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

While the aftershocks of the explosion were still echoing between the stone walls, Jackie untied Alan from the chair, slung him neatly over his back, and dashed towards the side door of the chapel.

"Alan, you bastard... You usually look so thin, how come you're so heavy..."

Jackie gritted her teeth and muttered a complaint, preparing to run up the spiral stone staircase. But as soon as she reached the top of the stairs, rows of blinding flames lit up above, accompanied by curses shouted in Greek by a man in black robes.

"Tsk, again?" Jackie frowned, and with no other choice, she turned around and ran deeper into the ground.

After going down two or three floors and turning a corner, a half-open wooden door appeared at the end of the corridor. Jackie didn't have time to think. Hearing the footsteps behind her getting closer, she quickly squeezed in, hooked the door shut with her heel, and then leaned against the door to catch her breath.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Jackie finally breathed a sigh of relief and carefully looked around.

This was a stone chamber filled with clutter. In the corner were some tables, chairs, benches, a broom with a broken leg, and several tattered straw mats. The air was filled with the smell of dust and hay.

Jackie placed Alan on a straw mat in the corner, then tore off his own khaki trench coat, folded it a few times, and placed it under Alan's head to make him more comfortable.

Then he straightened up, pulled out the iron rod from behind his waist, and cautiously peered towards the door.

"Bang!"

The next moment, a foot wearing a black leather boot swept over at lightning speed, striking his wrist and sending his iron pipe flying.

Before he could react, a second foot appeared, kicking him straight in the chin. The force of the kick caused Jackie to stumble backward, his head hitting the wall and seeing stars.

"Holy crap—" Jackie clutched his head and scrambled behind the overturned wooden table, panting and rubbing his head. "Who attacked us?!"

As soon as the words were spoken, four figures dressed in dark short robes walked in, and then pulled off their robes in unison—revealing four dark faces, short hair to their ears, sharp eyes, and clearly defined muscles on their arms, clearly indicating that they were trained fighters.

Jackie's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "...Female thugs? These days, even cults are practicing gender equality?"

However, no one paid any attention to Jackie's flirtatious remarks. The four of them lined up in a row, and the one in the middle struck first, aiming directly at Jackie's face.

The punch was fast and heavy, accompanied by a whooshing sound, and Jackie instinctively stepped aside.

"Bang"

With a muffled thud, a fist grazed his ear and slammed into the wall beside him, causing lime to fall in a flurry, making his ears ring.

"Damn it!" Jackie yelled and quickly took two steps back to the left. Just as he was about to retaliate against the woman, two dark figures pounced on him from both sides at the same time. Jackie had nowhere to dodge and had no choice but to retreat again.

He truly hadn't expected that these four female assassins were so incredibly coordinated. Every time he dodged a punch, someone would immediately follow up with a kick; sometimes one would even attack his upper body while the other swept his lower body, leaving him only able to awkwardly parry and block, his shoulders, hips, and buttocks suffering countless attacks that stung painfully.

"Hey ladies... you guys are working together way too well!" Jackie complained as she was being beaten, gradually being cornered by the four of them with nowhere to retreat.

"Mr. Eagle, I never expected that a grown man like you would cry out so weakly when you're being beaten." The leading black woman licked her lips and said sarcastically.

"Damn it, you—" Jackie was just about to retort and defend his manly dignity when the woman swept him over with a high roundhouse kick.

Jackie quickly bent his knees and squatted down. The leg swept past his head with a "whoosh," and the wind it generated lifted his hair.

"That was close..." Jackie touched her still-present hair, breathed a sigh of relief, and then leaped to the wall, grabbed a bald broom with only a handle, and poked it in the face of the woman blocking her way.

With a "thud," the broom handle struck the woman squarely in the face. The woman screamed in pain, clutching her face and staggering back two steps.

Taking advantage of her staggering moment, Jackie rolled over and got up, then ran towards the other end of the house. But he had only taken two steps when he slipped and fell flat on his back with a "thud".

It turned out that the dirty water bucket in the corner had been knocked over at some point, and sewage had spilled all over the ground, which he happened to step on.

"Damn it!" Jackie fell flat on her back to the ground, looking utterly hopeless.

Just then, a black woman jumped in front of him and was about to stomp on him.

"What bad luck! What bad luck! What bad luck!"

Jackie did an unsightly roll to barely dodge the stomp, then grabbed a wet burlap sack from the ground and slapped it onto the other person's shin.

Caught off guard, the woman tripped over the sack, stumbled forward, and crashed headfirst into the wall.

"Thump!—"

A muffled thud was heard, and the young woman became the first to leave the battlefield.

"Oh my god..." Jackie himself winced as he watched. "That's going to hurt."

However, after this commotion, Jackie also discovered the weakness of the four black women: although they were strong and coordinated well, the storeroom was too small and cluttered with obstacles, so they couldn't use their wide-open fighting style. Instead, they often bumped into each other, and their moves were blocked by their companions before they could even be delivered.

