Chapter Summaries

Song Ning found clues that Baomei and Lan Ying had left Fishing Village by boat, possibly after someone was injured, and led a search north along the coast. The search ended when the group spotted a person floating among the reef rocks.

• Song Ning questioned Ahui and learned that Baomei and Lan Ying had been well when Ahui last saw them.
• Song Ning found fresh bloodstained gauze behind a reef rock, and Ahui discovered that the household’s medicine box was missing.
• Song Ning realized Lan Ying’s bag was gone and learned that Huang Ali’s old boat had also disappeared.
• Song Ning concluded that the girls might have gone to Xiaohe Village and organized a search along the coast.
• Song Ning’s group spotted a person floating among the reef rocks and stopped the boat.

Song Ning resuscitated Baomei after finding her unconscious in the water, and Baomei revealed that a wounded man had strangled her after she and Lan Ying tried to help him. With Baomei sent to the hospital, Song Ning, Chen Liang, Han Xiao, and Huang Ali headed for Xiaohe Village to find Lan Ying and the attacker.

• Chen Liang carried Baomei from the rocks, and Song Ning performed CPR until the girl coughed and regained a weak heartbeat.
• Song Ning treated Baomei and wrapped her in a jacket, and Baomei later woke and reunited with Huang Ali.
• Baomei explained that Lan Ying had asked her to help transport a wounded man, who grabbed her by the neck and pushed her into the water.
• Baomei urged Song Ning to rescue Lan Ying, while Chen Liang arranged for servicemen to take Baomei to the hospital.
• Huang Ali offered to help pursue the attacker, and he took Song Ning, Chen Liang, and Han Xiao by boat toward Xiaohe Village.

Song Ning and Han Xiao searched Xiaohe Village for the wounded fugitive and discovered that Uncle Gen was likely being forced to shelter him. They left Uncle Gen’s home after he refused Song Ning’s offer of help, suspecting that the fugitive was using his grandson as a hostage.

• Song Ning reasoned that the fugitive and Lan Ying might be hiding in Xiaohe Village, while Han Xiao urged everyone to wait for authorities and avoid alerting him.
• Huang Ali asked villagers for news and learned that Uncle Gen was the only local with knowledge of traditional medicine and had not appeared at the shop that day.
• Song Ning, Han Xiao, and Huang Ali went to Uncle Gen’s home, where he angrily tried to drive them away.
• Song Ning offered Uncle Gen money and passed him a note asking whether he needed help, but he rejected the offer and shut the gate.
• Song Ning inferred that the fugitive was holding Uncle Gen’s young grandson hostage, and Han Xiao suspected the fugitive had contacted accomplices.

Song Ning and the others arrested four fugitives and rescued Uncle Gen’s grandson, but Lan Ying and the man she rescued remained missing. At the county hospital, Baomei recounted how Lan Ying had asked about borrowing a boat, giving Song Ning a new clue.

• Song Ning waited anxiously while Han Xiao and Chen Liang gathered information and reinforcements arrived to search Uncle Gen’s house.
• Yang Qi’s team captured two injured men hiding in the house, then arrested two more and rescued Uncle Gen’s grandson from outside the village.
• The fugitives said they did not know Lan Ying, and Song Ning realized the man Lan Ying had rescued was still unaccounted for.
• Song Ning and Huang Ali visited Baomei at the county hospital, where Song Ning asked her to describe the morning’s events.
• Baomei said Lan Ying had rescued a badly injured man and asked whether her family had another boat.

After hearing Baomei describe how Lan Ying and an injured man attacked her, Song Ning investigated Yutoubao and found evidence that the man had signaled accomplices. The story leaves Lan Ying waiting to enter Ping Tan Island, delighted that the injured man trusted her with something important.

• Baomei told Song Ning that the injured man grabbed her by the throat after Lan Ying brought him aboard, and Song Ning promised to find those responsible.
• Song Ning paid Huang Ali for his help and asked him to take her, Chen Liang, and Han Xiao to Yutoubao.
• Han Xiao found bird droppings, firewood, and fresh ashes from clothing on the reef, and Song Ning concluded that the man had used a fire to signal accomplices.
• Song Ning and the others considered which of the surrounding islands might have received the signal.
• Lan Ying joined the long line of fishermen waiting to enter Ping Tan Island and thought happily about the man's trust in her.

