Recaps

Elder Xu recounted how [Old Farmer] infiltrated Modu, built a radio station with Miss Lu, and endured capture and torture without betraying his cause. Yue Xiaofei realized the man might have been his grandfather as Elder Xu revealed [Old Farmer]'s defiant declaration of loyalty to the Dragon Kingdom.

• Elder Xu explained that [Old Farmer] was chosen to infiltrate Modu and restore communications after a traitor destroyed the intelligence network.
• [Old Farmer] adopted the identity of a wealthy overseas Chinese businessman and met Miss Lu, who helped him establish himself in Modu.
• [Old Farmer] and Miss Lu gathered intelligence at high-society receptions and operated a radio room in the Lu family mansion's wine cellar.
• After a traitor exposed the radio station, Japanese troops surrounded the mansion, and [Old Farmer] sent Miss Lu through a secret passage before staying behind.
• The Japanese tortured [Old Farmer], but he refused to reveal information and declared that he was a man of the Dragon Kingdom with the courage to fight.
• Yue Xiaofei connected Elder Xu's account to his grandfather, while Hou Liangbing continued to dismiss it as a fabrication.

Elder Xu recounted how [Old Farmer], after surviving torture, risked his life to transmit vital intelligence that could save the army from a Japanese ambush. The chapter ended with him finishing the transmission and sending a farewell poem as the invaders closed in.

• Elder Xu said Miss Lu used her family's connections and fortune to secure [Old Farmer]'s release from Japanese captivity.
• Elder Xu explained that [Old Farmer] learned a traitor had exposed plans for an imminent offensive and that the intelligence had to be sent within an hour.
• [Old Farmer] used his backup radio in the Lu family mansion's basement after every other clandestine station in Modu had been destroyed.
• When the Japanese invaders began rotating power cuts to locate the radio, Miss Lu urged [Old Farmer] to flee, but he refused to leave before transmitting the full intelligence.
• [Old Farmer] sent the remaining intelligence as the Japanese invaders reached the mansion, then transmitted a farewell poem.

Elder Xu revealed that [Old Farmer] survived a Japanese massacre and crawled out of a mass grave, confirming Yue Xiaofei’s belief that the man was his grandfather. The chapter ended with [Old Farmer] emerging alone from the corpses at dawn.

• Elder Xu honored [Old Farmer] as the match that had kindled the first flame of resistance, while the statue’s heart glowed red.
• Hou Liangbing dismissed Elder Xu’s account as a lie and ordered his men to arrest him.
• Yue Xiaofei stepped in front of Elder Xu and declared that [Old Farmer] was his grandfather, Yue Qinhu, and Miss Lu was his grandmother, Lu Lanxin.
• Elder Xu revealed that the Japanese invaders had taken [Old Farmer] to a mass execution, where he was shot three times and left among more than a hundred bodies.
• Elder Xu recounted that [Old Farmer] crawled out from beneath the corpses at midnight and emerged from the mass grave as the massacre’s sole survivor.

Elder Xu revealed how Old Farmer survived a massacre, founded Bureau 7, and established its protections for agents and their families. As Bureau 7 agents saluted the founder’s statue and Hou Liangbing challenged Elder Xu, he identified Old Farmer as Yue Qinhu, Yue Xiaofei’s grandfather.

• Elder Xu told Yue Xiaofei that Old Farmer survived a massacre, found Miss Lu, and proposed the intelligence organization that became Bureau 7.
• Elder Xu explained that Old Farmer trained Bureau 7’s first agents and established rules to care for fallen agents’ families and retired comrades.
• Elder Xu declared that the statue represented Old Farmer’s promise to Bureau 7, and the agents saluted it while Hou Liangbing stood apart.
• Hou Liangbing called Elder Xu a liar and demanded Old Farmer’s identity, but no agents obeyed his order to arrest him.
• Elder Xu pointed to the statue and Yue Xiaofei, identifying Old Farmer as Yue Qinhu, Yue Xiaofei’s grandfather.

