Chapter Summaries

Kang Jie and Gong Li tried to intervene on Cheng Shoukui’s behalf, but Shan Wenxu redirected the pressure toward Zhou Yi. When Zhou returned to the Public Security Bureau, he learned Cheng had escaped and suspected Criminal Investigation Brigade commander Qi Maorong of deliberate misconduct.

• Kang Jie urged Gong Li to help Cheng Shoukui, so Gong Li called Zhou Yi to ask whether the case could be handled more leniently.
• Zhou Yi told Gong Li that Cheng had raped a woman at the bureau, resisted arrest, and faced severe punishment under orders he attributed to Shan Wenxu.
• Gong Li asked Zhu Laisheng to approach Shan Wenxu, but Shan said Zhou had proposed the grounds for severe punishment and pointed the chairman back toward Zhou.
• Gong Li decided to pursue both Shan and Zhou, believing Kang Jie could persuade Zhou through her charms.
• Zhou Yi returned to the bureau and learned Cheng Shoukui had escaped from the interrogation room while the Criminal Investigation Brigade failed to report it promptly.
• Zhou Yi doubted Qi Maorong’s account and recognized the escape as a chance to remove the Criminal Investigation Brigade commander.

Zhou Yi reshaped the Yangcheng Public Security Bureau, removing senior officials and promoting people he trusted. After the city issued the appointments, Cai Xiaobo and Shao Mingbao arrived to help him take control of the Public Security Management Brigade.

• Zhou Yi told Qi Maorong to leave and appointed Li Linsen deputy commander of the Criminal Investigation Brigade, charging him with building a committed team.
• Li Linsen accepted the appointment and saluted Zhou Yi, who resolved to support people with ideals and a sense of justice.
• The Yangcheng City People's Government issued appointment and dismissal notices that removed Wang Guozhong, Huang Jinping, Li Guanghui, and Qi Maorong and named new bureau leaders.
• Zhou Yi accepted Shan Wenxu's allies among the new appointees as long as they did not obstruct his plans.
• Cai Xiaobo and Shao Mingbao entered Zhou Yi's office, ready to help him secure control of the Public Security Management Brigade.

Zhou Yi settled his new allies into their roles at the Yangcheng Public Security Bureau while Rao Yu celebrated becoming chief of the Political Work Office. Kang Jie visited Zhou Yi to pursue a personal connection, but their conversation was interrupted when a woman entered and demanded to know who Kang Jie was.

• Zhou Yi welcomed Cai Xiaobo and Shao Mingbao and prepared to rely on them at the Yangcheng Public Security Bureau.
• Rao Yu received congratulations from Lu Yao, Du Juan, Gu Qiqi, and Shen Xiaoya on becoming chief of the Political Work Office.
• Kang Jie visited Zhou Yi and pressed him to meet with her, while Zhou Yi reminded her that her cousin Cheng Shoukui was still evading prosecution.
• Zhou Yi claimed his girlfriend would be jealous to discourage Kang Jie, and Kang Jie privately dismissed the excuse.
• An unidentified woman entered Zhou Yi's office and asked who Kang Jie was.

Jian Shuyue visited Zhou Yi’s office and helped him drive away Kang Jie, who left jealous and resentful. Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue nearly kissed before Lu Yao interrupted them, and Zhou Yi introduced Jian Shuyue as his girlfriend.

• Jian Shuyue arrived while Kang Jie was visiting Zhou Yi, and Director Zhou explained that Kang Jie was there on official business.
• Kang Jie realized Jian Shuyue was Zhou Yi’s girlfriend, grew jealous, and left after Jian Shuyue stared her down.
• Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue high-fived over their teamwork, then teased each other about their ambiguous relationship and Zhou Yi’s attraction to her.
• Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue leaned close and touched noses as they looked into each other’s eyes, but Lu Yao entered with a document and interrupted them.
• Lu Yao asked who had made the first move, and Zhou Yi first claimed Jian Shuyue pursued him before correcting himself and saying he had pursued her for years.

