I Just Want to Act, but the System Wants Me to Be a Mogul

In 1979, Hong Kong's entertainment industry was moving on from cashing in on Bruce Lee's popularity and gradually finding new directions. Golden Harvest and Shaw Brothers stood as two titans. The former threw its full support behind Sammo Hung, who directed and starred in The Incredible Kung Fu Master, combining kung fu and comedy to great acclaim. The latter put Liu Chia-liang front and center, producing the hard-hitting The 36th Chamber of Shaolin to an enthusiastic response. Snake in the Eagle's Shadow and Drunken Master were both critical and commercial hits. Jackie Chan landed a huge check from Golden Harvest and was finally ready to hold his head high. The four Hui brothers were all immensely talented, their unique brand of comedy constantly breaking box-office records. The first king of comedy and the original God of Song had no rivals in sight. The Four Heavenly Kings were still unknown, while the two Zhous and Stephen Chow were only just beginning to make a name for themselves. A young man arrived in the golden age of Hong Kong's entertainment industry, when countless talents competed and every art form flourished. Lin Tingyue had assumed that being reborn would naturally put him on the road to success. Who knew the System would hand him such a mess? [Mission One: Talent always emerges, each generation shining in its own time. A young man has arrived in the Hong Kong underworld crossover world. It's time to make a name for yourself.] Hong Kong underworld crossover? Gangland bosses? Where the hell have I ended up? Wasn't I here to act? Years later, the global media would call Lin Tingyue the last man of conscience in Hong Kong cinema and the final boss of the underworld. “What? You want to know if I'm a gangland boss?” “Come on, this is a civilized society. Fighting and killing gets you nowhere!” “What? You want to know if I really know kung fu?” “Come on, if you want to get ahead these days, you need connections and a powerful background!” “Know how to fight? What good is that?”