The Knockout Episode 22 Recap
> The Knockout Recap
Zhao Lidong, the Deputy Mayor, complained to Secretary Li that the unrest at the Mang Village construction site was disrupting Jinghai City's efforts to court investors and develop its economy, effectively undermining reform and opening-up. He demanded severe punishment for those involved. Following this, Meng Dehai, Secretary of Qinghua District Committee, made a self-criticism, acknowledging his direct leadership responsibility for events in Qinghua District. He then detailed his investigation, revealing several issues.
First, the Qinghua District Government never received an application for the Mang Village Resort project; it bypassed the district and was submitted directly to Jinghai City. Meng Dehai questioned if this process was compliant. Second, he noted the timing of the project's approval: while the Qinghua District had planned a highway through Mang Village six months prior, with approvals only recently finalized, the resort project was approved approximately a month earlier.
He suspected this timing indicated someone was abusing their power and exchanging information for personal gain. Third, despite the project having just begun, making it easy to halt, the Village Committee consistently feigned compliance while covertly refusing to stop work, clearly aiming for more compensation. Meng Dehai wondered how a mere Village Committee could be so bold, suggesting that some individual leaders might be supporting them from behind the scenes.
He recommended a thorough investigation into all these issues, echoing Zhao Lidong's call for severe punishment, and asked for clear instructions on how to frame public communications to minimize damage to Jinghai City's investment promotion efforts. After Meng Dehai departed, Zhao Lidong expressed his disbelief regarding Meng Dehai's statements to Secretary Li.
However, Secretary Li quickly diverted the conversation to Zhao Lidong's own predicament, informing him that the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection had requested his files and questioned him, though he downplayed the severity of the situation. Secretary Li then cautioned Zhao Lidong against associating too closely with certain grassroots officials, particularly those from complex areas like Mang Village. He ultimately decided that Meng Dehai should take charge of the Mang Village issue.
Reluctantly accepting this, Zhao Lidong later conveyed to his Secretary Wang that Secretary Li had not supported him. He acknowledged that Meng Dehai had skillfully intertwined Qinghua District's development with the city's investment promotion, making it impossible for Zhao Lidong to intervene, thus forcing them to abandon the Mang Village project. Zhao Lidong, deciding to "lose a soldier to protect the commander," instructed Secretary Wang to cease all contact with the Mang Village Director, Li Youtian.
He then tasked Secretary Wang with investigating who was compiling "negative materials" against him. Meanwhile, disgruntled villagers, who had invested their life savings in the now-stalled Mang Village resort project, gathered at Li Youtian's home, demanding their money back. Li Youtian desperately tried to call for help but was rebuffed.
Confronting the angry crowd with a shovel, he declared that he, too, had invested everything and invited them to chop him up if unsatisfied, asserting he no longer wished to live. The villagers, taken aback by his desperation, eventually dispersed. Secretary Wang soon identified Tan Siyan, a clerk from the Jinghai Municipal Government Research Office, as the individual who had filed a name report against Zhao Lidong with the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.
Secretary Wang described Tan Siyan as a "black sheep" whose actions threatened the leadership's prestige. Zhao Lidong's directive to Li Xiang was clear: "Make him shut up," though Li Xiang requested some time, assured by Secretary Wang that he was a professional. Recently released from prison, Chengcheng presented her resignation to Chen Tai at Construction Engineering Group. Despite Chen Tai's pleas for her to stay, Chengcheng remained resolute in her decision to leave.
As she departed, she advised Chen Tai against clinging to old methods, warning him to be wary of Gao Qiqiang, whom she believed would "ruin all your property." Shortly after Chengcheng left, Li Hongwei intercepted her. He chastised her for trying to abandon them after getting into trouble, reminding her that Zhang Daqing, their associate, was still in prison because of their involvement.
Li Hongwei, refusing to "give up," proposed an alliance to "knock off Gao Qiqiang" and "fight him to the end," suggesting that with their combined strength and her intellect, they could reclaim what Gao Qiqiang had "robbed" from her. Chengcheng, unwilling to concede defeat, agreed. Li Hongwei then took Chengcheng to a gathering with his associates, where he distributed drugs, urging everyone to partake.
He pressed Chengcheng to reveal Gao Qiqiang's powerful backer, to which she disclosed it was Meng Dehai, the Secretary of the District Committee. Emboldened, Li Hongwei declared Meng Dehai didn't want them to live and proposed extreme measures, including acquiring explosives from a mine to "blow up his house," to which his men eagerly agreed.
