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

November 21, 1983.

East longitude Narita Airport.

In the private parking area of ​​the runway, several Toyota Century cars, all painted black and with extremely high bulletproof ratings, were silently lined up in a semi-circle.

Lu Chen stood with his hands behind his back beside the car, the collar of his dark brown cashmere coat slightly turned up. Tian Yangsheng and Ishii Yulian stood behind him, while dozens of black-clad guards with grim expressions surrounded the area like an iron barrel.

As the helmsman of Jiahe International and now the most ruthless harvester behind the Japanese stock market, Lu Chen is extremely busy and doesn't need to personally pick him up at the airport, but he still came.

Because the person who stepped off the plane was not only the "God of Gamblers" who could help Takamagahara maintain order in the underground world, but also one of the few people he could call a "friend" in this treacherous world.

The cabin door opened, and Gao Jin was still wearing a sharp black overcoat, his slicked-back hair neatly combed. Even after the long flight, his eyes remained bright as stars. Beside him were the gentle and charming Amin, and Gao Yi, whose expression was slightly gloomy and who was carrying a briefcase.

"Brother Gao, you must be tired from your journey." Lu Chen stepped forward, his smile revealing sincerity.

Gao Jin strode down the gangway and shook hands firmly with Lu Chen. Their hands met in the cold wind, and a tacit understanding unique to strong individuals spread silently between them.

"I am flattered that Mr. Lu personally picked me up at the airport." Gao Jin laughed heartily, then glanced at the overcast eastern sky and said in a deep tone, "The air here seems much heavier than in the Mediterranean."

"Because someone here wants to cause trouble in my hunting grounds." Lu Chen gestured for him to enter, his tone calm yet laced with a murderous aura.

"That old fox Chen Jincheng really should learn his lesson."

Everyone got into the cars, and the convoy, like a long black dragon, quickly disappeared on the highway leading to Shibuya.

Inside the car, Lu Chen and Gao Jin sat side by side.

"Although Chen Jincheng's cheating techniques are insidious, his most powerful skill is actually psychological reading." Gao Jin took out a piece of chocolate from his pocket, gently unwrapped it, pinched off a corner and put it in his mouth. The bitter taste exploded on his taste buds, instantly putting him into working mode. "It's not surprising that Nishiwaki Michiko lost. That old man is best at slowly and methodically peeling away a person's psychological defenses when they are most confident."

"He's not just here to win money; he wants to slow down Takamagahara's expansion in the underworld by constantly eroding its cash flow." Lu Chen looked at the rapidly receding East East Street scene outside the window, his eyes deep and unfathomable. "Those Sumiyoshi-kai people saw that my legitimate business was at a critical juncture and they didn't want to use force to create chaos, so they asked Chen Jincheng to be the most disgusting thorn in their side."

"So, Mr. Lu intends to remove this thorn in the side completely in a gambling game?" Gao Jin asked.

"It's not just about pulling them out; I want them to spit out everything they've taken in, with interest."

……

The convoy arrived at Shibuya Takamagahara.

Nguyen Van and Michiko Nishikyo were already waiting in the lobby. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the group moved to the private meeting room on the top floor.

Nguyen Van dismissed all the waiters and personally laid out a newly drafted betting agreement on the table.

"Mr. Gao, here's the situation," Ruan Wen explained to Gao Jin, pointing to the betting agreement. "Due to Chen Jincheng's continuous 'sweeping' in Takamagahara, we have blacklisted him and are no longer allowed to enter Takamagahara in a private capacity. Of course, they are unwilling, and we are also unwilling to swallow this insult. So, as a condition, Sumiyoshi-kai Chairman Minegishi Shigeru, through an intermediary, proposed to hold an underground gambling game in a week."

"What's the stake?" Gao Yi couldn't help but interject, his eyes gleaming with greed.

Ruan Wen glanced at him and said coldly, "Each side is contributing three hundred million US dollars... Takamagahara is currently at a critical stage of the financial war. Three hundred million US dollars in cash is enough to cause cracks in our financial leverage. They want to use this major defeat to drain our cash flow, thus making us unable to attend to one thing at a time and giving the Sumiyoshi-kai some breathing room."

After listening, Gao Jin casually straightened his tie.

"Chen Jincheng may be the gambling king in Singapore, but in my eyes, Gao Jin, he's nothing more than a little fox who only knows how to manipulate people's hearts. Whether it's three hundred million US dollars or one billion US dollars, at the gambling table, only the cards can speak."

Gao Jin's arrogant yet self-assured confidence shocked Michiko and the other casino managers present.

