Episode 9 recap: Cheng Bing pursued the culprit alone.
Cheng Bing arrived downstairs at Liu Wen Fang's house but didn't go up. Tong Tong, looking at the fireworks outside, saw the teddy bear that Cheng Bing had previously given her in the cabinet and closed it. The house was bustling with preparations for the Lunar New Year. Liu Wen Fang received a message from Cheng Bing, saying that there were two red envelopes in the mailbox for the children.
Other members of the Third Squad came looking for Cheng Bing but couldn't find him. Liu Zi said that Cheng Bing had gone to Chabang. Previously, someone had left the country to go to Chabang, and he had already informed the police about this situation. The police had investigated, but Cheng Bing, still not reassured, wanted to see for himself.
Lao Ma and the others knew that Cheng Bing didn't want to trouble them. If they mentioned this matter, it would be a question whether they would join in the investigation or not. Cheng Bing arrived at the border of Yunnan and met his former prison mate. The friend said that this place was now more profitable than Chabang, and fewer people were going there. Cheng Bing said he wanted to find people who went to Chabang around the year 2000, and his friend said he knew the snakeheads in the area and would inquire for him.
Cheng Bing believed that Wang Da Yong must have left the country illegally, so he wanted to take this route to find him more easily. Cheng Bing checked into a hotel and claimed he didn't have an ID. The owner still let him in but asked for extra money. At night, a woman came and asked Cheng Bing if he wanted a massage. Cheng Bing invited her in and told her he only wanted a massage, asking if she knew a way to find someone.
The woman said she knew the biggest snakehead in the area and promised to inquire for him. She brought Cheng Bing to meet the snakehead, who demanded half the money upfront and the rest upon arrival. Cheng Bing showed the photo and asked if the snakehead had seen this person. The snakehead's expression changed, but he still claimed not to have seen him.
The snakehead made a phone call to his superior, saying that he had found a suitable person and would find a way to send him over. The snakehead gave a package of drugs to the woman and told her to sell them and bring back the money. The woman came to Cheng Bing and informed him that she had spoken to the snakehead, who agreed to give him a favor and send Cheng Bing to Chabang.
While at the hotel, the snakehead and his group spotted undercover police officers downstairs. They flushed the drugs down the toilet, but before they could escape, they were caught by the police. The snakehead ended up in Cheng Bing's room and initially planned to escape through the window. However, there was a welded wire mesh outside, making it impossible to get out. The snakehead tried to convince Cheng Bing to claim they were together, but Cheng Bing refused and subdued the snakehead.
The police entered the room and considered Cheng Bing as part of the group. They arrested him as well. During the search of Cheng Bing's bag, the police found a package of drugs and questioned Cheng Bing about it. Cheng Bing carefully thought it through and realized that he couldn't have had the drugs. The snakehead also never had the opportunity to put them there. It seemed that the woman had brought the drugs to avoid getting caught and had secretly placed them in Cheng Bing's bag. This meant that Cheng Bing's and the woman's fingerprints should be on the massage fee Cheng Bing gave her, while only the snakehead's and the woman's fingerprints would be on the drugs.
The local police inspected Cheng Bing's bag and found a photo inside, taken when they were all part of the Third Squad and had achieved something significant. They then realized that Cheng Bing had been their colleague before. After the investigation, it became clear that Cheng Bing's account was indeed true. The police admitted that they were unaware of the woman's involvement in this line of criminal activity and acknowledged that Cheng Bing's actions had led to her capture.
The local police contacted Cheng Bing's hometown, and Lin Ying was sent to bring Cheng Bing back. Lin Ying knew that Cheng Bing intended to apprehend Wang Da Yong and advised him not to dwell on the past but to focus on living his own life, which was more important.
Once upon a time, every member of the Three Great Teams was full of spirit, just like the collective third-class merit photo that Cheng Da has always cherished. However, Wang Er Yong's unexpected death led to punishment for every member of the Three Great Teams.
To put it bluntly, can't their individual merits compensate for that one mistake? The truth is, as the brothers grew older, they had their worries before, even to the point where Cheng Da's family was on the verge of falling apart, but they never uttered a word of resentment.
Everyone was just emotionally hurt. It's not because they failed to catch Wang Da Yong. Among them, Cheng Da's previous contributions and efforts were the greatest, yet he ended up serving ten years in prison.
It was precisely during those ten years in prison that he was able to stand alone, single-mindedly going after Wang Da Yong, and severing ties with his past self.