As the night progressed, a drunken Li Hongwei forcibly offered drugs to Chengcheng and then made unwanted physical advances, attempting to kiss her, which resulted in Chengcheng slapping him firmly. Li Xiang, acting on Zhao Lidong's orders, stopped Tan Siyan on the road without explanation. Despite Tan Siyan's protests and demands for a reason, Li Xiang forcibly arrested him and brought him to a deserted, two-year-stalled construction site. Tan Siyan quickly deduced that Zhao Lidong was behind Li Xiang's actions.
Li Xiang physically assaulted Tan Siyan, warning him to cease writing and submitting reports and to instead focus on his work, implying that "it won't be good for you to find out something" about his superiors. When Tan Siyan defiantly refused, Li Xiang threatened to throw him from the building's roof, stating that "no one will know for at least half a year."
Unyielding, Tan Siyan vowed to report not only Zhao Lidong but also Li Xiang himself, daring Li Xiang to kill him. Impressed by Tan Siyan's fearlessness and integrity, Li Xiang then apologized, revealing that he was only "testing" him. He proposed they "cooperate. . . and defeat Zhao Lidong together," before untying Tan Siyan.
Li Xiang noted that Tan Siyan had reported Zhao Lidong without "any substantial evidence," to which Tan Siyan explained he was simply "documenting what happened in reality." Li Xiang, accepting the authenticity of Tan Siyan's "running tally" of observations, cautioned him about the dangers of Zhao Lidong discovering their alliance, as others might not be as lenient as he had been. Tan Siyan, however, reiterated his unwavering resolve, stating he was "not afraid of death."
Seeing Tan Siyan's spirit, Li Xiang revealed a critical piece of information: a murder case from 2000 involving a victim named Huang Cuicui, who owned a recorder containing evidence potentially related to Zhao Lidong, but the device had never been found. Deciding to leave Jinghai, Chengcheng approached An Xin to provide a crucial tip.
With a bruised face, which she dismissed as an accident, she explained that Li Youtian and his son, Li Hongwei, harbored a deep grudge against the District Government and the police after the Mang Village construction project was halted, suggesting they might retaliate. When An Xin dismissed her claim as hearsay from a drunken conversation, Chengcheng produced a package of drugs, asserting it was sufficient evidence to warrant police action.
Acting on Chengcheng's tip, An Xin and Li Jian searched Li Hongwei's residence. There, they discovered not only drugs but also disturbing photos of Meng Yu tied up, pasted on the walls. An Xin immediately reported the grave situation, warning the Qinghua District Committee that Secretary Meng Dehai and his family were in danger.
Later, Zhang Biao rallied the police force, emphasizing the severity of Meng Yu's kidnapping due to Meng Dehai's prominent position and pledging to stay at the bureau until she was safely rescued. At Meng Dehai's home, his wife angrily confronted him, accusing the perpetrators of being "against you" and lamenting their suffering, while Zhang Biao tried to reassure her. In the midst of the crisis, Li Youtian rushed to Meng Dehai's home, attempting to prostrate himself in apology.
Meng Dehai, though distraught, prevented him from kneeling. Li Youtian, expressing deep remorse for not having raised his son, Li Hongwei, better, insisted that despite his son's "bad kid" reputation, he wouldn't dare commit kidnapping. He vowed full cooperation with the police, promising not to defend Li Hongwei if he was found guilty. He then provided all known information about Li Hongwei's associates and hangouts.
Li Youtian also mentioned that the village's Joint Forces were already conducting house-to-house searches and suggested that anyone who had left that night and not returned should be treated as a suspect, stressing that no clue should be overlooked. Meanwhile, a squad of these Joint Forces members aggressively arrived at Li Shan's home, demanding entry for a "security check."
Li Shan, initially resistant and questioning their right to search his home, stated he lived alone and proudly mentioned his son was a captain in the Municipal Public Security Bureau's Criminal Police Unit. Just then, Li Xiang arrived with his own team. Recognizing him, the Joint Forces members quickly fled, apologizing for their intrusion.
