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

The next day, the sun shone brightly.

Central, the financial heart of Hong Kong, is a city of towering skyscrapers and dazzling glass curtain walls. It is a hub for the brightest minds and the most ambitious people in Asia.

In front of the HSBC headquarters building, Lin Yao, dressed in a sharp Armani haute couture suit and wearing sunglasses, was leisurely smoking a Marlboro.

Half a step behind him, Thirteen Sister was wearing a newly bought black women's suit and a pair of sunglasses that almost covered half of her face. She was tightly clutching the inside pocket of her chest, where the HSBC black card with twelve million in it was kept.

Her nervous, constantly looking back gait made her look like a ruthless bandit who had just robbed a bank and was ready to fight the Flying Tigers at any moment.

"Sis, can you be a little more natural?"

Lin Yao exhaled a smoke ring, looking speechless.

"If you walk down the street like that, it would be a disservice to your thieving attire if the police didn't check your ID."

"You don't know anything!"

Thirteen Sister lowered her voice, gritting her teeth, "Over ten million! I feel like everyone on the street is staring at my chest. If someone blows my head off and steals it, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"

"Don't worry, the Black Gold Card recognizes the person, not the card itself."

Lin Yao flicked the cigarette butt away with his finger, turned around and strode into a Grade A office building next door.

"Come on, I'll show you what real capital operation is like!"

The two took the elevator directly to the 38th floor, the Hong Kong headquarters of Dingtai Securities.

As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, before the receptionist could even put on her professional smile, a series of extremely harsh and angry curses came from the center of the lobby.

"Chen Zheng, you worthless bastard, how dare you show your face at the company? Because of your illegal operations last month, the company lost a whopping eight million in the futures market. You're fired now! Security, throw him out!"

Lin Yao raised an eyebrow and looked in the direction of the voice. In the center of the hall, a middle-aged fat man with gold-rimmed glasses and slicked-back hair was pointing at a down-on-his-luck man and cursing loudly.

The man was probably in his early thirties, wearing a wrinkled, cheap shirt, with messy hair, sunken eyes, and bloodshot eyes filled with despair and anger.

"Wang Ming, you're talking nonsense!"

The down-on-his-luck man clenched his fists tightly, roaring like a wild beast driven to the brink of despair.

"Last month's long futures position was one you forced me to follow your instructions to open. Now it's been liquidated, and you're making me take the blame?"

"presumptuous!"

Wang Pangzi was hit where it hurt and jumped up and down in a fit of rage.

"What proof do you have that I gave the order? You signed it, you operated the account, Chen Zheng. You're completely disgraced in Central. No institution would dare use a jinx who lost eight million. Get out, get out now!"

Chen Zheng trembled all over, his eyes red-rimmed. He knew he had been tricked to death by this cunning old boss, but he couldn't leave now. With a thud, he actually knelt down in front of Fatty Wang.

"Mr. Wang... I beg you, I accept being made the scapegoat, I accept being fired, but my daughter is still in the ICU waiting for heart surgery, and we still need 300,000 yuan for the surgery."

"Please, please give me my base salary and commission for this month! I beg you, it's my daughter's life!"

A man in his thirties, standing at seven feet tall, abandoned all his dignity in public and kowtowed repeatedly for the sake of his daughter's surgery fees.

The surrounding traders turned their heads, some with expressions of pity, others with schadenfreude. In this money-driven Central district, compassion is the cheapest form of trash.

Seeing this, Fatty Wang showed no pity whatsoever. Instead, he laughed arrogantly and kicked Chen Zheng in the shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

"You want money? You've caused the company to lose eight million. We're already being lenient by not sending you to jail, and you still want a commission? What do I care if your daughter lives or dies? Get her out of here!"

Two security guards pounced on Chen Zheng like wolves, grabbing his arms and trying to drag him out. Chen Zheng let out a desperate and mournful laugh, giving up the struggle like a lump of mud.

"Wait!"

Just then, a discordant, even slightly mocking voice rang out in the hall, startling everyone who turned to look.

A handsome young man in a bespoke Armani suit, accompanied by a short-haired female bodyguard with a menacing look, walked over slowly.

