Hong Kong General: Rebirth of Rage, Rising from Prison

Chapter 264 You used to be called Zhang Sir, but from now on, you can only be called Number!

Zhang Chongbang stood there, stunned, his hand holding the cipher paper trembling slightly, his face filled with struggle and pain.

The great white shark sensed something was wrong and immediately stepped forward, snatching the coded paper from Zhang Chongbang's hand.

Unfold the crumpled paper containing the cipher, and below the cipher, there was another line of text.

The handwriting was printed very neatly.

"You have to choose one of the two options; you can only save one side."

Great White Shark was also stunned. He looked at Lan Keying, then at the eight hostages, and finally at Zhang Chongbang: "Bang, no need to think, save Sister-in-law first, she's pregnant!"

If I had to choose one, of course I'd save my own people. Those eight hostages weren't kidnapped by them, so blame the bandit king.

It has nothing to do with them!
Since the incident at the Cointreau Hotel, the Great White Shark's temperament has changed a lot.

The matter of Yao Sir can be kept secret, and as long as no one talks about the hostage situation, no one will know.

The bomb was planted by the King of Thieves.

They couldn't do anything about the deaths caused by the bombing, after all, they had done their best, and even killed Ji Zhengxiong for it.

"No, I can't be so selfish."

"Eight lives lost, we can't just give up like this!"

Zhang Chongbang's face was filled with conflict. He looked at the eight hostages, some old and some young, their faces filled with hope, longing, and fear...

He gritted his teeth, took a step, and prepared to walk towards them.

Being a police officer means sacrificing your personal interests, right?
If I don't rescue the eight hostages, how can I live up to this uniform?

Zhang Chongbang, who always maintained a dignified demeanor, couldn't let go of his pride.

Rather than saying he was so great or so eager to save people, it's more accurate to say he couldn't accept himself, someone who was seen as dishonest by others.

“Abang…”

Lan Keying looked up at Zhang Chongbang with tears in her eyes, hesitant to speak.

She probably already understood that this set of codes could only save one side.

They rescued eight hostages, but couldn't rescue her and the baby.

If we save her, we can't save the eight hostages.

Her face showed bitterness as she tried to evoke Zhang Chongbang's fatherly love: "Baby kicked me."

“A-Ying”.

Zhang Chongbang turned around and looked at Lan Keying's prominently protruding belly, which was slightly undulating.

My heart aches.

Putting aside the fact that Lan Keying is his wife, she is just an ordinary citizen and an ordinary pregnant woman.

This is no different from the other eight hostages.

What right does he have to decide the life and death of Lan Keying and her child based on his own status?
"Ahhhh!"

Which side to choose?

"Which side should we save?!"

Zhang Chongbang is going crazy.

His face contorted in pain as he frantically pulled at his hair, torn between eight lives and his wife and children.

My heart was constantly torn apart, filled with pain and turmoil.

What about fairness, dedication, selflessness, truth and justice, right and wrong...?

Like an overturned dye vat, they are mixed together.

Memories of the past kept flashing through his mind, and he stood on the moral high ground, arguing vehemently against Chen Shixian and his associates.

The scene at the Cointreau Hotel, where Yao Sir is mistakenly killed, the truth is concealed, and he breaks his own bottom line.

Now, he has to choose between his wife and children and the lives of eight hostages.

It's so hard!

"Drip drip..."

"Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen..."

Time was running out, and the constantly flashing countdown was imprinted in Zhang Chongbang's pupils.

He didn't have much time to think.

"My lord, save my sister-in-law first."

Lu Sihui's heart softened, and she looked at Lan Keying with tenderness; she was also a mother.

Lan Keying usually supports Zhang Chongbang's work, and she took care of all the arrangements for her pregnancy herself.

She understands best how hard and helpless it is to be a family member of a criminal.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have become a single mother.

Moreover, she had many interactions with Lan Keying, and she couldn't bear to watch Lan Keying die in front of her.

"Hey, you're the police, right? Of course you'll save us! We have eight lives, are you saying we're worth less than one?!"

Among the eight hostages, a bald old man wearing a striped t-shirt immediately noticed something amiss.

This password can only save one side of the people.

Faced with life and death, the old man spat and loudly urged everyone, shouting, "Fellow neighbors, the pregnant woman next to you is this policeman's wife."

"They're trying to cheat us out of their own interests and won't save us!"

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly realized what was happening, and they were all filled with righteous indignation and fury.

"Damn it, police officers have to sacrifice and make sacrifices, otherwise what kind of police officers are they?"

"We can't be so selfish as to sacrifice eight of us to save one!"

"Hurry! Help us!"

