Episode Summary
Lin Yasheng convinces his ailing father, Lin Shoulong, to let him lead negotiations with Sha Peng. However, his attempt to grant the Sha Peng delegation access to the sensitive Azure No. 1 research base is thwarted by Hu Fei and Jin Chuan, acting on Lin Shoulong's orders. Meanwhile, under pressure from Huang Weisheng, a conflicted Bai Keqing uses a hidden device to trigger Lin Shoulong's fatal heart attack. As Lin Yasheng grapples with his father's death and newfound leadership, espionage activities intensify around Azure No. 1, with stolen blueprints changing hands and agents like Huo Min navigating dangerous missions.
Spoiler Alert
Alright, Episode 13 kicks off with Lin Yasheng riding high on Bai Keqing's trust. Seeing an opportunity, he visits his ailing father, Lin Shoulong, and makes a pretty convincing case for why he should be the one handling the tough negotiations with the Sha Peng delegation. He breaks down the tricky situation Shoulong's company is in, basically saying, "Let me handle this, Dad."
Meanwhile, Hu Fei is doing some digging into Lin Shoulong's sudden illness, questioning the doctors. But the official word is: no suspicious drugs, no foul play. Back in the hospital room, Lin Shoulong gathers the team and makes it official: Lin Yasheng is now lead negotiator for the Sha Peng deal, telling everyone to back him up.
But not everyone's buying the smooth surface. Luo Shanshan has been looking into Bai Keqing. On paper, her background looks squeaky clean, but Luo Shanshan's gut feeling is screaming that there's way more to Bai Keqing than meets the eye. Elsewhere, Hu Fei and Lu Chen are planning a covert investigation at a Japanese restaurant – seems like Huang Weisheng dropped a hint to Cui Zimin there, suggesting they shouldn't get bogged down in negotiation details and should instead focus on the real prize: the Azure No. 1 research base. After getting his marching orders, Cui Zimin leaves, with Lu Chen discreetly tailing him.
Lin Yasheng sets up a meeting with Cui Zimin at a horse track – definitely a change of pace from his father's style. He pulls a fast one on Cui Zimin. While acknowledging that Mingshu Heavy Industry's compressor tech is way ahead, Lin Yasheng suggests they could launch using China's existing tech first and improve it later. This totally throws Cui Zimin for a loop. After huddling with his team, Cui Zimin comes back with a counter-offer: forget the tech swap, they'll take an equity stake based on their technology instead. Lin Yasheng agrees. Then comes the kicker: Cui Zimin asks to tour the Azure No. 1 research base. Surprisingly, Lin Yasheng agrees readily. Uh oh. On the way to the base, Huo Min tips off Luo Shanshan that the Sha Peng guys are packing hidden cameras and signal jammers.
Red alert! Luo Shanshan gets orders from upstairs: she tells Hu Fei and Lu Chen to stop that tour, now. Jin Chuan bursts into Lin Shoulong's hospital room with the news. Lin Shoulong is adamant – he'd rather blow up the whole negotiation than let Sha Peng anywhere near that base. Lin Yasheng gets a call from his dad while en route but ignores it.
When they arrive at the base (referred to as Zhongjing Base here), Hu Fei, now disguised in a security uniform, blocks their path. He demands the special authorization form for the visit. Lin Yasheng doesn't have it and tries to push past, leading to a tense standoff. Jin Chuan rushes in, relaying Lin Shoulong's firm refusal. Seeing the visit is a no-go, Lin Yasheng drives off. Cui Zimin, clearly annoyed, declares that day's agreements null and void, saying they'll renegotiate another time.
Things get even shadier. Matt instructs Huo Min to connect with Peng Yonghui. They head over to Bai Keqing's place together because Matt needs to know if she's connected to the mysterious "Xiuluo." Huo Min copies everything from Bai Keqing's computer onto a USB drive for Peng Yonghui, but Peng Yonghui secretly swaps the drive before presumably passing the fake one along later.
Back at the hospital, Huang Weisheng knows his plans are stalled as long as Lin Shoulong is alive. He gives Bai Keqing a bouquet of flowers (we can guess these aren't just friendly flowers) and tells her to visit Lin Shoulong. Bai Keqing hesitates outside the room, clearly conflicted. Just then, Lin Yasheng arrives and takes the flowers from her, placing them by his father's bedside. The tension ramps up as Huang Weisheng contacts Bai Keqing, showing her a device (later revealed as a heart interference device) and telling her to activate it. Distraught, Bai Keqing snatches the device, crying out "Dad!"
Lin Shoulong, relieved that the Sha Peng delegation didn't get into the base, has a moment with his son. Lin Yasheng promises to follow his father's lead on all work matters from now on. But it's too late. Bai Keqing activates the device. Lin Shoulong suffers a sudden heart attack and falls into a coma. Lin Yasheng holds a sobbing Bai Keqing as they both break down. Despite emergency efforts, Lin Shoulong dies, leaving the Shoulong Group leaderless.
In the aftermath, Lu Chen and Hu Fei investigate Lin Shoulong's death, but Bai Keqing appears to have no connection to it – her act was convincing. While reviewing hospital security footage, Luo Shanshan gets a personal shock: she spots her own mother, learning she's been hospitalized with breast cancer.
The espionage plot thickens: Gao Jianguo sends stolen blueprints of the Azure No. 1 base structure to Matt. Matt checks in on the "Annihilation Operation" progress with Peng Yonghui, who reports they just need two final electronic components. Matt confirms the blueprints Huo Min provided (likely the ones from Bai Keqing's computer via the swapped USB drive) are accurate and tells Peng Yonghui to arrange for Huo Min to pick up the needed components. Before leaving, Peng Yonghui gives the swapped USB drive (presumably containing innocuous data) to Matt. Huo Min successfully retrieves the components and plans to hand them off to Lu Chen, but has to abort the plan when she realizes she's being watched.
