Recaps

Song Ning discovered that Dr. Zhang had been poisoning Lu Changqing to keep him comatose, then asked Lei Ming to discreetly investigate Lin Xiaoming. As they returned to the Observation Room, they learned Tang Wei had awakened and was out of danger.

• Song Ning identified Lu Changqing as one of Dr. Zhang's patients and concluded that the poison was meant to keep him in a deep coma rather than kill him.
• Lei Ming ordered Dr. Zhang questioned, the medications analyzed, and the poison from the stairwell collected to help find an antidote for Lu Changqing.
• Song Ning asked Lei Ming to investigate Lin Xiaoming discreetly, and he agreed to look into him.
• A nurse told Song Ning that Tang Wei had awakened, and Song Ning checked his responses and medical readings.
• Tang Wei asked Song Ning not to slap him the next time they met, and Song Ning announced that his life was no longer in danger before leaving the Observation Room.

After Tang Wei recovered from surgery, Song Ning returned to Qingbei and learned that the murders and kidnappings had been organized by Yi Gang to disrupt factory production. She reunited with Mike and asked whether Carl had caught another killer, leaving Cheng Hui’s case unresolved.

• Song Ning confirmed that Tang Wei was out of danger, handed over his care, and prepared to return to the Qingbei research project.
• Song Ning and Jiang Chengshi saw Chen Liang speaking with Tan Min, then Chen Liang drove Song Ning to Qingbei and briefed her on the investigation.
• Chen Liang reported that Yi Gang had organized the murders and kidnappings targeting factory chief engineers, while the identity and role of the suspected 'Buddha Lord' remained uncertain.
• Song Ning concluded that 'Buddha Lord' might lead 'K' or that 'K' had always belonged to 'Ghost'.
• At Qingbei, Song Ning greeted Mike and asked whether Carl had caught another killer in Cheng Hui's case.

Mike told Song Ning that Cheng Hui had been framed by a Ghost operative who died after confessing that “Voss chose her,” while the organization remained beyond the police’s reach. Song Ning accelerated the research schedule, then arranged to review Elder Zhou’s CT scans at Xiehe Hospital before returning home, where she found an unexpected visitor at the courtyard entrance.

• Mike told Song Ning that Kurt had survived another assassination attempt and police had caught a disguised attacker trying to kill him in the hospital.
• Mike said the attacker confessed to framing Cheng Hui and shooting Kurt, then died by poison after saying, “Voss chose her! So she had to die!”
• Song Ning and Mike reviewed the research progress, and Song Ning moved the schedule forward while Mike urged her to rest after her accident and surgery.
• Song Ning arranged with Zhou Yuanhang to examine Elder Zhou’s CT scans at Xiehe Hospital at four that afternoon.
• Chen Liang offered to arrange transportation for Song Ning’s hospital visit, and she agreed to be cautious.
• Song Ning arrived at the Siheyuan Courtyard and saw an unexpected visitor about to knock at the entrance.

Song Ning confronted Song Wang over neglecting his distillery work after Wu Tao Ying hurt him, then learned Song Lan was being questioned over an incident at Fuwai Hospital. Zhou Yuanhang arrived early to take Song Ning to Xiehe Hospital, and an unexplained sense of unease followed her as they walked through a quiet alley.

• Zheng Chunzhi told Song Ning that Song Wang had missed two days of work while the distillery's second batch was brewing, and Song Ning found him devastated over Wu Tao Ying.
• Song Ning urged Song Wang to value himself, take responsibility for his job, and return to the factory; he left with Zheng Chunzhi.
• Song Mei worried that Song Lan had not returned, and Song Ning explained that staff at Fuwai Hospital were being questioned about an incident there.
• Zhou Yuanhang told Song Ning that Xiehe Hospital wanted her to interpret CT scans, so she went with him before her planned meeting with Chen Liang.
• As Song Ning and Zhou Yuanhang walked through a quiet alley toward the bus stop, Song Ning felt a powerful sense of unease.

