Episode Summary
Luo Bingzhang is pressured by Mo Kang and Commander Yun over a secret methamphetamine trade, forcing him to pay a hefty sum and agree to assassinate the escaped dealer, Lao Gui. Meanwhile, the injured Lao Gui finds an unlikely ally in Lu Shaohua, tempting him with the recipe for meth in exchange for protection. As the police investigation intensifies, personal connections between the officers and the criminal underworld are revealed, complicating matters for everyone involved.
Spoiler Alert
"The Narcotic Operation" Episode 6: Alliances Shift as a New Player Enters the Game
The episode opens with a look back five years ago, revealing that the current turmoil has deep roots. After one of Mo Kang's men, Ah Hu, was killed, the powerful Commander Yun suspected a mole within their organization. Mo Kang tasked his subordinate, Luo Bingzhang, with rooting out the traitor.
In the present, Commander Yun, a major drug lord from Wanbei who controls the trafficking route to Xigang, is furious. He discovered that Lao Gui was secretly dealing a new type of drug, methamphetamine, with Xu Desheng behind his back. Yun ordered Mo Kang to eliminate Lao Gui, who managed to escape back to Xigang, though he was wounded in the process. To send a clear message, Mo Kang then had his operatives, Sang Bo and Miao Lun, assassinate Xu Desheng. In a calculated move, they used a branch from a "blessing tree" that Luo Bingzhang had planted for his son as the murder weapon.
This act successfully turns the heat onto Luo Bingzhang. When he discovers the gardener, Lao Wang, was recommended by Jin Yongxiang, he takes his anger out on him. Luo forces Jin to cut off Lao Wang's finger and demands three million as a peace offering to Commander Yun. Unable to produce the money, Jin Yongxiang turns to his younger brother, Zhao Shuangxi, for help. Zhao sees potential in the methamphetamine market and urges his brother to break free from Yun and Luo's control and start his own operation. However, Jin Yongxiang is too terrified of the ruthless Luo Bingzhang to even consider it.
Meanwhile, several storylines begin to converge. Lao Gui, now a wanted fugitive, is hiding out as his untreated wound becomes infected. Elsewhere, Lu Shaohua instructs his son, Lu Tianci, to lie about his recent injuries, claiming he simply fell. Luo Bingzhang, suspecting Commander Yun's hand in cutting the tree branch, receives a visit from Mo Kang. Luo desperately tries to deflect blame for the secret meth trade, pinning it on his own rogue subordinates. He gives Mo Kang the three million to appease Commander Yun and, under pressure, agrees to kill Lao Gui to clean up the mess.
The police are also closing in. Lin Qiangfeng has an informant, "Rabbit," investigating a figure named "Long Ge" but has so far only uncovered that another man, Meng Hanqiu, is secretly dealing meth.
The episode's main twist comes when the injured Lao Gui stumbles upon Lu Shaohua and begs for help. Lu Shaohua confronts him about drugs he was supposed to deliver to the now-deceased Xu Desheng. Seeing an opportunity, Lao Gui offers to teach Lu Shaohua how to produce methamphetamine in exchange for his safety. Tempted by the promise of immense profit, Lu Shaohua agrees and takes Lao Gui to his wife, a medical professional, for treatment. His wife is horrified to find a gunshot wound and recognizes Lao Gui from a wanted poster, fearing the danger he brings. Lu Shaohua, however, is already committed. After hiding Lao Gui in an abandoned warehouse, he forces him to write down the chemical formula for meth.
In a final subplot, officer Lin Qiangfeng has dinner at his colleague Wang Hui's house. He is surprised to learn that Wang Qi, a singer he knows from his undercover days as "Ban Dehai," is Wang Hui's sister. Wang Qi reveals she was inspired to sing by Lin Qiangfeng and developed a crush on him. She also confesses that a drummer named Xia Xun introduced her to drugs.
