matched anyone involved in escorting Lee Man.
• Zhou Quan and Chung Kam-ming joined SACP Ho and Inspector Ho Wai-lam in the observation room, where SACP Ho praised Zhou Quan’s interrogation skills.
• Chow Sing Sing reported that the portrait showed Ng Chi-fai, an innocent vehicle commander with badge number 28818, whose son was also an officer.
• Zhou Quan returned to the interrogation room and invited Lee Man to continue his story, but Lee Man said he had nothing to say.

Zhou Quan confronted Lee Man with his suspicion that the real Painter was Yuen Man, not Lee Man or Wu Xiuqing. Lee Man’s shocked response exposed Zhou Quan’s guess as the truth, while the Police Force’s senior officers watched in alarm.

• Zhou Quan told Lee Man that the evidence made him believe Painter was someone other than Lee Man or Wu Xiuqing.
• Zhou Quan suggested that Yuen Man, a renowned painter, was the hidden Painter behind the criminal organization.
• SACP Ho and the others were stunned by Zhou Quan’s accusation but waited to see how the interrogation unfolded.
• Lee Man’s thoughts revealed that he had acted as the visible Painter while Yuen Man secretly controlled the organization.
• Lee Man blurted out, “How did you know...” after Zhou Quan exposed his greatest secret.

Zhou Quan pressured Lee Man to choose between resisting and cooperating, using the threat of a Mainland trial and the promise of a reduced sentence. Lee Man agreed to testify against Yuen Man and disclosed evidence linking her to the Super Dollar scheme, leaving the police with leads to prove her guilt.

• Zhou Quan told Lee Man that the evidence already identified him as Painter and threatened to seek a Mainland trial if he refused to cooperate.
• Lee Man panicked at the prospect of execution and listened as Zhou Quan offered him a chance to serve a reduced sentence on Hong Kong Island.
• Lee Man agreed to cooperate with the Police Force and testify against Yuen Man.
• Lee Man said his Swiss Bank account contained records of money transfers with Yuen Man from Super Dollar proceeds.
• Lee Man revealed that Yuen Man had used his color-changing ink in her pigments, leaving traces in some of her sold works.

After Lee Man confessed and identified Yuen Man as the Painter, Zhou Quan arranged a joint operation with Mainland police to arrest her and focused on securing the group's Super Dollar printing plates. He left the ongoing interrogations to his colleagues and went to report the matter to Number One.

• Zhou Quan contacted Kwan Man Chin and arranged for Yuezhou Public Security Bureau and Mainland police to help arrest Yuen Man.
• Zhou Quan ordered Chow Sing Sing and Chung Kam-ming to continue taking Lee Man's statement, including details about the printing plates.
• Zhou Quan told an officer to have Luo Danian and Kung Ka-pui interrogate Wu Xiuqing and inform her that Lee Man had confessed.
• Zhou Quan entered the observation room, told SACP Ho the case was nearing its conclusion, and said he was going to report to Number One.
• SACP Ho recognized that the printing plates were a matter only Number One had the authority to handle and let Zhou Quan proceed.

Zhou Quan briefed Sir Hui and SACP Wong Bing Yiu on the near-resolution of the Painter Counterfeit Currency Crime Syndicate case and Lee Man’s confession. After learning that Lee Man had revealed information about the printing plate for America’s latest banknotes, Sir Hui ordered Zhou Quan to organize the evidence and accompany him to see Mr. Dong.

• Zhou Quan went to Sir Hui’s office, where SACP Wong Bing Yiu was also present.
• Zhou Quan reported that Lee Man had confessed and identified Yuen Man as the syndicate’s principal figure.
• Zhou Quan explained that Senior Superintendent Kwan Man Chin and the Yuezhou Public Security Bureau were preparing a joint operation to arrest Yuen Man.
• Sir Hui praised Zhou Quan’s handling of the case and said the Police Force’s core management trusted him to lead the Security Department.
• Zhou Quan revealed that Lee Man had told them about the printing plate for America’s latest banknotes.
• Sir Hui told Zhou Quan to organize the evidence and go with him to see Mr. Dong.

After the Painter Counterfeit Money Group’s final members were brought to justice, Zhou Quan turned to his personal affairs and gathered both families to discuss his marriage to Au Wing-yan. Their elders began arranging the wedding, with Oswald expressing his trust in Zhou Quan.

• Zhou Quan helped conclude the cases against Yuen Man, Lee Man, and Wu Xiuqing after the counterfeit money group was dismantled.
• Zhou Quan considered his family situation and decided it was time to give Au Wing-yan a definite outcome after their years together.
• On August 18, 1997, Zhou Quan and Au Wing-yan’s elders gathered at Lee Garden to discuss the wedding.
• Lee Man-bun apologized to Oswald for delaying the wedding, and Oswald said he trusted Zhou Quan with Au Wing-yan’s future.

