Episode Summary
Lin Qiangfeng's suspicion of Lu Shaohua solidifies, but he lacks proof as Lu has a perfect alibi. Lu, after divorcing his wife to protect her, forms a new drug-making partnership with Jin Yongxiang and sets up a new lab. The police investigation hits a wall when their key detainee, Meng Hanchiu, refuses to name his accomplices before his sentencing. However, a new lead emerges when officer Li An learns the name of Meng's former girlfriend, Gu Meixin, and in the final moments, the police successfully locate her, creating a new path to unravel the conspiracy.
Spoiler Alert
"The Narcotic Operation" Episode 16 Spoilers
The episode opens with a flashback to five years ago, where Lin Qiangfeng and his partner, Li Baichuan, are deep undercover within the Wanbei drug syndicate. After successfully taking out a key figure named Brother Hu, a weary Li Baichuan expresses his desire to leave this life behind. After seven years undercover, suffering from a severe pneumothorax, his only wish is to return to the Xigang Anti-drug Division, marry his love Wang Juhua, have a child, and settle into a quiet desk job until retirement. Lin Qiangfeng, full of admiration for his friend's sacrifice, suggests he should write a book about his harrowing experiences, a suggestion Li Baichuan simply laughs off.
Back in the present, Lin Qiangfeng cannot shake his suspicion of Lu Shaohua. Despite Lu having a seemingly airtight alibi for the time of Zhao Shuangxi's failed drug deal—he was attending the funeral of his nephew, Lu Tianci—Lin believes he is the true mastermind. He confides in his colleague Yang Wei, using the analogy of a "ghostwriter" to explain his theory: Lu Shaohua, having been introduced to methamphetamine through Lao Gui, manipulated Deng Jianli into partnership. When the deal with Zhao Shuangxi went south, Deng was conveniently set up to take the entire blame, allowing Lu to walk away with clean hands.
Meanwhile, the criminal underworld is in flux. Following Zhao Shuangxi's death, a spooked Luo Bingzhang returns three million yuan to Jin Yongxiang and severs all ties. Undeterred, Jin Yongxiang is determined to get back in the game. Knowing that Zhao was sourcing his meth from Lu Shaohua, he approaches Lu with two million yuan to propose a new partnership. He reveals that he and Zhao were brothers, and with Zhao dead and their other associate Meng Hanchiu arrested, he needs a new supplier. Lu is hesitant, fearing Meng Hanchiu will talk. Jin Yongxiang assures him that he has already made arrangements to ensure Meng's silence. Lu, however, holds firm, demanding the original price of three million, a term to which Jin Yongxiang readily agrees.
The weight of his actions presses heavily on Lu Shaohua. Waking from a nightmare, he meticulously cleans his entire house. In a desperate attempt to shield his wife, Liu Qing, and their son, Sensen, from the fallout of his choices, he decides to divorce her. At the Civil Affairs Bureau, he asks her to take good care of their son and to find a good man to remarry. When Liu Qing realizes he intends to continue producing drugs, she slaps him twice in anger and disgust before leaving him for good.
The official investigation into the mole within the police force hits a dead end. The Discipline Inspection team clears the Anti-drug Division, but Political Commissar Wu suggests a quiet, internal search should continue. At the same time, Li An and his team's interrogation of Meng Hanchiu proves fruitless; Meng skillfully dodges all important questions, refusing to name his informant.
Lin Qiangfeng makes one last attempt to get through to Lu Shaohua. He finds him at the crematorium arranging for Deng Jianli's final rites and confronts him with Deng's old accounting book. Lin's probing questions are met with Lu's calm and composed deflections. Lu expresses only sorrow for Deng's death, feigning ignorance as to why his friend would turn to a life of crime.
Just as the case seems to have stalled, a new lead emerges. Frustrated that Meng Hanchiu is being prosecuted without giving up any useful information, Li An re-interrogates Nana. She recalls that a drunk Meng Hanchiu kept crying out the name of an old flame from his hometown, Gu Meixin. The lead seems promising, but an initial investigation reveals Gu Meixin hasn't been home in years, though she was spotted in Hongyang City a few years prior.
With his personal life in ruins but his business venture secured, Lu Shaohua begins to set up his new operation. He repays his former business associates and recruits a grateful Qiu Laibao to his side. A secluded, abandoned fishpond is chosen as the location for the new lab. Lu provides Qiu Laibao with a list of raw materials and equipment, including ephedrine, to be purchased from out of town. Soon after, Jin Yongxiang delivers the first batch of ephedrine. Just as they are finalizing their plans, Jin receives a call confirming Meng Hanchiu is about to be sentenced. Lu is visibly relieved to hear that Meng did not betray them.
As Lu Shaohua begins his first cook, Wang Juhua says her final goodbyes. Deciding to leave Xigang, she meets with Lin Qiangfeng and gives him a fan she and Li Baichuan made together as a keepsake. In the episode's final moments, as Li An's search for Gu Meixin reaches a dead end, he receives a game-changing call from Bureau Chief Guo Changhong: the Hongyang police have found her.
