Hong Kong films: From street thugs to Hong Kong financial tycoons

At the West Kowloon Container Terminal, the night wind howled, but it couldn't dispel the strong smell of tear gas in the air.

As the searchlights of the riot control armored vehicles slowly swept across the entire area, the scene at the dock looked exactly like a scene from a Hollywood disaster movie that had just been ravaged by aliens.

More than 800 of the usually arrogant and domineering Tung Sing gangsters were now lying sprawled on the ground.

Some covered their swollen, red eyes and retched violently, while others were charred black from being shocked by high-voltage electric batons, twitching incessantly on the floor like catfish out of water.

As for that arrogant tiger crow that came down the mountain, it was already foaming at the mouth and rolling its eyes, and was thrown into a pile of discarded tires like trash.

An overwhelming defeat, a one-sided physical exorcism!

At the edge of the battlefield, hundreds of Hung Hing members, led by Boss B and Big Fei, were all frozen in place, their mouths agape.

The gleaming watermelon knives and baseball bats in their hands looked as ridiculous as small wooden sticks held by cavemen in front of the fully armed, suit-clad thugs wearing gas masks and night vision goggles.

"Clatter."

Dafei dropped the machete in his hand onto the cement floor with a crisp sound. He swallowed hard and turned to look at Boss B, who was also covered in cold sweat.

"Brother B... when we fight over territory, isn't it a bit like kids playing house?"

Dafei's voice was trembling.

"This isn't a gang fight; it's like hiring mercenaries to wipe out a refugee camp!"

Boss B wiped his shiny bald head and nodded with lingering fear.

Only today did these old hands truly understand the terrifying weight of Thirteen Sister's words in the main hall that day: "Times have changed."

Faced with the absolute power of capital armed to the teeth, what are chivalrous codes and double-flower red sticks? They are nothing but a fart.

"Guys, are you all stunned?"

Thirteen Sister took off her tactical helmet, tossed her neat short hair, and walked over with a smug look on her face. She casually took out a stack of gold-rimmed business cards from her pocket and handed them out to the dumbfounded Hung Hing gang leaders one by one.

"This is the business card of our Yaosheng Security Group. In the future, if any of you leaders encounter large-scale armed conflicts like this, please don't send your brothers to their deaths. Medical expenses are too expensive."

Thirteen Sister patted Da Fei on the shoulder, raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Hire us, as long as you pay enough, not only can we clear the place out, but even if you want to raz the entire gang across the street to build a public toilet, we can do it perfectly in half an hour. For the sake of fellow disciples, we'll give you a 20% discount!"

Dafei and the others held the business cards as if they were holding a hot potato, and could only nod frantically like chickens pecking at rice.

This woman is someone we can't afford to mess with. She has a god-like figure backing her; she's absolutely not someone we can afford to offend!

On the other side, Lin Yao sat in the director's chair, watching Wang Sanri direct the cameraman to weave through the Dongxing underlings rolling on the ground to fill in the shots, and yawned boredly.

"Boss, the camel has arrived."

Sang Gou walked over, and his two henchmen, like picking up a chick, threw Camel, the leader of the East Star gang, who was covered in engine oil and dust, onto the ground.

Camel was terrified. He had spent most of his life in the underworld and had seen all sorts of storms. But tonight's tactic of using riot shields and poison gas without warning completely shattered his mental defenses.

"Boss Lin... I admit defeat. Tonight, I was blind and misled by that old bastard Xu Tianheng!"

The camel knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Please have mercy and spare our Dongxing's life. I haven't touched a single penny of the 50 million bounty; I'll return it all to you."

"Give it back to me? Do you think I'm a garbage collector?"

Lin Yao stood up, took out a pure white handkerchief from his pocket, and covered his nose with disgust.

"I told you to tell Xu Tianheng to wash his neck clean and prepare a coffin."

Lin Yao walked up to the camel and looked down at him condescendingly: "As for your Tung Sing, since you dare to pay money to deal with me, you have to pay the price. Within three days, take your men and get out of Kowloon and the New Territories."

"If I still see Tung Sing's signs in these places three days from now..."

Lin Yao's lips curled into a devilish smile, his voice soft yet chilling: "I'll pack you all up, stuff you into a shipping container, and sink you into international waters to feed the sharks. Understand?"

The camel trembled violently, not daring to utter a single word of dissent, and scrambled away from the dock with its remaining troops.

"That's it for the day, time to head home."

Lin Yao waved his hand and climbed into the bulletproof Lincoln. This farcical gang fight didn't even give him a chance to warm up. The real showdown would take place at the Central Stock Exchange tomorrow morning.

……

The following morning, sunlight pierced through the thin mist and shone on Yiu Shing Estate on Victoria Peak.

Lin Yao got up a little late today. He was wearing loose white loungewear and sitting in front of the spacious and bright French windows. He was eating the congee with preserved egg and lean pork that his private chef had carefully prepared, while looking at the top-secret financial statement about Xu's Shipping in his hand.

Chen Zheng sat opposite him, a heavy laptop in front of him, intently watching the pre-market stock data on the screen.

