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

The next morning.

Above the Ten Thousand Mountains of Sichuan, clouds and mist swirl, creating a scene resembling a fairyland.

"Buzzing—"

Accompanied by an extremely violent roar as the propellers tore through the air, a full ten heavy transport helicopters, rented at high prices from the military region, were flying in a magnificent formation towards Yuntai Peak.

The cabins of these ten helicopters were not filled with fully armed soldiers, but with top entertainment reporters from dozens of newspapers and magazines across Hong Kong.

Oriental Daily News, Sing Tao Daily, Ming Pao...

Even several overseas media outlets based in Hong Kong dispatched their most elite reporting teams.

However, these entertainment reporters, who were used to having afternoon tea at the Peninsula Hotel and camping out at the Clearwater Bay film set to enjoy the air conditioning, were now all pale-faced, clutching their cameras tightly, and vomiting uncontrollably.

"Ugh... Good heavens! I'm an entertainment reporter, not a war correspondent! Is Yaosheng Pictures out of their minds? Holding a press conference in some godforsaken primeval forest?"

A paparazzo wearing glasses was vomiting acid into a vomit bag while howling in despair.

"Alright, stop complaining. Yaosheng Films chartered a helicopter to pick us up. You won't find another company like them in all of Asia."

"I heard Boss Lin spent a billion yuan building a real-life set. If we don't get an exclusive shot today, the editor-in-chief will skin us alive!"

A veteran reporter next to me also got airsick, but his eyes shone with professional fervor.

Just as the cabin was filled with howling and screaming.

"Dear media friends, we are about to reach Yuntai Peak. Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for landing."

The helicopter pilot's voice came over the loudspeaker, and the reporters quickly wiped their mouths, pressed their faces against the windows, and raised their cameras.

They wanted to see what kind of rubbish that supposedly 1 billion yuan film set was, built on a cliff face. It was probably just a few green screens and a bunch of foam plastic!

However, the moment the helicopter formation suddenly pierced through the thick clouds, the sunlight instantly flooded the cabin.

"Snap!"

A paparazzi lost his grip on his expensive Leica camera, which crashed heavily onto the metal floor of the cabin, shattering the lens.

But he seemed oblivious, his eyes bulging out of their sockets, his chin almost dropping into his crotch!

"hiss--!!!"

Inside the ten helicopters, hundreds of well-informed Hong Kong entertainment reporters simultaneously gasped in horror.

"This...this is a film set?!"

"My God, am I hallucinating? Is that the legendary Lingxiao Palace?"

Through the porthole, they could clearly see that atop the solitary peak with cliffs on three sides below, a magnificent palace complex, covering tens of thousands of square meters, was quietly perched above the sea of ​​clouds.

The vast Taiji Bagua Square, the ornately decorated Sanqing Main Hall, and the giant Taoist ancestor statue that stands over thirty meters tall, overlooking all living beings.

Bathed in the morning sun, the entire complex exudes a soul-stirring sense of oppressive Eastern mythology.

No green screen, no foam board, it's a miracle built from solid bluestone slabs, edging with thousand-year-old golden nanmu wood, and reinforced concrete!

"Quick, take a picture! This is absolutely the biggest news story of the year!"

The veteran reporter was the first to react, frantically pressing the shutter button, turning the cabin into a bright daylight with flashes.

His blood was boiling. As a media professional, he knew all too well the terrifying earthquake that such a scene would cause in the global film industry if it were exposed.

The helicopter landed smoothly on the helipad at the edge of the square.

When the group of reporters stood on the hard bluestone slabs and truly stood before this Eastern divine court, the oppressive feeling of looking up at the colossal structure made them lose even the courage to speak loudly.

What truly shattered their worldview was the super altar in the very center of the square, used for turning on the machine and worshipping the gods.

In the Hong Kong film industry, the highest level of ceremony for the start of filming is a 300-pound roast suckling pig plus a few chickens and ducks.

But today, Yaosheng Pictures has completely redefined what it means to sacrifice money for the gods.

