Recaps

Lau Bo-keung chaired a joint meeting between Hong Kong Island police and mainland officers to exchange information and coordinate their investigation of the DOA Foundation. After the Hong Kong teams reported their leads, Yang Jianhua asked Luo Xin to share the mainland team's findings, including her own and A Long's situations.

• Lau Bo-keung introduced Wong Fuk-wing, Yang Jianhua, and Luo Xin at the joint operations meeting.
• Lau Bo-keung asserted that the Hong Kong Island Police Force would lead the operation, and Yang Jianhua agreed to defer to its views.
• He Wenzhan reported that National Security officers were infiltrating the DOA Foundation and had learned of an upcoming conference attended by major clients and overseas Triad figures.
• Wong Fuk-wing reported that the Commercial Crime Bureau had obtained the foundation's corporate account information and some transaction records for analysis.
• Yang Jianhua asked Luo Xin to brief the Hong Kong officers on their leads and to disclose both her situation and A Long's.

Luo Xin reported on her three-year undercover operation in the DOA Foundation and its planned Underworld Conference. The Hong Kong Island Police Force offered to incorporate her and Xu Long into its intelligence framework and provide protection as the joint operation advanced.

• Luo Xin told the assembled officers that she served in the DOA Foundation president Mr. Gao’s secretarial team, while Xu Long, an accountant, had gained access to some internal information.
• Luo Xin said the DOA Foundation would soon hold a Major Client Exchange Meeting that doubled as an Underworld Conference for criminal figures.
• Senior Superintendent Liu identified the conference as the best opportunity to gather evidence, and Lau Bo-keung asked whether Happy Tiger could attend.
• He Wenzhan reported that Tan Huanxi had received an invitation to the client meeting but might not reach the more secret Underworld Conference.
• Lau Bo-keung asked Yang Jianhua to place Luo Xin and Xu Long within the NS intelligence framework, offering advanced equipment and elite teams to protect them.

The joint operation against the DOA Foundation suffered a setback when Mr. Gao kept Tan Huanxi and Lee Family Jiayuan out of the foundation’s secret underworld conference. The Police Force established a long-term action group to continue the investigation, and Zhou Quan’s attention shifted to two trusted subordinates arriving at his office.

• Yang Jianhua and Luo Xin joined the joint operation, with Luo Xin and Xu Long entering TUI’s operational framework under Pang Yik-hang.
• The Police Force placed undercover officers inside the DOA Foundation, but Mr. Gao excluded Tan Huanxi and Lee Family Jiayuan from its confidential underworld conference.
• Lau Bo-keung, He Wenzhan, and Wong Fuk-wing formed a dedicated Action Group led by Pang Yik-hang to investigate the foundation until the undercover operatives gathered conclusive evidence.
• Zhou Quan received the report of the setback and made no changes to his subordinates’ plan.
• Lok Kai-cheung and Kung Ka-pui arrived at Zhou Quan’s office, drawing his attention.

Lok Kai-cheung and Kung Ka-pui reported that Yee Fung was working with a transnational criminal group to smuggle a tonne of high-purity heroin into Hong Kong Island. Zhou Quan suspected the group might be the Aether Society and asked whether Leung Siu-tong had any leads.

• Lok Kai-cheung told Zhou Quan that Yee Fung might be colluding with a transnational criminal group, whose members wore similar rings.
• Zhou Quan suspected the group was the Aether Society, but Lok Kai-cheung said the rings did not match the Police Force's records.
• Lok Kai-cheung reported that Yee Fung and the group planned to use Customs to bring a tonne of Number Four heroin across the border, and requested Customs and TUI support.
• Zhou Quan asked whether Laughing, also known as Leung Siu-tong, had any leads.

Kung Ka-pui briefed Zhou Quan on the suspected Aether Society network, its drug operation, and the CIB’s investigation. He asked Zhou to enlist the National Security Department’s Intelligence Group to break the suspects’ encrypted communications.

• Lok Kai-cheung deferred to Kung Ka-pui to report the investigation into the suspected Aether Society.
• Kung Ka-pui identified six suspects linked by rings suspected to serve as Aether Society credentials, including Yee Fung’s boss, So Sing-pak.
• Kung Ka-pui reported that investigators had found Number Four heroin at Ho Tsz-leung’s cosmetics company and suspected So Sing-pak planned to ship a tonne of the drug into Hong Kong Island.
• Kung Ka-pui outlined the suspected roles of the other suspects, including supplying drug materials, making connections, laundering money, and assessing risks.
• Kung Ka-pui told Zhou Quan that the suspects held encrypted video conferences and requested help from the Intelligence Group to crack their communications.

