Meanwhile, in an office in a dilapidated office building in Kowloon, with a sign that reads "Lo Wei Films," the situation seems less favorable.
Lo Wei, the once ambitious director and boss, now looks like a defeated rooster, huddled behind his dilapidated desk.
The desk was piled high with unpaid bills and court summonses.
The office door was tightly closed, but the violent banging and shouting from outside pounded in like heavy hammers.
"Lo Wei! Open the door! You bastard! You want to be a deadbeat and not pay back your money?"
"If you don't open the door, we'll break it down!"
"Open the door! Give me my money back!"
Outside the door stood several burly men wearing floral shirts, with faces full of scars and tattoos of dragons and tigers on their arms. The one in the lead, with a cigarette in his mouth and a fierce look in his eyes, was none other than "Big Guy" Sang Biao, sent by the finance company to collect debts.
He was followed by five or six equally fierce-looking henchmen.
"Brother Biao... Brother Biao, it seems like no one's inside?" A henchman listened through the crack in the door.
"Nobody here?" Sang Biao sneered, took a deep drag on his cigarette, threw the butt on the ground, and stubbed it out with his leather shoe. "Kick this place away!"
With a loud "bang!", the already rickety wooden door was kicked open by a burly henchman, the door panel hitting the wall and bouncing back.
Luo Wei trembled with fear and instinctively tried to crawl under the table.
"Hey! Isn't this Director Luo? Playing hide-and-seek?" Sang Biao led his men in, grinning as he walked to the desk, grabbed Luo Wei by the collar, and lifted him off the chair like a chicken.
“Brother Biao…Brother Biao…Let’s talk this out…” Luo Wei’s face was pale and his voice was trembling.
"What are you talking about? Talk about money!" Sang Biao punched Luo Wei in the stomach.
"Ugh..." Luo Wei bent over in pain, his stomach churning.
"Three and a half million Hong Kong dollars! With interest! If you don't pay me back today, I'll break your arm!" Sang Biao roared viciously, spitting all over Luo Wei's face.
"Biao...Brother Biao...it's really not true..."
Luo Wei clutched his stomach, wailing in agony, "The company... the company is bankrupt... I've lost everything... I have no money left, and if I had to take my life... I only have one pair of underwear..."
"Nothing?" Sang Biao punched Luo Wei in the shoulder again, knocking him to the ground. "Do you think I'm stupid? No money? If you don't have money, sell your kidneys or blood! You bastard!"
Several henchmen surrounded him and began punching and kicking Luo Wei, who was lying on the ground. The office echoed with dull thuds and Luo Wei's miserable groans.
Just then—
"Ring ring... Ring ring..." The landline phone on the desk rang shrilly.
The ringing sounded particularly jarring amidst the chaotic shouting and cursing.
One of the henchmen stopped what he was doing and looked at Sang Biao: "Brother Biao, the phone's ringing. Should we let him answer it? Maybe... it's someone bringing money?"
Sang Biao spat on Luo Wei's face: "Give him money? Look at his pathetic state, he's even pawned his underwear, who would give him money? Who would dare to give him money?" He was convinced that Luo Wei was at his wit's end.
Luo Wei, who was lying on the ground with a bruised and swollen face and barely alive, also heard the phone ring.
His heart tightened suddenly!
Could this call be from a friend?
If these jackals find out… He struggled to get up and unplug the phone line, shouting hoarsely, “Unplug…unplug the line! Don’t answer…they might…they might be debt collectors too…”
He didn't want to implicate anyone.
However, the more he acted this way, the more suspicious Sang Biao became.
He grabbed the struggling Luo Wei and sneered, "Not answering? The more you refuse, the more I'll make you answer! Put it on speakerphone!"
One of the henchmen immediately pressed the speakerphone button on the phone.
On the other end of the phone, Chan Kong-sang's voice, unusually loud with excitement, immediately came through: "Mr. Law! Mr. Law! It's me, Kong-sang! Where are you? Hurry! Come to my house! We're going to be rich! We're going to strike it rich! It's amazing news! Come to Causeway Bay! I'm waiting for you! Beep...beep...beep..."
Chen Gangsheng hung up the phone as soon as he finished speaking. He was so excited about sharing the good news that he didn't notice the unusual silence and heavy breathing on the other end of the line.
Without waiting for Luo Wei's reply, he hung up the phone and rushed back to report to Xiao Linsheng.
After the call ended, there was a deathly silence in Luo Wei's office.
Luo Wei's heart sank to the bottom in an instant.
He felt everything go black before his eyes. It was all over! Everything was over!
Gang Sheng, what a loser!
This has really gotten me into trouble! And it's gotten you into trouble too!
The sinister smile on Sang Biao's face instantly turned into smugness and greed.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
He burst into laughter, grabbed the ashen-faced Luo Wei and dragged him up from the ground, saying, "I was wondering why no one was sending money? Look! The God of Wealth himself called! Prosperous? Rich? Great! Excellent!"
Was that Chan Kong-sang who just called? That loser from your company? Come on! Lead the way! To Causeway Bay! Are you guys about to strike it rich?
"Great! Perfect timing! Pay back our three and a half million first! If you're short a penny, I'll make sure you and that kid both end up dead!"
Lowe was immediately filled with despair and utter hopelessness.
He knew that resistance was futile. Even if he didn't lead the way, with their abilities, they could easily find out Gang Sheng's address with a simple search.
So, in desperation, Luo Wei could only be pushed and shoved into a dilapidated van by Sang Biao and his men, like a walking corpse, and sped towards the working-class neighborhood where Chan Kong-sang lived in Causeway Bay.
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