Lin Yao walked up to Chen Zheng and looked down at him. The hidden function of the system panel was flashing wildly on Lin Yao's retina.

[Target: Chen Zheng]

[Hidden Attribute: An extremely rare quantitative trading genius with an almost abnormal intuition for numbers. Future Achievements: In the original timeline, he committed suicide by jumping off a building after his daughter's death; if recruited by the host, he will become the host's top ace trader who sweeps across Wall Street (extremely high loyalty)!]

Lin Yao's lips curled into a wild smile. Holy crap, isn't this like a pillow delivered just when you're sleepy? He was just worried about not being able to find people to do the dirty work, and here comes an SSR-level gold card!

"Who are you? What right do you have to meddle in Dingtai Securities' internal affairs?"

Fatty Wang frowned and looked Lin Yao up and down. Although Lin Yao was dressed smartly, there were plenty of con artists pretending to be rich in Central.

Lin Yao didn't even look at him directly, but instead took out a pack of Marlboro cigarettes from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

Thirteen Sister, standing to the side, expertly pulled out a windproof lighter and lit it for him with a snap. Her boss-like aura instantly intimidated everyone around.

"How much money does he owe the company?"

Lin Yao exhaled a puff of smoke and asked calmly.

Fatty Wang sneered, "He caused the company eight million in losses. According to the contract, even if he doesn't pay the full amount, he should at least pay two million in breach of contract penalties. What, young man, are you going to stand up for this good-for-nothing?"

"Two million, right?"

Lin Yao nodded and reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket.

Just when everyone thought he was going to pull out his checkbook, Lin Yao pulled out a black bank card with gold trim and a dark luster—the HSBC top-of-the-line Black Gold VIP card.

"Snapped!"

Lin Yao held the card between two fingers and threw it directly at Wang Pangzi's fat face, which was covered in fat, like throwing away trash.

"There's 12 million in cash in the card, and the PIN is six eights."

Lin Yao's voice wasn't loud, but it resounded like thunder throughout the hall.

"Pay two million in breach of contract fees to buy his freedom, and the remaining ten million..."

Lin Yao paused deliberately, his eyes suddenly becoming as sharp as knives.

"Consider this an account I'm opening. From now on, Chen Zheng is mine!"

Silence, deathly silence. You could hear a pin drop in the entire lobby of Dingtai Securities.

All the traders, receptionists, and security guards were frozen in place, their eyes fixed on the black gold card lying on the ground.

Wang Pangzi was struck dumb, his fat face trembling violently.

As the trading director, how could he not recognize HSBC's Black Card? That's a top-tier status symbol that requires proof of at least ten million in cash and an extremely strong background to obtain!

The total liquid assets of Dingtai Securities may not even equal the cash in a single bank account held by someone else.

"This... sir, you're not joking, are you?"

Wang Pangzi's arrogance vanished instantly, cold sweat poured down his face, and even his hand trembled as he picked up the card.

"Do I look like I have time to joke around with a fat bastard like you?"

Without any hesitation, Lin Yao stomped on Wang Pangzi's hand as he was about to pick up the card, causing Wang Pangzi to let out a pig-like scream of pain.

Thirteen Sister watched with great excitement, secretly clenching her fists.

That's awesome, so damn awesome! Before, when I was slashing people on Portland Street, at most I'd only draw some blood.

Now, following my brother around, we can throw money at people, and even the big boss in Central has to kneel down and sing "Conquer." This is the life a real man should live!

Lin Yao bent down to pick up the black gold card and turned to look at Chen Zheng, who was still slumped on the ground, completely unaware of what was happening.

"Your daughter's surgery costs 300,000, right? I'll give you one million to hire the best cardiologist in all of Hong Kong and use the best medicine."

Lin Yao stretched out his hand, his eyes revealing an undeniable domineering aura.

"I've paid the penalty for your breach of contract. Now, I'll give you one minute to think about it: do you want to work for me?"

Chen Zheng stared blankly at the hand in front of him, his mind completely blank. He had escaped from a desperate situation, a true escape from a desperate situation!

He thought he was going to die today, and his daughter was going to die too. Unexpectedly, a super-rich man appeared out of nowhere, not only helping him settle his debts but also saving his daughter's life.

