Chapter 374: Too Ruthless! Live Broadcast Across Hong Kong: Catching the Hardened Criminals

The next day,

Saturday (not a public holiday).

Most citizens of Hong Kong Island were resting.

The staff of the ATV News Department, Technical Department, and Logistics Department woke up feeling refreshed and full of energy.

Yesterday, the leadership had already given orders that today's capture of the hardened criminals would be broadcast live, so everyone had to be in high spirits to welcome this wave of traffic for ATV.

Even the employees who were originally scheduled to be off had all returned to work overtime.

Over at the Marketing Department,

the department head took the previous day's ratings data, walked quickly into the department, and headed straight for the director's office.

"Director, good news! Starting from 20:00 yesterday, the ratings reached as high as 85%!"

How are television ratings calculated now?

This involves a company from Taiwan—AGB, which has held the contract for television ratings surveys in Hong Kong since 1980.

Its statistical method uses, on one hand, the traditional diary method: carefully selecting sample households covering various dimensions such as age, occupation, and region to precisely capture daily viewing details, with staff collecting them after a week to ensure the breadth and representativeness of the raw data.

Later, they also adopted a new technology—the personal viewing recorder, installed on the sample family's television set; the user's actions, such as turning the device on, off, changing channels, or recording, are all transmitted to the data processing center via telephone lines.

And now, both technologies are being used in tandem.

Later, in 2005, this would be snatched away by the CSM company. The ratings we often see in the Mainland are those produced by this CSM company.

"The ratings are that high?"

"Haha~~ Good! Good!"

The director was excited.

ATV had finally held its head high; the new boss was truly impressive—not long after taking office, he had already boosted the ratings.

The director recalled Gao Jin's instructions and hurriedly said to the manager, "Contact all advertisers immediately. Today there will be a live (recorded) broadcast of the capture of the hardened criminals across Hong Kong. Ask them if they want to buy ad space. But the price, it will be very expensive."

"Also, for categories like water or towels, we can invite the police officers in the live broadcast to help advertise... for example, a close-up shot of the police drinking water before an operation. If they pay extra, we can even have the police say promotional lines praising the water. Of course, the price will be even higher!"

The manager's eyes widened.

Let the police do advertising?

This is possible?

The director: "By the way, among the operation team, there is also the big police star Zhou Zhou Xingxing. If we have him insert an advertisement, the price will be even more expensive..."

The manager was completely floored.

The boss is truly impressive!

Learned it, learned it!

The director indicated: It was the boss who taught it; the boss is the one who is truly impressive!

However, the director still kept the boss's instructions in mind and said to the manager, "There is one principle for this kind of advertising: it must not undermine the seriousness of the capture operation."

Soon, the Marketing Department began to take action, calling various partners one after another, and even running over to TVB to poach advertisers.

Not long after, Lady Fang received the news and was furious.

In her anger, she threw a fit.

Meanwhile, over at the ATV News Department, numerous reporters had already rushed to the Islands District.

Because that was where the police were gathering.

As for the TVB reporters, they were searching everywhere for traces of the hardened criminals, but like headless flies, they could not find a direction.

……

……

Over at Little Bird's side.

They had hidden for a night at the Tin Hau Temple on Lantau Island.

One of the hardened criminal underlings had a nightmare, dreaming that they were surrounded by police, and was scared awake, which in turn woke up Little Bird and the other two.

Early in the morning, the four of them woke up.

"This won't do, the four of us are too big a target!"

Little Bird said solemnly, "We must split up and leave it to fate."

The other three heard this and nodded one after another: "Right, splitting up is better!"

"Splitting up is better!"

……

Islands District · Lantau Police Station.

Du Du Du Du Du Du Du Xiaohe got up early, washed up, and went to the canteen for breakfast.

Standing in front of the newsstand, all the newspapers had headlines about Gao Jin being kidnapped, with a composite photo of Gao Jin's personal portrait and bullets scattered on the ground. Below that were the photos of the four major suspects.

"Gao Jin Attacked! Kidnapping Thriller Night Appears in Hong Kong"

"Gao Jin Narrowly Escapes Kidnapping, Police and Bandits Engage in Fierce Battle on Weili Road"

"Four Major Wanted Criminals, 4 Million Reward!"

