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

The eighth day of the first lunar month.

On the day of Grain, follow the stars.

Hong Kong has been in turmoil these past two days.

In the underground world of gangsters, the Number Gang and the Wo Luen Shing fought tooth and nail for territory in Wan Chai. The police were mobilized to clear the area, and the headlines of major newspapers were all about "gang fights".

However, unseen by most ordinary citizens, in those towering office buildings in Central, a far more dramatic "war," involving hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars, is quietly unfolding.

……

Central, Golden Harvest International Headquarters

Standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, Lu Chen held a cup of steaming black coffee in his hand, calmly gazing at the Kowloon Peninsula across Victoria Harbour.

There stands a red building there—the Kowloon Motor Bus headquarters.

"Boss, things are going very smoothly!" On the leather sofa behind him sat a middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses, a refined demeanor, yet a shrewd and calculating air.

In front of Cheng Yiyan were three price quotation machines flashing red and green numbers, and several telephones that were ringing incessantly.

"Just now, the share price of Kowloon Motor Bus (KMB) jumped because of our acquisition. It rose directly from HK$3.5 before the Lunar New Year to HK$4.2."

Cheng Yiyan pushed up his glasses, a playful smile playing on his lips. "As long as there are retail investors selling off their shares, even just a few, our people have already bought them all."

"The chips we currently hold, plus the ones we bought at the low point before the Lunar New Year, have reached 16%."

"16%..."

Lu Chen turned around, walked to his desk, and looked at the shareholding structure diagram of Kowloon Motor Bus.

"How much does Boss Lei have?"

"26%," Cheng Yiyan replied. "He is the largest shareholder. However, Kowloon Motor Bus is a long-established listed company with very dispersed shareholdings. Apart from the Lei family, most of the remaining shares are held by a few small shareholders with no say and retail investors on the open market."

"In other words, as long as we get another 10%..." Lu Chen tapped his fingers lightly on the table, "we will surpass Boss Lei and become the new owner of Kowloon Motor Bus."

Lu Chen turned around, took a sip of coffee, and the bitter taste spread on his tongue.

"What's Boss Lei's reaction?"

"Still no movement," Cheng Yiyan sneered. "That old fox is too arrogant. He probably still thinks the stock price increase is because his public relations team is working, or because the market is optimistic about Kowloon Motor Bus's annual report."

"Arrogance is not a reason for failure; stupidity is."

Lu Chen put down his cup and walked to the huge map of Hong Kong. His gaze fell on the dense network of bus routes.

Kowloon Motor Bus.

This is the lifeblood of Hong Kong's public transport system and the cornerstone upon which the Lei family relies for their survival.

Although Mr. Lei now runs "Golden Princess Cinemas" and "Kowloon Construction," the foundation of his wealth and the source of his social status remains this behemoth company that owns thousands of buses and monopolizes transportation in Kowloon and the New Territories.

"Keep buying."

Lu Chen's voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable air of dominance.

"From now on, don't hide it, don't sneak around."

"I want to let Boss Lei know that a 'hungry wolf' has come to the door. Either he brings out real money to compete with me for shares, drives up the stock price, and lets me cash out at a high price and make a fortune."

"Either he just watches me exceed his shareholding percentage, kicks him off the chairman's position, and then I swallow this piece of fat meat."

This is financial sniping!

The man known as Lau, who claimed to have slept with half of Hong Kong's entertainment industry in his previous life, made his fortune through financial sniping.

It can be used for both offense and defense.

No matter what Boss Lei chooses, Lu Chen will always be in an unassailable position.

……

Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, Kowloon Motor Bus Headquarters

at the same time.

In the chairman's office, Boss Lei sat behind a large mahogany desk, his brows furrowed, holding a copy of the day's Oriental Daily in his hand.

The front page headline boldly proclaimed:

Ko Tin-lap sues Kowloon Motor Bus: Boss Lui is cruel and ungrateful, withholding employee wages!

"Damn it! Absolutely bastard!" Lei Juekun slammed the newspaper to the ground. "That Gao Tianli, if I hadn't promoted him back then, would he be where he is today? Now he's climbed up to Lu Chen's high branch, and he's turned around and bitten me!"

