Chapter Summaries

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.

Zhou Quan approved three promotions to Senior Assistant Commissioner and personally selected four Senior Superintendents for promotion to Assistant Commissioner. He planned broader rotations to reduce factional influence while keeping the National Security Department under his long-term control, then assigned the personnel changes to be reported to higher-ups.

• Zhou Quan approved Yin Xiaofeng's nominations of Albert, David, and Jing Quan for Senior Assistant Commissioner and ordered Yin to prepare their promotion documents.
• Zhou Quan nominated Guo Zhanliang, Tung Biu, Yu Suqiu, and Chen Liqun for promotion to Assistant Commissioner, leaving their future duties for later announcement.
• Zhou Quan planned to rotate Police Force management to reduce factional influence while preserving the National Security Department's influence over future Police Force Number Ones.
• Zhou Quan adjourned the meeting, and the Senior Assistant Commissioners saluted him before returning to their posts to prepare for handovers.
• Zhou Quan took responsibility for reporting the Police Force personnel changes to the higher-ups.

At a Police Force management meeting, Zhou Quan honored four retiring senior officers and announced a broad reshuffle of the core leadership. The chapter ended with Zhou Quan transferring Hon Hau-chung and Yin Xiaofeng to new department command roles.

• Zhou Quan thanked He Lingyun, Choi Yuen-kei, Tsang Heung-wing, and Deng Xuanwei for their service as they rose and saluted before retiring.
• Zhou Quan promoted Chow Sing Sing to Deputy Commissioner overseeing operations and Lau Kit-fai to Deputy Commissioner overseeing management.
• Zhou Quan promoted Kong Chi Lap to Operations Department Commander, Mok Kam-chuen to Regulatory Department Commander, and Cheuk King-chuen to Criminal Operations Department Commander.
• Zhou Quan transferred Hon Hau-chung to command the Personnel Division and Yin Xiaofeng to command the Finance Division, while leaving Luo Danian in charge of the National Security Department.

Zhou Quan reshuffled the Police Force core management, promoting and transferring officers across the National Security, Action, and Management groups. He announced that two more members would join the core management, leaving their identities unrevealed.

• Zhou Quan promoted Lau Kit-fai to Deputy Commissioner in charge of the Management Group, freeing him to oversee the Personnel and Finance divisions.
• Zhou Quan appointed Guo Zhanliang, Yu Suqiu, Tung Biu, and Chen Liqun as Assistant Commissioners in new roles.
• Zhou Quan transferred Kwan Man Chin to the National Security Department and reassigned several Operations Assistant Commissioners to regional commands and headquarters posts.
• The reshuffle established the National Security, Action, and Management groups, with the Action Group holding thirteen of the core management's twenty-three seats.
• Zhou Quan told the Police Force Management that two new members would join the core management.

Zhou Quan expanded the Police Force’s core management by promoting Police College Director Jiang Ping to Assistant Commissioner under the Personnel Division, giving the academy’s head a new path for advancement. Jiang Ping joined the core management as Zhou Quan tasked Lau Kit-fai’s group with improving Police Force training.

• Zhou Quan said the Police College needed to grow to meet the Police Force’s needs and told Lau Kit-fai’s Management Group to improve its training program.
• Zhou Quan announced that Jiang Ping was promoted to Police Force Assistant Commissioner under the Personnel Division and would serve exclusively as head of the Police Academy.
• Jiang Ping was stunned by the unexpected promotion, then rose to salute and thank Zhou Quan.
• Lau Kit-fai and the other core management members saluted in acknowledgment, while the Senior Superintendents applauded Jiang Ping’s appointment.
• The Police Force Management accepted Zhou Quan’s decision and congratulated Jiang Ping, recognizing the importance of developing future recruits.

Zhou Quan completed the Police Force’s core management reshuffle by promoting Du Wen and making the Consultation Systems Department head an Assistant Commissioner post. The meeting ended with the force’s new leaders escorting four veteran officers into retirement.

• Zhou Quan announced that Du Wen had been promoted to Police Force Assistant Commissioner and would remain head of the Consultation Systems Department.
• Zhou Quan established the department head’s rank as an Assistant Commissioner post, recognizing the importance of technology and creating a path for specialists into core management.
• Du Wen joined the Police Force core management as its youngest member, receiving enthusiastic applause from the Senior Superintendents.
• Zhou Quan instructed the newly appointed officers to complete their handovers, then announced the retirement of He Lingyun, Choi Yuen-kei, Tsang Heung-wing, and Deng Xuanwei.
• Zhou Quan and the new core management members followed the four veterans as they left the Police Force Great Hall amid applause.