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

The next day, early in the morning.

The sea breeze in Victoria Harbour was still humid, but the morning paper that blew into thousands of homes in Kowloon carried a suffocating chill.

At 9:30 a.m., less than five minutes after the opening bell rang for the Hong Kong stock market, an explosive news story spread throughout Hong Kong Island instantly via television, radio, and special edition newspapers.

"This station has just received news that Hang Seng Bank, a British-owned bank with a 20-year history, officially filed for bankruptcy protection in court early this morning. It is understood that the bank suffered huge losses from overseas investments, resulting in a complete break in its cash flow, and is currently insolvent..."

On television, the entrance to Hang Seng Bank's Central headquarters had become a sea of ​​anger.

Thousands of depositors waved their passbooks wildly, pounding on the tightly closed roller shutter doors. Some were wailing and crying, some were cursing, and others were trying to smash bulletproof glass with bricks. Large numbers of riot police (PTU) officers equipped with riot shields stood ready, trying to maintain order on the verge of collapse.

"Give us our money back! You liar! Give us back our hard-earned money!"

"My pension! You damned foreigners!"

"Yesterday they said they'd offer 20% interest, and today they've gone bankrupt? Is there no law?!"

Cries, curses, and sirens mingled together to form a symphony called "Despair."

Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Island Stock Exchange.

Hang Seng Bank's stock (stock code 0053) drew a shocking vertical line the moment the market opened.

Yesterday's closing price was 9 yuan, but the stock opened with a gap down to 7 yuan, followed by a sharp, precipitous drop. Panic selling erupted, and buying interest dried up.

6 yuan... 5 yuan... 3 yuan...

In the Wing On Building in Central, Cheng Yiyan stared intently at the screen, his palms sweating profusely, but he was unusually excited.

"It's fallen below 1 dollar! Boss! It's fallen below 1 dollar!"

Cheng Yiyan gripped the phone, her voice shrill with excitement, "The exchange has issued a suspension notice! We'll be forced to liquidate our positions! We won! We won!"

On the other end of the phone, Lu Chen was sitting in the study of the villa, holding a cup of coffee, his expression as calm as if he were listening to the weather forecast.

"Has the settlement amount been released yet?"

"It's out!" Cheng Yiyan took a deep breath and announced the number that had made his heart stop. "After deducting leverage interest, handling fees, and borrowing costs... net profit is 376 million!"

With a principal of 20 million and leverage, it multiplied nearly twentyfold overnight!

This is the allure of short selling, and also the predatory nature of capital.

Zeng Jianqiao was also dumbfounded. Although he had also invested several million to follow the trend and made tens of millions, compared with Lu Chen's extravagant spending, it was nothing.

"Is this what financial warfare is...?" Zeng Jianqiao muttered to himself. "It's much faster and more ruthless than selling houses."

"Very good." Lu Chen took a sip of coffee. "Old Cheng, this was my personal operation, so you and Brother Zeng will each receive a five million bonus as a reward. The remaining ten million will be transferred to my offshore account, one hundred million will be left as the company's ammunition, and the rest will be used as the second phase of start-up capital for the 'Garreau' brand."

"Thank you, Boss! I swear to be loyal to you to the death!" Cheng Yiyan almost knelt down on the other end of the phone. Five million was enough to make him a millionaire in this day and age.

Zeng Jianqiao didn't choose to cash in his profits this time either. Instead, he followed Lu Chen's lead and reinvested all of his huge profits back into the company. Although his shareholding was inevitably diluted during the capital increase, Zeng Jianqiao was quite magnanimous about it. He was a smart man, and he knew perfectly well that as long as he followed Lu Chen's lead, the pie would only get bigger. He had no ambition for controlling stake; as long as the assets appreciated quickly enough, even with a smaller shareholding, he would still reap more real profits.

This battle made Golden Harvest International famous overnight. Although the outside world does not know who the specific beneficiaries are, the legend of "mysterious funds shorting Hang Seng" has begun to circulate in Central.

……

In the courtyard of the villa next door, another tragicomedy is unfolding at this moment.

"Damn it! That bastard Ah Zun! He's a beast! He even cheats his own relatives!"

Uncle Piao was standing in the courtyard, holding a newspaper, trembling with rage. He pointed at the air and cursed, "Supreme VIP? Interest-free quota? I think he wants to send me to meet the King of Hell!"

Beside them, Piao's wife and her three daughters, though also somewhat pale, felt mostly relieved to have survived a disaster.

"Dad, stop scolding us." The eldest sister patted her chest. "Luckily, we listened to Brother Lu and only deposited nine million. If all twenty million had been gone, we'd be jumping off the roof right now!"

"Yes!" Sister-in-law Piao also realized what was happening, and clasped her hands together in prayer towards the direction of Lu Chen's villa. "Thank you, God of Wealth, for your blessing! Thank you, Mr. Lu, for your guidance! That ten million is still in HSBC; our family hasn't collapsed yet!"

Uncle Piao, exhausted from his tirade, plopped down in a chair, wiping away cold sweat. "Right, right! Thanks to Lu Sheng! That ten million, even though it only had a few percent interest, at least it's still there! Ugh, consider it a nine million lesson learned, it hurts so much... but at least I'm alive!"

"No, I have to go thank them!"

Uncle Piao stood up, straightened his clothes, and said, "Wife, go and fetch those two bottles of fine wine I've been saving. We'll go and thank you in person!"

The family rushed over with their gifts and rang the doorbell.

However, no one responded.

"Out?" Uncle Piao asked, somewhat disappointed. "Is the boss always this busy so early in the morning?"

