Chapter Summaries

Zhou Quan arranged for the Thai police and Chow Sing Sing to surveil Chai Kwok-yung and Bobby, then slipped away from the convoy to meet a homeland intelligence agent in the Golden Triangle. The agent, whose code name was Qifu and whose real name was Fang Xinwu, joined Zhou Quan as a partner in the anti-drug operation.

• Zhou Quan told Withaya that Chai Kwok-yung planned to join Bobby in a deal with Wei Xingguang and assigned Chow Sing Sing to lead surveillance.
• Withaya promised the Thai Special Operations Team would cooperate, and Zhou Quan offered to seek an official commendation for him.
• Zhou Quan told Chow Sing Sing to arrest Chai Kwok-yung and Bobby immediately if anything went wrong, prioritizing Su Kin-chiu's safety.
• Zhou Quan left the convoy at a farmers' market and rode north in a Land Rover with a bearded young man who took a winding route to avoid being followed.
• Zhou Quan introduced himself to the driver, Qifu, and learned that the homeland intelligence agent's real name was Fang Xinwu.

Zhou Quan visited Fang Xinwu’s base in the Golden Triangle and reviewed his detailed intelligence on Eight-Faced Buddha’s drug network. They agreed to pursue the Hong Kong trafficker Black Chai’s connection through Bobby as part of a joint operation to capture Eight-Faced Buddha.

• Fang Xinwu drove Zhou Quan through former poppy fields that had been converted into tea plantations and brought him to his base.
• Zhou Quan examined Fang Xinwu’s files on Wei Xingguang, known as Eight-Faced Buddha, and his family’s roles in the drug organization.
• Fang Xinwu explained that Wei Mianna was rumored to be Eight-Faced Buddha’s youngest son rather than his goddaughter.
• Zhou Quan said Black Chai planned to enter Thailand and establish a new supply deal with Eight-Faced Buddha after losing a major heroin shipment.
• Fang Xinwu identified Bobby as the likely middleman and explained his family connection to Eight-Faced Buddha.
• Zhou Quan and Fang Xinwu agreed to follow Black Chai’s trail through Bobby and dismantle Eight-Faced Buddha’s drug operation.

Fang Xinwu questioned whether Eight-Faced Buddha would attend the drug deal, and Zhou Quan outlined a backup plan to capture the traffickers and locate his hideout. Zhou Quan asked Fang Xinwu to guide the Hong Kong teams through the Golden Triangle and began explaining his second request.

• Fang Xinwu said Eight-Faced Buddha was unlikely to appear at the deal and predicted Wei Shali and Wei Mianna would handle it.
• Zhou Quan said his Hong Kong operations teams would capture the key people at the transaction and interrogate them for Eight-Faced Buddha’s lair if he did not show up.
• Fang Xinwu approved of the plan and asked Zhou Quan how he could help.
• Zhou Quan named Fang Xinwu as the best choice to guide the teams through the Golden Triangle.
• Zhou Quan raised two fingers and began describing his second request.

Zhou Quan proposed that Fang Xinwu infiltrate Wei Mianna’s inner circle after the operation against Eight-Faced Buddha, using a staged rescue to win her trust. Fang Xinwu asked for time to decide, while Zhou Quan assured him he had another candidate.

• Zhou Quan explained that taking down Eight-Faced Buddha alone would not solve the Golden Triangle’s entrenched drug trade, so he planned to plant an asset there.
• Zhou Quan proposed that Fang Xinwu infiltrate Wei Mianna’s inner circle after she escaped the planned operation against Eight-Faced Buddha and his sons.
• Fang Xinwu objected to winning Wei Mianna over through romance, and Zhou Quan clarified that the plan involved saving her from a life-or-death crisis and earning her gratitude.
• Zhou Quan told Fang Xinwu the assignment was voluntary and acknowledged its uncertain duration and lack of concrete rewards.
• Fang Xinwu asked to consider the plan and promised to give Zhou Quan his decision before the operation’s first phase began.
• Zhou Quan reassured Fang Xinwu that he should feel no pressure because he had a backup candidate.

Bobby welcomed Chai Kwok-yung and Su Kin-chiu at Chiang Saen Port, then took them toward a nightclub in central Chiang Rai to arrange a heroin deal. Chow Sing Sing and the Hong Kong-Thailand Joint Anti-Drug Action Group secretly monitored their movements and began rotating teams to tail them.

• Bobby greeted Chai Kwok-yung and his lieutenant Su Kin-chiu at Chiang Saen Port.
• Chai Kwok-yung complained that an Indonesian and Hong Kong Island police had cost him several million US dollars' worth of drugs.
• Bobby offered to supply Chai Kwok-yung with heroin in Thailand and loudly declared that Chiang Rai was not Hong Kong Island.
• Chow Sing Sing ordered his teams to track Bobby and Chai Kwok-yung without exposing the surveillance.
• Bobby's group drove toward Chiang Rai's most luxurious nightclub while the surveillance teams took turns following them.

