Episode Summary
In the present, Cheng Ming receives a significant sword from the last surviving veteran, Narita. In 1941, Changgen returns home after escaping Unit 731, revealing the horrors to his family. Inside the unit, paranoia grows as Narita suspects Arakawa of aiding the escapees, eventually reporting him, though Arakawa survives the accusation due to lack of evidence. Kojima manages to secretly copy incriminating film footage while securing an ally to help smuggle the truth out.
Spoiler Alert
The Clock is Ticking
The search for the truth isn't getting any easier in the present day. Narita Kazuo is the last man standing. The other two veterans who agreed to talk have died. Yamabe Yukiko warns Cheng Ming that digging up fifty years of buried history is a nightmare. Cheng Ming knows this. He also knows he’s racing against time. Evidence rots. Witnesses die. He has to move now.
Just as they are about to leave, Narita makes a move. He hobbles out and stops them. He hands over a wakizashi—a short sword. It’s the same one Kojima Yukio gave him all those years ago. It’s a heavy moment. That blade has seen things.
Escape and Return
Back in the fall of 1941, things are tense. Tong Changfu spots Tong Yulan sneaking out of the house. She’s heading for the wild woods. He follows her. He stops her. He’s bought into the propaganda on the wanted posters. He thinks anyone hiding in those woods is a bandit. He’s determined to drag her back.
Then, a voice calls out from the trees. It’s Changgen.
Changfu ends up bringing three men back to his house. Changgen’s mother is there. She weeps with joy. It’s a reunion, but a grim one. Changgen drops the bomb: they just escaped from Unit 731.
Paranoia in the Ranks
Inside the facility, Arakawa is sweating bullets. Minister Nakadome orders him to draw portraits of the escaped "Marutas" (human test subjects). He warns Arakawa to keep his mouth shut. Arakawa overhears a conversation involving Colonel Sasaki. He’s terrified. He gave a razor blade to prisoner 909. If they find out, he’s dead.
Kojima Yukio visits the mess hall to see Narita. Narita isn’t just cooking rice; he’s suspicious. He asks Kojima if he knows that Arakawa went to Building 7 during the filming. Most of the escapees came from Building 7. Narita connects the dots. He thinks Arakawa helped them.
Kojima tries to cool him down. He calls it rumors without proof. Narita isn’t buying it. He’s deep in the imperialist mindset. He’s radicalized.
Arakawa finishes the sketches. He hears Colonel Sasaki giving orders. They aren't just searching the nearby villages. They are checking the home addresses of the escapees. They are banking on the human instinct to run home. Later, Arakawa gets more bad news from Takahashi Akihiko: two of the escapees have already been dragged back.
A Risky Alliance
Yan Bingrui comes through. He delivers a case of camera and editing equipment to Kojima. Kojima uses this moment to drop some truth. He tells Yan that the plague in Tianli Village came from Unit 731. He has it on film. The problem is, he’s being watched. He can’t smuggle the film out.
Yan Bingrui says enough to let Kojima know he’s on board. He’s willing to help.
Back at the house, Changgen and the others spill the details of the horrors inside Unit 731 to Changfu. They are trying to figure out where to hide these guys. That’s when the Japanese soldiers show up.
Close Calls and Hard Choices
It’s a raid. Guns to heads. Everyone is terrified. The soldiers threaten them and tear the place apart. They don’t find the escapees.
Once the soldiers leave, the fugitives come out of hiding. Batuma’s grandmother was shoved during the raid. She’s hurt. She tells Changfu to handle the situation. Changfu steps up. He apologizes to everyone. He realizes the anthrax outbreak at the water tower was connected to him bringing Er Tiao back previously.
He knows they can’t stay at the water tower. The Japanese are watching. But he can’t let these men freeze or starve. They have to run. He asks the group to trust him to make a plan.
The Betrayal and the Trick
Narita actually does it. He rats Arakawa out to Ishii Shiro.
Arakawa denies everything. He has to. Narita’s accusation is weak. He only saw Arakawa standing outside Building 7, not going in. There’s no physical proof. Prisoner 909 swallowed the razor blade before dying. They didn’t autopsy every body. Ishii Shiro never found the blade. In a twisted way, 909 saved Arakawa’s life from beyond the grave.
Kojima is locked in the attic of the materials department. He’s smart. He uses the heat to separate the layers of the nitrate film. He makes a copy.
Ishii Shiro watches the final cut of the film. He still doesn’t trust Kojima. He orders a strip search. Kojima has to take everything off. He isn’t allowed to take any equipment out. Nakadome tells him he’ll get a new set of gear later. Kojima walks out with nothing but his life, but the copy is made.
