1985, the year of the great writer, began with Infernal Affairs!

Just now.

Han Chen ran over to smooth things over, which calmed the anger between the two sides.

Officer Huang and Officer Lu led their team away. The reason Officer Huang was angry was because he discovered that Ni Yongxiao's abilities exceeded his expectations, causing his plan to take advantage of the infighting among the four big shots after Ni Kun's death and the opportunity for the police to take action to fail.

Upon seeing this, He Chongshan took a deep breath.

The character of Officer Huang here is a reflection of his character in the first part.

Ni Yongxiao's calm and collected persona was immediately established.

The story continues, and He Chongshan takes a breath and continues reading.

Before leaving, Officer Huang specifically pointed at Han Chen.

Upon seeing this, He Chongshan felt there was something foreshadowed, so he made a special note of it.

Having witnessed the masterful foreshadowing in the first Infernal Affairs film, He Chongshan has learned his lesson. He believes that Xie Lu would never waste ink on an unnecessary action.

Those that need to be written out separately must have a reason for being written down.

After Officer Huang and Officer Lu led the team away, Han Chen handed a cigarette to Ni Yongxiao. Ni Yongxiao took the cigarette and finally breathed a sigh of relief, with tears seemingly streaming down his face.

"My dad used to run a small gambling den, starting from a few cents and building it up to what it is now..."

"Everyone in northern Liaoning knows him."

"He often said, 'What goes around comes around...'"

Ni Yongxiao took a puff of the lit cigarette, then stuck it into his rice bowl, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, picked up the wine bottle, stood up, and poured the wine down.

The scene changes.

The scene then shifts back to the police academy discovering that Chen Yongren is Ni Kun's illegitimate son. Officer Huang discusses the matter with Principal Ye and decides to expel Chen Yongren.

When Chen Yongren learned of this news, he was struck dumb and collapsed helplessly onto the stairs.

Just then.

Officer Huang approached Chen Yongren, who was at his most helpless at that moment.

"Would you like to be a police officer?"

"Am I alright?"

Chen Yongren raised his head and looked directly at Officer Huang.

At this moment, Officer Huang, standing high above with his arms crossed, also stared at Chen Yongren.

Give me a reason?

"I want to be a good person."

......

"Holy crap!"

Upon seeing this, He Chongshan suddenly swore in excitement, then realized he had gone too far.

But it's hard for him not to get excited.

Xie Lu is amazing; he was actually waiting for him here.

The phrase "I want to be a good person" was originally uttered by Chen Yongren.

It's such a stark contrast!

He Chongshan paused for a while before continuing to read.

The timeline of Infernal Affairs jumps to four years later.

In the past four years, Ni Yongxiao has become powerful and no longer intends to pretend to be a snake with the four tigers below him. He also plans to transform the Ni family after dealing with the four tigers. He has long realized that blindly following the dark side will only lead to utter ruin.

The best way out for the Ni family is to go ashore and launder their money.

When He Chongshan saw Ni Yongxiao at the police station, he remotely and effortlessly killed the Four Tigers. Meanwhile, Han Chen, thanks to a phone call from Mary, learned that the death of his boss Ni Kun was orchestrated by his woman. This immediately put Han Chen on alert. Being a shrewd person, he immediately knew that Ni Yongxiao wanted to kill him.

Upon seeing this scene, He Chongshan couldn't help but gasp.

Ni Yongxiao's near-perfect ability to control the situation and his profound scheming are simply amazing!

He Chongshan could hardly believe that Xie Lü, at only eighteen years old, could write such a perfect character.

In order to protect his family, Ni Yongxiao was forced to take a step-by-step path of no return.

Han Chen gradually transformed from a loyal subordinate into a ruthless boss.

Seeing the young Chen Yongren make his first appearance, he had no idea what path he was about to embark on.

He Chongshan saw the last part of Ni Yongxiao's story.

That man, who had always been calm, composed, and strategic, still stood tall in his final moments.

Everything he did was for his family, for the Ni family that was in dire straits.

But the path he took was destined to take him away from where he wanted to go.

He Chongshan turned to the last page, read the last word, and as Officer Huang shot and killed Ni Yongxiao, the prequel to Infernal Affairs came to an end. He remained motionless for a long time.

It was already dark outside. The office lights had been turned on at some point, probably because Xiao Chen had come in. The manuscripts piled on the desk were still in their midday state.

He Chongshan's stomach growled a few times before he noticed.

I looked down and it was almost six o'clock.

He watched for more than five hours and finally finished watching Infernal Affairs prequel.

He Chongshan rubbed his sore eyes, put down the manuscript, and leaned back in his chair.

Ni Yongxiao was still on my mind.

This person is absolutely amazing.

Chen Yongren in the first part is a lonely soul struggling between right and wrong.

In the second part, Ni Yongxiao is the last hero who protects his family.

Two completely different characters, two completely different tragedies, yet born in the same world, destined to fall into the same abyss.

How could Xie Lu write such a character?

He Chongshan sat up straight, picked up the manuscript again, and turned to several key dialogues with Ni Yongxiao.

"My name is Ni Yongxiao, and the foundation of filial piety is protecting my family."

"I just want to help my family hold their heads high."

"What goes around comes around."

"..."

He read those words several more times and shook his head.

The deepest desire of a gang leader who engages in illegal activities is simply to allow his family to live an upright life in the sunlight.

But the path he chose made it impossible for this wish to ever be fulfilled.

That's the real tragedy.

It's not the kind of tragedy where you cry and scream, but the kind where you watch someone walk step by step into the abyss, you know they can't turn back, you even understand why they did it, but you can't change anything.

He Chongshan watched the conversation between Han Chen and Huang Zhicheng at the police station when they were young again.

Back then, Han Chen still knew how to be grateful and remembered Ni Kun's kindness in promoting him.

Who could have imagined that he would later become the ruthless and distrustful Han Chen?

Xie Lu wrote this transition in a way that was not abrupt at all.

Layer by layer, little by little, it builds up until you feel that he can only become that way, there is no other way.

And then there's Huang Zhicheng, who in the first film was the police officer Huang who would stop at nothing to achieve justice.

But after reading the prequel, he learned that he had experienced the kind of "murder and arsonists who wear golden belts, while those who repair bridges and roads are left without a trace" when he was young. He saw the people who committed the crimes back then drinking with Ni Kun's men in fine clothes a few years later. The things he believed in had long been shaken.

That's why he hinted to Han Chen to get rid of Ni Kun. He felt he was acting on behalf of God, but he couldn't tell whether it was right or wrong.

The origins of the characters from the first film are all traced back to this prequel.

They didn't appear out of thin air; every choice they made had a cause and a reason behind it.