Chow Sing Sing's team surveilled Bobby and Chai Kwok-yung as they met with Eight-Faced Buddha's people at an unfinished parking garage. Wei Shali sensed police activity and took half the money, leaving the final transaction's time and place undecided.

• Chow Sing Sing positioned his teams around the unfinished parking garage and ordered Ling Jing to find a sniping position.
• A team spotted five off-road vehicles carrying more than twenty people, and Chow Sing Sing ordered his operatives to prepare their weapons.
• Bobby greeted Wei Shali and vouched for Chai Kwok-yung and Su Kin-chiu as reliable drug dealers.
• Wei Shali warned that police activity had aroused suspicion, took half the money, and said he would notify them later about the transaction.

Su Kin-chiu secretly warned Chow Sing Sing that Eight-Faced Buddha was investigating the joint anti-drug operation, prompting Chow Sing Sing to lead an assault on the Unfinished Building. The officers killed the traffickers and surrounded the priority targets, leaving Wei Shali, Wei Mianna, Bobby, and Chai Kwok-yung stunned while Su Kin-chiu maintained his cover.

• Su Kin-chiu used the Zhou Cipher to tell Chow Sing Sing that Eight-Faced Buddha was investigating the operation.
• Chow Sing Sing ordered the officers to approach the Unfinished Building on foot and told Ling Jing to watch the site and provide support.
• Ling Jing reported that the targets were on the fourth floor, and Chow Sing Sing split the officers into two teams to reach both entrances.
• After Ling Jing identified the priority targets' positions, Chow Sing Sing ordered the officers to fire and led the assault.
• The officers killed the unprepared traffickers, while Wei Shali, Wei Mianna, Bobby, and Chai Kwok-yung took cover and Su Kin-chiu kept his composure.

Chow Sing Sing’s team surrounded the drug traffickers, and Wei Shali tried to take Su Kin-chiu hostage to escape. Ling Jing shot off Wei Shali’s gun arm, leaving the trapped group without a realistic chance to resist.

• Chow Sing Sing warned the people behind the cars to surrender and come out with their hands on their heads.
• Wei Shali deduced that one of the two men from Hong Kong Island might be an undercover officer and lunged at Su Kin-chiu to take him hostage.
• Ling Jing shot Wei Shali’s gun arm before he could reach Su Kin-chiu.
• Bobby threw his pistol out from behind cover and shouted that he was surrendering.

After Chow Sing Sing’s team captured Eight-Faced Buddha’s children, Wei Shali and Wei Mianna, Zhou Quan ordered an immediate interrogation and prepared the joint Hong Kong-Thai force to raid Eight-Faced Buddha’s lair that night. The chapter ended with the force preparing to strike and Withaya tasked with keeping news of the capture from reaching the drug lord.

• Chow Sing Sing stopped Ma Hiu Tin, Cheung Tsz-wai, and Wong Shun-yik from approaching Su Kin-chiu, keeping his identity concealed while the operation continued.
• Chow Sing Sing reported the capture of Wei Shali and Wei Mianna to Zhou Quan, who ordered an on-site interrogation and a raid that night.
• Ching Tung took Wei Mianna for interrogation, while Chow Sing Sing prepared to question Wei Shali himself.
• Zhou Quan convened an emergency meeting and ordered Hong Kong and Thai personnel to check their weapons and prepare for the attack.
• Zhou Quan directed Withaya to clear the scene and suppress news of the exchange of fire, and Withaya pledged to prevent Eight-Faced Buddha from learning of it.

After Wei Shali and Wei Mianna were captured, Zhou Quan prepared to strike Eight-Faced Buddha and secured Fang Xinwu’s agreement to infiltrate the Wa State United Army. He arranged for Wei Mianna to escape during her escort, leaving Fang Xinwu to use the opportunity to go undercover at her side.

• Zhou Quan ordered Police Colonel Withaya to keep the parking-lot gunfight quiet and arrange for the traffickers’ bodies to be removed.
• Zhou Quan told Fang Xinwu that Wei Shali and Wei Mianna had been captured and asked him to join the undercover operation against Eight-Faced Buddha.
• Fang Xinwu agreed to the mission, and Zhou Quan promised to request recognition for his service while arranging a coded record of the operation as a safeguard.
• Zhou Quan identified an abandoned factory near Chiang Saen County as the operations command center and instructed Fang Xinwu to wait by a red-earth forest during Wei Mianna’s escort.
• Zhou Quan told Fang Xinwu to contact Chow Sing Sing, who would create an opportunity for Wei Mianna to escape, and left the next steps to Fang Xinwu.

