Episode Summary
In this episode, Ye Xiuming is all but confirmed to be the notorious trafficker "Brother Cripple" after a tense confrontation with Liu Gang. The police uncover an elaborate scheme where a child was kidnapped to secure a business contract for Ye's Dingshun Company. At the same time, Yang Caiyun's bravery leads to the rescue of a deaf-mute girl held captive in her village. A crucial new clue emerges in a related murder case when a hidden photograph, believed to feature Brother Cripple, is discovered.
Spoiler Alert
In a gripping series of events, multiple investigations begin to converge, pointing toward one man who may be the mastermind behind the city's human trafficking ring.
The episode kicks off with Fu Haochen voicing his suspicions about Ye Xiuming. He believes Ye used underhanded methods to help him adopt a child, all to secure a lucrative contract. Ye Xiuming, smooth and composed, denies any wrongdoing, and his secretary, Zhang Quanzhi, backs him up, insisting she followed the standard application process on a welfare center's website. However, the police find no record of her application. When the tech department examines Zhang Quanzhi's computer, the truth comes out: Ye Xiuming, eager to please Fu Haochen, directed her to a fake website run by a man known as Dingfengbo. This mysterious figure then arranged for Ding Shuncheng to kidnap a child, Tang Zhikui, to complete the "adoption." Once Fu Haochen signed the business deal, Dingfengbo shut down the fake site. Although this seems to clear Ye Xiuming of direct involvement, lead officer Deng Yan isn't convinced; the ultimate beneficiary, after all, was Ye's Dingshun Company.
Her suspicion is validated by a separate investigation. Zhen Ni discovers that Fu Haochen signed the major deal with Dingshun Company right after receiving the child. This timing is too perfect for Liu Gang, who immediately suspects Ye Xiuming is the infamous and elusive "Brother Cripple." To confirm his hunch, Liu Gang confronts Ye Xiuming at the Tianhai Jixiang Dance Hall. He probes Ye about Dingshun Group's potential links to child trafficking, and Ye's panicked reaction says it all. Liu Gang is now certain he's found Brother Cripple.
Meanwhile, a heartbroken, hearing-impaired man arrives at the Reunion Diner. His wife, Zhang Xiaochu, also hearing-impaired, was abducted during their honeymoon trip to Linshan. The only clue he has is a fake license plate number. Auntie Zhang helps by putting up a missing person notice. Before he leaves to continue his search, the man photographs all the notices of missing children on the wall, and at Auntie Zhang's request, agrees to post a video online to help find her long-lost daughter, Lin Ranran. Later, Officer Chang Rui finds a lead that Zhang Xiaochu's kidnapping was carried out by the subordinates of a criminal named Qingpi.
The fight against trafficking continues on other fronts. Yang Caiyun, back in her home village, learns from her daughter that the neighboring Tu family has "bought a bride" and is keeping her locked in a room. Yang Caiyun's first attempt to investigate is thwarted, but she later peeks through a back window and sees a young woman tied to a bed. She immediately reports it to the Anti-trafficking Office. Police raid the house and rescue the terrified, deaf-mute girl.
Progress is also made in other major cases. The police get a tip that the missing child Luo Xiaoyu was sold to a Hong Kong businessman, Mu Zhenliang. However, Mu denies his son was adopted, forcing the police to dig deeper. In the murder case of Zhou Hongcai, the getaway taxi is pulled from a reservoir. A forensic examination of Zhou's body uncovers a startling piece of evidence: a hidden group photograph. Chang Rui is confident that Brother Cripple is in that picture, providing a critical clue that could finally bring down the entire network.