"Waaaaah! I don't want to die!"

……

Eight people, one after another, started shouting, their voices mingling with the cries of a child.

These words were like slaps to Zhang Chongbang's face, one after another.

Which side to choose?!

Which side should I choose?

Zhang Chongbang was caught in a dilemma. He longed for someone to help him make a decision and point him in the right direction.

Because no matter which option you choose, it will be wrong.

No matter which choice you make, you'll regret it for the rest of your life.

Great White Shark, Lü Sihui, Cao Yun, and the others stood hesitantly in place, waiting for Zhang Chongbang to make a decision.

"Zhang Chongbang, that good-for-nothing, is having a hard time making a choice. He's still not choosing. He's being too indecisive."

Looking at the screen, Baozhu saw Zhang Chongbang in a state of frantic despair and mockery.

"They're double standards, with two sets of standards that conflict with each other, making it difficult for them to choose."

"On one hand, they are high-minded and righteous, demanding standards and fairness, but on the other hand, they are different when it comes to themselves, demanding exceptions and special treatment."

"Now that we've put him on the stage, he can neither break his established persona nor give up his wife and children."

"Let's see what he does!"

Qiu Gang'ao looked at Zhang Chongbang with a mocking expression, his words full of sarcasm.

"Try to understand, it's a tough choice."

Chen Shixian, with a cigarette dangling from his lips and a cup of coffee in his hand, leaned back leisurely in his chair and chuckled, "If it were you, you'd have a hard time choosing either."

"If it were up to me, I'd choose my wife. At worst, I'd quit being a policeman, but my wife will stay with me for life."

"Besides, I didn't kill the person."

"The ruthless one is the king of thieves."

"I simply follow my heart and choose the answer that I feel is right."

"People shouldn't be too hypocritical."

"Burning Beads" said casually, "He's straightforward and doesn't hide his selfish motives at all."

“If it were up to me, I would choose eight hostages, starting with public officials and then my husband.”

"Saving eight people is definitely more worthwhile than saving one person."

Ah Quan said in a simple and honest way.

Bursting Beads glanced at him sideways: "Damn it, what kind of choice did you make? You're a single monk, and you even picked a 'dunk'?"

"My wife is definitely more important."

The group began to discuss it enthusiastically.

Chen Shixian took a small sip of coffee and smiled, "Then let me ask you another way."

"If you were a train driver and came to a fork in the road, and there were eight children lying in the direction you were originally driving, you would run over all eight children if you continued driving normally."

"However, if you change direction at this moment and switch to another track."

"On that road, there was only one child lying there."

"Will you continue driving, or change tracks and run over that child?"

The bubbly head of the bouncy bead said, "These kids are crazy. Of all places to lie, they have to lie on the tracks."

"I choose to crush them all, you idiots! Anyone who survives is just a moron!"

"..."

Everyone was speechless for a while.

Ah Quan rolled her eyes at Baozhu: "If, if, I suspect you're the idiot who survived."

"Of course we'll change lanes! It's better to run over one than eight!"

Ahua nodded in agreement: "I think that makes more sense."

Chen Shixian glanced at Qiu Gang'ao: "You think so too?"

"Brother Xian, what's your choice?"

Qiu Gang'ao did not answer, but instead asked a question.

"I won't change lanes."

Chen Shixian said calmly.

"Damn, Brother Xian, you're even more ruthless than me. Crushing eight people is still a bit too much, isn't it?"

The popping bead looked surprised and exclaimed loudly.

"why?"

Ahua was curious.

"Because these eight children were lying on the path that was supposed to be moving forward, they deserved to die."

"If you change lanes, you become a murderer. Although there is only one child on the adjacent track, that child should not have died."

Chen Shixian explained slowly.

"But exchanging eight lives for one is too cruel, isn't it too inhumane?"

Ahua grinned and said.

"If the lives of eight children are precious, then isn't the life of one child also precious?"

Chen Shixian countered, "Let me put it another way. If there are four patients, one waiting for a liver transplant, one waiting for a heart transplant, one waiting for a lung transplant, and one waiting for a kidney transplant."

Would you choose to sacrifice an able-bodied person to save them?

Bursting Beads, Ah Quan, Ah Hua, and the others all shook their heads.

"Everything has its own laws of operation. Let go of the desire to help others and respect their fate."

Chen Shixian looked at Zhang Chongbang on the screen with a deep and distant gaze.

"So, Brother Xian, after all you've said, if you were Zhang Chongbang, which side would you save?"

The question was asked directly.

"you guess?"

Chen Shixian smiled slightly but did not answer. Humans are inherently selfish; humans have feelings, and they have distinctions of closeness and distance.