"Boss, we've found out."

Chen Zheng pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes flashing with the bloodthirsty glint unique to top traders.

"On the surface, Hui's Shipping is incredibly successful, with a market value of HK$15 billion, but in reality, their fundamentals are very fragile."

"Some time ago, three of their 10,000-ton giant ships in North America were caught in a storm and sank. Xu Tianheng spent a lot of money to cover it up, and the outside world was completely unaware of it."

"Not only that, in order to raise funds to compete with us for the Central No. 4 plot, Xu Tianheng has mortgaged several of his core properties to foreign banks in exchange for high-interest bridge loans. Now his financial chain is stretched tighter than a steel wire!"

Lin Yao slowly took a sip of porridge and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"A 15 billion yuan pie is just an empty shell."

Lin Yao casually tossed the report onto the table.

"The old Qian family loves these superficial tricks. Old Chen, how much idle liquid capital do we have right now?"

"Boss, after deducting the money spent on land acquisitions, investments in technology plants and entertainment companies, we currently have a full HK$22 billion in net cash readily available in our offshore accounts!"

Chen Zheng reported the details to the leader as if they were his own treasures.

"Two hundred and twenty billion yuan is like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, targeting an empty shell with a broken capital chain."

Lin Yao leaned back lazily on the sofa, his fingers lightly tapping the table.

"However, since we are going to make an example of them, we must use the most brutal methods to completely crush this chicken and let all the old money families hiding in the shadows in Hong Kong see this clearly."

Lin Yao stood up, walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, and looked down at the bustling Hong Kong cityscape. One vicious financial scheme after another came out of his mouth.

"The first step is to launch a propaganda war. Immediately buy out the front pages of all mainstream financial newspapers in Hong Kong and thoroughly expose the news that Hui's Shipping's three cargo ships sank, suffered heavy losses, and were suspected of concealing a major financial crisis."

"And while we're at it, find a few journalists with good writing skills to embellish the story and write about the scandal of the eldest son of the Xu family wetting his pants at the auction and not even having enough money to show off."

"I want every Hong Kong stock market investor to wake up with the thought that the Xu family is about to go bankrupt!"

Chen Zheng's hands flew across the keyboard as he nodded excitedly, "Understood! Create panic and trigger a sell-off by retail investors!"

"The second step is to fish in troubled waters."

Lin Yao continued to issue instructions: "Mobilize 5 billion yuan and distribute it into hundreds of secret accounts."

"After the market opens, don't rush to sell off. First, frantically buy up the retail orders in the market to slightly raise the stock price, giving Xu Tianheng the illusion that someone is supporting the market and making him lower his guard."

"When his heart had settled back into his stomach a little..."

Lin Yao turned around and made a sharp downward slashing gesture.

"Let's dump all our chips, plus the huge amount of short selling we've borrowed, like an avalanche, smash through his bottom line in one go, and trigger the exchange's circuit breaker mechanism."

"I want Xu Tianheng to watch as his life's work, built over a century, turns into a pile of worthless paper in just half an hour!"

Chen Zheng was thrilled. This kind of capital operation, which could turn the world upside down with a flick of the wrist, was a million times more exciting than wielding a knife to kill someone.

"Don't worry, boss, the butcher's knife is sharpened and ready to draw blood at any time!"

Nine o'clock in the morning, Central, Hong Kong, at the headquarters of the Hui Shipping Company.

The atmosphere in the chairman's office on the top floor was so oppressive it felt like it was about to freeze.

Xu Tianheng, sporting two enormous dark circles under his eyes, sat in his executive chair, the cigar in his hand long since extinguished.

He waited all night for news from Camel, only to receive the devastating news that the Tung Sing Society had been unilaterally massacred by a group of armed "special police" in West Kowloon.

"Useless! A bunch of good-for-nothings!"

Enraged, Xu Tianheng slammed the ashtray on the table onto the ground.

"They can't even handle a nouveau riche, yet they call themselves the 'Double Tigers of Tung Sing'!"

Standing to the side, Xu Shijie shrank back in fear and said weakly, "Dad... that Lin Yao is no simple man. His men are like a regular army. Have we kicked a hornet's nest? Should we back down?"

"fart!"

Xu Tianheng slammed his fist on the table, his eyes bloodshot as he roared, "Our Xu family has been rooted in Hong Kong for over a century. What storms haven't we weathered? How can we bow down to a mere brat? Where will I put my old face? Where will the Old Money Alliance put its face?"

"So what if he's rich? In the business world, what matters is connections and resources. Our Xu's Shipping is a real, asset-heavy enterprise. Can he really make my ships disappear on the stock market?"

Just as Xu Tianheng was trying to bolster his courage...

"Bang!"

The office door was flung open, and Xu's Shipping's CFO stumbled in, his face as pale as an A4 sheet of paper, clutching several copies of the day's morning newspaper tightly in his hand.

"Chairman, something terrible has happened! The sky is falling!"

The CFO suddenly knelt down in front of the table and slammed the newspaper down in front of Xu Tianheng.

