Episode Summary
In this episode, Lu Shaohua betrays his partner, Lao Gui, by selling him to a rival, Zhao Shuangxi, to forge a new drug-selling alliance. Having mastered meth production himself, Lu then manipulates a factory manager, Deng Jianli, to acquire more raw materials. The plan hits a snag when Deng discovers Lu's secret meth lab, forcing Lu to lie to cover his tracks and protect his burgeoning operation.
Spoiler Alert
"The Narcotic Operation" Episode 10: Betrayal and a Secret Lab
The episode kicks off with Lin Qiangfeng visiting Wang Juhua at her barbershop. He shows her a photo of her late partner, Li Baichuan, in a police uniform, revealing his true identity as an undercover officer. Lin warns her that she's a target for assassins from Wanbei, explaining he already had a run-in with them that left one dead and one injured. He urges her to leave Xigang, but she refuses, believing it to be the safest place for her. Lin doesn't push further and leaves her his contact information.
Later, Lin Qiangfeng, along with Yang Wei and Ban Dehai, raid a video arcade to arrest Zhao Shuangxi. They find him playing mahjong in a back room, but Zhao spots them and makes a daring escape by jumping out of a window and speeding away on a motorcycle.
Meanwhile, a strange conflict brews between Wang Lin and Lao Gui at an abandoned warehouse. While drinking, Wang Lin confesses her secret love for a girl named "Qingqing," even showing off a tattoo dedicated to her. This revelation leads to a fight, as Lao Gui's mistress is the very same Qingqing. Lu Shaohua arrives to break them up. He warns Lao Gui that there's a 100,000 price on his head and that he needs to flee to Renbin the next morning.
However, this is all a setup. At the pier, just as Lao Gui is about to board a boat, he is ambushed and captured. He turns to see Lu Shaohua accepting a briefcase with 400,000 in cash from Zhao Shuangxi. The betrayal is clear: Lu Shaohua sold out Lao Gui to Zhao Shuangxi in exchange for money and a new partnership to sell methamphetamine. Lu has learned how to produce the drug himself, making Lao Gui disposable.
With his old partner gone, Lu Shaohua sets a new plan in motion. He manipulates Deng Jianli, a factory manager, by having his associate Liu Qing arrange and pay for Deng's wife's expensive dialysis treatments. In return, Lu tries to get Deng to approve a large purchase of ephedrine, a controlled substance, under the guise of making weight-loss drugs. Deng explains he doesn't have the authority.
The criminal underworld of Xigang is in turmoil. Meng Hanchiu's crew gets into a public brawl with Zhao Shuangxi at a food stall. Officers Li An and Oufan, who are tailing Meng, witness the fight but don't intervene to protect their cover. Pressure mounts on Zhao from another front when his connection to Shen Ping, who recently entered rehab, is published in the newspaper. His boss, Jin Yongxiang, tells him to lay low, but Zhao refuses to give up his turf to Meng Hanchiu.
The episode culminates with Deng Jianli discovering that a significant amount of ephedrine is missing from his lab's inventory. On his way home, he spots Lu Shaohua's car parked outside the abandoned warehouse. He investigates and stumbles upon a fully functional meth lab. Lu Shaohua, who was hiding nearby, sees that he has been discovered. Knowing he's caught, Lu drives Deng home and feeds him a story, claiming he's only making weight-loss drugs to pay off a two-million debt for his brother. Deng doesn't ask more questions but warns him to stop once the debt is paid.