In the center of the square, a giant barbecue grill, ten meters long, was erected. On the grill, three large, sizzling, purebred Australian Wagyu beef skewers were skewered on thick steel bars.

Moreover, next to the whole roasted cow, a seafood pyramid, as tall as a three-story building, was built using countless extremely luxurious ice platters.

Alaskan king crab the size of a washbasin, Australian lobsters half a meter long, premium double-headed abalone, and even several extremely rare bluefin tuna.

The rich aroma of roasted meat mingled with the sweet scent of top-quality seafood, filling the air above Yuntai Peak.

"Gulp..."

Hundreds of reporters stared at this seafood pedestal, collectively swallowing hard.

"He's gone mad, Boss Lin has absolutely gone mad..."

A reporter's hand was trembling as he held the recording pen.

"Using top-grade Australian Wagyu beef and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of seafood to worship the gods? One bite of that is several years' salary for me! This isn't worshipping the gods; it's practically bribing all the deities in the heavens with money!"

In front of the altar, Master Lin Zheng was wearing a million-dollar Taoist robe hand-sewn with gold thread by top Suzhou and Hangzhou embroiderers over half a month.

He held a peach wood sword made from a century-old lightning-struck tree in his hand, staring at the outrageously extravagant mountain of offerings before him, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

"Amitabha Buddha... Ancestor, your disciple Lin Zheng has truly had his eyes opened today. Please don't blame him in heaven, sir. This Boss Lin has given us far too much. Please eat to your heart's content..."

Master Lin Zheng frantically chanted in his mind, feeling that the Dao heart he had cultivated for most of his life was as fragile as a piece of paper in front of this mountain of seafood.

Wearing large sunglasses and a thick gold chain around his neck, Fatty Wang stood before the group of reporters like a victorious general, arrogantly shouting through a megaphone:

"Dear media friends, welcome to the opening ceremony of Yaosheng Pictures."

"Enough with the chit-chat, get all the machines set up and get ready to welcome Boss Lin!"

"Whoosh—!"

As Fatty Wang finished speaking.

Five hundred Hung Hing veterans, dressed in black bulletproof suits and tactical sunglasses, instantly emerged from both sides of the main hall.

Their steps were perfectly synchronized, like a black torrent of steel, instantly splitting into two sides in the center of the square, clearing a wide passage.

The palpable, chilling aura emanating from them startled the reporters in the front row, who quickly retreated, fearing that these burly men might tear them apart if they were displeased.

Immediately afterwards, amidst the frantic flashing of countless cameras throughout the venue, Lin Yao made his entrance.

He wasn't wearing a suit and tie today, nor was he wearing any movie costumes. He was just wearing a very simple black turtleneck sweater with a well-tailored dark gray trench coat over it.

There were no superfluous decorations, but his aura of being a long-time ruler, capable of turning the world upside down with a flick of his wrist, made him the sole focus of attention the moment he stepped out of the hall.

To his left and behind was Wang Zuxian, dressed in white, ethereal and breathtakingly beautiful; to his right and behind was Master Lin Zheng, dressed in a Taoist robe of immense value, exuding an air of otherworldly grace.

"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

The sound of camera shutters was like a barrage of heavy machine gun fire as reporters frantically pressed their cameras, afraid of missing any detail.

Lin Yao walked to the altar and took the specially made incense stick, which was a full meter long and as thick as an arm, from Wang Pangzi who handed it to him with both hands.

Instead of kneeling and kowtowing like traditional filmmakers, he simply placed the incense sticks into the huge bronze incense burner.

"Everyone."

Lin Yao turned around to face hundreds of cameras. Although his voice was not loud, it was clearly heard by everyone thanks to the echo in the valley.

"I invited everyone here today so that you could serve as my witnesses."

"The era when Hong Kong films could fool audiences with a few small rooms and a few shabby green screens has officially come to an end today."

Lin Yao pointed to the majestic statues of the Three Pure Ones and the enormous real-life palace behind him, his tone revealing an absolute arrogance of overwhelming power.

