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

Central, Hong Kong Island.

The winter sun pierced through the thin mist over Victoria Harbour and shone on the busy runway.

When the silver-gray Gulfstream G2 business jet pierced through the clouds and landed steadily at Kai Tak Airport, Lu Chen officially ended his week-long "hunting" trip to Japan.

This week was a resounding success for Lu Chen. He not only completely won over the beautiful snake Ruan Wen, but also put a golden bridle on the arrogant "game tyrant" Yamauchi Hiroshi, bringing the future gaming empire Nintendo into his fold.

Moreover, Takamagahara successfully gained a voice in Japan, and everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.

With this pleasant feeling, Lu Chen got into the Rolls-Royce that had come to pick him up and headed straight for the Jiahe Building.

Top floor, Chairman's office.

Cheng Yiyan, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately broke into a smile that was even brighter than the sunshine outside the window when she saw Lu Chen push the door open and enter.

"Boss, welcome home," Cheng Yiyan said, expertly handing Lu Chen a cup of freshly brewed premium Blue Mountain coffee. "Judging from your complexion, it seems your trip to Japan has been very fruitful."

"It's just a minor skirmish."

Lu Chen took off his black cashmere trench coat, casually hung it on a hanger, and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window with his coffee, looking down at the bustling traffic below, which looked like ants.

"How's things back home? Have those old men who owe money behaved themselves?"

When this was mentioned, Cheng Yiyan pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, a hint of mockery and cruelty flashing in his eyes.

"They've all behaved themselves, each one more obedient than a quail," Cheng Yiyan said, opening the folder in his hand. His tone was as relaxed as if he were talking about the weather. "Except for Standard Chartered Bank, which we've already swallowed whole, the branches of HSBC, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase, and other banks that followed suit and participated in hunting us down all obediently transferred their money to the designated accounts on the day the betting agreement expired."

"Especially that representative from Citibank, when he came to hand over the check this time, his attitude was so humble that he was practically a grandson. He kept bowing and apologizing, as if he was afraid that if he was even a second late, he would inexplicably 'commit suicide' in some desolate place like John."

That's what deterrence is.

Although Lu Chen never publicly admitted that he was involved in the death of Standard Chartered chairman John Stuart, and even Scotland Yard closed the case as a suicide, in that top-tier financial circle, who isn't shrewd and calculating?

The so-called top-tier Viper Gang had just received an assassination order and was completely wiped out on Lantau Island, leaving no survivors. Then, Standard Chartered Chairman John also died, and the Hong Kong Island branch was acquired... Only a fool would believe such a coincidence was an accident.

There is now an unspoken consensus circulating throughout the financial circles of Hong Kong Island and even London: this young Mr. Lu is not only a financial tycoon, but also a ruthless character with blood on his hands and connections in both the legal and illegal worlds.

It's said that Lu Chen is a member of that mysterious High Table Society in Europe. Trying to renege on a debt with someone like that? That's asking for trouble.

"How much did you recover in total?" Lu Chen asked casually, taking a sip of his coffee.

"After deducting all acquisition costs, taxes, and expenses for maintaining relationships, plus our profits from short selling in the stock market..."

Cheng Yiyan took a deep breath and announced a number that would make this era tremble:

"Boss, our current cash reserves have officially surpassed HK$3 billion!"

Three billion! In cash!

What did this mean in 1982?

It's worth noting that at that time, the total market capitalization of many established listed companies in Hong Kong Island was only a few hundred million Hong Kong dollars.

In this harsh winter when everyone is short of money, even Hongkong Land Group has to sell properties to survive, and even the Hong Kong government is worried about the fiscal deficit, Golden Harvest International, which has 3 billion in cash flow, can no longer be considered a prehistoric behemoth. It is a prehistoric Tyrannosaurus Rex that is armed to the teeth and has cheated!

"very good."

A satisfied smile curved Lu Chen's lips, his ambition burning like flames in his eyes. "With supplies in hand, there's no need to panic. Now that we have enough ammunition, there's no need to hold back anymore."

"How's the absorption going with HK Electric?"

"Boss, while you were away this week, we've been buying on dips through dozens of scattered offshore accounts," Cheng Yiyan said, pointing to the huge candlestick chart on the wall. "Adding to the 6% that Bao Chuanwang transferred before, and the 10% we already held, plus this week's gains..."

"Currently, we hold a 25% stake in Hong Kong Island Electric!"

25%!

This is an extremely sensitive and dangerous number.

Under the current Takeovers and Mergers Code of Hong Kong Island, once the shareholding exceeds 35%, the acquiring party must make a general offer to all shareholders.

However, the remaining 10% between 25% and 35% is often the toughest nut to crack.

