Reborn in Hong Kong Island, I can see loyalty

As the car drove into the Sai Wan fishing port on Hong Kong Island, the sea breeze, carrying a strong fishy smell, hit us and dispelled the afternoon heat.

The roadside was lined with all kinds of fishing rafts and small freight vehicles. Fishermen wearing rubber shoes carried fishing nets and moved among them. The shouts and the sound of waves crashing on the shore were mixed together, creating a lively and bustling atmosphere.

Zhou Xingxing parked the car in the open space at the entrance of the fishing port, pulled the handbrake, turned to Yang Liqing and said:

“This place is a mixed bag, with all sorts of people from all walks of life. Many of them have ties to gangs, so be careful what you say. If you really can’t get any information out of them, use the ‘indirect approach’ I taught you. Don’t force it.”

Yang Liqing nodded, stuffed the notebook and pen into his police uniform pocket, and then subconsciously touched the pistol at his waist, his expression serious:

"I understand, Officer Zhou. I will be careful."

As soon as the two got out of the car, they were stopped by a seafood vendor.

The stall owner was a dark-skinned middle-aged man carrying a scale. He looked them up and down as he asked:

"Officers, are you here to investigate a case? Is it about that unlicensed van from last Wednesday afternoon?"

Zhou Xingxing's eyes lit up, and he immediately leaned over, asking in a familiar tone, "Uncle, have you seen that car?"

Upon hearing this, the stall owner hurriedly took a step back and waved his hand, saying, "No, no, no, I was just guessing."

After saying that, he turned around and hid in the stall, looking like he didn't want to get involved.

Seeing this, Stephen Chow didn't press the matter. He gave Yang Liqing a wink, and the two continued walking forward.

Most of the merchants in the fishing port either said they didn't see it or simply closed their doors to customers.

After all, everyone here knows that anyone who dares to drive around here without a license plate is either a gangster or a desperate criminal, and nobody wants to get into trouble.

“Officer Zhou, this can’t go on.” Yang Liqing stopped and looked at a small shop with a sign that read “Ahai Fish Raft Rental” not far away. “That shop has a security camera at the entrance, and it’s one of the few shops in the fishing port that’s open 24 hours a day. The owner must have seen a lot of people. Let’s give it a try.”

Zhou Xingxing looked in the direction she pointed, and there was indeed a surveillance camera installed at the entrance of the small shop. There was also an old man with gray hair sitting at the entrance, wearing reading glasses and repairing fishing nets.

He nodded: "Okay, let's go and meet this old man."

The two walked to the shop entrance. The old man didn't even look up, his hands moving quickly with the needle and thread.

Zhou Xingxing didn't reveal his identity directly, but instead picked up a worn-out fishing hook next to him and asked:

"Uncle, how much are your fishing hooks? I want to go fishing at sea with my friends."

The old man then raised his head, glanced at him, then at Yang Liqing, and said slowly:

"Young man, buying fishing hooks is just a pretense; investigating a case is the real purpose, isn't it?"

Stephen Chow was taken aback for a moment, then laughed:

“Sir, you have good taste. We are from the Central and Western District Police Station and would like to ask you about something.”

As he spoke, he took out his police ID and handed it over.

The old man glanced at the police officer's badge, then lowered his head to mend the fishing net.

"What are you asking about? Is it that unlicensed van that was parked at the abandoned dock last Wednesday afternoon?"

"Uncle, you really saw it!" Yang Liqing immediately stepped forward, his tone urgent. "Could you tell us the details? Like what kind of car it was, whether anyone got out of the car, and where they went?"

The old man put down his fishing net, picked up the enamel mug beside him, took a sip of tea, and sighed.

“I’ve seen it, of course I’ve seen it. That afternoon I was mending fishing nets when I saw that car drive out of the alley and head straight for the abandoned dock. The car was covered in dust, and a piece of the right rear wheel rim was missing, which was very noticeable.”

Zhou Xingxing and Yang Liqing exchanged a glance and breathed a sigh of relief—this was exactly the car they were looking for!

"Uncle, what else did you see?" Zhou Xingxing leaned forward. "Like, what were the people who got out of the car like? Were they wearing any special clothes or markings?"