Lan Ying reached Ping Tan Island using borrowed papers, while Song Ning and the others followed after learning A Pu had fled there with plans and local support. Gu Zheng tightened security and ordered the Second Plan as a sudden factory holiday cleared the Fuqing Agricultural Machinery Factory.

• Lan Ying passed the checkpoint by claiming to be Zhang Afen and headed toward the Mazu Temple, following people carrying incense.
• Song Ning explained that A Pu had used Yutoubao to send a smoke signal and might exploit Lan Ying, then reached Ping Tan Island with Chen Liang and Han Xiao.
• Chen Liang reported A Pu's likely plans to Gu Zheng, who repositioned the island's sentries and ordered Comrade 016 to implement the Second Plan.
• The Fuqing Agricultural Machinery Factory director announced an unexpected half-day holiday after receiving a call about a technical conference in Fuzhou.
• The factory workers left, and the gatekeeper locked the gates before going home.

Song Ning, Han Xiao, and Chen Liang visited Mazu Temple while watching for A Pu’s disguised men. Song Ning noticed that every hall had an unlit candle whose wick had never been lit, and she left wondering whether the repeated pattern was a coincidence.

• Song Ning refused to approach Gu Zheng because she thought A Pu might have a scheme and could send disguised men onto the island.
• Song Ning suggested that they follow the fishermen to Mazu Temple, hoping her lucky koi trait would lead them to something useful.
• Song Ning and the two men followed the worshippers through the temple and noticed an unlit candle in each of the first halls.
• Han Xiao checked one candle and found its wick white, showing that it had never been lit.
• Song Ning found another unlit candle in the Dragon Kings’ hall and questioned whether every hall having one was really a coincidence.

Song Ning discovered that the Mazu Temple backed onto the island’s agricultural machinery factory, which might conceal Hua Country’s secret research base. As she investigated suspicious unlit candles, Lan Ying followed the instructions of the injured man who had manipulated her into helping him, and Song Ning began to suspect the candles’ purpose.

• Song Ning, Han Xiao, and Chen Liang found a locked gate behind the temple, and Chen Liang used his identification to get it opened.
• Song Ning climbed the hill and realized the Fuqing County Agricultural Machinery Factory stood directly behind the Mazu Temple, possibly serving as cover for a secret research base.
• Lan Ying recalled how the injured man had won her trust with a kiss and persuaded her to pray for his family and Baomei while placing candles in every hall.
• Song Ning returned to the Dragon King Hall and confirmed that the suspicious candles remained unlit despite worshippers passing through the halls.
• Song Ning and the men arranged to watch the halls, while Song Ning wondered what purpose the unlit candles could serve.

Song Ning realized the candles in Mazu Temple were part of a chained bombing intended to destroy the Research Base, but she failed to stop the Main Hall candle from being lit and the first explosion killed worshippers and wrecked the temple. Han Xiao and Chen Liang evacuated the remaining explosive candles and searched for Song Ning, while the injured man behind the plot realized the rest of his planned explosions had not gone off.

• Song Ning recognized that the candles in the temple halls were connected and sent Han Xiao to remove those in the rear halls while she rushed to the Main Hall.
• Song Ning tried to stop Lan Ying from lighting an explosive candle, but it caught fire before she could intervene.
• Song Ning leaped into the Life-Release Pond as the Main Hall exploded, collapsing part of the Sleeping Hall and flooding the ruins with seawater.
• Han Xiao and Chen Liang handed the recovered candles to staff, warned that more explosives might remain, and ran to find Song Ning.
• The injured man on a distant island heard one explosion, waited in vain for more, and angrily blamed the woman he had persuaded to carry out the plan.

After an explosion destroyed Mazu Temple, Gu Zheng and Han Xiao feared Song Ning had been killed while rescuing people. Unbeknownst to them, Song Ning had survived and was being carried away by two conspirators as the island went into lockdown.

• Gu Zheng arrived at the ruined temple as soldiers evacuated worshippers and searched for explosives, while Chen Liang and Han Xiao worked silently in the water.
• Combat engineers found nearly twenty kilograms of explosives in the West Side Side Hall, and officials estimated that fifteen to twenty people might have died.
• A comrade told Gu Zheng that Song Ning was probably among the dead, and Gu Zheng ordered the temple grounds sealed while rescue teams searched the shore.
• Han Xiao told Gu Zheng he could not find Song Ning, and Gu Zheng insisted she would be all right.
• Song Ning, swept out to sea by the blast, overheard Gangzi and Xiazai discuss their mission and pretended to be unconscious so they would not know she had heard them.
• Gangzi and Xiazai carried Song Ning to their battered boat and claimed she was sick when they reached the naval blockade.

