Inside an office of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) located in western Hong Kong Island, personnel from the Operations Department had all gone out to participate in a secret mission, leaving only one Assistant Investigator, who was unwell, to remain on duty in the lobby. As the end of the workday approached, there was still no news from those who had gone out on assignment. The young assistant felt increasingly restless and switched on the television mounted on the wall.
“Tony-boy? Not getting off work yet?” Two employees from the Technical Department stepped out of their office and greeted him.
“Chief Investigator Xu and the others haven’t come back,” said Assistant Tony. “We can’t reach them by phone either.”
“Really? This mission is that mysterious? Hey, A’Man, haven’t you been helping that rather eccentric Lu Guang Ming with a case recently? Tell us—just how ‘mysterious’ is it?”
The technician called A’Man forced a bitter smile. “You know the rules—what can’t be said, can’t be said. Tony, don’t worry. There are so many of them; nothing will happen. You should head home early.”
“Hey! Look!” Tony suddenly pointed at the television.
The news was reporting on two car explosion incidents: one near an abandoned seaside factory in Wan Chai, and another on a mountain road not far from Long Gang University, At both locations, two vehicles had collided before exploding into flames, thick smoke billowing along with a strong, pungent odor, triggering widespread panic among citizens. Police had already sealed off the scenes; casualties were still unknown.
The screen then showed “Number One” and Deputy Commissioner Xie Ying Jie walking out of a police conference hall. “Number One” stated to the camera that the police took the incident very seriously and had ordered Deputy Commissioner Xie Ying Jie to personally oversee the case, promising to give the public an explanation.
Elio’s Notes: We changed the alias ‘First Brother’ into ‘Number One’. Previous chapters will be edited.
The next report concerned two barrier-breaching incidents at the Hung Hom Tunnel. According to eyewitnesses, an unlicensed van and a motorcycle had successively forced their way past the barriers into the tunnel, later engaging in a chase and collision inside. Police responded that the incident was under investigation; two injured individuals had been found at the scene and sent to hospital for treatment.
Tony said anxiously, “That earlier crash that caught fire—could it be related to Chief Investigator Xu and the others? They wouldn’t have run into danger, right?”
“Peh, peh, peh—don’t jinx it! How could it be that bad? That’s probably just an ordinary traffic accident. Right, A’Man?”
A’Man stared at the television with tightly furrowed brows, remaining silent for a long time. The other two could not help but feel a chill creep into their hearts. At that moment, knocking came from outside the glass doors of the lobby. Tony glanced over—it was Investigator Pan, formerly Sir Xu’s deputy, a Senior Investigator from the Investigation Division, who had been transferred two months ago to the Community Relations Department at another office.
Tony quickly got up to open the door for his former superior. “Investigator Pan!”
“Why isn’t my access card working?” Investigator Pan asked.
“The system was recently changed. Since you were transferred out, your information probably wasn’t entered.”
Investigator Pan stepped into the lobby and greeted the two technicians he knew. Seeing his strange expression and the way he looked around, Tony asked, “Investigator Pan, who are you here to see?”
“Only you three here?”
“Yes. Everyone else went out with Chief Investigator Xu. You—”
“Pew—!”
Before Tony could finish speaking, a bloody hole appeared in his forehead, and he fell straight backward. The silenced pistol turned toward the other two, who were caught completely off guard—
“Pew—!” “Pew—!”
Splattered blood stained the desks red.
Investigator Pan calmly took out a handkerchief and bent down to wipe a trace of blood from his leather shoes. He then put on a pair of rubber gloves, turned back, and pulled open the glass doors. Several killers wearing black masks and black gloves filed in, pouring gasoline throughout the room.
……
Inside a hospital ward. The two officers guarding Xia Liu Yi sat in their chairs, yawning. Xia Liu Yi quietly used the blanket to conceal his handcuffs, feeling around as he pulled out the IV needle from the back of his hand and began prying at the lock with it.
Two new officers suddenly entered to take over the shift. Xia Liu Yi quickly shut his eyes and pretended to sleep. After a few exchanges of greetings, the previous two left. Of the newcomers, one sat beside Xia Liu Yi’s bed, while the other did not remain outside in the corridor but instead walked to the ward door and locked it.
The officer seated by the bed casually said, “Hey, mate, did you hear? Those two car explosions this afternoon are suspected to be the work of the same group. Both scenes were doused with large amounts of gasoline—definitely not ordinary traffic accidents.”
“Oh? Is that so?” came the other man’s voice from behind him.
“Do you think it could all be related to this Xia Liu Yi? Later Officer Huang is coming to personally interrogate—”
Before he could finish, a pair of handcuffs suddenly looped around his neck. He struggled, choking out gurgling sounds! With a sharp pull from behind, there came a dull crack—his body went limp and collapsed.
The other “officer” who had made the move leaned the corpse against the chair back and silently approached the bed. Just as he raised the handcuffs to loop them around Xia Liu Yi’s neck, Xia Liu Yi’s eyes snapped open—he drove the needle straight into one of the man’s eyes!