Cheng Yiyan closed the folder, his brows furrowing slightly, his tone revealing a hint of seriousness and worry: "But boss, the road ahead may not be so easy. Although our accumulation of shares these past few days has been discreet, the volume is simply too large. We've basically swept away all the loose shares circulating in the secondary market like a vacuum cleaner."

He pointed to the stubbornly rising red line on the candlestick chart: "Moreover, because of our continued buying, HK Electric's share price has actually risen by 15% against the trend of the Hang Seng Index falling below 600 points. Even a blind person can sense that something is wrong with this abnormal trend. If we continue to buy on a large scale, it will definitely alert those foreigners at Hongkong Land Group."

In every acquisition battle, the cards are eventually revealed. And now, the final showdown is just one step away.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, the skyscrapers of Central stood tall, and in the distance, the grey-blue waters of Victoria Harbour stretched out. This place, once a colony of the British Empire, was now shivering in the cold winter for these British conglomerates.

"Since the strategy of secretly crossing the Chencang pass is no longer viable, let's openly repair the plank road."

"Pass on my orders: from now on, no more keeping a low profile, and no more splitting your operations." A bloodthirsty glint flashed in Lu Chen's eyes. "I want you to concentrate your firepower and buy aggressively! As long as someone is selling on the market, even if it's 10% or 20% above the market price, we'll buy it all!"

"I need to use money to minimize this final 10% shortfall as much as possible before that old devil Newbender fully realizes his mistake and starts mobilizing funds!"

"Yes, boss!"

As a trader, the most coveted instruction in my life is this: regardless of cost, only victory matters.

"I'll show these foreigners what times have changed."

……

at the same time.

Central, Chinatown Building.

This is the stronghold of another business legend – Li Chengjia, and the headquarters of Cheung Kong Holdings.

Compared to the sharp and assertive style of Jiahe, this office appears more composed and old-fashioned. The mahogany furniture exudes a subtle fragrance, and several landscape paintings with profound artistic conception hang on the walls.

But at this moment, the atmosphere in the office was somewhat heavy.

Li Chengjia, wearing his signature black-rimmed glasses, sat on the sofa with a furrowed brow. Across from him, a shrewd and capable subordinate was sweating profusely as he reported on his work.

"Mr. Li, it's my fault for being incompetent," the subordinate said cautiously, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. "We followed your instructions and wanted to take advantage of this stock market crash to buy shares of Hong Kong Island Electric. But... when we entered the market, we found that the market had already dried up."

"Hmm?" Li Chengjia's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an imposing pressure.

"Yes, we did it," the subordinate said bitterly. "Almost all the HK Electric shares circulating in the market have been swept up by a mysterious group of funds. No matter what price we offer, we're always a step behind. The amount of funds they have is astonishing, and their methods are extremely ruthless; they're grabbing shares regardless of cost."

"Have you found out who it is?" Li Chengjia asked.

"The other party used a large number of offshore accounts, making them difficult to track. But..." the subordinate paused, "in the current market environment, there's probably only one company on Hong Kong Island that can come up with so much cash and is also interested in HK Electric."

Without his subordinates needing to say the name, Li Chengjia already had the answer in his mind.

"Lu Chen, you really are a force to be reckoned with..."

Li Chengjia took off his glasses and rubbed his temples wearily.

In fact, Li Chengjia had his eye on Hong Kong Island Electric several months ago. As a shrewd old fox, he knew that after the real estate bubble burst, public utilities with stable cash flow would be a safe haven.

But he was a step slower than Lu Chen.

In recent months, Li Chengjia has been busy with the divestiture and sale of Hutchison Whampoa's negative assets, coupled with soaring interest rates, leading to extremely tight cash flow. He has had to busy himself with "stopping the bleeding," negotiating extensions with HSBC, and dealing with his inventory of properties.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the piece of fat meat he had been eyeing was snatched away by another, younger, hungry wolf.

"It's fate..." Li Chengjia sighed and put his glasses back on. A complex expression flashed in his eyes behind the lenses.

"However, since I can't have you, you shouldn't expect to be comfortable either..." The business world is like a battlefield, and there is never any such thing as helping others achieve their goals.

If Golden Harvest were to acquire Hong Kong Electric so easily, Lu Chen's status in Hong Kong's business world would rival that of the four established families, and might even surpass Li Chengjia's. More importantly, he would lose an important business empire as a result.

This is something he absolutely does not want to see.

"Mr. Li, what should we do now? Should we continue to follow up?" the subordinate asked.

"Follow? With what?"

Li Chengjia sneered, "The stock price of Hong Kong Electric has already been driven up, and we don't have that much cash to waste with Lu Chen."

He stood up, walked to the telephone, and hovered his slightly thin finger over the keys for a moment before pressing a number.

That was the private line of David Newbikin, chairman of Hongkong Land Group.

"Since I can't eat meat for the time being, let's add some seasoning to this soup."