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

As Christmas draws ever closer, the GG signs scattered along Sha Tsui Road, the 24-hour tea restaurants, and the traffic lights weaving through the shadows create a vibrant tapestry unique to this era.

But no one knows that beneath the glamorous surface, undercurrents are quietly surging, waiting for the right moment to devour people.

Today, Chen Jiaju, unusually, changed out of his down jacket that he had worn for many years and put on a slightly conservative jacket. He was carrying several large shopping bags with department store logos and was accompanying his girlfriend, Ah Mei, through the bustling crowd.

Ah Mei, wearing a pink cashmere sweater, nestled close to Chen Jiaju, a long-lost sweet smile on her face. For this couple, who were often separated, such a peaceful shopping trip was a true luxury.

"Jiaju, look at that light in the shop window. When we get married, we must install the exact same one in the living room." Amei pointed to a boutique not far away, her eyes filled with longing for the future.

Chen Jiaju chuckled and scratched his head habitually: "Sure, buy two if you like! Uncle Piao said he might give me a raise next month, then..."

Before the words were finished, a piercing roar of a motorcycle engine suddenly shattered the tranquility of the street.

A black streak suddenly cut in from the side of the sidewalk, and two motorcycle thieves wearing full-face helmets came rushing over on a high-powered Yamaha motorcycle.

As they approached Amei, the man on the back of the motorcycle suddenly reached out and violently ripped the bag strap off Amei's shoulder.

"ah--!"

Amei screamed, staggered several steps due to the immense inertia, and nearly fell. The motorcycle, however, didn't stop at all. It spewed out a thick plume of smoke from its exhaust pipe and, accompanied by a wild, arrogant screech, accelerated and crashed into the traffic ahead.

"Someone's robbing us! Ka-Kui!" Ah-Mei pointed at the departing motorcycle, still shaken.

"Damn it!" Chen Jiaju's face instantly turned from affable to ashen. As a renowned "super cop" in the police force, a robbery had actually occurred right under his nose, and the thief was none other than his girlfriend. This was not only a provocation against the law, but also a trampling on his personal dignity.

"Amei! Wait for me where you are! Don't wander off!"

Chen Jiaju roared and threw the shopping bag on the ground. He was like an enraged cheetah, bursting out with astonishing speed.

"Hey, stop right there!"

Chen Jiaju weaved wildly through the crowd, his explosive power so strong that he didn't fall too far behind the motorcycle for a short time. But two legs can't outrun an engine. Just as the black motorcycle was about to turn into a side road, Chen Jiaju glanced around and saw a young man delivering newspapers on the roadside just stopping his bicycle.

Without saying a word, Chen Jiaju jumped onto the heavy old-fashioned bicycle, his foot pedals almost sparking as he stomped on them.

"Hey buddy! Urgent requisition! Signed Chan Ka-kui, pick up your car at Wan Chai Police Station tomorrow!"

The chain creaked under the strain, and the dilapidated bicycle, propelled by Chen Jiaju's brute force, somehow managed to move with the ferocity of someone on the run.

The motorcyclists ahead didn't seem to be professional robbers. They would slow down slightly at each intersection, as if they were trying to figure out their way in a panic, or as if they were deliberately waiting for pursuers behind them.

But Chen Jiaju was so focused on catching these bastards that he had to give Ah Mei an explanation, and he didn't notice anything strange about it.

This cat-and-mouse game continued until it reached an abandoned, rocky outcrop in the suburbs.

Far from the city lights, the area was surrounded by waist-high weeds and jagged hillsides. The motorcycle suddenly stopped beside a dry riverbed. The robber, in a panic, threw Amei's purse into the grass, then twisted the throttle sharply, the engine roaring one last time before disappearing into the dark jungle path.

"Huff...huff..." Chen Jiaju braced himself on his knees, breathing heavily into the cold air. Sweat streamed down his face, rising in wisps of white mist in the cold wind. He didn't rush to chase after them, not only because he had reached his physical limit, but more importantly, because he needed to retrieve Amei's bag. The motorcycle's license plate was already etched into his mind.

"You bastard, we'll search the whole of Hong Kong tomorrow and find you."

