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

Sha Tin Police Station, late at night.

Two stark white fluorescent lights shone in the duty room, humming and casting a cold, desolate glow over the entire room.

As the clock on the wall pointed to 12:30 a.m., the streets outside the window gradually quieted down, with only one or two taxis occasionally passing by, making a short sound before being swallowed up by the night.

Chen Jiaju slumped in his chair, his legs propped up on the edge of the table. He yawned, tossed the horse racing book onto the table, and turned to look at Da Zui, who was equally bored, next to him.

"Big Mouth, do you think all the thieves in Sha Tin take a New Year's Day holiday like civil servants? There wasn't a soul in sight all night."

"What kind of case could there be?" Big Mouth mumbled, a half-smoked cigarette butt dangling from his mouth. "In this awful weather, even a rat would hesitate to come out because it's freezing. Besides, what kind of case could there be in this rural Shatin?"

"Can't you be a little more ambitious?" Chan Ka-kui said irritably, picking up a horse racing book and throwing it at Da-kou's mouth. "What if we get lucky and run into a wanted criminal or solve a big case? Then we can be transferred back to Wan Chai, right?"

"Hey, you still have the nerve to mention Wan Chai to me!" Big Mouth suddenly perked up, slamming his hand on the table. "Let me tell you, the only reason I'm stuck here working this lousy night shift with you is because of you!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Chen Jiaju immediately cried out in protest upon hearing this, "I dragged you into this? Big Mouth, you should at least have a conscience."

"Conscience? Chan Ka-kui, put your hand on your chest, is your conscience still there? I've worked with you in the Serious Crimes Unit for five years, and every time something happens, I take the blame; every time something happens twice, I take the blame twice. All those demerits I have, Big Mouth, were fed to me by you, Chan Ka-kui, bite by bite!"

"Well, wasn't that for solving the case...?" Chen Jiaju said this with a hint of weakness in his voice.

"That shouldn't have resulted in damaging Chow Tai Fook's front door!"

"That's because their roller shutter door is of very poor quality. I just leaned against it lightly..."

"You call shoving the entire front of your car into someone's jewelry store counter a 'gentle bump'?!" Big Mouth rolled his eyes. "The owner complained to the chief, and the repairs for that door alone cost over 30,000 dollars! And that doesn't even include other losses!"

Chen Jiaju scratched his head and gave an embarrassed laugh: "That was indeed my mistake."

"An accident? You, Chan Ka-kui, have wrecked ten private cars, damaged three shops, and caused two major traffic jams in a month, and you call that an accident?" Big Mouth exhaled a standard smoke ring, glaring at Chan Ka-kui. "Let me tell you, you should be glad you didn't demolish Inspector Lam's office, otherwise we wouldn't be in Sha Tin District now; we'd definitely be assigned to manage bicycle patrols in Cheung Chau!"

Hearing this, Chen Jiaju was completely speechless. He simply shrugged and said nonchalantly, "I was doing it to fight crime! Have you ever seen a hero chasing a thief stop at a traffic light?"

"A hero?" Big Mouth scoffed. "Yes, yes, you're the hero, and I'm the unlucky guy!"

The two of them kept teasing each other, neither willing to give in, which made their night shift quite lively.

That's right, the reason why Chan Ka-kui was transferred from Wan Chai to Sha Tin is very simple - his investigative style was too crazy.

As a recognized "super cop" in the police force, Chan Ka-kui's talent and skills are beyond doubt, but he has one flaw: he is "reckless" when on a mission.

As long as there is a suspect on the run, he's like he has a motor installed. He drives off in droves, destroying police cars and shops, and causing traffic accidents is commonplace.

Even after he married Ah May, his recklessness didn't diminish in the slightest.

Finally, Director Raymond Lin could no longer tolerate it.

That day, he called Chen Jiaju to his office, slammed a stack of complaint letters on the table with a loud bang, and roared so loudly that it almost shattered the glass.

"Chan Ka-kui! Open your eyes wide and take a look! This is only one month's worth of work. Hong Kong taxpayers' money is used to contribute to the security of Hong Kong, not to clean up your messes, you super cop! Since you like causing trouble so much, fine, go ahead and cause trouble in the countryside of Sha Tin!"

And so, Chan Ka-kui was kicked to the Sha Tin Police Station.

Of course, Chen Jiaju knew in his heart that the main reason was that the pressure from above was too great. Lin Leimeng had no choice but to make a show of it and transfer him away to avoid the limelight. He would think of another way after the storm had passed.

As for Big Mouth, he was just unlucky. It's all because Chen Jiaju always insisted on taking him along on missions. Chen Jiaju would cause a ruckus in front, and Big Mouth would follow behind, inexplicably taking half the blame.

Thinking about it this way, Big Mouth's resentment at this moment is not entirely unfounded.

"Alright, alright, that's enough," Chen Jiaju waved his hand, shamelessly changing the subject, "Just hang in there a little longer, and we'll both be free after the shift ends at dawn. Big Mouth, go make me a cup of coffee, this one's completely cold."

