Days in Hong Kong variety shows

Around 9 a.m., there was a knock on the wooden door of the main office.

The office, which seemed empty except for the sound of the fan blades turning, suddenly came back to life.

The twenty-odd people sitting inside, like stone statues, all turned to look at the office door, creating a strange atmosphere.

"Miao sir, someone is waiting on the second floor!" Lei Da, deputy chief of operations at Sai Kung Police Station, stood at the door.

"Squeak!" A chair leg scraped against the ground.

"I'll go right now!" Miao Zhishun stood up and vigorously rubbed his tired face with both hands to make himself look more energetic.

"Boss!" Xu Yongji stood up.

"Tsui Sir, we didn't call you!" Lei Da said, pointing at Tsui Wing-kei.

"Brandon." Miao Zhishun reached out and grabbed Xu Yongji's arm, gently shaking his head. The veins on the back of his hand bulged out from the force he used.

"Let's go, Inspector Lei!"

As I descended the stairs from the third floor to the second-floor corridor, I noticed that only one room near the stairwell had two people standing in the doorway.

Both men were wearing police uniforms. The one in the lead looked to be in his early thirties, with a faint smile on his face, and a small crown hanging alone on his epaulettes. The man standing half a step behind looked to be in his early twenties, but he already wore the insignia of an inspector.

Upon approaching, Lei Da said to the leader with a slightly respectful tone, "Inspector Lu! This is Inspector Miao Zhishun."

"Thank you, Inspector Lei. I'll have a few words with Inspector Miao first!" The man called Inspector Lu had a magnetic voice as soon as he spoke.

"Okay, you two talk. I have work to do, so I won't bother you any longer." Radar said, turning and leaving.

"Inspector Miao!" The young inspector reached out and opened the door next to him, gesturing for Miao Zhishun to enter.

Nodding, Miao Zhishun, his eyes bloodshot, entered the room. Inside, there was only a simple long table with a file folder on it and a pack of cigarettes next to it. Two chairs were in front of the table, and another chair was placed more than two meters away, facing the table.

"Sit down!" Lu Sir walked past Miao Zhishun, who was standing still, to the table, picked up a pack of cigarettes from the table, flicked one out, put it in his mouth, and lit it.

"Sizzle..." He took a deep drag, and the sound of burning tobacco filled the air.

"Hoo..." Standing diagonally behind, Miao Zhishun, who could only see half of Lu Sir's face, only saw a wisp of smoke escaping from his mouth before being blown away by the rotating fan above his head.

"Click." The sound of the door closing behind me rang out.

Miao Zhishun turned his head, looking at the closed wooden door with a strange expression on his face.

The inspector didn't come in. Instead, he closed the door from the outside, stood with his back to the wooden door, his slightly immature face expressionless, but his eyes were resolute.

Miao Zhishun was a little confused. The internal investigation department was going to have a formal interview with someone. According to regulations, at least two police officers should be interviewed. Interviewing someone by a single person was somewhat against the rules.

"Miao Sir," Lu Sir turned around and offered Miao Zhishun the pack of cigarettes in his hand, "Have one. This isn't a formal conversation, just a formality!"

Miao Zhishun's expression of doubt deepened.

Although the man in front of him, Officer Lu, offered him a cigarette with a slight smile, he could see calmness and scrutiny in his eyes. Coupled with the man's slightly hooked nose, he felt as if he were being watched by a hawk that had spotted its prey.

Being watched by a police superintendent of similar age, even the usually strong and calm Inspector Miao couldn't help but feel immense pressure.

"Thank you!" Slightly avoiding that gaze, Miao Zhishun reached out and pulled out a cigarette, slowly putting it in his mouth.

"Snap!" Just as Miao Sir was about to take out a lighter from his pocket, a hand reached out in front of him. The lighter in the hand was already lit, and the flame flickered twitched under his breath.

I slightly raised my eyelids and looked up, only to meet those eyes that seemed to see right through people.

He lowered his head slightly, stretched out a hand as if to protect the flame, and lit the cigarette the instant it was brought close.

"Thank you!" The lips, still pressed against the cigarette, remained closed, the two muffled words seeming to burst from the throat.

A slight smile appeared on Lu Sir's lips, but his eyes remained calm.

The two remained silent, and the smoke did not swirl around them, as it was immediately dispersed by the strong wind from the ceiling fan overhead as soon as it was exhaled from their mouths and noses.

After a cigarette's time, Officer Lu threw the remaining cigarette butt into the ashtray.

He slowly began to speak, "Lu Minghua, Internal Investigation Department." Inspector Lu introduced himself first.

He then continued, "The new personnel appointments will be announced this afternoon in the East Kowloon Region. You will report to Tsuen Wan tomorrow. Your rank will remain the same, but you will be transferred to the New Territories South Region Traffic Department to lead a traffic patrol team. The specific team will be assigned by the New Territories South Traffic Department Commander!"

"That's all for today's discussion. Go back to the East Kowloon headquarters later and wait for the personnel appointment this afternoon. Remember to keep today's discussion confidential." After saying that, he turned around, picked up the file bag on the table, and left.