“Ah!! Aah—!” The officer clutched his eye and screamed miserably. Xia Liu Yi sprang up, snatched the dropped handcuffs, and twisted them around the man’s neck. The man struggled, pulling a dagger from his waist and stabbing backward! Xia Liu Yi flipped aside to evade, attempting to jump off the bed—only to realize his legs were still shackled.
The attacker slashed at him repeatedly with the dagger. Xia Liu Yi rolled and tumbled across the bed, grabbing a pillow to block left and right. Cotton stuffing burst into the air, drifting through the ward and blinding the attacker. Seizing the chance, Xia Liu Yi threw the blanket over his head. While the man struggled blindly beneath it, Xia Liu Yi roared and flipped the entire hospital bed, smashing it down onto him!
Pinned beneath the bed from the chest down, the man screamed beneath the blanket.
The shackles on the bed frame were still attached to Xia Liu Yi’s ankle, dragging him down as well. Taking advantage of the fall, he grabbed an enamel chamber pot from the floor and began smashing it down onto the man’s head through the blanket in a frenzy!
At that very moment, Xiao Ma kicked the ward door open and rushed in with a gun drawn! A’Nan and A’Mao followed close behind! Under the muzzles of their guns, they saw a dead officer slumped crookedly in a chair—and their boss, clad in a patient’s gown, straddling a mound of bedding, enthusiastically bludgeoning someone with a chamber pot.
“……” Xiao Ma.
“……” A’Nan and A’Mao.
—The Boss’s fighting style had grown ever more… unrestrained.
They rushed forward, unlocked the shackles from their Boss, and hurriedly escorted him out. “Boss, you’re incredible—daring to kill even the cops,” Xiao Ma exclaimed as they ran.
Xia Liu Yi snapped, “The one on the chair wasn’t killed by me! The one beaten to death with the chamber pot was a dirty cop—he tried to kill me and pin everything on me—” He suddenly halted mid-step. “Damn it! Go save Kevin!”
……
Kevin had just undergone emergency treatment half an hour earlier and remained unconscious, now in the Intensive Care Unit. Two officers were stationed in the corridor. A few minutes ago, two new officers had come to relieve them—one of whom was Qin Hao, who had previously made a serious mistake during an undercover operation and had been demoted and transferred out of the Major Crimes Unit. The other was a colleague he was not familiar with.
Unexpectedly, not long after the shift change, while the corridor was empty, that colleague suddenly attacked Qin Hao with a knife! Qin Hao dodged swiftly; after a fierce struggle, he used the opponent’s own blade to kill him. Pressing the corpse down, Qin Hao was still catching his breath when Xia Liu Yi and Xiao Ma’s group arrived, equally out of breath.
Both sides froze. A moment later, guns were drawn.
“You’re here to kill Kevin?!” Xia Liu Yi roared.
“Kevin? What Kevin?” Qin Hao was first baffled, then visibly shocked. “The one inside is Kevin??”
“You’re trying to kill him?!”
“This one’s the one trying to kill him! I’m saving him!”
Xia Liu Yi let out a breath of relief and holstered his gun, walking straight toward Qin Hao’s muzzle. Xiao Ma, A’Nan, and A’Mao hurried after him. A’Nan even politely greeted, “Brother A’Hao, long time no see.”
Qin Hao lowered his gun as well, watching in confusion as Xia Liu Yi’s group passed him and entered the ward. “What are you doing?!”
Xia Liu Yi and Xiao Ma hurriedly began pulling out the tubes attached to Kevin. “There’s a mole in your station—someone wants to kill him to silence him! I’m taking him away!”
“No,” Qin Hao blocked them. “He’s a party to the case—he can’t leave.”
“Someone wants him dead! If ten more moles show up, can you stop them?!” Xia Liu Yi snapped.
Qin Hao thought for a moment, then said, “Then I’m coming with him.”
“Are you done being a nuisance?!” Xia Liu Yi drew his gun and pressed it to Qin Hao’s head. “Don’t think I wouldn’t kill you!”
Qin Hao remained unmoved, stubborn as iron. “My duty is to guard him. If you want to take him from me—kill me first.” As Xia Liu Yi pressed the gun harder, Qin Hao quickly added, “I saved you twice. You won’t kill me.”
Xia Liu Yi laughed in fury and knocked him on the forehead with the butt of his gun. “You damned double agent!”
They quickly stripped Kevin of all attachments, leaving only the oxygen tank and IV stand, and pushed the bed into the hospital parking lot via the service elevator. They squeezed into a van. Just before departure, Xia Liu Yi suddenly leaned toward Qin Hao and struck!
Qin Hao raised his arm to resist, but Xiao Ma and A’Mao pounced and pinned him down together.
Using Qin Hao’s own handcuffs, Xia Liu Yi cuffed him to Kevin’s bed, then searched him thoroughly, tossing his phone, communicator, police ID, and wallet out the window. He gave Qin Hao a light slap on the face and said coldly:
“I won’t kill you—but don’t even think about playing tricks. I don’t have time to deal with you now. As for that undercover business—we’ll settle it properly later.”
Futile Devices Scans 
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