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

An old tenement building near Apliu Street in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon.

This is a slum where all sorts of people mingle, and a breeding ground for countless crimes.

"Bald guy, are you sure the information about that 'outsider' is accurate?"

King Kong, dressed in an electrical repairman's uniform and wearing a baseball cap, sneaked around behind a wonton stall, holding a homemade signal detector in his hand.

"Nonsense! That guy took 50,000 yuan from me for this information. If it's wrong, I don't even need to lift a finger; my wife would have shot him dead!" The bald man wore a wig and had two thin mustaches pasted on his face, looking like a fortune teller.

"He said that Niu Niu and his sister Youyou are hiding on the seventh and eighth floors of this building; they've booked both floors as their base!"

King Kong curled his lip: "He knows how to live a life of seclusion in the city, but his taste is terrible."

"Enough nonsense! Clearing their name is the priority!" The bald man glared at him, glanced at his watch, and said, "According to the plan, we'll split up. You climb up the drainpipe in the back alley and take the eighth floor; I'll storm the front door and head straight for the seventh floor. We'll attack from both above and below, leaving them no way to escape! Check your watches! We'll move at 10:00 sharp!"

"OK! Action!"

The two bumped fists and went their separate ways.

However, as with all "best partners" operations, plans never keep up with changes.

As soon as the bald man reached the stairwell, he was stopped by an elderly woman who insisted that he tell his fortune. To avoid revealing his identity, the bald man had no choice but to make up a story, which ended up going off on a tangent, and the woman ended up chatting with him about everyday things for twenty minutes.

Meanwhile, King Kong had already nimbly climbed up the water pipe to the window on the eighth floor.

"Hehe, let me show you what I'm capable of."

King Kong pulled out a smoke bomb, shattered the glass, and jumped inside with style.

"Don't move! I am... uh?"

The smoke dissipated.

King Kong struck a cool pose, only to find himself standing amidst dozens of burly men. These men, armed with watermelon knives and iron bars, were sitting around eating hot pot, all staring blankly at this "flying man" who had fallen from the sky.

On the sofa right in the middle, a bewildered Niu Niu was holding a chicken leg and staring blankly at him.

"Um... I came here to fix the water pipes, but I came to the wrong door. Please continue..."

Jin Gang chuckled twice, then turned to run away.

"Grab him!!" Niu Niu roared.

"Clang, clang!"

Two fists can't beat four hands, let alone dozens of hands. Although King Kong was highly skilled, he couldn't maneuver properly in the confined space and was bound like a dumpling in less than three minutes.

Ten minutes later.

Just as King Kong was being tied up and thrown into a corner, the door was pushed open.

"Don't move! Police are investigating... Ouch!"

The bald man rushed in, brandishing a small pistol, but slipped and fell to his knees in front of Niu Niu.

"Bald guy? What are you doing here?" King Kong rolled his eyes in despair.

"I...I've come to save you..." The bald man looked at the room full of thugs, swallowed hard, and said, "Um...would you believe me if I said I'm here to sell insurance?"

So, the best partners who had been so confident just ten minutes ago about being "caught in a trap" were now hanging in mid-air like two dried ducks, even swaying gently in the wind.

This is the legendary story of the Calabash Brothers saving their grandfather, one by one.

"Hahaha! This is hilarious!" Niu Niu circled around the two of them, his manic laughter sending chills down their spines. "I was wondering how to find you guys, but you delivered yourselves right to my doorstep."

"Brother, let's talk this out," King Kong said with a forced smile. "We're just passing by, could you let us down?"

"Let us go? Of course," Youyou, who had been standing to the side, walked over. She was still dressed in an innocent style, but the cunning in her eyes was unmistakable. "However, you have to do something for us."

Youyou took out a photo; it was a photo of black gloves.

"This Italian man called Black Gloves has a batch of priceless diamonds and is in a hurry to find buyers in Hong Kong to sell them." Youyou shook a box of money in her hand—it was counterfeit money with newspapers underneath and real banknotes on top.

"I want you to take this 'money' and make a deal with the Black Gloves to swindle the diamonds from them."

"What?!" King Kong and the bald man exchanged a glance. "That's the Mafia! You want us to use counterfeit money to scam the Mafia? That's suicide!"

"You don't have to go," Niu Niu said, cocking his shotgun and pointing it at their heads. "Then I'll send you to meet your maker right now. Choose one."

Facing the dark muzzle of a gun, the best partners displayed amazing teamwork.

"make a deal!"

"No problem! We're professionals at lying!"

……

For the next week, this "best duo" went undercover in Niu Niu's fraud ring.

Life was going quite...wonderful.

Because of his unattractive appearance, the bald guy was assigned to sweep toilets and mop floors, and was ordered around by Niu Niu every day, suffering all kinds of humiliation.

But King Kong was different. With his handsome face and honeyed words, plus his occasional inventions to help his friends fix things, he quickly became very successful.

"Friend, look at this," King Kong handed Friend a miniature music box he had made himself, "It's for you."

"Wow, it's so exquisite." Youyou took the music box, a happy smile spreading across her face. "I didn't know you had this skill."