This is the God of Gamblers, without any prefix.

Seeing this, Lu Chen revealed a deep smile: "With your words, I'm relieved. Awen, take Brother Gao and the others to rest. They just came from the Mediterranean and need to adjust to the time difference."

Ruan Wen took out three specially made VIP room cards, made of pure gold and inlaid with small diamonds.

"Mr. Gao, Ms. Amin, Mr. Gao Yi, this is the presidential suite on the top floor of Takamagahara, boasting the best view and security in all of eastern longitude. Please enjoy everything Takamagahara has to offer this week; all expenses will be on Jiahe's tab. Mr. Gao Yi, your room is right next to Mr. Gao's."

After thanking them, the three returned to their rooms to rest, guided by the security personnel at Takamagahara.

……

Half an hour later, in the presidential suite area.

Due to jet lag, Gao Jin had already fallen into a deep sleep, holding Amin in his arms on the large silk bed.

In the next room, Gao Yi was wide awake. He sat on the leather sofa, staring intently at the mobile phone he had brought from Hong Kong. His breathing was unusually heavy due to extreme tension.

He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was 10:15 p.m.

Gao Yi got up, straightened his slightly wrinkled suit, and after making sure Gao Jin's door was closed, he tiptoed out of the room.

From the shadows of the hall, a guard from Takamagahara dutifully approached, bowing slightly as he inquired, "Mr. Takamagahara, is there anything you need? I will do my best to accommodate you."

Gao Yi forced an awkward smile and waved his hand, "It's nothing, I'm just jet-lagged. I wanted to go for a walk in Shibuya and buy a pack of cigarettes. The air in Takamagahara is so fresh, I'm actually not used to it."

The guard politely replied, "Do you need us to arrange a car? Shibuya at night isn't exactly safe."

"No need, I'll just wander around by myself. I don't want to bother my brother." Gao Yi declined the suggestion and hurriedly walked out of the elevator.

After leaving Takamagahara, Gao Yi acted like a sneaky rat, first taking a taxi and circling the bustling streets of Shibuya three times, even changing trains once along the way. Only after confirming that Takamagahara was no longer following him did he stop at the entrance of a dimly lit alleyway with a "izakaya" lantern hanging in the street.

Gao Yi turned up the collar of his trench coat, put on a pair of sunglasses that covered most of his face, and strode into the izakaya.

Pushing open the wooden door, the room was filled with the cheap smell of cooking oil and a strong odor of alcohol. In a tatami room at the far end, two figures sat in the shadows.

Chen Jincheng continued to toy with the white jade cicada, while sitting beside him was none other than Minegishi Shigeru, the chairman of the Sumiyoshi-kai. This ruthless figure who controlled a long-established yakuza organization in Japan was now coldly scrutinizing Gao Yi as he entered through the door.

"Mr. Gao, your caution has made us wait quite a while," Chen Jincheng said slowly, his tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.

Gao Yi took off his coat, sat down cross-legged, and his eyes revealed a light that Chen Jincheng was very familiar with—the madness of a gambler who was going all in.

"Enough with the nonsense. I can help you beat Gao Jin in the bet a week from now." Gao Yi stared intently at Chen Jincheng. "As a condition, the six million in high-interest loans I owe Anan must be written off. In addition, I want six million US dollars in cash as a reward, which I want to deposit into a bank account at Canada University."

Minegishi Shigeru sneered and said in broken English, "Money is no problem. Compared to the three hundred million dollars in Takamagahara, six million is just a few scraps of bone. But how can I believe that you, as our younger brother, can help us defeat that 'god'?"

Gao Yi took a wooden glasses case out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

"Gao Jin's gambling skills are impressive, but he has a fatal weakness—he trusts me too much." Gao Yi's voice was sharp due to suppressed emotion. "These are polarized glasses that I acquired at great expense. You can apply a photosensitive solution to the back of the cards that only those wearing these glasses can see. Mr. Chen, then you will not only be able to see your own cards, but even Gao Jin's hole cards will be transparent to you."

Chen Jincheng pushed up his glasses, a greedy glint in his eyes, but he shook his head: "Not enough. Even without this kind of high-tech equipment, Gao Jin can roughly estimate my hand. And his intuition is terrifying. If he notices me peeking at his cards, he'll change his strategy instantly. I need absolute certainty."

Gao Yi gritted his teeth, knowing that the other side was asking for more money, and pulled out a stack of videotapes from his pocket.

"This is a video recording of all the world-class gambling games Gao Jin has participated in over the past five years. I've marked the key moments in detail; you can have experts study it overnight..."

