Cao Wei

Born ‘Chen Zihou’ (literally meaning Greatly Heroic Son), Cao Wei is a long-time distant descendant of the famous Chinese leader/dictator and king, Cao Cao (circa 200 A.D.), or so he says. He adopted the name of the old kingdom as a symbolic title to inspire his followers. A former member of the political, establishment in China, he was known as a reformist and a radical, who was exiled to stop his rise to power. After this he founded the revolutionist group New Wei Forward, to restore the ancient dynasty of his family, as well as his grip on power. He is a charismatic, fierce and intelligent leader, much like the man he claims to be descended from.

Cao Wei plays a major role and antagonist during the mini-VN "Agents of Heels: Croft and the Coveted Seal" (AoH:CatCS). During the events of the story, Cao attempts to capture the newly rediscovered Imperial Seal and use it to claim legitimacy as the ruler of China. His obsession with nobility allows Lady Lara Croft to catch his eye and skew his plans.

Physical
Cao is a middle-aged Chinese man, appearing to be in his 40's, with dark brown hair that is usually pulled back into a tied bun. He also has a goatee comprised of a thin mustache and a patch of thin chin hair. He is in good shape, but not particularly strong, and has a regal baring worthy of a lord. He has a longer than average penis when erect, enough to take Lara Croft by surprise after seeing it flaccid.

He dresses well at all times, mostly in dress shirts and expensive slacks, or on occasion a tuxedo.

Personality
Cao is a natural leader, a devotee of history and political tactics and a haughty authoritarian. Cao believes he is the rightful leader of the people of China, both through his perceived linage but also due to his obvious brilliance. Despite being manipulative, he doesn't view the public with contempt, instead seeing himself as a benevolent guide to their follower nature.

He is also a believer in societal classes, that Lords and Ladies are the natural better of the lower-minded plebs. At times he can be aggressive or disdainful of underlings, always ruling with an iron fist, but has a blind spot weakness for those he sees are his equals. Even so, he is dominant, even making a fellow noble Lara kowtow to him in private.

Hobbies and Interests

 * Genealogy
 * Nobility
 * History and Politics

Dislikes

 * Sycophants and Brownnosers

Lara Croft
Lara is his only known major relationship in his life to date. Once a fan of her work as an archeologist of some renown, even more a fan of her being British nobility, Cao came to meet her in Beijing while she was on an undercover mission for the Heels Agency to steal the same seal as him. He was quite taken with her knowledge of ancient China and a fascination took a hold of him. He takes her on as his Lady Wei after only a day of knowing her, even going so far as to mention she will bare his children and his dynasty for him, but later declares an undying revenge on her after her betrayal. Despite that, he still holds her in esteem and some level of admiration, making her both his rival and his desired love interest at once.

Early Life
Chen was born in the area around Shanghai and grew up in the city among a wealth family. His parents both worked in the financial sector, leaving their child to want for nothing. As a child and a teen he was a true genius, talented in poetry, literature, and martial arts. He was expected to follow in his parents’ footsteps as a successful and talented money broker for important people but he quickly grew to resent his parents lack of ambition, disgusted by their willingness to work for others rather than to put themselves ahead. It was that turning away from his immediate family that lead him to investigate his heritage, based on rumours of an important past in his linage. His many year hobby became a deep seeded passion, and by the time he was an emancipated adult he had already established a nearly 2000 year family tree directly to the historical hero and king Cao Cao through his first son Cao Ang, though the accuracy is of such a long line is impossible to account for.

Adulthood and Political Life
As an adult, instead of joining the financial markets, he instead pursued politics, joining the governing Communist Party and quickly applying his tactical mind to rising in the ranks and amassing the power he believed he deserved. A few years passed and Chen had earned a reputation as a zealous reformist and radical. His attempts to exploit the decade after the end of the Cold War to solidify China’s power in the world earned him many enemies, but his charisma, intelligence and ambition also earned him a loyalist following too. By his late 20’s he was expelled from the party, accused of crimes of fraud and corruption as grounds to ruin his reputation. He fled mainland China, taking political refuge in Hong Kong where he was untouchable legally, but still shunned. These attacks against him personally angered him, fomenting the tyrannical impulses in him as he began to believe he was the rightful ruler of China.

Exile and Becoming Cao Wei
While in Hong Kong, he changed his name and adopted the new one of Cao Wei, in part to escape the crimes he was accused of but mostly to announce to the world his intention to overthrow the ruling class in China and to unite the disenfranchised factions outside the current dictatorship. He turned is loyal following of around 25,000 loyalist, mostly young people, into a new secretive underground guerrilla movement that was active in many parts of Asia, while he sat at the top pulling the strings. He had a hand in stoking pro-democracy forces and riots across China, mostly in Hong Kong, and pushed factions within Taiwan to fight for independence. While his efforts were mostly fruitless, the constant lighting of political fires in all places has been a real pain for the ruling class in China, causing much internal drama and fracturing

Agents of Heels: Croft and the Coveted Seal (AoH: CatCS)
Cao Wei is the leading antagonist in Croft and the Coveted Seal, getting in the way of Lara Croft in her mission to steal the Imperial Seal, if only by co-incidence. As leader of New Wei Forward, Cao plans to steal the seal himself in order to claim legitimacy to rule in China, and to turn public opinion of his organization from seeing it as a revolutionist outfit to a serious political movement. His plans to restore the dynasty system with himself as Emperor are set back when Lara manages to seduce him and steal back the Seal for the Heels Agency before he can publicize it's rediscovery by his hand. He swears vengeance upon Lara without even learning of her deeper connections with the spy world.

It is also during this time Cao mentions the extent of his reach as leader of New Wei Forward, including how he learned about firearms while leading revolts in Taiwan, operating in places such as Vietnam and spending a lot of time in Hong Kong. It is made clear his group has significant pull, following and influence around Asia.

Non-Canonical Content
Cao Wei has yet to appear in any non-canonical content to date.

Patreon Posts
Cao has appeared on the team's Patreon page at times. Notable appearances include:
 * In August 2019, he appeared in a backer teaser for Croft and the Coveted Seal. In it fans got a special post featuring the protagonist Lara getting her chest groped by Cao, while in the middle of her attempts at seduction.

Canonical

 * Agents of Heels: Croft and the Coveted Seal (AoH: CatCS)