Chapter Summaries

Zhou Quan took charge of the investigation into Lam Yiu-cheung and Wo On Lok after learning that Lam was tied to corrupt Senior Superintendent Richard. He assigned Chow Sing Sing and T Squad to pursue the case, promising to bear the pressure.

• Miu Chi-shun reported that Lam Yiu-cheung planned to leave the underworld and make Wo On Lok legitimate, but suspected the corrupt officer backing him would try to replace him.
• Zhou Quan identified Richard of the Monitoring Department as Lam Yiu-cheung’s associate and said he and Sir Lau Kit-fai were investigating him.
• Law Chung-lun agreed that Kowloon City District would fully cooperate with Zhou Quan’s investigation.
• Zhou Quan ordered Chow Sing Sing and T Squad to investigate Lam Yiu-cheung without restraint and said he would handle the pressure.
• Chow Sing Sing accepted the assignment and said he looked forward to going after a foreigner.

Chow Sing Sing and Zhou Quan used a crackdown on Lam Yiu-cheung and Wo On Lok as bait to draw out the foreign forces backing them. After Richard arranged an attack on Law Chung-lun and tried to take over the investigation, Zhou Quan followed him to stop him while keeping the larger operation intact.

• Chow Sing Sing covertly targeted Wo On Lok’s businesses while Law Chung-lun and Miu Chi-shun’s officers intercepted three drug shipments, increasing Lam Yiu-cheung’s desire to resist his foreign backers.
• Richard secretly recruited Ah Tim to arrange a traffic accident that would remove Law Chung-lun and give Richard grounds to take control of the investigation.
• Chow Sing Sing staged Law Chung-lun’s disappearance as a serious injury, while T Squad took control of the killer recruited by Ah Tim.
• Richard arrived at Kowloon City District with orders for Miu Chi-shun and the Anti-Triad Unit to cooperate with his investigation.
• Zhou Quan left Tai Kwun with Chow Sing Sing and elite officers, following Richard in the Security Department’s Stealth Armoured Vehicle.

Zhou Quan returned to West Kowloon with Chow Sing Sing and Yeung Kam Wing, determined to expose foreign forces undermining Hong Kong and the Motherland. After Richard entered Kowloon City Police Station, Zhou Quan waited before walking in, where officers greeted him as Sir Kwan.

• Yeung Kam Wing drove Zhou Quan and Chow Sing Sing through West Kowloon in a Security Department vehicle as Zhou reflected on his return after more than two years away.
• Chow Sing Sing told Zhou Quan that Richard had surfaced and that he had found leads on the foreign forces behind him.
• Zhou Quan ordered Chow Sing Sing to move faster so the foreign forces would not escape before 1997.
• Zhou Quan and his men saw Richard enter Kowloon City Police Station with Monitoring Department officers, then waited before following him inside.
• Officers at Kowloon City Police Station greeted Zhou Quan as Sir Kwan when he arrived.

Zhou Quan arrived at the Kowloon City District Anti-Triad Unit and stopped Richard from taking over its investigation with a Monitoring Department order. Richard left with his officers, while the case remained under the Security Department’s control.

• Miu Chi-shun refused to hand the case files to Richard, who claimed his order authorized the Monitoring Department to investigate the attack on Superintendent Law Chung-lun.
• Zhou Quan arrived, and Miu Chi-shun and the Anti-Triad Unit officers greeted him with salutes.
• Richard tried to explain his authority to Zhou Quan, but Chow Sing Sing took the document from him and handed it to Zhou Quan.
• Zhou Quan declared that the Security Department had authorized all operations in Kowloon City District and ordered Richard to leave.
• Richard obeyed and left the office area with the foreign officers under him.

Zhou Quan moved to close the net around Richard and the forces backing him, arranging a morning-tea meeting with Wo On Lok’s leaders before resorting to force. At Be Proud Restaurant, he found several unexpected guests among those waiting for him, and the group sat down without anyone daring to eat before he spoke.

• Miu Chi-shun warned Zhou Quan that Richard and his backers might become suspicious, and Zhou Quan said they had to act quickly.
• Zhou Quan told Chow Sing Sing to invite Fatty Jin and Lam Yiu-cheung to Be Proud Restaurant for morning tea.
• Zhou Quan reassured Miu Chi-shun, then left Kowloon City Police Station with his men for the restaurant.
• At Be Proud Restaurant, Zhou Quan found Master Jin, Ma Yongying, Lam Yiu-cheung, Fa Fut, and Lok Chi-ming waiting for him.
• Fa Fut greeted Zhou Quan and explained that he and Ma Yongying had happened to meet the others at the restaurant.
• The manager led the group to a private room, where dim sum was served, but no one touched their chopsticks before Zhou Quan spoke.

