Hong Kong variety show: The mastermind behind the scenes is emerging.

Mong Kok, let's be heroes.

Half a month has passed since that night in Mong Kok that shocked the entire community. This bar has long since become the most popular nightclub in Mong Kok thanks to Ah Wah's "God of War" reputation.

It was around 8 or 9 p.m., and the bar was bustling with noise.

Heavy metal rock music pounded like hammers against eardrums. In the center of the dance floor, laser lights shone erratically, and countless men and women, fueled by alcohol and hormones, writhed wildly to the rhythm.

The air was filled with the mixed smells of cigarettes, cheap perfumes, and alcohol—the smell of decadence, and the smell of money.

However, tonight's Hero Bar seems a little different.

The dance floor was still lively, but the row of rest areas in the corner of the bar, which was originally used to store miscellaneous items, was now completely surrounded, with bursts of synchronized exclamations and frustrated sighs erupting from time to time.

"Jump! Jump now! Oh dear! You're so clumsy!"

"The bucket above is rolling down! Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

"Wow! I passed! I passed!"

A young man named "Ahui," wearing a Versace shirt and reeking of alcohol, curiously squeezed into the crowd, holding a glass of whiskey in his hand.

"What's going on? Is there a striptease going on?"

He saw ten brand-new machines neatly arranged in the center of the crowd. Unlike the drab arcade machines of the past, with only black and white lines, these machines had bright red shells and exaggerated American comic book stickers on their bodies.

What's most captivating is the colorful CRT screen.

On the screen, a pixelated gorilla stands atop a red steel frame, arrogantly pounding its chest and throwing down rolling barrels. Below, a tiny figure in red overalls and sporting a mustache is clumsily but tenaciously climbing upwards, controlled by a player, in an attempt to rescue a pixelated beauty captured by the gorilla.

This is "King Kong".

"This...this is an arcade game?" Ahui asked uncertainly.

He had seen this kind of thing abroad before, but in Hong Kong, apart from those old relics from a few years ago, he had never seen a machine with such good picture quality and such magical sound effects.

"Yeah, handsome," a sickeningly sweet voice rang in his ear, "This is the latest popular arcade game called 'Donkey Kong,' it's so much fun."

Ahui turned his head and his eyes widened instantly.

The speaker was a young woman who looked to be only in her early twenties. She was wearing extremely short hot pants, revealing a pair of long, white legs that seemed to glow. Her upper body was clad in a tight-fitting, low-cut tank top, and her prominent breasts were undergoing some kind of breathtaking physical movement as she manipulated the joystick.

She was staring intently at the screen, her slender fingers rapidly tapping on the red buttons.

"Gulp."

Ahui unconsciously swallowed.

This girl is absolutely gorgeous!

Especially that expression of slightly biting her lip when she's focused on the game, plus those breasts swaying to the rhythm... it's simply a fatal temptation.

"Hey beautiful, playing alone?" Ahui immediately adjusted his expression, flashing what he thought was his most charming smile, and leaned closer, pretending to be very interested in the game. "This looks pretty complicated, how do you play it?"

But his mind wasn't on the screen at all; his thieving eyes were fixed on the girl's neckline.

"It's very simple!" The girl thought she had met a kindred spirit and enthusiastically gave up half a space. A pleasant perfume scent instantly wafted into Ahui's nose.

"Look, this joystick controls direction, and that red button is for jumping. You have to dodge the barrels the gorilla throws down, watch out for fireballs, and climb to the top to rescue the princess to pass the level!"

"Oh... so it's about a hero rescuing a damsel in distress? That's my specialty," Ahui chuckled, pulling a hundred-yuan bill from his wallet. "Here, little sister, help your brother exchange it for coins. Of course, you can use the money you get too. Let's try together and see if we can rescue the princess!"

"Okay! You're so generous, brother!" The girl took the money and quickly received a heavy handful of coins.

"Watch this, your brother's going to show you something."