Li Xiang, surprised by their lack of local knowledge, was informed by Li Shan that Li Youtian had hired "outsiders" for the Joint Forces because they were "more obedient." Li Xiang then calmly proceeded to inquire about the number of permanent residents in Li Shan's household. An Xin and his team analyzed surveillance footage, which showed Meng Yu leaving her home at 9:45 PM after a brief call from a public phone, then taking a taxi.
She was last seen exiting the taxi at 10:20 PM near Mengyuan Bar, where she subsequently went missing. At the bar, after initially encountering uncooperative staff, An Xin questioned the owner. The owner recalled Meng Yu sitting alone at the bar around 10:00 PM, quietly drinking. He then remembered that before leaving, Meng Yu had given him a note with An Xin's phone number, instructing him to call if she didn't return by dawn.
When An Xin asked why he hadn't called, the owner admitted he "didn't take it seriously." He also confirmed that Li Hongwei was a regular patron and had been at the bar that night, leaving "right after that girl" through the back door around 2 or 3 AM. Holding the note with his own contact information, An Xin sternly chastised the owner for the "big trouble" his negligence had caused.
Li Youtian, seeking to mend relations with Meng Dehai, promised full cooperation with the highway construction in Mang Village. He also revealed rumors circulating that Meng Dehai was secretly allied with Gao Qiqiang and was behind the forced demolition. Meng Dehai vehemently denied these accusations, stating he didn't know Gao Qiqiang and had never dined with anyone from the Construction Engineering Group. He suspected these rumors were deliberately spread to "sow discord" between him and Mang Village.
Later, Director Guo invited Meng Dehai to the police station, ostensibly to solicit his advice on the ongoing investigation into Meng Yu's kidnapping. Meng Dehai, however, perceived this as a thinly veiled attempt to "keep an eye on me," suspecting that Director Guo feared he might, in desperation, "ask those people for help" like gangsters. Director Guo denied these fears, asserting his trust in Meng Dehai's character and principles, and dismissing the rumors as malicious gossip.
Meng Dehai, a seasoned police officer himself, affirmed his belief in the police force's capabilities. Meanwhile, An Xin tasked Officer Wu with examining Meng Yu's recent phone records. They discovered that a public phone number had frequently called Meng Yu over the past three months. Following this lead, An Xin and Li Xiang visited the Second Jinghai Agricultural Machinery Factory, whose uniform the caller was seen wearing in surveillance footage.
They identified the caller as Pi Dingguo, a factory worker currently on sick leave, and obtained his address in Old Factory Street. They promptly arrested Pi Dingguo at a nearby restaurant. During questioning, Pi Dingguo admitted to communicating with Meng Yu online for less than three months, never meeting in person, and only using public phones to conceal his identity for urgent calls.
He confessed to selling information he gathered from factory gossip online, including details about the Mang Village demolition, the Construction Engineering Group's background, and the underground drug trade, some true, some false. Meng Yu had purchased all this information from him at a high price.
Pi Dingguo revealed that his last call to Meng Yu, the night before her disappearance, was to inform her about a source of "top-quality goods" (drugs) at Mengyuan Bar, which could only be bought through acquaintances. He grew concerned when Meng Yu stopped responding to his online messages after that call.
Officer Wu corroborated Pi Dingguo's confession by finding unfinished social investigation reports and online chat logs on Meng Yu's computer, confirming her research into the Mang Village demolition and Jinghai City's underground drug trade. An Xin concluded that Meng Yu was likely kidnapped while tracking a drug trafficking group and sought cooperation from the Anti-drug Detachment. However, despite being contacted, they provided no clues, leading An Xin to suspect they might be intentionally withholding information, "waiting for some bigger fish."
He tried unsuccessfully to contact Yang Jian for assistance. Gong Kaijiang contacted Gao Qiqiang, who was engrossed in paperwork, to inform him that Meng Dehai's daughter had been kidnapped the previous night. Gao Qiqiang initially offered his help, but Gong Kaijiang cautioned him against getting involved, explaining that the case was "very complicated," involving "Mang Village and drug gangs," and advised him to "stay out of this." Gao Qiqiang then tried to call someone, but the call was quickly disconnected.
His earlier conversation with his brother about drugs and the mention of "drug gangs" by Gong Kaijiang likely led him to immediately suspect Gao Qisheng's involvement in Meng Yu's disappearance. Gao Qiqiang then instructed his driver, Xiaolong, to change their destination, implying a new urgent plan to find Gao Qisheng, likely at the casino mentioned in the Chinese plot.