“Three people got off, all wearing black hoodies and masks, so I couldn’t see their faces,” the old man recalled. “But one of them had a tattoo on his left wrist that looked like a wolf’s head with its mouth open, which looked quite scary. They were carrying large, heavy boxes. They walked to an abandoned warehouse at the end of the dock and didn’t come out for about half an hour before driving away.”

Wolf head tattoo! Abandoned warehouse! Zhou Xingxing's eyes narrowed; these clues perfectly matched what they had found before.

Yang Liqing immediately pulled out his notebook and began scribbling rapidly, the pen tip almost tearing through the paper:

"Uncle, are you sure it was last Wednesday afternoon? What time exactly? Could you point out the location of that abandoned warehouse to us?"

“No mistake, last Wednesday was the anniversary of my late wife’s death, I remember it clearly.” The old man pointed to the depths of the fishing port. “It was around 2:30 in the afternoon. When they drove away, I glanced at the clock on the wall. The abandoned warehouse is at the very end of the dock. It used to be used to store the catch, but no one uses it anymore. There’s a pile of broken fishing nets at the entrance.”

"But you should be careful. There are often shady characters around that warehouse. I heard it used to be the territory of the Righteous Alliance."

“We’ll be careful, thank you, sir.” Zhou Xingxing put away his phone, took out a business card from his pocket and handed it over. “This is my contact information. If you remember anything else, feel free to call me anytime. Also, could we borrow your store’s security camera footage to make a copy? It’s from last Wednesday afternoon.”

“Sure, no problem.” The old man stood up and led them into the store. “I have all the surveillance footage saved. Follow me.”

The store's shelves were filled with tools for renting fish rafts, and a monitoring host was placed in the corner.

The old man skillfully copied the surveillance footage from last Wednesday afternoon to a USB drive:

“This includes not only footage of the dock, but also footage of my shop entrance. It should also capture images of them driving by.”

Yang Liqing took the USB drive and said seriously:

"Uncle, thank you for the clue. It's very important to us. We may need your cooperation to give a statement later. We will send a colleague to pick you up. It won't delay your business."

"It's alright, cooperating with the police is the right thing to do." The old man waved his hand. "I've run a shop here for decades, and I can't stand those vandals. If you can catch them, we merchants can do business in peace."

After leaving the fish raft rental shop, Zhou Xingxing immediately dialed Ye Haoxuan's number, his voice brimming with excitement:

"Brother Xuan! We've made a major breakthrough! We've found a witness! We've confirmed that the robbers are indeed Sang Biao's men, with wolf head tattoos on their wrists. They hid the stolen gold in a warehouse at the abandoned dock of Sai Wan Fishing Port, and we even got a copy of the surveillance footage!"

Upon hearing the news, Ye Haoxuan on the other end of the phone immediately said:

“Well done! Where are you now? Don’t act on your own. Sang Biao’s men are all ruthless thugs. There might be an ambush in the warehouse. I’ll take Chan Ka-kui and the brothers there to provide support immediately. At the same time, I’ll contact the Western District Police Station to cordon off the surrounding area to prevent them from escaping.”

“We’re right at the entrance to the fishing port, ready to go at any time!” Zhou Xingxing replied. “Brother Xuan, come over as soon as possible. We’ll keep an eye on the warehouse area and make sure no one gets close.”

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Xingxing said to Yang Liqing:

"Liqing, let's go to the high point at the entrance of the fishing port and keep an eye on the direction of the abandoned warehouse. We'll wait for Brother Xuan and the others to arrive before we make our move."

Yang Liqing nodded and gripped the pistol at his waist: "Okay, I'll go with you."

The two walked quickly to a small hill at the entrance of the fishing port, where they could clearly see the direction of the abandoned dock.

A lone warehouse stood by the sea in the distance, a pile of tattered fishing nets stacked at its entrance, seemingly long abandoned, yet concealing untold sins. The sea breeze grew stronger, lifting the hems of their clothes. Yang Liqing gazed resolutely towards the warehouse.

She knew that a fierce arrest operation was about to begin; it was her responsibility and her mission as a police officer.