The Tricky Master (1999) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Leung Foon was tired of small-time undercover operations and wanted a big case that could earn him a long-awaited promotion. His superior, the Thousand Faced Man, had been promising him this opportunity, and Leung believed bringing down a notorious swindler like Ferrari would prove he was ready for a higher-ranking role in the police force.

• Leung Foon
• Ferrari
• promotion
• undercover
• police

Ferrari anticipated Leung's undercover operation and encrypted all his server data with a computer virus, completely wiping out the crucial evidence needed for the case. When Leung tried to burn a CD from one of the compromised machines to salvage something, the plan had already failed, leaving him with nothing to prosecute Ferrari.

Foreshadowing: First Love's deceptive encounter on the beach, where she asked for Leung's number and left a vulgar message, hinted that Ferrari's operation was already aware of Leung's presence.

• Ferrari
• virus
• encryption
• evidence
• servers

First Love is a con-woman working with Ferrari's operation. She masquerades as a sweet, innocent girl to lure targets, as seen when she approached Leung at the beach and asked for his phone number, leaving a vulgar message to manipulate him. She is part of Ferrari's network of deceivers.

• First Love
• con-woman
• Ferrari
• deception

Leung lost his job because Ferrari's virus wiped out all the evidence on the servers, making it impossible to build a case against the crime boss. With no evidence and a failed operation, the police department fired Leung, leaving his career in ruins.

• Leung Foon
• fired
• job loss
• evidence

After losing his job and facing professional ruin, Leung decides to seek Master Wong, a famed conman, to learn deception techniques. Leung hopes that by understanding how con artists work, he can develop new skills to outsmart Ferrari and salvage his career through a smarter undercover approach.

• Master Wong
• Stephen Chow
• conman
• training
• revenge

Leung and Pizza had met before in Macau and didn't part on good terms due to their tangled history. However, when Leung decides to seek Master Wong's help, Pizza becomes essential to the plan because she is Master Wong's sister-in-law, making her the bridge to access his con artistry training.

• Pizza
• Suki Kwan
• Master Wong
• Macau

Fat Pig, one of Ferrari's formidable henchmen, splashes Leung at the beach and then takes him to Ferrari's mansion, but not as an undercover operative - instead, Ferrari tricks him into becoming one of his security guards. This trap catches Leung off guard and marks a turning point where he realizes he has been outmaneuvered.

• Fat Pig
• Ferrari
• mansion
• security guard
• trap

In Macau, Master Wong trains Leung in the art of deception, disguise, and manipulation. This training montage shows Leung developing conman skills that will allow him to operate in the gray areas of identity and loyalty, giving him the tools needed to take on Ferrari with a smarter approach.

• Master Wong
• training
• deception
• Macau
• skills