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

three days later.

Rome, Italy.

The eternal city still basks in the warm Mediterranean sun, but for Lu Chen, his brief "Roman Holiday" is drawing to a close.

The cooperation agreement between Garreau and Prada has been officially signed. The legal team from Hong Kong Island and Prada's senior management finalized the details in the last few rounds, and all that remains is to execute it step by step. Lu Chen stayed in Rome for nearly two weeks, and there was still a lot of things waiting for him to handle in Hong Kong Island—the stock price war at Wharf Holdings, DOA's new business, and the "counterfeit money factory" that was about to start.

But before he left, he had one last important thing to do.

late at night.

Lubbers Castle, underground vault.

This is the forbidden area where the Lubers family has stored their core wealth for centuries. The heavy alloy door is a full meter thick and includes the latest fingerprint recognition and password keys; no one but Lu Chen and Sophia can open it independently.

Normally, this place houses the family's collection of antique jewelry, famous paintings, and some gold bars held as reserves. However, just yesterday, Lu Chen specifically instructed Sophia to remove several display cases located in the center, clearing out a large open space.

When the two stepped into this place again today, the once empty core area was now occupied by a cube tightly covered by a huge red cloth, exuding a mysterious aura under the dim lights of the vault.

"Chen, what do you want to see by bringing me here so mysteriously?"

Sophia, wearing a burgundy silk robe and holding a candlestick (for secrecy, Lu Chen had her turn off the surveillance cameras and the main light), looked at the man beside her with some curiosity.

"Have you logged everyone out?" Lu Chen asked to confirm.

"Don't worry, there are only the two of us in the entire underground area right now." Sophia nodded.

"That's good."

Lu Chen took her hand and led her to the open space in the center of the vault, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. "Sophia, do you remember what I told you in the desert?"

"You mean you're coming back to perform a magic trick for me?" Sophia raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to conjure up a rose for me right here?"

"The roses are too light."

Lu Chen released her hand, took a step back, and opened his arms, like an emperor about to command thousands of troops.

What I want to give you is the heaviest promise in the world.

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Chen ripped the red cloth off.

More than 130 tons of gold bricks are on display before your eyes!

The candlelight refracted on the golden surface, instantly transforming the entire room into a dazzling, almost blinding, golden spectacle. That pure, primal color, representing humanity's highest desires, instantly filled Sofia's vision.

Clang!

The candlestick in Sophia's hand fell to the ground.

She didn't even bother to pick it up; she was frozen in place as if struck by lightning, her red lips slightly parted, and her usually accustomed blue eyes wide open in shock.

"This...this..."

Sofia felt her throat go dry and her mind go blank.

She clearly remembered that the convoy had only brought back less than ten tons of gold from the desert that day! Wasn't the rest buried in that sand pit hundreds of meters deep because of the base's self-destruction? Mercenaries from all over the world were digging in the mud there, so how... how could they be here?! How could they be in this heavily guarded secret room?!

One hundred and thirty-five tons.

Lu Chen walked to the mountain of gold, picked up a gold brick engraved with the imperial eagle emblem, and weighed it in his hand. "Including what we brought back before, our harvest this time exceeds 140 tons."

"How...how did you do that?!"

Sophia finally regained her voice. Trembling, she stepped forward and touched the cold gold bricks. The real touch told her this was no illusion. "Is this Eastern witchcraft? Or perhaps..."

"Shh..."

Lu Chen extended a finger and gently pressed it against her lips.

He looked at her in the candlelight, his eyes deep and unfathomable, yet gentle and tender.

"I told you, this is Eastern magic." Lu Chen didn't explain the existence of the system, after all, it was his trump card. "Don't ask, the answer is... the power of love."

Sofia looked at the man in front of her.

Mysterious, powerful, and elusive. He is like a veil of mist; just when you think you've figured him out, he delivers an even more astonishing shock.

She looked at Lu Chen, her eyes becoming extremely complicated.

Shock, fear, admiration... but in the end, it all turned into endless emotion.

With such unpredictable methods, Lu Chen could easily pocket this fortune without anyone noticing. That's 130 tons of gold! Without any records or traces, it's enough to make someone richer than a country.

But he didn't.

He kept his promise and brought the gold to her.

"Why did you tell me?" Sophia looked up, her eyes slightly red. "You could have taken it all."

"Because I told you, you would be my queen."

Lu Chen reached out and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "How can a queen not have gold paving her way? I told you, Sofia, half of this place is yours."

Sophia's eyes reddened. Since she became the head of the Lupus family, she had witnessed countless acts of deceit and treachery, and all walks of life.

But this heavy 130 tons of gold felt like a boulder crashing into the softest part of her heart.

"fool……"

Sofia choked back tears and suddenly lunged at Lu Chen.

This time, it wasn't for desire, but for that stirring deep within my soul.

"I don't want gold."

Sofia suddenly hugged Lu Chen tightly and kissed his lips passionately, "I only want you."

This kiss was more passionate and more intense than any before.

In this enclosed chamber, before this priceless mountain of gold, humanity's most primal desires are amplified to an extreme degree.

