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

In early June 1983, two full weeks had passed since Ip Kwok-foon's escalated jewelry store robbery in Sham Shui Po. Police throughout Hong Kong were searching like mad dogs, but they couldn't even catch a glimpse of Ip Kwok-foon.

Just as Police Commissioner John H. was driven to the brink of suicide by the Governor’s fifteen-day death order, misfortune struck again. In the dark underworld of Hong Kong, another old wolf, poised to pounce, finally revealed its extremely sharp fangs.

Kowloon Tong, underground parking lot of a high-end, secluded apartment building, 1 a.m.

The underground parking lot was dimly lit, and the air was filled with car exhaust fumes and the damp, musty smell typical of the South.

"bite--"

The elevator doors opened.

Huo Zhaotang, chairman of Huo's Bank and a billionaire worth over a billion, was yawning as he buttoned his suit jacket as he stepped out of the elevator.

He had just spent the night on the top floor of this apartment building having an "in-depth conversation" with his third young and beautiful college student mistress. Now, he was unsteady on his feet, his eyes were dark-rimmed, and the weariness behind his glasses betrayed a deep exhaustion from excessive indulgence.

Two steps behind him, two bodyguards in cheap black suits with extremely blank expressions followed at a leisurely pace.

These two bodyguards are named A-Qiang and A-Ming.

At this moment, Ah Qiang and Ah Ming had already cursed Huo Zhaotang's ancestors for eighteen generations in their hearts.

"You damn lecherous old man, he's having fun until midnight while his brothers are downstairs starving in the cold wind! He won't even reimburse us for a midnight snack!" Ah Qiang cursed inwardly, feeling extremely aggrieved.

As bodyguards for a billionaire worth billions, their monthly salary is a paltry three thousand Hong Kong dollars! Not only do they not receive overtime pay, but they also have to work part-time as drivers and movers for Fok Siu-tong's several concubines. Even the money for a pack of cigarettes is deducted from their wages by this stingy boss!

If it weren't for the need to make a living, they would have quit long ago.

"Mr. Huo, the car is over there." Amin stepped forward expressionlessly, preparing to open the rear door of the Mercedes-Benz W126 for Huo Zhaotang.

Just then.

"squeak--!!!"

Accompanied by an extremely ear-piercing screeching sound of tires rubbing against the ground, a dilapidated Toyota van with no license plates and windows taped shut with black tape suddenly burst out from the dark corner of the parking lot like a mad boar!

The van executed an extremely wild drift, and with a loud bang, it blocked Huo Zhaotang's Mercedes-Benz, completely cutting off its escape route!

"Who goes there?! How can you drive like that?!" Huo Zhaotang was startled and shouted arrogantly, "A-Qiang! Go over there and slap them twice!"

However, before Ah Qiang could even draw the pistol he usually used to scare people from his waist...

"Splash!"

The bread cart's sliding door was pulled open with extreme force.

Four burly men wearing black hoods and exuding a strong murderous aura jumped down as if they were divine soldiers descending from the sky.

The target practicer at the front didn't even glance at the two bodyguards, and pulled out a sawed-off shotgun from under his trench coat!

"Bang bang bang!"

The dull thud of shotgun fire echoed through the empty underground parking lot, like a death knell!

The other three ruthless bandits each held a fully loaded Black Star large-caliber pistol, the dark muzzle of which was precisely locked onto Huo Zhaotang and his two bodyguards between the eyebrows.

"Don't move! Big Circle Gang is doing their job! If you want to die, squat down!" the target shooter roared hoarsely.

Seeing this uniform military firepower, and then looking at the cold-blooded murderous aura emanating from these ruthless bandits—an aura that could only be acquired by someone who has rolled through piles of corpses—it was quite striking.

Ah Qiang and Ah Ming, two cheap bodyguards earning a fixed salary of three thousand yuan, had almost no hesitation or internal struggle.

They didn't even bother to draw their guns, exchanging a perfectly synchronized glance.

Then, with a "thump".

The two bodyguards threw away their flashlights and pistols with remarkable efficiency, put their hands behind their heads, and squatted down on the ground with perfect form and skill, even burying their heads in their crotches.

"Gentlemen!" Ah Qiang shouted, his hands covering his head, in an extremely humble tone, "We're just employees! Please leave! We didn't see anything!"

What kind of international joke is this?!

Last month, even a wealthy family like Li Chengjia, with a top-tier security team earning millions annually, had to meekly submit to Dai Fuqiang. A few days ago, the entire Hong Kong Royal Police Force was so terrified of the gang of AK-armed gangsters that they knelt down and surrendered.

These two poor working-class people, earning only three thousand yuan a month, would risk their lives against these Hong Kong and Guangdong gangsters wielding AKs for a stingy boss who treats them like dogs every day?!

That's something only an idiot would do!

"You...you two traitorous good-for-nothings!! Get up and fight the robbers!"

Huo Zhaotang was so angry that he trembled and almost spat out a mouthful of blood when he saw the bodyguard who had turned against him in an instant.

