Episode Summary
In this episode, a detective's plan to intercept a drug deal goes sideways. He is forced to work with a rival cop he doesn't trust. The mission is sabotaged by a staged fight, and the situation quickly spirals out of control. It ends with a key informant being murdered, with the rival cop at the center of the crime scene.
Spoiler Alert
A Messy Start on a Train
The show kicks off on a moving train. A magician is performing for the passengers. While everyone is distracted, a team of thieves is quietly at work. They think they've made a clean getaway. But then they run into Zhan Peng. He's a detective captain from the Pingzhang City Criminal Investigation Division.
One of the crooks has some fighting skills. He tries to slash Zhan Peng with a blade. Zhan Peng easily dodges the attacks. The thieves try to escape but are blocked by another officer, Zhang Cheng. The two cops arrest the whole crew. They find a large amount of contraband.
The Undercover Plan
Getting the Truth
Zhan Peng starts the interrogation. He uses a clever tactic to trick one of the thieves. He bluffs that his partner has already confessed about a shipment on another train, the T634. The thief falls for it but says he doesn't know who the contact person is.
So, Zhan Peng moves on to the other guy. He tells him his partner sold him out completely. He also says that since this guy was the leader, he could be sentenced without any more questions. The thief immediately panics. He says the person who hired him used QQ to communicate. He only knows the pickup person is in car number 6 on the T634.
A New Mission
An officer from Xiatong City, Zhang Nanyi, almost messes up the whole operation. He thought Zhan Peng was just there to catch petty thieves and felt bad for interfering. Zhan Peng learns they're on the same side and understands.
The drug dealers on both sides have never actually met. This gives Zhan Peng an idea. He decides to pose as the seller and meet the contact himself. His boss, Sun Zhengxin, gets the plan approved. Zhan Peng is officially assigned to a temporary post in Xiatong City. This is just a cover story. His real job is to investigate the gang behind the scenes.
Cops and More Cops
An Instant Rivalry
Zhan Peng and his team board the T634 train. Just as he's getting off, his wallet gets stolen. He immediately thinks of a suspicious man he saw earlier and gives chase but loses him. The pickpocket, whose name is Zheng Xiaoshan, runs right into another cop named Tu Hongjiang.
Zheng Xiaoshan tries to talk his way out of it. He claims a gang called "Eight-Toed" has a monopoly on theft on that train. He gives the wallet back but gets arrested anyway. Zhan Peng runs up and recognizes Tu Hongjiang. You can tell right away these two do not get along. They start arguing almost immediately.
An Unwanted Partner
Zhan Peng's superior, Director Xiong Guoliang, puts Tu Hongjiang on the mission. Zhan Peng is not happy about this and refuses. Tu Hongjiang arrives, and the two cops barely hide their dislike for each other. They only agree to work together because of the mission.
Later, Zhan Peng learns that Tu Hongjiang let the pickpocket, Zheng Xiaoshan, go. He is furious. But then, an officer named Gao Buyi finds a note in his pocket. It's from Zheng Xiaoshan. The note details the time and place for the drug exchange. The pickpocket must have realized they were cops and decided to pass them information.
The Setup
A Well-Timed Fight
A local gang boss called "Eight-Toed" is fresh out of prison. He takes his crew right back to the train station to get back to business. Tu Hongjiang shows up to take him in. Eight-Toed and his men fight back. The brawl creates a huge distraction.
This distraction ruins Zhan Peng's plan. It gives the real drug contact the perfect cover. A person disguised as a "worker" retrieves the contraband from a locker by cutting a hole in the back. Zhan Peng later spots this "worker" on the surveillance footage. The locker was being used by one of Eight-Toed's men. After being arrested, the man says the worker called himself "Brother Shan."
A Deeper Game
When Eight-Toed is released, he reveals something important. He says someone paid him to cause that specific disturbance at that exact time. The person knew Tu Hongjiang would show up and get involved. Tu Hongjiang walked right into a trap.
That night, Tu Hongjiang gets a tip that Eight-Toed is at someone's house. He rushes over. He finds the man has been tortured and is unconscious. Tu Hongjiang then catches Eight-Toed in the act of stealing in his district. Eight-Toed is a skilled thief but just toys with the cop. He claims the person he was robbing is a friend and they were just playing around. Tu Hongjiang has no choice but to let him go again.
A Body in a Hotel Room
Zheng Xiaoshan, the pickpocket, now has the drugs. He calls Tu Hongjiang for help. He says he had no idea they were drugs. Now both the police and the criminals are hunting for him. Tu Hongjiang tells him to put the package back where he found it. He then heads to a hotel to meet Zheng Xiaoshan, taking officer Zhang Nanyi with him.
Zhang Nanyi secretly calls Zhan Peng and tells him where they are going. Tu Hongjiang enters the hotel. By the time Zhan Peng and his team arrive, it's over. They find Zheng Xiaoshan dead in Tu Hongjiang's arms.
