Episode 1 recap: The death of his close friend plunges Tong Jiang Nan into a crisis.
On April 30, 1948, the Chinese Communist Party issued the "May 1st Manifesto", drawing widespread attention and an active response from all sectors of society. To obstruct the establishment of New China, the remnants of the Kuomintang cruelly suppressed progressive youth and assassinated patriotic democratic personages, leading to a reign of white terror spreading across southern China. Professor Tong Jiang Nan, an internationally renowned chemist, along with other experts, scholars, and scientists residing in Hong Kong - the intellectual elite - naturally became a thorn in the side of the secret police.
In order to thoroughly crush the enemy's conspiracy, the Communist Party sent people to Hong Kong to secretly carry out the "Northern Star Operation" to ensure the safe passage of these individuals to the liberated areas. On January 9, 1949, Tong Jiang Nan's research achieved a major breakthrough, and people from all walks of life came to congratulate him, including comrades preparing to go north.
That night, the deputy editor-in-chief of Ta Kung Pao was murdered, and a Special Branch thug named "Fatty" ran into the newspaper boy "Shrimp" on the staircase, giving him a fierce look before hurriedly leaving. Shrimp knocked on Tzu's door, but with no response, he left, unaware of the fresh blood seeping out from the doorway. The next day, Su Xing disembarked at the Hong Kong pier and happened to see some gang members bullying Shrimp. Su Xing intervened, both coercing and cajoling the thugs, rescuing Shrimp, but the boy then disappeared.
Tzu, who was responsible for liaising with Tong Jiang Nan, had been killed. A man named Luo Guan Ying came to the Tong household, claiming Tzu had commissioned him to receive Tong, and said Tong could call Tzu at 10 o'clock to verify his identity. Meanwhile, Inspector Li Wenbo at the police station was searching the crime scene when he received a call from Tong Jiang Nan, informing him of Tzu's death. Tong Jiang Nan was shocked and saddened, recalling his last meeting with Tzu, where Tzu had revealed that Li Jishen's secret departure from Hong Kong had angered the Kuomintang, and warned Tong to be extremely cautious for his own safety.
For Tong Jiang Nan, the death of his old friend Tzu was like a bolt from the blue, and the joy brought by Luo Guan Ying's arrival had been completely obliterated by this news.
However, it was quite suspicious that Zhe Tu was killed when he needed to prove his identity to Guan-ying Luo. Jiang-nan Tong became suspicious of Guan-ying Luo's identity and realized that he himself might have been targeted by the secret service, as a crisis was looming.
After leaving the Tong family, Guan-ying Luo went directly to the Changhe Trading Company, and was held at gunpoint in the manager's office, where they exchanged code words. It turned out that Guan-ying Luo was not acting on Zhe Tu's behalf, nor was he a communist. His true identity was a major in the secret service, sent to Hong Kong to stabilize the situation there. He was conveying the "Beehive Plan" to the action leader, Xunqi Dang, intending to obstruct the pro-communist figures from heading north.
In contrast, Xing Su successfully made contact with his party comrade Yamei Zhou at the Qiming Bookstore. Zhou briefly explained the situation in Hong Kong, and they decided to take separate actions - Yamei Zhou would report to his superiors and re-establish contact with Professor Tong, while Xing Su would disguise himself as a postman to go to Jiang-nan Tong's home to reveal his identity.
Jiang-nan Tong called the British Assistant Director to inquire about the cause of Zhe Tu's death, but the other party could not give a clear answer. Since Jiang-nan Tong had just been granted a baronetcy by the British King, and Zhe Tu was his close friend, the British side attached great importance to this case, and the British Assistant Director requested that Wenbo Li handle this case properly.
During the investigation, Wenbo Li found that Zhe Tu had received threatening letters before his death, speculating that he had probably offended a powerful figure. Xunqi Dang had Biao and others monitor Jiang-nan Tong's residence, but the person responsible for keeping watch was distracted by a woman and failed to discover the disguised Xing Su.
Although Xing Su was Jiang-nan Tong's student and explained his purpose, due to the appearance of two people claiming to be communists on the same day, Jiang-nan Tong felt confused and uneasy, ultimately turning Xing Su away at the door. Xing Su was saddened and puzzled by Tong's resolute attitude, which once again opened the wound in his heart, realizing that regaining his teacher's trust would become even more difficult.
Back at the liaison station, Xing Su sat silently at the table, carefully recalling the details of his meeting with Tong-nan Tong, suspecting that the teacher might have hidden some important information.
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