(0:00) Believe it or not, (0:03) first legendary explorer Robert Ripley, (0:06) now Michael Ripley follows in his footsteps. (0:13) He and his friends, Samantha and Cyril, (0:17) circle the globe in search of (0:20) the strange, (0:22) the bizarre, (0:24) the unexplained. (0:32) Leaving no mystery unresolved, against all odds, (0:36) they challenge you to believe it or not.
(1:15) May the lucky coin bring you good fortune today. (1:20) May the lucky coin bring you wealth. (1:29) Mr. Lee, good morning.
(1:31) Hello, Kwan. (1:34) Ah, the lucky coin. (1:36) What would we do without it? (1:44) Incoming telephone call.
(1:49) You! (1:51) Why are you calling me? (1:53) Hello, Chang. (1:54) I have a trade request that I need you to process. (1:57) I wouldn't ask, but all my people are busy.
(2:00) Come on, it'll be like the old days. (2:03) We were friends once. (2:05) Very well.
(2:06) Forward me the trade and I'll call you when it is confirmed. (2:12) Trade received. (2:16) Trade confirmed.
(2:19) The lucky coin's been stolen! (2:52) Oh no, the stock market! (2:55) It's crushing! (3:00) Come on, baby. (3:08) Download the newest version of Virus Executioner, please. (3:17) Cyril, are you downloading software again? (3:20) How many times today? (3:21) Three, four, ten? (3:23) Excuse me, but this is only the second time today.
(3:27) And hey, we might need these programs someday. (3:29) What I need is to access the computer. (3:33) There, all done.
(3:36) All right, let's check what's going on in the world. (3:45) The run on the Hong Kong stock market shows no sign of slowing. (3:48) Hey, aren't you invested pretty heavily in Asian stock? (3:51) Yeah, about 30% of Baoyang's portfolio.
(3:54) 30%! Whoa! (3:56) Red alert! (3:58) Call your broker pronto! (4:00) It's okay, Cyril. Chang's a family friend. (4:02) I'm sure he'd call if I was in trouble.
(4:06) Rip, we've got a major crash on our hands. (4:09) I strongly urge you to sell. (4:11) Is it really that bad? (4:13) Worse! The lucky coin's been stolen! (4:15) Lucky coin? (4:17) Please, Rip, there's no time to waste.
(4:19) We must sell immediately. (4:20) Okay, if that's what you think is best, sell. (4:23) I'm processing the order now.
(4:26) Chun-Li, you're under arrest for the theft of the lucky coin. (4:36) I'll fire up the jump jet. (4:43) The lucky coin, better known as an ancient Chinese prosperity coin, (4:47) believed to create good fortune and wealth.
(4:50) It's from the Qin Dynasty in the middle of the 10th century A.D. (4:53) The Hong Kong Stock Exchange purchased the coin in 68, (4:56) and since then they've become one of the world's leading markets. (4:59) That's got more to do with Hong Kong's tax-free status than a lucky coin. (5:02) The traders would disagree.
(5:04) They claim the coin is a symbol of wealth and prosperity. (5:05) The coin is what makes them so successful. (5:07) Well, it sounds like superstition to me.
(5:09) Superstition or not, we can't argue that their luck seems to have suddenly run out. (5:14) Along with Chan's. (5:41) Rip, I'm so glad you're here.
(5:44) Chan, don't worry. We'll have you out in no time. (5:46) I don't understand.
(5:48) The police say they have proof that I stole the coin. (5:52) But I did not do it. (5:53) Then we'll have to show them that they don't have proof.
(5:56) Yeah, don't worry, Chan. (5:59) Thanks for bailing me out. (6:01) I thought I'd never get out of there.
(6:03) We should get back to the exchange. (6:05) I wonder what the other traders will say about all this. (6:07) They're your friends, Chan.
(6:09) I'm sure they'll understand it's all a mistake. (6:24) What's happening? (6:25) The market's lost too much money. They're shutting it down.
(6:40) Oh, no, Rip. Your stocks. (6:42) Well, how much have I lost? (6:45) I'm sorry, Rip, but it's all gone.
(6:49) There's nothing left. (6:51) Nothing? (6:52) Nothing. (7:02) Chairman.
(7:04) Chan Lee. (7:05) You have brought dishonor and disgrace to our profession. (7:09) Leave and never come back.
(7:10) You are finished as a trader. (7:16) It's a good thing Chan decided to get out of the city for a while. (7:23) I told him we'd call if anything came up.
(7:26) Hi. We have a reservation. (7:28) It's under Michael Ripley.
(7:30) I'm sorry, sir, but we cannot accept this card. (7:33) It's a Hong Kong account. (7:36) And all the banks here have been closed because of the crash.
(7:39) Huh? (7:40) Uh, I see. Um, one sec. (7:45) We've got a problem.
(7:47) I didn't bring any other cards with me, and I used the last of my cash to bail out Chan. (7:52) You guys are going to have to cover this. (7:54) I seem to be a little short myself.
(7:58) I've got a couple of cards here, but they're almost maxed out. (8:02) Is there enough for us to stay in a hotel? (8:05) Yeah, but not enough for this one. (8:13) This is a joke, right, Sam? (8:17) I don't feel like laughing.