The crisp sound of coins being inserted rang out, and the catchy background music that would later become a global phenomenon began.

At first, he would glance at the girl next to him out of the corner of his eye while playing, and make some dirty jokes, trying to take the girl away with him that night.

"Ouch, he's dead!"

"Again!"

However, as the coins were tossed in one by one, the situation subtly changed.

The reason why Donkey Kong is a global phenomenon is because of its damn perfectly timed difficulty curve. Every barrel or fireball is just a hair's breadth away from being cleared, and every death makes you feel like it's your own mistake rather than that the game is too difficult.

This "just a little bit more" mentality is the Achilles' heel of all gamblers and players.

Ten minutes later.

"Damn it! How can that fireball turn back?!"

Twenty minutes later.

"Jump! Jump! Damn! I fell again!"

Half an hour later.

The hot and sexy girl, Da Lei, had long since gone off to play on another machine out of boredom. Meanwhile, Ahui, who had originally come to hunt for women, was now sweating profusely, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at the screen. His tie was loose, and the whiskey in his hand was nowhere to be found.

He had completely forgotten about girls and long legs.

All he could see was that damn gorilla!

"Boss! Give me another two hundred dollars' worth of coins!!"

Ahui roared without turning his head, "I refuse to believe it tonight! I'm going to beat this game!!"

This scene is playing out wildly in Hero Bar, and in every nightclub, bar, and billiards room in Mong Kok.

Fly stood by the second-floor railing, looking down at the men below who were going crazy over the gorilla, and his mouth twisted into a grin.

……

If the madness in bars is an outlet for adults, then the frenzy at the school gates is pure fanaticism.

The next day, at four o'clock in the afternoon.

At the entrance of Yau Ma Tei Secondary School, there is a small shop called "Cai Kee".

"get out of class is over! Run! Go grab a machine!"

As the school bell rang, a group of middle school students carrying backpacks rushed out of the school gate like mythical beasts released from their cages. Their destination was not home, but the usually inconspicuous little shop near the school gate.

There, two brand-new Donkey Kong arcade machines were on display.

Within two minutes, both machines were packed with people. There were layers upon layers of people, and even if you couldn't play, just watching others play was a pleasure.

"Amin! Jump! Oh dear, you're so clumsy!"

"My turn! My turn! I have a secret weapon!"

The player was a chubby little boy, completely absorbed in manipulating the joystick, sweating profusely. Behind him, a dozen or so heads huddled together, swaying in unison with Mario's movements on the screen.

This is what "live streaming" is like in this era.

"High score leaderboard! Look! Someone broke yesterday's record!"

Suddenly, someone pointed at the score at the top of the screen and exclaimed.

"Wow! 20,000 points! It was Da Qiang who broke through!"

In this small circle, whoever has the highest game score is the undisputed "big brother" and can enjoy the worship of everyone in the class.

Behind the counter, the owner of Caiji was grinning from ear to ear, his face crinkling with smiles.

"Don't rush, don't rush, there's enough for everyone! Just line up if you want to play!"

He counted the heavy coins in his hand while looking at the half-empty soda tank and snack shelf next to him.

These students used to go straight home after school and rarely bought anything. Now, in order to watch others play games or wait in line for a machine, these kids must buy a bottle of soda or a bag of potato chips, right?

These two machines brought in more than just coin revenue; they also increased the foot traffic in his store by more than tenfold!

"This isn't a machine, it's a treasure trove!"

Looking at the two machines labeled "Jiahe Entertainment," the boss was already considering whether he should clear away the pile of clutter behind them and ask that guy called Fly for a couple more machines.

……

Tai Po, Golden Harvest Entertainment Electronics Manufacturing Factory.

"Mr. Lu! Production capacity... production capacity really can't keep up!"

In the factory manager's office, Manager Liu held a thick stack of orders, his face a mixture of pain and happiness. "The current 600 machines have already been deployed, and the merchants in Mong Kok are calling every day to urge us to add more machines. Many shop owners from other districts are even blocking the factory gate with cash, saying they'll pay extra to buy them!"

