Chapter Summaries

Zhou Quan considered how Ma Latang’s stolen US$15 billion and the operations against the DOA Group and JC Group could help him reshape the Police Force’s leadership. He aimed to expand the National Security System while weighing his future prospects and the need to keep the force’s power structure under central oversight.

• Zhou Quan recalled that after Mr. Gao’s arrest, Ma Latang would flee with US$15 billion in DOA Group funds, and he considered the money’s potential political benefits.
• Zhou Quan planned to use the DOA Group and JC Group operations to advance reforms that would give the National Security System more seats in the Police Force’s core management.
• Zhou Quan considered possible paths to higher office, including succeeding Lok Ming-wah as Secretary for Security or becoming a Three Secretaries chief.
• Zhou Quan recognized that Mainland China's senior leadership and the Hong Kong Government would limit how long he remained in charge of the Police Force to prevent regional power from becoming entrenched.
• Zhou Quan resolved to keep developing the Police Force as a safeguard for public order and to strengthen its National Security System.

Zhou Quan ordered a Special Task Force to secure the DOA Group’s fifteen billion dollars and dismantle the DOA and JC Groups. He gave the team intelligence about Mo Chou and Shi Yijian, then sent them out with instructions to protect their people and ensure civilians’ safety.

• Zhou Quan learned that Ma Latang planned to hand the DOA Group’s fifteen billion dollars to the Hong Kong Island Police Force to reduce Mr. Gao’s culpability.
• Zhou Quan established a Special Task Force led by Ah Nin and authorized it to use the Police Force’s resources, including cross-border operations, to secure the funds.
• Zhou Quan revealed that Mo Chou masterminded the DOA Group, loved Macau’s Magic Hands Shi Yijian, and had Yi Tianxing of the JC Group as a devoted suitor.
• Zhou Quan instructed the team to dismantle both criminal organizations while ensuring the personal safety of their people.
• Luo Danian, Kwan Man Chin, Lau Bo-keung, and the other leaders saluted Zhou Quan, then shared tea before returning to their duties.

Luo Danian formally established a special task force to pursue the DOA Group and JC Group, assigning elite personnel to prepare for overseas operations. The first priority was helping Ma Latang escape with the DOA Group’s stolen fifteen billion US dollars so the authorities could use the money to lure Mo Chou into their reach.

• Luo Danian ordered his department heads to prepare for a mobilization and deployment meeting, and the National Security Department’s managers gathered half an hour later.
• Luo Danian announced that Number One’s instructions had formally established a special task force for the DOA Group and JC Group, with himself as leader.
• Luo Danian ordered T Group and the International Action Group to select elite officers for a temporary unit ready for overseas missions.
• Luo Danian’s team identified retrieving Ma Latang and the fifteen billion US dollars as the operation’s first priority, which could help lure Mo Chou to Hong Kong Island.
• Ma Latang planned to flee to a nearby country after transferring the money, where National Security Department officers could safely pick him up.

Luo Danian assigned police departments to prepare for a cross-border operation against the DOA Group and the JC Group, while carefully considering whether Shi Yijian would cooperate. Kwan Man Chin urged the team to protect Mr. Ma’s relatives because the fifteen billion US dollars could provoke a violent response from the DOA Group.

• Luo Danian ordered He Wenzhan and Chan Kwok-wah to select elite personnel for mixed teams ready to conduct cross-border missions.
• Luo Danian tasked Yeung Chi-lung with mobilizing police intelligence channels to monitor everyone involved in the operation.
• Luo Danian directed Lau Bo-keung to investigate Magic Hands in Macau and stressed that Shi Yijian’s wishes had to come first.
• Lau Bo-keung said his connections in Macau’s gambling industry would make investigating Magic Hands straightforward.
• Kwan Man Chin suggested investigating Mr. Ma’s personal relationships and arranging protection for any relatives before the DOA Group reacted to the fifteen billion US dollars.

Luo Danian and Kwan Man Chin assigned the Police Force to protect Ma Latang’s family and relatives while coordinating investigations and preparations for operations involving the DOA Group and Magic Hands Shi Yijian. The meeting ended with the officers taking up their respective duties.

• Kwan Man Chin warned that Ma Latang’s family ties to Mr. Gao and the DOA Group could put his relatives in danger and tempt people because of the fifteen billion US dollars.
• Luo Danian praised Kwan Man Chin’s judgment and assigned Lau Bo-keung to oversee the safety of Ma Latang’s family and relatives.
• Luo Danian ordered the three departments to coordinate their operations and told them to contact him or Kwan Man Chin if problems arose.
• After the meeting, He Wenzhan began forming a special team for transnational operations, while Lau Bo-keung contacted Ma Latang and Yeung Kam Wing investigated Shi Yijian.
• Chan Kwok-wah handled support for the investigations and arranged the Police Force’s external liaison with the relevant law enforcement agencies.