Song Ning let Gangzi and Xiazai take her to a K organization hideout island, pretending to be a frightened local while tracking their route. After the two men left, she stayed locked in a room and heard someone trying to smash the lock.

• Xiazai and Gangzi rowed Song Ning away from the blockade, and she pretended to wake up confused and afraid.
• Song Ning claimed to be Huang Azhen from Xiaowan Village and correctly named its chief, Huang Ali, easing Gangzi's suspicion.
• Gangzi and Xiazai brought Song Ning to an island where their men lived, then locked her in a room while they left by boat.
• Song Ning realized the island was only an underlings' base and that Third Master lived elsewhere nearby.
• A man tried to coax Song Ning out, but another warned him not to anger Gangzi by breaking the lock.
• Song Ning searched the room for a way out, then heard someone striking the door's padlock with a tool.

Song Ning escaped the fisherman guarding the island and began searching for a way to reach the Third Master. She made three columns of smoke as a distress signal, trusting that Gu Zheng would recognize it.

• Song Ning tricked the fisherman into leading her to a hidden cave, then knocked him unconscious and tied him up.
• Song Ning marked the cave and searched the island, concluding that the Third Master was likely on one of two nearby islands and that orders had been delivered by boat.
• Song Ning gathered kerosene-soaked sheets and clothes and followed the coast until she spotted Ping Tan Island.
• Song Ning collected firewood and bird droppings and made three columns of smoke to signal Gu Zheng.

Song Ning signaled Gu Zheng from Little Islet and hid in a cave while Gu Zheng identified the signal and led a rescue force toward her. Gu Zheng planned to land on the island himself as patrol boats prepared to encircle the nearby islands.

• Song Ning lit three smoky fires on Little Islet, then returned to a concealed cave to wait for rescue.
• After the explosion, Gu Zheng's teams arrested organization members and identified the Third Master as the coastal leader plotting to seize or destroy Ping Tan Island's research base.
• Gu Zheng saw smoke rising from Little Islet and ordered nearby patrol boats to approach after confirming a third column of smoke as Song Ning's signal.
• Gu Zheng ordered the sentry posts to prepare for combat and planned to land on Little Islet with Han Xiao while Chen Liang organized an encirclement and assault.
• Song Ning found the cave had no way through, checked that the unconscious man was alive, and waited near the entrance for the Third Master's men and Gu Zheng.

Song Ning hid in a cave while Gu Zheng’s people attacked the island, but the Third Master discovered her and forced her into a concealed underground safe house. There, she recognized him as A Pu and confronted him over Lan Ying’s death.

• Song Ning knocked out Awake Boy, hid him deep in the cave, and concealed herself when two men arrived.
• The cloaked Third Master opened a hidden floor entrance and caught Song Ning hiding nearby.
• At gunpoint, the Third Master forced Song Ning down into the underground chamber and sealed the entrance behind them.
• The Third Master revealed himself as A Pu and greeted Song Ning as his sister.
• Song Ning accused A Pu of tricking Lan Ying into giving her life, and A Pu denied having deceived her.

Song Ning confronted A Pu over Lan Ying’s death, but he used explosives and a hidden passage to take her from the safe house by speedboat. She discovered that White Wolf was aboard too, leaving her escape dependent on whether Gu Zheng would see through A Pu’s diversion.

• Song Ning accused A Pu of exploiting Lan Ying and causing her to commit crimes and die, but he threatened to detonate explosives if she attacked him.
• A Pu told Song Ning he liked her and promised to let her leave after a planned explosion drew nearby boats away.
• Song Ning ate and drank while waiting, then followed A Pu through a hidden passage to a speedboat as an explosion sounded to the northeast.
• A Pu revealed that his subordinate had been sent to divert attention, and Song Ning boarded the speedboat despite suspecting he might have another plan.
• White Wolf emerged aboard the boat, and A Pu identified him as Black Bear’s older brother, leaving Song Ning fearing his revenge and A Pu’s carefully prepared escape.

A Pu and White Wolf forced their way through the naval cordon by threatening to detonate explosives while holding Song Ning hostage. Song Ning’s attempt to escape was foiled, and the storm worsened as Gu Zheng’s boat fell farther behind.

