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

Kalambaka, Greece.

This tourist town is located on the northern edge of the Thessaly Plain, backed by rocky mountains that have been sculpted into gray pillars by time.

On the main street of the town, the air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat and freshly baked bread. There weren't many tourists in March, with only a few backpackers taking pictures of the distant monastery.

At the corner café called "Saint Nicholas," two men with Asian features sat in wicker chairs, savoring hand-ground coffee with an Aegean flair.

Jackie was wearing a khaki trench coat over a light gray T-shirt, and sunglasses perched on his nose. He leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, like an ordinary tourist enjoying the Mediterranean sun.

Tian Yangyi sat opposite him, wearing a black trench coat of the same style, the collar turned up to cover half of his face. His back was straight, his elbows resting on the edge of the table, his gaze slowly sweeping over every doorway, every window, and every nook and cranny of the coffee shop.

"Brother Yi," Jackie lowered his voice, pulling his sunglasses down a little to reveal a pair of smiling eyes, "Relax a bit. You look like you have a 'I'm an undercover agent' sign stuck to your forehead right now."

Tian Yangyi didn't turn his head, his gaze maintaining that steady, sweeping rhythm: "We're on someone else's turf."

"That's why you need to learn to relax," Jackie said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms behind her head. "If you're too tense, you'll just alert the enemy."

Tian Yangyi remained silent for a few seconds, then slowly adjusted his posture, appearing less wary and more casual than before.

"That's more like it," Jackie nodded in satisfaction. "Learn from me, be natural."

Just then, a very soft voice came through the concealed earpiece Tian Yangyi was wearing: "Target spotted, two men in black robes are moving toward your location from the alleyway."

Tian Yangyi's facial expression remained unchanged. He merely glanced across the street while serving coffee and saw two figures, one fat and one thin, dressed in dark robes, crossing the street.

They didn't look around; they walked straight toward the table where Jackie and Tian Yangyi were.

Tian Yangyi tapped his fingertip very lightly on the edge of the table, as if signaling something. A "Received" came through the earpiece again, and then silence fell.

A dozen seconds later, the two men, one fat and one thin, walked to the table and stood there. The fat man spoke first, his voice low and polite, his English tinged with a slight Greek accent: "Sir, may I ask... do you believe in the Lord of All Things?"

Jackie paused for a moment, thinking she had encountered an ordinary missionary, and waved her hand, saying, "Sorry, I'm a materialist and don't believe in these things."

"No, sir, you must believe..." The thin man's lips curled into a strange smile as he pulled a photograph from the inside pocket of his black robe and placed it on the table. "Because only in this way can you save your friend."

Jackie looked down and the smile on her face vanished instantly.

In the photo, Alan is bound hand and foot to an iron chair, a piece of cloth is stuffed in his mouth, there is a dried bloodstain on his forehead, and his eyes have an emptiness that is unique to those who have been tortured.

Jackie stared at the photo for a few seconds, then looked up, her gaze turning cold: "Are you from the Last Days Gospel Church?"

"You can call us that," the fat man nodded, "Did you bring the things?"

"Of course!" Jackie picked up the black metal box at her feet and placed it on the table.

A flicker of excitement crossed the skinny man's eyes as he reached for the box, but Jackie flipped her wrist, sliding the box back off the table and leaving him with nothing.

"Don't rush," Jackie sneered, "I need to see my friend first before I can give you the box."

The thin man gave him a cold look, then nodded: "Fine, you can come with us, but—who is he?"

As he spoke, the thin man pointed to Tian Yangyi beside him.

"These are the bodyguards I hired. After all, when you come here, you need to take some security measures."

"No, only you can come with us; he can't go."

Tian Yangyi frowned and was about to get up when Jackie turned around and gave him a wink.

"Okay, okay, I got it," Jackie nodded to the thin man, then turned back and patted Tian Yangyi on the shoulder. "You can go back now. I'll give you half a day off. Enjoy the Greek beaches and beautiful women. I'll come back and have a drink with you when I'm done with my business."

Tian Yangyi gave him a deep look, then slowly nodded, downed the cup of coffee in front of him in one gulp, and stood up to walk out the door without saying a word.

Jackie watched him leave before picking up her suitcase and turning to the two men, one fat and one thin: "Let's go."

The duo nodded, then flanked him like escorts for a prisoner, and headed straight for a dark gray, unlicensed van parked by the roadside.

A short while later, the van, billowing black smoke, drove away from the town of Kalambaka and headed towards the mountains along the winding road.

In the shadows of the street corner, Tian Yangyi silently watched the bread truck drive out of sight, then raised his hand and pressed his earpiece: "Attention everyone, the target has been moved. Proceed as planned."

In an instant, the people who had been leisurely strolling around the café—backpackers taking pictures of the monastery, young people squatting on the street corner smoking, middle-aged women sitting in front of the souvenir shop flipping through magazines—all dropped their pretenses at the same time and got up to walk toward their respective vehicles.

Tian Yangyi opened the door of a black SUV, looked at the screen and saw a constantly moving red dot—the signal from the miniature tracker on Jackie's body—then stepped on the gas and drove deep into the Meteora Mountains.

……

On the other side, in the back of the van.

As soon as Jackie got into the car, a black cloth was put over her head.

He sat in the back, sandwiched between two men in black robes, his view completely blocked. He could only feel the car constantly bumping, turning, accelerating, and then decelerating.

However, Jackie neither struggled nor complained. Instead, she leaned back in her seat and chatted casually as if nothing had happened: "The air conditioning in this car is great. It must be well-maintained, right?"

No one answered him.

"How's the price of gas here? How much is a liter in Greece now?"

Still, no one answered.

"Fine, pretend I don't exist," Jackie shrugged indifferently. "But if you go too far, remember to let me know. I tend to throw up on your robes when I get carsick."

