“Swish! Swish! Swish!” He bent down to pick up a wallet from the table, opened it wide, and saw that all the cash and bank cards were still there. Without hesitation, he pulled out a few HK$500 bills, folded them, and handed them to Wayne: “Thanks for your hard work last night. Take the brothers out for some morning tea—my treat.”

He understood the ways of the world well.

Wayne accepted the bills without hesitation, bowed deeply, and said, “Thank you, Brother Ben.”

Do a job, get paid. What the boss gives is by the rules.

However, Wayne, sporting heavy dark circles under his eyes—obviously from reading a novel all night and getting obsessed—still couldn’t help but say, “Brother Ben, what’s the name of this novel? It’s amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it before!”

“Was it published in a newspaper? There are still two pages I haven’t finished—can I take it with me?”

“If you like it, take it and finish reading. I wrote it in my spare time, it’s called ‘Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty.’ I never planned to publish it in the papers.” Robert Bolton took a sip of warm water and smiled. “You really like reading novels, huh?”

“Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty, Twin Dragons… what a great name! Brother Ben, you’re so talented, to write such a good book.”

“To be honest, boss, I can’t get into textbooks, but I read Ming Pao so much I ended up in the triad. I usually love reading newspapers, and this book is as thrilling as chasing the dragon—totally addictive! If it gets published, it’ll definitely be a hit!”

“Last time, the landlady said all triad guys are brainless. This time, I’m definitely taking this back to show her, make her respect me from the bottom of her heart.” Wayne picked it up, visibly excited, as if he’d found a soulmate.

Robert Bolton hadn’t expected to find a bookworm in the triad. A modern-day Guan Gong? Left hand holding Ming Pao, right hand wielding a blade—reading while slashing?

Still, he had a good impression of this bookworm under his command. He turned, walked to the cabinet, took out a script, handed it to him, patted his shoulder, and instructed, “Since you love reading so much, I’ve got a job for you.”

“Help me deliver this script to TVB and find Frank. Let Frank take a look, and if he likes it, arrange to have lunch together.” Robert Bolton handed over the script for “A Better Tomorrow,” sending a little brother to make inquiries.

“A Better Tomorrow” is a classic Hong Kong gangster film, a hit across generations, its influence reaching the mainland, Japan, and Korea—a true benchmark in cinema.

Starring: Chow Yun-fat, Leslie Cheung, Ti Lung.

Director: John Woo.

Release date: 1986

All big names, all stars.

Even if they’re not famous now, they’ll be superstars in the future.

The production cost for a film like this is quite high.

There’s also the technical crew, special effects, extras, and so on… Not something ordinary people can pull off.

In theory, with the roughly two million Robert Bolton had, it would be best to start with low-budget films like “Mr. Vampire” or the “Happy Ghost” series.

Shoot small films while chasing starlets.

But if he went off alone to make a low-budget film, with no one to help, where would he find a team? Better to find a big name as a banner, use that to attract people—maybe with his triad status, he could pull it off!

After all, Chow Yun-fat is the hottest star right now.

If you’re going to cash in, cash in on him.

Besides, Prince Ben himself is a man of the underworld—making a gangster crime film is only fitting, right? In the film industry or the triad, no one could find fault with it, and there’s no fear of anyone seeing through it.

Brotherhood, black and white, loyalty and righteousness.

A man’s romance.

“Don’t worry, Brother Ben, I’ll make sure the message gets through.” Wayne took the script and answered solemnly, feeling the heavy weight of responsibility.

“Go do your thing, I’m going to get some more sleep.” Robert Bolton waved his hand. He still had to check the accounts at Ma Lan tonight and manage the triad’s territory. Honestly, it was exhausting—no different from being a wage slave. Wayne nodded, took the script and the novel, opened the door, bowed, and left.

After he closed the door, a few henchmen waiting in a car by the roadside came up to greet him: “Brother Wayne, Brother Wayne.”

Wayne instinctively glanced left and right, then suddenly remembered he was carrying a script, not heroin, so he quickly looked back, pulled out a few bills, and handed them to the little brothers in front of him: “Brother Ben is treating everyone to tea. Split it up, then take me to TVB.”

One of the little brothers took the money and asked, “Brother Wayne, why are you going to TVB? The boss isn’t after some actress, is he?”

Another opened the car door and said, “If you want to date an actress, you have to buy her an apartment. Better to wait for the Miss Hong Kong pageant, then go through the top ten one by one.”

Wayne took a Black Star pistol from the back seat, wrapped it in the script, and tucked it under his suit arm. “Chasing actresses? We’re here to do business!”

“This is something Brother Ben entrusted to me—how could it be simple? I don’t want to let Brother Ben down! You all better stay sharp and help me get this done for Brother Ben!” Wayne lectured the little brothers, then got in the car with them and headed for the TVB building.

TVB is Hong Kong’s first television station to receive a free-to-air license, and the world’s largest Chinese-language commercial TV station.

Its main businesses include television broadcasting, program production and distribution, digital media, and publishing, making it one of the world’s largest Chinese-language commercial media companies.