Sitting in the boss's chair, Lu Chen calmly looked at the reports while twirling a pen in his hand.

In just one week, the craze that "King Kong" stirred up in Hong Kong Island was even more intense than he had anticipated.

In an era of entertainment scarcity, a brightly colored and well-developed video game has an absolute power to control human dopamine levels.

"Ignore those small-time buyers," Lu Chen said calmly. "Production capacity is limited; we need to prioritize supplying our own people. We need another 300 units for Fly to cover the entire Mong Kok area. Jiang Tiansheng needs 1,000 units to cover Causeway Bay and other sites in Yau Tsim Mong. As for those who want to buy machines..."

A shrewd glint flashed in Lu Chen's eyes: "Tell them that our current production capacity is only enough to supply internally. If they insist on buying, the factory price will double, and after-sales service and transportation will not be included. Take it or leave it."

"Double?!" Factory Manager Liu gasped. "That's ten thousand yuan a unit! That price..."

"Don't worry, they'll buy it," Lu Chen smiled confidently. "What's ten thousand yuan compared to this money-making machine? They can break even in just one month, and the rest is pure profit. Do as I say. Hold back those orders and use a bit of 'hunger marketing'."

"yes!"

……

After arranging things at the factory, Lu Chen had just returned to his office in Zhonghuan when the phone on his desk rang.

It's Jiang Tiansheng.

"Mr. Lu! Hahahaha!" Jiang Tiansheng's hearty laughter came from the other end of the phone. Even through the receiver, you could feel his smugness. "Amazing! Absolutely amazing!"

"I initially thought this was just a game for kids, but wow! Those billiard halls and bars in Causeway Bay made over HK$50,000 in revenue yesterday alone! Those young people are absolutely crazy, they're lining up to play! Some even fought over a machine!"

Jiang Tiansheng exclaimed, "Mr. Lu, you have excellent judgment! This money is so easy to earn, much better than collecting protection money!"

Before, collecting protection money required sending henchmen to intimidate people, guarding against the police, and worrying about merchants running away. Now, it's much better; all you have to do is sit there and wait to count the coins. Even when the police come, they have to pay out of their own pockets to play a few rounds!

"I'm glad Mr. Jiang is satisfied," Lu Chen said with a smile. "This is just the beginning. In a while, we'll launch new games and open dedicated arcades. This money tree has a long way to go."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Lu, we don't have enough machines right now! Could you send me another five hundred?" Jiang Tiansheng asked anxiously. "The people from other branches are so envious, they're blocking my door every day asking for machines."

"Mr. Jiang, production capacity is limited," Lu Chen sighed deliberately, "but since you asked, I'll have the factory work overtime and get it to you next week."

"Thank you very much!"

It wasn't just Hung Hing; recently, Tung Sing, Wo Luen Shing, and even the Chung Shun Yi gang were extremely envious of Hung Hing's huge profits. They all asked around to find out where this arcade machine came from, and those with connections had already approached Cheng Yat Yan.

Lu Chen understood the adage that hogging your own profits invites resentment, but while he wanted to do business, he didn't want to get involved with too many gangs—it was too messy. So, other gangs wanted to make money? Sure. He'd sell them the machines directly, at double the factory price, no credit.

He tied the Hung Hing triad in the city center to his own cause, forming a deep bond of interests to make it his base, while he only sold "shovels" to other triads.

While all the triads on Hong Kong Island were fighting tooth and nail for territory and arcades, Lu Chen only needed to sit behind the scenes, selling high-priced machines and counting the most stable money.

After hanging up the phone, Lu Chen stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

As night falls, Victoria Harbour is ablaze with lights.

Under those countless lights, a seed called "video games" has taken root and sprouted, and is about to grow into a towering tree, continuously channeling the wealth of the entire Hong Kong Island into the veins of Golden Harvest.