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

Top floor of the Golden Harvest International Building, Central, Hong Kong Island.

The afterglow of the setting sun streamed into the office through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows, turning the leather sofa and mahogany desk a blood-red hue.

Lu Chen stood by the window, a glass of whiskey on the rocks in his hand, looking down at the city he had just conquered. With Hong Kong Electric under his control, every light in this city that never sleeps had to pay him a "toll."

"Boss," Cheng Yiyan said, sitting on the sofa opposite, holding a wine glass in his hand, "after the board meeting at Hong Kong Electric just ended, a minority shareholder stayed behind to see me."

"Oh?" Lu Chen turned around, gently swirling his wine glass; the ice cubes clinked against the glass. "Are you here to show your loyalty? Or to ask for something in return?"

"Both. That guy is a fence-sitter. He used to work for Hongkong Land," Cheng Yiyan sneered. "To prove his loyalty, he confided a secret to me—the reason why Hongkong Land and Newbikin were able to detect so quickly that we were accumulating HK Electric shares and swiftly retaliate."

"Heh," Lu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly, "Tell me about it."

When Lu Chen acquired HK Electric, he did so very discreetly, using dozens of offshore accounts. Logically, given the dire situation Hongkong Land Group was in at the time, they shouldn't have discovered it so quickly, let alone decisively raised funds to wage a price war.

"It's Li Chengjia," Cheng Yiyan slowly uttered the name that was well-known in Hong Kong's business circles. "That minority shareholder said that half a month ago, Li Chengjia personally called Newbikin and reminded him that someone was secretly accumulating shares, and subtly hinted that it was Golden Harvest."

Upon hearing the name, Lu Chen's expression didn't change much; only the smile on his lips became more playful and colder.

"It really was him," Lu Chen took a sip of his drink, the spicy liquid sliding down his throat. "That old fox, he's probably got his eye on Hong Kong Electric too..."

As a real estate tycoon of this era, Li Chengjia has always harbored great ambitions for public utilities. In the original history, Hong Kong Electric ultimately fell into his hands. Now that Lu Chen has snatched it away, he is naturally unwilling to accept it.

He informed on others, instigated a deadly conflict between Hongkong Land and Golden Harvest, and reaped the benefits from it all. This is indeed in line with Li Chengjia's "steady yet ruthless" style of doing things.

"Boss, since this old guy is stabbing us in the back, should we teach him a lesson in the stock market?" A ruthless glint flashed in Cheng Yiyan's eyes.

"No, Cheung Kong Holdings is too large, and there hasn't been any bad news about it recently, so it's not worth it to mess with it in the stock market."

Lu Chen walked to his desk, put down his wine glass, and picked up the black encrypted phone.

"To deal with such an indecent person, you have to use indecent methods."

Lu Chen dialed the number belonging to the intelligence chief—Fourth Brother (Rum).

"Boss." The respectful voice of Fourth Brother came from the other end of the phone.

"Rum, help me investigate someone," Lu Chen's voice was low and deep, like a devil's whisper, "His name is Dai Fuqiang, people in the underworld should call him 'Big Rich Man'."

At this time, Dai Fuqiang was not yet the "most notorious bandit of the century" who would later kidnap Li's eldest son and extort 1 billion yuan in cash, shocking the world. Right now, he was probably just a small-time figure hanging around the Tsz Wan Shan area, just starting out by robbing gold shops.

But Lu Chen knew that this man had madness flowing through his veins. He was a genius born to commit crimes.

"Find him, keep an eye on him, and then report back to me," Lu Chen said, looking out the window at the lights of countless homes already illuminated, his eyes devoid of any pity. "Since Mr. Li likes to meddle, then I'll keep him busy."

The fourth brother on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback for a moment, then understood what the boss meant: "I understand, boss. I will take good care of him."

……

at the same time.

Central, Chinatown Building.

Headquarters of Cheung Kong Holdings.

Compared to the aggressive and modern decor of Jiahe, Li Chengjia's office appears more traditional and composed. The walls are adorned with landscape paintings by renowned artists, and the mahogany bookshelves are filled with thread-bound books and financial magazines.

Li Chengjia, wearing his signature black-rimmed glasses and a slightly loose dark blue suit, was sitting behind his desk, looking at the evening newspaper in his hand.

The headline of the newspaper was the news that Golden Harvest had successfully taken over Hong Kong Island Electric.

"Why……"

Li Chengjia put down the newspaper and let out a long sigh. Behind his glasses, a hint of disappointment and apprehension flashed in his eyes.

"In the end, we were still a step too late," he said, taking off his glasses and slowly wiping them with a chamois cloth. "I didn't expect Lu Chen to be so quick and ruthless, taking over Hong Kong Electric so soon."