The moment his hand touched the doorknob, Inspector Lu stopped and, with his back to Miao Zhishun, said, "When two giants are fighting, they won't care about the small fish swimming by! But if the small fish insists on getting close to the giants, they won't mind swallowing them whole."

It's good to investigate a case diligently, but going in the wrong direction can lead to serious problems. If you know you're going in the wrong direction and don't brake immediately, continuing down that path will lead you off a cliff and potentially fatalities.

The senior officer didn't take it seriously this time, so your transfer is just a minor punishment. If you can't control your subordinates again next time...

The door clicked open and then slammed shut.

Then, his back, which had been straight when he was facing away from the door, suddenly hunched over, and his hands, which were hanging down, began to tremble uncontrollably as if he was using too much force. As they trembled, the cigarette ash he was holding kept falling out of his hands.

Miao Zhishun understood the warning behind Lu Minghua's unfinished sentence.

A few years ago, there were very few Chinese people who could become inspectors, and many of them were close associates of cattle.

Li Shutang is a recognized local figure. He became the first Chinese police officer to rise from inspector to chief superintendent in less than 10 years. Besides the strong support from the local faction within the police force, another reason is that Eastern Police Department has been negotiating the Hong Kong Island issue with Niu Biao in the past two years. The great power game has made the small Hong Kong Island almost like an earthquake, and the even smaller police force seems to be experiencing turbulent waves.

His rise to power was the only acceptable outcome after compromise between the two sides.

Originally, Li Sir was waiting to take up his new post as the commander of the first major department in a year or two. Now, two small fry actually want to drag him down with a case, although, this case may not affect Li Sir at all.

Li Sir himself probably won't care, and the Niu Buluo faction won't think that this case can affect Li Sir and thus hinder his future appointment.

However, the core local faction, and even the pro-Eastern forces, will not stand idly by while such provocations occur. They believe that if someone throws stones at Inspector Lee today and they do nothing, someone will dare to shoot him in the back tomorrow.

If those who cause trouble go unpunished, people will think that if even Inspector Lee can be challenged at will, then those in lower ranks will be in constant fear, not knowing when they might be provoked and brought down.

So the transfer was indeed just a minor warning.

Miao Zhishun was certain that the last blank space, "uncontrollable," meant he would "risk his life to save it."

Miao Zhishun didn't know which faction Lu Minghua belonged to. Although he was only a superintendent in the internal investigation department, not a powerful department like the operations and criminal investigation department, in 83, to become a superintendent in his early 30s meant that his background, if not as powerful as the sky, was at least as influential as Victoria Peak.

It should be noted that Li Shutang's only son, Li Wenbin, is already 29 years old this year, and is only a senior inspector in the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau (Anti-Triad) of the West Kowloon Regional Headquarters.

When a powerful figure with an immense background personally warns you, you know that this transgression may not actually cause much harm, but the consequences could be extremely serious, making you feel like a pawn used by certain forces to test the local faction.

Within the police force, those who haven't reached the rank of Chief Inspector have somewhat ambiguous backgrounds. Frontline officers are only required to be capable, but the Chief Inspector, a reserve superintendent and commander of a grassroots department, is not someone from your own faction. No one would waste their energy helping someone get promoted and causing them trouble, unless there is an exchange of benefits.

Miao Zhishun is extremely capable. He has solved several major cases and many other minor cases. Without a strong background, he became a senior inspector in his early thirties thanks to the appreciation of his department head.

This major case involving 12 lives was originally intended to be solved quickly to accumulate merit and build up qualifications for promotion to chief inspector.

Who would have thought he'd fall onto the chessboard, even writing the character for "pawn" on his back in preparation for crossing the river? Xu Yongji's sudden radical actions were also influenced by his own attitude.

When the incident happened, the bigwig who was almost accidentally hurt by him generously let him off the hook, only transferring him to a different position without demoting his rank or benefits. This result is really enough to go to Wong Tai Sin Temple to give thanks to the gods, and also throw a dozen tables to celebrate.

As for Xu Yongji, since we're all in the same boat, the most likely outcome is that he'll be transferred to a less popular department and retire early, unless there's a very good opportunity for him to make a comeback later.

The fate of that idiot who passed the message to Xu Yongji was predictable.

It's against the rules for one's own people to attack another. The quickest way to resolve this within the rules is to send him undercover into a triad. If his undercover information is accidentally leaked, the police department can then provide a compensation payment, and the matter can be perfectly resolved.

If you want to go all the way, you can make him defect during his undercover work. You can deal with both the police and the underworld, and the police department can save on compensation payments. If you control him, there won't even be any news about him.

......

Before noon, the East Kowloon-based Serious Crimes Unit stationed at Sai Kung Police Station welcomed its new commander.

"I am Inspector Chan Kwok-wah. I have been temporarily assigned to Team B by the Regional Headquarters to handle this murder case. Inspector Miu and Inspector Tsui have returned to the Regional Headquarters to await further orders due to other arrangements." The newly arrived commander of Team B of the Major Crimes Unit gave a brief induction speech.