Recognition

The location was an old pier in Kwun Tong, not far from the nearby road.

Fishhead Xu parked the car outside, and as Yang Chu got out, he saw that many stuntmen and crew members were already busy working around the pier.

Without needing any instructions, the two of them jumped right in, helping to move equipment and props.

"Tonight's scene is the first major one. There will be a lot of people involved, and in between, there'll be fight scenes and gunfights. We need to get the set ready," Fishhead Xu said as he unloaded some prop guns from a truck. He casually explained the evening's shoot to Yang Chu, "You'll mostly be doing some stunt work for the lead actor from yesterday. The rest of the time, you'll fill in wherever needed, maybe take a few hits or falls. Ka Lok will guide you."

At this point, Fishhead Xu seemed to get chatty and pointed around the pier. "This place was expensive to rent. The boss wants us to finish in one day, two or three at the most. Back in the day, we used to sneak onto locations at night when no one was around. We shot scenes on Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. The police wouldn't shut the roads for us, so we just went ahead.

"Once, we were filming a heist at a jewelry store. We had cleared everything with the store, but some passerby saw it and thought it was a real robbery and called the cops on us..."

Yang Chu nodded slightly, showing he understood.

Although the pier looked desolate, that didn't mean it was cheap to rent for filming.

The entire morning, Yang Chu stayed busy moving between the stunt coordinator, props, crew, and lighting, helping out wherever needed.

His work earned praise from everyone around him. Although new to film sets, he understood things quickly and picked up skills fast, showing qualities well beyond the average stuntman.

While Fishhead Xu and the crew discussed set construction, Yang Chu remained mostly silent, but he listened carefully. In his mind, he could vividly picture the scene they were describing. Occasionally, he made a suggestion or two to Fishhead Xu, instantly clearing up some of the crew's confusion.

Lunch was a boxed meal at the temporary set, and Yang Chu ended up eating two portions. Later, Fishhead Xu got another one for him from the crew.

Afterward, there wasn't much to do. The weather was hot, and Yang Chu noticed that some of the crew members were gathered in groups, playing cards, betting on horse races, or napping.

Yang Chu found a shady spot and pulled out the book he had borrowed that day, flipping through its pages. Fishhead Xu, unable to sit still, wandered over to watch the card games but returned shortly after and lay down next to Yang Chu for a nap.

Around 4 p.m., everyone was called back into action by the assistant director, Brother Quan, and the stunt coordinator, Ka Lok.

Not long after, one of the lead actors for the night, Wu Jai, arrived, along with Director Sam Bo and the group they had previously met on Axe Hill Road, including Heipi Sha and his gang.

Director Sam Bo inspected the set and made a few adjustments before consulting with the props, costumes, and lighting departments. He also took time to discuss the scenes with the actors.

Yang Chu and Wu Jai were pulled aside by Ka Lok to go over the stunts Yang Chu would be performing as Wu Jai's double.

The stunts weren't too complicated. The plot involved the lead character and an old cop, played by Sam Bo, setting up an ambush to catch a gang during a deal. Midway through, Sam Bo's cop character noticed something happening on the other side of the pier, and a dispute arose between him and the lead. The lead character wanted to stay focused on the mission, not wanting to jeopardize it, but Sam Bo's cop couldn't ignore what was happening and rushed over to intervene, forcing the lead to follow.

Yang Chu's stunt involved the lead character jumping from a container onto the roof of a truck, then vaulting over a nearby fence and landing on the ground before scaling another truck to complete the scene.

As for the fight scenes later, Yang Chu was cast as a low-level henchman. Ka Lok didn't assign him any reaction moves, thinking he wasn't quite ready yet.

By the time everything was ready, night had fallen.

Dinner was another boxed meal on set, and even the gang members Yang Chu had noticed earlier had no special treatment—they ate the same boxed meals. From the moment they arrived in the afternoon, they stood at a distance, not interfering with the crew's work.

