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

1983 October.

Early summer in Hong Kong carries an indescribable restlessness and sweltering heat.

Just as Lu Chen, chairman of Golden Harvest International Group, sat firmly on the top floor of the Central Tower, focusing all his strategic attention on the comprehensive deployment of 2G communication base stations in the British Isles and Hong Kong, as well as the preparation for the epic sci-fi blockbuster "Back to the Future"...

The "nuclear bomb" he personally released through the media machine—the news of the kidnapping and extortion of a billion-dollar ransom for Li Zeju, the eldest son of Hong Kong's richest man—has already triggered an unstoppable and terrifying chain reaction in Hong Kong's dark underworld.

The kidnapper's arrogant act of storming into Deep Water Bay alone with explosives strapped to his body, along with the mountain of old-version thousand-dollar Hong Kong dollars totaling a billion dollars, was like a potent drug. It not only destroyed the sense of security of Hong Kong's wealthy but also deeply stimulated countless desperate criminals in the city who walked on the edge of the law and longed for overnight riches.

"Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?"

This ancient Chinese proverb was given a bloody and realistic new interpretation in the underground gangs of Hong Kong in 1983.

Although neither the Li family nor the police have answered questions about the details of the kidnapping, the well-connected underworld figures have already found out that the perpetrator is likely the wealthy tycoon Dai Fuqiang, who previously robbed an armored truck!

Since Dai Fuqiang, a kingpin who had just been released from prison, was able to extract 1 billion yuan from the powerful Li Chengjia without shedding a drop of blood, using only a few AKs and a few kilograms of explosives...

Then why can't others do it?

A "Great Awakening Era" belonging to ruthless bandits has quietly begun amidst this frenzied storm of money, drawing back a bloody curtain.

……

In Kowloon Walled City, there is a dilapidated tenement building that never sees sunlight.

In a dilapidated room without windows, illuminated only by a dim tungsten bulb.

The air was thick with the smell of cheap tobacco, sweat, and a very peculiar, adrenaline-pumping rusty gun oil smell.

Six shirtless young men, their bodies covered in rough tattoos and their muscles honed by years of hard labor, were like a pack of hungry wolves that had smelled blood, tightly surrounding a rickety, broken wooden table.

Under the dim light, everyone's eyes radiated an extremely fanatical and greedy green light.

"Wow--"

One of the underlings swallowed hard, his voice trembling with extreme excitement. He reached out his rough fingers to touch something on the table, but then pulled back as if he had been electrocuted.

"Boss...we've really struck it rich this time! You...where did you get all this high-end stuff from?!"

At this moment, the already rotten wooden table on the table seemed to be unable to bear the weight, and made a painful groan of "creaking".

The items on the table were no longer the watermelon knives and iron pipes that gangsters usually used to fight for territory, nor were they the homemade guns that were bought from the black market in Southeast Asia and would jam at any time.

Those were all military killing weapons, exuding a cold, metallic luster!

Two Soviet-made AK-47 assault rifles, some showing signs of wear but in excellent condition; four Black Star pistols with magazines fully loaded; six heavy pineapple bullets; and next to them, four ammunition boxes filled with 7.62mm brass bullets, totaling more than two hundred rounds, were neatly stacked!

"Gulp." Another henchman wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes fixed on the AK. "How the hell is this worth?! Just this one original AK alone has been sold for over HK$60,000 on the black market in Mong Kok by those arms dealers! A pistol would cost at least HK$20,000 or HK$30,000, not to mention all these pineapple bullets and all this ammunition..."

"All this equipment together must cost at least HK$300,000!"

At the very top of the table.

Standing there was a young man with a buzz cut, eyes as cold and sharp as a lone wolf in the wilderness, and high cheekbones.

His name is Ye Guohuan.

Ye Guohuan ignored his underlings' exclamations. He stretched out his calloused hands and gently, with obvious affection, grasped the barrel of one of the AK-47s.

His movements and gaze were like those of a young boy experiencing his first love, caressing the smooth, delicate thighs of his dream girl, filled with infatuation and fervor.

"Click!"

Ye Guohuan skillfully pulled back the bolt, the crisp metallic clang echoing in the small room, like death plucking the strings of a harp. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath of the air emanating from the barrel, a mixture of gunpowder and gunpowder, and a look of almost morbid enjoyment appeared on his face.

The other henchmen couldn't resist any longer. They stepped forward, each grabbing a Black Star pistol and excitedly brandishing it in their hands, making childish "rat-a-tat-tat" and "bang-bang-bang" sounds. Their faces were filled with excitement at the prospect of soon holding the power of life and death.

These things can no longer be simply described as weapons used in gang fights.

This is called weaponry! It's enough force to wage an armed conflict on the streets of Hong Kong!

"Brother Huan, where did you get so much money to buy these things?" asked Ah Jin, the henchman in charge of driving.

Upon hearing this question, Ye Guohuan's usually cold and hard face twitched slightly, and a hint of extreme madness and determination flashed deep in his eyes.

"I sold my family's ancestral home and spent all the savings I had accumulated from working away from home over the years."

Ye Guohuan put down his AK, took out a cheap cigarette, lit it, took a deep drag, and exhaled thick smoke. "That's not enough. I also went to a loan shark and borrowed a full 100,000 yuan from a loan shark."

Upon hearing this, Ah Zhong, the younger brother, shrank back: "Brother Huan, if you can't pay back the loan sharks, people will die!"