Zhou Quan learned that the suspected transnational criminal organization was likely the Aether Society and mobilized police communications officers and Customs support for the Criminal Intelligence Bureau’s operation. He warned Lok Kai-cheung and Kung Ka-pui to keep the arrests secret and prepare for hidden communications devices, leaving them to begin work.

• After hearing Kung Ka-pui’s report, Zhou Quan suspected the Aether Society was behind the case and saw a chance to strike at the organization.
• Zhou Quan ordered Luo Danian to send A Long’s best communications officers to support Kung Ka-pui’s operation.
• Zhou Quan called Customs Commissioner Chan Wing-kan, who agreed to coordinate assistance with Lok Kai-cheung.
• Zhou Quan warned Lok Kai-cheung and Kung Ka-pui that the suspected Aether Society members might have rings with tracking or emergency communication features.
• Zhou Quan ordered the officers to maintain secrecy, use trusted personnel, and make arrests swiftly when the time came.
• Lok Kai-cheung and Kung Ka-pui saluted and went to carry out Zhou Quan’s orders.

Zhou Quan ordered a comprehensive internal review of the entire Police Force to protect its reputation and investigate Cheuk King-chuen. He left Luo Danian, Kong Chi Lap, Hon Hau-chung, and Kwan Man Chin in charge of carrying out and cross-checking the review, with Cheuk’s future promotion depending on its findings.

• Zhou Quan considered the risks surrounding Cheuk King-chuen and summoned the Director-level officers of the National Security Department and Regulatory Department.
• Luo Danian, Kong Chi Lap, Hon Hau-chung, and Kwan Man Chin arrived at Zhou Quan’s office and listened as he announced a review covering every officer, including himself.
• Zhou Quan instructed the two departments to take turns conducting the review and to investigate each other.
• Zhou Quan included Cheuk King-chuen in the review and planned to reassign him if he passed the character assessment.

Zhou Quan ordered an internal review of the entire Police Force and remained willing to entrust Cheuk King-chuen with important responsibilities if he passed. After leaving Zhou Quan’s office, Luo Danian and Hon Hau-chung agreed that their departments would review each other first.

• Zhou Quan weighed his impressions of Cheuk King-chuen against Mok Kam-chuen’s past loyalty issues and decided he would not change his plans if Cheuk passed the review.
• Luo Danian, Kong Chi Lap, Hon Hau-chung, and Kwan Man Chin accepted Zhou Quan’s assignment to investigate the Police Force.
• Zhou Quan hosted the four officers for tea and discussed Police Force and Hong Kong Island affairs with them.
• Outside Zhou Quan’s office, Luo Danian proposed that the National Security Department and Regulatory Department review each other, and Hon Hau-chung agreed.
• Luo Danian and Hon Hau-chung shook hands, then took separate elevators to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

Kung Ka-pui returned to the National Security Department’s Operations Command Centre to request support for the Criminal Intelligence Bureau’s undercover operation against Yee Fung. He introduced Senior Inspector Zhou Wangqing, who was providing support and was Leung Siu-tong’s partner, as He Wenzhan deployed teams to assist.

• Lau Bo-keung and Yu Suqiu continued the Police Force’s internal review while the Criminal Intelligence Bureau prepared to close its undercover operation.
• Kung Ka-pui arrived at the Operations Command Centre with Zhou Wangqing to seek the National Security Department’s operational support.
• He Wenzhan welcomed Kung Ka-pui and said he had assigned T Group and the Intelligence Group to help.
• Kung Ka-pui introduced Zhou Wangqing as the officer supporting Leung Siu-tong’s undercover operation and as Leung’s partner.
• Zhou Wangqing saluted He Wenzhan, Pang Yik-hang, and Yeung Chi-lung, showing her respect for the National Security Department officers.

Zhou Quan’s trusted subordinates Lau Bo-keung and Yu Suqiu launched a Police Force-wide internal review, stirring up a storm that made officers curb misconduct and improve efficiency. The investigation continued under strict orders to punish serious abuses while allowing no one to evade accountability.

