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

March 21, 1983, the Spring Equinox.

Day and night are of equal length, and the seasons change. From dusk onwards, thick, low-hanging rain clouds swirl over Hong Kong, and a long spring rain shrouds the entire city in a hazy, somber atmosphere.

Abandoned car repair shop in Yuen Long, New Territories.

The place was remote, surrounded by abandoned farmland and deserted wilderness for several kilometers. Only a dim incandescent light shone from inside the repair shop. The rusty tin roof rattled as the rain pelted down, effectively masking the sounds inside.

"Creak—"

A gray van, with no paint and its license plate covered in mud, slowly drove into the repair shop.

Dai Fuqiang was wearing a black turtleneck sweater under a leather jacket, with an unlit cigar between his teeth. He stood in the shadows, gesturing with his chin towards the young man driving the car.

"Fox, go and inspect the goods."

"Okay, Brother Qiang."

The young man, nicknamed "Fox," jumped out of the driver's seat.

Fox was Dai Fuqiang's trusted confidant and childhood friend. They had robbed taxi drivers together in Temple Street and later robbed an armored vehicle at Kai Tak Airport. Fox wasn't particularly intelligent, but he was an excellent driver and absolutely loyal to Dai Fuqiang.

The fox walked to the back of the truck and pulled open the roll-up door of the cargo compartment.

"hiss--"

When the fox saw what was inside the cargo compartment, it couldn't help but gasp, its eyes widening instantly.

"Brother Qiang...come quick and take a look! This...is this some kind of armory that's been moved here?!"

Dai Fuqiang raised an eyebrow and stepped forward. Even Hong Jipeng, who had been squatting in the corner eating instant noodles, curiously pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and came over with his younger brother Hong Jibiao.

Inside the cargo compartment, four dark green military-grade moisture-proof wooden crates were neatly stacked.

Dai Fuqiang stepped forward and used a crowbar to pry open the first wooden crate.

Inside lay four brand-new AK-47 assault rifles, still exuding the fresh scent of gun oil. In the recess beside them, a dozen or so magazines, fully loaded with bullets, were neatly arranged.

Pry open the second box. Inside are four American-made Colt M1911 pistols with silencers, plus two Remington M870 pump-action shotguns for close-quarters window breaking.

The third box contained military-grade body armor, tactical hoods, communication headsets, and even a few flashbang grenades.

"They were all top-of-the-line Soviet and American-made guns, and even the serial numbers had been erased with strong acid beforehand, leaving them completely clean and with no traceable origin."

Dai Fuqiang picked up an AK-47, skillfully pulled the bolt, and with a "click," the crisp metallic clang echoed in the empty repair shop, making everyone's blood boil.

He looked at the truckload of top-of-the-line equipment, a deep sense of apprehension flashing in his eyes.

"Just who is this 'director'?"

Dai Fuqiang muttered to himself.

From the moment the small truck silently stopped outside the designated safe house, to the arrival of this batch of valuable military equipment that couldn't be bought even on the Hong Kong black market, the "director" hidden behind the phone never showed his face once.

However, the financial resources, channels, and intelligence network that the other party displayed made even the usually arrogant Dai Fuqiang feel a chill.

"Who cares who he is? As long as he can make us rich, he's the Jade Emperor!" The fox excitedly picked up an M1911, weighed it in his hand, and said, "Brother Qiang, with these guns in hand, we can kidnap a rich kid, or even rob a bank vault! But..."

The fox looked back at the empty repair shop: "Just the four of us? Isn't that a bit too few? Should I go to Yau Ma Tei and call over a dozen more brave and daring brothers? More hands make light work!"

"fart!"

Dai Fuqiang slapped Fox on the back of the head and coldly cursed, "Do you think this is some gangster going to Causeway Bay to seize territory? Calling a dozen or so brothers?"

"Use your pig brain! If the plan goes smoothly, we can pin Li Zeju down in the car in just a few seconds. We won't even need to fire a shot. Four men are more than enough."

"If the plan doesn't go smoothly..." Dai Fuqiang sneered, pointing to the night sky outside, "The bodyguards the Li family employs are all retired Gurkha mercenaries, and there are over 30,000 police officers and Flying Tigers from all over Hong Kong ready to provide support at any time. Even if you send a hundred thugs with machetes, they'll just be easy prey!"

