A gang of robbers, in the bustling district of Mong Kok, armed heavily to rob a bank.
Such a heinous act, no level of severity in response would be considered excessive.
This time, the big boss of the police mobilized with a lightning-fast response, deploying the strongest team available to surround the Baojin Bank tightly, setting up a security perimeter, even preparing for a fierce gun battle or a long-term standoff.
But this large group of people, they came as they were and left as they were.
No one was injured, no one fired a shot.
CID Superintendent Huang was puzzled when he received the call.
He had dispatched all the available teams from his West Kowloon CID office that were not on patrol; wasn’t that enough?
This operation wasn’t even a CID case; he wasn’t in charge of commanding it. Going there would only cause trouble. Why call him to a robbery scene?
While talking to a subordinate, he picked up the phone and said “Hello,” then quickly covered the mouthpiece to urgently instruct his subordinate one last time: “Go fix the TV, and if that’s not possible, move the old TV from the internal support department and use that.”
It seemed like the whole world was watching the live broadcast of the robbery, except their CID.
“Hello? Hello?” After sending his subordinate off, Sir Huang returned to the phone, but unexpectedly, the caller was the Chief Superintendent of Police in charge of this major robbery, known as ‘White Brow Eagle King’ Chen Wujie.
Sir Huang glanced at his watch; it had been less than 30 minutes since the robbery began.
At this time, White Brow Eagle King should be busy arranging tasks, dispatching several teams; how could he have time to call him?
“The glory of the operations by O unit is always snatched by you CID folks, Sir Huang. Now, your young CID officers are really fierce, daring to rush into the bank with pistols against robbers armed with submachine guns and heavy firearms. You CID is always short-staffed every year, is it always like this? You should teach the young ones. Being strong is good, but they also need to cherish their lives. For charging directly at robbers, leave it to the Flying Tigers.”
White Brow Eagle King vented, then couldn’t help but sigh:
“If every time in such major group cases, the credit is snatched by you, O unit would be left out in the cold.”
“Ah…” Sir Huang was utterly bewildered.
He pursed his lips and quickly covered the mouthpiece again, beckoning his subordinate to come in, whispering, “Ask the department that saw the TV broadcast what’s going on with the Baojin robbery?”
The detective rushed in, his excited facial features almost flying off his face, suppressed his excitement, and quickly reported in a low voice, “CID’s Team B rushed into the bank and took down all the robbers! O unit arrived just to clean up after the mess, did nothing, ha—”
He quickly covered his mouth, afraid his laughter was too loud for the person on the other end of the phone to hear.
Sir Huang stared in disbelief as White Brow Eagle King’s voice came through again:
“What ‘ah’? Want to be modest, Sir Huang? I’m praising you! This time CID did a splendid job, after arriving no innocent people were seriously injured or killed. See you at the conference, I’ll meet your heroic sharpshooters of CID.”
Sir Huang was still floating on cloud nine when he hung up, stood dazed for a moment before loudly asking:
“Which team was the first to arrive at the Baojin Bank?”
Someone immediately responded from outside the door: “Mr. Huang, it was Team B led by Sergeant Fang, a male detective, seems his name was Fu, and a female detective, the one who taught us how to use Word documents, our instructor, the lucky star policewoman Yi Jiayi!”
……
……
When White Browed Eagle King approached the ambulance, Fang Zhenyue was chatting casually, alternating between a serious and a smiling demeanor. The first to notice White Browed Eagle King was Fang Zhenyue, who had a knot tied on his shoulder by a doctor, and he jumped down from the ambulance with his arm in a sling, saluting:
“Sir.”
Jiayi and Fu also jumped down from the vehicle, standing behind Fang Zhenyue and saluted the superior officer.
“You’ve all been injured and lost blood, no need for so much formality. Please, have a seat.” White Browed Eagle King nodded, arranging for Fang Zhenyue and the others to sit on the edge of the ambulance’s rear, while he stood in front of them with a gentle expression along with the Unit O Superintendent.
“You performed very bravely. The rewards and debriefing for this operation will be arranged by the Major Crimes Unit Chief Superintendent Huang, and discussed with you all.” White Browed Eagle King’s gaze swept over the young faces, then rested on Fang Zhenyue’s face:
“Team B’s Fang Zhenyue? I’ve heard your name.”
“It’s probably not for anything good, sir,” Fang Zhenyue was well aware of his own situation, often criticized for not following orders, what could other department heads have heard about him that would be praise?
White Browed Eagle King chuckled, “You have a rebellious streak, but you solve cases too. Got an internal interview coming up? Why not come to the O Bureau as an Inspector?”
“Thank you, sir.” Fang Zhenyue smiled, but still declined: “But I’m quite happy with the Major Crimes Unit.”
