Episode Summary
Detectives Wei Jie and Liu Ziming investigate Jin Di's murder, learning he was last seen at the "Mermaid Palace" club and later a bar. A casual comment from Fang Tingting, a new romantic interest for Liu Ziming, sparks the idea to check Jin Di's phone records, leading them to a bar and a potential suspect, Shen Fu. Their investigation involves chasing leads from pager messages, a public phone booth with a cut line, and questioning Shen Fu's girlfriend. They eventually discover Shen Fu is hiding in a crowded basement. As they prepare to go undercover, Fang Tingting gifts Liu Ziming a mobile phone, and Captain Huang insists on a three-person team for the dangerous stakeout.
Spoiler Alert
"Into the Heat" Episode 3: Recap & Spoilers – Phones, Pagers, and a Whole Lotta Legwork!
Alright, so Episode 3 kicks off with our main guys, Wei Jie and Liu Ziming, still digging into the Jin Di case. Their investigation leads them to a popular joint called the "Mermaid Palace," a song and dance hall where Jin Di apparently liked to party. They chat with the owner, who confirms Jin Di was there with friends, knocking back drinks until well past 11 PM on the night in question. So, a late night for Jin Di, noted.
Later, Wei Jie, being the good team leader he is, invites Liu Ziming, along with Liu Yang and Cao Lei, over to his place for dinner. Wei Jie's wife quickly gets some dumplings going (yum!), and as luck would have it, her colleague, Fang Tingting, happens to be visiting. Cue the romantic music! Liu Ziming is instantly smitten with Fang Tingting, and the feeling seems mutual. Fang Tingting even subtly pumps Wei Jie's wife for more info on Liu Ziming. Smooth.
After dinner, Wei Jie divvies up the tasks: Liu Yang and Cao Lei are assigned to investigate a burglary, while Liu Ziming is told to continue sniffing around the Mermaid Palace area. In a not-so-subtle move, Wei Jie's wife has Liu Ziming escort Fang Tingting to the station, giving Fang Tingting the perfect chance to slip Liu Ziming her contact details. Well played, Mrs. Wei!
It doesn't take long for Fang Tingting to send Liu Ziming a message, and he, of course, suggests they meet up. During their conversation, Fang Tingting casually mentions that Liu Ziming should get a mobile phone. This sparks a brilliant idea for Liu Ziming: if he could use a phone, then Jin Di definitely would have had one! He immediately reports this brainwave to Wei Jie. They track down Jin Di's friends, get his mobile number, and pull his call records. The last number Jin Di called? A bar.
So, off to the bar go Wei Jie and Liu Ziming. The bartender initially plays dumb, claiming to know nothing. Wei Jie, not having any of it, tells him to have the boss show up by 9 PM. The boss and the (now more cooperative) bartender rush over to meet Wei Jie. The bartender now recalls Jin Di and his friends being at the bar around 9 PM and even remembers one of them – a "second-rate hoodlum" (their words, not mine!) named Shen Fu. The others, he didn't recognize.
While Liu Ziming is in the restroom, he overhears that one of Shen Fu's underlings, a guy named Kanzi, had been trying to woo a waitress named Xiao Li. Liu Ziming manages to get Kanzi's pager number from Xiao Li. (Pagers! A blast from the past, but still a vital clue). Meanwhile, Wei Jie has already found out that Shen Fu's girlfriend works as a waitress at the Yue Lai Restaurant. They head there, but she claims she hasn't seen Shen Fu in days.
Later, while Liu Ziming is burning the midnight oil at the station, he gets a call from the paging service: Kanzi's pager received a warning message! They trace the message back to a public phone booth, but when they get there, the phone line has been cut. There’s an old man at the booth, bizarrely "talking" on the dead phone. Liu Ziming suspects Shen Fu and his crew might be hiding nearby and decides to stake out the area.
The old man continues his rounds, "chatting" on several broken payphones. Liu Ziming, disguised as a cleaner (nice!), keeps watch until dawn. He then sees another man finish a call, get angry, and cut the phone line. Liu Ziming springs into action and apprehends the man, with Wei Jie, who was lying in wait, providing backup. They follow the man home, only to find his mother bedridden. After some questioning, Wei Jie realizes the man has an alibi; he cut the phone line out of sheer frustration, completely unrelated to their case. Liu Ziming, feeling bad, apologizes profusely and gives the man some money to buy supplements for his mother. A bit of a dead end, but good on Liu Ziming for trying to make it right.
Wei Jie then tries to get an arrest warrant for Shen Fu from Captain Huang, but Huang refuses, citing insufficient evidence. Liu Ziming, ever passionate, barges in and argues with Captain Huang, but the captain stands firm. Frustrated, Wei Jie takes Liu Ziming back to the Yue Lai Restaurant.
They bring Shen Fu's girlfriend into a private room for another chat. This time, she cracks. She admits Shen Fu visited her three times and even took 200 yuan from her. Their last meeting place? A basement.
Wei Jie and Liu Ziming head to the basement, which is packed with residents. Wei Jie, thinking on his feet, rents a room from the landlord and casually asks about Shen Fu. Bingo! The landlord confirms Shen Fu lives there.
Just as things are getting intense, Fang Tingting shows up at the police station with a gift for Liu Ziming: a mobile phone, so they can stay in touch more easily. Liu Ziming is thrilled, naturally.
Wei Jie reports the Shen Fu situation to Captain Huang. Concerned for Wei Jie's safety, Huang insists that if they're going to stake out the basement, it needs to be a three-person team. Wei Jie wants Liu Ziming with him, so he tells Liu Ziming to go home and get his father's permission for this potentially dangerous assignment.