If one has no emotions and is absolutely selfless, then one can only be a god, not a human.

If Zhang Chongbang saves his wife, it shows that he is a human being. But if he wants to be a god, then he will naturally be incompatible with human beings and be abandoned by everyone.

Now, it remains to be seen whether he wants to be a god or a man.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

The final countdown has begun.

"My Lord, we can't hesitate any longer, make a decision!"

Great White Shark, Lü Sihui, and the others looked anxious and urged him on.

"Da da da."

Zhang Chongbang knelt behind Lan Keying, entered three passwords, paused, and suddenly said with heartbreaking emotion, "I'm sorry, A-Ying."

"I'll make it up to you in the next life!"

After saying that, he resolutely walked towards the eight hostages and quickly entered the password.

"Click!"

With a click, the lock opened.

Zhang Chongbang and the Great White Shark and others quickly helped untie the ropes and evacuate the eight hostages: "Quick, run! Run outside and lie down!"

"Abang, I hate you..."

Lan Keying's eyes were filled with tears, her face full of sorrow. She took one last look at the child in her womb, and then slowly closed her eyes in despair.

"Oh!"

Just as Zhang Chongbang had evacuated the people outside and told them to lie down, he was about to turn back when...

A soft explosion was heard.

His mind went blank, and he felt somewhat disoriented. In that instant of mental blankness, he immediately rushed into the house.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock..."

The 'bomb' sprayed out a series of colored mists, and the parts lying on the ground emitted a crisp musical sound.

"surprise!"

"surprise!"

"surprise!"

……

The repetitive sound echoed continuously in the room, like a mischievous child constantly giving Zhang Chongbang and the others the middle finger.

"Thank goodness, Aying, you're alright."

"I swear, next time, next time, I will definitely protect you."

Zhang Chongbang was incoherent with joy and excitement as he helped untie the ropes, then hugged her tightly and burst into tears of joy.

"And next time?"

Lan Keying's eyes were bloodshot as she glared at Zhang Chongbang with hatred: "It's over between us."

"Ah Ying, I'm a police officer!"

Zhang Chongbang, speaking from the heart, emphasized that he was trying to win Lan Keying back.

"You are a bad person."

Lan Keying sobbed, "You are noble, you are selfless, you are willing to sacrifice your wife and children."

"If you sacrifice yourself, I will be proud of you and I will make BB respect you for the rest of my life."

"But you have no right to sacrifice me and the children to achieve your selfless ideals!"

"May your glory be achieved!"

"I will never forgive you in my entire life!"

"Let's get a divorce."

With colorful ribbons floating on her head and face, Lan Keying felt utterly hopeless. She pushed Zhang Chongbang away, clutched her stomach, and staggered out step by step.

His face was full of coldness.

Zhang Chongbang's hand fell limply, his face looking worse than if he had eaten shit.

"surprise!"

"surprise!"

……

The music from the fake bomb explosion was still playing, a mockery and humiliation that enraged Zhang Chongbang.

"Crack!"

He violently stomped on the fake bomb that had made the sound, smashing it to pieces.

The bomb was fake?!

Great White Shark and Lü Sihui were dumbfounded by what they saw, their eyes wide open.

His gaze then swept over Ji Zhengxiong, who had been tortured to death on the ground, and he was speechless.

If this is just a prank.

All of everyone's efforts on 1304 were a joke, an utter joke.

So what if they tortured and killed people?
Isn't this price too high?
Everyone's hearts sank to the bottom, feeling utterly cold.

"My lord, what should we do?"

The great white shark asked, somewhat bewildered.

"What should we do? I want to know too, what should we do?"

Zhang Chongbang leaned against the wall, slumped down weakly, and slumped down, listless, having lost all his strength and ability.

Is it really wrong?
Is it wrong to uphold a police officer's mission and responsibilities?
What is right, and what is wrong?
Downstairs, the temporary command center.

"Officer, something's happened. Zhang Chongbang's team was using torture to extract confessions and even beat someone to death. The whole thing was broadcast live on major media outlets."

Fang Jiexia, with a solemn expression, put the copied playback into the player.

Zhang Chongbang, Great White Shark, Lü Sihui, and others brutally beat Ji Zhengxiong, subjecting him to all sorts of unspeakable tortures.

The scene of the final killing was shown to Li Wenbin without any omissions.

"Clap!"

Li Wenbin threw down his headphones, his face gloomy.

He looked at Fang Jiexia with a dark expression: "Madam Fang, didn't I say that the entire 1304 live stream was to be cut off, and not a single frame was allowed to be leaked?"