"Chairman, calm down."

The PR manager standing opposite wiped away cold sweat. "We've already sent a lawyer's letter. And... the stock price seems to have stabilized today."

"Oh?"

Lei Juekun looked up at the stock market display screen on the wall.

Sure enough, Kowloon Motor Bus, which had been declining all the way down, suddenly stopped falling and started to rise again around 10:30 a.m., and even steadily increased, turning into a sea of ​​red.

3.9 yuan... 4.0 yuan... 4.2 yuan...

"It seems our public relations efforts have worked." Lei Juekun's expression softened slightly, revealing a smug smile. "Shareholders are still rational. Kowloon Motor Bus is a public utility stock, its profits are guaranteed regardless of market conditions, and this bit of negative news can't shake my foundation."

Lei Juekun lit a cigar and said to his secretary, "Let the legal team drag this out of Gao Tianli's case. The citizens will forget about it in a few days! He thinks he can fight me? He's still too green."

"Also, how's the preparation for the sequel to 'Happy Ghost' going at Golden Princess Cinemas? It absolutely has to outshine Shaw Brothers..."

Just as Mr. Lei was still dreaming of becoming a "business godfather".

"Bang!"

The office door was suddenly pushed open.

There wasn't even a knock on the door.

Boss Lei frowned, about to get angry, when he saw his deputy general manager and financial director rush in, covered in sweat and pale-faced.

"Boss... Boss! Something's happened!!"

"What's the panic?!"

Boss Lei snapped angrily, "Is the sky falling down? Have you no manners at all!"

"That's worse than the sky falling down!"

The deputy general manager slammed a thick stack of transaction data on the table, his voice trembling, "Look at this! Today's trading volume is highly abnormal!"

"What's wrong with it?" Boss Lei picked up the data sheet impatiently. He came from humble beginnings and didn't understand financial data well; he only knew that his company's stock price had risen again. "Isn't a rising stock price a good thing?"

"It's going up! But the rise is too bizarre!" The deputy general manager pointed to the rows of dense buy orders. "Look! These are all huge orders of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of lots! And they're being bought continuously! They're not caring about the cost at all!"

"This is definitely not the behavior of retail investors! Nor is it typical institutional buying!"

"Someone's buying up everything in the market!!" the deputy general manager practically roared. "Someone's maliciously acquiring our stock! They're after controlling shares!"

boom--

These words struck Lei Juekun like a thunderbolt, hitting him hard on the top of the head.

The cigar in his hand fell onto the carpet, but he didn't notice.

"A hostile takeover?!"

Boss Lei suddenly stood up, staring intently at the constantly changing number on the screen.

4.2 yuan.

If it's normal market behavior, a rise in stock price is a positive sign. But if someone is trying to seize power, then every penny of that increase is a knife hanging over their throat.

"Investigate! Investigate for me!!" Only then did Boss Lei realize the seriousness of the situation. "Who?! Which organization? HSBC? Standard Chartered? Or the Li family?!"

"We couldn't find any specific information."

The deputy general manager wiped away cold sweat. "The other party used dozens of offshore company accounts, as well as countless individual investor accounts. The sources of funds are very complex, some from Europe, some from Southeast Asia..."

"But..." the deputy general manager swallowed hard and said cautiously, "Our acquaintances at the exchange said that these funds operate with a very ruthless and professional style. Very similar to... very similar to the group that attacked the Land Group in the stock market before."

"Jungland Group?"

Lei Juekun was stunned for a moment, then his pupils suddenly contracted.

That was Cheng Yiyan's doing!

And the boss behind Cheng Yiyan is...

"Lu Chen!!!!"

Lei Juekun gritted his teeth as he uttered the name, his eyes blazing with fury.

"It's that little bastard again!!"

"He wasn't satisfied with using ATV to sabotage me, now he actually wants to seize my family's business?!"

Lei Juekun finally understood.

All that talk about Gao Tianli's salary dispute and the stock price drop was a scheme orchestrated by Lu Chen!