Elder Xu revealed that Yue Qinhu was Bureau 7’s legendary founder, [Old Farmer], leaving Hou Liangbing’s agents horrified after they arrested Yue Xiaofei, the founder’s grandson. When Hou demanded proof, Elder Xu said the evidence was inside Bureau 7 and prepared to show it.

• Elder Xu identified Yue Qinhu as [Old Farmer], shocking Hou Liangbing and the Bureau 7 agents who had arrested Yue Xiaofei.
• Hou Liangbing denied the revelation and ordered the agents to arrest Yue Xiaofei and Elder Xu, but none obeyed.
• [Man-Rat] watched the revelation on camera and alerted the encrypted group chat that Hou had arrested the founder’s grandson.
• Yue Xiaofei condemned Hou for dishonoring his grandfather, Bureau 7, and the fallen heroes represented by the statue.
• Hou demanded evidence of Yue Qinhu’s identity and claimed he would resign if it was proven.
• Elder Xu told Hou that the evidence was inside Bureau 7 and said he would show it to him.

Elder Xu led Hou Liangbing and the Bureau 7 agents to the Modu branch Martyrs' Cemetery, claiming the evidence against Hou was there. At the entrance, the cemetery keeper Old Sun barred Hou from entering.

• Elder Xu pointed to the Martyrs' Cemetery as the location of the evidence, and Hou Liangbing reluctantly agreed to go after Bureau 7 agents showed their suspicion.
• Yue Xiaofei learned that Elder Xu had visited the cemetery over seventy years earlier with his elder brother Subduing Tiger.
• The group reached the cemetery and heard that its keeper, Old Sun, had watched over it for decades.
• Jin Dapao recognized Old Sun's red epaulets, faded green fatigues, and rifle as the bearing of a battle-hardened soldier.
• Hou Liangbing ordered Old Sun to move aside, but Old Sun refused and said they could not enter.

Hou Liangbing tried to enter the Martyrs' Cemetery without cleaning the mud from his shoes, but Old Sun stopped him and threatened him at gunpoint. When Yue Xiaofei arrived, Old Sun recognized him as General Yue, the man he had known more than seventy years ago.

• Hou Liangbing angrily demanded entry, but Old Sun insisted that he clean the mud from his shoes out of respect for the fallen heroes.
• Hou Liangbing tried to shove Old Sun aside, so Old Sun struck him with his rifle and aimed it at his forehead.
• Hou Liangbing's aides urged him to back down, and he wiped the mud from his shoes before Elder Xu, Yue Xiaofei, and Jin Dapao entered the cemetery.
• Old Sun saw Yue Xiaofei, burst into tears, and grabbed his arm, asking whether General Yue had truly returned.

Yue Xiaofei learned that Sun Desheng had served under his grandfather Yue Qinhu, and Sun revealed why he had spent his life guarding the cemetery. He recalled Yue Qinhu’s words about using the fallen to protect the living, leaving the agents stunned by the general’s judgment.

• Sun Desheng mistook Yue Xiaofei for General Yue, then learned he was Yue Qinhu’s grandson.
• Sun Desheng explained that he had once commanded a battalion in the 38th Army.
• Hou Liangbing accused Sun Desheng of being punished for a shameful battlefield offense.
• Sun Desheng recounted using ten fallen comrades’ bodies as cover while he held off Japanese soldiers, killing twenty-eight.
• Sun Desheng said Yue Qinhu had not blamed him and recalled the general declaring that giving one’s body to save a living comrade was his supreme glory.

Sun Desheng explained that guarding the fallen heroes’ graves was an honor entrusted to him by General Yue, not a punishment, and condemned Hou Liangbing for arresting Yue Xiaofei. As Hou Liangbing denied the evidence against him, Elder Xu led everyone deeper into the cemetery, saying the proof was inside.