"How could there be such a detailed and comprehensive live stream?"

“Sorry, sir, all the communicators and surveillance cameras that our police force arranged in Zhang Chongbang’s group have been turned off.” Fang Jiexia lowered her head and explained apologetically, “But there are still CCTV cameras in room 1304.”

"These videos were leaked from surveillance footage."

"Our initial suspicion is that this was the work of the three notorious thieves, whose purpose was to insult the police, much like knocking off the hat of a policeman who was kneeling and begging for mercy."

After hearing this, Li Wenbin's face turned dark with anger. He slowly closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

The situation at 1304 is beyond repair.

It is a fact that Zhang Chongbang, Great White Shark, and others used torture to extract confessions and beat people to death.

If there really was a bomb, and Zhang Chongbang sacrificed his wife to save eight lives, at least there would still be room for maneuver in the media.

The public would also find it understandable and give Zhang Chongbang and others sympathy.

But the bomb turned out to be fake.

That's quite a blunder.

The police's reputation was once again trampled on and brutally rubbed.

“Madam Fang, order all media outlets to stop broadcasting this video. At the same time, broadcast the video of Zhang Wenyao, Zhang Sir and his team bravely surrounding and killing Zhang Shihao. We must suppress the public opinion.”

"Otherwise, we'll wait and go together to the Chief Executive and the Governor to explain!"

Li Wenbin coldly gave the order.

Just minutes ago, Zhang Wenyao and Zhou Xingxing, the squad leader of the Flying Tigers, worked together.

Together they killed the thief gang on the rooftop.

This time, the police were more experienced. They said it was a live broadcast, but they recorded the footage and made it a pre-recorded broadcast.

Enlarge the heroic scenes of Zhang Wenyao and Zhou Xingxing; this is the final trump card.

It is also the only means of suppressing public opinion.

Although the police were beaten and ridiculed quite badly from the moment they arrived at their destination, they were at least indomitable and eventually completed their mission.

The three major bandit kings have been dealt with.

At least, this legendary gang of thieves, making their debut as a group, is fierce and difficult to deal with.

As long as a hero is established.

Gradually, public opinion will naturally be overshadowed.

When Zhang Wenyao came downstairs, he had a scar on his forehead and some bruises on his face.

But this became a living badge of honor on his face.

The media swarmed around him, taking photos of him frantically and treating him like a hero.

"Congratulations, Inspector Zhang! You're definitely getting a promotion!"

"It caused a sensation throughout Hong Kong, and made us famous!"

……

Colleagues gathered around and offered their congratulations.

"Thank you."

Zhang Wenyao showed little emotional fluctuation, offering a faint smile in response.

His gaze fell on Zhang Chongbang and the others who were handcuffed, hooded, and being taken away in police cars not far away, and he felt a pang of sorrow.

There is also a fear that has never been seen before.

A fear of being controlled and manipulated.

Chen Shixian and Qiu Gang'ao, along with a few others, stood in a circle at a distance, smiling, quietly observing everything.

It was as if they were just supporting characters, unknown and unnoticed.

Only Zhang Wenyao knew that they were the main characters, and that they were the directors of this grand drama.

The King of Thieves, Zhang Chongbang, and everyone else were completely fooled.

"Don't worry, Officer Zhang, I told you to stand in the center!"

Chen Shixian's words still echoed in his ears, but at this moment, they made his hair stand on end.

Today, I have truly experienced the terrifying nature of Chen Shixian. It's as if everyone is just a pawn on his chessboard, with every move meticulously planned and flawless.

There were no unexpected events from beginning to end.

Zhang Wenyao let out a deep sigh, a sense of powerlessness welling up from the bottom of his heart.

A sense of powerlessness, of being controlled by others.

He also realized that Chen Shixian was someone he absolutely could not afford to offend.

The fate of Zhang Chongbang and his ilk says it all.

“Brother Xian, Zhang Wenyao is such a black-hearted person. If you put him in the spotlight and make him a hero, he will be hard to control once he gets too big for his britches.”

Qiu Gang'ao looked at Zhang Wenyao, who was beaming with joy and surrounded by reporters with their cameras, and said with concern.

"Hehe, A'ao, what is a blessing in disguise? I'm helping him achieve his ambitions, but how do you know that this might be sending him his death warrant?"

Chen Shixian's lips curled slightly, and he said indifferently, seemingly unconcerned.

Qiu Gang'ao, Baozhu, Ahua, and the others looked thoughtful and confused.

Chen Shixian didn't explain further, but simply turned around and said, "Let's go, that's a wrap!"

The police force held a press conference the following day.

(End of this chapter)