"I'll seduce you, old man—"

Before Da Zui could even utter his curse, the wooden door to the duty room was suddenly slammed open with a loud bang.

Chen Jiaju and Da Zui both raised their heads at the same time.

There were two men and a woman standing at the door. The man in the lead was pale, his clothes were disheveled, and there were several dusty footprints on his chest, as if he had just run out of somewhere.

"Officer! Call the police! We need to call the police!" Ah Wai rushed to the desk, panting, his hands gripping the surface, his voice trembling with urgency. "My girlfriend and I were just molested by some South Vietnamese refugees in Sha Tin Fishing Village! There were five of them. They cornered us in an alley and tried to beat us up!"

Chen Jiaju's eyes narrowed, and a sharp aura instantly emanated from him. He quickly pulled the other person to sit at the reception table: "Don't rush, tell me slowly. What's your name? Where were you attacked? What were the attacker's characteristics?"

Ah Wei took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down: "My name is Zhang Wei, and this is my girlfriend, Lin Xiaoli. The incident happened in Linjia Fishing Village, near the road leading to Baishichuan Village. The five people were all South Vietnamese refugees. The leader could speak a little Cantonese, but as for their appearance... it was too dark to see clearly."

Big Mouth joined in, took out a registration form, and said in a deep voice to the three people, "Come on, all three of you, take out your ID cards and register."

Ah Wei quickly nodded, frantically pulled his ID card from his pocket, and handed it over: "This is mine."

Xiaoli obediently took out her ID card and handed it to Da Zui.

However, when it was Hu Yue's turn, an unexpected incident occurred.

Hu Yue remained expressionless and spoke in a flat tone: "I didn't."

"Nothing?" Big Mouth paused, her pen still on the paper. She looked up at him, momentarily confused. "What do you mean, nothing?"

"I don't have an ID card. I'm a South Vietnamese refugee."

"What?!"

Big Mouth's face instantly changed. He instinctively took a half step back, his hand already on the holster at his waist, his eyes fixed warily on Hu Yue: "Don't move! Take your hands out!"

"Officer! It's a misunderstanding!" Ah Wei quickly stood up to smooth things over, standing between the two and waving his hands repeatedly. "Brother Yue isn't with those people, and he was the one who saved us just now."

"Yes! Yes!" Xiaoli nodded repeatedly, her voice still trembling with lingering fear. "It was Brother Hu Yue who rescued us! If it weren't for him, we would have..."

Big Mouth hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered his hand from the holster, but his gaze remained scrutinizing: "You said your name is Hu Yue? How long have you been staying in Baishi Camp?"

Three years.

"Why haven't they been contained yet?"

"I don't have the money to bribe the foreign officials at the Correctional Services Department, so they keep delaying my appointment." Hu Yue said this calmly, as if he were talking about a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.

Big Mouth frowned, about to ask something else, when suddenly the communicator on the wall of the duty room emitted a piercing static sound, followed by a hurried voice—

"Attention all patrol units! Attention all patrol units! A riot has broken out at the Pak Shek Shing civilian camp! A large number of South Vietnamese refugees have broken through the barbed wire and clashed with the guarding officers! There have been injuries! All officers on duty at Sha Tin Police Station, please proceed to provide support immediately! Repeat, a riot has broken out at the Pak Shek Shing civilian camp, all officers, please proceed to provide support immediately!"

The voice on the communicator abruptly stopped, leaving behind a static noise and a sudden tension in the air.

Chen Jiaju sprang up from his chair, grabbed his jacket, and rushed towards the door while putting it on, yelling, "Big Mouth! Call everyone! Pack your gear! Let's go!"

"Understood!" Big Mouth didn't even bother with the registration. He grabbed his police badge, put it on, and rushed towards the equipment room.

When he reached the door, Chen Jiaju turned back and glanced at Ah Wei and the other two who were still standing there in a daze: "You guys stay in the police station for now, don't wander around, we'll talk when we get back."

Then he turned his head, his gaze falling on Hu Yue, pausing for half a second: "You too, don't leave."

Although Ah Wei and another person testified, Hu Yue was, after all, someone who fled the refugee camp without cause, and given that the situation in Baishi is now out of control, we must be on high alert.

Hu Yue nodded, his expression unchanged, as if everything was irrelevant to him.

Soon, the corridor was filled with the sounds of hurried footsteps and the clanging of metal. Someone was shouting, "Hurry! Hurry!" Someone was pulling the bolt of a gun, and sirens were coming from the direction of the garage downstairs, growing louder and louder until they finally blended into a piercing, spine-chilling shriek.

Hu Yue stood at the door of the duty room, looking through the glass window at the sudden flashing of police lights outside. Red and blue lights swept across the corridor walls, flickering on his face.

Ah Wei and Xiao Li stood behind him, looking out the window at the chaotic lights and the police officers rushing through the crowd, neither of them saying a word.

The sirens faded into the distance as the convoy sped south into the night, heading towards the Baishichuan civilian settlement. Like a red-hot knife, it sliced ​​through the final moments of New Year's Eve.