Detective L Episode 22 Recap
> Detective L Recap
Jin Bu Bai dramatically tore down his own wanted poster before surrendering himself to the police station, where Ye Chang Qing immediately apprehended him. Sha Wei, the detective, visited Jin Bu Bai in jail, finding him surprisingly calm. Jin Bu Bai casually requested a gramophone to listen to music. When Ye Chang Qing scoffed at the idea of a gramophone in a death row cell, Jin Bu Bai retorted, "You're going to listen to me."
He then rattled off intimate details about Sha Wei's son studying in Japan, including a recent test score and a minor error. Jin Bu Bai also disclosed personal information about Ye Chang Qing's family in Anhui and Qin Xiaoman's upbringing as the first female police officer. Faced with such alarming knowledge, Sha Wei reluctantly agreed to Jin Bu Bai's demand, instructing Ye Chang Qing to retrieve the gramophone.
Ye Chang Qing complied, but not without a furious threat to Jin Bu Bai if his family were harmed. Jin Bu Bai then expressed a desire to meet Luo Fei. Initially, Luo Fei was reluctant, stating he was busy investigating a murder case and having dealt with Jin Bu Bai before, knew him to be "insane."
However, his interest was piqued when Sha Wei informed him that Jin Bu Bai claimed to have prepared three cases that would occur simultaneously, specifically for Luo Fei to solve. Upon meeting Jin Bu Bai, Luo Fei immediately pinpointed his true intentions for surrendering. Luo Fei asserted that Jin Bu Bai had two primary motives: Firstly, his trusted second-in-command, Wei Feng, had recently betrayed him, possessing a wealth of secret information about Jin Bu Bai's operations, men, and strongholds.
Jin Bu Bai feared an unstable situation and sought refuge in jail. Secondly, Luo Fei had just solved a case involving a female teacher's murder, and information suggested a chemistry professor, recently returned from America and known for smoking Camel Cigarettes, would soon be imprisoned there. Luo Fei deduced that Jin Bu Bai was interested in this professor. Jin Bu Bai confirmed, stating he wanted to discuss a "powerful virus formula" with the chemist.
He then added that while he once admired Luo Fei's crime-solving prowess, Wei Feng had recently overshadowed him in the newspapers. Jin Bu Bai made it clear that Wei Feng knew too much and that the "game is getting more fun now," indicating his intent to eliminate Wei Feng. Luo Fei, attempting to divert the threat, told Jin Bu Bai to target him instead, as Wei Feng was always with him, and then tried to leave.
Jin Bu Bai stopped him, producing a newspaper clipping with a photo of Wei Feng. Jin Bu Bai observed that Wei Feng was not a person who liked to smile, yet in the newspaper photo, he was beaming, not at the camera. He deduced that the photographer must be a beautiful woman with whom Wei Feng shared a deeply intimate relationship. He questioned if Wei Feng's betrayal was "because of this girl."
Luo Fei, realizing the danger, rushed to Wei Feng, urging him to bring his wife, Fu Yuan Yuan—a reporter for Hu Jiang Daily—to safety. Luo Fei explained that Jin Bu Bai knew about Fu Yuan Yuan and their relationship, believing she was the cause of Wei Feng's defection, thus putting her in grave danger.
Wei Feng, in a brief flashback, reflected on his undercover mission when he accidentally shot and paralyzed Lu Wen De's wife while trying to capture a criminal, earning Lu Wen De's lasting enmity. Luo Fei also speculated with Wei Feng and Qin Xiaoman that a note found earlier, mentioning "Captain Jin," might refer to Jin Bu Bai.
Wei Feng, meanwhile, received a call from an informant claiming to have a lead on Jin Bu Bai's virus plan and wanting to meet that night. Luo Fei immediately suspected a trap, pointing out the 1. 5-hour gap between his departure from the prison and Wei Feng's call, giving Jin Bu Bai ample time to arrange something despite being incarcerated. He advised Wei Feng to avoid the meeting, but Wei Feng felt the intelligence was too important to ignore.
Luo Fei found Fu Yuan Yuan on the street and tried to convince her to hide at his home, but she insisted she couldn't stop working and live "like a rat," promising to be careful. Wei Feng regretfully noted her stubbornness but vowed to protect her discreetly. Later, Qin Xiaoman joined Luo Fei and Wei Feng, bringing dumplings. Luo Fei instructed her to accompany them to meet Wei Feng's informant.