Lau Bo-keung, He Wenzhan, and Chan Kwok-wah consolidated their findings for the operation against the DOA Group, arranging protection for Ma Latang’s relatives and identifying connections that could bring Shi Yijian into the plan. Lau then asked He to lend him Ah Yin for the trip to Macau.

• Lau Bo-keung reported that Ma Latang’s ex-wife and brother-in-law were in Thailand and his other relatives were in Mainland China.
• He Wenzhan arranged to send a team to bring Ma Latang’s ex-wife and brother-in-law to Hong Kong Island, while Chan Kwok-wah contacted colleagues in Mainland China to protect the rest of his family.
• Chan Kwok-wah identified Sergeant Lok-Yu Le, Shi Yijian’s apprentice and Jiang Dawei’s godson, as someone who could help persuade Shi to cooperate.
• Lau Bo-keung revealed that Wang Dong was an old friend of Shi Yijian’s and said the connections made him more confident about approaching Shi in Macau.
• Lau Bo-keung asked He Wenzhan to lend him Ah Yin from the Technology Group for the Macau trip.

Lau Bo-keung arranged security for Ma Latang's relatives and recruited support for an operation in Macau. He tasked Jing Jinxian and Lee Family Ka-chun with monitoring Shi Yijian's communications to locate the mastermind behind the DOA Group.

• Lau Bo-keung called Chan Wing Yan through official channels and requested that Senior Superintendent Wang Dong report to Tai Kwun.
• Chan Wing Yan agreed to send Wang Dong, despite being disappointed that Lau's call did not concern an urgent Mobile Unit deployment.
• Lau Bo-keung met Superintendent Jing Jinxian and Inspector Lee Family Ka-chun, who had been assigned to follow his arrangements.
• Lau Bo-keung ordered Jing Jinxian and Lee Family Ka-chun to take a technology team to Macau and monitor Shi Yijian's external communications around the clock.
• Lau Bo-keung instructed the team to identify the exact location of the DOA Group's mastermind if Shi Yijian contacted them.

Lau Bo-keung sent a technical team secretly into Macau and summoned Wang Dong and Yu Le to discuss Shi Yijian. The chapter ended with both men unsettled by Lau’s reason for raising the name of the Macau magician.

• Lau Bo-keung dispatched Jing Jinxian, Lee Family Ka-chun, and a technical team to enter Macau secretly by way of Yuezhou and Zhuhai.
• Wang Dong and Yu Le arrived at Police Force Headquarters and met Lau Bo-keung.
• Lau greeted Wang Dong warmly, reflecting on Wang’s career and his ties to the Police Force’s National Security faction.
• Lau told Wang and Yu that he had called them in mainly to discuss Shi Yijian.
• Wang, Shi Yijian’s old friend, and Yu, Shi Yijian’s eldest disciple, wondered why Lau had raised Shi’s name.

Lau Bo-keung explained that the National Security Department was investigating two transnational criminal groups and wanted to enlist Shi Yijian’s help through his connections to one target. Wang Dong and Yu Le agreed that they knew Shi, and Lau asked them to arrange a meeting so he could seek Shi’s cooperation.

• The chapter recounted how Shi Yijian and Jiang Dawei had sworn brotherhood with Yu Le’s father, who later died from injuries sustained protecting them, leaving the two men to raise Yu Le.
• Shi Yijian became the renowned gambler Magic Hand, while Jiang Dawei built a legal Macau hotel business, and Yu Le’s abilities and background helped him enter the Police Force’s National Security Department.
• Wang Dong told Lau Bo-keung that he and Shi Yijian were old friends, and Yu Le reported that Shi was his master and godfather.
• Lau Bo-keung reassured Yu Le that the meeting was not an internal hearing and explained that the NS had established Shi had not joined a criminal group’s activities.
• Lau Bo-keung asked Wang Dong and Yu Le to connect him with Shi so he could visit Macau and seek Shi’s help dismantling the criminal group.

Wang Dong and Yu Le agreed to join Lau Bo-keung’s Special Working Group for a mission targeting a transnational criminal group, and they traveled with him to Macau. There, Yu Le reunited with his godfather Jiang Dawei, leaving the group to face an important connection to the mission.

• Wang Dong and Yu Le agreed to cooperate with Lau Bo-keung and were temporarily assigned to the Special Working Group led by Sir Luo.
• Lau Bo-keung told them to meet at Hong Kong-Macau Pier in an hour and said the detailed mission brief would be given aboard the boat.
• Wang Dong left to make preparations, while Yu Le departed with Lau Bo-keung.
• Lau Bo-keung, Wang Dong, Yu Le, and Su Kin-chiu arrived at a Manueline-style building in Macau.
• Jiang Dawei greeted Yu Le, who hurried over and embraced his godfather.