"An eventful autumn!"

"If they have come to the islands, then it will be troublesome."

Du Du Du Du Du Du Du Xiaohe knew well that these suspects were all hardened criminals with guns in their hands.

Their seven or eight officers at the Islands District Police Station were all weaklings; if they ran into the hardened criminals, they would likely die a miserable death.

Not long after, she arrived at the police station.

Once inside, she discovered that a group of police had already gathered there, totaling over 100 officers from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, the Hong Kong Island Regional Headquarters, and the West Kowloon Regional Headquarters.

In addition, they had brought police dogs.

Why did all three departments come?

It was a great merit; everyone wanted it, so it was fair competition.

Moreover, it wasn't just this one route; there were other roads, and people were blocking the streets—as long as the hardened criminals drove out, they would definitely be encountered.

Not only that, there were seven or eight reporters and photographers squatting outside the police station, investigating.

The police sergeant at the station, Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Gong, was warmly receiving them.

"Officers, welcome to the Islands District."

"I don't know if you are..."

Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Guozhong shook hands with Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Gong politely: "It's like this, according to the public hotline, the four accomplices of the kidnappers wanted since last night are currently on Lantau Island, so we came here specifically to capture them this time."

Once Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Gong heard this, he was excited.

"The kidnappers came here? Where are they?"

I, Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Gong, have been on the islands for decades and have never encountered any major cases. I didn't get any credit for that last case, so this time I must rise to the occasion.

Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Guozhong: "Therefore, I hope everyone can cooperate; the credit you deserve will not be lacking."

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Gong nodded repeatedly: "Cooperate, absolutely cooperate!"

Uncle Uncle Uncle Uncle Uncle Liang Bao, Taishan, and other young police officers were all eager to show their skills. They were still at the constable level; in the Islands District, they would probably only be promoted to sergeant in a lifetime. Looking at these big officers in front of them, all as young as themselves, they were already inspectors, senior inspectors, and chief inspectors.

Envious enough to drool!

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river; do not bully the poor in their middle age!

Soon,

the large force began to search the entire Lantau Island.

Knocking on doors house by house, informing them of the situation, and searching for the hardened criminals...

Uncle Uncle Uncle Uncle Uncle Liang Bao was assigned to the same group, following the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau; their target was Tung Chung Village.

Lantau Island has three large villages: Mui Wo, Tung Chung, and Tai O, and Ah Wah's parents-in-law are from Tai O.

In Tung Chung Village, Uncle Uncle Uncle Uncle Uncle Liang Bao followed Qiu Qiu Gangao to knock on doors one by one, stating their identities: "Uncle, Auntie, sorry to bother you. I am Uncle Uncle Uncle Uncle Uncle Liang Bao, do you still remember me? We are currently searching for hardened criminals. Did you watch the news yesterday? May I ask if you have seen any suspicious strangers?"

One by one, the villagers heard it was to capture hardened criminals and shook their heads, saying they hadn't seen any.

And on the other side,

Taishan followed Zhou Zhou Xingxing, Ma Jun, and others to search Tai O Village...

Du Du Du Du Du Du Du Xiaohe was following Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Jiaju and the others to search Mui Wo Village...

The officers were methodically screening, not letting go of any corner.

Meanwhile, the officers stationed at various intersections did not dare to be the least bit negligent, intercepting the sparse passing vehicles.

In addition, on the sea, the Marine Police were also patrolling in boats, and if they encountered any boats, they would go up to search them.

As for the ATV reporters and photographers who had come over, they were also following closely behind each group of officers, carrying cameras and camcorders, capturing the entire process and recording the busy figures of the officers.

The footage filmed later would be sent to ATV for editing and put on television for live broadcast.

Just at this moment,

over at the Tin Hau Temple, Little Bird and the others were already prepared to split up and run.

"Please, Goddess Goddess Goddess Goddess Goddess Goddess Mazu, you must help us escape the capture smoothly!"

An underling picked up incense, bowed repeatedly to the Goddess Goddess Goddess Goddess Goddess Goddess Mazu statue, and muttered to himself, praying devoutly.

