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

Central, Jardine House Headquarters Building.

Henry Katherine gripped the telephone receiver tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging like writhing earthworms, his usually pampered face contorted with rage and disbelief.

"Five yuan and one jiao?! Lu Chen, are you crazy?!"

Henry roared into the microphone, his voice shrill with extreme anger, "HK Electric's stock price is ten dollars! A full ten dollars! And you actually want to buy my 35% stake for five dollars? This is outright robbery! This is taking advantage of my misfortune!"

Five dollars and one cent—that was the stock price of Hongkong Land before the war between Hongkong Land and Golden Harvest.

If sold at this price, Hongkong Land Group would not only lose all the huge sums of money it has invested during this period, but would also have to pay interest.

On the other end of the phone, Lu Chen's voice remained calm and composed, as if he were discussing what to have for breakfast the next day.

"Mr. Keswick, that's not how the accounts are settled."

"Ten dollars is an inflated bubble created by the anti-takeover campaign. Once the stock market opens tomorrow morning, this bubble will be burst by the gunfire from the Grand Hyatt Hotel. At that point, putting aside whether you'll still have the resources to maintain the HK Electric stock takeover, just imagine how low the share prices of Hongkong Land and Jardine Matheson will fall?"

"I'm offering five dollars to save you face and also to give Hongkong Land Group a way out. I have a piece of advice for you: you don't have much time left. I heard that the 'doctor' inside has quite a temper."

"Fxxk! I'm not selling!!" Henry Keswick gritted his teeth. "Lu Chen, you think you can take advantage of my misfortune? Dream on!"

Henry Keswick slammed down the phone, his chest heaving violently.

"Get me the Central Police Station Commissioner! Immediately!"

After the call connected, Henry practically roared in a commanding tone:

"I am Henry Keswick! Listen, I don't care what methods you use, or how many people die! The Cointreau Hotel must be taken down before dawn!"

"I have only one bottom line: ensure the safety of those important figures inside—the consul and his wife, Sir Guo, and Newbitch, among others! As for the other hostages… they can be sacrificed if necessary! And it must be done quickly! Do you understand?!"

This is the cold-bloodedness of capitalists.

To protect the stock price and to avoid bowing to Lu Chen at the negotiating table, the lives of ordinary wealthy people were nothing more than numbers to be consumed.

……

Let's rewind to an hour ago.

Cointreau Hotel, 63rd floor.

"bite--"

The badly deformed freight elevator finally came to a stop after emitting a teeth-grinding scraping sound.

The elevator doors could no longer open automatically, leaving a gap about half a meter wide.

"Cough cough cough..."

Li Jie's face was covered in blood. He covered his forehead, which had been cut by glass, with one hand, and used the other hand to forcefully pry open the elevator door.

"Hey! Forrest! Are you alright?" Li Jie turned around and glanced at Forrest in the passenger seat.

Although Forrest Gump was dazed and his glasses were shattered, he miraculously only suffered minor injuries.

"It's nothing... ugh..." Agan gagged weakly and joked, "I'd rather die than ride in your car again!"

The two of them climbed out of the elevator.

This is the passageway to the banquet hall's kitchen. The air is thick with the smells of gunpowder and blood.

"Be careful!"

Li Jie suddenly pressed down on Agan's head, and the two rolled towards the back of the food cart.

"Da da da da da—!"

A burst of bullets struck the spot where they had just been standing, sending sparks flying.

Two ruthless thugs guarding the back door rushed over, AK47s in hand.

Li Jie's eyes turned cold as he picked up two Western-style knives from the ground and flicked his wrist.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

A flash of silver light. Two dinner knives were precisely plunged into the throats of the ruthless bandits.

The two men didn't even have time to fire a second shot before they collapsed, clutching their necks.

"Quick! Pick up the gun!"

Li Jie handed a gun to Agan, while he skillfully unloaded and checked the ammunition.

Agan couldn't help but swallow hard as he watched Li Jie's ruthless and efficient movements.

"How dare you! You're not just a celebrity bodyguard, are you?"

