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

The night in Tsim Sha Tsui is fragmented by neon lights.

The deep blue Mazda 929, like a shark swimming in the deep sea, silently glided through the puddles on Nathan Road, crushing countless traditional Chinese signs reflected on the road.

Inside the carriage, only an old-fashioned jazz song played softly.

"Boss, finding this kind of person is a bit tricky," Little Ma said, glancing at Lu Chen, who was sitting in the back seat with his eyes closed, through the rearview mirror as he drove. "If you're looking for gunmen, I can bring you a truckload, and I'm even an expert myself. But the kind you're looking for... a sniper who can cut off a fly's wing from hundreds of meters away, there aren't many like that in the whole of Hong Kong."

“Ordinary gunmen won’t do,” Lu Chen slowly opened his eyes, his fingers lightly tapping the leather armrest. “The boss is a martial arts expert, and his sensitivity to killing intent is beyond imagination. So close-range shooting is too risky. It has to be from over a hundred meters away, and it has to be a one-shot kill.”

"A master..." Little Ma clicked his tongue, seemingly recalling something, then gave a strange look. "Boss, I do remember someone. But this person is a bit odd."

"How is it strange?"

"He's my cousin." Little Ma shrugged. "I always thought he was weird back in the countryside. He was quiet all day and could lie there all day with an air rifle in his hand. Later he became an assassin, but he had a lot of rules. He only killed bad guys, not good guys... Anyway, he's a peculiar character in the assassin world, but his marksmanship is really good."

"Then let's go take a look," Lu Chen decided. "Besides, having principles means having a bottom line, which is a good thing."

The car turned onto a quieter street and stopped in front of a nightclub called "Golden Leaf".

Unlike those noisy discos, there were no thugs shouting outside, only a few uniformed waiters parking cars. The dim lighting emanated a nostalgic atmosphere reminiscent of the 1960s and 70s.

"Is someone inside?" Lu Chen straightened his suit.

"Hmm. He seems to have recently become obsessed with a female singer here, coming to support her every night without fail." Little Ma turned off the engine, picked up the cane that symbolized gentlemanliness (actually for self-defense), and said, "Come on, boss, let me introduce you to my cousin."

At this point, Little Ma scratched his head, his expression becoming even stranger: "Well... how should I put it, boss, don't be too surprised when you see him later."

"Surprised?" Lu Chen raised an eyebrow. "Does he look like an alien?"

Little Ma didn't say anything, he just pushed open the heavy soundproof door of the karaoke bar.

……

Pushing open the heavy soundproof door, a mixture of tobacco, whiskey, and perfume wafted out.

"Every day, I linger..."

A woman in a long white dress was singing while sitting on a high stool. Her voice was ethereal and sorrowful, like a lark lost in a rainy night. But her eyes were unfocused, staring blankly into the void; clearly, she was blind.

And in a dark corner closest to the stage, sat a man.

He wore a black trench coat and a white scarf around his neck. A glass of whiskey sat in front of him, but he didn't drink it. He simply watched the blind woman on the stage, his eyes filled with a tenderness and regret that could drown a person.

As Lu Chen and Little Ma approached, the man turned his head slightly.

For a moment, Lu Chen felt a sense of temporal and spatial distortion.

That face bore at least a 70% resemblance to the guy next to him, with the same features and the same eyebrows and eyes, but their temperaments were completely different.

Little Ma is fire. Even after experiencing setbacks, his eyes still blaze with wildness and arrogance—the heroic spirit of a wandering knight.

The man before him was Bing. His eyes were deep and melancholic, revealing a compassionate yet ruthless understanding of life and death. That refined yet murderous aura made him seem less like an assassin and more like a fallen nobleman.

That man was none other than Xiao Zhuang, the assassin from "The Killer," another pinnacle of Hong Kong film's violent aesthetics.

"How about it, boss? I told you you'd be surprised," Little Ma said in a low voice. "When I first met him, I thought I was looking in a mirror. So even though we're distant cousins, we're closer than brothers."

"They really do look alike." Lu Chen's lips curled into a playful smile. This is the charm of the Hong Kong variety show world: two classic characters played by Chow Yun-fat have become cousins ​​with blood ties in this timeline.

"Cousin?" Xiao Zhuang's eyes flashed with surprise when he saw Xiao Ma, then he stood up. His gaze swept over Xiao Ma's leg, which could now walk normally, and a sincere smile appeared on his face. "Your leg..."

"Thanks to the boss, I'm cured!" Little Ma laughed and gave Xiao Zhuang a hug. "I told you I'm lucky! Come on, let me introduce you. This is my benefactor, and now my boss, Mr. Lu."

Xiao Zhuang released Xiao Ma Ge and turned his gaze to Lu Chen.