(8:20) Cut it out, you two. (8:22) This was the cheapest hotel I could find. (8:24) It's either this or the ARV.
Take your pick. (8:30) I say we take the ARV. (8:34) See? It's not that bad.
(8:37) A regular home away from home. (8:43) Maybe we should seriously consider the ARV. (8:47) Dibs on the back seat.
(8:50) Who could that be? (9:08) Thank you for meeting me. (9:10) Who are you, and how did you know where to find us? (9:12) I'm one of the security guards at the Stock Exchange. (9:15) I followed you to the hotel.
(9:17) Why? (9:17) I have something to show you. (9:19) But if anyone ever finds out I helped Mr. Li, it would cost me my job, and who knows what else. (9:26) We could view this on your camcorder.
(9:30) It's from the security camera at the Exchange. (9:34) Fast forward a little. (9:37) There, stop.
(9:40) See? It's Mr. Li. (9:45) I don't get it. (9:46) It's clear from this footage that Chan didn't steal the coin.
(9:49) Not so fast. (9:54) Whoa. (9:55) This doesn't look good for our side, guys.
(9:58) Cyril's right. (9:59) I know what it looks like, but I can't believe it. (10:02) But Rip, all the evidence points to him.
(10:06) Play it again, Cyril. (10:09) Chan looks different here. (10:10) Taller, thinner.
(10:12) One more time. (10:14) I knew it. (10:18) Something's wrong.
(10:19) Look at that watch. (10:21) Now to the stealing scene. (10:23) Frame by frame.
(10:29) It's gone. (10:31) That's because Chan was wearing a watch. (10:33) It's a different person on the tape.
(10:36) Chan was set up. (10:38) Maybe it's someone who for some reason hates Chan. (10:44) Cyril, try to get a hold of Chan.
(10:46) He must have some idea. (10:50) This has to be connected somehow to the stock market crash. (10:54) No answer.
(10:55) There's one way to find out. (10:57) We have to get into one of the computers at the Exchange (10:59) and see what kind of trading was going on that morning. (11:14) Just hurry.
(11:15) If we're caught, we'll all have bad luck. (11:19) Who would want to set him up? (11:20) Maybe someone who's had a bad run of luck (11:22) and thought they needed the lucky coin to get their money back. (11:25) Either way, it's someone who knows Chan.
(11:27) Knows when he arrives every morning. (11:30) Okay, I'm logging on to the Exchange network right now. (11:33) I'll look in Chan's records to see who might have lost a lot of money (11:36) before the coin was stolen.
(11:40) We've picked up a bug. (11:42) Good thing I have the virus executioner. (11:45) Where did the virus come from? (11:47) That's weird.
(11:48) It came from the Exchange network itself. (11:50) I'll take a look at it after we access the accounts. (11:53) Okay, here we are.
(11:56) Look, everyone's trying to unload all their stock (11:59) except for this guy, Yung Fong. (12:02) Get us into his account, Cyril. (12:06) Now that's what you call a buying spree.
(12:08) Fong's been snapping up stock since the first day of the crash. (12:12) Yeah, for bargain basement prices. (12:14) That stock will be worth millions when the market recovers.
(12:16) There's good trading and good luck, (12:18) but this is too much of both. (12:20) Let's see what he did before the crash. (12:27) The cleaners! We have to go! (12:29) No, not yet.
We just need another minute. (12:33) There it is. (12:34) Look, he's been quietly dumping all his stock for the past two months.
(12:39) If I was a betting man, (12:41) I'd say he knew the market was going to crash. (12:51) The cleaner is coming up. We must go now.
(12:55) Look, Fong made a trade with Chan the morning of the crash. (12:59) I say it's time we pay Mr. Fong a little visit. (13:17) I'm afraid Mr. Fong is unavailable right now.
(13:21) Surely he can spare a few minutes to talk to a journalist. (13:24) I'm doing a profile on Hong Kong's business tycoons. (13:27) I'm sorry, but Mr. Fong does not give interviews.
(13:32) Well, in that case, I'll just have to interview you. (13:37) I'm here in the Fong corporate headquarters, (13:39) where wealthy tycoon Yun Fong (13:42) seems to be the only person in Hong Kong (13:44) who has gained from the current crash. (13:52) That was very rude of you to abuse my assistant like that.
(13:56) We've come a long way, Mr. Fong. (13:58) I can't go back empty-handed. (14:00) Very well.
I'll give you five minutes, (14:03) and not a second more. (14:08) This is the trading room, (14:11) the nerve center of my corporation. (14:14) Playing the markets is a 24-hour business, (14:17) so I have three teams of traders (14:19) working around the clock.
(14:21) Do you ever use outside traders? (14:23) Why? I have all the traders I require right here. (14:26) Tell us about the crash. (14:28) You seem to be the only person who's making money right now.
(14:31) I'm a smart trader. (14:33) Call it a combination of good moves and good timing. (14:36) And speaking of time, yours is up.
(14:40) Thank you. You've been a big help. (14:45) Yep, we're heading back now.