• Sun Desheng told the Bureau 7 agents that he guarded his fallen brothers’ graves to protect their resting place, fulfilling General Yue’s trust.
• Sun Desheng learned that Hou Liangbing had handcuffed Yue Xiaofei, Elder Xu, Lin Tiejun, and others, and threatened Hou for calling Yue Xiaofei a traitor.
• Yue Xiaofei confronted Hou Liangbing with Sun Desheng as a witness, but Hou argued that Sun could not prove Yue Qinhu was [Old Farmer] and accused him of being bribed.
• Elder Xu agreed that Sun Desheng could not prove Yue Qinhu was [Old Farmer], then said the relevant evidence was inside the cemetery and led the group onward.
• Hou Liangbing followed Elder Xu into the cemetery with his confidants, determined to see what evidence awaited them.

Yue Xiaofei and the Bureau 7 agents visited the Cemetery, where Sun Desheng explained the sacrifice and secrecy surrounding its fallen heroes. Elder Xu opened the hidden Seven Sons United Heart Box by identifying himself as Bureau 7’s second agent, Green Pine, and the truth about Old Farmer’s identity was poised to emerge.

• Sun Desheng explained that covert agents’ real names remained secret even after death to protect their families, then recalled his mother’s pride in her sons’ service to their country.
• Yue Xiaofei and the Bureau 7 agents were moved by Sun Desheng’s story, while Hou Liangbing silently resented what he called sentimental drivel.
• Elder Xu revealed that the wordless monument was called Everlasting Light, and Sun Desheng activated its concealed mechanism.
• The monument shifted to reveal the Seven Sons United Heart Box, which Elder Xu said contained the sealed identity of Bureau 7’s founder, Old Farmer.
• Elder Xu identified himself as Bureau 7’s second agent, codename Green Pine, and the box unlocked.

Elder Xu revealed proof that Yue Qinhu had founded Bureau 7 under the codename Old Farmer, leaving the agents overwhelmed with remorse. As they knelt before the graves and Yue Xiaofei, Elder Xu told them to stand because the fallen heroes had died so they could live.

• Elder Xu showed a photograph of the young Yue Qinhu and a top-secret dossier identifying him as Bureau 7’s founder, Agent No. 1, and Old Farmer.
• The dossier’s seven signatures and codenames convinced the Bureau 7 agents that Yue Xiaofei’s grandfather had been their legendary founder.
• Liu Gang tore off his badge, threw it at Hou Liangbing, and knelt before the graves and Yue Xiaofei in remorse.
• More than ninety percent of the agents removed their badges, cut ties with Hou Liangbing, and knelt beside Liu Gang.
• Elder Xu shouted for the agents to stand and said the fallen heroes lay in their graves so the living could stand.

After the agents honored the fallen heroes and Elder Xu confronted Hou Liangbing with evidence, Hou Liangbing drew his gun and threatened Elder Xu. Sun Desheng swiftly disarmed and subdued him, revealing the gravekeeper’s fearsome combat skills.

• Liu Gang and the kneeling agents stood and saluted the martyrs’ graves.
• A young agent asked whether Elder Xu was Bureau 7’s second agent, [Green Pine], and Elder Xu confronted Hou Liangbing with the evidence.
• Hou Liangbing drew his service pistol and threatened to execute Elder Xu and Yue Xiaofei’s group.
• Sun Desheng snapped Hou Liangbing’s wrist, disarmed him, and struck him down with a series of battlefield techniques.
• Sun Desheng pinned Hou Liangbing’s head beneath his foot and demanded to know who had given him the nerve to threaten General Yue’s comrade.

Elder Xu and Liu Gang’s agents subdued Hou Liangbing after his loyalists surrendered, and Elder Xu ordered Sun Desheng to strip him of his uniform. The scars on Hou Liangbing’s body were revealed to come from his wife, Zhong Xiaoai, and the crowd mocked him as his secret was exposed.