"Positions, everyone! Get ready!"

At 8 p.m., the filming officially began.

The scene before Yang Chu's was performed by Director Sam Bo himself. He jumped down from a container, grabbed a metal bar, and spun gracefully. It was hard to believe that someone weighing over 200 pounds could move with such agility.

Yang Chu's stunt went off without a hitch—one take, clean and smooth, earning applause from the stunt team.

With a climbing scene, a chase scene, and two fight scenes between the cops and the gang, the night's shoot at the pier wrapped up quickly.

It all went faster than Yang Chu had expected.

"Chu Jai, I heard from Ka Lok that you did great today," Director Sam Bo said as he passed by, giving Yang Chu a pat on the shoulder and a word of praise.

The director was pleased with the pace of the night's filming. The nighttime shoots had been a bit tricky to coordinate, but the lighting, set design, and props all worked perfectly.

With the dim lighting focusing mostly on long shots, the actors weren't under too much pressure, and the shoot wrapped up smoothly.

"Thanks, Asa!" Director Sam Bo called out to Yang Chu and the stunt team before turning to thank Heipi Sha and his crew, who had come for a cameo.

For them, it was almost like playing themselves—standing around, looking tough, and pulling off a few angry expressions.

"We waited all day for just two shots of this guy," one of Heipi Sha's underlings grumbled after the director left.

"What do you know?" Heipi Sha waved a finger at him. Another underling quickly offered a cigarette and lit it for him.

Heipi Sha took a deep drag, exhaled, and continued, "If this guy hadn't lost his touch these past two years, do you think calling him 'Big Brother' would get you anywhere?"

"Then why are we investing in his movie?" the underling asked, clearly confused.

"Of course, we're investing."

Heipi Sha, cigarette between his lips, looked at the puzzled underling and patted his cheek. "Let me ask you—can you deposit the cash we make from our powder business into the bank every month? Can you use it to buy cars or houses? No, it's dirty money. They'll come after you, you idiot!"

The underling scratched his head, clearly still not getting it.

Heipi Sha ignored him this time, his gaze fixed on the crew packing up in the distance. "Our money's dirty, but we can quietly funnel it into film production. Pay for the crew, cover the expenses, and the tax office won't know a thing.

"When the movie comes out, you buy out the box office or stockpile VHS tapes. The money that comes back from the cinemas and distribution? It's clean—tax paid. Even the cops can't touch you.

"And if you run it through a few companies, you won't even have to pay taxes. It's all squeaky clean. Plus, with Hong Kong movies doing so well, a three-to-five-million investment can turn into tens of millions. Only a fool wouldn't do it."

The underling was left stunned by Heipi Sha's explanation. Only now did he realize why his boss had dropped everything to cozy up to that guy.

"Boss!"

"Boss!"

As Heipi Sha was lecturing his underling, another car pulled up in the open space near the pier. Two men got out and walked over to Heipi Sha.

"What's the update?"

Heipi Sha, cigarette in hand, pointed at the young man with a ponytail.

"Boss, that kid's vanished. We talked to everyone he used to know, and none of them have seen him," the ponytailed man said, his face clouded with frustration.

"I've been waiting for days. Now you're telling me you can't find him? I'm easy to deal with, but Tai哥 isn't," Heipi Sha snapped, his face suddenly dark and menacing as he glared at the ponytailed man.

"Boss, I really can't..." the ponytailed man stammered, his expression bitter. These past few days, he had been driven mad by Heipi Sha and his crew, but no matter what he tried, he just couldn't track down the guy they were looking for.

Just as he was about to beg for mercy, his eyes landed on the crew in the distance, and he froze.

"What's wrong? Lost your soul?" Heipi Sha asked, puzzled by the sudden change.

"Boss!"

The ponytailed man pointed at the crew packing up in the distance, his voice trembling slightly. "Th-that's him... Wu Yu Jai..."