See you soon. (14:48) Cyril's nearly cracked the computer network virus. (14:51) That's good, because something stinks around here, (14:53) and it's not those fishing boats.
(14:55) Yeah. If Fong has traders operating 24 hours a day, (14:59) why'd he use Chen? (15:09) Whoa! (15:12) That was close. (15:14) Obviously not close enough for him.
(15:19) Go, go, go! (15:25) Hey! Sorry! (15:37) Whoa! (15:54) We're trapped! (16:12) Hope he can swim. (16:22) I'm exhausted. (16:24) I was up all night keeping an eye on the ARV.
(16:26) You could have slept while we went to see Fong. (16:28) I wanted to track down the virus, (16:30) and there's no way I was gonna touch those pillows. (16:33) So what'd you find out about the virus? (16:36) It just didn't cause the crash.
(16:38) What? (16:40) It was designed to create false sell orders. (16:42) So the second it was introduced into the system, (16:44) the computers started selling. (16:46) That spooked the traders, and they started selling real stock.
(16:50) It's amazing. (16:51) A little computer program caused a stock market crash. (16:54) Can you figure out how the virus infected the system? (16:57) Well, it looks like it entered... (16:59) the stock exchange network through Chen's computer.
(17:03) Chen? (17:04) It's not what you think. (17:05) The virus could have been put there by a hacker (17:07) or attached to a trade order. (17:09) You mean like the trade Fong sent Chen right before the crash? (17:12) So that's why he didn't use his own traders.
(17:15) He had to use Chen to access the exchange's computer system. (17:18) Which would explain why Fong wasn't too keen on answering your questions. (17:22) He probably sicked that motorcycle madman on us, too.
(17:27) I think it's time we paid Mr. Fong another visit. (17:36) So you think Fong stole the coin as a smokescreen? (17:39) I'd be willing to bet the rest of my portfolio on it. (17:42) Okay, we're coming up on his house.
(17:47) That's not a house. It's a fortress. (17:51) Relax.
(17:51) My new security breaker program will get us past the guards. (17:55) What's a security breaker program? (17:57) Oh, just another one of those programs I downloaded. (18:00) This one self-destructs security systems.
(18:04) I'll attach the virus executioner to the trade Fong sent Chen (18:07) and boomerang it back to his office. (18:10) Wait, what good will it do us at Fong's office? (18:12) He trades 24 hours a day. (18:14) His home computer has to be linked to the office.
(18:17) So we'll be giving him a taste of his own medicine. (18:20) Exactly. (18:22) All right, the program's just been executed.
(18:25) Let the games begin. (18:34) What's going on? (18:35) It's just a computer glitch, sir. It's a false alarm.
(18:42) Hurry, before they figure out how to get it working again. (18:53) Sell 600,000 shares from the New York account. (19:02) If Fong's been playing with viruses, (19:04) there should be evidence of it on his hard drive.
(19:08) Rip, what are you looking for? (19:09) The coin. (19:10) You're wasting your time. (19:12) Even if the coin is here, where would it be? (19:23) You were saying? (19:25) Let's get out of here.
We've got all the proof we need. (19:27) I can't believe we actually found it. (19:30) It really is a lucky coin.
(19:32) Not lucky for you. (19:35) Uh-oh. (19:38) Go, go! (19:51) We'll use this to short the fence.
(19:54) I'll put my money on this. (19:56) Duck! (20:09) They've got the jump jet. (20:14) Any bright ideas? (20:22) Just one.
(20:24) Forget it. Absolutely no way. (20:27) No, guys.
What are you doing? (20:28) No! (20:38) Somebody help! (21:01) Don't worry. We'll pay later. (21:03) If we have enough money.
(21:07) It's all right, Cyril. I've got you. (21:10) You're safe.
(21:18) Uh, hello. Don't mind us. (21:21) There's got to be a better way to see Hong Kong.
(21:34) Hello? Police? (21:36) Hello? Hello? (21:38) It keeps cutting out. (21:40) This is Michael Ripley. Get me the police.
(21:46) Do your stuff. (22:22) Welcome back, Mr. Lee. (22:25) The lucky coin.
It's back. (22:28) And so are you. (22:29) Chan, on behalf of the whole Hong Kong Stock Exchange, (22:33) please accept my sincere apology for doubting you.
(22:40) What's wrong? (22:42) Fong's in prison. Your name is restored. (22:44) We thought you'd be happy.
(22:45) How can I be happy when your fortune is gone? (22:49) If I had not panicked and sold... (22:51) But you didn't. (22:52) I checked my portfolio this morning. (22:55) In fact, I made a profit on the stock.
(22:57) But that's impossible. How can that be? (23:00) I'm sure that I sold it all just before my arrest. (23:04) This is unbelievable.
(23:06) I put in a sell order, but it did not go through. (23:10) You're saying the computer ignored the order? (23:14) Cyril, you of all people should know that computers don't ignore orders. (23:18) Then how do you explain what happened? (23:22) Well, I have a theory.
(23:24) It was the lucky coin. (23:26) Believe it or not. (24:30) It was the lucky coin.