Zhou Quan arranged for Chow Sing Sing to stage Wei Mianna’s escape into a red-earth forest so Fang Xinwu could infiltrate her circle, while ensuring Wei Shali was eliminated. The plan left Chow Sing Sing preparing to carry out the operation.

• Chow Sing Sing paused Wei Shali’s interrogation to answer Zhou Quan’s satellite phone call.
• Zhou Quan ordered Chow Sing Sing to stage an escape for Wei Mianna near the red-earth forest, with Su Kin-chiu helping her flee and appearing to die in the exchange.
• Zhou Quan instructed that Wei Mianna be shot with a live round so she would be seriously wounded but survive, allowing someone in the forest to take her away.
• Chow Sing Sing agreed to make the arrangements and ensure the plan succeeded.
• Zhou Quan added that Wei Mianna had to leave alive and Wei Shali had to be eliminated.

Chow Sing Sing learned that Wei Mianna had revealed Eight-Faced Buddha’s location and ordered Ching Tung to verify her intelligence while ensuring Wei Shali would not survive being handed over to the Thai side. Chow then went to visit Su Kin-chiu, who was being held separately but treated as one of Zhou Quan’s trusted men.

• Zhou Quan told Chow Sing Sing that Eight-Faced Buddha and his three godsons could not be handed over alive, while Wei Mianna needed to be positioned to take over the remaining organization.
• Chow Sing Sing said Wei Shali would die from his injuries before reaching the Operations Command Centre, then ended the call and prepared for the operation against Eight-Faced Buddha.
• Ching Tung reported that Wei Mianna had given detailed intelligence about Eight-Faced Buddha’s location and security arrangements.
• Chow Sing Sing ordered Ching Tung to interrogate Wei Shali, compare his answers with Wei Mianna’s account, and ensure Wei Shali received no effective treatment.
• Chow Sing Sing went to see Su Kin-chiu, who was being guarded by Ma Hiu Tin, Cheung Tsz-wai, and Wong Shun-yik while chatting about returning to the Police Force.

Chow Sing Sing briefed Su Kin-chiu on a staged escape plan for Wei Mianna, using rubber bullets so Su could help her flee into a red-earth forest. He clarified that Su’s undercover service was over and his promotion papers were signed, leaving Su relieved and ready to carry out the assignment.

• Chow Sing Sing sent Ma Hiu Tin, Cheung Tsz-wai, and Wong Shun-yik outside to guard the car while he spoke privately with Su Kin-chiu.
• Chow Sing Sing replaced his pistol ammunition with rubber bullets and told Su to disarm him on signal, escape with Wei Mianna, and fire only at the guards’ upper torsos.
• Su Kin-chiu feared the assignment meant he would have to return undercover, but accepted it despite his distress.
• Chow Sing Sing explained that Su’s debriefing and promotion papers had already been signed and that his task would end once Wei Mianna reached the forest.
• Su Kin-chiu promised to complete the assignment, and Chow Sing Sing warned him not to arouse Wei Mianna’s suspicions.

Chow Sing Sing prepared the operation against Wei Mianna after confirming the siblings’ statements and hearing Su Kin-chiu’s cover story. He assigned the escorts and secretly briefed his officers on staging Wei Mianna’s escape, leaving Ling Jing to wound her with a precisely aimed shot.

• Su Kin-chiu explained that he could claim he was rescuing Wei Mianna to use her connections to rescue Chai Kwok-yung.
• Ching Tung reported that Wei Shali’s confession matched Wei Mianna’s after three interrogations.
• Chow Sing Sing ordered the Thai personnel to hold their positions and switched the Hong Kong officers to a dedicated radio channel.
• Chow Sing Sing assigned Ma Hiu Tin, Ling Jing, and Ching Tung to escort Chai Kwok-yung and Bobby, Wei Mianna and Su Kin-chiu, and Wei Shali, respectively.
• Chow Sing Sing secretly instructed his officers to help Su Kin-chiu stage Wei Mianna’s forced escape and told Ling Jing to shoot and severely wound her without killing her.

Chow Sing Sing escorted Wei Shali, Wei Mianna, and the other captured traffickers toward the joint Operations Command Centre, then received word that Fang Xinwu’s support team was ready to act. Near the marked palm tree, Chow Sing Sing and Su Kin-chiu staged a fight and stopped their vehicle, with Su taking Chow hostage to begin the operation.

• Chow Sing Sing replaced the surveillance sedans with Wei Shali’s five off-road vehicles and set off with the captured traffickers.
• Fang Xinwu called Chow Sing Sing and told him that reflective tape marked the spot where the operation could begin.
• Chow Sing Sing ordered the convoy to speed up, and Ching Tung anesthetized Wei Shali as his untreated arm wound bled heavily.
• Chow Sing Sing spotted the marked palm tree and silently signaled Su Kin-chiu to start the operation.
• Su Kin-chiu drew a prepared pistol, took Chow Sing Sing hostage, and forced the driver to stop at the roadside.