Song Ning and Zhou Yuanhang were kidnapped and questioned by men seeking something connected to the Zhou Family. Song Ning remained trapped in a sack as the men resumed beating Zhou Yuanhang.

• Several men ambushed Song Ning and Zhou Yuanhang in an alley, knocked them unconscious, and took them away in sacks.
• Song Ning woke in a locked room and recognized Zhou Yuanhang's voice as the men next door beat and questioned him about something they wanted.
• Song Ning suspected the kidnappers were searching for the same item connected to Zhou Xiaotang's earlier kidnapping and Zhou Weide's classified documents.
• The kidnappers entered Song Ning's room and demanded that she hand over something belonging to the Zhou Family, threatening Zhou Yuanhang and a Zhou in the hospital.
• Song Ning denied knowing anything and offered to help them search, but the men left and went back to beating Zhou Yuanhang.

Song Ning and Zhou Yuanhang were kidnapped by people seeking something left behind by Zhou Yuanhang’s paternal cousin. The kidnappers released Song Ning with three days to find it, and she reached the police station, where Chen Liang, Han Xiao, Lei Ming, and Dong Yuan arrived.

• Zhou Yuanhang told Song Ning that his captors wanted something his paternal cousin had left behind and offered to claim she could retrieve it so they would let her go.
• Zhou Yuanhang passed out, and the kidnappers dragged him away to have someone check his injuries.
• The kidnappers left Song Ning by the roadside and gave her three days to find the item, threatening to kill Zhou Yuanhang if she failed.
• Song Ning escaped the sack, realized she had been left near her Siheyuan Courtyard, and went to the Xiangyang Police Station instead of going home.
• Chen Liang, Han Xiao, Lei Ming, and Dong Yuan arrived, and Song Ning told them she thought someone wanted to use her to find something.

After Song Ning returned from being abducted with Zhou Yuanhang, she explained why she believed their kidnappers thought she could help them find something connected to Chief Engineer Zhou. The search for Zhou Yuanhang continued as Lei Ming ordered protection for Zhou Xiaotang and her mother, then examined the painting Song Ning had received, but the group found nothing unusual.

• Song Ning described where she had been abducted and returned, prompting Lei Ming to order a neighborhood search and narrow the hunt for the kidnappers' hideout.
• Song Ning reasoned that the kidnappers had deliberately taken her because they believed she was connected to the thing they sought through her earlier visit to Zhou Xiaotang.
• Song Ning recalled that Zhou Xiaotang had given her an oil painting, and Lei Ming ordered Dong Yuan to send people to protect Zhou Xiaotang and her mother in their hometown.
• Lei Ming, Chen Liang, and Han Xiao accompanied Song Ning to inspect the painting, but none of them found anything unusual.

Song Ning told Lei Ming she suspected the people who kidnapped her were using her to find something, though she wondered whether Zhou Yuanhang was involved. Lei Ming reassured her that Zhou Yuanhang had no reason to betray his family, and Song Ning ended the night still pondering the mysteries surrounding the dying elderly comrade.

• Song Ning asked Lei Ming whether Zhou Yuanhang could be involved because he knew about her visit to the Zhou family, but Lei Ming said the Zhou family were sworn enemies of Ghost.
• Song Ning explained that her kidnapping seemed staged and that the organization might know her abilities and want her help finding something hidden.
• Lei Ming told Song Ning that Lin Xiaoming's military records and family background showed nothing suspicious.
• Lei Ming praised Song Ning, and she tearfully recalled that he had once put a bow on the stick he used to punish her.
• Song Wang, Song Lan, and Song Mei entered after hearing Song Ning cry, and Lei Ming left after they assured themselves she was all right.
• Song Ning stayed awake wondering why the elderly comrade had insisted on seeing her and whether his final word had been “sweet” or “field.”

Song Ning reassured her family and arranged for Song Lan and Song Mei to make medicinal pills from her formulas. Jiang Chengshi then took her to the Military Hospital, where specialists were waiting to discuss Elder Zhou’s CT scans, and Song Ning realized their main concern might be something other than how to read them.