White Browed Eagle King nodded, then turned to Fu, “What’s your name?”
“Tanfu!” Fu blushed with excitement, as it was his first time being recognized in front of such a high-ranking officer, he was thrilled to the point of nearly biting his tongue.
“Yi Jiayi.” White Browed Eagle King finally turned to Yi Jiayi, calling out her name as soon as he spoke.
“Yes, sir.” Jiayi, being called upon, quickly stood at attention and saluted.
White Browed Eagle King smiled, “Sit.”
Jiayi scooted back onto the rear of the ambulance and sat down again.
“I’ve seen you in the newspapers before. Fang Zhenyue was reported as the brave team leader, and you, as the lucky star rookie of the police force, and a detective with a strong sense of justice. I just reviewed your file; after joining the Major Crimes Unit, your case-solving rate is a hundred percent.” White Browed Eagle King’s eyes shone with respect, a dignified yet spirited senior officer.
“Reporting to the commander, I’ve just joined the Major Crime Unit less than a month ago and am still learning the ropes of investigating and catching criminals with Sir Fang and my senior colleagues. Our high case-solving rate is largely thanks to the other veterans in Major Crime Team B,”Jiayi stated, standing straight as an arrow. Speaking in front of the White-Browed Eagle King, she really felt like standing at attention. Sitting in front of the old commander, she felt like there were thorns in her back, truly uncomfortable.
“Brave, smart, and humble—very good,” nodded the White-Browed Eagle King. “I know that the shot to the back of the grey-shirted robber was fired by you, using the service pistol of fallen officer 7512, a shot that was fatal.”
Before meeting the three of them, he had also reviewed Jiayi’s records from the police academy, where her grades were solid and her shooting accuracy consistently high.
She is a hard worker and very solid—very good.
“Thank you for the commendation, sir,”Jiayi nearly jumped up again.
“The O division always welcomes outstanding officers like you. Keep it up,” the White-Browed Eagle King turned to Fang Zhenyue:
“Shortly, cooperate with the O division to reenact the case, and then you can wrap up.”
“Roger that, commander,” Fang Zhenyue, sitting at the rear of the vehicle, saluted the White-Browed Eagle King.
The two juniors being praised, one on each side, imitated his salute, their cheeks flushed and eyes sparkling.
Indeed, a leader’s praise is the strongest motivator for employees.
…
…
When the Major Crime Unit A team led by You Zhaohua arrived at Baojin Bank, the case was nearly concluded.
Everyone began to wrap up, and the bodies were being loaded onto vehicles to be transported back to the forensic department of the Major Crime Unit.
You Zhaohua, his foot numb from pressing the gas pedal, stopped to look around with hands in pockets and a frown.
There was no helping it; they had rushed over from the Yau Ma Tei police station, and even with urgency, they couldn’t outpace the Mong Kok police station and the Mobile Unit.
Moreover, they were notified later than other departments, but managing to cut through the crowded streets to arrive on time was still quite impressive.
Just as he was about to head back, You Zhaohua’s gaze suddenly landed on an ambulance not far away.
“Eh? Isn’t that Fang Zhenyue, Fu, and Jiayi?” He had been listening to the reports about the scene at Baojin Bank over the radio on the way there, knowing that the robbers had been subdued, with various commands being issued to coordinate the departments, but he was unaware of the details of the gunfight with the robbers.
Seeing that someone appeared to be injured, he stepped forward to find out more.
But after only a couple of steps, he stopped and turned to ask Tony:
“Is that the notorious Police Superintendent Chen from the O division, the fearsome White-Browed Eagle King, who scolds even the heavenly kings when they visit?”
Tony took a closer look and immediately nodded, saying, “That’s Superintendent Chen. He’s personally directing this operation.”
“Why is he talking with Fang Zhenyue and the others? Isn’t this an O-division task? Did Fang Zhenyue and his team catch up?” You Zhaohua quickened his pace slightly.
Then he saw the White Eyebrowed Eagle King talking to Yi Jiayi, and he actually smiled gently.
Gently smiled?!
Did he really see a gentle expression on the face of the White Eyebrowed Eagle King—and a smile at that?
Could it be that he was too happy having subdued the robbers within minutes?
But why was he smiling at Yi Jiayi, that young girl?
Looking into the distance, amidst a sea of green, a spot of red stood out— the young policewoman was stunning, especially against the backdrop of rough old men. Absolutely eye-catching.
Could it be that the old boss also had a fondness for pretty young police officers?
The White Eyebrowed Eagle King was of the age to enjoy the company of grandchildren, had he become defenseless against such youthful charm?