"I spent 1 billion yuan to build this Celestial Master's Mansion, not to show off my wealth, but to tell the world, especially those foreigners in Hollywood."

"Our Chinese mythology, our Eastern fantasy, is incomparable to those superheroes who fly around in tight suits."

"This film must succeed, it cannot fail. If the box office is less than one billion US dollars, I, Lin Yao, will personally demolish this Celestial Master's Mansion that I built."

Overbearing, extremely overbearing, they demolished the Heavenly Master's Mansion, which was built at great expense, for less than one billion US dollars?

The entertainment reporters present were all stunned by these outrageous remarks, their scalps tingling with fear. What terrifying confidence!

"The auspicious time has arrived, power on!!!"

Wang Pangzi timed it perfectly, let out a hoarse shout, and ripped off a Steadicam heavy-duty camera covered with a red cloth.

At that moment, the entire crew's pace suddenly slowed down miraculously.

There was none of the usual impatient urging from Hong Kong film crews, and no fast-food style rushing to finish the project.

Under Lin Yao's high-pressure approach of unlimited funding and demanding only high-quality products, all the staff members adopted the most rigorous and respectful attitude they had ever had in their lives.

"Attention all departments!"

"Lights in position, projecting the cool tones of dawn!"

"The sound crew, extend your microphones, and be mindful of filtering out wind noise!"

"Scene 1, Shot 1, Action!"

With Wang Pangzi's extremely professional instructions, the clapperboard snapped shut with a crisp sound, and the camera slowly zoomed in.

The edge of a cliff.

Wang Zuxian, who plays Nie Xiaoqian, wears a plain white ancient costume dress that flutters in the fierce mountain wind of Yuntai Peak.

She didn't have a single line of dialogue; she simply stood quietly on the edge of the cliff, turned around, and glanced at the enormous statue of the Three Pure Ones.

That one glance was a melancholy that transcended life and death; it was an extremely complex look that mixed reverence for the gods and Buddhas and endless longing for the mortal world.

Coupled with her stunningly beautiful and flawless face, and the ever-rolling, realistic sea of ​​clouds behind her.

"hiss……"

Behind the monitor, Fatty Wang gasped, goosebumps instantly rising all over his body.

That's amazing! It doesn't require any deliberate acting skills at all.

Against the backdrop of this breathtaking real-life setting costing a billion dollars and the grandeur of nature, even if Wang Zuxian were just standing here, she would be the enchanting female ghost Nie Xiaoqian, capable of captivating all beings and inspiring countless scholars to brave fire and water.

"Click, perfect, one take secured, prepare for the next shot!"

Fatty Wang shouted excitedly, "The quality of this first shot completely surpasses all the period dramas from Hong Kong in the past decade!"

Lin Yao stood aside, watching the crew quickly get into work mode, and nodded in satisfaction.

The cornerstone of the Eastern mythology universe has finally been firmly laid; all that remains is to let the dust settle.

"Old Chen."

Lin Yao turned to look at Chen Zheng, who had just stepped off the helicopter.

"Just leave the film crew to Fatty Wang. How's the situation at the Hong Kong Science Park?"

Chen Zheng pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his expression turning extremely cold.

"Boss, our Loongson Developer Fund has really taken off. In just a few days, more than 30,000 top hackers and programmers around the world have started frantically uploading adaptation code to our servers."

"However, as you predicted, those foreigners at Intel and Microsoft finally couldn't sit still anymore."

"They held a joint press conference in Silicon Valley yesterday to announce the establishment of the X86 Ecosystem Defense Alliance, preparing to launch a full-scale financial strangulation campaign against Yaosheng Capital on the Nasdaq stock market."

"A strangulation war?"

Lin Yao smiled, a smile that conveyed an extreme sense of invincibility and loneliness. He dusted off his trench coat and turned to walk towards the tarmac.

"Since they don't want to be a respectable modern factory, let's go to Nasdaq and help them be respectable."

"Let's go back to Hong Kong. It's time to teach these Wall Street elites what a real sickle is."