• Song Ning found Song Wang, Song Lan, and Song Mei waiting at home because they were worried about her, then reassured them and asked about their work.
• Song Lan told Song Ning that Fuwai Hospital might remain closed after an investigation, and Song Mei offered to help her find work at the herbal medicine shop.
• Song Ning gave Song Lan and Song Mei two formulas and money, asking them to prepare the pills carefully in exchange for a chance at better jobs.
• Jiang Chengshi arrived and took Song Ning to the Military Hospital, where specialists were waiting after learning she had performed Tang Wei’s difficult operation and could read CT scans.
• Jiang Chengshi explained that President Peng and specialists from several hospitals wanted Song Ning to examine Elder Zhou’s scans, and Song Ning questioned whether reading them was really the main issue.

Song Ning attended a Military Hospital consultation about Elder Zhou’s worsening condition and learned that surgery to remove the shrapnel in his back was unavoidable. After the specialists praised her skills and urged her to perform the operation, she realized someone had arranged the meeting to leave her little choice but to accept.

• Jiang Chengshi warned Song Ning to be cautious before they entered the Military Hospital’s consultation.
• President Peng introduced Song Ning and praised her achievements, but Song Ning interrupted his speech and asked the specialists to examine Elder Zhou’s scans.
• Song Ning explained the CT scans, which showed that the shrapnel and surrounding lesions threatened Elder Zhou’s spinal nerves and required surgery.
• The specialists discussed the operation’s severe risks, including paralysis, hemorrhage, infection, and failure to heal, and concluded that it had to be done.
• Several specialists recommended that Song Ning perform the operation, and Song Ning realized someone had deliberately engineered the situation.

Song Ning considered the pressure surrounding Elder Zhou’s dangerous surgery and remained confident she could perform it, though she wanted to consult Lao Qi before committing. After the meeting ended, President Peng called her over to discuss a matter concerning her.

• President Peng argued that the doctors should wait to examine Elder Zhou and consult his family before choosing a lead surgeon, and the meeting ended with plans for another consultation.
• Tan Min told Song Ning she had publicized her achievements for President Peng, and Song Ning and Jiang Chengshi wondered whether Tan Min had meant to cause trouble.
• Song Ning told Jiang Chengshi she was confident about Elder Zhou’s surgery but needed to discuss it with Lao Qi and would not agree too quickly.
• President Peng beckoned Song Ning over, saying he needed to discuss something concerning her in person.

Song Ning arranged to take a strict physician-qualification theory exam and reviewed for it while investigators searched for the mysterious item connected to Zhou Yuanhang. The chapter ended with Han Xiao reporting that Zhou Xiaotang and her mother had gone missing.

• Principal Li scheduled Song Ning's theory exam for the morning after tomorrow, with strict standards and Military District leaders supervising.
• Song Ning returned to the Siheyuan Courtyard to study and waited for news about Zhou Yuanhang while investigators searched for the mysterious item.
• Han Xiao told Song Ning that he and Chen Liang had searched the Zhou family home and the Guo'an Machinery Factory but found nothing.
• Han Xiao reported that Zhou Xiaotang and her mother had gone missing, and Song Ning asked whether they had been abducted.

Song Ning and Han Xiao discussed the missing Zhou family members before Song Lan and Song Mei returned home with herbs. Chen Liang then took Song Ning and Han Xiao to examine the awakened Lu Changqing, who became unresponsive after speaking briefly with Military District personnel.

