Reborn in Hong Kong Island, I can see loyalty

Yang Liqing paused, picked up a wooden box next to the hidden door, which contained dozens of bronze badges engraved with different characters. "These are the markings you used to rank the remnants, right? Ah Kun's 'Kun,' Ah Zhong's 'Zhong,' and Lao Gui's 'Gui,' they're all here."

Looking at those badges, Lin Huaiyue's mental defenses completely collapsed, and he slumped to the ground.

At this moment, news came from other groups: all the outer bodyguards had been subdued, more than 200 pieces of various weapons were seized from the arms depot, 30 million US dollars of money laundering funds were seized, and a speedboat that was preparing to pick them up was stopped at the Mekong River ferry.

As dawn broke, sunlight streamed through the windows of the main building, dispelling the gloom of the dark room.

Yang Liqing leaned against the wall and finally breathed a sigh of relief. The wound on his forearm was soaked with sweat and stung slightly, but it was nothing compared to the peace of mind he felt.

Ye Haoxuan walked over, handed her a bottle of water, and gently touched her gauze: "Luckily it didn't tear. I'll get you a new one when we get back."

She took the water and smiled, "I wasn't reckless this time, I'll listen to you."

Captain Chen, watching the two of them, couldn't help but tease them:

"Your teamwork is even better than ours, which has been working together for several years. The Hong Kong Island Police Force is fortunate to have you."

On the return flight, Yang Liqing looked at the clouds outside the window, toying with the "Loyalty" badge in his hand.

Ye Haoxuan sat down beside her, flipping through the case files, and suddenly spoke:

"The technical department cracked the encrypted hard drive, which contained the complete list of Lam Wai-lok's remaining gang members. Chan Ka-kui's side has begun to arrest those who escaped. The smuggling case in Hong Kong Island is now completely closed."

Yang Liqing nodded and turned to look at him: "In the future, it shouldn't be this dangerous anymore, right?"

Ye Haoxuan looked up, a gentle smile in his eyes: "There might be new cases, but at least this time, we held firm." He paused, then added, "From now on, we'll be on the same team for every operation."

Yang Liqing leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and his mind flashed back to the bloodstains at Shiguang Gallery, the turpentine smell at Qinglan Studio, the sandalwood in Zhiguxuan, and the gunshots in the jungle—all the dangers had turned to dust in their mutual trust.

The sun was shining brightly when the plane landed at Hong Kong Island Airport.

Chan Ka-kui was already waiting at the airport, holding the case closure report in his hand:

"Brother Xuan, Li Qing, all the remaining gang members have been apprehended, and their funds and weapons have been registered and seized. This case is now completely closed."

Ye Haoxuan took the report, and as he signed it, he glanced at the gauze on Yang Liqing's forearm and said softly:

"Go to the police station to treat the wound first, then go home to rest."

Yang Liqing agreed and followed him to the parking lot. Sunlight shone on the two of them, casting long shadows. Their steps were steady and firm as they walked side by side—the pursuit that spanned Hong Kong Island and Phnom Penh had finally come to an end, but their journey together had only just begun.

When the car arrived at the police station, Ye Haoxuan personally accompanied Yang Liqing to the infirmary to change the gauze.

The school doctor removed the old gauze and, seeing that the scab was smooth and without redness or swelling, jokingly remarked:

"Officer Yang's recovery ability is quite strong. It's thanks to Team Leader Ye's close supervision that he makes sure to change the dressing after each operation."

Yang Liqing's ears felt slightly hot, while Ye Haoxuan leaned against the door and said calmly, "Don't be careless. It will take another week to completely remove the stitches."

After changing the dressing, the two went straight to the archives.

Chan Ka-kui has categorized and archived all the evidence: encrypted hard drives, smuggling route maps, bronze badges arranged by grade, and a stack of pigment testing reports, clearly indicating the homogeneity of pigments from various locations from Hong Kong Island to Phnom Penh.

"Lin Huai Le has completely given in and confessed to the remaining two hidden locations. However, when we arrived, the goods had already been intercepted by our informant, so it was a perfect ending." Chen Jiaju handed over the final interrogation record, his tone full of ease.

After reviewing the records, Ye Haoxuan signed his name at the bottom:

"Notify the technical department to burn all electronic evidence onto discs for archiving, and keep the copper badges and pigment samples for record-keeping, so they can be used as a basis for comparison in future smuggling cases."

He turned to look at Yang Liqing, "You are most familiar with the pigment clues. Double-check the evidence list one last time. If there are no problems, we'll close the file."

Yang Liqing checked them one by one, his fingertip tracing the "malachite mineral pigment" column, when he suddenly remembered the bronze vase from Zhiguxuan:

"By the way, I've already had the anti-smuggling team check the pigment supplier that Ah Zhong mentioned, and we've also taken down the source to prevent it from being used by other smuggling gangs." Ye Haoxuan nodded approvingly: "That's a thorough consideration. With this matter settled, we've also put an end to any future troubles."

The case was officially closed in the evening.

The setting sun shone through the police station windows, landing on the thick case files, freezing all the danger and hustle into neat words and evidence.

Stephen Chow walked into the office carrying three takeout orders, smiling and calling out:

"Brother Xuan, Sister Liqing, Captain Chen specially arranged this celebration dinner. Although it can't be a big affair, it's still a way to put an end to the case."

While the three were having dinner, the radio broadcast the news: the police had busted a cross-border smuggling and money laundering gang, arresting the ringleader Lin Huai Le and more than 30 other people involved, and seizing a quantity of weapons and illicit funds. The case was solved.

Yang Liqing smiled, biting her chopsticks, and looked at Ye Haoxuan with relief in her eyes—from the first appearance of bloodstains at the Shiguang Gallery to the final standoff in the Phnom Penh jungle, all the entanglements and perseverance had a perfect ending.

After dinner, Ye Haoxuan escorted Yang Liqing home.

The car stopped downstairs, and Yang Liqing unbuckled his seatbelt, suddenly taking out the "Loyalty" badge:

"Keep this as a memento of the case."

Ye Haoxuan took it and casually put it into his police uniform pocket: "Let's organize the badges and case photos together another day and put them on the team's merit wall."

Yang Liqing nodded, and smiled as he opened the car door:

"Next time we have a case, let's work side by side again." Ye Haoxuan watched her retreating figure as she went upstairs and nodded gently.

As night deepened, the lights of the police station mingled with those of the residential area. The cross-border smuggling case was finally brought to a close, but their story as partners continued through time, calm yet steadfast.