Little Bird saw this and was so angry that he flew into a kick at the underling: "What time is it now, and you're still doing this superstition? Is it useful? Let's go!"

"Life and death are fated, wealth and honor are in the hands of heaven! Get in the car quickly."

Everyone got into the car, the engine started, and it roared away along the winding mountain road.

After 2 kilometers, at a bend, one hundred meters ahead, police lights were flashing...

"Oh no, there are police checking cars!"

The driver's expression changed, and he slammed on the brakes.

The expressions of everyone in the car changed as well.

"Have we been exposed?"

"What do we do?"

"Should we charge through?"

"Charge my ass, reverse, reverse quickly!"

The police knew the appearances of the four of them, so there was no way to bluff their way through; charging the blockade was even more ridiculous, as the other side could just use their police cars to ram them.

The driver shifted into reverse, and the sedan struggled to turn around on the narrow mountain road.

However, their move was too strange and was immediately noticed by Song Zi and the others, who realized something was wrong.

What kind of law-abiding citizen would run away upon seeing the police!

"They might be ruthless bandits!"

"Don't let them get away! Pursue!"

He took his squad of officers, got into the car, and sped off in pursuit.

Reporters and photographers also drove off in a rush.

As for Cao Cao Dahua, he had just run off to take a leak and hadn't even zipped up his fly when Song Zi and the reporters took off.

"I haven't gotten in the car yet, hey!"

Cao Cao Dahua chased after them all the way, with a visual sense reminiscent of "Yanzi, Yanzi ah~~~."

Song Zi didn't care about Cao Cao Dahua at all and quickly called Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Guozhong, Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Jiaju, and Qiu Gang.

Song Zi knew that now was not the time to fight for credit; fighting for credit should be done uprightly. Moreover, in the future, the police force would surely be filled with people like them, and once united, they would become a major power.

Creating friction now was a very foolish act.

Soon, various squads took action one after another, speeding toward that location.

On the side of the ruthless bandits,

This work was organized and uploaded by ~~

The four birds were stunned by the pursuit, never expecting the police to arrive so quickly.

"Stop the car!"

"I'm heading into the mountains!"

"Huh?"

"Huh what? We don't have a single hostage here now, how are we supposed to run? They'll catch up sooner or later, and who knows if there are police blocking the road to the north... We shouldn't have come to Mount Mount Dayu in the first place; we should have hidden in the city, where there are more people and it's easier to hide. We were wrong!"

"Stop the car, they don't have police dogs, heading into the mountains is our only chance."

The other three ruthless bandits were already at their wits' end.

Screech————

They hurriedly stopped the car.

The four of them quickly jumped out of the car and charged up the mountain.

Over 200 meters behind, Song Zi said, "They jumped out of the car and headed into the mountains."

They arrived quickly.

They got out of the car.

"Rat-tat-tat~~~~"

A ruthless bandit fired his AK wildly, hitting the body of the police car, sending sparks flying everywhere.

The officers quickly found cover to hide, while simultaneously returning fire.

At this time, police teams from all units had already entered the mountains from all directions and began searching the mountains.

"Attention, the other side has an AK, do not underestimate the enemy and advance recklessly!"

……

……

At this time, over at Asia Television, the first batch of videotapes had already been sent back to the Asia Television News Force.

The director received a call from the front line and waved his arms in excitement.

"Confirmed, it's those four ruthless bandits!"

He shouted loudly.

"Attention all squads!"

"The target has been confirmed, our news can start broadcasting!"

"Today, our Asia Television will broadcast the entire search and capture of the ruthless bandits!"

"Everyone work hard, the boss said he will take 30% of this advertising revenue to use as this month's bonus!"

"Long live the boss!"

"Start working!"

"It is now 8:20, broadcast the teaser first, and officially broadcast the capture process at 9:00!"

With the order given, the entire News Force began to operate.

The entire 'live broadcast' had long since had its division of labor discussed, and now everyone was performing their own duties.

Wen Wen Huixin served as the host; she was experienced and had strong adaptability, delivering the most immediate and accurate information.

The editing squad screened the massive amount of videotapes sent back from the front, using exquisite editing techniques to extract key footage...

