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

Inside the cigar room, azure smoke slowly rose and swirled in the dim light.

Lu Chen pushed a file in front of Victor: "Take a look at this."

Victor reached out and took it, untied the knot, and flipped it open.

The first page of the file had a photograph attached to it—a man in his fifties from the Japanese Empire, with neatly combed gray hair, high brow bones, a straight nose, and a strong jawline. He was wearing a dark English three-piece suit with an exquisite royal badge pinned to his lapel.

In front of the camera, his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, revealing a coldness and calculation that had been accumulating over the years, as if he could see through the thoughts of the person looking at him at a glance, even through a thin photograph.

At the bottom of the photo is the inscription: Sir Robert King.

Victor turned to the second page and started reading, but he read slower and slower until he finished the core part and finally couldn't help but click his tongue.

……

In the global energy landscape of the second half of the 20th century, Sir Robert King was undoubtedly a legendary figure who perfectly blended the gentlemanly dignity of the old empire with the capitalist ambitions of the new century.

He was born into a traditional Scottish Highland family, whose ancestors included military officers, clergymen, and plantation owners who lived off their ancestral lands. However, by Robert's generation, the family had long since declined and become virtually defunct with the fall of the British Empire. Therefore, from a young age, he unconsciously bore the heavy burden of restoring his family's honor.

Robert lived up to expectations, gaining admission to the Faculty of Law at Oxford University at the age of 18 with outstanding grades, and later earned a degree in geology through self-study.

The discovery of the North Sea oil fields in the 1970s completely broke Europe's stalemate of dependence on Middle Eastern oil. However, the initial development process was not smooth. Faced with extremely harsh marine environments and high extraction costs, most traditional conglomerates remained hesitant and waited to see.

Robert, however, astutely seized this historic window of opportunity. He used the remaining family property as collateral and joined forces with several long-established London family foundations to establish King Enterprises.

Over the next decade, he shuttled between the luxurious clubs of the City of London and the drilling platforms amidst the stormy seas of Aberdeen, successfully establishing a foothold in the most dangerous yet richest gas field in the North Sea by pioneering the introduction of advanced deep-sea drilling technology and aggressive leveraged acquisitions.

By the early 1980s, the King Enterprises had grown into a private energy giant that could not be ignored in the Japanese Empire, and Robert was knighted by Buckingham Palace for his outstanding contributions to the Japanese Empire's energy independence.

But Robert King's ambitions never stopped at the North Sea.

He knew in his heart that Western Europe's oil and gas resources were ultimately finite. No matter how large the oil fields in the North Sea were, they would eventually be exhausted. He had been looking for an opportunity—an opportunity to enter Eastern Europe, to enter that vast oil and gas field sleeping beneath the Iron Curtain.

In 1973, a trip to the Caucasus region led him to see that road.

During that trip, Robert met a young lady from a prominent Azerbaijani family—the only daughter of the Ashrafa family.

Although the Soviet Union had controlled the Caspian region for decades, the Ashrafa family still wielded considerable influence in the area thanks to their political acumen and extensive family lineage.

Moreover, in Robert's eyes, this woman's identity itself was a key.

He had long been keenly aware that the stalemate of the Cold War would eventually be broken, and at that time, his status as the son-in-law of a prominent Azerbaijani family would be the first stepping stone for him to open the door to the Caspian Sea.

Robert then pursued her relentlessly. From the tea rooms of Baku to the sunsets on the Caspian Sea, he won the heart of an Azerbaijani noblewoman in the manner of a Scottish gentleman.

The couple married in 1974 and had a daughter, Elektra, the following year.

Robert King is now a true winner in life, with a happy family and a thriving career.

Just the year before last and last year, thanks to his friendly relationship with Mrs. M and the Cabinet Energy Secretary, he stood out from many competitors and acquired a large number of core shares of BP and BP Gas respectively, becoming the first and second largest shareholders of the two companies.

Victor closed the file, looked up at Lu Chen, and said with undisguised admiration, "Lu, this person... is not simple."

"It's not simple," Lu Chen said, leaning back on the sofa. "He waited almost twenty years just to knock on that door in the Caspian Sea."

"So how did you and him get together?"

"The High Table Group and the Kim Corporation have always cooperated," Lu Chen said. "Sophia has had a lot of dealings with him, and over time, they naturally developed a relationship."

Victor nodded, then opened the file again, pointing to a page: "I've certainly heard of the Kim Corporation, and I have no problem with their technology... but are you sure they can help us open the Soviet Union's energy door?"

"No problem," Lu Chen said calmly as he poured himself half a glass of whiskey. "His wife, Ashrafa, has deep connections in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. Although those oil fields are nominally in the hands of the Soviet Union, in reality, the powerful bureaucrats in Central Asia all want to maintain friendly relations with his family."

"Interesting," Victor put down the file, flicked his cigarette ash, "This Robert is really interesting. He can even get a passport to the Caspian Sea by marrying a wife."

"Heh, that's certainly a skill... More importantly, Robert has always intended to cooperate with the Soviet Union to develop Caspian Sea oil and gas resources," Lu Chen leaned back on the sofa, took a sip of his whiskey, "but he's missing two things."

"Which two?"

"Funding," Lu Chen held up two fingers, "and supporting channels."

"Developing oil and gas in the Caspian Sea requires astronomical initial investments—exploration, drilling, pipelines, and port facilities, each costing hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars. Although the Kim Corporation has made a lot of money in the North Sea, it is still far from being able to leverage the Caspian Sea. It has been tried before to attract sponsorship and investment from the West, but international financial groups are still hesitant to enter the Soviet Union and are unwilling to risk billions of dollars."

"As for the supporting channels—" Lu Chen paused, "King Corporation currently only has deep ties with Japan and Azerbaijan, but oil and gas pipeline transportation needs to go from the Caspian Sea all the way through Central Asia and Eastern Europe to Western Europe, which requires crossing several sensitive regimes. King Corporation simply cannot handle it on its own; in addition, Eastern Europe is in a lot of turmoil recently, and it doesn't have much ability to protect itself."

Victor's eyes lit up.

He leaned back, crossed his legs, picked up his whiskey glass, watched the amber liquid swirl in it, and a smile curved his lips: "Funding and distribution channels—that's exactly our strength."

"That's right," Lu Chen said, "we've formed a powerful alliance."

"Hahaha..." Victor laughed, raised his glass to Lu Chen, and said, "That's right, a powerful alliance!"

The cups collided, producing a crisp, light sound.

"When can I meet with Robert King?"

"I've already had someone contact them," Lu Chen said. "Don't worry, if he knew someone was willing to provide the money and the channels, he'd be even more anxious than we are."

Victor smiled and nodded, picked up the file again, and glanced once more at the sharp-eyed Scotsman in the photo.

"The Lihai..." he murmured, as if savoring the boundless wealth behind those two words.

Outside the window, the afternoon sun slanted across the floor of the cigar room.

The smoke from the two cigars swirled slowly in the beam of light, intersecting and then separating.