Episode Summary

In the series finale, Cheng Ming and Yamabe Yukiko finally secure the evidence needed to prove Unit 731's crimes. In 1942, Changfu dies in a mass poisoning at the facility just as his daughter is born, while Grandma and Yulan successfully smuggle the victim list to safety. Decades later, despite a dismissed lawsuit in 2002, the series concludes in 2024 with a Japanese visitor apologizing to Changfu's elderly daughter at the memorial site.

Spoiler Alert

Recap: Man's Inhumanity to Man Episode 20

This is it. We have reached the end of the road. I hope you brought tissues because this finale does not pull any punches. It wraps up the dual timelines and finally gives us the closure we have been waiting for. Let's get into it.

The Evidence Hunt in 2000

We start in Spring 2000. A construction crew tries to dig up the Unit 731 gas bunker site. Cheng Ming is having none of it. He physically blocks the excavation. The foreman waves a three-year-old permit in his face. Cheng Ming stands his ground until Yamabe Yukiko arrives.

She brings the heat. She has a thesis paper complete with serial numbers and military seals. It proves these documents belong to the Kwantung Army. The evidence chain is almost complete. They can prove the biological weapons existed. But they still lack the smoking gun for the human experiments. They need one last piece of the puzzle.

The Great Escape of 1942

Back in the past, tension is high. Tong Changfu heads to Jichuan Trading. He sneaks poison into a batch of apples. Meanwhile, Grandma (Tainai), Yulan, and Guifen are trying to catch a train. Guifen looks like she is about to go into labor. She claims she still has time. They have to move. Changfu risked his life for those tickets.

They hit a snag near the Russian Cemetery. Japanese soldiers stop them. One soldier recognizes Yulan. A struggle breaks out. Yulan’s bag hits the ground. The "Special Directory" falls out. This is the list of victims everyone has died trying to protect.

Grandma does not hesitate. She stabs a soldier with an arrow. She grabs his gun and shoots the other one. They escape immediately.

The Last Supper

Changfu thinks he is just delivering goods. He is wrong. Narita Kazuo herds everyone into Unit 731 for "prizes." Changfu tries to back out. Soldiers point guns at him. He walks into the belly of the beast.

The Japanese offer them meat soup. Changfu eats it, but he knows something is off. He asks when he can leave. Narita ignores him.

Back outside, Grandma drives the cart back to Pianlianzi. Guifen can’t hold it anymore. She gives birth right there on the street.

Inside the facility, Arakawa takes the stage. He is supposed to recite haiku. Instead, he goes rogue. He recites a poem condemning the crimes of Unit 731. Ishii Shiro orders guards to tackle him. Ishii keeps spewing propaganda. Then the soup kicks in. Everyone starts foaming at the mouth. It was poison.

Huang Chuang screams at Changfu to run. It is too late. Changfu collapses. He dies with his eyes open.

Life and Death

The show cuts between the two scenes. Changfu dies at the exact moment his child is born. We get a flashback. Changfu told his wife the baby’s name is Tong Fulai. "Fulai" means "return." He said the swallows return in spring. He believed they would get back what they lost.

Arakawa watches Narita dump the bodies into a pit. He sees Changfu’s corpse. Arakawa is done. He eats one of the poisoned apples. He lies down next to Changfu and dies.

Justice Delayed

Japan surrenders. Yulan mails the Special Directory. It eventually lands in the Heilongjiang Archives. Decades later, Cheng Ming finds it. This is the missing piece. It proves the human experiments happened.

We jump to 2002. The lawsuit opens again. The evidence is undeniable. The Japanese government has no defense. But the judge throws the case out anyway. The reasoning is absurd. Yamabe Yukiko notes that getting a nation to admit guilt is hard. But she knows history will judge them.

The Final Scene

It is Summer 2024. A Japanese visitor arrives at the Unit 731 site to apologize. Cheng Ming guides him. We see an old woman. It is Tong Fulai. She is in her eighties now. Her father was murdered by Unit 731. She spent her whole life waiting. Finally, she sees someone apologize. Her father gets his truth.

That is the end.