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

Chater Garden, Central.

The afternoon sun filtered through the branches and leaves of the sycamore trees, casting dappled shadows on the bench.

Stephens sat on a bench in the corner of the park, legs crossed, holding a paper bag in his hand, leisurely breaking off corn kernels and feeding them one by one to the pigeons at his feet.

White doves cooed and fluttered their wings at his feet, scrambling for the corn that had fallen to the ground.

He wore a low-key gray jacket today and black-rimmed glasses on his nose, looking like an ordinary office worker taking a stroll and slacking off during his lunch break.

Not long after, a man dressed in sportswear jogged along the path. He then stopped by a bench, bent over to stretch his legs, panting heavily, as if he had just run a long distance.

Stephens didn't look at him; his gaze remained fixed on the pigeons, but the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly. "Mr. Liu, what's your decision?"

The visitor was Liu Mingsheng, the daily maintenance team leader of the server cluster at Jiahe Building.

Liu Mingsheng maintained his stretching posture, his back to Stephens, and lowered his voice even further: "I can agree to your request, but—after it's done, you must immediately arrange for me to return to Japan, but not to the mainland."

Stephens paused slightly, his hand holding the corn pausing, and raised an eyebrow: "So soon?"

"You're an intelligence officer, don't you understand Golden Harvest's position in Hong Kong?" Liu Mingsheng's voice carried a hint of bitterness. "Once things are exposed, I can't stay in Hong Kong for even a day longer. I have to leave, and leave immediately!"

Stephens pretended to ponder for a few seconds, then nodded: "Sure, we'll be leaving soon anyway, so we can take you with us."

"Which channel will you use?"

"I can't tell you that right now, but Mr. Liu, rest assured, you are absolutely safe."

Liu Mingsheng finally breathed a sigh of relief, straightened up, and stretched his arms: "Alright, let me know when you have your plan ready, and I'm ready to start anytime."

After saying that, he didn't linger. He turned and jogged away along the winding path in the park, his figure quickly disappearing into the dense shade of the trees.

Stephens watched him run away and didn't leave immediately. Instead, he sat on the bench, slowly feeding him the remaining corn kernels one by one. He then patted the crumbs off his hands before leisurely standing up and walking towards the park exit.

However, none of them noticed the popcorn cart with its sign parked diagonally across the park. And in the shade of the cart's awning, a high-magnification telephoto camera was quietly mounted.

Twenty minutes earlier, the camera had already locked its lens firmly on Stephens. From Liu Mingsheng's appearance, the two pretending to meet by chance, to Liu Mingsheng turning away, and then to Stephens getting up and clapping, the whole process was clearly recorded on film.

……

Kowloon, the headquarters of the winery.

The office was filled with smoke. Fourth Brother (Rum) sat behind his desk, looking down at an internal document.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

"Please come in!"

The secretary pushed open the door and came in, holding a stack of photos that had just been faxed over. She quickly stepped forward and placed them on the table.

"Mr. Rum, the intelligence from Jackson's side is completely accurate. People from H Station have indeed been contacting Liu Mingsheng in private."

Fourth Brother picked up the photos and flipped through them one by one without expression—a park bench, feeding pigeons, Liu Mingsheng in sportswear, the two pretending to stretch their joints, and leaving the scene.

The angle is professional, the shot is clear, and even the movement of their lips can be seen.

"We've also obtained the recording of their on-site conversation, and the Beta team is escorting the original intelligence back to headquarters."

"Very good," Fourth Brother put down the photo and nodded. "From now on, I will monitor every move of everyone at H Station. I need to know exactly how many times they go to the bathroom in a day and what brand of toilet paper they use."

"Understood!" The secretary bowed and then left.

About the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, the office door was pushed open again.

A man walked in.

He was wearing a black leather jacket, tall and slender with strong features, and his eyes held a calmness unique to someone who had experienced bloodshed.

He didn't stand on ceremony after coming in; he sat down opposite Fourth Brother and casually picked up a lighter from the table, playing with it in his hand.

"What's going on?" Xiao Zhuang asked.

"You came quickly." Fourth Brother glanced at him.

"Nonsense!" Xiao Zhuang put the lighter on the table. "I was shopping with Jenny when I suddenly got a notification that someone was going to make a move against Jiahe. I rushed back before I even finished my meal."

"Jenny didn't complain?"

"I'm used to it, but I still hold a grudge against you. Be careful next time you come to my house," Xiao Zhuang leaned back in his chair. "So, what is it?"

Fourth Brother pushed the photos and intelligence in front of him: "It's still those foreigners from MI6 who are stirring things up in the dark. But this time they've learned their lesson. Instead of taking direct action, they've found an inside man to coordinate an attack from within."

Xiao Zhuang picked up the document and glanced at it, raising an eyebrow slightly: "This Liu Mingsheng... he's really pitiful."

According to intelligence obtained by the winery, Liu Mingsheng's so-called investment failure and bankruptcy was actually a scheme orchestrated by MI6.

Three months ago, Stephens, the intelligence chief, decided to turn internal employees against Golden Harvest in order to find a breakthrough for the company.

However, due to the strict selection process for middle management at Golden Harvest, coupled with its extremely high salaries and benefits, he was unable to find any suitable candidates for the time being.

However, the Onsa people have no moral burden when it comes to scheming and plotting. Since they can't find a ready-made loophole, they'll just create one themselves.

So Stephens hired a professional conman at a high price to set up a scheme to lure Liu Mingsheng into investing in business. When Liu Mingsheng had lost all his savings and was in debt for more than two million yuan in high-interest loans, and was driven to the brink of despair, Stephens "just happened" to appear and offer him an olive branch to turn him against Liu.

Each step is interconnected, leaving no room for error.

"It's tragic," Fourth Brother's voice was flat, "but that's no excuse for his betrayal of Golden Harvest."

Xiao Zhuang nodded and put down the photo: "What are the BOSS's instructions?"

"The boss said that we are free to do whatever we want, but there are two conditions."

"What is it?"

"First, we must wipe them out in one fell swoop, sending a warning to all those with ill intentions. Let them know what will happen if they dare to lay a finger on Jiahe!"

Xiao Zhuang nodded.

"Second—" Fourth Brother paused for a moment, "that guy named Thiago, spare his life."

Xiao Zhuang raised an eyebrow, but he didn't ask any further questions. He simply nodded and said, "Okay, I understand."

"Is there anything else? If not, I'll go arrange for people." With that, Xiao Zhuang stood up, straightened the collar of his leather jacket, and prepared to leave.

"Wait a minute," Fourth Brother called out to him.

Xiao Zhuang turned back.

"The boss isn't on Hong Kong Island right now," Fourth Brother said, looking at him. "We—don't let him down."

Xiao Zhuang was silent for a moment, then waved his hand casually and walked out of the office without looking back.

"rest assured."

The door closed behind him, and the office fell silent again.

Fourth Brother took out a cigarette from the drawer, lit it, and took a deep drag.

A bluish-white smoke rose and billowed, and Fourth Brother suddenly chuckled: "MI6? Ha."