• Hou Liangbing ordered his remaining loyalists to attack Elder Xu, but Liu Gang and the Bureau 7 agents aimed their weapons at them and forced them to surrender.
• Elder Xu condemned Hou Liangbing for framing a patriot’s descendant and turning against his comrades, then ordered Sun Desheng to strip him of his uniform.
• Sun Desheng tore off Hou Liangbing’s uniform and shirt, revealing numerous red scars across his body.
• Elder Xu wondered whether Hou Liangbing had endured torture behind enemy lines, but his surrendered loyalists revealed that Zhong Xiaoai had whipped him at home.
• The crowd laughed at Hou Liangbing, and Elder Xu called him a parasite and a spineless wretch.

At the Cemetery, Yue Xiaofei and the Bureau 7 agents forced Hou Liangbing to kneel and demanded he atone for insulting the martyrs and persecuting innocents. Hou Liangbing threatened them with his father-in-law Zhong Zhenguo, whose call came through just as Elder Xu challenged him to come kneel too.

• Man-Rat shared the Cemetery broadcast with the encrypted group chat, and the members mocked Hou Liangbing over his humiliating scandal.
• Yue Xiaofei demanded that Hou Liangbing kneel and apologize to his grandfather and the fallen heroes, while Sun Desheng and the Bureau 7 agents joined the order.
• Hou Liangbing tried to use Elder Xu’s earlier words against him, but Elder Xu condemned Hou Liangbing and declared that he deserved to kneel.
• Hou Liangbing’s legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees; Yue Xiaofei then ordered him to kowtow ninety-nine times for the fallen heroes and his victims.
• Hou Liangbing threatened Yue Xiaofei by invoking Zhong Zhenguo, but Elder Xu challenged Zhong Zhenguo to come kneel as well.
• Zhong Zhenguo’s name appeared on the ringing phone in Hou Liangbing’s discarded uniform jacket.

Hou Liangbing’s hoped-for rescue failed, and Yue Xiaofei forced him to kowtow ninety-nine times before Elder Xu ordered his arrest. Just as the agents moved to take him away, Smith arrived and threatened anyone who touched him.

• Hou Liangbing answered a call from Secretary Zhou, who ordered him to find a missing important figure in Modu and dismissed his pleas for help.
• Jin Dapao and the others mocked Hou Liangbing after they heard Secretary Zhou hang up, and Yue Xiaofei ordered him to kowtow ninety-nine times.
• Hou Liangbing struck his head against the grave marker ninety-nine times, then begged Elder Xu for mercy and promised to resign and restore Yue Qinhu’s reputation.
• Elder Xu ordered Liu Gang and the other agents to arrest Hou Liangbing and investigate his past.
• Smith arrived with a group of men in black, declared Hou Liangbing his friend, and threatened to make an enemy of anyone who touched him.

Smith arrived at the Martyrs' Cemetery with Eagle Country Secret Service agents, freed Hou Liangbing’s position, and claimed authority to take command of Bureau 7’s Modu branch. He ordered his armed men to capture Yue Xiaofei alive and fire without restraint at anyone who intervened.

• Jin Dapao denounced Smith, and Liu Gang freed Jin Dapao, Yue Xiaofei, Lin Tiejun, and the others from their handcuffs.
• Hou Liangbing crawled to Smith for protection, and Smith promised to make Yue Xiaofei and Elder Xu pay.
• Yue Xiaofei and Elder Xu accused Hou Liangbing of treason for bringing Eagle Country agents into the Martyrs' Cemetery.
• Smith declared that he had come under a cooperation agreement with Hou Liangbing and would temporarily command Bureau 7’s Modu branch.
• Smith accused Yue Xiaofei of assisting Yue Feng and claimed the agreement gave him the right to take Yue Xiaofei to Eagle Country for questioning.
• Smith’s agents aimed their rifles at the group, and Smith ordered them to capture Yue Xiaofei and shoot anyone who resisted.