• Lau Bo-keung and Yu Suqiu formed internal review teams and began cross-investigating their own departments.
• Yu Suqiu directed the district Complaints Departments to investigate officers across the ranks, while Lau Bo-keung’s team scrutinized Police Force Management.
• The investigation spread through the Police Force with the approval of Number One, Sir Kwan, and senior officers cooperated without raising the matter at management meetings.
• Grassroots commanders restrained their methods and worked to comply with regulations, leading to a thirty-percent drop in complaints and improved efficiency.
• Zhou Quan’s red line required conclusive evidence against criminals and consequences for serious abuses, while Lau Bo-keung and Yu Suqiu avoided pursuing past misconduct indiscriminately.

Zhou Wangqing joined a meeting with National Security Department officers after Kung Ka-pui began grooming her as a trusted confidant. Kung Ka-pui revealed that undercover officer Laughing had infiltrated Yee Fung’s new leader, So Sing-pak, and that So Sing-pak belonged to the notorious Aether Society.

• The chapter described how Zhou Wangqing’s career prospects improved through Kung Ka-pui’s support and her ties to Leung Siu-tong and the Crouching Tiger Seven Heroes.
• He Wenzhan welcomed Zhou Wangqing to the meeting, and she sat beside Kung Ka-pui.
• Kung Ka-pui introduced Zhou Wangqing to his old friends and called the meeting to order.
• Kung Ka-pui said Laughing was undercover beside Yee Fung’s new leader, So Sing-pak, also known as Limp.
• Kung Ka-pui reported that CIB had confirmed So Sing-pak was a member of the transnational Aether Society and had conclusive evidence of the organization’s identity.

He Wenzhan and Kung Ka-pui prepared to capture the Aether Society’s core members, old enemies responsible for an attempt on Zhou Quan’s life. Zhou Wangqing explained how the suspects’ rings could alert one another, and He approved her recommendation for simultaneous arrests.

• He Wenzhan and the other officers learned that the Aether Society was behind the old assassination attempt on Zhou Quan and resolved to capture its core members.
• Kung Ka-pui assured He Wenzhan that CIB had the suspects under close watch and asked Zhou Wangqing to brief the officers.
• Zhou Wangqing explained that Ho Tsz-leung’s ring identified him as an Aether Society member and could transmit signals when rings touched.
• Zhou Wangqing warned that the rings might alert the other members if one was in danger, so she recommended arresting all targets simultaneously.
• He Wenzhan praised Zhou Wangqing’s recommendation and told her to continue.

Zhou Wangqing briefed the senior officers on the Aether Society’s suspects, heroin shipment, and suspected plans to use Hong Kong Island as a regional drug hub. He Wenzhan ordered simultaneous arrests and raids, leaving the operation poised to begin.

• Zhou Wangqing displayed the locations of the Aether Society’s six identified core members and reported that a tonne of heroin was being transported through a suspected smokescreen route.
• Zhou Wangqing reported that a GFS helicopter had deviated over Cha Kwo Ling Pier and that a Yan Hei Society vessel would sail for Japan in two hours.
• Kung Ka-pui asked He Wenzhan to direct the tactical operation, and He Wenzhan praised Zhou Wangqing’s work.
• He Wenzhan ordered Ah Zu’s team to arrest Limping So Sing-pak and shut down Yee Fung’s establishments.
• He Wenzhan ordered Ah Chiu’s C Group to search Yan Hei Society warehouses and vessels at Cha Kwo Ling Pier, while Yeung Chi-lung coordinated communications and simultaneous deployments across the districts.
• He Wenzhan authorized officers to use firearms as circumstances warranted but ordered them to take the suspects alive.

The Police Force dismantled Yee Fung and arrested the Aether Society’s six core members, but their interrogation revealed that five had powerful European family connections. Zhou Quan ordered the five to be prosecuted and called for an international joint operation against the Aether Society.

• The Police Force arrested the Aether Society’s six core members, seized a tonne of Number Four drugs, and dismantled Yee Fung’s businesses.
• The Department of Justice began prosecution proceedings against Yee Fung’s veteran elders for Triad Society activities and their roles in the drug case.
• National Security Department officers interrogated the six Aether Society members and learned that five had inherited their membership and had influential European families.
• Luo Danian brought the interrogation records to Zhou Quan and asked how to handle the five members with powerful backgrounds.
• Zhou Quan ordered the five to be prosecuted and directed Luo Danian to seek a joint international operation to dismantle the Aether Society.

Luo Danian launched a multinational operation to dismantle the Aether Society after its five core members were arrested, while the Police Force’s internal investigation reached its conclusion. Hon Hau-chung and Kong Chi Lap submitted the Regulatory Department and National Security Department reports to Zhou Quan, who began reviewing them.