Hong Jipeng, who was standing to the side, swallowed the instant noodles in his mouth and chimed in with a smile, "Brother Qiang is right. The more people there are at these high-level gatherings, the easier it is for things to go wrong. It's also easier for someone to leak information or for people to get jealous and fight amongst themselves when it comes to dividing the money."

"Most importantly..." Hung Kai-pang pushed up his glasses, his honest face disappearing, revealing a calculating shrewdness, "At least one billion Hong Kong dollars. After deducting the director's share, if it's divided among four people, each person will get 150 million. But if it's divided among ten people, each person will only get 60 million. I'm not good at math, but I know that 150 million is more than 60 million."

Upon hearing the figure of "150 million," the fox's eyes instantly turned green, and he nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes! Fiery Bro is right! Four people are enough! We can't let others share our money!"

Standing behind Hong Jipeng was Hong Jibiao, a seemingly shrewd young man. He didn't seem particularly obsessed with money; instead, he looked at his older brother with adoration, licking his lips and saying, "Brother, I'll do whatever you tell me to do!"

"Good brother." Hong Jipeng patted his younger brother on the shoulder.

"Now that everyone's here and the equipment's arrived," Dai Fuqiang put down his AK-47, walked to a broken wooden table in the center of the repair shop, and spread out a hand-drawn map.

"The show will begin tomorrow morning."

Dai Fuqiang pointed to a location highlighted in red on the map.

"After several days of reconnaissance, the information provided by the 'director' is very accurate. To maintain his low profile, Li Zeju would take that Nissan Presidential Sedan, which has no bulletproof features, from his mansion at No. 79 Deep Water Bay to the Cheung Kong Group headquarters in Central every morning around 8:20."

"Aside from the driver in the driver's seat, there was only one bodyguard in the passenger seat. Li Zeju himself was sitting in the back right seat."

Dai Fuqiang's finger moved along the route and finally stopped at a bend.

"Here, a sharp bend in Deep Water Bay Road."

"There are towering retaining walls on both sides, the road is narrow with only one lane in each direction. Moreover, this is a blind spot for surveillance cameras. Even during the morning rush hour, there is very little traffic here."

Dai Fuqiang raised his head, his eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty light.

"Fox, tomorrow you drive this pickup truck and stop before this bend, pretending to break down or unload cargo. Once Li Zeju's Nissan sedan turns the corner, you completely block the road!"

"Understood! Brother Qiang!" The fox was eager to try.

"As soon as the car stopped, me, Huobao, and Abiao, the three of us, grabbed our AKs and charged straight at it. No talk, no warnings, we smashed the windshield with our guns!"

"First second, take control of the driver's hands; second second, disarm the bodyguard; third second, drag Li Zeju from the back seat into our car!"

Dai Fuqiang clenched his fist and slammed it heavily on the table.

"The whole process must be completed within thirty seconds! We absolutely cannot give them a chance to activate the car alarm or call for help with their mobile phones! After thirty seconds, Fox will drive off, and we will immediately leave the scene, taking the Huangzhu Tunnel to the abandoned tunnel to change vehicles!"

"As long as Li Zeju is in our hands, even if the police find us and catch up, they won't dare to fire!"

Hearing this extremely crazy yet meticulously planned scheme, the breathing of the group became heavy.

"Since kidnapping is no problem," Hong Jipeng wiped his hands and looked at Dai Fuqiang with a smile, "Brother Qiang, after you kidnap him, I've also prepared the 'battle robe' for you to use to demand money from the Li family."

As he spoke, Hong Jipeng walked to a black canvas bag in the corner, unzipped it, and carefully took out something.

When the object was exposed to the light, even Dai Fuqiang, a ruthless bandit who kills without blinking an eye, couldn't help but twitch his eye.

It was a gray canvas tactical vest.

However, instead of magazines, each pocket of the tactical vest was stuffed with military C4 plastic explosives tightly wrapped with yellow tape.

A dense network of red and blue wires, like human blood vessels, weaves through the explosive blocks, eventually converging on an extremely complex electronic countdown timer on the chest.

"A work of art, this is an absolute work of art!"

Hong Jipeng looked at his masterpiece with adoration in his eyes, as if he were looking at his lover.

"A total yield of five kilograms of C4, if it were to explode in a confined space—such as the living room of the Li family villa—its power would not only tear everyone in the living room to pieces, but also level the three-story villa to the ground."