[Man-Rat] alerted Zhang Beihai that Elder Xu was facing armed Eagle Country agents at the Modu branch cemetery, prompting Zhang to call for help. As Smith threatened to kill everyone unless they surrendered Yue Xiaofei, Elder Xu invoked the Dragon Kingdom’s past victory over Eagle Country and vowed to bury the agents in the cemetery.

• [Man-Rat] spotted Smith’s armed agents aiming at Elder Xu and Yue Xiaofei, then urgently contacted Zhang Beihai.
• Zhang Beihai learned that Hou Liangbing had colluded with Smith and called Xu Sanjiang for help.
• Liu Gang and the Bureau 7 agents stood their ground and aimed their weapons at Smith’s men despite being outnumbered.
• Smith identified himself as an Eagle Country special commissioner and demanded that Elder Xu surrender Yue Xiaofei, threatening to kill everyone if they resisted.
• Elder Xu recalled defeating Eagle Country’s forces in Goryeo and declared that he could bury Smith and his agents at the cemetery.

Elder Xu confronted Smith’s contempt for the Dragon Kingdom by recounting its five-thousand-year history and declaring that it would endure after Eagle Country faded. The agents were left inspired by his words as he proclaimed the Dragon Kingdom undying.

• Elder Xu revealed his past fighting in Goryeo, and the Bureau 7 agents grew proud and reverent.
• Smith erupted in anger and boasted of Eagle Country’s military and cultural dominance, insulting the Dragon Kingdom.
• Jin Dapao tried to attack Smith, but Yue Xiaofei held him back.
• Elder Xu compared the Dragon Kingdom’s ancient civilization with those of other historic powers and said Eagle Country was only another newcomer.
• Elder Xu declared that Eagle Country would become dust while the Dragon Kingdom would stand undying.

Elder Xu humiliated Smith at the Martyrs' Cemetery, where Smith ordered his subordinate to identify him within three minutes. After learning that armed Eagle Country agents had surrounded his father, Xu Sanjiang set out to confront them, with Dragon Kingdom's top military leaders gathered nearby.

• Elder Xu challenged Smith's intelligence and dismissed his claims, leaving Smith furious and uncertain of the old man's identity.
• Smith ordered a subordinate to use the Eagle Country Secret Service's highest clearance to investigate Elder Xu within three minutes.
• At Jade Spring Mountain, Xu Sanjiang learned from Zhang Beihai that his father was safe in Modu but surrounded by Smith and over fifty armed agents.
• Xu Sanjiang became enraged when he heard that the agents were pointing guns at his father's head.
• Xu Sanjiang told Zhang Beihai to stay out of it, then left to speak with the three top leaders of the Dragon Kingdom's Military Headquarters.

After Eagle Country Secret Service operatives took Xu Anbang hostage in Modu, the Dragon Kingdom issued a Supreme Military Command ordering a citywide blockade and an immediate rescue. Xu Sihai and Xu Jingtao rushed toward the cemetery as the Dongfeng Carrier group prepared to return and launch an assault.

• Military Headquarters issued a Supreme Military Command declaring Modu a military control zone and ordering forces to rescue Xu Anbang at any cost.
• Generals across the Dragon Kingdom confirmed the hostage report and ordered troops, aircraft, and ships into combat readiness.
• Xu Sihai and Xu Jingtao raced toward the Bureau 7 Martyrs' Cemetery, and Xu Sihai warned that the hostage-taking was part of a planned conspiracy.
• Xu Jingtao ordered the Dongfeng Carrier battle group to return to Modu, arm its weapons, and prepare the Eastern Sword Marines for an airborne assault.

Wang Hongtao learned that Xu Anbang had been taken hostage by Eagle Country's Secret Service at Modu's Martyrs' Cemetery and mobilized city forces to respond. Xiao Tian Ce ordered the Eastern Frontier Theater to First-Level Combat Readiness and prepared its million soldiers for battle.