Zhou Quan proposed holding his wedding to Au Wing-yan on October 1, the first National Day after Hong Kong Island's return. After Old Master Lee Shu-tong reminded the family to consider Zhou Quan's grandfather in the north, the elders agreed and began discussing the wedding arrangements.

• Lee Man-bun suggested asking a fortune-telling master to choose an auspicious wedding date, and Oswald agreed.
• Zhou Quan proposed setting the wedding for October 1, saying National Day was the most auspicious date.
• Au Wing-yan supported Zhou Quan's choice, citing the significance of marrying on the first National Day after Hong Kong Island's return.
• Old Master Lee Shu-tong backed October 1 and reminded the family that they would need to notify Old Mr. Zhou in the north.
• Lee Man-bun and Oswald agreed to Zhou Quan and Au Wing-yan's wishes, and the women began discussing the wedding details.

Zhou Quan and Au Wing-yan began the formal marriage notice period, then Zhou returned to work and learned that Xinglong Group executive Tam Chung-yiu had been arrested with heroin in his car. The discovery made Zhou suspect someone was challenging his drug crackdown as he prepared to marry.

• Zhou Quan and Au Wing-yan registered their marriage notice at the Central Marriage Registry, beginning the fifteen-day waiting period.
• The Lee Family elders took charge of wedding preparations while Zhou and Au continued working.
• Zhou Quan held his weekly meeting with Security Department commanders and heard reports on the previous week's work and current priorities.
• He Wenzhan reported that police had found three hundred grams of number four heroin in Tam Chung-yiu's car after a public tip.
• Zhou Quan recognized Tam Chung-yiu as the eldest son of Xinglong Group chairman Tam Xintian and considered the drug case a challenge to his red lines.

Zhou Quan learned that Tam Chung-yiu had been arrested for drug possession while Tam Xintian was shot, amid a power struggle within Xinglong. Suspecting Yim Sai Kau and Yim Kwok-keui of framing the Tam family and trafficking drugs, Zhou ordered TUI to investigate and bring them down.

• He Wenzhan reported that Tam Chung-yiu had been arrested with heroin, while Tam Xintian was hospitalized after being shot at Repulse Bay.
• He Wenzhan said Yim Sai Kau and his son Yim Kwok-keui were vying with Tam Chung-yiu for control of Xinglong and might have framed him.
• He Wenzhan reported that TUI suspected Yim Sai Kau and Yim Kwok-keui of drug trafficking, though investigators were still seeking proof.
• Zhou Quan ordered He Wenzhan to coordinate with the Eastern District, mobilize TUI's undercover officers in Xinglong, investigate the case, and take down the Yim father and son.

After Zhou Quan ordered an operation against Xinglong Group, He Wenzhan went to Happy Valley Police Station to meet Tam Chung-yiu and coordinate with its commander, Cheung Man-wah. Cheung agreed to cooperate with the Security Department, and He Wenzhan’s team prepared to meet Xinglong’s leader.

• Zhou Quan ended the weekly meeting after his officers reported their plans, and He Wenzhan took his team to Happy Valley Police Station.
• He Wenzhan met Superintendent Cheung Man-wah, the station commander, in the station’s rooftop recreation area.
• He Wenzhan explained that the Security Department wanted to meet Tam Chung-yiu, who was being held at the station.
• Cheung Man-wah agreed to cooperate with the Security Department.

Cheung Man-wah let He Wenzhan decide whether to take over Tam Chung-yiu’s drug possession case, while Zhuang Qing asked He to grant her client bail so he could visit his critically ill father. He refused, but suggested she seek an earlier trial through the Department of Justice.

• Cheung Man-wah introduced Zhuang Qing, his former classmate and ex-girlfriend, to He Wenzhan as Tam Chung-yiu’s lawyer.
• Zhuang Qing asked He Wenzhan to release Tam Chung-yiu on bail and let him see his critically ill father, Tam Xintian.
• He Wenzhan denied her request, citing the heroin found in Tam Chung-yiu’s car and the need to follow the law.
• He Wenzhan advised Zhuang Qing to approach the Department of Justice to bring Tam Chung-yiu’s trial forward if she could prove his innocence.

He Wenzhan offered Zhuang Qing a chance to help Tam Chung-yiu see his father, provided Tam cooperated with the investigation, then took charge of the Xinglong Triad Society case with Liu Jinkui’s team assigned to assist. The chapter ended with Liu agreeing to cooperate fully with the Security Department.

