For generations the Golden Crane protected China since the time of the Middle Kingdom from otherworldly threats. However the group faced persecution by the Communist Party in 1954, who were against many secret societies and occult groups. The Chairman of China had been collecting various items of power to a secret facility in Chengdou. The Society tasked one of their own, Bao Zhi, to bring the Hunping beyond the Communists reach in Hong Kong, however in transit he was attacked by Thomas Rhymes, a rogue agent of the S.D.I., who stole the artifact.