• Song Ning reasoned that Zhou Yuanhang's mother and sister had fled because they knew something that could implicate them, while Han Xiao agreed to take turns guarding her with Chen Liang.
• Han Xiao questioned why Song Ning had reported Zhou Yuanhang's kidnapping immediately, and she said the K organization was beyond what she could handle alone and was unlikely to harm him before finding what it wanted.
• Song Lan and Song Mei returned to the courtyard with herbs, mistook Han Xiao's sudden appearance for a threat, and Song Ning reassured them that he was there to protect them.
• Chen Liang told Song Ning and Han Xiao that Lu Changqing had awakened, and Song Ning agreed to examine him at the Military District General Hospital.
• At the hospital, Song Ning found Lu Changqing's test results normal and learned he had become unresponsive after speaking briefly with Military District personnel; she checked his pulse and called to him.

Song Ning confirmed that Lu Changqing’s poisoning had been cleared but suspected he was choosing not to wake until Gu Zheng returned. After leaving the hospital, she spotted Lin Xiaoming hurrying inside and went back to find out what remained unresolved.

• Song Ning told Han Xiao and the doctors that Lu Changqing’s pulse and test results were normal, but advised them to continue monitoring him and the detoxification regimen.
• Song Ning refused to use acupuncture on Lu Changqing because she suspected he might be waiting to see Gu Zheng before waking.
• Song Ning paid Kong Jianming 120 yuan for completing his assignment and warned him he would have to handle Wu Tao Ying if she pursued Song Wang again.
• Wu Tao Ying asked Song Ning to tell Song Wang that she had sincerely wanted to be with him, and Song Ning calmly agreed.
• Song Ning spotted Lin Xiaoming entering the hospital and left Han Xiao’s car to follow him.

Song Ning and Han Xiao followed Lin Xiaoming to Zhou Yunzhi's ward, where they found him comforting her mother, Tian Juying. After learning that Zhou Yunzhi remained unconscious and the attack investigation had yielded no leads, they encountered Wu Tao Ying, who recognized Lin Xiaoming from the Red Star Auditorium.

• Song Ning saw Lin Xiaoming's elevator reach the seventh floor, and Han Xiao joined her in going to Zhou Yunzhi's ward.
• Lin Xiaoming explained that he had come to visit Zhou Yunzhi, and Song Ning checked her pulse before confirming that her condition had not improved.
• Han Xiao asked Lin Xiaoming about the investigation into Zhou Yunzhi's attack, and Lin Xiaoming said the troupe, Public Security, and the Military District had found no useful leads.
• Song Ning, Han Xiao, and Lin Xiaoming left the ward together, and the elevator stopped at the fifth floor to pick up Wu Tao Ying.
• Wu Tao Ying recognized Lin Xiaoming as the man who had helped her at the Red Star Auditorium, and Lin Xiaoming joked that they must be meant to meet.

Song Ning persuaded Han Xiao to help secretly awaken Zhou Yunzhi so they could learn who had tried to kill her, while keeping the plan from Tian Juying. After a quiet day of exam preparation, Song Wang reported that Wu Tao Ying’s home had burned down, and Song Ning asked whether anyone was hurt.

• Song Ning explained why Lin Xiaoming’s repeated presence at key incidents made him suspicious, and Han Xiao agreed to help investigate him.
• Song Ning told Han Xiao that Zhou Yunzhi might wake if she received secret acupuncture, and they planned to begin after Song Ning’s exams while keeping the treatment from Tian Juying.
• Han Xiao asked Song Lan for more Bone-Binding Lure so Song Ning and Gu Zheng could take it, but Song Lan struck him with a basket and accused him of trying to drug Song Ning.
• Song Ning studied while Song Lan prepared herbs and Han Xiao guarded the courtyard.
• Song Wang reported that Wu Tao Ying’s home had caught fire the previous night, and Song Ning asked whether Wu Tao Ying and her family had been hurt.

After learning that the Wu family’s house burned down and Wu Tao Ying’s grandmother died, Song Ning suspected the fire was meant to silence Wu Tao Ying over something she had witnessed at the Red Star Auditorium. She and Han Xiao tried to question Wu Tao Ying, but she refused to cooperate, and they left without answers.

