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

On the street outside the Roman Hotel in Central, the rain not only did not lessen, but instead became even more violent with the dull thud.

Ni Yongxiao sat in the back seat of the black Mercedes, coldly watching the twisted and mangled wreckage of the red car through the rain-blurred bulletproof glass. His long fingers paused slightly on his knees, then he let out an extremely soft sigh that only he could hear.

"unlucky."

His voice was devoid of any warmth, showing no trace of the satisfaction of revenge.

In his original plan, Mary was to first get a result from the interrogation. He needed to find out from that woman who was the gunman who shot and killed his father—the knife that was still lurking in the shadows, ready to pull the trigger again at any moment.

Now, the guardrail's long-term disrepair has turned this only clue into a pile of rotten flesh on the roof of the car.

"Ah Xiao, those guys were too rough. I've already sent them to receive their family punishment." Uncle San sat in the passenger seat, his expression complicated. He had witnessed the whole thing. "Now the trail has gone cold, and the police are on their way. Should we leave?"

Ni Yongxiao reached out and pushed up his glasses on the bridge of his nose; the gold-rimmed glasses reflected the cold light of the streetlights.

"Let's retreat first. Since Mary is already dead, her only value is to drag Huang Zhicheng and Han Chen to hell with her." Ni Yongxiao turned his head and looked at the red lights of the police cars rushing towards them outside the window. "Since they want 'peace,' I will give all of Hong Kong the greatest 'unpeace.'"

Ten minutes later, the subordinate found the video camera that the private investigator had hidden and handed the videotapes inside to Ni Yongxiao.

"Uncle, immediately have someone copy these videotapes and deliver them to the headquarters of TVB, ATV, Oriental Daily News, and ATV Daily within an hour. I want everyone on Hong Kong Island to be able to watch the exciting scene of Inspector Wong and the triad boss's wife discussing how to kill someone in bed while they're having supper."

Ni Yongxiao's voice was as calm as if he were arranging a business promotion, but every word revealed a ruthless and merciless intent to eliminate all threats.

"Furthermore, Third Uncle, you personally lead the team to Han Chen's villa now. No survivors are needed; kill Han Chen on sight."

……

An hour later, the Hong Kong press was in an uproar.

Although there is no internet yet, newspapers and television stations, driven by money and trending topics, are not much slower to react than those spreading online.

In the control room of TVB, Uncle Piao, who was finalizing the news report for tonight, was so shocked when he saw the videotape delivered by a mysterious person with extremely explosive content that he spilled his coffee.

"Quick! Add a second issue! Cut out the entertainment replay and go straight to the breaking news!"

Inside the printing press of the Oriental Daily News, the finalized front page was violently removed. Under dim lights, the experienced printers frantically replaced the type, the huge red headline starkly contrasting against the black ink.

Police Collusion: Senior Inspector Instigates Gangster's Wife to Assassinate Triad Godfather!

At 7 p.m., as the television signal switched, Hong Kong residents who were sitting in rocking chairs at home or eating wonton noodles in a tea restaurant saw a scene that overturned their understanding.

Although the footage was shaky, Wong Chi-shing's righteous face, which appeared many times in police propaganda videos, was clearly visible. His conversation with Mary about "killing Ni Yongxiao, supporting Han Chen, and seeking peace" was like a bombshell, hitting the nerves of every Hong Kong Island resident hard.

"As a police officer, how could you instigate murder?"

"How is this any different from the 'Four Great Detectives' of yesteryear? Didn't the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) say it was dawn? Is this the dawn they've given us?"

Panic and anger spread like wildfire through every corner of Kowloon, Central, and Sham Shui Po.

This social upheaval caused by the collapse of public trust woke up high-ranking officials in the Western government in the middle of the night with phone calls.

……

Outside the interrogation room at Central Police Station.

Huang Zhicheng couldn't remember how he was brought back from the Roman Hotel. The moment Mary fell from the building and the black and red shadow on the roof of the car kept replaying in his mind.

Regret and despair overwhelmed him, but before these emotions could transform into sadness, they were frozen solid by the coldness of reality.

"Huang Zhicheng, take a look at this."

His former superior, the chief superintendent who usually took the best care of him, burst through the door with a livid face and slammed an urgent supplement still smelling of ink and a document heavily onto the table.

"You're insane...you're really insane." The superior's voice trembled, whether from anger or panic, it was hard to tell. "The whole of Hong Kong is watching your performance. Are you going to drag the entire police force down with you?"

Huang Zhicheng stared blankly at the eye-catching headline in the newspaper, and the blurry photo that captured his secret rendezvous with Mary. He opened his mouth, but found his throat so dry that he couldn't utter a sound.

"Based on the preliminary intervention recommendations of the Internal Investigation Team (IA) and the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), you are hereby temporarily relieved of your duties as Senior Inspector. Surrender your warrant card, service weapon, and all access to files. Go home to await formal investigation and are not permitted to leave Hong Kong Island during this period."

His boss looked at him coldly, his eyes no longer showing the appreciation they once had, but only disgust as if he were looking at a plague god.

