Chapter Summaries

Police Force leaders approved a secret weapon for the Third-generation Communications Command System and signed its confidential authorization in triplicate. As Wong Bing Yiu left to brief the government’s top officials, Zhou Quan returned to work and was interrupted by a young visitor.

• Tsang Yuk-ming and Chow Sing Sing supported Wong Bing Yiu’s decision to add a secret weapon to the communications system.
• Wong Bing Yiu instructed Chow Sing Sing to prepare three confidential copies and Choi Yuen-kei to incorporate the weapon within the existing budget.
• Wong Bing Yiu, Zhou Quan, Tsang Yuk-ming, Choi Yuen-kei, and Chow Sing Sing signed all three copies, with Chow Sing Sing retaining one for the National Security Department.
• Wong Bing Yiu took the other copies to brief the big boss and the Secretary for Security while the others returned to their duties.
• Zhou Quan sat down to work, then looked up when a young figure appeared at his office doorway.

Jing Jinxian told Zhou Quan that his wife Emma was due to give birth soon and feared the criminal organization that had recruited him would target her and their child. He proposed using the birth to draw the organization out and asked Zhou Quan to protect his family if the plan failed.

• Zhou Quan noticed Jing Jinxian's anxiety when he entered the office and shut the glass door behind him.
• Jing Jinxian explained that Emma's due date was only days away and said he feared the organization would use his wife and baby against him.
• Zhou Quan recalled that Jing Jinxian had been a covert agent for the organization before becoming his informant and a member of Operation Crouching Tiger.
• Jing Jinxian said he wanted to lure the organization out and destroy it, but asked Zhou Quan to take care of Emma and the baby if he could not succeed.

Zhou Quan weighed Jing Jinxian’s plan to use himself as bait against a secretive transnational criminal organization and decided to gather his trusted senior officers to consider a response. He revealed Jing Jinxian’s history and carefully framed his role as an undercover agent, leaving the team prepared to act without compromising his standing in the Police Force.

• Zhou Quan considered how little he knew about the organization and feared that acting rashly would alert it, but he could not leave Jing Jinxian’s wife and unborn child under threat.
• Zhou Quan called Chow Sing Sing and summoned Ah Nin and the Operations Security Department’s senior supervisors to his office.
• After everyone arrived, Zhou Quan explained that Jing Jinxian had encountered the organization during Operation Crouching Tiger and, on Zhou Quan’s instructions, pretended to join it.
• Zhou Quan told the officers that the organization was secretive, had tried to plant intelligence agents in law enforcement, and was tied to Madam M’s assassins, though its name, size, and reach remained unknown.
• Zhou Quan presented Jing Jinxian’s history as a secret undercover assignment, noting that this distinction could protect him from criminal liability and preserve his future in the Police Force.

Zhou Quan reopened Tomb Tiger Operations, the long-running mission to dismantle the criminal organization behind Madam M and Jing Jinxian, and showed his officers a sketch of its elusive manager, Mr. Dong. With Jing Jinxian’s wife close to giving birth, Zhou Quan warned that the mission’s circumstances had changed and his family could become a vulnerability.

• Zhou Quan asked Chow Sing Sing to retrieve the Tomb Tiger Operations file from his safe, and the officers recalled the old assassination attempt by Madam M’s organization.
• Chow Sing Sing brought out the file, which detailed Jing Jinxian’s undercover role in Sun Yee On and included Zhou Quan’s composite sketch of Mr. Dong.
• Zhou Quan explained that Mr. Dong’s real name was unknown, but he had been Madam M’s superior and was now the organization’s nominal manager.
• Zhou Quan said Jing Jinxian had been expected to continue the operation until Mr. Dong surfaced, but the approaching birth of Jing Jinxian’s child had changed the situation.
• The officers recognized that the criminal organization could exploit Jing Jinxian’s wife and newborn as leverage because he had no other known family on Hong Kong Island.

Zhou Quan ordered a protection and trap operation to safeguard Jing Jinxian’s wife and unborn child from the criminal group threatening them. Jing Jinxian revealed he had already prepared a secluded safe house in Jordan where they could lure the criminals into an ambush.

• Chow Sing Sing urged Zhou Quan to give the order, and the National Security Department pledged its full support.
• Zhou Quan assigned Chan Wing Yan’s G4 to provide round-the-clock protection for Jing Jinxian’s family and establish a nearby security detail.
• Zhou Quan told Jing Jinxian to move his family after the baby was born and proposed using their new home to lure the criminals out.
• Jing Jinxian said he had prepared a secluded seaside Village House in Jordan as a safe house and gave its location to Zhou Quan and the other officers.