• Xiao Zhang showed Wang Hongtao a Supreme Military Command message reporting Xu Anbang's hostage-taking at the cemetery.
• Wang Hongtao ordered Modu's police and SWAT forces to deploy, seal the roads, and request emergency support from the garrison.
• Xiao Tian Ce addressed the Eastern Frontier command center and declared the hostage-taking an affront to the Dragon Kingdom.
• Xiao Tian Ce ordered all Eastern Frontier forces into First-Level Combat Readiness and directed the army, air force, and navy to mobilize.

The Dragon Kingdom mobilized its Eastern Frontier forces after Yue Xiaofei was threatened, while Skull and Bones debated whether to abandon its attempt to capture him. The council’s supreme Overlord rejected withdrawal and ordered the Ninth Fleet to sortie, escalating the confrontation.

• Xiao Tian Ce issued the Supreme Military Command as officers and soldiers vowed to avenge the insult to Yue Xiaofei.
• The Eastern Frontier Theater mobilized tanks, aircraft, and a carrier battle group toward Modu, alarming residents who watched the forces pass.
• The Twelve Thrones Council learned that the Dragon Kingdom had entered first-level combat readiness and discussed withdrawing Smith to protect the Adam Project.
• [Eye of Omniscience] declared Yue Xiaofei the last [Key] to restarting the Adam Project and refused to abandon the capture attempt.
• [Eye of Omniscience] ordered the lawmakers to be reminded who controlled them and commanded the Ninth Fleet to sortie.

Elder Xu humiliated Eagle Country agent Smith by recalling the defeat of the 1st Marine Division, while Smith’s subordinate struggled to uncover the old man’s identity. Yue Xiaofei wondered who Elder Xu truly was before the agent finally announced that he had found out.

• A fleet commander received an urgent alert and ordered his warships toward Modu.
• Eagle Country agents kept Bureau 7 and Yue Xiaofei at gunpoint as one agent searched for Elder Xu’s identity.
• Smith’s agent failed to break through Dragon Kingdom’s security and found Elder Xu’s records marked top secret.
• Elder Xu mocked Smith’s intelligence work and recalled how his predecessors had been routed in Goryeo.
• Yue Xiaofei remembered Elder Xu’s past displays of authority and wondered who he really was.
• The investigating agent shouted that he had discovered Elder Xu’s identity.

A technical agent identified Elder Xu as the legendary Dragon Kingdom commander [Silver Fox], who had defeated Smith's grandfather at the Chosin Reservoir. Elder Xu recalled how Smith's grandfather surrendered and betrayed his own forces, leaving Smith furious and humiliated.

• Smith ordered his agent to reveal what he had discovered about Elder Xu.
• The agent found in Eagle Country's Sealed Archives that Elder Xu was [Silver Fox], a feared Dragon Kingdom army commander.
• The agent revealed that [Silver Fox] had defeated the 1st Marine Division, commanded by Smith's grandfather, General Barton Smith, also known as [Old Hound].
• Smith remembered his grandfather's nightmares, disgrace, and demotion after the war, and realized Elder Xu had been responsible.
• Elder Xu mocked Smith's grandfather, recounting how he wet himself, surrendered, and revealed supply depots and retreat routes.

Elder Xu confronted Smith over his grandfather’s defeat, but Smith drew his gun and threatened to kill him. Hou Liangbing chose to side with Smith for the promise of power, and the chapter ended as an furious voice demanded that he stop.

• Elder Xu denounced Smith’s grandfather as a defeated enemy and declared the Dragon Kingdom’s resolve to defend its homeland.
• Smith drew his Desert Eagle and aimed it at Elder Xu, while Yue Xiaofei shielded the old man and Bureau 7 agents raised their guns.
• Elder Xu gave Hou Liangbing one last chance to arrest Smith, but Hou Liangbing weighed his prospects and chose to stand beside Smith.
• Elder Xu declared Hou Liangbing an enemy of the Dragon Kingdom, and Hou mocked him as Smith prepared to shoot.
• Engines roared outside the cemetery, and an angry voice shouted for Hou Liangbing to stop.