Chapter 163: Breaking the Door

Chapter 163: Breaking In

The Lu Residence.

Lu Rong sat quietly in his study, his fingers tracing the carved armrest of his chair.

This ancestral home had been passed down through five generations. It was said to have begun as a modest wooden shack in the southwest, prone to leaks. Through continuous repairs, expansions, and generations of renovation, it had evolved into its current form.

He never touched drugs, knowing that an empire built on narcotics would not endure.

He avoided the vice trade, understanding it corrupted both mind and foundation. Lu Qian had already suffered losses because of it. If he were to get involved, the Lu family would never recover.

His involvement with casinos was necessitated by the need to launder the Lu family's money. The casino was under British Hong Kong's jurisdiction. By cleaning money there and sharing profits with British Hong Kong, he neither offended nor curried favor—everything was done by the book.

He never even handled cash directly, let alone gambled personally. Even if mainland officials came to investigate, they would find no fault.

Lu Rong sat in quiet contemplation for two hours but still couldn't pinpoint where he had erred.

Was offending Jian Ruochen a mistake?

No.

He had personally provided the Preludin clue, enabling Jian Ruochen to avenge his mother's death.

Without that key, Jian Ruochen would never have uncovered the truth.

After much deliberation, the only mistake he could identify was failing to align with the mainland before Jian Ruochen did.

All his carefully laid plans had crumbled the moment Jian Ruochen secured the land in Kowloon Walled City.

Lu Rong looked towards the person standing by the door. "Butler Xu."

Xu Tuo bowed his head in acknowledgment.

"How are things with Moer Kelin?" Lu Rong asked.

Xu Tuo replied unhurriedly, "No news yet. He's likely still being questioned. Only two hours have passed since Moer Kelin was summoned. Based on West Kowloon's usual practice, he'll probably be in the interrogation room for at least another six hours."

Lu Rong let out a brief, humorless laugh before his face hardened again.

He felt that today was unnervingly quiet.

On TV, the STN news channel, which typically covered Hong Kong news during its midday broadcast, was currently airing an irrelevant mainland news segment—a rerun of the mainland's awards ceremony.

Although Jian Ruochen was absent, his name was still mentioned among the awardees.

Lu Rong found it irritating but dared not turn it off, fearing he might miss crucial news from the police department. He asked again, "How are Qiu Jiawen and Zhang Qingzhe doing?"

Given STN's usual style, even if there were no direct reports from the two, there should have been rumors of their summons.

But today, there was nothing.

Xu Tuo said, "Master."

He didn't answer Lu Rong's question but walked directly up to him and presented a stack of papers. "Mr. Lu, my resignation."

Lu Rong was stunned, looking up in disbelief. "Uncle Xu?"

A sudden sense of absurdity washed over him. "You're leaving?"

Xu Tuo said, "You didn't heed a single word I spoke a month ago."

Considering the Lu family's vast wealth, money was only truly money when it was spent.

Otherwise, it was just paper.

A staggering 5.9 billion, with this month's income, now totaled 6 billion.

Yet, Lu Rong preferred to hoard it rather than reassemble his men and distribute it among them.

Even if those men were no longer needed to risk their lives for the Lu family, providing a resettlement and severance package was the unspoken rule of their world.

When Lu Qian was most intensely pursued by West Kowloon, he still paid off those with elderly mothers, allowing them to leave. That's why people were willing to lay down their lives for him.

Lu Rong was too clever, too calculating, yet lacked the conviction to take a firm stand. In the end, he gained nothing.

Xu Tuo sometimes envied Luo Binwen.

He had known Jian Ruochen for only a year, yet their bond was deeper than those he had known for a lifetime.

Xu Tuo looked at Lu Rong, his eyes calm. "Mr. Lu, before I go, I'll give you one last piece of information."

"The traffic around Ming Ren Primary School and De Cheng Primary School has been sealed off. MI6's intelligence headquarters in Hong Kong must have been located."

Lu Rong's face darkened slightly.

He had remained silent in the interrogation room precisely because he feared Jian Ruochen would press him for the location of MI6's intelligence headquarters.

If he broke and revealed it, he would completely alienate British Hong Kong. Not only would the Lu family's enterprises never reach Britain, but his last escape route would also be blocked.

Now...

Xu Tuo said, "If you weren't willing to share the money with your subordinates, you should have turned back to West Kowloon and told Jian Ruochen everything you knew. Hong Kong's informant protection laws would have reduced your sentence based on the importance of your information. After serving three years, with 6 billion in hand, you would have had no trouble making a comeback."

But Lu Rong neither retreated nor advanced. He hadn't even managed to contact British Hong Kong.

Xu Tuo said, "Mr. Lu, I've said all I need to say."

With that, Xu Tuo turned and left.

Lu Rong yanked open the drawer beside him, pulled out a pistol, and aimed it at Xu Tuo's back. The swirling emotions in his eyes instantly settled into a cold, determined killing intent.

He didn't want to kill personally, but Xu Tuo knew too much about the Lu family and had too many connections. Once he left the Lu residence, he would vanish without a trace, like a stone sinking into the sea—impossible to find.

Xu Tuo could not be allowed to leave.

"Bang!"

...

In the underground parking garage of Ming Ren Primary School, Liu Yuanpei, dispatched by the Special Duties Unit to scout the entrance, raised his gun and shot an intelligence officer disguised as a security guard patrolling the area.

The guard had spotted them and immediately became alert, even attempting to draw his weapon.

Liu Yuanpei and another female officer dragged the body behind a load-bearing pillar. Liu whispered, "It's a good thing our Special Duties Unit has fewer restrictions. I heard from above that Consultant Jian was shot and nearly died because plainclothes officers aren't allowed to fire without strict clearance."