Su Kin-chiu staged a hostage escape so Wei Mianna could flee into the Red-Earth Forest, while Chow Sing Sing and the officers helped sell the ruse. Wei Mianna was shot in the abdomen but kept running, unaware that Su Kin-chiu and the others were only firing into the sky.

• Su Kin-chiu used Chow Sing Sing as a hostage and backed away with Wei Mianna, who insisted they rescue her injured brother, Wei Shali.
• Su Kin-chiu persuaded Wei Mianna to escape first and tell her father to send help for him, Chow Sing Sing, and Wei Shali.
• After they entered the Red-Earth Forest, Wei Mianna ran while Chow Sing Sing ordered the officers to fire around her and not let her escape.
• A bullet struck Wei Mianna in the abdomen, but she continued fleeing as she heard Su Kin-chiu's pistol shots behind her.
• Su Kin-chiu and the other men gathered together and fired into the sky while Wei Mianna believed he was still covering her escape.

Wei Mianna collapsed from blood loss while fleeing, and Fang Xinwu rescued and treated her before heading to the Hong Kong-Thai Joint Operations Command Centre. He arrived at the guarded factory to join Zhou Quan’s operation against Eight-Faced Buddha.

• Wei Mianna stumbled in the Red-Earth Forest, passed out, and saw Fang Xinwu before losing consciousness.
• Fang Xinwu injected Wei Mianna with adrenaline, treated her gunshot wound, and carried her to a nearby Safe House.
• Fang Xinwu gave Wei Mianna an anesthetic and ensured she would remain unconscious for at least twenty-four hours.
• Fang Xinwu drove to the guarded command centre and asked the guards to contact Sir Kwan.
• Zhou Quan told Fang Xinwu to transfer to Ah Sing’s car, and Fang Xinwu climbed into its back seat.

Chow Sing Sing and Zhou Quan assembled an elite force and launched an aerial surprise operation into the Golden Triangle to attack Eight-Faced Buddha’s stronghold. Fang Xinwu joined as their guide, studying the map and identifying a landing area near the target.

• Chow Sing Sing brought Fang Xinwu to the Joint Operations Command Centre, where Zhou Quan had assembled three action groups and six helicopters.
• Zhou Quan excluded the Thai personnel and several Hong Kong officers from the operation, choosing an aerial approach to avoid alerting traffickers at the Mae Sai Border Checkpoint.
• Zhou Quan ordered the teams to board, then led Chow Sing Sing and Fang Xinwu onto a helicopter as the six aircraft took off toward the Thai border.
• Zhou Quan gave Fang Xinwu weapons and equipment and asked him to guide the team to Eight-Faced Buddha’s stronghold using information from Wei Shali’s and Wei Mianna’s statements.
• Fang Xinwu identified a flat, sparsely wooded area about three kilometres northwest of the stronghold and said the team would need to cross old-growth forest.

Zhou Quan led his men to Eight-Faced Buddha’s drug-manufacturing hideout and prepared a silent infiltration instead of risking a fire that could spread through the forest. With Ling Jing guiding the team from high ground, Zhou Quan ordered everyone to wait for the village patrol.

• Zhou Quan landed six helicopters on a plateau three kilometers from the hideout and led his men toward the village.
• Zhou Quan ruled out burning the village because a forest fire could cause international trouble, and he needed to confirm Eight-Faced Buddha’s death himself.
• Chow Sing Sing led He Wenzhan, Pang Yik-hang, and Chan Chi-kit toward the village while Ling Jing took a Designated Marksman Rifle to find a firing position.
• Ling Jing reported two watchtowers with two dozing sentries in each, and confirmed that Zhou Quan’s men were in position.
• Zhou Quan told everyone to hold position and wait for the patrol to appear.

Zhou Quan led a timed raid on Eight-Faced Buddha’s village after learning the patrol schedule and the true layout of the target’s residences. He reached Eight-Faced Buddha’s actual house with Fang Xinwu, while his squads moved toward the other targets.

• Zhou Quan waited for the ten-man patrol to pass, then set a ten-minute limit for the raid before the next patrol could return.
• Zhou Quan and Ling Jing killed the four sleeping sentries at the watchtowers with suppressed shots.
• Zhou Quan sent Chow Sing Sing’s A Group toward Wei Shaman’s residence and He Wenzhan’s S Group toward Wei Shama’s, while Ling Jing and the support team covered the operation.
• Zhou Quan led T Squad toward Eight-Faced Buddha’s house, avoiding the central wooden house, which held three elite mercenaries rather than Eight-Faced Buddha.
• Zhou Quan and Fang Xinwu crept up to the open window of Eight-Faced Buddha’s actual residence as Chan Wing Yan and other T Squad members guarded the perimeter.