Zhou Yi strengthened his control over the Yangcheng Public Security Bureau as a family-of-five murder exposed the limits of his knowledge about future crimes. In Liaoyang, Jian Wanyan praised Zhou Yi’s precise, ruthless, and steady work, while Mu Yalan worried about her daughter’s feelings for him.

• Lu Yao left Zhou Yi and Jian Shuyue alone, and Zhou Yi embraced Jian Shuyue as they exchanged flirtatious promises.
• Shao Mingbao and Cai Xiaobo addressed the Public Security Management Brigade, warning officers to obey them while dangling promotion opportunities.
• Li Linsen reorganized the Criminal Investigation Brigade’s First Squadron and hurried out with Zhao Yan after a family-of-five murder was reported.
• After hearing Li Linsen’s report, Zhou Yi told him to investigate the personal connections of Lu W anggao and his son.
• Mu Yalan worried that Jian Shuyue had gone to Yangcheng to see Zhou Yi, while Jian Wanyan praised Zhou Yi’s moves to secure control of the bureau.

Jian Wanyan learned that the Yangcheng family massacre had put pressure on Zhou Yi, while Zhou Yi faced mounting criticism at a city meeting with no leads in the case. The chapter left him besieged by officials demanding a commitment to solve the murders.

• Deng Yadong reported the Yangcheng massacre to Jian Wanyan, who ordered provincial investigators to be ready to support Zhou Yi.
• Jian Shuyue returned home and told Jian Wanyan and Mu Yalan that Zhou Yi had no useful leads yet.
• At an expanded city committee meeting, Zhou Yi described how the killer had entered the victims’ home and murdered all five family members.
• Gong Li, Sun Yi, Zuo Hongwei, and Zhu Laisheng criticized Zhou Yi and pressed him to say when the case would be solved.
• Shan Wenxu compared the officials’ attack on Zhou Yi to the six great sects besieging Bright Summit.

At an expanded standing committee meeting, Zhou Yi faced a ten-day ultimatum to solve a major criminal case or lose his position as Public Security Director. He secured promises of support from the city and boldly pledged to solve the case within five days.

• Zhou Yi answered the leaders' criticism and insisted the case would be solved soon.
• Qiu Ling gave Zhou Yi ten days to solve the case, threatening to remove him if he failed.
• Zhou Yi requested city support for a personnel rectification campaign, replacement officers, and updated police equipment.
• Wan Dean agreed to pay one million in overdue case-handling subsidies after Qiu Ling approved it.
• Zhou Yi asked the city to approve a Special Police Brigade, then pledged to solve the case within five days if his requests were granted.

Zhou Yi secured the city leadership’s support by promising to solve the family massacre within five days, though he admitted to Shan Wenxu that the investigation had made no breakthrough yet. Back at the Public Security Bureau, he assigned his trusted officers new leads and remained confident he could solve the case.

• Zhou Yi turned the leadership’s attempt to use the case against him into an agreement to support his demands, and Qiu Ling and the other committee members accepted his five-day deadline.
• Shan Wenxu questioned Zhou Yi over lunch about his confidence, but Zhou Yi said he was making a last stand and refused to reveal his reasons.
• Zhou Yi summoned Li Linsen, Cai Xiaobo, and Shao Mingbao, who reported that Lu W anggao was unpopular and his son Lu Hao had transferred schools the previous year.
• Zhou Yi told Li Linsen to investigate why Lu Hao transferred schools and whether the killer had obtained and copied the family’s house key.
• Li Linsen, Cai Xiaobo, and Shao Mingbao left to pursue the leads while Zhou Yi remained confident that he would solve the case.

Zhou Yi’s five-day pledge to solve the case drew scorn from his enemies and confidence from his allies, while his investigators tracked down Zheng Yougu as a suspect in the homicide. After being brought in for questioning, Zheng Yougu asked to see Director Zhou Yi.

