Episode Summary
Chiang Kai-shek, now in Taiwan, plans to use his air force to strike back at the mainland.A top-level mole is confirmed to be in the KMT leadership, prompting the return of investigator Gu Zhengwen.Gu Zhengwen begins his ruthless and methodical investigation, zeroing in on a business called the Sanrong Trading Post.Wu Shi is under pressure from all sides. His wife suspects him of having an affair, and he scrambles to get his fellow agent, Zhu Feng, out of Taiwan.
Spoiler Alert
The Hunt for a High-Level Mole Begins
The episode kicks off with some historical context. It's late 1949. The People's Liberation Army has won a huge victory on the mainland. Chiang Kai-shek has fled to Taiwan. He's not ready to admit defeat, though. He tells his general, Zhou Zhirou, that he plans to use his air force to fight back.
Meanwhile, his son, Chiang Ching-kuo, gets his hands on an intercepted message. It's from a spy on the mainland to a group in Taiwan called "East Sea." This confirms their worst fear. There's a high-level mole right under their noses in the KMT leadership.
So, they call in a specialist. Chiang Ching-kuo orders Mao Renfeng to bring back a guy named Gu Zhengwen. His new job is to find this mole, no matter what it takes.
Meet Gu Zhengwen
Mao Renfeng pulls Gu Zhengwen from his post in Taichung and brings him back to the Secrecy Bureau. Gu gets his old job back. He reports on his previous assignment. He was undercover as a teacher. He discovered a group of people buying up old Japanese weapons. Gu thinks there's a communist armed base in the mountains. Mao tells him to forget it. He assigns other agents to that and puts Gu squarely on the spy hunt.
We get a good sense of who Gu is right away. A quartermaster, Captain Liu, tries to shortchange the Secrecy Bureau on their food rations. Gu's subordinate, Yu Xiaonan, argues with him. Gu steps in, cool as a cucumber. He hands Yu Xiaonan some money for the men and stares down Captain Liu. The captain gets the message, unloads the rest of the grain, and gets out of there fast. This guy doesn't play around.
Wu Shi Feels the Heat
Gu Zhengwen immediately starts digging into the case file. He figures out the spy, who used the name Zhang Hao, only had one specific day he could have been in Taiwan. He calls in a man named Liu Kangfu for questioning. Liu only met Zhang Hao a few times for work. But he does remember one key detail. He saw Zhang Hao go into a business called the Sanrong Trading Post.
While this is happening, our guy Wu Shi is getting nervous. He tries to meet with General Zhou Zhirou to discuss work. Zhou is out of town for a meeting. Wu Shi starts to suspect Chiang Kai-shek is planning a major military operation involving the air force.
A Close Call at Home
The pressure on Wu Shi isn't just at work. His wife, Wang Bikui, is at a mahjong game. The other wives are gossiping. One of them mentions seeing Wu Shi meeting with a woman at his home. Wang Bikui gets upset and leaves the game immediately.
She goes home and confronts Wu Shi. He swears he would never cheat on her. He says he is completely devoted to her. This calms her down a little. But we know the truth. We learn Wu Shi had lied to someone earlier. He claimed the woman, Zhu Feng, was just a friend of his wife's. He's now terrified her cover is blown. He tells his contact, Nie Xi, that they have to get Zhu Feng out of Taiwan as soon as possible.
The Investigation Closes In
Gu Zhengwen isn't letting up. He takes Liu Kangfu back to the noodle shop where he saw Zhang Hao. He makes him walk through every single detail of that day. Then Gu goes across the street to the Sanrong Trading Post himself. He starts asking the owner, Lin Yiliang, a lot of questions.
Gu Zhengwen's Bag of Tricks
Gu reports back to Mao Renfeng. He's sure that Lin Yiliang, the shop owner, is connected to the spy. Mao tells him to keep digging.
Gu sends his man Yu Xiaonan to go undercover. Yu pretends to be a delivery worker to get inside the trading post. But Lin Yiliang is too cautious. Yu finds nothing suspicious. Gu decides to change tactics. He turns his attention to a group of prisoners from the "Guangming Daily" case. He starts with a man called Teacher Zhuang and uses torture to get information.
Gu also hears about a corrupt officer named Weng Lianwang who has been shaking people down. Instead of just punishing him, Gu sees an opportunity. He calls Weng in, scares him straight, and then orders him to investigate the Sanrong Trading Post. Gu is using every tool he has.
A New Military Problem (and a New Opportunity)
The KMT army is still in chaos. A unit led by General Huang Jie is trapped. Their only escape route to Taiwan is through Vietnam. The problem is, Vietnam is a French colony. The French say Huang Jie's 30,000 soldiers must give up all their weapons to pass through.
Zhou Zhirou tells Wu Shi about the situation. Wu Shi is against disarming their own troops. Zhou puts Wu Shi in charge of finding transport ships to go pick them up.
This leads to a crucial moment. Wu Shi goes to a Director Ma to borrow five ships. Ma says he can only spare three. He casually mentions that another general, Hu Lian, has borrowed the other ships. Hu Lian needs them to move war supplies to Zhoushan. And he has a tight two-week deadline. You can just see the gears turning in Wu Shi's head. This is valuable information.
