Episode Summary
Power struggles erupt within the criminal organization as Liu Tianye orchestrates a construction accident to oust his rival, Zhang Xin. Ye Tianyou retires but urges his team to continue the investigation. A race to find a key witness, Fang Lei, ends with the criminals capturing him first and forcing him to frame an innocent man to target the police.
Spoiler Alert
The Internal War Begins
Hong Mushou looks worried. He pulls Ye Tianyou aside to ask the hard question. He wants to know if Liu Yi has been silenced yet. Ye Tianyou holds his ground. He promises to buy time to find the truth.
Things are chaotic elsewhere. Peng Hanzhang is in a panic. He tells Zhang Xin that the city government set up a special task force. He insists they must keep Liu Yi safe to avoid suspicion. Zhang Xin disagrees. He has a ruthless look in his eyes. He says Liu Yi knows too much and has to go. But the big boss makes a different call. He hands the job to Liu Tianye instead. Zhang Xin is clearly not happy about being sidelined.
Liu Tianye Plays the Long Game
Liu Tianye knows how to buy loyalty. He sets up a foreign bank account for Peng Hanzhang’s wife. Peng is grateful. He even starts complaining to Liu about Zhang Xin.
Xiaoshuai is finally out of prison. Luo Xiaomei throws him a birthday party to celebrate. Meanwhile, Liu Tianye handles the construction site disaster like a pro. Zhao Peng notices something interesting. He realizes Liu Tianye knew the accident would happen. He was right. Liu Tianye let the accident happen on purpose. He wanted to push Zhang Xin out and impress the boss.
Later, Liu Tianye takes Xiaoshuai to the monitoring room. He reveals his true ambition. He wants a specific piece of land the city values. He gives Xiaoshuai an expensive watch to seal the deal.
Retirement and Cover-ups
Ye Tianyou decides to retire. He recommends Yan Ming to take his place. The city leaders agree to the switch.
Liu Tianye’s crew starts playing dirty with the victims' families. They lie to the relatives. They claim the workers died from sudden illnesses, not work injuries. Some families refuse to sign the settlement papers. The thugs threaten them until they give in. Zhou Sisi is also working hard on the cover-up. She harasses the doctors at the hospital. She forces them to falsify the death records.
Ye Tianyou visits his son’s grave after retiring. He looks defeated. He hates leaving cases unsolved. He tells Qin Feng and Zeng Xu to keep investigating no matter what.
The Race for Fang Lei
Qin Feng gets a promotion from Captain Zhong. He is now the captain's assistant. But Qin Feng is suspicious. He thinks this promotion is just a way to stop him from investigating the case. He asks Mai Hongchao to help find Fang Lei, Liu Yi’s vice president.
Mai Hongchao finds a lead. Fang Lei has a friend spending a lot of cash at the hospital. Qin Feng rushes over. He sees Director Chen visiting the injured workers with Liu Tianye. Chen warns Liu Tianye to stop pressuring the families. Qin Feng questions a foreman privately. The foreman doesn't know where Fang Lei is. But he mentions a female accountant in the finance department.
Zeng Xu and Bian Jing rush to the accountant's rental apartment. They are too late. Xiaoshuai and Liu Tianfei got there first. They kidnapped Fang Lei.
Fang Lei tries to save himself. He hands over a USB drive and his phone. Liu Tianfei checks the evidence. He gives Fang Lei a script. He wants him to blame Zheng Hao. This is a trap to drag Qin Feng into the mess. It kills two birds with one stone. Xiaoshuai hesitates. He reminds Liu Tianfei that Liu Tianye wanted to blame Zhang Xin. Liu Tianfei doesn't care. He threatens Fang Lei’s family to ensure he sticks to the new story.