• Cheng Shoukui and Qi Maorong celebrated Zhou Yi’s pledge, while Secretary Jian criticized it and Jian Shuyue defended Zhou Yi’s confidence.
• At the Yangcheng Public Security Bureau, Lu Yao, Du Juan, and their colleagues worried about the deadline, and Qiqi said she thought she had seen Cheng Shoukui.
• On November 29, investigators arrested internet café owner Zheng Yougu on suspicion of homicide.
• Li Linsen explained that Zheng Yougu became a suspect after investigators learned his daughter Zheng Xin had died by suicide following Lu Hao’s alleged assault on her.
• Zheng Yougu stayed silent during questioning, then asked to see Director Zhou Yi.

Zheng Yougu confessed to murdering Lu Hao and four members of Lu W anggao’s family, claiming revenge for his daughter Zheng Xin’s death. After Zhou Yi condemned his crimes, Zheng Yougu revealed that he had insisted on meeting the director both to thank him and to give him a gift.

• Zheng Yougu refused to confess until he could speak with the director, so Li Linsen brought Zhou Yi to the interrogation room.
• Zheng Yougu recognized Zhou Yi from his work in Dongji and thanked him for helping his parents and the other villagers obtain compensation from Fu Yu.
• Zheng Yougu confessed that Lu Hao had assaulted Zheng Xin, escaped charges through influential connections, and that Zheng Xin later died by suicide.
• Zheng Yougu described how he waited for Lu Hao and murdered him and Lu W anggao’s wife and two daughters, while Zhou Yi challenged his claim that the killings were justice.
• After signing his statement, Zheng Yougu told Zhou Yi that he had come to thank him and give him a gift.

After Zhou Yi solved the November 23 Family Massacre, he gained prestige and helped capture Cheng Shoukui and Qi Maorong. Kang Jie and Gong Li planned a dinner to draw Zhou Yi in, while Zheng Yougu’s gift left Zhou Yi facing a dangerous decision.

• Qiu Ling reviewed the solved murder case and vowed she would eventually find something on Zhou Yi.
• Jian Shuyue praised Zhou Yi to her parents, while Jian Wanyan approved of his success and its value to the upcoming crackdown.
• Shao Mingbao and Cai Xiaobo led officers in arresting Cheng Shoukui and Qi Maorong, and Zhou Yi credited Gu Qiqi for helping catch them.
• Kang Jie asked Gong Li to intervene after Cheng Shoukui was arrested, and Gong Li arranged a dinner invitation for Zhou Yi; Kang Jie then reported that Xie Bingyi and Li Ruoyun would attend.
• Zhou Yi regarded Zheng Yougu’s gift as a ticking time bomb whose consequences depended on what he chose to do.

Zhou Yi found a ledger documenting bribes to powerful officials and decided to take it to Provincial Party Committee Secretary Jian Wanyan. Before he could leave, Gong Li invited him to dinner with senior officials, while Xie Bingyi prepared to attend the same gathering with Li Ruoyun.

• Zhou Yi read the ledger Zheng Yougu had taken from Lu Wanggao’s safe and weighed the risks of exposing, hiding, or exploiting its records of officials’ bribes.
• Zhou Yi chose to deliver the ledger to Jian Wanyan, called Jian Shuyue, and packed the evidence into his briefcase.
• Gong Li invited Zhou Yi to dinner that evening on behalf of a group that included Vice Mayor Sun, and Zhou Yi suspected the invitation might be a trap.
• Tian Baishun told Xie Bingyi that Liufu Town Mayor Yang Chong had invited him to dinner, but Xie refused because he had another engagement.
• Xie Bingyi prepared to attend Gong Li’s dinner with Li Ruoyun and other officials, where they planned to entertain Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi delivered a damaging ledger to Provincial Party Secretary Jian Wanyan, then returned to Yangcheng for dinner. At the restaurant, he stood up for Gu Qiqi when her uncle tried to pressure her into meeting Deputy Secretary Dai Zhengxing’s son.