"...I'll tell you all about it after we get out alive."

The gunshots alerted the people in the banquet hall.

"A rat has come up here."

In the center of the banquet hall, the "doctor," who was waiting for his men to crack the display case, heard the gunshot. He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, a playful smile playing on his lips.

He walked to the monitor screen, looked at the agile figure on the screen, and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

"It's him..." A twisted, excited smile crept across the doctor's lips. "It really is him! Li Jie!"

"I can't believe it! We failed to kill you two years ago, and now you've delivered yourself right to our doorstep!"

The doctor turned to a boy next to him who looked like he was good at karate and shouted, "Rabbit, take a team and go invite our old friend in."

"Remember, catch him alive," the doctor said, a cruel glint in his eyes. "I'm going to hang him on the building's lightning rod to teach those cops outside a lesson."

"Okay, bro, leave it to me!"

The rabbit grabbed a shortened shotgun and led seven or eight of his men out of the banquet hall.

A few minutes later, gunshots rang out from the kitchen corridor.

Li Jie and Agan relied on the terrain to engage in a fierce firefight with the bandits.

Li Jie was a sharpshooter and agile; every time he peeked out and fired, he took down a bandit.

But he was all alone, and he had to look after Forrest Gump from time to time.

The enemy had a large number of soldiers and fierce firepower, and even used grenades.

"boom!"

A grenade exploded not far away, and the blast wave knocked the two men to the ground.

"How dare you! We're out of bullets!" Forrest Gump cried out in despair.

Li Jie touched the magazine; it was empty.

"Over there! Catch him alive!" The rabbit's voice grew closer.

Li Jie glanced around and found that there was a ventilation duct entrance in front of him, but it was located very high and there were no footholds around it, so he would need someone to lift him up.

"You go first!" Li Jie grabbed Agan by the collar. "Get in the car!"

"No! You go first!" Forrest Gump had his principles. As a policeman, he couldn't let "ordinary" citizens cover his retreat. "You're more skilled, more useful than me. I'll cover your retreat!"

As he spoke, Agan took a rectangular electronic device out of his pocket and handed it to Li Jie.

"What is this?" Li Jie was taken aback.

"Instant-Dict! An electronic dictionary!" Agan spoke rapidly. "This thing has short-range communication capabilities! My girlfriend Jayce has one too! If you manage to escape, use this to contact her and have her tell you the location of the bandits!"

"Run!!"

Forrest Gump shoved Li Jie hard, then resolutely stood up, raised his hands (which held only an empty gun), and shouted, "Don't shoot! I surrender! I'm a cop! And I'm well-known in the police force; taking me hostage is more effective than taking him!"

"Forrest Gump!" Li Jie's eyes widened in fury.

But he knew he couldn't let Forrest Gump's sacrifice go to waste.

He gritted his teeth and, taking advantage of the moment when Forrest Gump drew the fire, leaped and crawled into the ventilation duct.

The next second, Forrest Gump was pinned to the ground by several thugs and beaten with gun butts.

"Hehe, a mouse got away?" The rabbit walked over and stepped on Forrest Gump's face. "It's okay, having a cop as a bargaining chip isn't bad either."

……

downstairs.

Under the direct orders of the Central District Commissioner, the Special Duties Unit (SDU) was forced to launch its first major offensive.

"Alpha Team, Demolition Team, prepare! Go! Go! Go!"

A police helicopter hovered beside the building, attempting a rappelling assault. Meanwhile, ground attack teams tried to breach the main entrance.

However, they underestimated the doctors' level of expertise.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The doctors had already planted a large number of directional Claymore mines at all the entrances.

With several loud explosions, the Flying Tigers, who had just rushed into the lobby, were instantly engulfed in flames, their screams echoing throughout the room. Meanwhile, the helicopters in the air were forced back by two RPG rockets, fleeing in disarray, billowing black smoke.

"Is this your sincerity?"

Inside the banquet hall, the doctor looked out the window at the retreating police and shook his head in disappointment.

He walked into the group of hostages and grabbed the trembling fat man—David Newbigen, chairman of Hongkong Land Group.