Zhou Quan deployed Tomb Tiger Operations across West Kowloon to protect Jing Jinxian’s family and expose the transnational criminal group. A month later, Jing Jinxian’s wife and newborn daughter remained under protection as he waited for the group to make its move.

• Zhou Quan ordered teams to monitor Jordan, station elite squads at West Kowloon Headquarters, and establish an intelligence post nearby.
• Zhou Quan put Kong Chi Lap in charge of Tomb Tiger Operations, directing him to protect Ah Xian’s family and uncover the criminal group while using a safe house when the net closed.
• Jing Jinxian’s wife gave birth to a healthy daughter, and after a week in hospital, the family returned to their Jordan home under police protection.
• Tomb Tiger Operations teams took their positions, and Madam Squad officers posed as caregivers to protect Jing Jinxian’s wife and daughter around the clock.
• A month later, Emma asked Jing Jinxian when they could go home, but he could not give her a date; she reassured him that she and their daughter supported him.

The National Security Department's Tomb Tiger operation detected a suspicious Mercedes approaching Jing Jinxian's safe house, and the officers recognized Mr. Dong among the men who emerged. The team prepared to take control as Jing Jinxian hurried back to check on his family.

• Yeung Chi-lung ordered the surveillance team to track the Mercedes, check its license plate, and prepare weapons for combat.
• A Madam Squad officer directed Emma to take the baby into the windowless bathroom, and Jing Jinxian reassured Emma before ending their call.
• Jing Jinxian accelerated toward the safe house, anxious to see that his wife and daughter were safe.
• Little Eagle reported that three men had exited the Mercedes and identified the Asian man as the operation's primary target, Mr. Dong.
• The officers around the safe house prepared to control the three men, confident they had the advantage.

Yeung Chi-lung’s team used intelligence from Chan Kwok-wah to ambush Mr. Dong and his bodyguards near Jing Jinxian’s Safe House. The two bodyguards were shot and captured, while Mr. Dong was handcuffed and left facing Yeung Chi-lung’s taunt.

• Chan Kwok-wah’s Headquarters identified the black Mercedes-Benz as belonging to a Mong Kok securities company and found target No. 1 on its CCTV footage.
• Yeung Chi-lung ordered Iron Wall Team One to arrest the suspects, allowing them to fire on anyone except Mr. Dong.
• The suspects’ two bodyguards fired at the approaching armoured vehicles, but their bullets failed to penetrate the glass.
• G4 personnel shot both bodyguards in the shoulders and ordered Mr. Dong to raise his hands.
• The officers cuffed Mr. Dong, and Yeung Chi-lung arrived with Intelligence Group officers as the G4 Senior Inspector reported that all suspects were secured.
• Yeung Chi-lung mocked Mr. Dong for thinking he deserved the name.

Mr. Dong realized Jing Jinxian had helped the National Security Department trap him, but Yeung Chi-lung ordered officers to gag and hood him before he could expose Jing’s secret. Kong Chi Lap took charge of the aftermath and ordered Mr. Dong moved to a Safe House for a restricted interrogation.

• Mr. Dong recognized Jing Jinxian arriving and roared at him for betraying the intelligence organization.
• Yeung Chi-lung ordered officers to gag and cover Mr. Dong’s eyes, and G4 officers subdued and hooded him.
• Yeung Chi-lung ordered prisoner transport and a White Car for the two wounded criminals.
• Kong Chi Lap ordered Yeung Chi-lung to take target No. 1 to the nearby West A Safe House and guard him personally.
• Yeung Chi-lung acknowledged the order and prepared to escort Mr. Dong to the Safe House.

Yeung Chi-lung brought Mr. Dong to the West A Safe House, where Kong Chi Lap and the Action Group management began a brutal interrogation. Mr. Dong demanded that they ask questions before torturing him.

• Yeung Chi-lung took the hooded and gagged Mr. Dong to the West A Safe House while the Paparazzi stayed behind with the two gunmen.
• Kong Chi Lap and four Action Group managers arrived to oversee the interrogation and prepare for the operation against Mr. Dong’s organization.
• Kong Chi Lap ordered Chan Chi-kit, Gao Qiu, and Yeung Chi-lung to restrain Mr. Dong while Gao Qiu repeatedly suffocated him.
• Kong Chi Lap stopped the torture and asked Mr. Dong whether he had anything to say.
• Mr. Dong protested that they should ask him questions before using torture.