Their eyes met in mid-air. Lu Chen could feel the other scrutinizing him, a gaze like searching for the crosshairs in a sniper scope—not malicious, but merely a habitual assessment.

"Mr. Lu." Xiao Zhuang extended his hand, his fingers long and dry, with thick calluses on the base of his thumb—marks left from years of handling guns. "Nice to meet you."

"Sit down." Lu Chen didn't put on airs like a boss, but sat down like an old friend, snapped his fingers to call over a waiter, and said, "One bottle of Royal Salute, three glasses."

The wine is poured in, and the ice cubes make a crisp sound as they hit the glass.

"Mark said you're the best gunman in all of Hong Kong Island." Lu Chen got straight to the point. He knew that dealing with this kind of person in a roundabout way was a waste of time for both of them.

Xiao Zhuang took a sip of his drink, his gaze still fixed on the female singer on stage, and said calmly, "Cousin, you flatter me. I'm just someone who does things for money."

"I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with you." Lu Chen leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice. "One million. I'll let you know the specific timeframe later. Just wait for my call anytime soon."

"One million?" Xiao Zhuang finally withdrew his gaze and looked at Lu Chen. "I made it clear beforehand that I will not do anything immoral or immoral, and I will not kill women or children."

In this day and age, a million dollars to buy a life is an astronomical price.

"Don't worry, we'll just kill an ambitious schemer who wants to create chaos." Lu Chen dipped his finger in wine and wrote three words on the table before erasing them. "The specific timing of the operation hasn't been set yet. I need you to use your gun at a crucial moment to send someone on their way. And it has to be disguised as a gang feud."

"Frame someone?" Xiao Zhuang was a smart man and understood immediately.

"Yes," a cold glint flashed in Lu Chen's eyes, "Once someone dies, the other side is like mud falling into their crotch—even if it's not shit, it's still shit. At that point, the two sides' forces will tear each other apart like mad dogs until they both perish."

Xiao Zhuang fell silent. He twirled the wine glass in his hand, seemingly weighing his options.

Just then, the singing on stage stopped. The female singer named Jenny bowed to take her bow, her movements slow and cautious. She almost tripped over the microphone cord. Xiao Zhuang leaned forward slightly, as if to help her, but ultimately restrained himself, his hands clenched tightly into fists under the table.

Lu Chen witnessed that scene.

"One million five hundred thousand."

Xiao Zhuang suddenly spoke, his voice a little hoarse. He turned his head, staring intently at Lu Chen, his eyes filled with a mixture of embarrassment and determination, "This deal, I want 1.5 million."

Little Ma, standing next to him, paused for a moment, about to speak: "Hey, cousin, this price..."

Xiao Zhuang interrupted him, her tone firm: "I know this price is high. I won't take advantage of Mr. Lu. Once this order is completed, I'll consider it a favor I owe you. In the future, whenever you need me, I'll do an order for you for free. No matter the difficulty or the target."

Buy one get one free?

Lu Chen looked at Xiao Zhuang, then at Jenny, who was groping her way off the stage.

"For her eyes?" Lu Chen asked softly.

Xiao Zhuang's body jolted, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the wine glass. He didn't deny it, but simply nodded silently.

"Money is not a problem." Lu Chen took out a check from his pocket, wrote down the amount, and pushed it in front of Xiao Zhuang.

"Here's a deposit of 500,000." Seeing the shocked look in Xiao Zhuang's eyes, Lu Chen softened his tone. "The remaining 1.5 million will be settled after the deal is done."

"Two...two million?!" Even Little Ma was stunned.

"The 1.5 million is your service fee. The extra 500,000..." Lu Chen glanced at Jenny, who was sitting in the nearby rest area wiping her eyes with a handkerchief, "Consider it a loan to you. Take her to the best hospital for surgery. Don't delay treatment to save money. It would be too cruel for a woman to go blind."

Providing timely help.

For a killer like Xiao Zhuang, who values ​​loyalty and righteousness, this action was more likely to save his life than giving him ten million.

"Mr. Lu..." Xiao Zhuang stood up and bowed deeply to Lu Chen. There were no unnecessary words; this bow was as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"I, Xiao Zhuang, will remember this kindness. From this day forward, half of my life belongs to you."

"Sit down, don't make it like a funeral." Lu Chen waved his hand. "I have some bonus information for you. Consider it a deposit for your next 'free service'."

Xiao Zhuang sat down again, his expression becoming solemn: "Please speak."

"Is your middleman called Fourth Brother?"

Xiao Zhuang nodded: "Feng Gang, known as Fourth Brother in the underworld. He's an old friend of mine, and I trust him completely."

Lu Chen sneered and shook his head: "The worst thing an assassin can do is trust their friends too much. Especially when that friend is also being held at gunpoint."

"Did Fourth Brother introduce you to a business deal recently? The target is an old man named Wang Dongyuan?"

