Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

Central, a high-end coffee shop, 3 pm.

In a corner booth, a young man with a backpack and black-rimmed glasses nervously held a cup of iced coffee in both hands, his eyes occasionally glancing towards the door.

His name is Ah Ming, and he is a second-year student in the Department of Sociology at Hong Kong Island University.

In his bulging backpack was a Sony Betamovie handheld camcorder (DV), an extremely rare and expensive item for its time. It was a birthday gift from his businessman father last month when he turned 20.

Originally, this DV camera was intended to record university life and happy times with my girlfriend.

But fate is so absurd. Three days ago, when Ah Ming was out in Sham Shui Po with his DV camera, preparing to film some everyday scenes as practice material, he unexpectedly stumbled upon Yip Kwok-fai's earth-shattering "cross-district street sweeping" robbery!

At the time, he hid behind the curtains on the second floor of a herbal tea shop and, with trembling hands, filmed everything that happened downstairs—including the scene of the uniformed police surrendering.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

A middle-aged man in a business suit with shrewd eyes strode over and sat down opposite Amin. He was the interviewing director of the news department at Asia Television (ATV).

"Did you bring the items?" the director asked bluntly, lowering his voice.

Amin swallowed hard, and very carefully took out a black videotape from a hidden compartment in his backpack, placed it on the table, and pushed it over.

"This is the master tape, and all the copies are here too," Amin's voice trembled slightly. "The photo I sent you before was just a screenshot. This contains... the whole process. Including that... the scene of the policeman kneeling."

The news director picked up the videotape, a greedy glint in his eyes. As a seasoned media professional, he knew all too well the value of this tape.

"One hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars. Cash." The director slammed a thick manila envelope on the table. "Sign a confidentiality agreement and a copyright transfer agreement, and the money is yours."

100,000 yuan!

Amin stared at the envelope, his heart pounding. Trembling, he picked up the pen and signed his name on the contract.

……

That evening, at exactly seven o'clock.

Asia Television (ATV) prime-time evening news.

When the host broadcast the recording with a heavy heart, the television picture was somewhat shaky, but the clarity was extremely high.

On the streets of Sham Shui Po, the portly middle-aged police sergeant, after being roared at by the ruthless bandit (Yip Kwok-fai), didn't even attempt to resist. Like a mangy dog ​​with its spine broken, he decisively and with a thud, knelt on the ground!

He not only knelt down, but also cried and raised his hands to beg for mercy!

The entire city of Hong Kong fell into a deathly silence.

Then came a volcanic eruption of anger!

In a tea restaurant, workers smashed bowls and chopsticks while eating; in an office building, white-collar workers trembled with anger while working overtime; in a rented room, a family watched TV, feeling a chill run from the soles of their feet to the top of their heads.

Although they had been disappointed many times before, this time the citizens were truly disheartened.

Citizens can tolerate the police's defeat in the firefight, after all, the criminals were armed with AK-47s while the police were armed with .38 rifles. Being outequipped, it is understandable that they lost the fight.

Citizens could even tolerate the police force's inefficiency and its occasional bribery and corruption. After all, in those days, this was a kind of unspoken rule.

but!

The only thing I can't tolerate is the Royal Hong Kong Police kneeling and surrendering to the robbers!

This is no longer a matter of ability; it's a matter of nature!

What are the police? They are the guardians of the citizens and the last line of defense for order in this city!

We pay taxes to support you, give you high salaries, arm you, and empower you, so that you can stand in front of us when danger comes!

If even armed police officers kneel down and beg for mercy like dogs when faced with ruthless criminals, then what are we, the unarmed civilians?

A lamb to the slaughter?!

That kneeling not only shattered the fat police chief's knees, but also shattered the sense of security of five million Hong Kong citizens!

"Damn it! Is this even a police officer?!"

"Even at the height of corruption among the four top detectives in the 1970s, none of them ever knelt before thieves! Back then, Lui Lok and his gang were truly fighting tooth and nail against the Big Circle Gang!"

"What kind of useless people are we supporting with our taxes? Pigs raised by thieves?!"

The anger of all Hong Kong citizens was completely ignited.

The police force is the weapon in the hands of the citizens. Now that the weapon itself has become weak, what use is it?!

……

Wan Chai, Police Headquarters Building, staff canteen on the first floor.

7:30 p.m.

This place should have been where police officers relaxed, ate, and chatted after a day's work. But today, the atmosphere in the canteen was suffocatingly oppressive, as if the air was thick with the smell of gunpowder.