• Zhou Yi handed Jian Wanyan the ledger, and Jian praised him while telling him to join Jian Shuyue outside.
• Zhou Yi, Jian Shuyue, and Tian Tian joked together as they walked along the pedestrian street.
• Zhou Yi arrived at Azure Cloud Grand Restaurant and ran into Gu Qiqi, who had been drinking and was angry about her uncle’s plans for her.
• Gu Jiang tried to persuade Gu Qiqi to return to dinner with Dai Zhengxing, but she asked Zhou Yi to stop them from bothering her.
• Zhou Yi backed Gu Qiqi and invited Gu Jiang to tell Dai Zhengxing to raise any objections in private room 203.
• Dai Zhengxing initially raged at Zhou Yi, then remembered who was waiting in room 203 and lost his anger.

Zhou Yi attended a welcome banquet hosted by Deputy Secretary Gong, where city officials and business figures treated him with conspicuous respect. He toasted Kang Jie at her request, while his wary exchange with Xie Bingyi and Li Ruoyun left their hostile history unresolved.

• Dai Zhengxing claimed he would visit Zhou Yi’s banquet room and demand a toast, while his wife and son urged him to stand on his rank.
• Gong Li welcomed Zhou Yi to Room 203 and seated him among senior officials, Xie Bingyi, and Li Ruoyun.
• Zhou Yi exchanged polite greetings with the guests, while he and Xie Bingyi concealed their mutual hostility and Zhou suspected Li Ruoyun might seek revenge for Xie Zhaolong’s death.
• Gong Li led the guests in welcoming Zhou Yi, and Zhou Yi drained his glass in thanks.
• Kang Jie toasted Zhou Yi for repeatedly declining her invitations, and Zhou Yi apologized and offered to drink in her place.

At a dinner meant to get Zhou Yi drunk, Xie Bingyi tried to force him to drink and Zhou Yi beat him instead. Zhou Yi left with Kang Jie as the others departed, while Dai Zhengxing learned who had dared to strike Xie Bingyi.

• Deputy Secretary Gong, Vice Mayor Sun, Zuo Hongwei, and others took turns toasting Zhou Yi until he was badly drunk.
• Xie Bingyi demanded that Zhou Yi drink with him and threatened him when Zhou refused, while Liu Yi offered to take the toast in his place.
• Zhou Yi slapped Xie Bingyi, knocked him down, and beat him until Gong Li, Sun Yi, Zuo Hongwei, and Wan Dean pulled him away.
• Xie Bingyi threatened Zhou Yi and stormed out, and Gong Li told Kang Jie to take Zhou Yi home.
• Dai Zhengxing saw Xie Bingyi leave with a swollen face, then overheard the others confirm that Zhou Yi had beaten him.

After leaving a banquet, Zhou Yi rode home with Li Ruoyun, who revealed she knew about his schemes and proposed a deal. She offered to help him eliminate Xie Bingyi if he helped her eliminate Xie Bingkun.

• Gong Li and the others tried to arrange for Kang Jie to take the drunken Zhou Yi home, but Li Ruoyun and the Construction Commission Director also offered him a ride.
• Zhou Yi got into Old Zhao's Jetta, and Li Ruoyun joined him in the back seat before the car drove away.
• Li Ruoyun recalled how Zhou Yi had used Xie Zhaolong's secret to build influence and dismantle the Xie Family, then tested whether Zhou Yi was truly drunk by touching his thigh.
• Zhou Yi stopped Li Ruoyun and asked what she wanted to discuss, so Old Zhao left the car to give them privacy.
• Li Ruoyun offered to help Zhou Yi get rid of Xie Bingyi if he helped her get rid of Xie Bingkun.