The thin man finally spoke, his voice tinged with helplessness: "Shut up."

"Okay, okay, shut up, shut up." Jackie obediently shut her mouth.

The car drove for about half an hour, and the road conditions were sometimes good and sometimes bad. Sometimes it was a smooth asphalt road, sometimes it was a bumpy gravel road, and sometimes it felt like driving over a long, rough stone-paved slope.

Through the gaps in the hood, Jackie could vaguely sense the changing light outside the car—from bright afternoon sunlight to a dark shadow, as if they were driving into a canyon or the shady side of a rock wall.

Finally, with a screeching sound of brakes, the car came to a stop. Then the door was yanked open, and a cold, strong hand grabbed his arm.

"arrive."

Jackie obediently stood up and was pushed off the bread cart.

The moment the hood was ripped off, the sunlight made him squint.

He found himself standing at the foot of a massive, pillar-like rock formation, with a narrow stone staircase in front of him that extended upwards for about ten meters, ending at a rusty iron elevator.

"Get up there!" the thin man snapped.

Jackie glanced at the elevator, then at the duo, and hesitated. "This thing doesn't look very safe... Are you sure you can hold the three of us? Why don't you go first, and I'll wait for the next one?"

However, the thin man didn't waste any words with him and went straight up and shoved him.

Jackie staggered onto the elevator platform, and before she could even steady herself, the gate was slammed shut with a piercing metallic scraping sound.

The elevator began to rise, the sound of chains and gears rubbing against each other echoing inside the mountain, each vibration causing the entire platform to sway slightly.

As the altitude gradually increases, the surrounding rock walls become higher and steeper, and occasionally, through the crevices, one can see some ancient, weathered, roughly chiseled stone steps that extend into the shadowy depths.

Finally, the elevator came to a slow stop with a creak, the gate was pulled open, and in front of it was an ancient monastery.

The monastery is perched atop a cliff, its greyish-white stone walls and dome blending almost seamlessly with the surrounding rock, as if it grew out of the stone itself.

The main gate is not large. Above the stone door frame is a faded stone emblem, the edges of which are blurred by wind erosion, but it is still possible to tell that it is a religious pattern from a long time ago.

Jackie was led through a low stone archway and down a spiral stone staircase. Finally, they arrived at a circular stone chamber, where an elderly man with white hair sat in the center of a carved wooden chair.

He was about sixty years old, wearing a dark gray robe, his gray hair combed back, his face deeply lined, but his eyes held a deep, unfathomable calm.

"Welcome, Mr. Eagle. I am Alexander, an elder of the Last Days Gospel Church."

Jackie was roughly shoved onto a wooden chair opposite her, and she stretched her aching shoulders with some annoyance: "You guys are really 'enthusiastic' when it comes to hospitality here."

Alexander didn't respond, but instead focused his gaze on the metal box at his feet: "What's the combination to that box?"

"What's the rush? Let me check if my friend is alright!"

Alexander waved his hand to the side and behind him, and two men came out from the side door and dragged a man in front of Jackie. The man's hands were tied behind his back, his mouth was gagged with a cloth, and his eyes were closed.

"Alan!" Jackie jumped up from his chair and tried to rush over, but the fat man behind him held his shoulders firmly and he couldn't break free.

"Don't worry, he's not dead yet," Alexander said coldly. "Now, tell me the password."

Jackie observed carefully and, after confirming that the other person's breathing was relatively steady, breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down in her chair: "Okay, the password is—7410."

Alexander tilted his head toward the metal box, and the fat man stepped forward and entered the four numbers into the combination lock on the lid.

With a soft click, the lid popped open, revealing three simple and ancient-looking metal objects neatly arranged inside—an iron sword, a shield, and a helmet.

Alexander stared at the three items for a few seconds, a sinister smile of satisfaction creeping onto his lips.

"Excellent... truly excellent! With this, the five divine weapons are now complete! On the night of the next full moon, we will throw them all into the sacred fire and destroy them completely. Then the great Lord of All Things will be able to utterly tear apart the shackles of the old gods and once again rule this world!"

Having said that, he abruptly turned around, facing the skylight in the center of the stone chamber, opened his arms, and began to recite a prayer whose words were indistinct. Several of his men in the stone chamber knelt down, crossed their hands in front of their chests, and bowed their heads.

After the prayer, Alexander turned to the fat and thin duo: "Put these with the other two."

"Yes, Elder!" The thin man picked up the three weapons, bowed respectfully, and then walked towards the corridor on the side of the chapel.

Alexander turned around and looked at Jackie again, his tone colder: "Mr. Eagle, you're really bold to just swagger into my territory all by yourself."

"I don't have many strengths, but being bold is one of them," Jackie said with a smile.

"Have you ever considered," Alexander said, "that once you're in, you might not be able to get out?"

Hearing this, Jackie's smile widened. His right hand slipped subtly into his coat pocket and pressed a small button: "Who said... I came unprepared?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he pressed the button abruptly.

boom--!"

A loud bang was heard.

The empty black metal box exploded instantly, sending several of his men flying and crashing heavily into the stone wall, spitting blood from their mouths.

Alexander was also thrown back several steps by the shockwave, and he had to grab the edge of the table to avoid falling. A look of fear and rage finally appeared on his face.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Jackie rolled on the spot and lunged towards Alan, grabbing an emergency iron rod as a weapon.

"Kill him!" Alexander's furious voice rang out.

……

Meanwhile, outside the monastery, Tenyo Yoshi was leading his men uphill from the east side.

"Report, Team A has entered the main building and is searching for the location of God's Armor... Team B is approaching the basement, and the signal source indicates that Jackie is over there."

"Very good," Tian Yangyi quickened his pace, "Proceed according to plan."