Xiao Zhuang's pupils suddenly contracted.

Fourth Brother had just mentioned this deal to him yesterday. Wang Dongyuan is a very powerful old hand in the underworld; someone offered a high price to kill him. He was already planning to take the job because he was in a hurry to raise the money.

"This deal is a dead end," Lu Chen said, emphasizing each word. "We can't take it."

Why?

"Because the person who placed the order is Wang Dongyuan's nephew, Wang Hai." Lu Chen tapped his fingers lightly on the table, beginning to spoil the core plot of "The Killer." "Wang Hai is ruthless and extremely ambitious. He wants to rise to power, but as long as his uncle Wang Dongyuan lives, he will always be second-in-command. He hired you to kill Wang Dongyuan, and after it's done, he will kill you to silence you. Moreover, your fourth brother also knows about this."

"Impossible! Fourth Brother wouldn't harm me! He's the friend I trust most in my life!"

"Fourth Brother might not want to harm you," Lu Chen sighed, "but he's human too, and he has weaknesses. What if Wang Hai points a gun at his head, or kidnaps his family? In this underworld, there are too many things you can't control."

"Don't rush to refute me," Lu Chen stared into Xiao Zhuang's eyes, "Take a good look back at Fourth Brother's recent behavior."

Xiao Zhuang was stunned.

Memories flooded back like a tide.

When Fourth Brother contacted him yesterday, he was indeed smoking the whole time, and his hands were shaking. When handing him the documents, he didn't even dare to look him in the eye, and just kept saying that after this deal was done, he could take Jenny and run away together.

Is it...

"Mr. Lu, do you mean that Fourth Brother is being controlled by Wang Hai?" Xiao Zhuang's voice trembled slightly.

"It's pretty much true," Lu Chen said. "Wang Hai is a ruthless man. He controls Fourth Brother so that you, his fastest knife, will kill for him, and then he'll break the knife. If you take this job, not only will you die, but Jenny will be left without anyone to take care of her, and even Fourth Brother will eventually be silenced."

"What should I do?" Xiao Zhuang was flustered. He wasn't afraid of gunfire, but this kind of scheming and plotting was his weakness.

"That's up to you." Lu Chen stood up, straightened his collar, and said, "If you want to save Fourth Brother, don't take this job, and secretly investigate Wang Hai. If you need help, you can always contact Mark."

A cold glint flashed in Lu Chen's eyes: "If you want to mess with Wang Hai, count me in. I can't stand that kind of beast who even killed his own uncle."

Xiao Zhuang clutched the check tightly, the confusion in his eyes gradually fading, replaced by a resolute killing intent.

"I understand." Xiao Zhuang stood up and nodded to Lu Chen. "I will investigate and find out the truth. If Fourth Brother was really coerced... I will rescue Fourth Brother first, and then settle accounts with that Wang Hai."

"He's a loyal friend." Lu Chen smiled. "Then I won't bother you any longer. Remember, the big boss might make a move at any time, so stay in touch."

After saying that, Lu Chen turned and left with Little Ma.

As he reached the door, Lu Chen glanced back.

In the dim light, Xiao Zhuang walked over to the singer named Jenny, carefully helped her sit down, and looked at her with gentle eyes.

"These two are truly a pair of star-crossed lovers," Little Ma sighed. "I hope my cousin can pull through this time."

"With us here, he won't die." Lu Chen pushed open the door, and the night breeze outside dispelled the effects of the alcohol.

Just then, that familiar mechanical voice rang in Lu Chen's mind.

【Ding--】

[Key plot character detected: Xiao Zhuang]

[Checking in at the movie "The Killer"]

[Check-in successful!]

[Reward: +1 Free Attribute Point]

Lu Chen sat in the back seat of the Mazda, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"System, add this to my [Intelligence] stat."

As the command was given, a familiar cool sensation instantly washed over my cerebral cortex. This time, the feeling was stronger than ever before.

Lu Chen closed his eyes, feeling as if his thoughts had broken through some kind of constraint. The previously complex plans, relationships, and timelines in his mind were now connected by an invisible thread, becoming crystal clear.

[Intelligence: Lv8 (Highly Intelligent, Nearly Demonic)]

[Evaluation: Congratulations! Your brain can now not only process multiple complex lines of logic simultaneously, but also accurately predict your opponent's next move, even their next three moves. Any conspiracy is like transparent glass to you, and any tiny flaw will be magnified infinitely. Of course, the side effect might be... you see everyone as a fool.]

Lu Chen opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing in them like electricity.

"Is she so intelligent she's almost demonic...?"

He looked out the car window at the fleeting street scenes, and the final piece of the puzzle in his mind—the ultimate killing scheme targeting the big boss and Wang Jiu—was finally completed.