The Hunter's Path: Starting as a constable, ascend to the Old Ones.

Chapter 70 Scapegoat, Resignation, Adam Smith International School

Hong Kong Island Headquarters.

"Can anyone tell me what happened? We clearly tracked down this group of terrorists, so how did they manage to escape?"

Secretary for Security Paul is furious in the Headquarters' Major Crimes Unit.

Their police force has been secretly investigating international terrorists who infiltrated Hong Kong Island to carry out terrorist attacks during the previous Big Fly arms case.

This group of terrorists has carried out numerous attacks in British territory and other areas in an attempt to coerce the British government into releasing their leader.

The British government has sent a note from its homeland instructing its Hong Kong Island police force to completely eliminate this group of terrorists on Hong Kong Island.

The British government will not tolerate any challenge to its authority, nor will it compromise because of terrorist attacks.

"Boss, the undercover agent who was killed in the abandoned factory was one of our political department members. We sent him to Adam Smith International School to investigate terrorists who have been acting extremely arrogantly recently."

Peter Lee, the head of the political department, shifted the blame, saying, "After many days of contact, our undercover agent finally managed to infiltrate the terrorist group. Our political department had already tracked down their whereabouts and was just about to wipe them out when the serious crimes unit had to jump out and cause trouble. This not only allowed the terrorists to escape but also killed our undercover agent."

"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want." Superintendent Madam Wong So-chau of the Major Crimes Unit crossed her arms and snorted coldly. "Our Major Crimes Unit has never received any notification from the Special Branch, let alone know about the undercover situation. We only received intelligence that a group of terrorists had infiltrated Hong Kong Island. As police officers, of course we cannot sit idly by. It is reasonable, legal and compliant for us to dispatch officers to crack down on this group of terrorists."

Peter Li slammed his fist on the table and roared, "When did we in the Political Department need to tell you what we're doing?"

"Our Major Crimes Unit doesn't need to consult your Political Department when it comes to handling matters."

Huang Suqiu retorted angrily without backing down.

"Stop!"

Paul, his face dark, told the two to stop arguing.

Peter Li and Suqiu Huang stopped arguing together.

"In any case, someone has to be held accountable for this, otherwise I will not be able to explain it to the people back home."

As Paul spoke, his gaze swept over the people in the office one by one: Cao Dahua, the newly appointed tiger of the Serious Crimes Unit; Zhou Wenjian, a political detective; and a traffic policeman who shouldn't have been there.

He looked at the young traffic policeman with a disheveled expression and asked kindly, "Young man, what do you do?"

"Sir, this is Traffic Police Officer No. 167 reporting for duty."

Stephen Chow straightened his posture and gave a solemn salute.

"Do you have any powerful connections?"

"Backers?" Stephen Chow glanced at Tsao Ta-hua, gave a dry laugh, and said, "No."

"Good, then you'll have to take the blame for this."

Paul nodded in satisfaction.

"Make me take the blame?"

Stephen Chow looked incredulous. Was it reasonable for a mere traffic policeman to be blamed for such a huge incident?

Cao Dahua looked at Zhou Xingxing with some pity; Xingxing was in deep trouble this time.

Unfortunately, he couldn't help at all. After all, he was just a bully borrowing power; he had no ability to help Stephen Chow take the blame.

"What are you looking at? You're just a lowly traffic cop, why are you meddling in this instead of issuing tickets? You've caused our political department to lose an outstanding officer, you deserve to die!"

Once Peter Lee realized that his boss had identified the scapegoat, he immediately launched a full-scale attack on Stephen Chow, pushing all the blame onto him.

Stephen Chow defended himself, saying, "As a police officer, my responsibility is to protect the personal safety and property of Hong Kong Island citizens. When I heard that terrorists had infiltrated Hong Kong Island, I certainly couldn't sit idly by."

Peter Lee scoffed, "Is arresting terrorists your responsibility as a lowly traffic cop?"

"Let's leave it at that. You guys hurry up and investigate this group of terrorists, and try to wipe them all out as soon as possible so I can give the homeland an explanation."

Paul clearly defined the responsibilities, gave a few instructions, and left the office.

"Take care, sir."

Peter Lee watched Paul leave with a smile, then looked at Stephen Chow, who was still in a daze, and said, "Now we need to discuss intelligence regarding this terrorist case. Please ask all irrelevant personnel to leave."

"Unrelated personnel?"

Looking at the arrogant Peter Lee, Zhou Xingxing felt aggrieved. It was bad enough that he, the number one assassin of the Flying Tigers, had been demoted to the traffic team, but now he had to take the blame for no reason and be scolded like a dog.

This is intolerable!

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, he ripped off his fluorescent traffic police uniform and threw it on the ground, angrily saying, "Sorry, I'm not some irrelevant person, much less a scapegoat for you. I quit." With that, he turned and left without looking back.

Cao Dahua's eyes widened suddenly. Ah Xing was so tough; he truly deserved to be the Flying Tigers' number one assassin.

"Not very capable, but has a big temper."

Peter Lee curled his lip.

"What a bummer. He went from being the Flying Tigers' number one assassin to a traffic cop, and now he's been kicked out. His former colleagues in the Flying Tigers would laugh themselves to death if they saw this."

As Zhou Xingxing left the headquarters, he was seething with anger. Reflecting on his experiences over the past period, he became increasingly furious. Both of them had made great contributions, but Cao Dahua relied on his relationship with a rich woman to maintain his position as the Tiger of the Serious Crimes Unit, while he ended up taking the blame and leaving.

"I refuse to accept this!"

He gritted his teeth inwardly. He, Zhou Xingxing, would never leave the police force in such a sorry state. Even if he had to leave in the future, it should be with flowers and applause.

"Terrorists, huh? — If the political department can't take them down, I will."

His eyes flickered, and he had already made up his mind.

Dudu!

Just as he made up his mind to make a name for himself, two car horns suddenly rang out, startling him awake. Looking up, he saw Lu Ming sitting in the driver's seat, smiling at him. "Zhou sir, why do you look so unhappy? Did you get another complaint from a citizen?"

Stephen Chow quickly composed himself, bursting into exaggerated laughter. "Ha, I'm not unhappy at all! I'm very happy! Do I look unhappy to you?"

"I've already heard about your situation. Shall we get in the car and talk?"

Having cracked the arms case before, Lu Ming had many "acquaintances" in the General Administration of Military Affairs, and could quickly learn about the General Administration's news. So when the factory incident happened, he learned about it immediately.

The serious crimes unit and the political department made a blunder that led to the death of an undercover agent and allowed the terrorists to escape.

Upon hearing this intelligence, Lu Ming immediately understood that the terrorists' next target was Adam Smith International School, where the undercover agent was located. This school was somewhat similar to St. Yuk Keung Secondary School, where Zhou Xingxing and his team had previously infiltrated. The students there were all children of foreign affairs officials, wealthy businessmen, and executives, making it a top-tier elite school in Hong Kong.