Episode Summary
In this episode, a plan by Deng Jianli and Lu Shaohua to produce and sell ten kilograms of meth to fund a kidney transplant goes disastrously wrong. The three-million-dollar payment is stolen after a police shootout with their buyer, Zhao Shuangxi. Simultaneously, Lu Shaohua's son, Lu Tianci, dies in a tragic accident. The police investigation into the shootout leads Lin Qiangfeng to suspect an internal leak, while another suspect, Meng Hanchiu, is captured. The episode ends in despair as Deng Jianli learns a kidney is available for his wife, but the money to pay for it is gone.
Spoiler Alert
"The Narcotic Operation" Episode 13: A Cascade of Tragedy
A desperate attempt to solve a financial crisis through crime sets off a devastating chain of events, leading to a botched drug deal, multiple deaths, and personal ruin for nearly everyone involved.
Driven by the mounting costs of his wife's dialysis, Deng Jianli is drowning in debt to Lu Shaohua. When he discovers that Lu is secretly producing drugs by stealing ephedrine from a lab, Deng sees a grim opportunity. He volunteers to partner with Lu, hoping to earn enough not only to pay for his wife's life-saving kidney transplant but also to escape his financial struggles for good. The two work tirelessly and successfully produce ten kilograms of methamphetamine, a haul they expect will net them three million. Believing his problems are solved, Deng tells his wife the good news about the transplant, lying that the money came from a patent he had filed.
However, the deal falls apart spectacularly. A shootout erupts at the pier between police officer Lin Qiangfeng and a dealer named Zhao Shuangxi. Alerted to the chaos, another player, Tan Qinglin, correctly assumes the buyer won't show up at the pre-arranged bathhouse to collect the payment. He instructs his subordinate, Zuo Lun, to retrieve the three million in cash from locker #67 at the bathhouse, which Zuo successfully does, leaving Lu Shaohua and Deng Jianli with nothing.
As his criminal enterprise crumbles, Lu Shaohua is hit with a personal tragedy: his son, Lu Tianci, has been accidentally electrocuted and killed by a high-voltage wire. Rushing to the hospital, a devastated Lu can only beg the doctors in vain to save him. In a strange twist of fate, while accompanying his son's body to the morgue, Lu is stunned to see the corpse of Zhao Shuangxi—the dealer from the pier shootout—being brought in.
The fallout from the shootout also sends a wounded officer, Li An, to the same hospital. As Li An's colleagues, Oufan and Zuo Lun, leave, they share an elevator with the grief-stricken Lu Shaohua. When Lin Qiangfeng visits Li An, he begins to suspect a mole within his team. He realizes that Zhao Shuangxi, whom they were tracking, abruptly changed his route to the pier, suggesting he was tipped off.
Meanwhile, other lives unravel. Qiu Laibao discovers his sister, Qiu Xiaoyun, has been beaten by her husband. Before he can retaliate, a loan shark named Brother Bao arrives to collect a debt and makes unwanted advances on Xiaoyun. To protect his sister, Laibao violently slams a car door on his own hand as a warning to Brother Bao. Later, when Xiaoyun brings food to the grieving Lu Shaohua, he notices Laibao's injury and learns of the incident.
The police net tightens as well. Meng Hanchiu, suffering from a gunshot wound and afraid to go to a hospital, is captured by Officer Yang Wei while on the phone reporting Zhao Shuangxi's death to Jin Yongxiang. Lin Qiangfeng continues his quiet investigation, visiting a barbershop owned by Wang Juhua and asking about a recent visitor from Wanbei, whom Yang Wei had also spotted.
At Lu Tianci's funeral, Lu Shaodong is granted temporary release from prison to attend. During a ritual, a basin meant to be broken remains intact, which is seen as a sign that Tianci's spirit is not at peace. Lu Shaohua smashes it himself. Watching the funeral from a distance is Huang Peiling, pregnant with Tianci's child, who tearfully vows to raise their baby on her own.
The final blow lands on Deng Jianli. Lu Shaohua informs him that the deal failed and all the money is gone. Crushed, Deng doesn't know how to face his wife, who has been joyfully anticipating her new life after the transplant. The ultimate heartbreak comes when the doctor calls to inform them that a matching kidney has been found. As his wife weeps with joy, Deng, unable to tell her the truth, pretends to go out to buy wine to celebrate, only to collapse in the hallway, sobbing uncontrollably.