Kong Chi Lap interrogated Mr. Dong about the multinational intelligence organization called Headquarters, using suffocation to force him to reveal its structure and operations. Mr. Dong disclosed that Jing Jinxian was one of the organization’s ace agents, leaving Kong and the other officers facing a traitor within their own department.

• Kong Chi Lap ordered Mr. Dong to explain his organization and used interrogation methods to pressure him into confessing.
• Mr. Dong said Headquarters had unnamed leaders, some of whom belonged to the Aether Society’s council of elders, and operated child soldier training camps around the world.
• Gao Qiu, Yeung Chi-lung, and Chan Chi-kit repeatedly suffocated Mr. Dong until he agreed to reveal more.
• Kong Chi Lap gave Mr. Dong one final chance, and Mr. Dong revealed the organization’s real headquarters was a finance company in Mong Kok whose central computer held most of its records.
• Mr. Dong said the organization’s trained agents and assassins were scattered worldwide, then revealed that Jing Jinxian was one of its ace agents whom he had personally trained.

Mr. Dong offered the central computer access key in exchange for State Witness status and protection, while revealing that Jing Jinxian had betrayed him. Zhou Quan refused to negotiate for now and ordered Kong Chi Lap to lead an operation against the Criminal Group’s headquarters in Mong Kok.

• Mr. Dong demanded State Witness status and personal protection in return for the access key to the headquarters’ central computer.
• Kong Chi Lap left the interrogation room, ordered officers to guard Mr. Dong, and sent He Wenzhan and Gei Siu-kwan to prepare the operation in Yau Tsim District.
• Kong Chi Lap reported to Zhou Quan that the Criminal Group’s headquarters was disguised as a financial company in Golden Plaza, Mong Kok, and relayed Mr. Dong’s demands.
• Zhou Quan ordered Kong Chi Lap to take command of the operation and postpone negotiations, saying he would come to Yau Tsim District.
• Kong Chi Lap confirmed the orders and prepared to lead the team to Golden Plaza with Flying Tigers support.

Cheng Chung-yan and Kong Chi Lap waited in Golden Plaza’s underground car park as police teams raided a financial company accused of serving as a terrorist organization’s headquarters. The operation neared completion just as Zhou Quan’s convoy approached, and So Tsz On reported that the boss was about to arrive.

• Cheng Chung-yan anxiously asked Kong Chi Lap about the upstairs operation and offered to bring in the Mobile Unit’s B Company.
• Kong Chi Lap reassured Cheng Chung-yan that Ah Zhan, Ah Qun, and Ah Jing’s teams had the raid under control.
• Police officers warned the financial company’s occupants to surrender, and shot dead those who resisted.
• Assault Groups reported that the building was clear, and Kong Chi Lap anticipated welcoming his boss with news of success.
• Kong Chi Lap learned that Zhou Quan’s convoy was approaching Golden Plaza, and So Tsz On told Cheng Chung-yan the boss was about to arrive.

Zhou Quan and the National Security Department took control of the Financial Company's central computer system to access the files of a mysterious transnational intelligence organization. After cracking the system, Zhou Quan ordered Luo Danian's team to copy the data while following confidentiality rules.

• Zhou Quan arrived at Golden Plaza with Chow Sing Sing and Luo Danian, while Cheng Chung-yan and So Tsz On agreed to handle the scene's cleanup.
• Zhou Quan led his men upstairs to the Financial Company, where Kong Chi Lap secured the building and Luo Danian's specialists prepared to attack the central computer system.
• Zhou Quan and the specialists cracked the unguarded system in just over an hour.
• Zhou Quan ordered Luo Danian to take over and make a complete copy of the data, forbidding the team from browsing files without permission.

After Tomb Tiger Operations succeeded, Zhou Quan ordered the secret records and captured criminals taken to Tai Kwun. On the way back, he learned that a jewelry robbery suspect had critically wounded an officer and ordered nearby National Security Department personnel to assist.

• Luo Danian reported that the financial company's records had been copied, and Zhou Quan directed Gei Siu-kwan and He Wenzhan to handle the evidence and escort the criminals.
• Zhou Quan left Golden Plaza with the secret records, declined Cheng Chung-yan and So Tsz On's invitation, and headed to Tai Kwun through the Western Harbour Crossing.
• Ying Cheung-sam told Zhou Quan that a jewelry robbery suspect had cut a Uniform Branch officer's main artery on Stone Slab Street and escaped while evading the Paparazzi.
• Zhou Quan ordered A Long and his men to leave the expressway and assist, allowing them to decide how much force to use.