Having figured out how to break the deadlock, Jackie simply abandoned traditional combat and started running around the room aimlessly.

He would crawl under the table one moment, then climb onto a stool the next, running and throwing everything he could reach out—cloth scraps, sacks, bucket lids, broken chair boards… he would smash them down, leaving the remaining three scrambling to catch their breath.

The effect was quite pleasing. A young woman was rushing towards him when she stepped on the slippery wooden plank that Jackie had just knocked over. She slid out with a "whoosh" and crashed into the wall. She was then covered by a pile of rags next to the wall and kept spitting out the rags.

Another woman circled around to Jackie's side and threw a punch—but Jackie seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, tilting his head back so the punch grazed his ear and landed squarely on his companion's shoulder. The companion cried out "Ouch!" and glared angrily at her.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't hit your own people!" Jackie shouted gleefully from the side.

In the end, Jackie successfully defeated the other two using the props, and the situation finally turned into a 1V1 duel.

The last one standing, number four, saw his three sisters fall to the ground in a sorry state and flew into a rage. With a roar, he strode over and reached out to grab Jackie's collar.

However, Jackie didn't confront the other person head-on. Instead, she sidestepped and, taking advantage of the other person's momentum, shoved her hard in the lower back. The fourth person lost her footing and crashed straight into a pile of old tables and chairs.

With a loud crash, the tables and chairs collapsed instantly, slamming her to the ground, leaving her unable to move.

The room finally quieted down.

Jackie leaned against the wall, took a few deep breaths, and after confirming that they wouldn't be able to get up anytime soon, she stood up, leaning against the wall, and walked towards the corner.

"Alan, it's alright, we can—"

However, before she could finish speaking, Jackie was shocked to find that Alan had woken up at some point and was now slowly getting up from the ground, clutching a sharpened dagger in his hand.

Jackie's pupils constricted sharply: "Alan?"

His only response was a straight thrust without hesitation.

"Holy crap!" Jackie's hair stood on end, and almost instinctively he turned to the side, pushing forward with both hands at the same time.

With a thud, Alan was pushed away and fell heavily to the ground, the dagger in his hand clinking to the side.

Jackie looked down at his abdomen—thankfully, the blow had only torn the hem of his clothes and hadn't injured his skin. Even so, it still sent a chill down his spine.

"You son of a bitch—" Jackie stomped her feet in anger, pointing at Alan on the ground and yelling, "You brat, I risked my life to save you, and what do you do?! You grab a weapon and stab me in the kidney?! What's wrong with you?!"

However, when faced with Jackie's questioning, Alan acted as if he hadn't heard her. He struggled to get up, his eyes filled with confusion and emptiness, like a puppet being manipulated.

"Stop calling him, he's not awake at all." Just then, a familiar voice came from afar.

Jackie suddenly looked up.

Tian Yangyi had somehow appeared at the doorway of the storage room, a smoking silenced pistol clutched in his hand. Behind him, several dark figures flashed past—all elites from Jiahe Security.

"Brother Yi?!" Jackie was overjoyed.

Tian Yangyi waved his hand, then flashed behind Alan like a phantom, his two arms suddenly locking around Alan's neck with just the right amount of force. Alan struggled a couple of times, then quickly lost consciousness and collapsed limply to the ground.

Jackie looked at Alan lying on the ground, her expression showing a hint of shock and tension: "My friend, what happened to him—"

"A tranquilizer," Tian Yangyi explained, "a new drug developed by the End-of-Days Evangelical Fellowship. After injection, the victim's consciousness is suppressed and completely controlled by them."

Jackie crouched down, examined his eyelids, and asked worriedly, "What should we do?"

"Go find Elder Alexander. Our men have him under control," Tian Yangyi said calmly. "He should have the antidote."

"Great!" Upon hearing this, Jackie perked up immediately, hoisted him onto her shoulder without a word, and exclaimed, "What are we waiting for? Let's go, Yi-ge!"

Tian Yangyi nodded, then turned and led Jackie outside.

They walked through several winding corridors and around a bombed-out staircase before finally arriving at a circular chapel.

The chapel had become a temporary detention center. Armed personnel from Jiahe Security guarded all entrances and exits, and more than thirty core members of the Evangelical Fellowship were squatting against the wall with their hands behind their heads. Alexander was among them.

Jackie placed Alan on a chair against the wall, then strode over, grabbed Alexander's shoulder, and shoved him forward half a step: "Tell me, where is the antidote for the tranquilizer?"

Alexander turned to look at Jackie, a cold smile playing on his lips: "You've ruined my life's work and territory like this... Do you think I'd tell you?"

Jackie was furious and raised her hand to slap the old man twice across the face.

Two loud "smacks" rang out, but the other party gritted his teeth and, even with blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, remained stubbornly defiant, refusing to utter a word.

Jackie stared at him in silence for two seconds, then suddenly chuckled and let go of his hand.