"Look at this! Today, all the financial newspapers in Hong Kong are reporting on the sinking of our North American cargo ship. Even the details of our internal contracts for high-interest loans from foreign banks have been thoroughly exposed!"

"What?!"

Xu Tianheng's head buzzed, and he grabbed the newspaper.

Shocking! Century-old shipping giant mired in trouble; three giant ships sink, and the incident remains unreported!

"Xu Family's Eldest Son's Disgraceful Behavior at Auction: Has the Family's Financial Chain Completely Collapsed?"

Exclusive Reveal: Xu Tianheng Mortgages His Mid-Levels Mansion; The Old Qian Family's Fate is Over!

Each shocking, blood-red headline was like a sharp knife, stabbing viciously into Xu Tianheng's heart.

He spent so much money bribing officials and blocking information in order to stabilize the stock price, only to have it exposed online overnight? There must be an extremely terrifying force manipulating things behind the scenes!

"Lin Yao...it was definitely that nouveau riche surnamed Lin who did it!"

Xu Tianheng gritted his teeth, trembling with rage.

"Chairman, this isn't the worst part..."

The CFO's voice was trembling with tears.

"The market is about to open, and panic has spread throughout the market. Retail investors are frantically queuing up to place sell orders."

"Several partner banks saw the news and have frozen our credit lines, demanding that we repay the loans in advance."

"The market is opening! It's about to open!"

On the computer screen next to me, the time jumped to 10 o'clock, and the Hong Kong stock market officially opened!

Xu Tianheng stared intently at the intraday chart on the screen, his hands gripping the armrests of the chair so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

In the very first second after the market opened, affected by a deluge of negative news, Hsu's Shipping's stock price instantly jumped down by 5%.

Countless panicked retail investors frantically sold off their stocks like headless flies, and the red downward line plummeted like a waterfall.

"It's over...it's going to collapse..."

Xu Shijie closed his eyes in despair.

However, just as the stock price was about to fall below the dangerous 10% threshold, a strong and mysterious buying order suddenly appeared on the trading screen.

This fund wasn't large, but it was exceptionally resilient. Like a sponge, it absorbed all the orders dumped by retail investors, managing to prop up the plummeting stock price and even causing it to rebound slightly by two points.

"Is someone intervening to support the market?"

Xu Tianheng's eyes widened suddenly, and a look of ecstasy instantly welled up in his heart.

"Hahaha, I knew it. The Xu family's core strength is still there. It must be those old friends from the Old Money Alliance who stepped in to help. They couldn't just stand by and watch me fall."

"Quickly, notify the trading department to invest all the remaining 300 million in reserve funds to help the major players drive up the stock price. As long as we can stabilize the market today, we can turn things around!"

Xu Tianheng, like a gambler who had lost everything, bet everything he had left.

Pulled by this dual influx of funds, Xu's Shipping's stock price miraculously stabilized at a 3% drop, entering a stalemate and sideways trading pattern.

Xu Tianheng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, let out a long sigh of relief, picked up his now-cold coffee, took a sip, and his arrogant demeanor returned.

"Hmph, a nouveau riche is just a nouveau riche. Besides resorting to dirty tricks in spreading rumors, they have no understanding of the stock market's depth. Want to bring me down? Dream on!"

However, before he could catch his breath, in the luxurious trading room of Yaosheng Capital on the 48th floor of the Far East Financial Center.

Lin Yao looked at the curve on the screen, which had been running smoothly for half an hour, and a cruel smile appeared on his lips.

"The frog-boiling-in-water technique is complete."

Lin Yao threw the clean apple core into the trash can and snapped his fingers.

"Old Chen, since Old Xu has put all his last savings into this, let's send him on his way."

"Send out all of our prepared short positions, along with the shares we just bought at low prices, all at once, without giving him a second to spare."

"Yes, boss!"

Chen Zheng's eyes were red-rimmed, and his fingers tapped the keyboard like phantoms before finally slamming down on the Enter key.

"BOOM!!!"

Just as Xu Tianheng was beaming with pride, thinking he had weathered the crisis, a massive sell order suddenly appeared on Xu's Shipping's trading screen, an order so huge it made one question reality.

One billion! Two billion! Five billion!

This violent selling pressure was like a collapsing Himalayas, crashing down on Xu Tianheng's pitiful 300 million yuan in market-stabilizing funds with devastating force.

Before even a ripple could be made, the funds used to support the market vanished instantly.

The lines on the big screen were cut in half by this terrifying force, plunging into the ground at a bizarre, ninety-degree angle.

The stock price plummeted to its daily limit, locked firmly at the limit down price, with sell orders piling up like mountains, and absolutely no buyer daring to take over.

"Snap!"

The coffee cup in Xu Tianheng's hand fell to the ground and shattered. His eyes bulged, he clutched his heart, and let out a weak, hoarse roar: "No...it can't be! My money, my company..."

The next second, this shipping tycoon, who had dominated Hong Kong for decades, fell straight backward, his eyes rolled back, and he completely lost consciousness.

The collapse of a century-old family was accomplished with a snap of Lin Yao's fingers.

Times have truly changed!