Main Cast :
Ron Ng ~ Chung Lap Man
Sammul Chan ~ Lee Pak Kiu
Michael Miu ~ Hau Gor
Kathy Chow ~ Sum
Michael Tse ~ Laughing Gor/ Leung Siu Tong

Year : 2009

Returning from the previous installation "On the First Beat" are Sammul Chan(Lee Pak Kiu) and Ron Ng(Chung Lap Man). No longer police cadets, both are separated as Pak Kiu works alongside some of his previous police academy peers in the symbolic EUHK1 vehicle. Meanwhile, headstrong and impulsive in the most naive manner, Chung Lap Man decides to take matters into his own hands and becomes a one-man team on his quest to undermine the underground drug society.
On the dark side we have a mixture of undaunted "big brothers" and fledgling gangsters galore. Brother Tin, then the leader of the pack, was married to Big Sister Sum(Kathy Chow). Fresh from his release from ten years of prison in Taiwan is Hau Gor(Michael Miu Kiu Wai), vindictive and scheming. It was Brother Tin's deceit a decade prior that had yielded his sentence. Hau Gor re-enters the underground forces with nothing short of perfidious intentions. Driven by vengeance, Hau Gor keeps Brother Tin close by pretending to be his trustworthy friend.
It is this very gang that Chung Lap Man joins once Hu Sir (Dominic Lam) enlists him as an undercover. In order to be successful, Lap Man severs all ties with his previous friends and classmates from the police academy, including his good friend Lee Pak Kiu. The rift that grows between Lap Man and his former comrades enables him to grow closer to the dark side. He is placed under the tutelage of Laughing Gor(Michael Tse). Time unveils the true identity of Laughing Gor, proving that nothing is ever what it seems to be, and that life(and people, for that) isn't usually interpreted with respect to black and white.

Most noticeable in this series is the pair of veteran actors, Michael Miu Kiu Wai and Kathy Chow. Quite contrary to expectations, the character that managed to steal the show was neither of these two. Instead, slowly but surely, it was Michael Tse's Laughing Gor that won the audience over. His death scene also brought out a breakthrough performance from Ron Ng. It is this very series that spawned the widespread hype regarding Laughing Gor. Considering the fact that Laughing Gor is merely a character TVB made up for this series, it might seem, at least, slightly illogical that people would react so strongly to his death and even go as far as protest it. It might be the rareness of undercover cops in TVB series. The essence of Laughing Gor is undeniably rare. Add that to the viciousness of triads, and you've got a swarm of people supporting him, because there is rarely a modern hero like this.
Sure, you've got cops stepping into their traditional niches to arrest "the bad guys." But now the curtains have unveiled a different kind of cop.
Face it, when you're an undercover, you are vulnerable to the bullets of BOTH SIDES. The officer in charge of you does not reveal to anyone that you are his spy -- and certainly not anyone who's in the police department. (As you know, Lee Pak Kiu shot Laughing Gor.... technically at the time, to death, because he thought Laughing Gor was just another triad punk) Needless to say, if your fellow triads find out what you are, you're finished as well.
Undercover cops have to sever all their ties to start anew on the dark side, where they're likely subject to all sorts of dangers (and not just limited to the physical realm). If they're not mentally prepared to witness the most controversial methods of torture, that's already one way to have fallen.
People merely gave Laughing Gor a lot of credit for his sacrifice. Maybe they went a little overboard, but you still have to admit he's not the regular two-dimensional hero you'd find on the side of the road.

Overall rating : 91%