Ye Guohuan gave him a flick on the forehead, speechless: "Are you stupid? We have guns now, what are we afraid of loan sharks for!"

Ye Guohuan had no intention of repaying the high-interest loans he had taken out.

"Yeah!" Ah Zhong scratched his head, belatedly realizing.

Paying back debts is a truth, but now the truth is in their hands.

However, even without repaying the high-interest loans, Ye Guohuan was completely broke. Therefore, he was desperately short of money—extremely, extremely short of money! If he couldn't use these weapons to rob a fortune in Hong Kong, a city overflowing with gold, a fortune that could change his destiny, Ye Guohuan would die with regrets!

Ye Guohuan sneered, his sharp gaze sweeping over the group of poor brothers who had followed him from his hometown to smuggle themselves over.

He walked up to the wall covered with newspapers.

In the very center of the wall, a huge front-page headline cut from the Asia Daily was prominently displayed—"One Billion Hong Kong Dollars Ransom! Century's King of Thieves Straps Himself with Bomb to Extort Li Chengjia!" The four large characters "One Billion Hong Kong Dollars" were heavily circled by Ye Guohuan in red marker.

"If that tycoon can do it, why can't we?" Ye Guohuan pointed at the newspaper, his voice hoarse with suppressed excitement and ambition. "In terms of skill, I, Ye Guohuan, served in the army in the south, went to the battlefield, and crawled out of piles of corpses! In terms of ruthlessness, in what way are we inferior to him?!"

In Ye Guohuan's eyes burned a fire of hatred born from class stratification and cruel reality.

He smuggled himself into Hong Kong, originally hoping to get rich through hard work. He worked in a dark and dreary plastic factory, working fifteen hours a day, and was verbally abused and had his wages deducted by the local foremen. Later, unwilling to endure the humiliation, he joined the Hung Hing triad as a gangster, fighting for territory, killing people, and taking the blame for those big shots.

But what will happen in the end?

Those big shots sitting in air-conditioned rooms drive Mercedes-Benzes and are with female celebrities. Meanwhile, Ye Guohuan, aside from having over a dozen knife scars on his body, is still a penniless wretch who can't even afford the rent in Kowloon Walled City! A complete failure!

until.

In that crazy March, he saw on television and in the newspapers the shocking case committed by Dai Fuqiang.

One billion Hong Kong dollars! That long string of zeros was like several heavy hammers, completely shattering the last shred of conscience and reverence for the rules of this society in Ye Guohuan's heart.

He suddenly realized something.

He finally understood that in this world where capitalism devours people, hard work simply cannot lead to wealth! Becoming a henchman for the underworld is just cannon fodder!

To rise above others and transcend social classes, one must pick up a gun, use the most extreme violence to tear apart the defenses of the rich, and rob! Seize!

So he resolutely left the gang, returned to his hometown, and called back his brothers who had grown up together, practically naked, and were so poor they couldn't even afford food. Then, they sold everything they owned, borrowed money at exorbitant interest rates, and bought this batch of weapons that would shock the police force.

"Brothers."

Ye Guohuan turned around and slapped the two AK-47s hard, his eyes fierce like a tiger about to pounce on its prey.

"We've been poor for half our lives, and trampled on for the other half! Today, we'll risk our lives for a big win!"

"Let's take a gamble, and our bicycle might turn into a motorcycle! If we win, we'll eat abalone at the Peninsula Hotel every day and pick up the prettiest girls on Portland Street!"

Hearing Ye Guohuan's highly inflammatory words, the fear in the eyes of this group of already desperate young people was completely replaced by a frenzy for money.

"Let's do it! Brother Huan! We'll all listen to you! Even if we die, it's better than starving to death in this mud pit!" The henchmen raised their guns and roared in low voices.

"good!"

Ye Guohuan nodded in satisfaction and began to systematically assign combat tasks to the "AK Bandit Squad".

"Ah Jin, you're the best driver. Tomorrow you'll be in charge of vandalizing the car. I've already prepared the vehicle—a stolen van with fake license plates—parked in the back alley of the walled city."

"Ah Gui!" Ye Guohuan looked at the most burly of his henchmen. "You and I, each with an AK and two pineapple rounds! We'll provide fire support and suppression! If any cops dare to show their faces, broom them dry! Don't let them get close!"

"The remaining three of you, take the Black Star pistols and sacks. Your job is to go into the store and rob it. Remember, no lingering. No matter how much you can take, once I yell 'retreat,' you all must be in the car within one minute! Be quick and ruthless!"

The henchmen gripped their guns tightly, their faces twitching slightly with tension, but more so with greed and excitement at the immense wealth that was about to be theirs.

Ah Zhong, who was in charge of leading the looting, swallowed hard and asked with a mix of nervousness and anticipation, "Which shopping street are we targeting tomorrow?"

"Kwun Tong, Wu Hua Street," Yip Kwok-fai uttered coldly. That place is Hong Kong's famous street lined with jewelry and gold shops.

"So...which gold shop should we rob? Chow Sang Sang or Chow Sang Fook?" Ah Chung continued to press.

Upon hearing this question, Ye Guohuan slowly picked up the AK-47 and skillfully slammed a fully loaded, thirty-round curved magazine into the feed port with a "click".

He raised his head, and a terrifying smile suddenly bloomed on his cold and stern face—a smile so arrogant and bloodthirsty that it would give the entire Commissioner of Police of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force nightmares.

"all!!!"