Lam Yiu-cheung confessed to Zhou Quan that Wo On Lok had served Richard and the Political Department in exchange for support, while insisting the society had restrained its illegal activities and was seeking a legitimate future. He left Zhou Quan with Lok Chi-ming as a witness to his account.

• Zhou Quan confronted Fatty Jin and Lam Yiu-cheung about Richard and the people backing him.
• Fatty Jin said Lam Yiu-cheung now controlled Wo On Lok and that he would accept responsibility for whatever Lam decided.
• Lam Yiu-cheung recalled taking Wo On Lok’s Dragon Head position in 1988 and uniting its factions with Uncle Jin’s support.
• Lam Yiu-cheung admitted that he had carried out smuggling, drug trafficking, forced evictions, and forced demolitions for Richard and the Political Department in exchange for backing.
• Lam Yiu-cheung said Wo On Lok had since restrained itself, avoided serious incidents, and stopped selling drugs on Hong Kong Island, then indicated that Lok Chi-ming knew the truth.

Lam Yiu-cheung agreed to cooperate with Zhou Quan against Richard and the people behind him, hoping to secure a future for himself and Wo On Lok. Zhou Quan assigned him to expose a powerful justice of the peace’s financial network, with Lok Chi-ming supervising, while warning that Lam and the gang would still face the law.

• Lam Yiu-cheung explained that he had protected undercover officers and brought Lok Chi-ming to demonstrate his sincerity to Zhou Quan.
• Lam Yiu-cheung offered evidence against Richard’s crimes but admitted he could not reach the powerful people behind him.
• Zhou Quan agreed to consider Lam Yiu-cheung as a prosecution witness, provided he turned over the attack’s mastermind and Wo On Lok’s criminal records.
• Zhou Quan tasked Lam Yiu-cheung with finding evidence against a justice of the peace and his accountant, assigning Lok Chi-ming to work with him.
• Lam Yiu-cheung accepted the task, and Zhou Quan invited everyone to have morning tea.

Lam Yiu-cheung brought Lok Chi-ming and accountant Tony Man to the Security Department with evidence exposing a foreign-backed network of illicit interests. Zhou Quan ordered a heavily guarded operation after discovering that the network implicated more than a dozen Legislative Bureau members and ordered the witnesses kept out of contact with everyone except him and Number One.

• Lam Yiu-cheung brought Lok Chi-ming and Tony Man to the Security Department and handed Zhou Quan evidence about Ah Tim's attack on Superintendent Law Chung-lun and the wider illicit network.
• Zhou Quan found that the documents implicated more than a dozen full Legislative Bureau members and three prospective members, including figures connected to Richard.
• Tony Man accepted that he would likely spend the rest of his life in Stanley but hoped his family would remain safe.
• Zhou Quan summoned officers of Inspector rank or above and instructed Chow Sing Sing to take them to the Conference Room.
• Zhou Quan told He Wenzhan to question Lok Chi-ming, take the two witnesses into custody, and prevent anyone but him and Number One from contacting them.

Zhou Quan brought evidence of a vast criminal network tied to foreign Senior Superintendent Richard to Lok Ming-wah and Lau Kit-fai. Lok ordered Zhou Quan and Lau Kit-fai to arrest everyone implicated and said he would report the operation to Number One.

• Zhou Quan assigned He Wenzhan to guard Lam Yiu-cheung and Tony Man, then summoned Lok Ming-wah and Lau Kit-fai to the conference room.
• Zhou Quan gave Lok Ming-wah documents detailing an illegal network involving more than a dozen Legislative Bureau members and officials in the Governor's Office administration.
• Lok Ming-wah and Lau Kit-fai reviewed the evidence and discussed whether to notify the ICAC.
• Lok Ming-wah ordered Zhou Quan to plan the arrests with Lau Kit-fai's assistance and said he would issue warrants and report to Number One.

Zhou Quan and Lau Kit-fai divided the Security Department’s arrest targets and mobilized their officers to carry out a major operation. They set out to arrest the listed suspects, including Hawking, Kenneth, and Monitoring Department Senior Superintendent Richard.