"Boss!!!"

Chen Zheng suddenly rolled over and grabbed Lin Yao's hand tightly. The 1.8-meter-tall man cried with tears streaming down his face.

"From this day forward, my life, Chen Zheng's life, belongs to you. Whatever you ask me to do, I will do, even if it means murder and arson, I will not hesitate!"

"Murder and arson are things gangs do; we are legitimate businessmen."

Lin Yao pulled him up, smiled slightly, revealing eight white teeth.

"Take your personal belongings and come with me."

Half an hour later, in a secluded private room at a high-end private club in Central.

Chen Zheng had washed his face and changed into clean clothes. Although his eyes were still red, his gaze had regained the sharpness and composure unique to a top trader.

On the table was a suitcase filled with one million yuan in cash, which Lin Yao had just withdrawn from the bank as a settlement allowance for his daughter's medical treatment.

"Boss, I'm so grateful, you spent three million to get me out of this mess. What do you need me to do?"

Chen Zheng took a deep breath and got straight to the point. He knew that no capitalist was a philanthropist.

Lin Yao leaned back on the leather sofa, crossed his legs, and fiddled with the lighter in his hand.

"It's very simple."

Lin Yao raised his head, and a crazy, even neurotic light suddenly flashed in his eyes.

"Chen Zheng, I need you to use the remaining nine million as principal, plus the highest leverage ratio..."

Lin Yao spoke slowly and deliberately, his voice seeming to come from the depths of hell: "I want you to short the entire Hong Kong stock market, short the Hang Seng Index, and short all British blue-chip stocks!"

"Boom!"

It was as if a bolt of lightning struck Chen Zheng's mind. He suddenly stood up, knocking over the teacup in front of him and spilling tea all over the floor, but he was completely unaware of it.

"Boss... are you crazy?!"

Chen Zheng's voice was trembling as he looked at Lin Yao as if he were a madman.

"The Hong Kong stock market is currently experiencing a super bull market that is the likes of which we haven't seen in a decade. The Hang Seng Index is hitting new highs every day, and everyone is going long like crazy."

"You're going against the trend and shorting now? Forget nine million plus leverage, even if you throw in a hundred million, you'll be instantly crushed into dust by the bull market, not even a bubble will emerge!"

Although Thirteen Sister next to him didn't understand what bullish or bearish positions meant, she immediately panicked when she heard "crushed into powder": "Ah Yao, don't do anything reckless! That's ten million! Buying spare ribs could wipe out all the pigs in Kowloon!"

Lin Yao ignored Thirteen Sister and stared intently into Chen Zheng's eyes, a wild and arrogant smile curving his lips.

There are only 33 days left until that historic Black Monday of 1987.

The whole world was immersed in the euphoria of the bull market, and no one knew that a devastating financial tsunami was about to strike.

"Chen Zheng, I only have one question for you."

Lin Yao stood up, placed his hands on the table, and stared at him with an extremely oppressive aura.

"If I told you I could accurately predict the exact time of a market crash, with an error margin of no more than one minute, would you dare to trade on that market?"

Chen Zheng gasped, his hair standing on end. Predicting the market down to the minute? That's a power only God could possess!

But... looking at Lin Yao's extremely confident eyes, which even carried a hint of contempt for the common people, and then looking at the one million yuan in life-saving money on the table.

Chen Zheng's gambler's blood, the blood of a genius trader, was instantly ignited.

"Let's do it!"

Chen Zheng slammed his hand on the table, his eyes bloodshot, like a hungry wolf released from its cage.

"Boss, you dare to gamble ten million with your life? I, Chen Zheng, have a worthless life, what's there to be afraid of in going crazy with you? You say who to short, we'll short whoever, even if there's a cliff in front of us, I'll floor the gas pedal!"

"good!"

Lin Yao laughed three times, picked up the teacup on the table, and drank tea instead of wine.

"Yaosheng Capital Investment Company is officially established today. In thirty-three days, I will make all those high and mighty British tycoons and wealthy Chinese in Hong Kong kneel before us and line up to go to the rooftop."

At this moment, a massive, bloody harvest targeting the entire Hong Kong and even global capital markets officially began.