• Luo Danian used Zhou Quan’s authorization to launch a joint transnational operation against the Aether Society’s network.
• Hon Hau-chung, Kong Chi Lap, and Kwan Man Chin brought Yu Suqiu and Lau Bo-keung to Zhou Quan’s office with the completed internal investigation reports.
• Hon Hau-chung submitted the Regulatory Department report, and Kong Chi Lap presented the National Security Department’s findings.
• Zhou Quan began reading the reports as the five officers waited to learn whether he was satisfied with their investigations.

Zhou Quan reviewed the internal investigation reports and ordered legal action against officers who had violated laws or disciplinary rules. He directed the Central District commander to resign voluntarily and began arranging replacements, while leaving the commander's successor for Police Force core management to decide.

• Zhou Quan read the Political Investigation Department and Internal Investigations Branch reports and approved their findings.
• Zhou Quan ordered implicated officers to be handed to the Department of Justice for trial and told the Central District commander to resign voluntarily.
• Zhou Quan noted that the review had found no integrity problems in the Police Force core management, including Marine Police District commander Cheuk King-chuen.
• Zhou Quan instructed Lau Bo-keung to work with the Personnel Department on a broad selection process to fill vacancies other than the Central commander's post.
• Zhou Quan decided that Police Force core management would choose the next Central District commander rather than having him make the appointment alone.

After a sweeping internal review removed nearly a hundred Police Officers, the Police Force anticipated further changes to its senior leadership. DCP Operations He Lingyun, believing Zhou Quan was preparing successors, went to see him, carrying both relief and anxiety about stepping aside.

• The internal review removed officers at every rank and opened rare promotion opportunities across the Police Force.
• Senior leaders concluded that Zhou Quan would use the review to prepare successors for core management as veteran members neared retirement.
• He Lingyun decided to follow his retired colleagues’ example and voluntarily make room for younger officers.
• He Lingyun visited Zhou Quan’s office, and Zhou Quan welcomed him warmly without knowing why he had come.

He Lingyun visited Zhou Quan to submit an application for early retirement, choosing to leave the Police Force before reaching retirement age. He asked Zhou Quan to look after his younger relative Ah Lan after he left.

• Zhou Quan welcomed He Lingyun into his office and served him tea.
• He Lingyun reflected on his long Police Force career and decided that stepping aside would let younger officers advance.
• He Lingyun handed Zhou Quan his early retirement application and said he had thought his decision through.
• He Lingyun praised Zhou Quan’s leadership and asked him to look after Ah Lan after his departure.

As he prepared to retire as DCP Operations, He Lingyun worried that his daughter Ho Wai-lam’s limited command skills would leave her vulnerable in the Police Force. He asked Zhou Quan to help guide her, and Zhou Quan agreed to look after her.

• He Lingyun chose early retirement to make way for a successor and preserve goodwill with the Police Force’s senior management.
• He Lingyun worried that Ho Wai-lam had stalled at Chief Inspector because she had courage but lacked strategic ability.
• He Lingyun had hoped Ho Wai-lam would leave the Police Force with him, but she refused because she considered it desertion.
• He Lingyun asked Zhou Quan to let a capable officer guide Ho Wai-lam and help ensure her safety and stability.
• Zhou Quan nodded and assured He Lingyun that he would take care of Ho Wai-lam.

He Lingyun secured Zhou Quan’s promise to look after his daughter Ho Wai-lam and submitted his early-retirement application, which Zhou approved. He Lingyun then used his final influence to encourage other senior Police Force officers to retire and make way for younger colleagues.

• Zhou Quan considered ways to help Ho Wai-lam and reassured He Lingyun that he would handle the matter.
• He Lingyun thanked Zhou Quan, and Zhou signed He Lingyun’s early-retirement application.
• He Lingyun told Police Force management about his retirement and encouraged senior colleagues to support the transition.
• Several members of the Police Force core management submitted early-retirement applications to Zhou Quan, while other officers sent theirs to the Personnel Division.
• Tsang Heung-wing, a senior Police Force Management DCP, was among the officers nearing retirement.

Several senior Police Force officials applied for early retirement, forcing Zhou Quan to reconsider his planned management reshuffle. Tsang Heung-wing’s unexpected departure left Zhou Quan without a candidate he had intended to promote, while Choi Yuen-kei remained a loyal subordinate and the Foreigners’ hidden operatives were too constrained to cause trouble.