As a seasoned veteran of the business world for decades, Li Chengjia had a well-thought-out plan. He informed Hongkong Land to incite a fight between the two giants. Once Hongkong Land and Golden Harvest were both severely weakened and their cash flow was cut off, he would then enter the market with a huge sum of money to clean up the mess and take over Hong Kong Electric in one fell swoop.

But to his utter surprise, Lu Chen used an underhanded tactic like the "Jun Du Hotel" to completely overturn the game and take away Landmark in one fell swoop.

This unconventional, even bloody, fighting style sent a chill down even through someone like Li Chengjia.

"Chairman, with Hong Kong Electric... we probably don't have much of a chance."

Sitting opposite him was his trusted lieutenant, and also the executive director of Cheung Kong Holdings, Canning Fok.

"Hmm," Li Chengjia put his glasses back on, regaining his shrewd and capable demeanor, "Lu Chen has already acquired 60% of the shares. To touch them now would be to invite humiliation."

"However, Cheung Kong's development strategy cannot change."

Li Chengjia stood up and walked to the huge map of Hong Kong Island. "Although real estate is extremely profitable, it is too susceptible to cyclical fluctuations. We need utilities with stable cash flow as a moat."

"Chairman," Huo Jianning's eyes lit up, as if he had been prepared, "since Jiahe has taken over the power business, why don't we change our strategy?"

As he spoke, he traced his finger across the map, avoiding the power sector that had already been occupied by Jiahe, and finally stopped at a key point.

Hong Kong Telephone Company.

Upon hearing these words, Li Chengjia's eyes narrowed slightly.

"A telephone company?" Li Chengjia pondered. "But it's a company in which the Hong Kong British government has a stake, so it's really difficult to take action."

Hong Kong Island Telephone was a franchised company, and the Hong Kong British government maintained tight control over its controlling stake. After all, it held the only fixed-line telephone franchise in Hong Kong, which involved communications security and intelligence gathering.

"Yes, the biggest problem is policy barriers," Huo Jianning immediately handed over a document. "The Hong Kong British government, especially the Special Branch, is very wary of Lu Chen, who has a strong and uncontrollable background. They will absolutely not allow Golden Harvest to control the telephone network."

"But you are different, Mr. Chairman," the advisor's voice became full of flattery. "Over the years, you have maintained a good relationship with the government, and several British-owned groups have also praised you highly. In the eyes of the Hong Kong British government, you are a moderate, a businessman who follows the rules, and, more importantly, the most ideal representative of British interests—or 'gatekeeper'—before they withdrew from Hong Kong Island."

"If you were to personally acquire Hong Kong Island Telecom, the Governor's Office would not only not object, but would actually welcome it. After the Lu Chen incident, those foreigners would be even more inclined to befriend you."

These words struck a chord with Li Chengjia.

As a shrewd and calculating person, Li Chengjia knew that doing business in Hong Kong today required not only looking at the market, but also at politics.

Lu Chen was too arrogant, so arrogant that it frightened the British.

Li Chengjia, on the other hand, understood the exchange of benefits and knew how to "submit to the emperor."

“That makes sense,” Li Chengjia put his glasses back on, a shrewd glint in his eyes behind the lenses. “Immediately arrange a meeting for me with Sir Chung, the Chief Unofficial Member of the Executive Council, and… a representative of the Chief Secretary.”

Li Chengjia's eyes rekindled with fighting spirit. "Since Hong Kong Electric has been lost, I must hold onto this telephone line."

……

Six o'clock in the afternoon.

As night falls, the lights are on.

Lu Chen finished his workday and stretched.

Although Li Chengjia's underhanded tactics annoyed him, the thought of the "tycoon's package" he was about to prepare for this "superman" cheered him up.

"Prepare the car."

While adjusting his tie, Lu Chen said to Tian Yangsheng, "I'm not going back to Youyicun tonight, I'm going to Ligende Pavilion on the mountainside."

That was the new home he gave to Qiudi.

The thought of "Ma Xiaoling," with her 42-inch long legs, wearing a miniskirt, and holding a demon-slaying staff, made Lu Chen's lower abdomen feel hot.

In the morning, he specially asked Qiu Di to prepare a set of "combat clothes" for the play.

Tonight, he plans to thoroughly test this up-and-coming actress's "acting skills" and "flexibility."

"Okay, boss." Ba Wanghua understood immediately. Although she was a little jealous, she still arranged the convoy.

however.

Just as Lu Chen stepped out of the office and was about to take the private elevator downstairs...

"Ding!"

The elevator doors opened.

Tian Yangsheng walked out with a menacing look on his face.

"Boss, something's up."

"What's wrong?" Lu Chen frowned.

"It's Miss Qiu Di," Tian Yangsheng said in a deep voice. "The bodyguards who were responsible for protecting Miss Qiu Di just sent word that she was harassed by a group of thugs after recording a program at ATV headquarters today."

"Although the bodyguards intervened beforehand and prevented Miss Qiuti from getting hurt, she was still a little frightened..."