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

January 10th, Rome.

The Maserati drove along the Tiber River. Outside the car window, the plane trees on both sides stood bare, except for a few clusters of new green shoots that had secretly sprouted from the cracks in the rocks beside the tree roots.

At 9:00 a.m. sharp, Sofia's motorcade entered Chigi Palace on time.

This 16th-century Baroque building is the official residence of the Italian Prime Minister. The ochre-yellow limestone exterior has been worn and blurred by time, but the four Corinthian columns in front of the porch still stand, exuding a sense of the majesty of the Papal States era.

The military police at the gate checked the identification, stood tall, saluted, and waved for him to pass.

Afterwards, Sofia and Paloma met their intended recipient in the second-floor reception room—Bettino Craci, Italy's first Socialist Prime Minister.

Bettino was fifty-three years old. His silver-gray hair was neatly combed, and his dark blue suit was impeccably tailored. The gold buttons on his cuffs glittered in the autumn sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

When the old fox stood up to shake hands, his smile was extremely warm, his gestures were wide and sweeping, and he spoke with the dramatic tone characteristic of Italian politicians.

But despite his enthusiasm, what he said was not surprising.

"Mrs. Sofia, I have great respect for the Lubbers family's contributions to the Italian economy," he said, sitting on the sofa with his hands crossed on his knees, his tone tinged with regret.

"But as you know, Alfa Romeo is not an ordinary asset; it is the face of Italy, and the government must ensure that it falls into the hands of a buyer who can truly revive it. The Fiat family has pledged to get Alfa Romeo back on the track and profitable again within a year."

He paused, then spread his hands: "They come from the automotive industry, so it's hard for the government to refuse this promise."

Sofia remained calm as she picked up her espresso and took a sip.

The porcelain cup fell back into the saucer with a very soft clinking sound.

"Mr. Prime Minister," she looked up, a faint smile playing on her lips, "do you know what it would mean if Fiat acquired Alfa Romeo?"

Before Bettino could respond, she explained herself: "Fiat plus Alfa Romeo will control nearly 90 percent of the Italian passenger car market. From Turin to Naples, from Milan to Palermo, every car dealership, every parts supplier, and every worker on every production line will depend on the same company… Does the government really want to see this monopoly?"

Bettino's eyes twitched slightly, and the signature smile on his lips faded a bit.

Sofia tilted her head slightly, and Paloma beside her immediately understood, opened the leather document bag, took out a document, and handed it to Bettino with both hands.

The report cover bears the logo of the Lubbers family investment bank, with an Italian line below: "Fiat Group Liquidity Risk Assessment".

Bettino raised an eyebrow and turned to the first page. However, after scanning less than ten lines, the Italian prime minister's face darkened completely.

That was a secret document that exposed Fiat's clandestine dealings with Libya.

In 1976, Fiat was plunged into a severe financial crisis—the aftermath of the oil crisis was still lingering, the Italian domestic car market continued to shrink, and nearly half of the production lines at the Turin plant were shut down.

Just when Fiat was most in need of cash, Libyan dictator Gaddafi, through his state-owned investment fund LAFICO, acquired nearly 15 percent of Fiat's shares for approximately $400 million.

This money saved Fiat's life, but it also allowed Colonel Cardoso to become the second-largest shareholder on the board of directors.

However, fortunes change, and by the 1980s, this once lifeline had become a noose hanging over the Agnelli family's neck.

Gaddafi's provocations thoroughly angered the White House, leading the Reagan administration to place Libya on the sanctions blacklist. Fiat, in which Gaddafi held a stake, was the first to be caught in Washington's sanctions storm.

The Pentagon directly canceled multiple military vehicle and engine procurement contracts with Fiat—including a U.S. Marine Corps order for tactical transport vehicles from Fiat subsidiary Iveco, worth more than $600 million.

Even more critically, Washington issued a direct ultimatum to Rome: as long as Gaddafi still holds shares on Fiat's board of directors, Fiat will not receive a single penny from the U.S. Department of Defense—including the "Star Wars" program, which Reagan is currently pushing forward with all his might and which costs tens of billions of dollars.

This is tantamount to completely kicking Fiat out of the world's largest arms procurement market.

Jani had no choice, so at the beginning of the year he ordered an extremely expensive share buyback program—to forcibly repurchase shares from Gaddafi at a premium of approximately three billion US dollars in cash.

But if this is done, Fiat's cash reserves will be completely depleted.

Three billion US dollars—this figure is equivalent to Fiat's total net profit over the past three years, or to put it more simply: enough to buy three Alfa Romeos.

Bettino turned to the last page of the report, his fingers tightening around the edge of the paper.

He knew very well that once the buyback program began, Fiat would have no resources left for large-scale acquisitions for at least the next twelve months. Gianni's promise to the government to "turn a profit within a year" may not have been a strategic ambition for industrial integration at all, but rather a series of financial maneuvers to try to use the proceeds from the government's sale of Alfa Romeo to fill its own cash flow hole.

