Being a Hero Episode 16 Recap
> Being a Hero Recap
Liu Kaihua, accompanied by Lin Dezan, visited Yang Xingquan in the hospital for questioning about the tea factory incident. Liu Kaihua introduced himself as the captain of the anti-drug team and informed Yang Xingquan that the interview would be recorded. He pressed Yang Xingquan on why he was near the packaging workshop during the fire, to which Yang Xingquan replied he was restless and walking around, having seen people working in the workshop.
Liu Kaihua pointed out that only tea factory workers should be there at night, yet none of the arrested suspects were workers. He directly asked if Yang Xingquan knew about the drug deal happening in his tea factory, which angered Yang Xingquan.
Yang Xingquan then turned to Lin Dezan, demanding he face him, and suggested that the incident might be a warning from the criminals, perhaps because Yang Xingquan had sent people to Mengka to inquire about Wu Zhenfeng for Lin Dezan. Lin Dezan responded that he didn't know why this happened. Yang Ling, present during the interrogation, expressed distress, lamenting her father's losses. Lin Dezan reassured her that they would investigate thoroughly.
As Lin Dezan and Liu Kaihua were leaving, police officers identified Liu Kaihua and his nephew, Jiang Lei, to each other. Meanwhile, Qiong Jie confronted Old Zhuo, accusing him of knowing about "their plan" regarding the problematic Mengka shipment. Just then, Hao Dong arrived, having distributed his goods to buyers.
Qiong Jie pointed a gun at Hao Dong, angrily asking why he brought lime powder to their first cooperation, interpreting it as a deliberate act of arson to expose Mengka to the police. Hao Dong, unfazed, stated he had received "K's welcome gift," implying he knew K was behind the fake goods. He then taunted Qiong Jie, asking if Mengka had a police informant or if her subordinates were his spies.
Old Zhuo attempted to de-escalate, suggesting that initial collaborations often breed mistrust and hoping for better cooperation next time. However, Hao Dong defiantly stated that as long as he was alive, Mengka's goods would never enter Hong Kong. He revealed he investigated his father, Li Linfan's, death three years ago, stating Wu Gang was not involved in their business and questioning why he would target his father.
Qiong Jie claimed Wu Gang was not from Mengka, but Hao Dong retorted that she knew the truth and suggested checking their CEO Yu's accounts. He warned them not to let their personal grievances interfere with his business. Old Zhuo reassured Hao Dong that with K's goods, earning money wouldn't be an issue. Wang Yikun arrived to speak with Wan Heda, who was clearly upset about the recent incident.
Wang Yikun tried to explain that Hao Dong was targeting Mengka, but Wan Heda demanded to know why Wang Yikun didn't inform him, citing the risk to his own men who were en route to pick up the goods. Wang Yikun revealed Hao Dong didn't trust Wan Heda. Wan Heda angrily retorted, questioning why, after three years of no contact with Mengka, Hao Dong would distrust him.
He then turned the conversation, accusing Wang Yikun of orchestrating Wu Gang's murder three years ago, driving Wu Gang back across the border, and killing Du San at Wuyi Plaza. Their heated argument was interrupted by Wan Mengmeng, who demanded to know what they were discussing. Despite Wan Heda's attempts to send her away, she insisted on an answer from Wang Yikun.
Wan Heda then told his daughter that Wang Yikun was a murderer, having killed both before returning to China and domestically, and questioned if she still wanted to be with him. Wang Yikun defiantly responded to the accusations with a "So what?" , prompting him to warn Wan Heda not to push him too far. Analyzing the tea factory evidence, Chen Yu concluded that Li Shougai and Gou Sheng died from suffocation, severe burns, and various wounds, indicating a struggle.
Cotton strips soaked in diesel were found in the packaging workshop, suggesting premeditated arson. Chen Yu also reviewed Jiang Lei's evidence video but found no footage of the perpetrators pouring diesel or throwing the cloth strips, which he found suspicious given the scale of the fire. Chen Yu reported his findings to Lin Dezan, stating that he suspected Jiang Lei deliberately omitted these crucial details from his recording.
He further noted that when Wu Zhenfeng produced the lime powder, Jiang Lei's video showed a minute and twenty-three seconds of unrelated angles. Chen Yu speculated that Jiang Lei might have been on the phone during this time, possibly contacting a leader from the K organization for instructions after discovering the fake goods. Chen Yu suggested that if his hypothesis was correct, the entire tea factory incident was a "black-on-black" operation. This deeply angered Liu Kaihua.
Wang Yikun revealed to Wan Heda that Hao Dong's return was not just for business but primarily to avenge his father, Li Linfan. Wang Yikun then pressed Wan Heda, asking if his relationship with Mengka before Hao Dong's return was deep, and if Mengka had offered him any promises regarding Li Linfan's death. Wang Yikun further exposed Wan Heda's prior visit to Mengka before Li Linfan's death three years ago.
He pointed out the suspicious detail that on the day Li Linfan died, all of Wan Heda's company drivers were coincidentally given the day off, implying Wan Heda's involvement. Wang Yikun then stated that given these facts, Hao Dong could not have trusted Wan Heda with his plan to take down Mengka. Wan Heda glared at Wan Mengmeng, realizing she must have leaked this information. He asked Wang Yikun if he would tell Hao Dong what Mengmeng revealed.
Wang Yikun, expressing his love for Mengmeng and acknowledging Wan Heda as her father, subtly indicated he wouldn't, but advised Wan Heda to carefully consider his attitude towards Hao Dong's return. Enraged, Wan Heda shouted at Wang Yikun to leave.
