Episode Summary
Gu Zhengwen's team captures Lin Yiliang after a botched raid, disrupting the communist intelligence network. Zhu Feng is cut off and must use a dead drop to communicate. At home, Wu Shi's daughter grows suspicious of his relationship with Zhu Feng. Driven by guilt over a past sacrifice, Wu Shi devises a risky plan to rescue Lin Yiliang by manipulating rival intelligence factions against each other.
Spoiler Alert
The Walls Are Closing In
This episode felt like a pressure cooker. Everyone is under suspicion. Everyone is watching everyone else.
A Mole in the Driver's Seat
Yu Xiaonan is getting serious about watching Wu Shi. She paid off his driver, a guy named Xiao Qian. Xiao Qian is now her personal spy. He immediately reports back about Zhu Feng visiting Wu Shi's house. He even brings Yu Xiaonan a pastry Zhu Feng made as proof. It’s a small detail. But it shows how close the enemy is getting. Xiao Qian just wants to earn enough money to take his sister back home to Zhangzhou. He probably doesn't realize what he's gotten into.
A Surprise Ally
Wu Shi and Nie Xi get a coded message over the radio. They have a new contact. The message reveals the contact is Chen Baocang. They are both shocked and relieved. Chen Baocang is one of them. This is a huge win. Wu Shi immediately plans to get him transferred from the training base to a better position. They need all the help they can get.
The Hunters Turn on Each Other
The intelligence agencies are a snake pit. It's not just about catching spies. It's about who gets the credit.
Gu Zhengwen Makes His Move
Chiang Ching-kuo personally tasks Gu Zhengwen with hunting down Communist agents. Gu goes all in. He starts gathering intel everywhere. He completely ignores Ye Xiangzhi, the head of the operations department. This does not go over well. Ye Xiangzhi is furious. He hears Gu's team is heading to Keelung. So he takes his own men there to beat Gu to the punch. He's ready for a turf war.
A Botched Raid
Gu Zhengwen finds out Ye Xiangzhi went to Keelung. He's worried Ye's clumsy approach will scare their target away. Gu and Yu Xiaonan rush to a place called Sanrong Trading Company. Gu has a specific plan. He wants to let one person escape. That person can then lead them to a bigger network.
His agents go into the shop. They ask to buy wood ear mushrooms. But Sanrong Trading doesn't sell them. This immediately tips off the manager, Lin Yiliang. He knows they're compromised. He quickly destroys all the important files. He tells his clerk and another man, Zhuang Achen, to run out the back. By the time Gu's team storms the building, it's empty. Lin Yiliang fires his gun to draw the agents away from the others. He leads them on a chase but is eventually cornered and captured by Gu Zhengwen.
A Mission on Hold
Zhu Feng's situation just got a lot more complicated. She goes to meet her contact, Cai Xiaoqian. That's when she gets the bad news. Lin Yiliang has been captured. The rest of their local network has scattered into the mountains. Her intelligence is now stuck with her. They have to build a whole new communication line from scratch. Cai gives her the location of a dead drop. From now on, that's how they'll have to communicate. It's slow and dangerous.
Trouble at Home
Back at Wu Shi's house, things are tense. His daughter, Wu Xuecheng, is sharp. She's teaching her younger brother the character for "strange." She keeps saying a strange person has come to visit. Wu Shi knows she's talking about Zhu Feng.
Then, Zhu Feng herself shows up. She needs to warn Wu Shi. She uses her knowledge of calligraphy as an excuse to talk to him. It's a clever move. It gets her into his private study. There, she tells him Lin Yiliang was caught. The intel was not delivered.
Nie Xi arrives and finds Wu Xuecheng eavesdropping outside the study. He pulls her aside for a talk. The girl is worried her father is having an affair with Zhu Feng. Nie Xi manages to calm her down with a plausible story. Afterward, he and Wu Shi talk. They agree on one thing. They have to get Lin Yiliang out.
A Desperate Plan
Gu Zhengwen is a patient interrogator. He waits two full days before even talking to Lin Yiliang. He tries everything. He's friendly. He's threatening. Lin Yiliang says nothing. Gu then reveals he knows Lin and another operative, Zhang Hao, are brothers. Lin still denies it. Gu brings up Lin's old Japanese name, trying to question his loyalty. Lin fires back that he is 100% Chinese. He won't break.
Then things get public. Mao Renfeng puts the news of Lin Yiliang's capture all over the papers. Wu Shi and Nie Xi can't figure out the strategy. Gu is usually much more secretive. They realize it wasn't Gu's move. It was Mao Renfeng's. He's trying to show that his Bureau of Secrecy is still relevant in Taiwan.
This gives Wu Shi an idea. It's a risky one. He wants to get Lin Yiliang transferred out of the Bureau's prison and into a regular one. That might give them a chance to rescue him. Nie Xi thinks it's too dangerous. But Wu Shi is haunted. Zhang Hao killed himself to protect Wu Shi's identity. Wu Shi refuses to let his brother, Lin Yiliang, die too.
He sets his plan in motion. He goes to Duan Tuizhi and pretends to be angry. He accuses Duan of telling his wife that he's having an affair. Duan quickly apologizes. Then Wu Shi changes the subject. He shows Duan the newspaper. He points out that the Bureau of Secrecy is getting all the credit for catching spies. He suggests Duan should step up his game. Wu Shi is deliberately driving a wedge between Duan Tuizhi and Gu Zhengwen. It works. Duan gets furious and goes straight to Mao Renfeng to complain about Gu. He even threatens to take the complaint all the way to Chiang Ching-kuo. The game is on.
