Episode Summary
Wu Shi cleverly talks his way off the official suspect list by unnerving the Air Force Commander. Nie Xi attends a fake birthday party to gather intelligence, where he navigates personal drama and a web of lies. The episode ends with a tense handoff of crucial intel that nearly fails, only to reveal that their own driver is a mole working for the enemy.
Spoiler Alert
Wu Shi Dodges a Bullet
The episode kicks off with Zhou Zhirou on a mole hunt. He has his guy, Duan Tuizhi, digging for spies in the military. And guess who pops up on the suspect list. Our man, Wu Shi.
The Investigation
Zhou is in a tough spot. Wu Shi isn't just some random officer. He was hand-picked by Chiang Kai-shek himself for a top job. You can't just arrest a guy like that. So Zhou decides to play it cool. He'll wait for Wu Shi to make a move.
And he does. Wu Shi calls for a meeting. He wants to know the schedule for Huang Jie's troops. Zhou has bad news. The French backed out of their deal. They won't let the soldiers pass through Vietnam to get to Taiwan. Huang Jie is basically being held hostage now. Wu Shi also mentions that he tried to get weather reports for Zhoushan. The weather station chief told him he needed Zhou's personal approval. Zhou gets a little defensive. He says it's just a security measure. He is the Air Force Commander, after all.
A Calculated Warning
As Wu Shi gets up to leave, Zhou tries a different tactic. He starts complaining about all the pressure he's under. He even tries to get buddy-buddy with Wu Shi. He asks him for help, to share the burden.
This is where Wu Shi shows how good he is. He looks Zhou in the eye. He gives him a chilling piece of advice. He tells him to protect the air force's strength. If he doesn't, the entire force will be annihilated. The warning hits Zhou hard. He's sweating. Right then, he decides Wu Shi can't be a spy. That night, he calls Duan. He tells him to take Wu Shi's name off the list. Just like that, Wu Shi is in the clear.
A Birthday Party Full of Lies
While Wu Shi is playing mind games, Nie Xi is on his own mission. Gu Zhengwen has assigned Li Qing to watch him. She's looking for any excuse to get close.
The Setup
Nie Xi needs to get his hands on the air force's operational plans. His first attempt fails. He gets Wu Shi's brother-in-law, Wang Jifu, drunk. But Wang doesn't know anything useful. So Wu Shi gives Nie Xi a new target. Go to the air force base and see what you can find.
Nie Xi drives Wang to the base. This is where things get complicated. An officer named Lu Zhenhua sees Wang and immediately gets a crush on him. She asks Li Qing to get his number from Nie Xi. This gives Li Qing an idea. It's her birthday soon. She wants to invite Nie Xi, but she's worried he'll say no. So she gets Lu to help. Lu lies to Nie Xi. She tells him it's her birthday and invites him and Wang to the Air Force Club. Nie Xi agrees to go.
On the night of the party, Wang shows up with flowers for Lu. The truth comes out pretty quickly. Lu admits she lied. It's actually Li Qing's birthday. She then pressures Nie Xi to give Li Qing a present. He's completely unprepared. He ends up giving her a model airplane that Wang had just given to him moments before.
Drama at the Club
Li Qing says she loves the gift. Her brother was a pilot before he died. To change the subject, she suggests they go dancing. Wang and Lu hit the dance floor. Nie Xi and Li Qing stay at the bar to drink.
Then Wang spots something across the room. It's Gao Xiumei. She's drinking and laughing with some guy named Peter. Wang loses it. He's ready to go over there and start a fight. Nie Xi has to physically hold him back. Nie Xi trusts Gao completely. But Wang is furious for his friend's sake.
We learn Gao was just asking Peter for a favor. She needed him to send money to her daughter in Fuzhou. He was giving her the receipt. Later, Gao asks Peter if he can get her whole family to America. He says no. Not unless she marries him. She refuses. She says it has to be her whole family or nothing. Peter seems impressed by her loyalty.
Li Qing sees all this and tries to cause trouble between Nie Xi and Gao. But Nie Xi doesn't take the bait. He says he trusts Gao. He even points out that she's wearing a dress he bought for her.
The Most Stressful Pastry Delivery Ever
The party gets cut short. Wang gets a call from the base. He has to leave immediately. Nie Xi sees his chance. He offers to drive Wang, giving him a perfect excuse to leave.
Getting the Intel
Nie Xi reports back to Wu Shi. Wang's sudden departure is a clue, but it's not enough. Wu Shi can't figure out the exact date for the bombing of Shanghai. He decides his next move will be at the New Year's Eve dinner.
Wu Shi then does some digging of his own. He gives a gift to a Director Ma and casually asks about the air force's holiday plans. Ma lets it slip that a huge celebration is planned. That's the final piece. Wu Shi calculates the bombing will happen before the New Year on February 25th. He tells Nie Xi to get photos of the bombers and pass the film to their contact, Zhu Feng.
A Fumbled Handoff
Zhu Feng arrives at Wu Shi's house. She pretends she's there to get a pastry recipe from Wu Shi's wife, Wang Bikui. Wu Shi pulls Zhu Feng aside to give her the film. But his son, Wu Xuecheng, walks by at the worst possible moment. Thinking fast, Wu Shi passes the film to Nie Xi instead.
Nie Xi hides the roll of film inside a pastry. He puts it in a small food box. Zhu Feng grabs the small box and tries to leave. But Wang Bikui stops her. She insists Zhu Feng take a much larger, fancier box of pastries. She won't take no for an answer. She even points out the box is made of expensive wood.
They're literally fighting over the pastry boxes. Nie Xi has to do something. He says he accidentally squished one of the pastries. He pulls out the one with the film inside. Zhu Feng snatches the pastry from his hand. She gives the small box to their driver, Xiao Qian, and finally leaves with the big box.
The driver, Xiao Qian, drops Zhu Feng off near her home. Then he makes a phone call. He's calling Yu Xiaonan, one of Gu Zhengwen's men. The driver is a spy.