"Of course, that Lu student is in big business, he must have a lot of things to take care of. It's okay, let's come back later."

Lu Chen did indeed have an urgent matter to attend to.

Just now, he received a phone call from Xin Yi from Kowloon Walled City.

"Brother Lu, when dogs fight, Wang Jiu has rebelled."

Like a ghost, the silver Porsche 930 passed through the Lion Rock Tunnel and headed straight for Kowloon Walled City.

On the bus, Little Ma also joined in. He already knew roughly what was going on between the big boss and the walled city, and couldn't help but gloat, saying, "The big boss has really messed up this time."

Lu Chen looked at the fleeting street scene outside the window and sneered, "Over the past month, the big boss has become suspicious of Wang Jiu, so he's been using a slow, insidious method to gradually weaken Wang Jiu's power. He even transferred several of Wang Jiu's underlings to Kwun Tong. I guess seeing that Wang Jiu didn't put up much resistance, the big boss got cocky and made a terrible mistake..."

Xin told him on the phone that last night, the big boss wanted to take back the two underground boxing gyms that Wang Jiu owned. Those were Wang Jiu's biggest cash cows and the base for raising his thugs. Touching them was tantamount to taking his life. How could that mad dog Wang Jiu possibly agree? He immediately turned hostile and led his gang of thugs out of the gang.

……

Half an hour later, in Kowloon Walled City.

The barbershop in Tornado is still closed today.

The air in the attic was somewhat stuffy. Xin Yi leaned against the window, listlessly fiddling with his butterfly knife, the silver blade dancing between his fingertips, reflecting his slightly anxious eyes. Chen Luojun sat in the corner, silently sharpening a machete with a whetstone, making a "sizzling" sound.

"Brother Lu is here."

Xin Yi suddenly put away his knife and looked downstairs.

Lu Chen led Little Ma into the room. Although Little Ma was still using a cane, his spirit and energy were completely different, and his eyes revealed a long-lost sharpness.

This was the first time Xiao Ma and Xin Yi had met. They had only heard of each other before, but due to the urgent situation, they couldn't go into details. So they simply nodded to each other and greeted each other, and then everyone immediately got into the swing of things.

"How's the situation?" Lu Chen asked without wasting any words.

"It's lively, but also fake."

Xin Yi curled his lip, looking disdainful. "The big boss and Wang Jiu seem to be fighting fiercely these past two days. Today, Wang Jiu led his men to smash up two of the big boss's saunas in Yau Ma Tei, and tomorrow the big boss will send people to burn down one of Wang Jiu's warehouses in Sai Wan."

"But what actually happens?" Lu Chen asked.

"All talk and no action."

Xin Yi pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds from his pocket, cracked one open, and said, "The underlings I sent came back with news that although they made a big fuss, the ones actually carrying out the fight were all 'temporary workers.' They hired thugs for two hundred dollars a day, and they were just putting on an act with rusty water pipes. Neither side suffered any real losses... Moreover, the core members of both sides, such as the 'Vietnamese Gang' under the big boss, and Wang Jiu's loyal henchmen, were all hiding in their gangs and didn't show up at all."

"They're both testing each other." Lu Chen wasn't surprised. After all, someone who could make a name for themselves in the underworld must have some skills. "The boss is afraid that Wang Jiu has some hidden tricks up his sleeve, and Wang Jiu is also afraid that the boss is setting a trap. They're both waiting for the other to reveal a weakness first."

"Looks like neither of them is stupid."

Xin Yi sneered, "The big boss wants to wear Wang Jiu down through a war of attrition. Even with two underground boxing gyms, Wang Jiu's resources can't withstand this kind of drain. Once the funding runs out, his men won't be able to pay, and he'll collapse on his own."

"What about Wang Jiu?" Chen Luojun asked.

"Wang Jiu is waiting for an opportunity, a chance to strike decisively," Lu Chen analyzed. "He knows he can't afford to waste time, so he must be looking for a chance to decapitate him. But the big boss is too afraid of death, hiding in his lair and refusing to come out, so Wang Jiu hasn't been able to find an opportunity."

"More importantly, neither of them wanted to fight to the death and have someone else reap the rewards," Little Ma added from the side.

"Then what do we do?" Chen Luojun, this impetuous man, couldn't contain himself any longer. "Are we just going to watch them put on a show? That's too boring."

"Of course not."

Lu Chen stood up and walked to the Kowloon map posted on the wall. He drew a line between Kowloon and Kwun Tong with his finger, finally stopping at a red dot in the middle.

"Since they don't want to fight, then we'll fight for them."

Lu Chen turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, a cunning and dangerous glint in his eyes.

"The water is too clear; you can't catch any fish. We need to muddy the water, so muddy that they can't tell who's the enemy and who's the friend."

"How do we stir it?" Chen Luojun asked.

"It's simple." Lu Chen's lips curled into a slight smile. "Whoever is weak, we'll help them. Whoever wants to stop, we'll force them to take action."

He waved, signaling the three to come closer.

In the dim light, four heads huddled together.

"Next, we'll do this..."

……

Dark as ink.

After explaining what to do next, everyone went their separate ways.

The streets of Kowloon remain brightly lit and bustling, but beneath this glamorous facade, an undercurrent is rapidly surging.

Xin Yi went out to find skilled men as instructed by Lu Chen, while Chen Luojun secretly followed Wang Jiu's movements.

As for Lu Chen and Little Ma, they got into the inconspicuous Mazda and drove to a karaoke bar in Yau Ma Tei.

He needs to find an assassin, a top-notch assassin!