• Lok Ming-wah left the conference room to contact senior officials and secure support for the operation.
• Zhou Quan assigned Hawking to himself, Kenneth to Lau Kit-fai, and distributed the remaining targets among their officers.
• Chow Sing Sing and the Action Group officers chose their targets while Lau Kit-fai gathered the Administration Group officers.
• Lau Kit-fai ordered Xu Yongji to obtain a warrant and arrest Richard, and told his officers to resist pressure and show no favoritism.
• Zhou Quan gave the command to act and led his officers out, with Lau Kit-fai and the Administration Group following.

Zhou Quan led officers to the Colonial Secretariat to arrest foreign official Hawking on charges of criminal collusion and bribery. Hawking challenged their authority but was overpowered and taken into custody.

• Lok Ming-wah handed Zhou Quan and Lau Kit-fai more than a dozen urgently issued arrest warrants.
• Zhou Quan assigned officers to arrest their targets, then took several young inspectors with him to the Colonial Secretariat.
• Zhou Quan’s team entered the building and split up to find the officials named in the warrants.
• Pang Yik-hang read Hawking’s arrest warrant, accusing him of colluding with the Triad Society, bribing senior police officers, and other offences.
• Hawking questioned Zhou Quan’s authority, then backed down when the officers prepared to draw their guns.
• Zhou Quan ordered Pang Yik-hang and Chan Chi-kit to haul Hawking up and take him away.

After the Security Department arrested the people implicated in the illicit interest group, Sir Hui and Xinhua’s Old Mr. Wang moved to ensure they faced trial. Zhou Quan then organized a heavily guarded convoy to transport the defendants and key witnesses to court the next morning.

• Zhou Quan and Lau Kit-fai led the Security Department’s arrests, while Sir Hui convened the Police Force’s leadership and ordered swift action against those implicated.
• Sir Hui contacted the Department of Justice and the High Court, and Old Mr. Wang went to the Governor’s Office to oppose any effort to protect the accused.
• The Independent Commission Against Corruption verified Zhou Quan’s evidence, and Sir Hawking, Kenneth, Richard, and the others were scheduled to face trial at ten the next morning.
• Zhou Quan briefed his officers on the escort route from Arsenal Street to the High Court and stressed the need to protect the defendants, Lam Yiu-cheung, and the accountant.

Zhou Quan organized a heavily armed, maximum-security escort for the key witnesses and suspects due to stand trial. The convoy left Tai Kwun without incident until officers spotted three tinted-window HiAces near the route ahead.

• Zhou Quan assigned T Squad to guard the witnesses overnight and ordered support officers to secure the escort route.
• Lok Kai-cheung brought the suspects, Lam Yiu-cheung, and the accountant to Tai Kwun the next morning, where Zhou Quan assembled an escort convoy with four Ironclad Dragons.
• Zhou Quan boarded the Ironclad Dragon carrying Lam Yiu-cheung and Tony Man, and the officers checked their weapons before departure.
• Zhou Quan led the convoy out of Tai Kwun with more than twenty police vehicles and dozens of elite officers.
• Luo Danian warned Zhou Quan that three tinted-window HiAces were waiting at traffic lights ahead near Supreme Court Road.

Zhou Quan’s convoy encountered three suspicious HiAce vans, which followed it before driving away. He ordered the vans tracked and stopped for inspection, then safely escorted Lam Yiu-cheung and his companion into a secure area of the High Court.

• Luo Danian spotted three privacy-screened HiAce vans, and Zhou Quan put the escort convoy on alert as it passed them safely.
• The vans followed the convoy until it turned onto Supreme Court Road, then drove away; Zhou Quan ordered CCTV surveillance and an armed inspection by Mobile Unit E Company and the Flying Tigers.
• Jing Jinxian took over communications support while Zhou Quan’s convoy completed its journey to the High Court.
• Zhou Quan led Chow Sing Sing and other trusted officers in escorting Lam Yiu-cheung and his companion through the rear entrance into a secure area.

Zhou Quan escorted Lam Yiu-cheung and Tony Man to the High Court and arranged for their protection before the trials began. He met with Oswald and Lai Wing-lim, then prepared to attend the proceedings, determined to secure convictions against the three defendants.

• Zhou Quan kept security and escort duties under his control instead of handing them to courthouse officers, while other T Group officers guarded the defendants.
• Zhou Quan reassured Lam Yiu-cheung and Tony Man that the Police Force would protect them and urged them to testify according to their conscience.
• Zhou Quan met Oswald, whom he had asked to serve as a leading juror, and Lai Wing-lim, who appeared for the Department of Justice.
• Zhou Quan led the witnesses away from the windows in the holding room and ordered Chow Sing Sing to guard them closely.
• Zhou Quan removed his weapons and other equipment so he could attend and observe the trials.