"Mr. Newbjörn, it seems your friends don't care whether you live or die," the doctor said with a smile, straightening Newbjörn's disheveled tie. "Since they don't want to pay the ransom or give us the helicopter, we'll have to put some... pressure on them."

"No! No! I'm the chairman of Hongkong Land! I'm the taipan of Jardine Matheson! I have money! I can give you money!" Newbie was so terrified he wet his pants, struggling and crying desperately, "Henry! Henry, save me!!"

The doctor ignored his pleas and dragged him to the French windows like a dead dog.

"Sangbang, smash the window."

"Splash!"

The thick bulletproof glass was smashed by the sledgehammer, and a howling wind rushed in, making it impossible for people to open their eyes.

The doctor grabbed Newbie by the back of his collar and pushed half of his body out the window.

Below, there is a drop of hundreds of meters, and above it, the brightly lit night view of Central.

"Is this what you call the scenery of 'high society'?" the doctor whispered in Newwich's ear. "In your next life, remember not to trust the police too much."

"No--!!!"

With a piercing scream, the doctor released his grip.

Under the watchful eyes of countless cameras and millions of horrified viewers across Hong Kong.

David Newwich, the chairman who symbolized the power and glory of the Hongkong Land Group, was like a fat goose with broken wings, tracing a desperate parabola in the air.

A few seconds later.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

A bloody, mangled mess crashed onto the roof of a police car outside the hotel lobby, its siren blaring a piercing scream.

Le Huizhen covered her mouth, and the fat cameraman was so frightened that he almost dropped the camera.

All Hong Kong Island residents watching the live broadcast witnessed this extremely impactful scene.

Hong Kong was deathly silent.

……

Central, Jardine House Headquarters Building.

Henry Keswick watched the shattered body on the live television broadcast, feeling as if his spine had been removed, and collapsed onto the sofa.

Newbijian is dead.

In front of all the people of Hong Kong, it was thrown down like trash.

This fall shattered not only Newbikin's fate, but also Hongkong Land's century-old reputation, Jardine Matheson's reputation, and the last hope for the stock market to open tomorrow.

It’s over.

It's all over.

At this moment, Henry knew perfectly well that if this matter was not resolved, by daybreak, the Landmark Group's stock would become worthless, the banks would demand repayment, the shareholders would rebel, and the Keswick family would go bankrupt.

With trembling hands, he picked up the phone again, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

I dialed that number.

"Feed?"

On the other end of the phone, Lu Chen's voice remained calm, even carrying a hint of languor from just waking up, as if he had no idea what earth-shattering event had occurred outside.

"Mr. Lu... Mr. Lu."

Henry's voice was hoarse, as if it contained grit, filled with humiliation and despair. "I...I agree to your offer. Five dollars...I'll sell."

silence.

There was a suffocating silence on the other end of the phone.

Every second felt like torture for Henry.

After a long while, Lu Chen chuckled softly.

"Mr. Keswick, are you mistaken?"

Lu Chen's voice carried a chilling undertone, "Five yuan and one jiao, that was the price half an hour ago."

"Now that Mr. Newbikini has 'landed,' the value of Hongkong Land Group probably needs to be reassessed."

"What...what do you want?!" Henry felt like his heart was about to explode.

"4.9 yuan," Lu Chen casually announced a new figure.

This was a blatant humiliation, but Henry Keswick didn't even have the strength to be angry. He knew he was already a piece of meat on a chopping board, with no right to bargain.

If he doesn't agree, he might be the next one to die.

"good……"

Henry closed his eyes, and two streams of murky tears flowed down his cheeks.

"4.9 it is... deal."

"Very good." Lu Chen's voice became cheerful. "I'll have someone fax the contract over in a bit. After you sign it, I'll take care of your troubles."

"Beep, beep, beep..."

The phone hangs up.

Henry Keswick slumped to the floor, staring out at the dark night sky.

He knew that after tonight, the era of British-owned conglomerates would truly be over.

And that young man named Lu Chen is stepping over their corpses to ascend the throne of power.