Chen Jiaju walked towards the bushes, cursing, and reached for the leather bag. However, the instant his fingers touched the leather, he heard a series of sharp, crushing sounds as the grass and trees snapped.

That was the crisp sound of shoes stepping on dry branches.

Chen Jiaju froze. He didn't look up, but in the dim moonlight, he saw the figure moving in the dense forest behind him reflected in the small decorative mirror on Amei's bag.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two muffled gunshots shattered the deathly silence of the wilderness. The sound wasn't aimed at him, but rather came from deeper in the mountain valley.

Chen Jiaju's eyes sharpened instantly. Professional instincts overcame his fatigue, and like a nimble ape, he silently slipped into the dense forest ahead, following the direction of the sound.

After passing through a thicket of thorns, the scene before him sent a chill down the spine of even this seasoned "super cop."

Under the intense, stark white headlights, Chen Jiaju recognized him as Ni's trusted confidant—Ni's third uncle.

At this moment, Uncle San stood with his hands behind his back, coldly staring at the pit beneath his feet. Inside the pit, Guo Hua and Hei Gui were struggling frantically, while more than a dozen black-clad henchmen from the Ni family were shoveling damp yellow soil into it, one shovelful after another.

"Is this... the Ni family cleaning house?" Chen Jiaju held his breath, quickly reached for his Dragon Phone at his waist, and made a call to the police station.

Tonight, the person on duty at the police station is none other than his old superior, Uncle Piao.

"Uncle Piao! This is Ka-Kui! I've discovered the Ni family illegally executing people at the Shinagawa rocky outcrop. The targets are suspected to be Kwok-Wah, the boss of Tsim Sha Tsui, and Blackie! Repeat, they're burying them alive! Please provide immediate assistance!"

"What?!" On the other end of the phone, Uncle Piao's voice suddenly rose several octaves, filled with concern and anxiety. "I understand, Ka-Kui, listen! Your current mission is to stay put and not expose yourself! I've already notified the nearest patrol car. Don't act rashly, understand?!"

"Uncle Piao, it's too late! If we wait any longer, those two will really die!"

Although Chen Jiaju knew that Blackie and his gang weren't good people, his deep-seated sense of justice made it impossible for him to stand idly by and watch them bury people alive. He hung up the phone, secretly glad he was off duty and hadn't had to hand over his gun. He suddenly drew his .38 revolver and, like a cannonball, slid down the slope.

"Police are on duty! Everyone stay still! Put your hands on your heads!"

This angry shout was like a thunderclap in the empty valley.

Uncle San's kind old face slowly turned around under the light, a rare look of astonishment flashing in his eyes, which then turned into a cold, sinister look as if he were looking at a dead man.

"Police?" Uncle Three slowly took off his glasses, wiped them with a handkerchief, and said in an infuriatingly calm tone, "Ah Lai, didn't you say there wasn't a soul in sight for miles around? How come even the 'super cops' from Wan Chai are here to see these two scoundrels off?"

"Third Uncle, he's all alone. He probably just wandered in by mistake." Ah Lai, who had just arrived to meet him, stood in front of his third uncle with a blank expression, his eyes showing no emotion.

"Heh, you dare to storm the Ni family's execution ground all by yourself, Officer Chen, you truly live up to your reputation." Uncle San waved his hand, and the henchmen who were originally holding shovels threw away their tools and pulled out all sorts of Black Star guns and shotguns from their pockets.

"I'll say it again! Put down your gun! I am Chan Ka-kui! Everyone in Hong Kong knows me! If you touch me, none of your Ni family members will escape!" Chan Ka-kui held up his gun, his finger tightly gripping the trigger.

"Touching you is indeed troublesome." Uncle San sighed, his eyes suddenly turning incredibly ruthless. "But if I let you go back alive, the entire Ni family will have to go to Stanley tonight. Since you've asked for death, don't blame Uncle San for not giving you any face."

"Kill him."

With Uncle San's casual pronouncement, a barrage of gunfire erupted in an instant.