The television set hanging on the wall was playing ATV's news report on a loop.

"Bang!!!"

When the scene showed Ye Guohuan kicking the police chief's hat away, sending it flying in a shameful arc through the air.

A young uniformed police officer, who had just finished his patrol and was sitting in the corner, finally couldn't hold back any longer!

He suddenly stood up and smashed the stainless steel plate in his hand against the television!

"You bastard! Coward!!" The young officer, his face flushed and veins bulging on his neck, pointed at the television and cursed, "You motherfucker! Why don't you just die?! What are you kneeling for?! You've completely disgraced us police officers!!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

This is like a signal.

In the entire canteen, dozens of uniformed police officers who were eating reacted almost simultaneously. They slammed their fists on the table, overturned their bowls and chopsticks, and trembled with anger, their eyes filled with tears of humiliation.

They felt like they had been slapped hard across the face! And it was the loudest and most painful slap ever!

You should know that the kneeling sheriff was wearing the exact same military uniform as them! He was wearing the exact same police cap!

This kneeling was not only a personal disgrace to that police sergeant, but also a humiliation to the dignity of more than 20,000 uniformed police officers in Hong Kong!

Starting tomorrow, when they patrol the streets in these leather uniforms, how will the citizens look at them?

Contempt? Ridicule? Or just a desire to see a spineless coward who might kneel down at any moment?

This police uniform was once their pride, something that allowed them to stand tall in front of relatives and friends. But now, it has become a pillar of shame they can never wash away!

"Hold!"

A plainclothes anti-drug officer with a buzz cut and a menacing look suddenly stood up.

"Find out immediately! What's this fat guy's name? Which gang does he belong to? Find him! Whether he's dead or alive, he needs to be disciplined within the police force! Teach him a lesson!"

The crew-cut man's words resonated with all the plainclothes officers.

"Yes, boss!"

Several plainclothes police officers nodded with grim faces. They didn't even eat their food, but instead picked up their plates, poured them into the garbage can, and left the canteen with a menacing air.

They were going to settle accounts with that scoundrel.

He'll never be able to wear that police uniform again in his life!

After the plainclothes officers left, the uniformed police officers in the canteen couldn't sit still any longer.

This shame must be washed away with action!

"Clatter!"

A young probationary inspector abruptly pulled up his cap, straightening the brim. He picked up his tray and, with a determined look in his eyes, addressed his colleagues:

"Come on! Stop eating!"

"Go to the complaints department! Go to the internal investigation department!"

"We want to file a joint complaint against that police chief for dereliction of duty! If this black sheep isn't removed, how can we face the public?!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Let's go too! Let's go ask the operations director for permission to join the fight!"

At the next table, another group of senior inspectors from the PTU (Police Tactical Unit) untied their gun holsters from their waists and slammed them heavily on the table with a "thud".

"Wash away this shame with bullets! From now on, if I ever run into those gangsters again, and anyone dares to back down even half a step, I'll be the first to shoot them!"

"Let's go! We volunteer!!"

Hundreds of uniformed police officers, filled with righteous indignation, stormed out of the canteen and headed toward the complaints department and operations unit at headquarters.

This was a "mutiny" from within the police force. It was an extreme backlash from lower-ranking officers against the incompetence of their superiors and their weakness towards their colleagues.

And at the entrance of the cafeteria.

A female inspector, dressed in an extremely smart business suit, with short hair and a cold and shrewd demeanor, was holding an untouched plate, staring blankly at the scene of the crowd's intense emotions.

She is the newly appointed head of the Public Relations Branch (PPRB) – Chief Inspector Fang Jiexia.

Looking at these police officers roaring for their dignity, and seeing the burning fighting spirit in their eyes fueled by shame.

"hiss……"

Fang Jiexia took a deep breath, a sharp, even excited glint flashing in her eyes.

As an expert specializing in police image building and crisis public relations, she understood better than anyone what this scene meant.

This is a huge crisis, but at the same time, it is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to turn things around!

"This isn't just a day of explosions in the complaints department..."

Fang Jiexia put down her plate and, instead of going into the cafeteria, turned around decisively and, in her high heels, strode towards the elevator leading to the top management floor.

Her eyes burned with an ambitious flame.

"This is the best opportunity for my Public Relations Department, and even the entire police force, to make a comeback and take off!"

She had already devised an extremely bold and insane plan.

Since the media likes to watch shows, and since the public likes to see heroes.

Let's create a hero for them! Let's stage a "major event" that will go down in history!