The people of Hong Kong describe Mong Kok as a place that never sleeps, bustling with crowds 24/7. It is a melting pot of everything—mountains and rivers, heroes and ruffians, old and young, men and women.
The streets have their unique character, and the bizarre street culture along with a dazzling array of goods leave one dazzled.
It is also said that one can experience the whole world in Mong Kok, due to its mix of everything under the sun. A myriad of cultures intersect here, blending and co-existing, presenting the unique Mong Kok style.
This area is also the most difficult to manage. Every year, numerous incidents occur, prompting the Mong Kok police to be especially vigilant. The officers have heavy responsibilities, face immense pressure, and have little downtime; they must remain alert at all times.
Patrolling officer 7512 stops in front of the Bank of Hong Kong, observing the middle-aged man satisfied with his newly purchased home DV as he walks into a bakery;
A child, holding the latest version of a Transformers Optimus Prime toy in one hand, led by his mother with the other;
A pretty girl, having bought a bag full of international brand cosmetics, laughing and chatting with a friend;
And a tall man in a grey coat, who, after exiting Kase’s Bakery, starts to devour a sushi roll by the street.
A scene of citizens in harmony, officer 7512 at the bank’s checkpoint pulls out a slip of paper, checks the time, and writes down his log.
After pausing for a few more seconds to ensure everything is normal, he crosses the street and heads to another bustling district.
There, another jewelry store requires careful monitoring.
As officer 7512 disappears around the corner, the man in the grey coat, who had been watching intently from outside Kase’s Bakery, finally relaxes his gaze.
He turns to look at an inconspicuous car parked six steps away, locking eyes with a bald man sitting in the passenger seat.
The man in the grey coat, one hand holding a sushi roll and the other a bag containing another roll and a spicy pork floss bun, discreetly opens his hand, signaling with a gesture of five fingers.
Seeing this, the bald man quickly stresses to his two brothers in the car, “We must come out in 5 minutes, keep an eye on the time, got it?”
“Got it, Brother Qian had already instructed us before setting out,” another, with dyed blonde hair, touches the gun at his waist, eyeing the bank entrance.
“Don’t look at the bank now, keep it low key,” the bald man glances at the bank’s security guard, worrying about being noticed before they even start, and whispers in annoyance.
Although the blonde-haired man is impatient with all these rules, he immediately bows his head, toning down his sharpness.
The man in grey looks up at the round clock hanging on a distant building facade, waiting for the second hand to reach 55 seconds, then his hand gesture suddenly changes from an open hand to a fist.
The bald man sitting in the passenger seat immediately snuffed out the cigarette he was holding against the steering wheel, then swiftly got out of the car and headed straight for the nearby Baojin Bank.
The other two men followed silently behind the bald man, pulling black ski masks over their heads as they entered the bank, simultaneously drawing submachine guns tucked into their waistbands.
The trio of robbers all stepped into Baojin Bank as the second hand of the clock in the loft opposite overlapped with the minute hand, moving together to the top of the hour.
The chime of the clock and the gunfire inside Baojin Bank sounded together.
The moment he entered the bank, the bald man started shooting and shouting, quickly taking control of the situation.
The last to enter, a man with blond hair, closed the bank door with his foot, guarding it.
The customers in the bank quickly fled, seeking cover. The three robbers paid no attention to these people; even as the bank staff crouched behind the counter and frantically pressed the alarm button with his foot, they did not care.
Before departing, Brother Qian had already calculated everything.
Each of the three stood at their prearranged positions, watching the time closely, strictly maintaining their posts and carrying out their tasks.
The door guard, the controller, and the one who escorted the on-duty manager to the vault to load money each performed their roles.
They were as precise as seconds, maintaining a steady rhythm, like well-trained soldiers.
A few steps to the left of Baojin Bank was Kase’s Bakery.
The man in gray standing at the door finished his first “Sea Scroll” sandwich and slowly took out a second one from his bag. Biting into it, he tasted the generous fillings: fragrant tuna, juicy and crisp lettuce, tender and slightly sweet shrimp, and bread that was crispy outside and tender inside. It was delicious and satisfying.
He chewed heartily, his gaze casually sweeping over the pedestrians, seemingly unremarkable.
But if you observed him closely, you would notice the downturn of his lips, the imposing flair of his high nose, his sparse and disheveled eyebrows, and his narrow eyes gleaming coldly like daggers.
When he looked at people, his gaze was like a venomous snake seeking its prey, giving off a sticky and chilling sensation.
The man in gray only glanced occasionally at the distant large clock, unconsciously rubbing his fingertips and occasionally reaching under his coat to touch his waist.
Police officer 7512 in military uniform received the alarm immediately, did not hesitate to turn and take a shortcut through Nelson Street back to Shanghai Street, looking towards the direction of Argyle Street a few times before swiftly running towards Baojin Bank.
As he ran, he reported the situation to the headquarters via his radio.
It was at this moment that he saw the three robbers inside Baojin Bank wearing black ski masks, and he relayed this information back to headquarters.
Standing at the bank entrance, he looked around, seeing no other suspicious figures or accomplices wearing ski masks.
Furthermore, there was nobody in any of the parked cars surrounding the area.
The preliminary assessment was that there were no accomplices waiting in the cars to assist the robbers, who were all likely inside the bank. Once successful, they would rush out, start their vehicles, and make a deadly escape.
Officer 7512 took a deep breath and, using a car parked by the roadside as cover, drew his service weapon.
As he aimed slowly at the robber nearest the bank entrance, he failed to notice a man eating a sushi roll to his right front, reaching into his jacket.
