Episode Summary
William betrays Mary's rescue plan to save himself, leading to a Japanese ambush where Mary sacrifices her life to save Yang Chang. He Hongshen uses his business influence to rescue Yang Chang from a seized boat in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Yazaki brutally tortures Qiao Renyu to find the banknote paper. Qiao Yinwan decides to infiltrate the enemy agency, reuniting with her broken brother while the villains secretly listen in.
Spoiler Alert
The Rat in the Cell
Things start messy. Mary thinks she can control William to save Qiao Renyu. She tells him to bribe the guard, Fujii. William isn't doing this for charity. He demands a full extraction for himself too. Mary has no choice but to agree.
William plays his part at first. He lies to Fujii about a massive deposit at HSBC. He claims he needs to verify it with Qiao Renyu face-to-face. It sounds like a solid con.
But the villains are busy too. Yazaki Kanji is annoyed that Sawa Eisaku is chasing dead ends with those old banknote numbers. Sawa explains his logic. He wants to find Qiao’s partners in Macau. He wants to burn the whole network down. Sawa goes to the prison and walks right into William’s scheme. He catches William trying to get close to Qiao. Sawa grills Fujii. The guard cracks under pressure.
William doesn't hold up any better. To save his own neck, he spills everything about Mary’s rescue plan. A Taiwanese guard gets killed in the process. Yazaki learns there is still banknote paper hidden in Hong Kong. He is thrilled. He orders Sawa to set a trap. They plan to catch everyone at once.
Mary’s Last Stand
The rescue operation kicks off. Mary manages to get Qiao Renyu into the medical center. He is disguised as a sick prisoner. It looks like it might work. Then William flips the script. He points Mary out to the guards. He exposes her right there in the open.
Japanese troops surround the hospital instantly. William tries to talk Mary down. He tells her to call her friends out of hiding. He says they can both walk away free. Mary plays along for a second. She tells the Japanese agents her signal is knocking a flowerpot three times.
She walks to the window. She spots Yang Chang waiting in the distance. They lock eyes. Mary doesn't knock. She shoves the flowerpot off the ledge. She pulls her gun and opens fire on the agents. She takes multiple bullets in the chaos. Mary goes down fighting.
The Escape and the Fixer
The gunshots alert everyone outside. Ke Zhengping realizes the plan is blown. He grabs Yang Chang and drives off. The main road is blocked. They have to take the backup route. Ke Zhengping has a boat ticket ready. Yang Chang is in shock. He refuses to believe Mary is dead.
Back in Macau, He Xian and the team wait. The bad news arrives. The mood hits rock bottom.
Yang Chang boards a tung oil boat to escape. The Japanese lock down the pier at Tsim Sha Tsui. They seize the boat. He Xian hears about this and panics. He goes to He Hongshen for help. Hongshen was actually planning to quit his job at Lianchang Company. He sees He Xian’s desperation. He changes his mind and agrees to pull some strings.
Hongshen meets with Saito. He plays the business card. He argues that Lianchang Company has special shipping rights from the Japanese army. Seizing their boat hurts the company's reputation. It makes the Japanese look bad. Saito buys it. He authorizes Hongshen to go to Hong Kong and sort it out.
Hongshen boards the boat with the inspectors. He spots an extra passenger. It’s Yang Chang. Hongshen keeps a straight face. He covers for Yang Chang and gets him through the checkpoint.
Into the Lion's Den
Huang Gongjie raids Mary’s intel station in Hong Kong. He finds an empty room. The only clue is a marked-up newspaper on the floor.
Back at the prison, Yazaki loses patience. He tortures Qiao Renyu. He beats Qi Libin right in front of him. Qiao refuses to speak about the banknote paper. Yazaki escalates. He starts killing other prisoners in front of Qiao to break his mind.
Yang Chang makes it back to Macau. He locks himself in a room. He is broken by Mary’s death. The group needs a new plan. Qiao Yinwan hears about her brother’s torture. She ignores He Xian’s warnings. She accepts an invitation from Yazaki.
She waits for Huang Gongjie to leave. Then she drops a bomb on He Xian. She tells him their previous fights were an act. She plans to walk into the trap willingly. She wants to get close to Qiao Renyu and learn the secret of the paper herself. He Xian realizes the danger. He agrees to help her from the outside.
Yinwan goes to the Sawa agency the next day. She finally sees her brother. He looks destroyed. She sits with him and hums an old childhood song. The melody reaches him. Qiao Renyu wakes up from his stupor. He starts to tell her about the Japanese threats. But they aren't alone. Yazaki and Sawa are in the other room, listening to every word.