To put it bluntly, it's like getting something for nothing.

"Moreover, Fiat's financial pressure doesn't just stem from Calderano," Sofia added calmly, seemingly seeing through Bettino's turbulent thoughts. "The Agnelli family is burning through cash on two fronts. On one hand, they have to digest the Maserati acquisition that was completed just a few months ago, and on the other hand, Ferrari's racing division suffered severe cost overruns last year—"

Sofia stood up gracefully and smoothed the wrinkles at the hem of her coat.

"It is advisable for the government to thoroughly investigate Fiat's true accounts before finalizing a buyer. If the buyer issues a worthless check, not only will Alfa Romeo go bankrupt, but the credibility of the entire cabinet will also be undermined."

Bettino remained seated on the sofa, slowly closing the report and tapping the cover lightly a few times with his fingers.

A few seconds later, he stood up and shook hands with Sofia. His signature smile returned, but his tone became short and heavy: "Mrs. Sofia, the information you brought is very important. I will have someone investigate this matter thoroughly."

"Have a pleasant day, Your Excellency the Prime Minister."

Sofia gave a slight bow and led Paloma to the door.

"Did he believe it?" Paloma asked in a low voice.

"Whether you believe it or not doesn't matter. When he investigates it himself, he'll find that Fiat's cash flow hole is even bigger than what's written in the report."

At the end of the corridor, the ornate doors of the Chigi Palace were pushed open by two guards, and the midday winter sun of Rome streamed in.

……

Of course, Lu Chen never only uses this one move.

For the next three days, the entire Fiat family was caught in a huge media storm.

On January 11, an investigation team from the Palermo court announced the seizure of a batch of cocaine smuggled from Argentina at the end of last year—a total of 2.7 kilograms with a purity of 91%.

In Sicily, where the Mafia runs rampant, this amount of drugs isn't considered a major case. The key point is that narcotics officers found a clear fingerprint on the outer packaging of one of the drugs.

The fingerprint belongs to Giovanni Barbera, who was Edoardo Agnelli's "personal assistant".

And this young Edoaldo is none other than the only son of old Agnelli, the sole heir to the Fiat Empire, the object of everyone's attention!

The Fiat heir, paying a hefty $6,000 a month for a personal assistant, apparently to smuggle drugs around the world for himself.

The news caused an uproar worldwide.

Before Fiat's public relations department could react, Golden Harvest's overseas media group swarmed in. Asia Daily's English-language financial daily published a long article on its front page with a blunt title: "Fiat's Heir's Dilemma: Agnelli's Drug Scandal Sparks Investor Concerns."

Following this, various scandals, both true and false, about Edoardo Jr. began to surface one by one: being rushed to the hospital for a drug overdose at a party in Argentina, allegedly using drugs with naked women on a yacht in Ibiza, and being arrested in Peru for drug possession...

The "Crazy Eddy" farce from a few months ago was also brought up again for public display.

At that time, the Vatican Pope held a historic "World Day of Prayer" gathering in Assisi, Italy, which Edoardo, who was extremely interested in religion and Eastern mysticism, also attended.

During the event, reporters from multiple media outlets recognized and confronted the only legitimate son of the Fiat family. Facing the cameras and microphones of the media, he frantically declared that he was "about to take over Fiat" and made a series of remarks that went against the family's wishes, which triggered a barrage of ridicule from the media.

It is said that after watching the entire live broadcast in his living room in Turin, Gianni Agnelli smashed an 18th-century Venetian crystal glass in anger.

Subsequently, the public outcry intensified. While the newspapers directly and indirectly controlled by Golden Harvest were relatively restrained, meticulously adding phrases like "it is said" or "sources revealed" to the end of each sentence, the tabloids on the streets that relied on sensationalism to make money completely let loose.

Headlines like "The Cocaine Prince!" and "The Secret History of the Fiat Heir's Drug Den!" were everywhere, creating a media frenzy. Some tabloids even cropped Edoardo Jr.'s face onto a bulldog lying on a pile of cocaine, with a classic Fiat emblem hanging around its neck.

……

Turin, in front of the Fiat headquarters building.

Hundreds of reporters with their cameras and microphones blocked the entrance, making it impossible for any luxury car to drive out of the underground parking garage to move forward with difficulty under the barrage of flashing lights.

The entire Fiat management team was in a frenzy. The public relations department's phones rang from morning till night, and the legal team worked through the night to draft the lawsuit. Jari even canceled all business meetings, personally stepping in to clean up the mess left by his spendthrift son.

However, while the Turin headquarters was reeling from the barrage of public opinion, no one noticed—

Two black cars bearing special passes for the Chigi Palace quietly drove into the Turin Finance Building.

Two senior auditors from the Italian Ministry of Industry pushed open the door to the Finance Department's archives and presented the access authorization document in their hands.

The access request form they received was stamped with the seal of the Chigi Palace, and the signature field contained Bettino's full name.