When someone threw dead cats into the Fa'en Temple set before dawn yesterday, Wan Yong had been furious.
Lu Chen didn't blame the guards assigned to the set. The filming location was simply too large, and without surveillance cameras, the team could only watch over the important equipment. There was no way they could prevent that kind of malicious sabotage.
But Wan Yong felt he had lost his pride. The people guarding the set were members of the Lu family's security team under his command. Since something like this had happened, he believed he was responsible.
Wan Yong was no ordinary man. After years in the military, he had honed exceptional combat skills and mastered specialized tactical training. Since leaving the service, however, he'd never really had a chance to put those abilities to use.
Now that this had happened, there was no way he was going to let a few gang thugs run wild right under his nose. That night, he personally led the team guarding the set. After discussing it with Lu Chen, he also bought and installed a basic surveillance system locally.
Once this former military elite got serious, a couple of petty troublemakers were no challenge at all. Sure enough, before dawn that very morning, they caught the culprits red-handed, with all the evidence still on them.
"Just two snot-nosed punks!" Wan Yong said proudly. "I only used a few tricks on them, and they spilled everything. They're low-level runners for Honghua. Normally, they deliver boxed lunches and do odd jobs. This time they brought two dead dogs and a bucket of dog blood to contaminate our set."
Throwing dead cats hadn't been enough; they were planning to splash dog blood as well. Lu Chen had finally seen just how shameless and disgusting these gang tactics could be.
"You didn't injure them, did you?" he asked.
Hong Kong operated under the common law system, and lawyers were everywhere. Even trivial disputes often ended up in court. Wan Yong hadn't called the police immediately after catching the troublemakers; instead, he'd taught them a lesson first.
If he'd actually injured them, the situation could become very troublesome. Honghua would definitely seize the opportunity to turn the tables. Even if the production was in the right, they could easily end up looking like the guilty party.
Wan Yong laughed. "Don't worry. You know my methods. Even if those two went to the hospital for an MRI, they wouldn't find a single injury. I had over a dozen interrogation techniques ready, but before I even finished the second one, they were already crying and telling me everything."
Lu Chen didn't know what to say. From the sound of it, Wan Yong was actually disappointed he hadn't gotten to use the rest.
"You did well," Lu Chen said. "I'm heading over now. Wait until I get there before calling the police."
If he was present when the officers arrived, he should be able to put some pressure on the other side.
After thinking for a moment, Lu Chen called Zhou Yi. His assistant answered instead, saying the boss was still asleep.
Lu Chen didn't think much of it and simply informed the secretary about what had happened at the set. He then hurriedly washed up, contacted Chen Wenqiang, and the two of them headed for Lion Rock together.
Chen Wenqiang was delighted to hear the troublemakers had been caught red-handed. At last, they had managed to strike back. He believed Honghua would finally have to face some legal consequences, easing the pressure on the production.
But before they even reached their destination, Wan Yong called again. Just a few minutes earlier, a group of people wearing Honghua Catering uniforms had arrived at the Fa'en Temple set.
They had completely blocked the entrance and were loudly demanding that the production release the two men they had caught.
They really were brazen.
Without a moment's hesitation, Lu Chen replied, "Call the police immediately. Hold the set and don't let them force their way in. Uncle Qiang and I will be there in ten minutes!"
Wan Yong said confidently, "Don't worry. The people staying here are all capable. Unless they bring weapons, I can keep them out even if there are twice as many of them."
"I'm counting on you."
After hanging up, Lu Chen turned to Chen Wenqiang. "Uncle Qiang, notify the Film City management."
To be honest, Lu Chen was extremely dissatisfied with the management of Lion Rock Film City. There was no way they didn't know what the 'A Chinese Ghost Story' production had been going through, yet they had chosen to turn a blind eye.
He refused to believe Honghua had no connections inside the Film City management. They were simply taking advantage of the fact that he was an outsider.
Frustrated as he was, Lu Chen still had to do things properly. No matter how the management responded, he had to make his position perfectly clear.
The Mercedes van carrying the two of them sped up. Without saying a word, Zhang Xiaofang put his driving skills on full display. A trip that normally took ten minutes was completed in just over five.
After parking, the three of them hurried toward the set. From a distance, they saw a crowd gathered outside the entrance to Fa'en Temple, confronting Wan Yong and several members of the film crew.
The police hadn't arrived yet, and there was still no sign of anyone from Film City management. A few paparazzi lurked nearby with cameras, secretly taking photos. They had most likely been tipped off by Honghua.
There were twenty or thirty people surrounding the set. They were all young and dressed in matching blue uniforms bearing the Honghua Catering logo. They acted as arrogantly as if they owned the place.
"Release them now, or don't blame us for what happens next!"
"Brothers! Those Mainlanders grabbed our guys! Are we going to let them get away with it?"
"Release them! Apologize! Pay compensation!"
"What kind of damn film crew steals our business and arrests our people? We'll settle this today!"
"Go back to the Mainland!"
Most of the Honghua men were empty-handed, but a few were carrying baseball bats.
Back in the 1970s and 1980s, when Hong Kong's gangs were at the height of their power, the major triad organizations fought each other constantly. Serious injuries and deaths were common.
Machetes and daggers were standard weapons, and even pistols and rifles occasionally appeared in gang conflicts. At the time, ordinary Hong Kong citizens lived in constant fear, worried they might be stabbed on the street or hit by a stray bullet.
Some gang members were so lawless that they would kill someone over the smallest disagreement.
That reality was reflected in Hong Kong films and television dramas. Gangster and cops-and-robbers stories became hugely popular, with gang members often portrayed as the heroes. The deliberate glorification of that lifestyle influenced countless young people in Hong Kong.
After several major crackdowns, however, those violent gangs gradually disappeared. The organizations that emerged afterward all disguised themselves as legitimate businesses and no longer resorted to open bloodshed at every turn.
At the same time, the Hong Kong government imposed extremely strict controls on firearms and prohibited weapons. Anyone caught with them faced severe punishment, so no one dared carry them openly anymore.
But old habits die hard. Violence was still deeply ingrained in the mentality of many gang members, and they continued to flaunt their strength whenever they could.
Since guns and prohibited weapons were off-limits, sturdy baseball bats became their weapon of choice. Carrying one wasn't illegal, but it could still inflict serious injuries and served as an effective tool for intimidation.
The moment Lu Chen, Chen Wenqiang, and Zhang Xiaofang arrived at the set, someone in the crowd immediately spotted them.
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(End of Chapter)
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