Concealed by his jacket, the man in gray drew a pistol, used the gun’s muzzle to lift the hem of his jacket, and aimed at the uniformed officer.
Because Yi Ji’s departure point was closer than Mong Kok Police Station and Yau Ma Tei Police Station, Fang Zhenyue and his team could arrive fastest.
As the jeep charged into Shanghai Street, citizens panicked and ran in all directions from the robbery, with gunshots adding to the chaos.
Dodging pedestrians, Fang Zhenyue haphazardly parked the jeep at the entrance of Baojin Bank, then quickly jumped out and drew his gun.
When Sanfu opened the door and leaped from the jeep, three robbers were seen hastily exiting the bank.
Jiayi followed closely and had barely stabilized herself when she heard gunshots.
Fang Zhenyue, the first to exit the jeep, took cover and fired two shots at the lead robber’s head.
The lead robber was shot down, forcing the other two to quickly retreat, firing several shots toward Fang Zhenyue as they retreated back into the bank.
The three quickly crouched behind the jeep; Fang Zhenyue and Sanfu exchanged glances, took a deep breath, and nodded.
Sanfu then moved to the rear of the vehicle, peered out to assess the situation toward the bank, and reported back to Fang Zhenyue,
“One robber killed, the other two are armed, one with a submachine gun, and the other seems to have a Makarov.”
Fang Zhenyue furrowed his brow; both were firearms with high lethality.
One could fire continuously with exceptional power; the other had strong penetrating ability, capable of injuring people through car metal and even shooting through two people standing together.
He clenched his molars, his cheeks puffed, veins bulged at his temples, and his facial features instantly sharpened.
“Cover me,”
At the command, Sanfu took a deep breath, leaned out halfway again, and shot at the robbers inside the bank entrance.
The robbers’ gunfire instantly shifted from the jeep’s front to the rear.
Taking advantage of the focus on Sanfu, Fang Zhenyue pounced out like a cheetah from the front of the jeep, ran towards another vehicle’s side, and took another shot at a robber inside the bank.
The tall, robust robber, holding the submachine gun and focusing on the jeep’s rear, was hit in the thigh, cried out in pain, nearly dropped his weapon, and continued to retreat into the bank under his teammates’ cover.
Fang Zhenyue seized the opportunity to rush to the entrance of the bank, using the thick iron-clad walls as cover, intermittently shooting inside and pressing hard on the two robbers.
Sanfu took two deep breaths and also dashed from behind the jeep, quickly running around to the other side of the bank’s iron gate, similarly backing against the thick wall, holding his gun while watching Fang Zhenyue, waiting for the next command.
“Eleven, stay outside, take care of the injured brothers, and call an ambulance,” Fang Zhenyue shouted to Jiayi, then took a deep breath, quickly making decisions.
For now, the people inside the bank were safely hidden, but if the robbers managed to retreat successfully, they would inevitably gather all the hidden individuals to use as hostages, which would be unsafe.
Should a standoff occur, the situation could escalate and be difficult to control.
There were a total of three robbers wearing black hoods; one was shot dead at the entrance, one with a submachine gun was wounded in the leg, and another carried a large Black Star.
After quickly assessing the robbers’ firepower and his own strength, Fang Zhenyue clenched his teeth, nodded forcefully at Sanfu, and gestured.
Receiving the instruction from sir Fang, Sanfu exhaled, felt his heartbeat accelerate and his blood surge, swallowed dryly, and quickly bent down to fire a shot towards the bank’s roof.
The bank’s robbers immediately fired in his direction.
Sanfu ducked back behind the door; the Black Star pistol was relentless, bullets banging on the doorframe, penetrating the metal and bouncing out.
Fortunately, Sanfu was alert enough to swiftly retreat behind the brick wall, but his gun-wielding arm was grazed, and the tip of his ear was bloodied.
As the large Black Star fired at Sanfu, Fang Zhenyue clearly saw the trajectory.
After determining the shooter’s position, he stopped dodging and bravely charged into the bank, aiming in the right direction, firing two shots at the robber.
One bullet hit the shoulder of the Black Star gunman, forcing the robber to withdraw and seek cover.
Sanfu also took advantage of the robber’s forced ceasefire to rush in, staggered positions with Fang Zhenyue, and coordinated their shooting.
Together, they confronted the robbers head-on, fiercely storming into Baojin Bank.
The gunfight moved from the street back into the bank, civilians fled to the distance, Jiayi threw herself in front of the military police officer 7512, picking up his walkie-talkie and urgently requesting backup and an ambulance.
But after setting down the walkie-talkie and bowing her head to check on the military police officer, attempting to stop his bleeding, Jiayi was pulled into a stream of consciousness.
He was dead.
Her eyes reddened, Jiayi’s lips trembled, her chest heaved rapidly, and her breathing was erratic. Her hands remained pressed on the bloodied hole over 7512’s chest, rigid and unable to move away.
The sounds of gunfire and chaotic voices around her intertwined with those in her stream of consciousness, blurring the line between reality and illusion.
Just then, a few steps away inside Kase’s Bakery, a man in a grey shirt who was hiding with ordinary civilians made his move.
He observed the situation at both ends of the street and the long road as he stepped out of Kase’s Bakery.
Casually, he dropped a bag containing spicy pork floss buns on the ground, wiping the grease and bread crumbs from his fingers on his trousers before reaching into his coat.
He walked towards Baojin Bank along the street, soon reaching the spot where the military police officer lay dead. Slowing his pace, he stayed alert to the situation inside the bank while shifting his gaze downward, scanning the crouching young policewoman.