• He Wenzhan told Zhuang Qing he would seek proceedings against Tam Chung-yiu the next day if Tam cooperated, leaving the trial schedule to Zhuang’s influence.
• Zhuang Qing hurried back toward the police station and collided with Liu Jinkui, the inspector who had brought Tam Chung-yiu in.
• Cheung Man-wah introduced Liu Jinkui to He Wenzhan and the Security Department officers accompanying him.
• He Wenzhan announced that Security Department Action Group One was taking over the Xinglong Triad Society case and ordered Liu’s team to assist.
• After Cheung Man-wah signaled his approval, Liu Jinkui saluted and promised his team’s full cooperation.

He Wenzhan and the Security Department took over the Xinglong Triad Society case and brought leader Tam Chung-yiu before Guan Zu for questioning. With He Wenzhan and Yeung Kam Wing supporting him, Guan Zu began by asking Tam to identify Xinglong members involved in drug crimes.

• He Wenzhan formally took over the Xinglong case and asked Liu Jinkui to take him to Tam Chung-yiu.
• He Wenzhan entered the statement room, made Tam give up the head seat, and sent Zhuang Qing and the Trench-Coat Man outside.
• He Wenzhan told Guan Zu to take over the questioning while Yeung Kam Wing prepared to record Tam’s statement.
• Guan Zu introduced himself as a Security Department probationary inspector, and Tam promised to cooperate.
• Guan Zu asked Tam to name the people in Xinglong involved in drug crimes.

Tam Chung-yiu weighed Xinglong’s traditions against the Security Department’s power and admitted that Yim Sai Kau and Yim Kwok-keui were trafficking heroin within the society. He identified their associate Cha Zha and the evidence held by Ah Gui, while He Wenzhan and Yeung Kam Wing suspected the operation was connected to a larger effort to revive Hong Kong Island’s heroin market.

• Tam Chung-yiu considered the threat posed by Zhou Quan’s Operation Crouching Tiger Plan and the Security Department before deciding to cooperate.
• Tam Chung-yiu confessed that Xinglong had failed to stop members from violating Sir Kwan’s prohibition on drug crimes.
• Tam Chung-yiu named Yim Sai Kau and Yim Kwok-keui as Xinglong’s biggest drug traffickers and said they had begun breaking down high-purity Number Four heroin in May.
• Tam Chung-yiu explained that Cha Zha handled the operation and that Ah Gui had the evidence against him, but he had no direct evidence against the Yim father and son.
• He Wenzhan and Yeung Kam Wing suspected the Yim family’s operation was a bridgehead for a Golden Triangle group preparing to reopen Hong Kong Island’s heroin market.

Guan Zu obtained evidence linking Zhazha to drug crimes, and He Wenzhan decided to take Tam Chung-yiu to the Security Department at Tai Kwun. He prepared to report the case to his boss, since further action against Yim Sai Kau and Yim Kwok-keui exceeded his authority.

• Guan Zu asked Liu Jinkui to bring Ah Gui back into the Statement Room.
• Tam Chung-yiu ordered Ah Gui to hand Guan Zu a briefcase containing documents about Zhazha's drug crimes.
• Guan Zu reviewed the documents and told He Wenzhan that they were detailed, while leaving their reliability to the Security Department's investigation.
• He Wenzhan arranged to transfer Tam Chung-yiu to Tai Kwun and advised Ah Gui to have Lawyer Zhuang contact the Department of Justice.
• Cheung Man-wah escorted He Wenzhan and Yeung Kam Wing out, while Guan Zu and Liu Jinkui prepared to transport Tam Chung-yiu in a Riot Van.

After He Wenzhan uncovered that Yim Sai Kau and Yim Kwok-keui were secretly distributing heroin, he brought the case to Zhou Quan with Chow Sing Sing and Luo Danian. Luo’s intelligence report linked the suspected supply to the Golden Triangle, but the officers could not yet identify which drug lord was targeting Hong Kong Island.

• He Wenzhan told Chow Sing Sing that Yim Sai Kau and Yim Kwok-keui were secretly dividing exceptionally pure Number Four heroin into smaller lots on Hong Kong Island.
• Chow Sing Sing summoned Luo Danian, whose Intelligence Group began gathering information on the Golden Triangle.
• He Wenzhan reported Tam Chung-yiu’s statement to Zhou Quan and explained that the Yim father and son’s supplier was unknown.
• Zhou Quan asked Luo Danian about possible Golden Triangle suppliers, including Chatchai, Nuo Ka, and Eight-Faced Buddha.
• Luo Danian reported that Nuo Ka had taken over after Chatchai’s death and that Nuo Ka and Eight-Faced Buddha were the main sources of Number Four, then planned to seek information from Mainland authorities.