• White Wolf cuffed Song Ning aboard the speedboat, then steered east before patrol boats blocked their route.
• A Pu ordered White Wolf northeast and used Song Ning and the explosives strapped to his waist to make Gu Zheng’s pursuers and the patrol boats stand down.
• White Wolf drove between two patrol boats and broke through the cordon with Song Ning still held captive.
• Song Ning planned to jump into the sea so Gu Zheng could stop the speedboat, but A Pu anticipated her move and had White Wolf cuff her to the seat.
• Rain and rising waves reduced visibility as Gu Zheng’s boat dwindled behind them, leaving Song Ning anxious that A Pu and White Wolf would escape.

Song Ning drove the speedboat into a Rogue Wave, gambling that the handcuffs would keep her aboard while it swept away A Pu and White Wolf. She survived the storm and was rescued by Gu Zheng, then fainted in his arms.

• Gu Zheng tracked Song Ning's speedboat while Han Xiao reported that an interception was on the way.
• White Wolf spotted a Rogue Wave and tried to steer the speedboat around it as A Pu clung to the railing.
• Song Ning kicked White Wolf away from the wheel, took control, and drove straight into the wave at full throttle.
• The Rogue Wave swept A Pu and White Wolf into the sea, while Song Ning stayed attached to the speedboat by her handcuffs and survived.
• Song Ning woke alone in the calm sea, realized she had won her gamble, and was rescued by Gu Zheng.
• Gu Zheng unlocked Song Ning's handcuff and carried her into his arms as she fainted.

Song Ning woke aboard a frigate after surviving the operation that led to the capture of A Pu and the K organization's Third Master. As Han Xiao explained the organization's origins and the investigation's progress, Song Ning learned that a wider cleanup remained ahead and found herself under the close protection of Han Xiao and Chen Liang.

• Song Ning woke in a ship's cabin with her wrist bandaged, and Chen Liang brought her food while Han Xiao checked on her.
• Han Xiao explained that Song Ning's actions had helped them capture A Pu and Qian Zelun, the K organization's Third Master and Second Master.
• Chen Liang revealed that the organization's original leader had been a foreign spy who killed himself, while his son A Pu and Qian Zelun later revived the group for revenge and profit.
• Han Xiao said seized documents exposed A Pu's background and mapped the organization's secret bases, leaving more arrests and cleanup work ahead.
• After eating, Song Ning went to the deck, where Han Xiao and Chen Liang told her the frigate was heading north and insisted on staying beside her for protection.

Song Ning reflected on Lan Ying’s death and explained why she had risked herself at sea, while Han Xiao and Chen Liang tried to reassure her. After recovering her luggage and reaching Shanghai City, she checked into the Jinjiang Hotel ahead of the Germany-bound purchasing delegation and was greeted by Director Sun; an unexpected visitor appeared at her door.

• Song Ning apologized for acting recklessly and admitted she felt anger, guilt, and regret over Lan Ying’s death, but said she would not regret trying to survive and catch the person responsible.
• Chen Liang told Song Ning she had been right to save Lan Ying and was not to blame for Lan Ying’s choices; the three watched the sea together until the ship’s doctor came to change Song Ning’s dressing.
• Song Ning asked Han Xiao and Chen Liang who had changed her clothes, and the two men fled without answering.
• Han Xiao brought Song Ning’s recovered backpack and luggage, explaining that Gu Zheng had arranged to retrieve them and replace her soaked cash.
• On August 27, Song Ning arrived in Shanghai City, checked into the Jinjiang Hotel, and met Director Sun, who welcomed her to the purchasing delegation bound for Germany.
• After Song Ning checked into her room, someone knocked; she opened the door to find an unexpected person standing outside.

Song Ning reunited with Zhou Yuanhang, who joined the delegation and repeatedly showed her kindness despite her efforts to keep their relationship at friendship. After she told him they should keep their distance, Gu Zheng appeared at her door on the eve of the delegation’s departure.

• Zhou Yuanhang told Song Ning he was part of the expanded visiting delegation, then took her, Han Xiao, and Chen Liang to dinner.
• Zhou Yuanhang insisted that he valued Song Ning as a friend, and the next morning he waited outside her room to invite her to breakfast.
• Lao Qi introduced Song Ning to the delegation, and Professor Qi led two days of technical discussions with her and the medical equipment team.
• Zhou Yuanhang ran errands for the team during their meetings, while Han Xiao worried that he was becoming Song Ning’s romantic rival.
• On the evening before the delegation’s flight, Song Ning told Zhou Yuanhang she wanted them to keep their distance, then opened her door again to find Gu Zheng outside.