"Chen...love me..."

Sofia kissed him passionately while roughly tearing open her nightgown.

"Right here...right on this pile of gold..."

Looking at the captivating beauty before him, Lu Chen felt his blood boil instantly.

He scooped Sophia up in his arms and slammed her down onto the pile of cold, hard gold bricks.

"Oh~"

The extreme contrast between the coldness of the gold and the burning heat of the skin.

"As you wish."

This lovemaking was more absurd and intense than any before. Sweat dripped onto the gold bricks engraved with the imperial eagle emblem, as if mocking the vanished empire, or perhaps crowning a new king.

……

a long time.

The clouds dispersed and the rain stopped.

Lu Chen picked up Sophia, who was limp and didn't even want to move a finger, and carried her away from the vault filled with a romantic atmosphere, back to the master bedroom upstairs.

Lu Chen pulled Sophia into the soft blankets, poured two glasses of red wine, and handed her one. Sophia nestled in Lu Chen's arms like a limp cat.

"So what are you planning to do next?"

Sophia traced circles on Lu Chen's chest with her finger, her voice languid and husky, "So much gold, while tempting, is also a hot potato. It bears the Imperial mark, and if it's not dealt with, it simply can't circulate in the market. Moreover, the sudden appearance of over a hundred tons of gold will inevitably cause fluctuations in international gold prices and attract the attention of various intelligence agencies."

"I know, that's why it has to be melted down," Lu Chen waved his hand, "and melting it down is the first step, clearing my name is the second step."

"Perfect timing. My newly established DOA company needs a large project to practice on, and I'll arrange for someone to connect with you. We plan to spend three years gradually laundering this batch of gold through DOA's offshore accounts and your trading network."

"This is also a test for DOA." A glint flashed in Lu Chen's eyes. "If they can even take this batch of gold, then there will be no money they can't launder in the future."

"Okay, I'll cooperate with you." Sophia had no objections. Right now, she was unconditionally obedient to Lu Chen.

"I only took a small portion of the laundered funds back to Hong Kong Island."

Lu Chen continued, "The rest is all in your hands, and I have a task for you."

"Chen, you speak."

"We're going to set up a new offshore holding company," Lu Chen wrote on a piece of paper. "The name will be High Table Group. You and I will each own 50% of the shares. You will be the chairman on the surface, and I will be the shareholder behind the scenes."

"The High Table?" Sophia murmured, savoring the name. "It sounds like... some kind of ancient pact."

"That's right."

Lu Chen's eyes deepened. "The High Table Group is just a shell. What I really want to build is an organization called the 'High Table Club.' In the future, we will bring in other conglomerates, warlords, and even political families to sit at this table. We will set the rules, distribute the profits, and become the maintainers of order in the underworld."

This is Lu Chen's application of the world view of "John Wick" and also a manifestation of his ambition.

"As for how to invest this money..."

Lu Chen looked at Sophia and gave her two very clear directions.

"First, the Kingdom of John."

"In the current John Nation, the Iron Lady is vigorously promoting privatization reforms. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. BP, BT, BAE Systems... these former state-owned behemoths are being broken up and sold off. Buy them! Buy those high-quality assets related to energy, communications, and infrastructure!"

In this era, this is an absolute "steady-state windfall profit." As long as you buy it, you can sit back and count money for decades.

"Second, the US."

Lu Chen recalled the historical financial curves in his mind, "Although the current US stock market has been declining overall due to the manufacturing downturn, I have a feeling that this trend will end this year. Next year, it will be at the starting point of a bull market that will last at least twenty years, especially for those consumer and technology blue-chip stocks—IBM, General Electric (GE), Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson…"

Lu Chen rattled off these names as if they were his own treasures, saying, "Don't worry about short-term fluctuations. Buy as much as you have, as this is our future ballast."

"I'll listen to you."

Sofia offered her red lips, "My Lord Judge."

After a moment of tenderness, Lu Chen stood in front of the bedroom's French windows, gazing at the Roman nightscape outside.

"Sophia, do you know why I left some funds to take back to Asia?" Lu Chen suddenly asked.

"Is it for strategic planning on Hong Kong Island?" Sophia asked.

"No, Hong Kong Island is still too small."

Lu Chen looked out the window, his gaze seemingly crossing mountains and seas, finally settling on that long, narrow island nation in the east.

"With this batch of gold as a backing, plus the super-sized US dollars that 'Vermouth' is printing day and night."

Lu Chen's eyes instantly turned cold and sharp, like a wolf locking onto its prey. "The Japanese devils stole so much from us Chinese back then, it's time for them to return it with interest."

"I will use this batch of gold and counterfeit money to make the sharpest sickle."

Lu Chen turned around and looked at Sophia, his ambition burning like flames in his eyes.

"Once we have done all this, the High Table will truly become the king of the world."

Looking at this spirited man, Sofia's love and admiration reached their peak.

She put down her wine glass, walked barefoot behind him, and hugged him tightly.

"Go, my king."

"Rome will always be your support."