Minegishi Shigeru remained expressionless. He poured Chen Jincheng a glass of sake and said stiffly, "Mr. Gao, what I want is not just analysis, what I want is for him to be 'unable to move'."

Gao Yi understood what these underworld bosses meant, gritted his teeth, as if he had made some extremely vicious decision.

Gao Yi leaned closer to the two men, his voice so low that only the three of them could hear, "Gao Jin has a habit: when the game is at its most intense, he has to eat chocolate. It's the 'fuel' that keeps his brain working at high speed. And I can slip drugs into the foil cracks of the kind of chocolate he usually eats."

Minegishi Shigeru then revealed a satisfied smile. He took out a thumb-sized, jet-black glass bottle from his pocket and gently placed it on the table.

"This is a drug that we 'specially developed' in Japan. It's not fatal, and it's completely broken down an hour after ingestion, with no detectable components in blood tests afterward," Minegishi Shigeru said with a cruel mockery in his tone. "But half an hour after ingestion, the victim will fall into a state of extreme confusion, their logical thinking will be completely disrupted, and they may even experience mild hallucinations. In this state, no matter how capable Gao Jin is, he's just a puppet at the mercy of others."

Gao Yi took the medicine bottle, his hands trembling slightly. He knew very well that once he took this step, there would be no turning back.

"I understand." Gao Yi gripped the bottle tightly.

Minegishi wasn't finished yet. He continued to stare at Gao Yi, his eyes like those of a venomous snake: "To ensure everything goes smoothly, the day before the gambling begins, I will send someone to kidnap Gao Jin's girlfriend—Amin."

Gao Yi trembled upon hearing the name "Amin," and a strange, complex expression flashed in his eyes.

He had been coveting Amin for a long time. On countless nights following Gao Jin, he watched Amin's tenderness towards Gao Jin, and the poisonous fire of jealousy in his heart almost burned him to ashes.

"Kidnapping her...wouldn't that cause too much of a stir?" Gao Yi asked tentatively.

"In the East, Sumiyoshi has a million ways to capture a woman," Minegishi Shigeru sneered. "As long as Amin is in our hands, Gao Jin will be nothing but a soulless walking corpse at the gambling table. At that time, he will not only lose those three hundred million US dollars, but he will also have to sign this 'surrender document'."

Gao Yi thought of his mountain of high-interest loans and his mansion nestled in the maple forests of Vancouver. He closed his eyes, erasing Amin's gentle face from his mind and replacing it with bundles of US dollars.

"Okay." Gao Yi suddenly opened his eyes, his tone no longer hesitant. "I will provide Amin with all his travel habits and distract the security guards in Takamagahara."

Inside the izakaya, three men, who had completely lost their moral compass in their pursuit of power, money, and status, raised their glasses in celebration.

Chen Jincheng played with the jade cicada, as if he could already see Gao Jin collapsing at the gambling table; Feng Anshi was plotting how to take this opportunity to kill Gao Tianyuan; and Gao Yi was fantasizing about the day he would replace Gao Jin and stand at the top of the world.

……

It was already 5 a.m. when we got back to Takamagahara.

Gao Yi tiptoed back to his room, and after confirming that Gao Jin's suite was still silent, he collapsed onto the bed with a sigh of relief.

And next door.

Gao Jin rolled over on the luxurious presidential suite bed and slowly opened his eyes.

He gazed out the window at the eastern horizon where dawn was about to break, his eyes showing no sign of sleepiness, but rather a profound depth that seemed to pierce through the mist.

He actually knew about Gao Yi's recent underhanded dealings.

"Ah Yi, once you choose a path, there's no turning back."

Gao Jin muttered to himself, then glanced at Amin, who was sleeping soundly beside him, completely unaware of what was happening. A complex and sorrowful look flashed in his eyes.

Meanwhile, in the monitoring room on the upper floor.

Looking at the trajectory of Gao Yi's disguised departure and return on the screen, Ishii Yuren whispered to the communicator, "Mr. Lu, the fish has already been out of the water and just returned to its nest."

Lu Chen stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, still swirling the glass of chilled whiskey in his hand.

"Keep an eye on him, but don't disturb him." Lu Chen's voice was like a final judgment. "I want those who think they can manipulate fate to end up being manipulated by fate."

In the eastern longitude of 1983, although the night was drawing to a close, a storm of betrayal and power struggle was just beginning its most eerie period of build-up.

The wind rises in Shibuya.

This time, however, some people are destined not to escape unscathed.