He then picked up a strap with sensors attached to the inside of his vest.

"Heart rate monitoring detonator. This strap, fasten it close to your left chest. It will monitor your heart rate in real time. If Li Chengjia is unethical and lets his bodyguard shoot you in the head, the bomb will detonate three seconds after your heart stops."

"Finally, there's this 'dead hand switch'."

Hong Jipeng handed Dai Fuqiang something that looked like a detonator.

"Hold it tight. If you press the switch, the bomb will be in safety mode. Once you let go... Boom!"

Hong Jipeng grinned at Dai Fuqiang, whose forehead was slightly sweaty. "Brother Qiang, with this gear on, you're no longer a robber. You're a walking miniature nuclear bomb. As long as you stand in front of Li Chengjia, even if he has a hundred bodyguards with submachine guns around him, they'll all have to kneel down and call you grandpa."

Dai Fuqiang stared at the bomb vest that was powerful enough to send him and his entire richest family to their doom, and swallowed hard.

Are you scared? Of course I am.

But the extreme of fear is a kind of almost pathological excitement.

"good!"

Dai Fuqiang grabbed the bomb vest, his eyes burning with a crazed rage. "Tomorrow, I'll wear this battle suit to have a proper talk with the richest man in China about this billion-dollar deal!"

"Ring ring—ring ring—"

Just then, in the corner of the repair shop, the black encrypted mobile phone placed on a metal drum suddenly rang urgently.

The urgent ringing of the phone sounded particularly jarring amidst the sound of rain in the dead of night.

The four men fell silent instantly. Fox and Hong Jibiao instinctively gripped their guns tighter.

Dai Fuqiang took a deep breath, walked over, and answered the phone.

"Feed".

On the other end of the phone, it was still that cold, hoarse, and emotionless mechanical voice.

"Did you receive the props, tycoon?"

"Received, Director," Dai Fuqiang's tone unconsciously carried a hint of awe. "Top-of-the-line stuff! The explosives are ready too. We'll make our move tomorrow morning."

"very good."

The mechanical sound echoed through the radio waves, like a whisper from hell.

Listen, everyone.

"Maybe you've attacked people in Temple Street before, maybe you've robbed millions of dollars from jewelry stores. In the eyes of the police, you are ruthless criminals, scum."

"But those are just petty thuggish tricks!" The "director's" voice suddenly rose an octave, carrying a highly inflammatory magic that struck at the deepest, most greedy weakness in the souls of these desperate criminals.

"Tomorrow, when the sun rises, you will no longer be robbers. You will be the protagonists of the greatest drama in Hong Kong's history!"

"You're not trying to kidnap one person. You're trying to kidnap the entire heir to Hong Kong's financial world!"

"What you're trying to extort isn't money. It's the fear of violence in those high-and-mighty tycoons, those wealthy people who think they control the world's rules!"

"After tomorrow, your names will keep all the wealthy awake at night; your names will become legends in both the underworld and legitimate society of Hong Kong!"

"Think about that billion in cash."

"It can allow you to buy half of Tsim Sha Tsui, to sleep on the world's most expensive yacht every night, and to make those powerful and wealthy people who once looked down on you wag their tails like dogs in front of your wealth!"

"All of this will happen tomorrow."

"As long as you're ruthless, accurate, and fast enough!"

These words were like the most potent aphrodisiac, instantly igniting the blood of the four desperate men in the auto repair shop.

Dai Fuqiang gripped the mobile phone tightly, veins bulging on the back of his hand, his eyes bloodshot, like a hungry wolf that had smelled blood.

"Director, don't worry."

Dai Fuqiang shouted through gritted teeth into the phone, his voice filled with a desperate resolve.

"Tomorrow, Li Zeju will definitely not be able to escape!"

"I'm taking this billion! Even Jesus couldn't stop him, I'm telling you!"

"Then I look forward to your performance, and best of luck."

Click.

The call ended, and a dial tone came through.

Dai Fuqiang put down his mobile phone, turned around, and looked at Hong Jipeng, Hong Jibiao, and Fox, whose eyes were also shining.

The rain outside was pouring down harder, and the wind whipped the rainwater against the tin roof, as if playing a prelude to the impending bloodshed.

Dai Fuqiang raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and slammed it hard into his chest.

"Guys! Get a good night's sleep tonight!"

"Tomorrow, let's go pick the most expensive peach in Hong Kong!"