The scriptwriting squad maintained close communication with the front-line reporters at all times, quickly writing vivid and precise commentary based on the live dynamics.

There were also the technical support team, the information verification squad...

With the concerted efforts of all the staff at the Asia Television News Force, this special report on the search for the ruthless bandits was about to raise its curtain, and they would use lenses and sound to present a real and shocking battle between police and bandits to all the citizens of Hong Kong.

……

The Peninsula Hotel,

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu, Sir Sir Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Sir Huang Sir Sir Huang Sir Huang Bingyao, Lei Meng, and Superintendent Superintendent Superintendent Situ Superintendent Superintendent Situ Superintendent Situ Situ Situ Situ Situ Jie sat in a private room.

"Cheers……"

"Thanks to Ah Zu this time."

The three of them expressed their gratitude.

This joint operation looked like just a capture operation, but in reality, it was a stage Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu provided for the trusted officers under their command to show their worth.

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu clinked glasses and smiled, "We're all friends, no need to be polite."

Director Director Director Director Director Director Guan Zu's status was now far higher than these three, and this move could be considered cultivating his own power within the police force.

……

……

Soon,

In thousands of households across Hong Kong, as well as televisions in various settings, Asia Television began to interrupt the broadcast of other programs and inserted a teaser.

"Citizens of Hong Kong, we are now broadcasting an urgent news report!"

"Just an hour ago, after much effort, the police finally locked onto the tracks of the four kidnapping suspects, who are currently hiding on Mount Mount Dayu."

"Currently, the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau, the Hong Kong Island Police District, the West Kowloon Police District, and the Marine Police have been urgently dispatched, heading to Mount Mount Dayu to search for and capture the four kidnappers……"

"And our Asia Television news team has also rushed to the front line to provide an all-around live look at the search scene."

On the television screen, footage recorded by Asia Television news was played: the police force setting up checkpoints on the Tsing Ma Bridge on Mount Mount Dayu, and scenes of them entering various villages to search.

"In 40 minutes, at 9:00, lock onto Asia Television on time to witness the battle for the protection of Hong Kong together, the live broadcast of the shocking search for the ruthless bandits, not to be missed!"

Once this news came out, the citizens watching Asia Television news were shocked and excited.

"What? Asia Television is broadcasting live again? Those kidnappers are blocked on Mount Mount Dayu?"

"Broadcasting the police search process live starting at nine?"

This news seemed to have grown wings; whether on the streets or in high-rise buildings, people discussed it one after another, spreading it by word of mouth, and it quickly spread throughout Hong Kong.

……

……

Soon, the time reached 9:00,

Gossip time had arrived.

In thousands of households and all kinds of restaurants and public places, televisions had long been tuned to the Asia Television channel.

"It's starting, it's starting!"

"Finally started broadcasting!"

One by one, they excitedly ate melons.

Sure enough,

As soon as 9:00 hit, Asia Television began the live broadcast.

"Dear citizens……"

"Just last night……"

"Asia Television News is now broadcasting the process of the ruthless bandit capture for you……"

The camera switched to Mount Mount Dayu.

"Mount Mount Dayu has three large villages and over a dozen small villages……"

"Early this morning, the police received a hotline tip from the public that four kidnapping suspects had appeared on Mount Mount Dayu. The police acted quickly, rushed to Mount Mount Dayu, and together with the Islands District Police Station……"

"A massive manhunt has begun..."

At this moment,

over a dozen reporters from TVB were racing toward Mount Mount Dayu.

They hadn't managed to scoop anything from last night's news and had even been scolded by the audience.

This time, I, Long Wang, have returned, and I must obtain the latest, most explosive news!

Then...

while crossing the Tsing Ma Bridge, they were stopped by officers from the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau.

An officer said with a serious and earnest expression, "Sorry, Mount Mount Dayu is very dangerous right now; you cannot enter."

The TVB reporters were so angry they were on the verge of tears.

"On what grounds can ATV reporters enter, but we can't?"

"How much money did ATV pay you?"

"Protest! We demand freedom of the press!"

"You can't just bully people like this!"

(End of chapter)