• Song Wang explained that Wu Tao Ying’s fight with her brother had taken her family to the hospital, sparing five relatives from the fire that destroyed their home and killed her grandmother.
• Song Ning and Han Xiao learned that the displaced Wu family was staying temporarily in a guesthouse, and Song Ning suspected the fire was connected to Wu Tao Ying recognizing Lin Xiaoming at the Red Star Auditorium.
• Han Xiao questioned Wu Tao Ying about anything unusual she had seen at the auditorium, but she accused him and Song Ning of bullying her and refused to answer.
• Wu Tao Ying’s family came out to defend her, so Song Ning and Han Xiao left without learning what she had witnessed.

Song Ning finished her exams and arranged for Jiang Chengshi to watch for Fuwai Hospital's reorganization while she went to Qingbei. She learned Gu Zheng had pursued Buddha Lord alone and was missing, then recruited Kong Jianming to investigate what Wu Tao Ying had seen at the Red Star Auditorium.

• Chen Liang told Song Ning that Gu Zheng's forces had captured the gang's members, but reinforcements had rescued Buddha Lord, whom Gu Zheng pursued alone.
• Han Xiao learned Gu Zheng was out of contact and agreed to go with Chen Liang to help Yang Qi search for him, keeping the news from Song Ning.
• Song Ning completed her exams, reassured Jiang Chengshi about her results, and asked him to watch for Fuwai Hospital's reorganization.
• Song Ning spotted Kong Jianming being beaten in an alley, and Han Xiao drove off his attackers.
• Song Ning asked Kong Jianming to find Wu Tao Ying and learn what she had seen at the Red Star Auditorium performance.

Song Ning prepared her research team for Elder Zhou’s possible surgery and agreed to join Han Xiao and Chen Liang on their mission to find their missing boss. Before leaving, she set up a medicine room and asked the Meilan Sisters to secure the courtyard while she was away.

• Song Ning told Kong Jianming to find Wu Tao Ying and learn what she had seen at the Red Star Auditorium, promising to handle the illegal lenders’ interest demands.
• Song Ning discussed the project’s next stages with Mike, updated Lao Qi about Zhou Yuanhang, and asked Lao Qi to assist if she operated on Elder Zhou; Lao Qi agreed.
• Han Xiao reported that the police planned a joint crackdown on the student loan-sharking gang, then called Song Ning their future sister-in-law.
• Song Ning deduced that Gu Zheng had lost contact and that Han Xiao and Chen Liang were preparing to find their boss, and she insisted on joining their mission.
• Song Ning gave the Meilan Sisters a rear-courtyard room for making medicine, provided money for supplies, and told them to keep outsiders—including Song Wang—out of the courtyard while she was away.

Song Ning traveled with Han Xiao, Xiong Gang, and Chen Liang to a new mission while learning more about the weapons and chemical agents recovered from the Jin City Base. Zheng Zhenguo’s account and Li Zekun’s notebook deepened the mystery of what the K organization was seeking, and the group headed toward a potentially dangerous destination.

• Song Lan and Song Mei accepted Song Ning’s assignment to keep anyone from moving into the courtyard.
• Han Xiao explained how Wu Tao Ying had fallen through a concealed delivery hatch in the hospital basement.
• Xiong Gang reported that investigators had recovered weapons, explosives, and toxic chemical agents from the Jin City Base.
• Xiong Gang said Zheng Zhenguo and other captured engineers had been questioned about an unidentified thing, which Song Ning connected to the abduction of Zhou Yuanhang.
• Han Xiao explained that Li Zekun’s notebook exposed the K organization’s infiltration of Factory 282 and that carbon fiber samples were not the thing they sought.
• As the Jeep left Capital City, Chen Liang warned Song Ning to rest because they might have to fight when they arrived.

Song Ning and her team reached Tangshan to reinforce Gu Zheng’s pursuit of Buddha Lord, whose group was believed to be hiding in a collapsed sulfur mine. Zhang Ming explained the underground mine’s maze-like, earthquake-damaged tunnels, and Song Ning warned that toxic sulfur dioxide made the search especially dangerous.