"That's right, I'm the number one thief in Hong Kong." King Kong tossed his hair and casually grasped Youyou's hand. "Actually, what I said to you in the safe house that day... half of it was true."

"Which half?" Youyou blushed.

I said I wanted to protect you.

During this week, the two actually sparked a little romance in their half-real, half-fake undercover work.

The bald man could only grumble indignantly as he scrubbed the toilet: "Why?! Why do I have to scrub the toilet while he's chasing girls?! This isn't fair!!"

……

Just as King Kong and his crew were staging a romantic comedy in the "enemy camp".

Central, Golden Harvest Building.

Lu Chen was not idle. He focused his main energy back on the company's operations, while also ensuring that the "distillery" maintained close monitoring of all parties involved.

"Boss, according to the latest intelligence, King Kong and Baldy entered a residential building in Mong Kok a week ago," Tian Yangsheng reported. "They should have found Niu Niu's hideout, but they haven't come out since."

"No news is good news." Lu Chen sat in the boss's chair, twirling the pen in his hand. "It means they've reached some kind of agreement, and the Black Gloves diamond deal should be about to begin."

"Keep an eye on them. Notify me immediately if the man in black gloves shows up or if those two make any other moves."

"yes!"

After finishing his official business, Lu Chen glanced at his watch; it was already six o'clock in the evening.

"Get the car ready, we're going to Happy Valley today."

An hour and a half later.

Happy Valley, a luxury apartment building.

The bedroom was dimly lit, and the air was filled with the lingering, alluring atmosphere of the aftermath.

Ya Zi was wrapped in a blanket, her hair disheveled, her beautiful face showing a satisfied languor as she leaned against Lu Chen's chest, her fingers gently tracing his firm chest muscles.

"You bad guy...you always drive me half to death~" Yako playfully bit Lu Chen's shoulder.

"That's because you're too weak. As a police officer, you can't even subdue criminals," Lu Chen chuckled, lighting a cigarette and exhaling a smoke ring. "Let's get down to business, honey. Any progress on that matter I asked you to investigate last time?"

Mentioning work brought Ya Zi back to her senses. She got up, wrapped herself in the blanket, took a brown paper file folder from the bedside table, and handed it to Lu Chen.

"I've found out," Ya Zi sighed. "Ah Chen, it was just as you guessed."

Lu Chen took the file folder and pulled out the documents inside.

"In the last battle at Kowloon Wharf, you helped the shipping magnate screw over Jardine Matheson and shorted their stock price, causing those British to suffer heavy losses. They've been holding a grudge about that ever since." Ya Zi pointed to a photo on the document—a foreigner in a police uniform with an arrogant face.

"Richard, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, is a typical anti-colonialist who has close ties with the top brass of Jardine Matheson. He was the one who ordered the 'decapitation operation' to infiltrate and gather evidence against you, send you to prison, and then divide up Golden Harvest's assets."

"As expected, it's those troublemakers." Lu Chen sneered. In Hong Kong Island in the 80s, the police force's top ranks were almost entirely monopolized by Japanese. They were not only greedy but also extremely xenophobic.

"However, Richard is just someone who gives orders; the real errand runners are someone else." Ya Zi pointed to another photo, which showed a young Chinese police officer with a sinister and ambitious look in his eyes.

"Cai Yuanqi," Ya Zi introduced, "is currently Richard's top confidant, a senior superintendent in the political department. He is a very capable man and also a member of the Iron Gang's British faction. He was the one who specifically planned and commanded this operation."

"Cai Yuanqi..."

Lu Chen looked at the familiar face in the photo, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Of course he knew this person. In the future plot of "Cold War", this Cai Yuanqi had become the Commissioner of Police, and was the biggest mastermind of the Japanese faction within the police force. He was the ultimate boss who tried to control the entire political landscape of Hong Kong Island by controlling the police force and fawning over the foreigners.

Unexpectedly, he has already begun to show his talent, and even bit himself to please the foreigners.

"Cai Yuanqi is a rising star in the police force, only interested in climbing the ranks. He's willing to do any dirty work," Ya Zi said, looking at Lu Chen with some concern. "Chen, it's troublesome to be targeted by someone like him. He wields a lot of power within the police force and is ruthless in his methods."

"Don't worry," Lu Chen patted the back of her hand, "She's just a nobody."

He casually tossed Cai Yuanqi's photo onto the bedside table.

"Since they want to play, I'll play along," Lu Chen said, stroking Ya Zi's long hair. "Honey, I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on these two for me. Especially that foreigner Richard. Investigate all his overseas accounts, his private life scandals, and evidence of his private transactions with Jardine Matheson through your channels."

"Are you going to deal with them?" Yako asked.

"We need to deal with them, but not now," Lu Chen shook his head. "Once I've cleaned up that mess with the Mafia and have some free time, I'll show them who's in charge here."

Lu Chen stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, rolled over and pinned Ya Zi beneath him, a wild glint in his eyes: "But right now... let's deal with your stamina problem first."

"Ah...no...uh..."

Silent all night.