Be Reborn Episode 24 Recap
> Be Reborn Recap
On the rooftop, Luo Jian grappled with Monsieur's assistant, quickly overpowering him and knocking his walkie-talkie to the ground. As Zhuang Wenjie climbed up the rope, he heard a voice on the fallen walkie-talkie instructing "Number three assistant" to prepare for descent. Zhuang Wenjie seized the device, and with Luo Jian's help in restraining the struggling assistant, he donned a safety harness and descended into the elevator shaft.
As Zhuang Wenjie slid down, he heard an update on the walkie-talkie that the buyer had entered the main hall. Wasting no time, he stripped off his work uniform and put on a mask. Meanwhile, the buyer was led to the 12th floor, which Monsieur's men had set up to mimic a vault, knowing the buyer would only spend eight seconds there.
The buyer, believing it was the 13th-floor vault, presented his authentication card, which was then discreetly discarded in the elevator lobby by Monsieur's men after he was led away to collect a fake item. Zhuang Wenjie, in a sharp suit, appeared in the elevator lobby and retrieved the discarded authentication card. He took the elevator to the real 13th floor, using the card for verification. The staff presented him with the Luoshen painting.
Zhuang Wenjie expressed doubt about its authenticity, citing rumors that it was destroyed twelve years prior and fearing potential trouble if the police were involved. The staff reassured him of Undercurrent's credibility, explaining that multiple experts had verified it as the authentic Luoshen. They revealed that the consignor, Jiang Taigong, was an Undercurrent member who had obtained the painting twelve years ago, and it had never appeared on the market since.
Zhuang Wenjie then inquired if Jiang Taigong had other collections and requested an introduction, which the staff agreed to arrange. With the authentic Luoshen secured, Zhuang Wenjie exited through the elevator ceiling and began climbing back up the rope towards the rooftop. On the 12th floor, the buyer was given a fake Luoshen and escorted away via the cargo lift.
Shortly after, Monsieur's men discovered the authentic Luoshen was missing and immediately reported the theft to Monsieur, stating that someone had run away with the painting. Luo Jian, still in a fierce struggle with the assistant, managed to handcuff himself to his opponent. As Zhuang Wenjie ascended the elevator shaft, Luo Jian unlocked his handcuffs and rushed to assist, guiding Zhuang Wenjie with his phone's flashlight. However, Zhuang Wenjie was torn.
He remembered Xu Zhengqing's warning that if the police knew his father, Zhuang Yaobai, was alive, the twelve-year-old case would be reopened, placing his father in a dire situation. Zhuang Wenjie weighed his options repeatedly and decided he couldn't hand the painting over to Luo Jian. Luo Jian pleaded with him, saying that taking the painting would make him no different from the thieves, but Zhuang Wenjie was resolute.
He contacted Xu Zhengqing via his smartwatch, apologized to Luo Jian, explaining he had his own reasons, and then resolutely departed with the Luoshen. Back in the hotel, the event organizers realized the buyer hadn't arrived on the 13th floor for the transaction. They initiated a search, quickly spotting suspicious individuals on the 12th floor and the rooftop. When confronted, Luo Jian revealed his police identification, causing the Undercurrent staff to disperse.
Monsieur, receiving a call about their exposure, made a swift escape. Su Ying and her police team arrived, apprehending numerous Undercurrent members. Liao Shuang, however, could not find Zhuang Wenjie, only a button. Jiang Hao, who had been staking out Zhuang Wenjie's rental, reported to Luo Jian that Zhuang Wenjie had not returned, and Luo Jian instructed him to maintain the stakeout.
Zhuang Wenjie and Xu Zhengqing returned to Zhuang Wenjie's old house and meticulously examined the Luoshen painting throughout the night, but found no hidden messages, interlayers, or signs of tampering. During this time, Luo Jian reviewed hotel surveillance footage, which showed Zhuang Wenjie and a helper leaving, though the driver's face was not visible.
Ye Jia traced their vehicle, a car with a fake license plate, to an alley about a kilometer from Zhuang Wenjie's old house, leading Luo Jian to deduce that Zhuang Wenjie had returned there. Xu Zhengqing suggested they might be overthinking it, and Zhuang Wenjie decided to wash his face to clear his head.
Recalling how Ding Shenghuo had used invisible ink on the Water Lily painting, Zhuang Wenjie hypothesized that his father might have used similar ink on the Luoshen. He asked Xu Zhengqing for a polarizing pen. Under the special light, a chess game appeared on the painting. Zhuang Wenjie remembered his father making him memorize that exact chess game, but noticed four additional pieces on the Luoshen that were not in his memory.
He questioned if his father intentionally added these pieces, connecting it to a plastic dropper he found in his father's old keychain. Xu Zhengqing observed that some pieces were from twelve years ago, and others from twelve years later. Pondering the meaning of this secret code, Zhuang Wenjie and Xu Zhengqing agreed that at least the secret was safe from both the police and Monsieur for now. Zhuang Wenjie then decided to cooperate with Luo Jian to apprehend Monsieur.
Xu Zhengqing offered to act as bait to lure Monsieur out, despite Zhuang Wenjie's concerns for his safety. Xu Zhengqing insisted, saying he had been a coward his whole life and wanted to do something for the Zhuang family and for Zhuang Wenjie and his father.
Zhuang Wenjie began composing a message on his phone to Luo Jian, apologizing for his deception and explaining he took Luoshen to lure Monsieur, who would never give up the painting easily due to his extensive preparations. However, before he could send the message, Zhuang Wenjie sensed something was amiss with Xu Zhengqing. Suddenly, Xu Zhengqing struck him from behind, knocking him unconscious. Luo Jian and his team arrived at Zhuang Wenjie's old house, finding it deserted.
Liao Shuang detected a brief activation of Zhuang Wenjie's SIM card and located its signal moving in a truck on Jiufang Street. Luo Jian immediately gave chase and intercepted the truck, only to find Zhuang Wenjie's phone inside the cargo compartment, but no sign of Zhuang Wenjie himself. Meanwhile, Su Ying interrogated Monsieur's assistant, who claimed that the ceramic tracker found on him was placed there by Zhuang Wenjie at the elevator to pinpoint their location.
Luo Jian, in a call with Su Ying, quickly realized that the signal receiver was likely Zhuang Wenjie's smartwatch, not his phone. He instructed the technical reconnaissance team to reverse-track the ceramic tracker to locate the smartwatch's signal. Xu Zhengqing, having bound Zhuang Wenjie in the trunk of a car, drove to a riverside.
He placed a large rock under one of the front wheels, retrieved the Luoshen painting, started the engine, removed the rock, and watched as the car slowly rolled into the river. He then departed in another vehicle.