"Fine, that's got guts." Jackie took a half step back, reached behind his waist, and pulled out a dark Glock pistol, which he slammed onto the table next to him.

"Since you won't tell me, let's play a little game."

Alexander's sneer froze instantly, and a bad feeling immediately arose in his heart.

Jackie deftly ejected the magazine and, right in front of Alexander, began loading the bullets one by one. Then he closed the magazine, pulled the slide to chamber a round, and decisively pulled the trigger toward the ceiling.

"Bang!"

A deafening gunshot rang out in the enclosed chapel, echoing through the ancient stone dome. Several evangelical Christians crouching against the wall trembled in fear, shrinking their necks back in terror.

"See that? Real gun, live ammunition, sixteen rounds left." Jackie slowly pressed the still-smoking muzzle of the gun against Alexander's forehead. "You said your All-Knowing One would protect you. Let's make a bet—if your All-Knowing One protects you, every single shot I fire from now on will jam. If even one doesn't jam... this bullet will go right through your forehead."

Alexander was completely stunned. Cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead and streamed down his deeply lined cheeks.

"Who...who the hell told you to play Russian roulette like this?" Alexander's voice trembled, his teeth chattering. "You...you should at least have a revolver!"

"The gun is in my hand, so I can set the rules," Jackie grinned, his tone as relaxed as if chatting with an old friend. "You have two choices now—either tell me where the antidote is, and I'll let you go; or you continue to fight to the death, and we'll see if your Lord of All Things really cares about you."

I'll count to three.

Alexander stared at the dark muzzle of the gun, his lips trembling as he tried to maintain his last shred of pride, but cold sweat was already pouring down his forehead like raindrops.

"three!"

Alexander stood there, his breathing growing heavier.

"two!"

Jackie turned and glanced at Tian Yangyi. Without saying a word, the latter had already signaled his men to head towards the secret room.

A few minutes later, one of his men returned carrying a metal box about the size of a palm. Inside the box were three sealed vials of injection.

Jackie took the box, quickly walked to Alan's side, squatted down, pulled up his sleeve, inserted the needle into his arm, and slowly pushed in the liquid.

About half a minute later, Alan's eyelashes fluttered slightly, and then he slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was still somewhat unfocused, but the focus was gradually returning. He saw Jackie's face, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

"...Jackie?" His voice was hoarse and indistinct, still groggy from just waking up from unconsciousness. "What...what are you doing here?"

Jackie looked at his bewildered face, breathed a sigh of relief, and then gave him a light tap on the head: "I was about to ask you that! How did you end up tied up here? And you got stuck with all those weird needles, they almost pierced me through!"

Alan frowned, clutching the spot where he had been hit, looking confused. "What needle? I don't remember anything..."

Jackie wanted to hurl a few more insults, but seeing how weak the other person looked, she could only sigh and say, "Alright, it's good that you're alright. I'll settle the score with you later."

……

As Jackie helped Alan through the last stone gate and back onto the platform atop the solitary rock outside the monastery, the afternoon sun slanted across the entire valley.

A dark gray helicopter was parked in the center of the platform, the wind from its rotors causing the hems of the two men's clothes to flutter. Two members of Jiahe Security stood beside the helicopter, with two black metal boxes at their feet. These contained the five pieces of God's Armor confiscated from Alexander, not one missing.

Tian Yangyi walked around the side of the helicopter and stood in front of Jackie: "The plane will take you to a nearby city hospital. He needs to have a full check-up to make sure there are no lingering health problems."

Jackie grasped his hand and squeezed it firmly: "Brother Yi, thank you so much for this."

Alan, who was standing nearby, also managed to stand up. Jackie had explained the whole story to him on the way here, so he bowed slightly to Tian Yangyi in gratitude: "Thank you, sir, for saving my life... I will remember it."

"You're welcome," Tian Yangyi nodded. "I'm just doing what the boss asked me to do."

Jackie helped Alan walk towards the helicopter door. With the help of his teammates, Alan climbed into his seat and fastened his seatbelt. Jackie didn't follow immediately; he stood by the door and glanced back at Tian Yangyi.

"Brother Yi," he said, "come see me next time you take a vacation."

Tian Yangyi was slightly taken aback.

"I'll show you the adventurous life of a treasure hunter," Jackie grinned, reverting to his usual carefree demeanor, "It'll exceed your expectations."

Tian Yangyi was silent for two seconds, looked at Jackie's smug smile, his lips twitched, and then he nodded slightly.

Jackie smiled, gave him a thumbs up, turned around, climbed into the helicopter, and closed the door.

The roar of the rotors gradually increased, and the helicopter slowly took off, kicking up a vortex of dust and gravel on the ground.

Tian Yangyi stood there, watching the dark gray helicopter fly higher and higher, farther and farther away, until it finally became a tiny black dot and disappeared at the edge where the Meteora Mountains met the sky.