Hong Kong has no military, so the Special Duties Unit can be likened to special forces. Every member selected is an exceptional talent, one in ten thousand.

The female officer remained silent. After cleaning the blood from her hands, she sprayed some air freshener on both of them to mask the scent, then linked arms with Fang Kaichang. "Sir, report immediately once you find the entrance. Security here is tight; if we're discovered, it'll be hard to get out."

Liu Yuanpei responded, "This security guard was so alert—he didn't even question us before raising his gun to shoot. It indicates this place is usually deserted."

The wheels of the vehicles here were covered in dust, clearly untouched for a long time.

The entrance must be nearby.

After scouting the area, they indeed found a hidden door behind two pickup trucks. Based on its location, it was undoubtedly the door leading to the intelligence headquarters.

They marked the spot and immediately radioed back.

Lei Jinwen received the message and immediately ordered the on-duty Special Duties Unit to mobilize fully. "Your safety comes first. Whether the targets live or die is irrelevant."

Fang Kaichang was stunned. "Brother, killing the British... is that... is that permissible?"

Lei Jinwen shot him a glance.

His political awareness wasn't much better than his nephew's.

Lei Jinwen patted Jian Ruochen's shoulder. "You explain."

Jian Ruochen glanced around and spoke confidently. "Director Lei is personally commanding this operation to send a message to the mainland and the world. To make it unequivocally clear where the Police Force's loyalty lies."

"As the saying goes, 'Strike first to avoid a hundred blows.'"

"By dismantling Britain's intelligence operations, we can deter other countries from considering espionage activities in Hong Kong."

"With British Hong Kong's withdrawal imminent, the mainland's stance is particularly firm. Director Lei taking down their intelligence network now ensures they won't dare cause further trouble."

In politics, wavering between sides is the gravest error.

Since we are aligning with the mainland, we must no longer show weakness to British Hong Kong.

Lei Jinwen thought it was brilliant, his eyes scanning Jian Ruochen up and down repeatedly.

The more he looked, the more pleased he felt.

He had initially thought Jian Ruochen was too young and inexperienced to ever become Commissioner, but now he could only marvel at the mainland's discernment.

The leaders governing nearly ten million square kilometers of land truly possess keen insight.

With the Commissioner overseeing things and these words of assurance, the Special Duties Unit acted without hesitation.

Soon, gunfire echoed through the school's underground garage.

Shortly after, Guan Yingjun's voice came over Channel 1. "12 o'clock direction, top-floor office of the teaching building. Two British nationals and three young girls are inside."

Jian Ruochen raised his binoculars and looked in the described direction.

The glass reflected light, and from below, only blurry shadows could be seen moving.

Though it was just a glimpse, everyone's expressions turned grave, and silence fell.

It was lunchtime—why were there students in the office?

Had the spies infiltrating the school sensed something was amiss?

Lin Yazhi wasn't present, and Detective Guan had followed the Special Duties Unit snipers to the sniper position on the mall's rooftop.

Other teams were dispersed throughout the school, executing their missions, unable to oversee the overall situation.

The heavy responsibility of command fell squarely on Jian Ruochen.

Jian Ruochen narrowed his eyes, pressed his lips into a thin line, and switched the radio to the public channel. "Sir Chen, what's the situation in the school?"

Chen Jincai replied, "Aside from the location Guan Yingjun just reported, all adult teachers and teaching assistants from the first to sixth floors have been secured."

"The situation inside the office is unclear. We don't know if those two are armed, so we haven't breached the door."

An unfamiliar voice came over Channel 1.

"They're armed," said the sniper who had gone upstairs with Guan Yingjun. "One of them has a child sitting on his lap, facing the window, as if teaching her to draw. His handgun is on the desk."

Chen Jincai cursed. "Bastards."

Holding a child in front of them served two purposes: to deter snipers from firing recklessly and to exploit the situation.

The child wouldn't understand, thinking the teacher was simply being affectionate.

Jian Ruochen raised his hand and pressed the talk button. "Can we take the shot?"

Guan Yingjun, peering through his scope, held his breath and watched for a moment before whispering, "No guarantee. The glass reflection might cause refraction errors. The child is too close to them."

The other sniper remained silent, clearly concurring.

The air grew still.

Director Lei raised his hand. "All decoy patrol vehicles, stop and form a perimeter around the primary school."

He handed the megaphone to Jian Ruochen, gave his shoulder a firm pat, and then said gravely, "Chen Jincai, breach the door! If you can't take both out simultaneously, create a distraction after entering. Make them turn their backs to the window and expose themselves to the snipers!"

Chen Jincai shot through the office door's lock, then kicked the door. It burst open with a crack like firecrackers, crashing to the ground.

Chen Jincai raised his gun and shouted, "Freeze! CID operation!"

Greyman stared into the dark muzzle of the gun, his body rigid, breath caught in his chest like a stone.

Something was indeed wrong!

The police were actually here!

He abruptly gripped the girl's neck and pressed his gun to her temple. "Don't come any closer!"

Director Lei pushed Jian Ruochen forward from behind.

Jian Ruochen stepped out from the concealed shop, switched on the megaphone, and said, "Attention inside: You are surrounded. Do not resist unnecessarily. Do not harm the hostages. State your demands, and we can negotiate."

"Drop your weapons immediately!"

Dressed in full black tactical gear, he walked step by step toward the school, stopping at the entrance. His tone remained calm as he said, "I know you are British intelligence operatives. Hong Kong's espionage laws are not fully developed. Release the hostages. If you wish to stay and contribute to Hong Kong, we welcome you. If you want to return to England, we will provide passage funds."

Director Lei watched with arms crossed.

Each generation brings forth new talent. His words were so calm, so enticing.

Which spy in a foreign land wouldn't want to go home?