Episode Summary

Lu Fan wakes up handcuffed by Ning Zhen, who needs his car to investigate Mo Bei's supposed burial site. After a scuffle, Lu Fan takes charge, confronts Jiang Yan's men, and uses their car. Ning Zhen deduces Mo Bei couldn't have buried a body where they thought, leading Lu Fan to the Jiang Corporation. Cao Jin arrives as Lu Fan uncovers human remains, later confirmed by DNA to include Ning Zhen's mother. Lu Fan shares this with Ning Zhen, who, triggered by her mother's belongings, revisits her old home. A flashback reveals her mother, a cleaner for Jiang Corp, discovered issues with their drug trials, was given a USB of evidence by Lu Fan's father, hid it, and was later murdered by Mo Bei along with Ning Zhen's alcoholic father who had tried to profit from the situation. In the present, Ning Zhen finds the USB, evades Lu Fan, who then gives the USB to Cao Jin. Ning Zhen meets Luo Yin, not denying an allegiance to Shen Yuan. The episode ends by highlighting that Qiao En had an alibi for Li Guokun's murder, meaning his accomplice was the killer.

Spoiler Alert

So, Lu Fan comes to, and guess what? He's handcuffed! Turns out, our girl Ning Zhen isn't playing around – she knocked him out and took him. Her big plan? She wants to investigate Mo Bei's supposed burial site and, naturally, needs a car to get there. Lu Fan points out the obvious: his car is almost certainly being watched by the police. Ning Zhen, ever the strategist, claims she has a way to get the car out unnoticed. But just as she starts to unlock his cuffs, Lu Fan pulls a fast one, overpowers her, literally slings her over his shoulder, and decides he's taking charge of this little field trip. Classic Lu Fan.

Down in the parking garage, as Lu Fan is about to make his move for a vehicle, a car's headlights suddenly blaze to life, and a group of men approach him, demanding to know where Ning Zhen is. Lu Fan quickly deduces these are Jiang Yan's thugs. After a brief scuffle where Lu Fan, of course, comes out on top, he commandeers their car – nice upgrade! He then drives to the exact spot where Mo Bei supposedly separated from his convoy on that critical day. He calls Ning Zhen, and they attempt to time the journey. This little exercise leads Ning Zhen to a chilling realization: Mo Bei wouldn't have had enough time to bury a body during that window. Her deduction? The body must have been in the car with Mo Bei on his return trip. Armed with this grim theory, Lu Fan heads straight for the Jiang Corporation.

Meanwhile, Cao Jin has also received intel and is racing towards the Jiang Corporation with his team. They arrive to find Lu Fan already there, mid-demolition with a hammer, trying to unearth whatever (or whoever) is buried. Jiang Corporation's security guards rush to stop him, but Cao Jin's timely arrival with his officers ensures the excavation continues, and sure enough, they discover human remains. Drama! Cao Jin presses Lu Fan for Ning Zhen's whereabouts, but Lu Fan stays tight-lipped. Now, it's a tense waiting game for the DNA results.

While all this unfolds, Ning Zhen manages to escape her restraints. Just as she's about to make a run for it, Lu Fan calls with the devastating news: the DNA analysis is complete, and the remains include those of her mother. Even though she might have braced herself for this, the confirmation hits Ning Zhen hard. Back with Cao Jin, Tao Zi also delivers the DNA report, expressing his own disbelief that Ning Zhen could be Qiao En's accomplice.

In a moment of surprising empathy, Lu Fan sends Ning Zhen photos of her mother's recovered personal effects. Seeing these items triggers a flood of painful memories, and Ning Zhen is compelled to return to her old family home.

This is where the episode takes a deep dive into a heartbreaking flashback, unraveling a tragic tapestry of events:

  1. Ning Zhen's mother worked as a cleaner for the Jiang Corporation. To earn extra money, she participated in one of their medical experiments but soon discovered dangerous problems with the experimental drug.
  2. Jiang Yan herself paid a visit to Ning Zhen's home, trying to find an employee who had fled the experiment. Ning Zhen's mother denied knowing anything.
  3. Just as Jiang Yan seemed convinced and was about to leave, Ning Zhen's alcoholic father stumbled home, accidentally bumping into Jiang Yan. Tempted by the prospect of money, he betrayed the hiding place of the escaped employee.
  4. In a significant twist, we learn that Lu Fan's own father had secretly given Ning Zhen's mother a USB drive containing damning evidence of the Jiang Corporation's criminal activities. Ning Zhen's mother cleverly hid this USB drive within a wall of their home, unknowingly forging a link between her daughter's destiny and Lu Fan's.
  5. The flashback darkens further: Later that night, Ning Zhen's father, drunk and furious, berated his wife for not capitalizing on the situation (presumably for not getting money from Jiang Yan or for the hidden information). He became violent. Young Ning Zhen tried to intervene but was locked away by her father.
  6. Tragically, Mo Bei arrived that same night, sent to silence them. Ning Zhen's mother was murdered. Her father, who had been so eager for money, also lost his life, never getting to spend any of it.

Returning to the present, guided by these resurfaced memories, Ning Zhen finds the USB drive her mother hid years ago. Just then, Lu Fan finds her. He intends to take her to the police station, but Ning Zhen, ever slippery, feigns agreement, lulling him into a false sense of security before making another daring escape. Shortly after, Cao Jin and his team arrive, finding Lu Fan. Lu Fan hands over the crucial USB drive – the evidence – to Cao Jin.

So, what does Ning Zhen do next? She seeks out Luo Yin. She tells him that their encounters always provide her with valuable clues and that she considers him a "mentor and friend" (major red flag, anyone?). Luo Yin, however, cuts straight to the point, questioning whether Ning Zhen has truly aligned herself with Shen Yuan (The Abyss). Ning Zhen doesn't deny it. Luo Yin then gives her a book, adding another layer of mystery to their interaction.

The episode concludes by circling back to Qiao En's case. While his confession and the existing evidence match up for the most part, there's a glaring inconsistency: Qiao En has an unbreakable alibi for the day Li Guokun was murdered. This leads to the unavoidable conclusion that Qiao En's accomplice was the one who actually killed Li Guokun.