Interception

"What?!"

Black Skin Sha seemed not to have heard clearly, his gaze sweeping across the face of the youth with the ponytail before he spun around abruptly, asking in a hushed, intense voice, "Which one?"

"The one holding the cardboard box, with the crew cut."

Ponytail flicked his finger, his eyes fixed on the crowd busy packing up in the distance, his voice growing more certain.

"Damn it!"

Black Skin Sha fiercely threw the stub of his cigarette onto the ground, his face caught between anger and delight, and he spat harshly, "I've been looking for him for days without a trace, and tonight he's been right under my nose."

The person the youth with the ponytail pointed out was someone he had crossed paths with several times that night; he had even been stunned by the man's impressive movements while he was acting as a stunt double for that pretty-boy lead, joining the rest of the crew in applause.

"Brother Sha, I'll go bring him to you right now."

The few underlings beside Black Skin Sha immediately moved to head toward the film set to snatch the man.

"Wait."

Black Skin Sha reached out to stop his men, shaking his head slightly, "Don't make a move here. Get to the car first."

Having just heard Black Skin Sha explain the relationship between the film and money laundering, the underlings naturally didn't act rashly, each following him back to the car parked not far away.

"Everyone, check one last time to see if anything was left behind. If not, we can head out."

Over at the set, the production assistant in charge of miscellaneous tasks did a final sweep, shouted a few times to the department heads, and soon the vehicles loaded with equipment and personnel began to pull out of the pier.

It was already the dead of night, and even in a bustling metropolis like Hong Kong Island, the noise of the day had gradually faded into silence.

After parting ways with the crew's vehicles, the weary Fish Head Xu sat in the driver's seat of the beat-up Toyota, let out a yawn, and struck up a conversation with Yang Chu, who was sitting in the passenger seat:

"Chu, you were truly born for this line of work. Not only is your physical skill sharp, but your mind is quick, too. Even Brother Quan, who's behind the lens, wants to poach you. Let me tell you, he's got real talent."

"Mm."

Yang Chu responded softly. He had learned quite a bit at the set today, and it seemed that many industry heavyweights had come to work on this film.

He found the process of filmmaking—the scheduling, set design, acting, and so on—quite interesting; it was a complex job that required a certain level of creativity and artistry, though Yang Chu hadn't really considered a long-term career in the industry just yet.

"By the way, do you want to find a place to grab a late-night snack..."

After chatting for a bit, Fish Head Xu asked if Yang Chu wanted a midnight meal, but before he could finish, a blinding light in the rearview mirror made him squint his eyes.

"Who's driving? Following so close and keeping their high beams on!"

Fish Head Xu shouted in annoyance.

A car had appeared behind them out of nowhere, tailgating them closely, and had suddenly switched on its high beams.

Yang Chu tilted his head slightly, glanced at the car behind through the rearview mirror, and said from the side, "Brother Xu, let them pass."

"Good idea."

A bit of energy returned to Fish Head Xu's sleepy face as he slowed down slightly, "Once they pull ahead, I'm going to keep my high beams on and shine them right back at them the whole way."

But after Fish Head Xu slowed down, the car behind didn't overtake them; instead, it continued to follow at a steady, unhurried pace.

"Who the hell is messing with me?" Seeing the car behind refusing to pass and continuing to tail them, Fish Head Xu started grumbling again.

The car behind had left the pier with them. Although Fish Head Xu didn't know who it was, he guessed it must be someone from the crew, intentionally messing with him.

This kind of thing happened all the time back when their group of stuntmen went out; ten or so cars would often pull stunts like this on the road.

"Brother Xu, thanks for looking out for me these past few days."

Yang Chu withdrew his gaze from the rearview mirror, turned to look at Fish Head Xu, who was blinking incessantly from the glare of the high beams, and said with a smile.

Fish Head Xu didn't know who was in the car behind, but with the current processing speed of Yang Chu's brain, his reception and perception of external information far exceeded that of an ordinary person.

Back at the pier, he had already noticed someone watching him from afar, and after seeing the car tailing them, he became increasingly certain.

"Wow, Chu, suddenly being so formal? That's not like you."

Hearing Yang Chu's words, Fish Head Xu blinked his cross-eyed gaze repeatedly under the harsh light and exclaimed dramatically, "You aren't planning on ditching me once you become a big star, are you? Let me tell you, when you make it big, I'm sticking with you for work."

"Ha—"

Yang Chu chuckled, turned his head back to look at the street ahead, and slowly closed his eyes.

The two cars drove on for a few more minutes, reaching a deserted stretch of the Kwun Tong Industrial Zone.

Vroom—

The car behind them, which had been tailing them with its high beams on the entire time, suddenly accelerated and pulled ahead.

"Bastard, finally couldn't hold back, could you? I'm going to blind you for this."

Seeing the car pull in front, Fish Head Xu shouted excitedly, flicking on his own high beams to give them a taste of their own medicine.

But just then, the brake lights of the car ahead suddenly flared; it blocked their path and came to a complete stop.

Screech—

Fish Head Xu slammed on the brakes, his body pitching forward from the inertia, his head nearly hitting the steering wheel, before he finally managed to bring the car to a halt.

"Are you looking to die?!"

Completely enraged by the car ahead's maneuver, Fish Head Xu reached out to unbuckle his seatbelt, ready to get out and settle the score.

"Brother Xu!"

At this moment, Yang Chu, who had been sitting beside him, opened his eyes without anyone noticing and suddenly reached out to stop Fish Head Xu from unbuckling his seatbelt. "Don't get out of the car yet."

"What do you mean, Chu Zai?" Fish Head Xu looked at Yang Chu's actions, somewhat stunned.

Just then, the doors of the vehicle in front opened, and four or five men in suits stepped out.

"Reverse the car and leave first; we'll talk about everything later."

Yang Chu patted Fish Head Xu on the shoulder, turned, opened the passenger door, and stepped out.

"Black Fish Zai!"

As soon as Yang Chu stepped out, Black Skin Sha walked toward him, twisting his neck and swaying, his face full of sinister malice. "You really made me search for you!"

"Do you know me?"

Yang Chu stood by the car, watching Black Skin Sha and the four lackeys following him approach, his expression calm as he asked indifferently.

Black Skin Sha did not answer Yang Chu's question, but merely crooked his finger. A youth with a ponytail behind him stepped forward quickly and shouted at Yang Chu with some excitement: "Black Fish Zai, Brother Cheng is dead; now everyone follows Brother Sha."

"So, you know me?"

Yang Chu cast his gaze onto the ponytail youth.

The ponytail youth was clearly stunned when he heard Yang Chu ask this, as if he didn't understand why Yang Chu would ask such a thing.

Just as he was about to say something, Black Skin Sha shoved him aside and made an impatient gesture:

"Enough talk. Dao You Cheng still owes my boss tens of millions. He's dead, but that shipment is still there. Let's go, take me to find that shipment."

After he finished speaking, two capable lackeys behind Black Skin Sha walked up to Yang Chu, one on the left and one on the right, and reached out to grab him.