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

Lu Chen's private mansion in Kensington, London.

Inside the enormous stone fireplace, the firewood burned brightly, and the orange-red flames spilled onto the dark walnut floor, warming the entire luxurious living room.

Outside the window, the October twilight in London had long since fallen, and the dense, verdant shadows of the trees in Kensington Gardens blended into a blurry, dark mass under the dim streetlights, while a cold wind howled.

Lu Chen leaned back comfortably on the armchair by the fireplace, flipping through a stack of newly delivered intelligence reports. Behind him stood a man respectfully.

Patrick Hill.

The manager of the High Table Group's UK branch, and also the highest-ranking person in charge of the High Table in the UK.

He looked to be in his early thirties, tall with broad shoulders, a buzz cut, deep-set brow bones, slightly sunken eyes, and a strong jawline.

He wore a well-tailored dark suit, but without a tie, and with one button undone—the suit could contain his figure, but it couldn't contain the wildness that came from his very bones, the wildness that belonged to the streets.

Patrick was not a talent cultivated and trained by the High Table from a young age, but rather discovered through channels.

Two years ago, Patrick led his men to establish a notorious criminal organization that specialized in robbing private banks and vaults. They committed several major crimes with clean and efficient methods. Police forces across Europe were driven to the brink of collapse, but to this day, they have no leads.

Later, Sofia took a liking to this unruly wolf and recruited him into the High Table under the condition of clearing their identities and offering him a high salary.

Trick lived up to this recognition, achieving numerous merits and rising through the ranks. He naturally took over the reins of the British branch after Susan became the head of the European division.

At this moment, this arrogant and ruthless figure, infamous in the underworld, lowered his head slightly, concealing all his sharpness and wildness, and quietly awaited instructions from the young man on the sofa.

Lu Chen finished flipping through the last page of intelligence and chuckled softly, "Looks like the Iron Lady hasn't been having a very pleasant time lately."

"Yes, boss," Patrick's voice was deep and steady, "the Conservative Party has been divided ever since her Bruges speech in September."

The so-called "Bruges Speech" refers to the famous speech delivered by the Iron Lady at the College of Europe in Belgium. In the speech, she openly opposed federalism and centralized tendencies in European integration, and unequivocally defended the sovereignty of the so-called British Empire.

This speech would later be regarded as the political cornerstone of the Eurosceptic movement in the Japanese Empire, but at present, it became the fuse that caused the Iron Lady to lose control of the cabinet—the moderates within the party who advocated deepening European integration were extremely dissatisfied with her openly contradicting them, and cracks began to spread.

Lu Chen placed the intelligence report back on the pure copper coffee table in front of him, leaned back in his chair, and stared at the flames in the fireplace without saying a word.

He knew in his heart that this was just the beginning.

Following the trajectory of her previous life, next year, this tough-minded Iron Lady will disregard public opinion and forcefully push forward the so-called "head tax," which will be the real bombshell that ignites the anger of the entire nation.

That unprecedented nationwide protest would ultimately bring her down from her pedestal in 1990, forcing her to resign as prime minister and end her eleven-year term in power with regret.

Her glorious era is finally coming to an end.

Of course, he wouldn't voice these "predictions" now. Lu Chen simply looked at Patrick and said calmly, "The trend of European integration is unstoppable. The Iron Lady's actions are like a mantis trying to stop a chariot; she'll reap what she sows sooner or later."

"Moreover, a Europe that breaks down barriers and moves towards integration would be entirely beneficial to the High Table Group. The dismantling of tariff barriers, the free flow of people, capital, and goods throughout Europe… do you know what these things mean for the High Table Group?"

Patrick nodded. "That means there are no longer any obstacles to our expansion on this continent."

"Yes," Lu Chen picked up his teacup, "So, the Iron Lady's current stance is that of an adversary, and one destined to fail."

He took a sip of tea and said calmly, "We've had a very pleasant collaboration with her for the past five or six years, but times have changed. The Iron Lady is getting old, and her methods are no longer in sync with the future of Europe. There's no need for us to continue betting on a player who's destined to be eliminated."

Patrick bowed slightly: "Please give your instructions, boss."

"From now on, the UK branch will focus on selecting the next Prime Minister," Lu Chen put down his teacup. "You can make contact with one person—John Major."

"John Major? The one in the House of Commons?" Patrick was slightly taken aback.

"Yes," Lu Chen nodded, "He's currently a rising star within the Conservative Party. Although he's not very experienced, he has a great future."

He didn't explain further, only adding, "Get to know people better, make more friends, and take it slow."

Patrick responded, then remembered something: "What about the Iron Lady—"

"Don't let her see it for now," Lu Chen said. "Even if she's retired, she still wields significant influence within the Conservative Party. On the surface, we must maintain a good relationship with her. We must give her every ounce of respect."

"Understood." Patrick bowed his head. "I'll be careful."

"Okay." Lu Chen waved his hand. "Go ahead."

Patrick bowed again, then left the living room like a silent ghost, his figure quickly disappearing at the end of the corridor.

……

In the living room, Lu Chen quietly watched the roaring flames in the fireplace, his mind replaying the secret telegram from two days ago about the Japanese cabinet's attempt to implement the "Right of Residence" plan.

Since these foreigners wanted to cause trouble for Hong Kong, he naturally didn't mind adding insult to injury for this Iron Lady.

Lu Chen picked up the phone and dialed Huang Xizhao's number.

Sunset.

Huang Xizhao's voice came from the other end of the phone: "Boss."

"Let's get our media involved," Lu Chen said. "Newspapers, news channels, all of them."

"Please speak, boss."

"Promote the benefits of European integration," Lu Chen leaned back in his chair, speaking casually, "a unified market, free flow of capital, easier business... Write in that direction, write it thoroughly, write it beautifully."

Huang Xizhao was a smart man and quickly understood the crux of the matter—the Iron Lady had just sung a dissenting voice in Bruges, and now the media was overwhelmingly promoting the benefits of European integration, which was tantamount to publicly slapping her in the face and incidentally stirring up the situation within the Conservative Party.

"Understood." Huang Xizhao chuckled. "I'll arrange it right away."

"Well, the resources don't need to be too big," Lu Chen added, "just enough for people to see."

"Don't worry, boss."

The phone hangs up.

Lu Chen put the microphone back on the landline and glanced again at the flickering flames in the fireplace. Outside the window, the London night was deep, and the shadows of the trees in Kensington Gardens swayed gently in the wind.

Times are changing.