• He Lingyun applied for early retirement, prompting Choi Yuen-kei to submit his own application that afternoon.
• Tsang Heung-wing and Deng Xuanwei also applied for early retirement, bringing the total number of applications received by Zhou Quan to four.
• Zhou Quan was surprised by Tsang Heung-wing’s decision because he had planned to promote him, but Tsang said his health prevented him from continuing.
• Zhou Quan recalled how his rise had altered the Police Force’s expected succession, keeping Choi Yuen-kei from becoming Commissioner of Police and later Tsang Heung-wing’s predecessor.
• Choi Yuen-kei continued to serve loyally, while Zhou Quan’s earlier actions and the Hong Kong Island National Security Law kept the Foreigners’ remaining operatives from stirring up trouble.

Zhou Quan accepted Tsang Heung-wing's early retirement application, leaving four vacancies in the Police Force's core management. He gathered Lee Man-bun and five Senior Assistant Commissioners to discuss promotions and replacements, and invited them to speak freely.

• Zhou Quan concluded that Tsang Heung-wing's health concerns justified early retirement and approved his application.
• With Tsang Heung-wing and three other senior officers preparing to leave, four core management seats became vacant.
• Zhou Quan convened Lee Man-bun and five Senior Assistant Commissioners at Police Force Headquarters to discuss filling the vacancies.
• Zhou Quan explained that two of the five Senior Assistant Commissioners would become Deputy Commissioners and asked the group to recommend candidates or nominate themselves.

Lee Man-bun assessed the promotion candidates and nominated Chow Sing Sing for DCP Operations and Lau Kit-fai for Management DCP. He left Luo Danian out of the nominations because he believed Luo was better suited to succeed him as National Security DCP later.

• Zhou Quan opened the meeting, but the five Senior Assistant Commissioners waited for Lee Man-bun to speak first.
• Lee Man-bun named Chow Sing Sing as the best candidate for DCP Operations, citing his operational command and management of the Operations Department.
• Lee Man-bun nominated Lau Kit-fai for Management DCP, praising his work in personnel and finance despite his limited frontline experience.
• The other Senior Assistant Commissioners saw Chow Sing Sing's promotion as nearly certain after Tsang Heung-wing applied for early retirement.
• Lee Man-bun considered Luo Danian capable of leading the Police Force but reserved him as a future successor to the National Security DCP post.

Zhou Quan approved Chow Sing Sing and Lau Kit-fai for promotion to Deputy Commissioner and appointed them acting heads of Operations and Management pending formal warrants. He then began considering the next promotions and explained his plans to rotate senior officers to prevent entrenched factions, while acknowledging the uncertainty that would follow his eventual departure.

• Lee Man-bun's recommendation of Chow Sing Sing and Lau Kit-fai won the support of Zhou Quan and the other Senior Assistant Commissioners.
• Zhou Quan settled on Chow Sing Sing and Lau Kit-fai as candidates for Deputy Commissioner and named them acting DCP Operations and acting Management DCP while formal appointments were processed.
• Chow Sing Sing and Lau Kit-fai acknowledged Zhou Quan's orders and agreed to complete the handover with Sir He and Sir Choi.
• Zhou Quan asked the Senior Assistant Commissioners to assess which absent Assistant Commissioners deserved promotion, without considering their future departments.
• Zhou Quan planned to reshuffle responsibilities to broaden his officers' experience and prevent rival factions from taking root, but recognized that his influence after leaving the Police Force was uncertain.

Zhou Quan asked the Police Force’s Senior Assistant Commissioners to recommend candidates for promotion, but they hesitated because they could not tell whom he favored. After he called on Yin Xiaofeng, Yin named three Assistant Commissioners, including Cheuk King-chuen, whose suitability Zhou Quan had already been evaluating.

• Zhou Quan asked the Senior Assistant Commissioners to nominate candidates for promotion, and they exchanged uncertain glances rather than answering.
• Lee Man-bun stayed silent, reasoning that Zhou Quan had a purpose for handling the reshuffle himself and that he planned to retire in a few years.
• Zhou Quan directly asked Personnel Division Commander Yin Xiaofeng for his view on the candidates.
• Yin Xiaofeng recommended Kong Chi Lap, Mok Kam-chuen, and Cheuk King-chuen based on their personnel records.
• The chapter explained that Cheuk King-chuen’s promotion prospects had been tied to Zhou Quan’s review of his loyalty and reliability.