Li Ruoyun offered Zhou Yi a deal to help her get rid of the Xie brothers, but he refused to trust her and learned that Xie Bingyi had sent men to ambush him. Zhou ordered a police operation at his residential community, where officers stopped the attackers and arrested them.

• Li Ruoyun questioned how Zhou Yi knew her secrets and proposed working together to get rid of the Xie brothers.
• Zhou refused to trust Li, who revealed that Xie Bingyi had sent two vehicles and more than a dozen men to intercept him.
• Zhou ordered Shao Mingbao to mobilize officers and authorized firearms at the entrance to the Sunshine Residential Community.
• Big Black and his men surrounded Zhou's white Jetta and attacked it with weapons.
• Shao Mingbao and Cai Xiaobo arrived with officers, and police gunfire wounded a shotgun-wielding thug and Big Black before the attackers were subdued.

Zhou Yi thanked Li Ruoyun for helping him prepare for the operation that caught Big Black’s gang, then the Yangcheng Public Security Bureau publicized the arrests and launched a citywide campaign soliciting crime reports. The chapter left Mayor Shan Wenxu recognizing that Zhou Yi was building momentum for a confrontation with the Xie Family.

• Zhou Yi called Li Ruoyun to thank her for warning him that Xie Bingyi was retaliating, and she advised him to stop risking his safety for greater gains.
• The Yangcheng City Public Security Bureau issued a bulletin announcing that police had arrested fourteen gang members led by Big Black and Hua Zi, killing one suspect and wounding Big Black.
• The bulletin spread through local news and online discussions, where residents praised the arrests and speculated that the new director, Zhou Yi, was preparing to challenge Yangcheng Xie.
• The Public Security Bureau issued a notice soliciting reports of crime as it prepared to launch a citywide public order crackdown.
• Mayor Shan Wenxu read the bulletin and notice and reflected that Zhou Yi had used the arrests to build support for a future assault on the Xie Family.

Qiu Ling recognized that Zhou Yi had used the attack on him to strengthen his authority, while Xie Bingyi plotted revenge. During an inspection visit, protesters accused the Yangcheng Public Security Bureau of killing Fang Yuan, and Zhou Yi defended the officers’ use of force against Ba Yan’s challenges.

• Qiu Ling told Gong Li to summon Zhou Yi for Ba Yan’s inspection visit, while Zhou focused on investigating Xie Bingyi’s operations.
• Xie Bingyi summoned Bai Wei and vowed to take revenge on Zhou Yi after his enforcers’ attack failed.
• Ba Yan and Ding Qi arrived in Yangcheng on December 5 and joined Qiu Ling, Shan Wenxu, Zhou Yi, and other officials to inspect local agencies.
• Protesters blocked the inspection convoy outside the Public Security Bureau with a banner accusing the police of treating lives as worthless, and Fang Yuan’s family demanded justice.
• Ba Yan challenged Zhou Yi over Fang Yuan’s death, and Zhou explained that Fang Yuan’s armed group had attacked his vehicle and cited the rules authorizing officers to use weapons.

Ba Yan moved to suspend Zhou Yi over his handling of a police case, but Shan Wenxu delayed the decision by insisting it go before the Standing Committee. While Yangcheng Public Security Bureau staff worried that Zhou Yi’s career was in danger, Zhou Yi stayed in his office and waited for a major development.

• Ba Yan threatened to suspend Zhou Yi, but Zhou Yi challenged the accusation by offering video footage and evidence supporting the legality of the operation.
• Ba Yan convened a meeting at the Yangcheng Public Security Bureau, blamed its enforcement problems on Zhou Yi and local officials, and pushed for Zhou Yi’s suspension.
• Shan Wenxu opposed suspending Zhou Yi without first reviewing the evidence and called for the matter to be discussed by the Standing Committee.
• Yangcheng Public Security Bureau staff split between those pleased by Zhou Yi’s predicament and those worried about him, while Zhou Yi waited in his office for a huge bombshell.