Yu Le returned to Macau on official business after years away, and his godfather Jiang Dawei worried about his career and hoped Lau Bo-keung would support him. The chapter ended with Lau Bo-keung acknowledging Yu Le’s abilities and hinting that a successful operation could bring him greater notice.

• Yu Le recalled leaving Las Vegas to join the Hong Kong Island Police Force and returning home after four years to face his master Shi Yijian.
• Jiang Dawei welcomed Yu Le, reflected on his rapid rise to sergeant in the National Security Department, and resolved to help him advance.
• Jiang Dawei greeted Lau Bo-keung and pointed out that Yu Le was involved in the operation.
• Lau Bo-keung praised Yu Le’s ability and said a successful operation could make him a young officer worth watching.

Lau Bo-keung and the Hong Kong Island Police Force officers visited Shi Yijian, who welcomed them after recognizing their senior ranks and accepting Wang Dong’s gift. As the group entered Shi Yijian’s home, he suddenly slapped Yu Le on the back of the head.

• Jiang Dawei led Lau Bo-keung and the officers into Shi Yijian’s home and reunited warmly with his old friend.
• Shi Yijian recognized Lau Bo-keung and Wang Dong, then met Superintendent Su Kin-chiu.
• Wang Dong gave Shi Yijian a box of Cohiba cigars, and Shi Yijian accepted the gift and invited the officers inside.
• Shi Yijian called for his daughter A Cai to serve tea as Lau Bo-keung led the group through the doorway.
• Shi Yijian brought his hand down on the back of Yu Le’s head, startling Lau Bo-keung.

Shi Yijian scolded Yu Le for leaving the Police Force without notice, then welcomed Lau Bo-keung, Wang Dong, and Su Kin-chiu into his home. The officers sought Shi Yijian’s help with the National Security Department’s priority operation, and he began showing them around.

• Shi Yijian slapped and scolded Yu Le for abandoning his Police Force post, then warned him to stay and finish what he started.
• Yu Le accepted his master and godfather’s discipline and promised to remain in the Police Force.
• Shi Yijian apologized to Lau Bo-keung, Wang Dong, and Su Kin-chiu for the family scene, and Lau Bo-keung praised Yu Le while signaling he would look after his career.
• Shi Yijian and Lau Bo-keung exchanged cordial remarks, with both sides focused on securing Shi Yijian’s assistance with the operation.
• Shi Yijian led the officers into his home and explained how he had renovated the former foreigners’ library into his residence.

Shi Yijian hosted Lau Bo-keung and other senior Hong Kong Island police officers, who revealed they were investigating the DOA and JC criminal groups. After learning that the DOA mastermind had ties to him, Shi Yijian guessed the person was his former lover, Mo Chou.

• Shi Yijian welcomed Lau Bo-keung's group and showed them his home's mechanisms, while A Cai reunited with her lover, Yu Le.
• Lau Bo-keung told Shi Yijian that the police were investigating the DOA Group and the JC Group.
• Shi Yijian identified Mr. Gao and Yi Tianxing as the groups' known figures and questioned why the police wanted his help.
• Lau Bo-keung revealed that the police had dismantled the DOA Foundation and taken Mr. Gao into custody, but an elusive mastermind remained behind the group.
• Lau Bo-keung said the mastermind had deep ties to Shi Yijian, who suspected his former lover, Mo Chou.

Shi Yijian learned that his former first love, Mo Chou, was the real Cangjing behind the DOA Foundation and had ties to criminal power players. Lau Bo-keung asked him to help the Hong Kong Island Police Force, assuring him they trusted his character as the police began surveillance of Mo Chou.

• Shi Yijian recalled that he had nearly married Mo Chou twice but had broken things off after discovering her secret ties to drug lords and arms dealers.
• Jiang Dawei recognized that the police might ask Shi Yijian to help with Mo Chou and stayed silent, while Yu Le and A Cai remained committed to their own loyalties.
• Lau Bo-keung revealed that Mo Chou was the real Cangjing behind the DOA Group and that Yi Tianxing, mastermind of the JC Group, had long pursued her.
• Shi Yijian asked whether his lingering feelings for Mo Chou might compromise the police operation.
• Lau Bo-keung vouched for Shi Yijian's character and said officers led by Jing Jinxian and Lee Family Ka-chun had already begun surveilling Mo Chou.

Shi Yijian agreed to help Lau Bo-keung’s Hong Kong Island Police Force target the DOA Group, putting aside his feelings for Mo Chou. The chapter ended with Shi Yijian and Lau Bo-keung shaking hands as Yu Le prepared to serve as their liaison and take part in the operation.

