Episode Summary
In this episode, chemist Lu Shaohua's highly pure meth attracts a major international dealer, Brother K. His middleman, Jin Yongxiang, secures a large deal but grows fearful of being replaced. A separate incident involving a fatal overdose leads the police, under Lin Qiangfeng, directly to Lu's factory. To eliminate his old rival, Luo Bingzhang, and secure his own position, Jin sets a trap by anonymously tipping off the police and luring Luo into a fake drug deal at a restaurant, setting the stage for a police raid.
Spoiler Alert
The Narcotic Operation: Episode 20 Spoilers
With his new, 90% pure methamphetamine, the chemist Lu Shaohua decides to bypass local distributors and aim higher. He tasks his associate, Jin Yongxiang, with establishing a partnership with the major international drug trafficker, Brother K.
Operating under the alias Wan Jinlai, Jin Yongxiang arranges a meeting with Brother K at a horse track, presenting a golden Buddha statue as an introductory gift. Brother K, a former dentist with a peculiar obsession with clean teeth, is with his son selecting horses and makes Jin rinse his mouth before granting him a brief two-minute audience. After Brother K's confidant, A Mai, inspects the gift, Jin presents a sample of the new meth. A quick test confirms its exceptional purity, and Brother K, impressed, places an order for five million worth of product, expressing a desire to meet the chemist. Jin lies, claiming the chemist is reclusive, to keep his direct link to Lu Shaohua.
Meanwhile, Luo Bingzhang's brother-in-law, Liang Dongping, manages to track Jin Yongxiang to a bowling alley he owns in Lüteng City but fails to locate the drug manufacturing facility. Another brother-in-law, Liang Dongchao, correctly suspects Lu Shaohua is the chemist and suggests they kidnap him to settle a score with a rival, Zhou Shaoxiong. However, their sister and Luo's wife, Liang Hongmei, fiercely objects. She urges her husband to cut all ties with Zhou Shaoxiong and instead form a partnership with Jin Yongxiang. Weighing his options, Luo Bingzhang decides to meet with Jin personally.
In a deadly subplot, a man named Hu Guangping steals a meth sample from a factory worker, Qiu Laibao. He later uses a key to sneak into the factory at night to steal more but is discovered by Wang Lin and Qiu Laibao. In his panic, Hu falls from the building to his death. Under Lu Shaohua's orders, his body is dissolved in an acid-base solution and disposed of in a nearby river. The drugs Hu stole and sold have their own tragic consequences; a user known as Brother Dog has a psychotic episode, believing he is a "Sky Dog," and jumps from a third-story window, sustaining severe injuries.
When questioned by officer Lin Qiangfeng at the hospital, Brother Dog reveals he got the potent meth from Hu Guangping, who stole it from the Zhenxing Health Products Factory. This lead brings Lin Qiangfeng and the Lüteng City Anti-Drug Division to the factory's doorstep. They find a large, sophisticated lab but no direct evidence, as Lu Shaohua has been using alternative chemicals instead of the more easily traceable ephedrine.
Luo Bingzhang's meeting with Jin Yongxiang goes poorly. Luo directly proposes a partnership to distribute Lu Shaohua's meth, but Jin, still bitter about being pushed out by Luo in the past, dismissively rejects the offer and leaves. This arrogance infuriates Luo's brothers-in-law, who vow to teach him a lesson.
As the police investigation intensifies, Lin Qiangfeng discovers Lu Shaohua's office, but all legal documents for the factory are under the name Wu Yanping. He calls his colleague, Li An, for backup to arrest Lu Shaohua. The police soon piece everything together: the factory's legal representative, Wu Yanping, is a deaf-mute girl, and the factory director, Li Muqing, is an alias for Lu Shaohua himself.
Fearing that Lu Shaohua, who now wants to meet Brother K personally, will cut him out of the deal, Jin Yongxiang devises a treacherous plan. He anonymously tips off the police about a fictitious drug deal at the Yue'ao Restaurant, claiming a dealer named "Long Ge" from Xigang will be there. He then books the private room and invites Luo Bingzhang, pretending that Lu Shaohua wants to meet there. Jin's goal is to have the police arrest his rival, Luo Bingzhang.
Despite the obvious risks and warnings from his brothers-in-law that it's a trap, Luo Bingzhang, blinded by the potential fortune, decides to go to the meeting. The police, led by Lin Qiangfeng and Li An, prepare a secret raid on the restaurant, collecting all officers' phones to prevent any leaks from a potential mole within their ranks.
