Episode Summary

A young Guo Pengfei’s traumatic past resurges as he shadows Fo Ye’s gang targeting antiques dealer Old Wu in a botched train heist. Meanwhile, Li Tang rescues a kidnapped student from traffickers, and Pengfei’s hallucinatory breakdown reveals his spiraling mental state.

Spoiler Alert

✨ Flashback to 1984: The Boy Who Sold Pickles✨

Let’s rewind to a frostbitten winter in rural China, where young Guo Pengfei (our brooding hero) is just trying to survive. Orphaned and stuck with a deadbeat uncle whose gambling addiction drained every penny, Pengfei hawks homemade pickles at the market to scrape by. When he witnesses his uncle get busted for theft by Officer Piao (his late father’s friend), the shame burns deep. But here’s the twist: Piao takes pity on Pengfei, offering him shelter and urging him to go back to school. Cue the origin story of a kid destined for a very complicated relationship with authority.

✨Present Day: Eye Drama and Human Traffickers (With a Side of Evil)✨

Ten days into the mysterious cornea theft case, Li Tang (our morally rigid cop) bumps into a stranded college girl at the subway. She’s broke, desperate, and ignored by everyone—including the police, who are too swamped brawling with rowdy locals to help. Meanwhile, street-smart thief He Xiaozhu and her crew (Dachun and slippery Xiaochun) are getting squeezed out of Licheng City by rival gangs. Xiaochun ghosts them with a "I’ll buy train tickets first!" note, but you just know he’s up to no good.

✨Mastermind Alert: Fo Ye’s Smoke-and-Mirrors Scheme✨

Over at the train station, shady mastermind Fo Ye orchestrates a wild plan to rob antiques dealer Old Wu. Using chain-smoking lackey Siyan to trigger Wu’s asthma, nurse Li Xiaolian (double agent alert!) fakes medical care while loosening a ceiling speaker to bonk Wu unconscious. Enter Cai Shen (Fo Ye’s henchman), who tries to pickpocket Wu… until Guo Pengfei shows up, lurking like a shadow. Classic Pengfei move: He’s watching everyone, including Fo Ye’s crew, but stays mysteriously hands-off.

✨Trains, Traffickers, and a Very Bad Trip✨

On the train to Pengchuan, chaos erupts:

  • He Xiaozhu overhears Old Wu’s antique plans and decides to swipe the goods for herself.
  • Fo Ye and Cai Shen stalk Wu, but their heist gets derailed when Wu panics and summons police.
  • Meanwhile, that stranded college girl? SHE’S BEEN KIDNAPPED BY HUMAN TRAFFICKERS. After chugging drugged water, she wakes up locked in a room with creeps demanding "services."

✨Li Tang to the Rescue (Sort Of)✨

Li Tang finally pieces together the girl’s disappearance and storms the traffickers’ den, saving her and other victims. But here’s the kicker: Guo Pengfei hallucinates Li Tang brutally beating a suspect and collapses. When he wakes up, Li Tang insists it was all a drug-induced delusion—including earlier fake memories of bar fights and clinic visits. Pengfei begs him to keep quiet, but uh-oh… someone’s mental state is crumbling faster than a stale fortune cookie.

Spoiler Snacks:

  • Fo Ye’s crew isn’t done with Old Wu. That antique auction in Pengchuan? It’s about to get messy.
  • Xiaochun’s betrayal? He’s cozying up to Ma Mingzhu (new player alert!) with a suspicious music box gift.
  • Pengfei’s visions hint at a darker backstory—and maybe a medication overdose twist.

Stay tuned, thriller fans. Licheng City’s underworld just got a whole lot seedier.