Richard Rivers stood trial for misconduct in office, collusion with the Triad Society, and other crimes, while Zhou Quan watched from the public gallery. After witnesses and evidence established Richard’s guilt, the court sentenced him to life imprisonment.

• Zhou Quan observed Richard Rivers’s trial at the Hong Kong Island High Court as Lai Wing-lim prosecuted him and Oswald served on the jury.
• Richard’s arranged defense counsel offered no defense, and Richard accepted the proceedings without resistance.
• Lam Yiu-cheung and Tony Man testified and presented evidence tying Richard to the illegal profit-making and money-laundering operation.
• The judge found Richard Rivers guilty of multiple offenses and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Zhou Quan learned that the trials of Sir Hawking and Kenneth ended in prison sentences, then received news that armed former Political Department agents had planned to attack a prisoner convoy. He reported the operation’s results to Lok Ming-wah, who praised his handling of the day’s events.

• The Female Judge sentenced Sir Hawking and Kenneth to prison, ending their political careers.
• Zhou Quan returned to Tai Kwun and learned from Luo Danian that armed former Political Department agents had been arrested after resisting an inspection of three HiAce vans.
• Luo Danian reported that the agents had received secret orders to ambush the prisoner convoy but had not acted because of its security.
• Zhou Quan told Luo Danian to investigate the arrested men further and send the evidence to him for the Xinhua News Agency.
• Zhou Quan visited Lok Ming-wah, where Lok Ming-wah and Lau Kit-fai praised his operation.

After returning from the case, Zhou Quan met with Lok Ming-wah and Lau Kit-fai to discuss the Security Department’s upcoming work. He agreed to focus on security at the Convention and Exhibition Centre while Lau Kit-fai took charge of the remaining people implicated in the case.

• Zhou Quan returned to the Security Department and greeted Lok Ming-wah and Lau Kit-fai, who had been waiting to see him.
• Lok Ming-wah told Zhou Quan that the Action Group would need to secure several upcoming meetings at the Convention and Exhibition Centre, including the election meeting for the first Special Administrative Region Government leader.
• Zhou Quan assured Lok Ming-wah that his team was ready to handle security without problems.
• Lok Ming-wah proposed that Lau Kit-fai take charge of the remaining people implicated in the case so Zhou Quan could concentrate on the Convention and Exhibition Centre assignment.
• Zhou Quan agreed to arrange a handover with Lau Kit-fai and transfer the implicated people to the Administration Group.

As Hong Kong Island began its Chief Executive election process, Zhou Quan assisted with candidate vetting while avoiding political maneuvering and focusing on security. The Preparatory Committee announced eight candidates, with Mr. Dong, Mr. Yang, and Mr. Ng as the leading contenders, and Zhou Quan expected Mr. Dong to win.

• Registration opened for the election, and Zhou Quan and his men resumed preparations for security at the Convention and Exhibition Centre.
• Thirty-one prominent figures registered, and the Hong Kong Island Reunification Preparatory Committee began vetting candidates with help from Big Xinhua, the Police Force, and the ICAC.
• Old Mr. Zhou called Zhou Quan and instructed him to cooperate with the vetting, drawing on his Security Department and TUI resources.
• After scrutiny, the Preparatory Committee announced eight candidates, including leading contenders Mr. Dong, Mr. Yang, and Mr. Ng.
• Zhou Quan judged Mr. Dong’s ties to the Motherland and influence made him the likely winner, but avoided taking sides and prioritized keeping the election peaceful.

The Selection Committee chose Mr. Dong as the first Chief Executive of the next Hong Kong Island Special Administrative Region Government. After the meeting, Old Mr. Qian recognized Zhou Quan and praised him, and Zhou Quan saluted in response.

• Zhou Quan, Chow Sing Sing, and Kwan Man Chin inspected the Convention and Exhibition Centre and oversaw security for the Selection Committee’s first meeting.
• Old Mr. Wang announced that Mr. Dong, Mr. Yang, and Mr. Ng had made the shortlist of candidates for Chief Executive.
• At the December 11 final meeting, Mr. Dong won the election with 320 votes, and Old Mr. Qian said he would report the result to the Council of Elders.
• Zhou Quan, Chow Sing Sing, and Kwan Man Chin oversaw the attendees’ departure after Old Mr. Wang declared the meeting concluded successfully.
• Old Mr. Qian praised Zhou Quan as he left, and Zhou Quan stood at attention and saluted him.