Lu Chen first used public opinion to suppress the stock price, accumulating shares at a low price. Once he had enough shares, he launched a sudden attack, catching him completely off guard!

"Boss, what do we do now?"

The deputy general manager asked anxiously, "At this rate of purchase, the other party probably already has close to 20% of the chips! And you only have 26%..."

"If the other party continues to increase its holdings, exceeding your shareholding percentage, then..."

He didn't dare say the rest.

But everyone present understood that once Lu Chen became the largest shareholder, or even achieved a relative controlling stake, he would have the right to convene a shareholders' meeting, reorganize the board of directors, and oust Lei Juekun, the founder!

Losing Kowloon Motor Bus meant not only losing wealth for Mr. Lui, but also losing his social standing and the foundation of the Lui family business!

"We can't let him succeed! Absolutely not!"

Boss Lei paced back and forth in his office like a lion cornered in a corner.

"Counterattack! We must counterattack!"

"We'll buy too! He buys as much as he wants, we'll buy as much as he wants!" Boss Lei suddenly stopped, a glint of madness in his eyes. "As long as I hold more shares than him, he can't win!"

"But... Boss," the deputy general manager said with a troubled expression, "the stock price has already been inflated by 30%. To maintain control, we need a lot of cash. At least... at least two or three hundred million."

"The company doesn't have that much working capital on its books. We've invested all our money in Golden Princess Cinemas and Kowloon Development's new property development."

"If you don't have money, borrow it! Call HSBC! Call Standard Chartered! Mortgage my mansion in Repulse Bay! Mortgage the film library at Golden Princess!"

"No matter what, get me three hundred million!"

"I refuse to believe it! That kid Lu Chen just acquired Standard Chartered and got into the gaming console business. How much cash does he have?! Trying to outmaneuver me financially? I, Lei Juekun, have been in Hong Kong for decades. Do you think I'd lose to some greenhorn?!"

Boss Lei risked his life and fortune, believing it to be a contest of "who has more money".

But what he didn't know was that this was exactly the trap Lu Chen had set for him.

……

Central, the headquarters of the Golden Harvest Group.

Four o'clock in the afternoon.

The stock market closed.

Kowloon Motor Bus's share price settled at HK$4.4, a record high.

"Boss, Lei Juekun has made his move."

Cheng Yiyan grinned from ear to ear as he watched the frantic influx of buy orders in the last half hour. "He's buying back like crazy. Those big orders just now were clearly him propping up the price."

"He spent at least fifty million in just one afternoon."

Lu Chen sat on the sofa, listening to the pleasant battle report, and gently swirled his wine glass.

"Fifty million...that's nothing," Lu Chen sneered. "The Lei family has accumulated wealth over generations; their foundation is still very solid. How can I do justice to this grand show I've meticulously prepared if I don't squeeze him dry?"

"Old Cheng."

Lu Chen put down his wine glass, a hunter's gaze gleaming in his eyes as he looked at his prey.

"The price will continue to rise tomorrow."

"Pull the stock price up to 5 yuan, or even 6 yuan."

"I'm going to force Boss Lei to sell his blood, his buildings, and his cinema chains to take over my assets."

Lu Chen made a downward cutting motion with his palm.

"When that time comes, we'll dump all our chips on him."

By exploiting the other party's desire to retain control, they force them to buy back their shares at a high price.

If the boss follows suit, Lu Chen will make a huge profit from the price difference, not only earning hundreds of millions for free, but also draining Boss Lei's cash flow.

If Boss Lei doesn't agree...

"Hmph." Lu Chen's lips curled up slightly.

"If he chickens out, then I'll really swallow Kowloon Motor Bus whole."

"At that time, all the buses in Hong Kong will be owned by ATV and Golden Harvest."

This is a game we must win.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Mr. Lei was sweating profusely as he called the bank, begging and pleading, even preparing to mortgage the Golden Princess Cinema's box office revenue for the next quarter in advance.

Unbeknownst to him, he was walking step by step into the meat grinder that Lu Chen had tailored specifically for him.

Outside the window, the setting sun was like blood.

In this jungle of capitalism, the law of the jungle is more naked and cruel than the sword fights in the martial arts world.