Episode Summary
Lin Qiangfeng's investigation into an old overdose case leads him to the victim's grieving mother and a song he wrote for her. Meanwhile, Yang Wei goes undercover to ensnare a drug-using university student, leading to a string of arrests. Tensions rise when an enforcer recognizes his partner's killer in a barbershop. Concurrently, the fugitive Lao Gui is supplied with stolen chemicals and equipment by Lu Shaohua to begin producing methamphetamine, while a major drug syndicate figure plans a trip to Xigang to consolidate power.
Spoiler Alert
The Narcotic Operation: Episode 7 Spoilers
The investigation into Xia Xun's overdose death four months prior leads Lin Qiangfeng and his partner, Ban Dehai, to the Xigang Cantonese Opera Theatre. They seek out Xia Xun's mother, Shen Ping, the theatre's lead performer, renowned for her powerful singing and acting. Fresh off a performance, Shen Ping is confronted backstage but, still overcome with grief, angrily sends the officers away, refusing to revisit the painful memory.
Hitting a dead end, Lin Qiangfeng turns to Wang Qi, a member of Xia Xun's band. Wang Qi explains that Shen Ping had been a great supporter of their band, even buying them instruments, and that she and Xia Xun were incredibly close. She also reveals that in the time leading up to his death, Xia Xun was unusually down and had written a new song. Lin Qiangfeng intuits that the song was not for a girlfriend, but rather for his mother.
Meanwhile, other threads of the city's drug problem unravel. Wang Juhua, the estranged wife of drug trafficker Mo Kang, now runs a barbershop in Xigang after leaving her husband upon discovering his illegal business. When Mo Kang's associate, Miao Lun, comes to persuade her to return to Wanbei, she adamantly refuses. The situation escalates when officer Yang Wei enters for a haircut. Miao Lun recognizes Yang Wei as the man who killed his comrade, Sang Bo, and lunges to attack him. Wang Juhua desperately intervenes, threatening her own life to stop Miao Lun from seeking revenge.
In another part of the city, Lu Shaohua, a former lab technician, is taking dangerous steps. He gathers beakers and a syringe and steals ephedrine from his old workplace's storeroom. He delivers these materials to the fugitive Lao Gui, instructing him to begin producing methamphetamine. Under primitive conditions, Lao Gui starts the lengthy cooking process as Lu Shaohua watches every move, planning to enter the drug trade himself.
The police make a breakthrough from a different angle. An informant known as "Rabbit" tips off Lin Qiangfeng about Qi Xiaohong, a literature student at Xigang University who uses drugs. Lin sends Yang Wei undercover to learn about her. Posing as a magazine editor, Lin Qiangfeng arranges an interview with Qi Xiaohong and "accidentally" drops a small bag of meth. The bait works perfectly. Qi Xiaohong later contacts Lin, offering herself in exchange for the drugs, which allows Lin to set a trap and arrest a network of users.
The criminal underworld is also in motion. In Wanbei, Zhou Shaoxiong, the son-in-law of the powerful drug lord Yun Ding'en, is displeased with Mo Kang's recent failures in Xigang. Using his wedding anniversary as a pretext, Zhou plans to travel to Xigang with his wife, Yun Anna. His true intention is to meet with the local contact, Luo Bingzhang, assert his own authority, and potentially recruit Mo Kang to his side, signaling a power play against his father-in-law.