But before he could finish cursing, the raw chicken and the fat girl pounced on him like wolves.

"Stop talking nonsense! Let's go!"

The raw chicken grabbed Huo Zhaotang by the collar with extreme brutality and delivered a vicious knee strike to Huo Zhaotang's obese belly.

"Ugh—!"

Huo Zhaotang was in so much pain that his eyes almost bulged out. He couldn't even scream. Like a dead pig, he was dragged and thrown into the back of the van by the two thugs.

"Bang!"

The car door closed.

The bread truck let out a beast-like roar, its tires screeching through the ground, puffing out thick white smoke, before speeding away and disappearing into the vast night.

Only when the van's taillights were completely out of sight did Ah-Qiang and Ah-Ming, who were squatting on the ground, finally breathe a long sigh of relief, wipe the cold sweat from their foreheads, and slowly stand up.

"Brother Qiang, the boss has been kidnapped. What do we do now?" Ah Ming patted the dust off his trousers, his tone even carrying a hint of schadenfreude.

"What else can we do? Call the police." Ah-Qiang curled his lip. "But before calling the police, let's go to the villa in Repulse Bay and notify that equally stingy landlady. Damn it, hopefully this time the landlady will be generous and at least reimburse us for the taxi fare."

Expecting them to track down the kidnappers? Please, they only make a few thousand dollars a month, why risk their lives?

……

At seven o'clock in the morning, inside the Huo family's luxurious villa in Repulse Bay.

Wearing an extremely expensive silk nightgown and an imperial green jade necklace, Madam Huo sat on the leather sofa in the living room, her face ashen as she watched the footage playing on the Sony VCR in front of her. Beside her were her bodyguards, Qiang and Ming, who looked "guilty."

Half an hour earlier, shortly after Amin and the others returned, a hired newspaper deliveryman delivered a package the size of a book to the gate of the Huo family villa.

When the bodyguard brought in the package and opened it, he found only two things inside: a videotape and an extremely bulky Motorola "Big Brother" mobile phone, which was quite expensive for that era.

At that moment, the videotape was playing on the television screen.

In a rusty, extremely dilapidated abandoned factory room.

Huo Zhaotang, the usually aloof and impeccably dressed chairman of Huo's Bank, was now stripped down to only his white underwear in utter humiliation, tightly bound to an iron chair with heavy chains. The early summer night was still chilly, and coupled with extreme fear, this once arrogant tycoon shivered uncontrollably in front of the camera, his flabby body trembling.

"Wife...help...wife..." Huo Zhaotang's extremely pitiful, tearful wails came from the videotape, "These people are crazy! They really will kill! Hurry up and bring money to ransom me!"

In the video, a man wearing a black hood, with only his fierce eyes visible, walks into the frame.

The kidnapper (Da Dong) toyed with a sharp military dagger in his hand, casually patting Huo Zhaotang's fat cheek with the back of the blade, then turned his head and stared intently at the camera, his voice hoarse and cold: "Mrs. Huo, you must have already recognized your husband. This is just a live interview."

"Don't worry, we in the Big Circle Gang only care about money, not lives. Prepare 600 million old-version Hong Kong dollars in cash! Remember, they have to be non-consecutive serial numbers! I guarantee your husband will go back safe and sound and continue being a tycoon."

"Remember, it's six hundred million! If it's even a penny short, I'll cut your husband into six hundred pieces and send them back to you in batches!"

"Don't call the police! Fully charge the phone I gave you, and remember to wait for my message!"

"Sizzle—" The screen turned into a speck of snow.

After watching the videotape, the living room fell into a deathly silence. Ah Qiang and Ah Ming stood to the side with their heads down, pretending to be dead, not daring to even breathe.

"Six hundred million?! Why doesn't he just rob HSBC?!"

After a brief silence, Mrs. Huo sprang up from the sofa like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, letting out an extremely piercing, high-pitched scream, comparable to a soprano.

It's safe to say that this couple is truly a case of birds of a feather flocking together. Huo Zhaotang is a notorious miser in Hong Kong, and his wife is even more of a "perfect miser" than he is!

In her eyes, money is her life! Let alone 600 million, even asking her to take out 6 million would feel like cutting off a piece of her flesh!

"Ring ring—!"

Just then, the Motorola "big brother" on the coffee table suddenly rang.

Mrs. Huo took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the heartache in her heart, and picked up the phone.

"Hello, Mrs. Huo, I presume you've finished watching the videotape?" Da Dong's extremely cold voice came from the other end of the phone. "I need you to prepare 600 million within three days. I'll let you know then."

As Da Dong anticipated, since the other party was a relative of a bank owner, they must have a considerable amount of liquid funds. Even if they might try to bargain a little after hearing the figure, they would ultimately compromise to save her husband's life.

But he never expected that he would encounter the most bizarre and extreme person in Hong Kong's business world.

"Six hundred million?! Are you out of your mind?!"