Episode Summary
Police officer Deng Yan is inadvertently caught in a human trafficking sting, and her efforts to escape and save another victim disrupt the operation, allowing the ringleader to escape.Despite this, she is appointed the new director of the Anti-Trafficking Office, creating friction with the undercover officer Chang Rui. Her deep personal motivation, stemming from a friend's childhood abduction, is revealed as she takes on a new kidnapping case where the young girl used as bait, Fafa, appears to be the central link.
Spoiler Alert
On the night of April 25, 2009, Deng Yan, a section chief from the Provincial Public Security Department, is walking through a bustling night market in Lingshan City. A young girl named Fafa approaches her, asking for an escort home through a dark alley. Deng Yan agrees, not suspecting it's a trap.
As she drops Fafa off, a van ambushes them. Kidnappers Zhao Liang and Hu Xifan knock Deng Yan unconscious, tie her up, and throw her into the trunk. Fafa, who is used as bait by the human traffickers, is told to get in the van.
They take Deng Yan to a warehouse where another young woman is already being held captive. As Hu Xifan prepares to inject Deng Yan with an anesthetic before selling her, the traffickers are called away to meet a potential buyer. Seizing the opportunity, Deng Yan finds a shard of broken glass and begins to cut through her ropes.
When Zhao Liang returns for the other captive, Deng Yan, now free, attacks him and promises to help the other girl escape. They sneak towards the exit but are spotted. Deng Yan grabs a fire extinguisher, creating a chaotic diversion and yelling for the girl to run and get help. The girl manages to scale a wall to escape but is quickly caught by another kidnapper on the street. At that moment, the "buyer," who is actually an undercover officer named Chang Rui, subdues the kidnapper.
The entire scenario is revealed to be a carefully planned police sting operation, led by Captain Han Liang and Yin Jiansheng, the deputy director of the Anti-Trafficking Office.However, with Deng Yan's unexpected involvement, the plan goes awry. Fearing for her safety, Yin Jiansheng orders the police team to move in immediately. During the raid, Hu Xifan takes Deng Yan hostage, but she manages to wound him with a nearby knife, leading to his capture. It's only then that the team realizes Deng Yan is also a police officer.
Chang Rui is furious. His long-planned operation to capture the mastermind behind the trafficking ring has been compromised by Deng Yan's interference, resulting in the arrest of only a few low-level criminals.His anger intensifies when he learns that Deng Yan has been appointed as the new Director of the Anti-Trafficking Office. Deng Yan, aware that she inadvertently sabotaged the mission, accepts the new post and immediately immerses herself in old cases.
The episode delves into Deng Yan's past, revealing her motivation: twenty-four years ago, on her birthday, her childhood friend Lin Ranran was abducted by traffickers.This tragedy drove her to become a police officer, with the ultimate goal of finding her friend.
The episode concludes with a new case. On May 10th, a university student named Zheng Weiwei is kidnapped by a man known as "Baiban," who uses a drugged bottle of water. While reviewing the case, the traffickers they previously arrested provide crucial information. Hu Xifan identifies his superior as Baiban (real name Bai Wentao), and Zhao Liang reveals that the young girl, Fafa, refers to Baiban as her father. Deng Yan realizes that Fafa is the key to breaking the new case.