• Song Ning received a pistol and ammunition under Regiment Commander Lei’s orders before she and the others traveled from the base into Tangshan’s earthquake ruins.
• The team learned how Gu Zheng had trapped Buddha Lord’s group in the ruins, only for masked intruders to force Buddha Lord’s release by threatening a pregnant woman.
• Chen Liang led the three Jeeps to the northern suburbs, where Zhang Ming identified the team and took them to their temporary base.
• Zhang Ming explained that the group was hiding in a collapsed sulfur mine with deep, maze-like tunnels damaged by the earthquake.
• Song Ning warned that sulfur dioxide in the mine was toxic and could cause explosions, putting anyone who stayed underground too long at risk.

Song Ning and Chen Liang led a six-person rescue team into the abandoned mine to search for Gu Zheng and Yang Qi’s men. On the fourth basement level, Song Ning suspected the missing men had found an overlooked escape route.

• Chen Liang learned that Gu Zheng had been underground for eighteen hours and Yang Qi for thirteen, then formed a six-person search team with Han Xiao, Xiong Gang, and Song Ning.
• Song Ning asked Zhang Ming to contact Regiment Commander Lei and investigate Lin Xiaoming’s whereabouts.
• The team descended through the mine to the fourth basement level, where poisonous gas grew stronger and the men had lost track of Gu Zheng.
• A guard told Chen Liang that Yang Qi had led his men farther down while searching for Gu Zheng, but they had found no trace of him.
• Song Ning reasoned that the men were unlikely to risk descending farther without breathing equipment and searched the fourth level for an overlooked escape door.

Song Ning retraced the spot where Yang Qi lost Gu Zheng and searched the rubble for clues. She found a collapsed mine shaft that could not have served as an escape route, but remained convinced Gu Zheng had vanished nearby and kept examining the area.

• Yang Qi's soldier showed Song Ning, Xiong Gang, and Chen Liang's team where Gu Zheng and the fugitives had disappeared from sight.
• Song Ning split the search party into two groups to slowly retrace the area and look for overlooked clues.
• Xiong Gang found a gap in the rubble and searched it, but reported that it was blocked except for a damaged mine shaft.
• Song Ning inspected the shaft and saw that its lift cage and passage were ruined, ruling it out as the fugitives' escape route.
• Han Xiao urged them to continue searching, but Song Ning stayed behind, wondering why Gu Zheng had disappeared so suddenly.

Song Ning discovered a hidden passage in the mine shaft and reasoned that it was an emergency escape route. Xiong Gang entered to investigate, but he had not returned after five minutes.

• Song Ning noticed that the shaft walls were unusually intact and asked Xiong Gang to dislodge the lift cage.
• After Xiong Gang kicked the cage down the shaft, Song Ning and Han Xiao spotted a round metal cover hiding an opening in the wall.
• Han Xiao pushed the cover aside, revealing the passage, and Song Ning explained that the mine workers had built escape routes at intervals along the shaft.
• Xiong Gang crossed a plank and crawled into the passage, finding handholds before the cover swung shut behind him.
• Song Ning suggested Gu Zheng had left the cage positioned to draw attention to the hidden entrance, then noticed that Xiong Gang had been gone for five minutes.

Song Ning followed Xiong Gang and Han Xiao into the emergency passage and discovered a steep, water-filled chute that carried her into the darkness. Meanwhile, the Wu family decided to seek shelter from Song Wang, while Kong Jianming failed to find Wu Tao Ying at the Guesthouse.

• Han Xiao entered the emergency passage after Xiong Gang, cried out, and then fell silent.
• Song Ning crawled inside to look for the two men, but the passage sealed behind her and dropped her onto a steep chute.
• Song Ning slid down the wet chute, unable to see where it led.
• Kong Jianming went to the Guesthouse to find Wu Tao Ying, learned the Wu family had to leave the next day, and returned to school.
• The Wu family panicked over their lack of shelter, and Mother Wu and the eldest Wu son persuaded them to ask Song Wang for help.