"Lu Qichang has been trying to protect you from the outside, but now he's in trouble himself. Huang Zhicheng, you've really stirred up a hornet's nest."

Huang Zhicheng slowly stood up. With trembling hands, he unholstered his gun and placed the .38 revolver that had been with him for many years and the warrant card that represented his identity on the table.

When he walked out of the police station, he was not greeted by the salutes of his former colleagues, but by the spittle and water bottles thrown by hundreds of protesters outside the gate.

On that rainy night in 1983, Huang Zhicheng, a former elite member of the anti-triad unit, disappeared into the darkness of a street corner like a stray dog.

……

However, on the other hand, the purge of the Ni family was far from as smooth as expected.

When Uncle San led a dozen fully armed assassins into Han Chen's detached villa on the edge of Tsim Sha Tsui under the cover of night, they were met with only deathly silence.

The front door was violently kicked open, and Uncle Three, carrying a Black Star pistol fitted with a silencer, scanned the living room with eyes as sharp as a hawk's. The red wine on the coffee table was still unfinished, the cork tossed aside, while the television in the center repeatedly played breaking news.

Uncle San stepped forward, reached out and touched the rim of the wine glass; a few drops of red wine had not yet evaporated.

"He probably left not long ago." Uncle San's face was gloomy as he turned to look at the marks on the ground. "The cabinet was ransacked. Han Chen is a smart man. After seeing the news, he must have guessed that we were going to kill him to silence him. That fat guy, he ran fast."

"Third Uncle, we found tire tracks! They're heading towards Yau Ma Tei!" a henchman shouted from outside the door.

"Chase him! He can't have gone far. Seal off every pier and every smuggling point in Tsim Sha Tsui! He's short and stocky, so he'll be easy to find. Split up and search. Make sure we find him before dawn!" Uncle San waved his hand sharply, and several black Mercedes-Benz cars accelerated into the night, their tires screeching against the ground with a pungent, acrid smell.

Half an hour later, in a secluded alley in Yau Ma Tei.

The rain gradually subsided, but the chill in the air could seep into your bones.

Han Chen stumbled through the narrow alleyway filled with discarded cardboard boxes and tin buckets. His well-tailored suit was now covered in mud, and his chubby face, which usually wore a kind smile, was contorted with extreme fear and grief.

He had just heard the breaking news on the radio in his car. Mary was dead, and the TV news said that his woman had colluded with the police to kill Ni Kun... It must have been Ni Yongxiao who did it, and he would be next.

"Brother Chen, this way!" Dilu, a trusted henchman beside him, pulled him along.

Now was not the time for Han Chen to grieve. He suppressed his emotions and walked towards the smuggling ship in the distance. As long as he could escape Hong Kong Island, he would have a chance for revenge.

Just as they were about to cross the alley and head towards the waiting fishing boat, three black cars suddenly sped out from the street corner, their blinding high beams instantly freezing Han Chen's figure in a bright white light.

"squeak--!"

The screeching of brakes was piercing and ear-piercing. Uncle Three pushed open the car door, slowly stepped out, and the black star in his hand gleamed with the light of death under the lamplight.

Han Chen stopped in despair, standing in front of Dilu, panting heavily. He was so exhausted that he almost collapsed to the ground.

"Third Uncle..." Han Chen smiled bitterly, his eyes filled with resentment and a final stubbornness, "Why? I, Han Chen, have followed Uncle Kun for fifteen years, helping the Ni family conquer so much territory. When Ah Xiao returned, I was the first to lead the way in supporting him! Why is the Ni family treating me like this?"

Uncle San strode closer, his henchmen already forming a semi-circle around him.

"Ah Chen, you are very loyal." Uncle San sighed, a hint of hypocritical pity flashing in his eyes. "But in this world, some debts can't be settled. Who told your wife to kill Uncle Kun? If you don't go down there, Ah Xiao won't be able to face the ancestors of the Ni family."

"A life for a life, that's the rule of the martial arts world."

"Third Uncle! I didn't know about this! I really didn't know!" Han Chen pleaded frantically, even trying to kneel down. "Give me a chance, I'll kill that policeman to avenge Uncle Kun! Please..."

"Maybe in the next life, Ah Chen... Remember to find a more docile woman in the next life. And, don't trust the police in the next life."

Uncle San's expression turned as cold as iron in an instant, and he did not give this former general a chance to say another word.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!"

The muffler emitted three dull vibrations.

The bullet pierced Han Chen's chest with pinpoint accuracy. This once-powerful figure, who might have dominated Hong Kong's underworld for the next few years, jolted violently, his usually smiling face gradually stiffening. He clutched his chest tightly, as if trying to hold onto his rapidly fading body heat.

Han Chen slowly knelt down in the muddy water, blood mingling with the rainwater spreading beneath him. His eyes remained fixed on the dark sea at the alley entrance, the path that should have been his escape route.

"Give him a ride." Uncle San turned and walked towards the car expressionlessly.

One of the henchmen stepped forward and fired another shot into Han Chen's head.

The future godfather of Tsim Sha Tsui died silently in an unnamed alley without even streetlights.