When Wan Mengmeng tried to follow Wang Yikun, Wan Heda shoved her to the ground, delivering a chilling warning: she needs to think carefully about what she says, as he can love her but also cripple her if she defies him again. Liu Kaihua vehemently defended Jiang Lei, explaining that he personally instructed Jiang Lei to prioritize safety over evidence collection in dangerous situations.
He clarified that Jiang Lei's failure to record the diesel pouring was due to his inexperience and the need to discreetly operate his new equipment while infiltrating the site, emphasizing the severe consequences if he were discovered. Liu Kaihua also explained that when Wu Zhenfeng presented fake goods, Jiang Lei's priority was survival.
He argued that Jiang Lei’s decision to hide and wait, then return to filming, was a normal survival instinct for someone risking his life for the first time in such a dangerous environment purely to support the police. Liu Kaihua then sharply criticized Chen Yu, attributing the tea factory incident to Chen Yu's "wrong judgment and blind trust" in Wu Zhenfeng.
He argued that Chen Yu's trust encouraged Wu Zhenfeng not to use real drugs, and warned Chen Yu that he made the same mistake three years ago, suggesting Wu Zhenfeng has selfish motives and might be using the police. Chen Yu, plagued by doubts, recalled his interactions with Wu Zhenfeng. He remembered questioning Wu Zhenfeng about his whereabouts and activities, including who sent him across the border and his visit to Waling Town.
Chen Yu had warned Wu Zhenfeng about the dangers of seeking revenge through drug involvement, hoping he hadn't gone too deep. Wu Zhenfeng, however, had firmly promised that if he made any contact with drug traffickers and found substantial evidence, he would inform Chen Yu immediately, urging him to trust him.
Chen Yu also reflected on Liu Kaihua's accusations, especially the warning that Wu Zhenfeng might have selfish motives and could be using the police, and that Chen Yu's misplaced trust had averted a worse outcome with Jiang Lei. Chen Yu, visibly distressed by the recent events and his conflicting feelings about Wu Zhenfeng, sought out Yang Ling. She was silently sitting downstairs at her closed coffee shop, having put up a 'rest' sign.
Chen Yu retreated to his room, punching a bag in frustration, feeling used by Wu Zhenfeng despite his trust. Hearing his anguish, Yang Ling, who had been crying downstairs, rushed upstairs to comfort him, assuring him it's not his fault. Chen Yu, however, blamed himself for repeating a past mistake from three years ago, lamenting his failure to find evidence against Wu Zhenfeng and his inability to protect those he cares about, including Yang Ling and her father.
Yang Ling offered to help investigate Wu Zhenfeng, suggesting her father, having stayed in Mengka, might get information, or she could do it herself. Chen Yu rejected her offer, deeming it too dangerous for her to get further involved. A flashback revealed Yang Ling's traumatic childhood memory: as a little girl, she hid under a bed, witnessing a violent struggle and her mother's death. She cried, wishing her father had been home to protect her mother.
Her father, Yang Xingquan, eventually returned, finding his wife's body. He then instructed young Yang Ling to take a specific item and find Lin Dezan on Zhengan Road, making her repeat the instructions. Yang Ling confided in Chen Yu, explaining that Wu Zhenfeng's actions, both three years ago and recently, represented an unresolved conflict for him, just as her mother's death twenty years prior remained her own profound heartache and a barrier between her and her father.
She asserted that Chen Yu can only find peace by arresting Wu Zhenfeng, and she can only reconcile with her father by catching the drug traffickers responsible for her family's tragedy. Meanwhile, Chen Liwen questioned Wu Zhenfeng about the lime powder swap at the transaction site, suspecting it was a pre-planned operation and wondering how the criminals knew about the police's deployment.
Wu Zhenfeng, however, shifted the focus to the brutal death of "Ghost Hand," and then brought up his father's case, reminding Chen Liwen that his father's last call three years ago was to Chen Liwen, yet no progress had been made.
Wu Zhenfeng bitterly accused the police of not trusting him and highlighted that after he immediately reported the tea factory incident, someone within the police force leaked the information to Mengka, leading to the goods swap and nearly costing him his life. He vehemently claimed there was a problem within the police. Chen Liwen assured Wu Zhenfeng that he would investigate thoroughly and provide answers.
Liu Kaihua visited his nephew, Jiang Lei, in the detention center, bringing him a blanket and a box of drinks. He advised Jiang Lei to share the drinks, get along with his cellmates, and not try to be a hero, emphasizing that the detention center was different from the police station where Jiang Lei was previously held. Liu Kaihua encouraged him to endure for a few more days, assuring him he would be out soon.
Meanwhile, Yang Ling helped Chen Yu with his investigation. She showed him a photo of Wan Mengmeng, whom Chen Yu recognized from a past encounter at his father's tea factory. Yang Ling offered to investigate Wan Mengmeng, mentioning that a friend, Xiao Zhang, who has worked in many shops, might be able to gather information. Discussing Wan Heda's company data, which supposedly burned, Chen Yu asked if there was no electronic version.
Yang Ling dismissed Wan Heda's claim of only having handwritten records, arguing that all businesses, even her small coffee shop, use digital systems, and a large enterprise like Wanlutong would certainly have electronic backups. She concluded that if Wan Heda was hiding the data, it must contain incriminating information. Acting on this, Chen Yu covertly infiltrated Wan Heda's company at night, but his mission was jeopardized when he accidentally tripped over a bucket, alerting a patrolling guard upstairs.