Yeung Chi-lung and the Intelligence Group joined the hunt for Chan Chung-shan, a wanted jewellery robber who had attacked a uniformed officer. After tracking him through CCTV, Yeung stopped him and shot him in the arm when he drew a blade.

• Zhou Quan split the convoy, sending Yeung Chi-lung and his Intelligence Group to support the Criminal Intelligence Bureau on Stone Slab Street.
• Chan Chu-lam told Yeung that Chan Chung-shan, an armed robber wanted for killing an officer, had wounded a uniformed officer and was being tracked after a jewellery shop robbery.
• Yeung ordered his team to use Chan Chung-shan’s wanted portrait to identify him, while the National Security Department command centre traced his route through CCTV.
• Chan Kwok-wah guided Yeung’s team through nearby streets, and Yeung spotted Chan Chung-shan walking with a brown briefcase.
• Yeung’s driver struck Chan Chung-shan with the vehicle, and Yeung ordered him to surrender at gunpoint.
• When Chan Chung-shan drew a blade, Yeung shot him in the arm before he could reach a hostage.

Yeung Chi-lung and his men captured Chan Chung-shan after he stabbed a police officer, then handed the scene over to CIB Sergeant Wong Man-chin and returned to Tai Kwun. Chan Chung-shan’s accomplices remained under pursuit by the Major Crimes Unit.

• Yeung Chi-lung and his men subdued Chan Chung-shan after he wounded a uniformed officer with a steel spike.
• Yeung Chi-lung reported Chan Chung-shan’s arrest and requested that CIB colleagues come collect him.
• Sergeant Wong Man-chin arrived, verified his identity, and took charge of the handover while Yeung Chi-lung’s men stayed to assist.
• Yeung Chi-lung left for Tai Kwun in another vehicle, leaving his colleague and the Stealth Armoured Vehicle at the scene.
• The Major Crimes Unit continued surrounding and hunting down Chan Chung-shan’s accomplices.

Zhou Quan reviewed the transnational intelligence organization’s secret files and ordered strict measures to protect Jing Jinxian’s identity and contain the organization’s surviving criminals. He then tasked Lok Kai-cheung and Chow Sing Sing with coordinating international raids on child soldier training camps listed in the files.

• Luo Danian displayed files revealing intelligence agents the organization had planted in law enforcement agencies around the world, while Zhou Quan considered the threat and the risks of holding the files.
• Chow Sing Sing asked whether Jing Jinxian’s records should be deleted, but Zhou Quan ordered them preserved as S-level top secret, accessible only to those at the meeting.
• Zhou Quan ordered Mr. Dong moved to a core safe house under guard and directed that potentially connected criminals be screened, held in temporary safe houses, and have their interrogation footage sealed.
• Zhou Quan told Chow Sing Sing and Lok Kai-cheung to contact Interpol and relevant countries’ law enforcement agencies and lead operations to destroy every child soldier training camp listed in the files.

Zhou Quan assigned Lok Kai-cheung to lead an international effort against child soldier training camps, then used the red dedicated telephone line to offer a seized dossier of infiltrated agents to Director Hao Jianguo. The chapter ended as Zhou explained how the dossier could help the authorities back home.

• Zhou Quan gave Lok Kai-cheung free rein to coordinate with other countries to eradicate the child soldier training camps, and Lok pledged to destroy them.
• Zhou Quan left the meeting and called Director Hao Jianguo through the red dedicated telephone line.
• Zhou Quan told Director Hao that the Hong Kong Island Police Force had seized and sealed a dossier on agents and assassins trained by a transnational intelligence organization.
• Zhou Quan offered to hand over the dossier, explaining that its records of agents infiltrating law enforcement agencies worldwide could help the authorities back home.

Zhou Quan briefed Director Hao about the intelligence-agent dossier, and the two agreed that the homeland would decide how to handle it and arrange a face-to-face handover. After the call, Zhou Quan went to inform Wong Bing Yiu, leaving the dossier’s final disposition and the Tomb Tiger Operations mission unresolved.

• Zhou Quan told Director Hao about the intelligence-agent dossier and explained that he had sealed it within the National Security Department.
• Director Hao thanked Zhou Quan and the Hong Kong Island Police Force, and said he would consult his superiors about handling the dossier.
• Zhou Quan affirmed that Hong Kong Island and its police force were part of the homeland, and Director Hao ended the call to report the matter.
• Zhou Quan decided the mission could not be completed until the homeland finalized its response to the dossier.
• Zhou Quan went to Wong Bing Yiu’s office to brief the Police Force’s Number One and knocked on the glass door.