Zhou Quan ordered He Wenzhan to arrest Cha Zha and gather evidence against the Yan father and son, while keeping the investigation into the Golden Triangle on hold. He Wenzhan also expedited Tam Chung-yiu’s case, and the chapter ended with the Department of Justice accepting the documents against him.

• Zhou Quan explained that the Hong Kong Island Police Force could not freely run intelligence operations beyond Hong Kong Island and refused to send undercover officers into the Golden Triangle without an operational need.
• Zhou Quan issued He Wenzhan a warrant to secretly arrest Cha Zha and ordered him to gather evidence against the Yan father and son of Xinglong.
• Chow Sing Sing, He Wenzhan, and Luo Danian saluted and left to carry out their assigned work.
• He Wenzhan arranged for the T Group to locate Cha Zha and contacted the Department of Justice to begin proceedings against Tam Chung-yiu.
• The Director of Public Prosecutions accepted the documents concerning Tam Chung-yiu, leaving the next steps to Tam Chung-yiu’s lawyer.

Tam Chung-yiu secured medical bail while his father, Tam Xintian, died from his injuries. Zhou Quan used the funeral as an opportunity to arrest Yim Sai Kau, Yim Kwok-keui, and other Xinglong figures implicated in crimes by Cha Cha.

• Zhuang Qing secured medical bail for Tam Chung-yiu while the drug-possession case remained under investigation.
• Tam Chung-yiu and Tam Chung-shun returned to see Tam Xintian before he died that night.
• Zhou Quan planned to use Tam Xintian's funeral to warn Hong Kong Island's Triad Societies against crossing his red lines.
• Cha Cha confessed to evidence linking Yim Sai Kau, Yim Kwok-keui, and other Xinglong figures to drug trafficking, murder, smuggling, and hired killings.
• Zhou Quan signed arrest warrants and ordered He Wenzhan to bring armed officers to arrest the accused men at the funeral.

He Wenzhan deployed the T Group’s elite officers and a heavily armed convoy to Xinglong’s ancestral hall during Tam Xintian’s funeral, ostensibly to make arrests and investigate the gang’s crimes. He ordered everyone in the mourning hall to stay put, and Tam Chung-yiu nervously questioned the show of force.

• He Wenzhan ordered Pang Yik-hang, Chan Chi-kit, Yeung Kam Wing, and Guan Zu to assemble the First Group in full gear.
• He Wenzhan selected Liu Jinkui and his sergeant to represent the temporarily seconded Eastern District Major Crimes Unit in the operation.
• He Wenzhan led the armed convoy to Xinglong’s ancestral hall, where Tam Xintian’s funeral was being held.
• He Wenzhan and his officers entered the mourning hall, paid their respects to the coffin, and ordered everyone to stand still.
• Lam Wai Lok and Chiang Tin-yeung complied, while Tam Chung-yiu and Tam Chung-shun came forward with their family.
• Tam Chung-yiu protested nervously to He Wenzhan about the large show of force at his father’s funeral.

At Cao Binying’s funeral, Tam Chung-yiu confronted Gou Hok Jai and his son after Gou mocked the officers, while He Wenzhan tried to keep the operation orderly. The chapter ended with Tam Chung-yiu kicking Gou across the mourning hall as Cao Binying sprang up and the officers aimed seven guns at him.

• He Wenzhan apologized to the Tam family for disturbing the funeral while explaining that the officers were doing their duty.
• Gou Hok Jai mocked the officers, and Cao Binying cursed Tam Chung-yiu, prompting Tam Chung-yiu to kick him down.
• Gou Hok Jai continued to taunt Tam Chung-yiu, and Tam Chung-yiu walked over and kicked him across the hall.
• Tam Chung-shun rose to defend his father, but seven officers pressed their Glocks against his forehead.
• Cao Binying sprang from his seat after seeing Gou Hok Jai kicked away.

Yim Sai Kau led the Security Department in arresting Liu Ziyuan, He Wenzhan, Ho Chau, Chan Chi-kit, and other suspects at the Funeral Hall, warning the gathered triad leaders to obey the law. The suspects were taken to Police Force headquarters for interrogation, while the chapter left the Security Department seeking the wider network behind their drug trafficking.

• Yim Sai Kau ordered Security Department officers to arrest the named suspects, and the officers handcuffed them without resistance.
• Chan Chi-kit struck Yim Kwok-keui in the abdomen and warned him against insulting or threatening the officers.
• Yim Sai Kau told the gathered triad leaders that the arrests carried a message from the Police Force's Sir Kwan, then led his men out of the Funeral Hall.
• The Security Department convoy returned to headquarters, where Chan Chi-kit, He Wenzhan, Ho Chau, and other suspects were placed in separate interrogation rooms.
• The Security Department began questioning the suspects to uncover their suppliers and other secrets behind the drug trafficking case.