Chen Jiaju rolled and hid behind a boulder, his .38 caliber gun firing a crisp counterattack. But the .38's power was limited, and it couldn't compare to the fire of a dozen or so weapons.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

In just a few dozen seconds, bullets sent countless sparks flying across the boulder. After firing his last bullet, Chen Jiaju used his sidearm as a throwing weapon, hurling it at one of his henchmen's faces. Then, he leaped forward like a trapped wild beast, crashing into the Ni family's group.

We must rush in and engage in close combat, so that the Ni family members are afraid of accidentally injuring themselves and dare not fire their guns. Only in this way can we have a sliver of hope.

Chen Jiaju's elbow strikes and knee strikes were exceptionally ferocious. He smashed a henchman's ribs, snatched the opponent's shovel, and swept it across, creating a vacuum. He seemed to have a significant advantage. However, under such overwhelming numbers, individual martial prowess appeared extremely bleak.

Taking advantage of the chaos, one of the henchmen smashed Chan Ka-kui's head hard with the butt of his gun.

"Buzz—!"

Chen Jiaju felt the world spinning, and blood flowed from his forehead into his eyes. He struggled to stay upright, but was then completely overwhelmed by a barrage of punches and kicks.

The Ni family's henchmen seemed to be venting all the shock they had just suffered, their heavy leather shoes raining down on Chen Jiaju's chest and abdomen. Uncle San stepped forward, looking down at the blood-stained man who was already delirious but still trying to grab his trouser leg.

"Officer Chen, this is what happens to justice," Uncle Three's voice buzzed in Chen Jiaju's ears. "Since you're so eager to save them, then go down with them. This pit is big enough; it should be spacious enough for three people."

"Bury it."

Uncle San turned away in disgust and walked back to his Mercedes-Benz, surrounded by his henchmen.

Chen Jiaju was dragged to the edge of the pit. He felt the cold, earthy-smelling yellow soil falling shovel after shovelful onto his face, into his nostrils, and into his mouth. He tried to breathe, but inhaled only a mouthful of sand and dust. The despairing darkness tightened little by little until the last faint glimmer of light was completely blocked by the thick layer of soil.

When the last shovelful of earth was compacted, the rocky hill returned to its eerie silence. Uncle San wiped his hands with a white handkerchief, then climbed into the car without looking back. Three black Mercedes-Benz vans sped away into the night, leaving only the slightly raised mound of earth, still reeking of blood.

Five minutes later.

A series of extremely faint footsteps, yet carrying a certain tactical rhythm, echoed across the wilderness.

A fully armed off-road vehicle sped towards them from a distance. Before the vehicle had even come to a complete stop, the door was opened ahead of time, and Tian Yangsheng, dressed in combat gear, jumped out, his eyes gleaming with a wolf-like ferocity.

The three distillery he followed behind each carried an entrenching tool, their movements as swift and precise as those of an instrument.

"Here, the soil is fresh," Tian Yangsheng said, crouching down and touching the soil to check its temperature. His face instantly darkened. "Dig quickly!"

Several entrenching tools swung like afterimages, quickly turning over the soft loess.

Soon, a hand covered in blood, with fingernails torn open, emerged from the soil. Tian Yangsheng suddenly reached out, grabbed Chen Jiaju's arm, and with all his might, pulled the "earth figurine" out of the deep pit.

"Ka-Kui!"

Tian Yangsheng pulled him out and laid him flat on the ground. The moment Chen Jiaju came into contact with fresh air, his body convulsed violently out of instinct. He began to cough wildly, choking on the yellow sand in his lungs, along with large clumps of bloody foam.

"I held on." Tian Yangsheng pulled out an extremely expensive bottle of "drinkhouse" special-supply potent adrenaline and plunged it directly into Chen Jiaju's neck.

"Take him away and send him to the private clinic in Safe House Number Two... Don't worry, I'll get this debt settled for you."

In the darkness, the black SUV, like a ghost, carried the "super cop" who had just been pulled back from the brink of hell, disappearing into the mist of Tsuen Wan.

The wind rose, dispelling the last trace of bloodstains from the rocky hill, but it could not take away the raging inferno that was about to descend upon Hong Kong Island, a fire capable of burning everything to ashes.