No wonder every time he met officials like Sir Chen and Sir Huang, he was met with cold stares and stern faces. Was it not because he was unlikable, but because he didn’t look the part?
When You Zhaohua was about a dozen steps away from the ambulance, he suddenly found himself surrounded by several female reporters.
He tried to bypass them, asking them to interview the Public Relations department, but heard a female reporter quickly ask:
“Officer, seeing your badge that you’re from the Major Crime Unit, are you also in the same group as that brave detective who captured the robber? Do you know why that female detective’s shooting was so accurate? Is that particularly tall detective among them the team leader? Why is he so brave and confident, was he formerly a part of the Flying Tigers, or perhaps a member of the Marksman Team?”
You Zhaohua stomped his foot in disbelief, looking at the two reporters.
What?
Fang Zhenyue led the team to kill the notorious robber and capture the last one, effectively crushing the robbery team?
Was it done by members of Team B?
Such a major shooting and robbery case, just the three of them?
Including Yi Jiayi, who hadn’t even officially received her firearm?
Was this a descent of the divine?
You Zhaohua was dumbstruck, and when he turned his head to look at Fang Zhenyue and his team, his hair nearly stood on end.
His eyes wide as brass bells, he tried several times to speak but couldn’t utter a word, pushed past the media, and hurried towards the ambulance.
Why is he worse at investigating cases and not even as brave?
…
At this moment, the White-browed Eagle King has already left with the Unit O people, leaving only Fang Zhenyue and his quiet team waiting for the person in charge of this case to lead them to recreate the crime scene.
Sanfu leaned behind Fang Zhenyue, whispering to Yi Jiayi who was sitting on the other side of Sir Fang:
“Hey, Eleven, when you go back to the hospital, take some of the blood from Brother Yue’s body and smear it on yourself to make your injuries look more serious.”
As Fu spoke, he pointed to the blood flowing from Fang Zhenyue’s arm. Since it couldn’t flow back, he suggested not wasting it and sharing it among themselves to make use of the wasted blood.
“Why?” Jiayi also leaned behind Fang Zhenyue, hiding under Sir Fang’s broad body with Fu, whispering quietly.
“We have benefits in the police force. If you’re injured on duty, you can get economic compensation ranging from 1 to 96 months of income! The more severe your injury, the heavier the compensation. Look at Brother Yue, he might get compensation for several months of salary. Let’s make it look more serious too,” Fu said seriously.
Fang Zhenyue turned his head to look at his shoulder, the freshly changed white gauze was already stained with many tiny red spots from the seeping blood. Although the bleeding wasn’t severe enough to cause anemia, he still needed to end everything quickly and head to the hospital for stitches.
Having bled so much, instead of his two detectives worrying about his health or finding ways to replenish his blood, they were calculating how to further utilize his wasted blood.
Glancing up, he saw You Zhaohua striding over. He coughed lightly to remind the two hiding behind him and talking nonsense:
“Someone is coming.”
Jiayi and Fu immediately popped their heads from behind Fang Zhenyue like two alert meerkats on the prairie, sitting upright and looking around to see who it was.
It turned out to be Sergeant You, full of shock and awe.
As You Zhaohua met their gazes, he held back a belly full of words, suddenly speechless.
Just as he was thinking about joking around, asking what happened, or maybe congratulating first, his waist BB-call suddenly cried out urgently.
At the same time, the BB-call of Fang Zhenyue and the others also rang out in unison, and they all pulled out their beepers to check:
[Please have nearby detectives rush to Unit 306, Building 3, No. 229 Lai Chi Kok Road. A female corpse is inside.]
Almost simultaneously, Fang Zhenyue, Fu, and Yi Jiayi jumped down from the ambulance, looking up in unison for Fang Zhenyue’s Jeep.
Seeing their demeanor, You Zhaohua knew they were about to take the case and head to the scene.
With all the blood and wounds on him, don’t scare the neighborhood residents at the scene.
He grabbed Fang Zhenyue’s uninjured shoulder, trying to press him back into the ambulance, but failed to succeed, awkwardly touching his nose:
“You better hurry to the hospital, we from Team A will take over this case.”
Fang Zhenyue shifted his gaze to him without confirmation or denial.
“Don’t worry, Team A will also solve the case as quickly as possible.” You Zhaohua seemed to be sparked by a strange competitive spirit. He assured Fang Zhenyue with high morale, smiled at Fu and Jiayi, then flipped his coat’s hem, leading two detectives at a brisk pace back to the small police car they arrived in.
As they passed the media crowd again, You Zhaohua pointed proudly at someone sitting in an ambulance behind him, while facing a reporter’s camera, and declared:
“Our CID people!”
He left with his head held high, as if he himself had accomplished a great feat.