Wei Feng reiterated that the informant only wanted to meet him alone. Luo Fei agreed, telling Wei Feng to go up by himself while he, Qin Xiaoman, and police reinforcements waited downstairs. Shortly after Wei Feng entered the building, a gunshot echoed. Luo Fei, Qin Xiaoman, and the officers rushed upstairs. They found a man, identified as Tian Baichuan, dead inside the room.
Wei Feng stated he kicked the door open after hearing the shot and saw no one else, confirming the window was closed but unlocked. Luo Fei calculated that less than ten seconds passed between the gunshot and their discovery of the body. Ye Chang Qing then found a pistol under the bed. Wei Feng admitted the gun was registered to him, making him the prime suspect.
Luo Fei vehemently protested, insisting it was a setup by Jin Bu Bai, but Sha Wei, bound by the evidence, reluctantly arrested Wei Feng. Wei Feng, understanding the situation, pointed out other evidence against him, such as muddy footprints in the kitchen, and apologized to Ye Chang Qing. Luo Fei pleaded with Sha Wei for Wei Feng's release, or at least a single cell, which Sha Wei granted.
In prison, Wei Feng urged Luo Fei not to focus solely on his predicament, suggesting it might be a diversion by Jin Bu Bai. He reiterated his concern about the virus and recalled Tian Baichuan’s warning to "watch out for severe influenza." Luo Fei promptly instructed Qin Xiaoman to visit all major hospitals in the concession, collecting data on any severe influenza patients.
Soon after, Qin Xiaoman called Luo Fei (who was back at the crime scene with Benjamin), reporting three severe influenza patients at St. John International Hospital. Luo Fei rushed to the hospital. Dr. Hao, the doctor in charge, reassured them that the patients were stable and not in immediate danger, and their families resisted isolation. Qin Xiaoman had recorded the outbreak times and scattered locations of the first three patients. Sha Wei confirmed two more cases from other hospitals.
Luo Fei, mapping the points and calculating the time intervals between each case (30, 15, 25, 20 minutes), deduced that the perpetrator was "walking," concluding that these were "man-made continuous poisoning" incidents. He theorized that Jin Bu Bai was conducting a "test" on individuals of different ages, genders, and physiques to assess the virus's effects and contagiousness, possibly also testing the hospital's response capabilities. He warned that more severe cases were imminent.
Luo Fei then instructed Sha Wei to deploy half the police force to search for the walking poisoner. Amidst these developments, Sha Wei received an urgent call from the prison: Lu Wen De, a Director from the Public Concession Bureau, had ordered Wei Feng's immediate execution, citing "major crimes against public safety." Sha Wei explained to Luo Fei that Lu Wen De was acting on a long-held grudge after Wei Feng accidentally paralyzed his wife during his undercover work.
They now had until that evening or the next morning at the latest before Lu Wen De would proceed with the execution. Luo Fei declared he must find evidence to crack the sealed room murder before Wei Feng was killed. Sha Wei left to confront Lu Wen De, leaving Luo Fei and Benjamin to return to the crime scene. At the murder scene, Benjamin confirmed no new traces besides those of the victim and Wei Feng.
Luo Fei speculated that the killer might have hidden in a secret compartment within the room, but previous checks had found solid walls. He then revisited the idea of the killer escaping through the unlocked window within ten seconds.
He considered the possibility of two killers working together, one to kill and throw the gun, the other to assist in the swift escape, but Benjamin argued that even with two, the actions, including the muddy footprints in the kitchen, were too complex for such a short timeframe. Fu Yuan Yuan arrived, distraught about Wei Feng's impending execution, and sought an update from Luo Fei.
Luo Fei reassured her, sharing his new theory that the sealed room was a "psychological" illusion. He suggested the killer had pre-arranged the scene and fired the shot from an adjacent room on the same floor to frame Wei Feng. They decided to question the neighbors.
However, Benjamin later reported that all other apartments on the floor were occupied by long-term residents with no suspicious activity around the time of the murder, thus ruling out the "shooting from next door" theory and leaving Luo Fei baffled about what truly transpired on that floor.