• Shi Yijian decided that protecting A Cai and Yu Le mattered more than his past with Mo Chou, and asked Lau Bo-keung how he could help.
• Lau Bo-keung revealed that an informant had secured access to a plan to misappropriate at least fifteen billion US dollars from the DOA Group, and asked Shi Yijian to help expose a weakness in Mo Chou’s defenses.
• Shi Yijian agreed to cooperate with the Hong Kong Island Police Force, citing his duty to fight crime while also considering Yu Le’s future.
• Lau Bo-keung explained that the Police Force had formed a Special Task Force and that Yu Le would liaise with Shi Yijian during the operation.
• Shi Yijian and Jiang Dawei worried that Yu Le might face danger, but Shi Yijian chose to respect Yu Le’s decision and shook hands with Lau Bo-keung.

He Wenzhan and the Hong Kong Island Police Force’s transnational operations team arrived in Bangkok, where Police Major General Withaya welcomed them and arranged extensive support. Their reception reflected the close cooperation between Thai Police Headquarters and the Hong Kong Island Police Force, and the team prepared to begin its operation.

• Police Major General Withaya and a Thai Police Headquarters delegation met He Wenzhan and his team at Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
• He Wenzhan and Withaya greeted each other warmly, recalling their earlier cooperation during a Hong Kong-Thai joint anti-drug operation.
• The chapter explained that Police General Phongsaphat and Sir Kwan had maintained a close, legitimate partnership that strengthened cooperation between their police forces.
• Withaya arranged a command center, a secure safe house, and a tactical police unit to support the Hong Kong team, whose members had brought their operational weapons and equipment.
• He Wenzhan thanked Withaya and saluted him, and Withaya returned the salute while affirming the Thai side’s duty to support the operation.

He Wenzhan led a Hong Kong Island Police Force team in Thailand to extract informant Ma Latang, whose information could help recover the DOA Group’s fifteen billion US dollars. After Ma Latang sent a coded message naming a Bangkok hotel, the team set out while Thai police prepared backup.

• Withaya hosted the operation at Thai Police Headquarters, where He Wenzhan commanded the Hong Kong Island Police Force team and Chan Chi-kit led it in the field, with Guan Zu as his deputy.
• Yeung Kam Wing was assigned to contact Ma Latang, while Magic Hand Shi Yijian was tasked with using any clash with the DOA Group to attract its attention and help draw out Mo Chou.
• The senior officers anticipated that the DOA Group would pursue Ma Latang and prepared elite personnel, advanced weapons, and support from a Thai special police unit.
• Yeung Kam Wing received a coded text from Ma Latang naming Yulong Hotel in Chinatown and reported it to He Wenzhan.
• He Wenzhan ordered Chan Chi-kit’s team to move out, while Withaya put the Thai special police unit on combat readiness.
• The Hong Kong team left Thai Police Headquarters in five armoured vehicles, and He Wenzhan sent Chan Chi-kit the target location on his tactical tablet.

He Wenzhan’s team successfully picked up Ma Latang and prepared to escort him to a Thai Police Headquarters safe house while awaiting flight clearance. Withaya joined the convoy and arranged extensive security as they relocated.

• He Wenzhan learned that Chan Chi-kit and his team had picked up Ma Latang, then ordered them to return by the same route to the Safe House.
• He Wenzhan asked Withaya to help obtain early departure clearance for the official jet, but the team had to wait for approval of a temporary flight route.
• Withaya offered to accompany the team to the Safe House and personally oversee the arrangements.
• Yeung Kam Wing and the other Hong Kong Island Police Force personnel packed up the temporary operations center and prepared for withdrawal.
• He Wenzhan led his team and Chan Chi-kit’s group, with Ma Latang, toward the Safe House near Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
• Withaya told He Wenzhan that the riverside Safe House had security facilities, three speedboats, and additional special police teams assigned to protect them.

He Wenzhan learned that his team’s aircraft could not depart for five hours, leaving them to protect their informant from a possible DOA Group attack while they waited. At the Safe House, he ordered his men to remain ready for battle and prepared to discuss the operation with Ma Latang and Mr. Shi.

• Withaya secured approval for the Hong Kong Island Police Force’s aircraft to depart in five hours and asked He Wenzhan to pass his regards to Sir Kwan.
• He Wenzhan recognized that the delay gave the DOA Group time to locate and attack their informant, so he resolved to keep his men on high alert.
• Withaya brought He Wenzhan’s team into the Safe House and offered its bunker, secret room, and surveillance network.
• He Wenzhan told Yeung Kam Wing to bring Mr. Ma and Mr. Shi for a discussion and ordered everyone else to prepare to engage.
• Withaya left the secret room, while Chan Chi-kit assigned men to inspect the Safe House and took charge of its security system.