Recaps

Qingmu encountered a consciousness imprint in the dream and began accepting it, but a surge of water triggered the dream’s collapse and left him back in the flooded cave. He discovered evidence that Kitano Masatake had created the dream, then found Du Juan dead and Han Laizi’s family trapped in cages.

• Qingmu recognized the triangles as a consciousness imprint and began accepting its etching while Du Juan and Boss Coal discussed what they had seen.
• Boss Coal pecked the symbol, triggering a torrent that swept him and Qingmu out of the cave and caused the dream to collapse.
• Qingmu awoke in the flooded cave, found the triangles carved into the roof, and read an inscription identifying Kitano Masatake as the dream’s creator.
• Qingmu found Du Juan submerged and dead, then saw human bones in cages along the riverbank.
• Qingmu found Han Laizi’s father and brothers imprisoned, saw Han Laizi floating dead, and took the cage keys for Xiaoqin to use if she chose to rescue them.

Peng Jiahu’s team was ambushed by armed bandits at the wooden house, suffering heavy losses as the house and a police vehicle exploded. Meanwhile, Shi Dazhuang waited anxiously for news of Qingmu, then took Yu Meiren to dinner, where a man with a suitcase approached their table.

• Peng Jiahu’s men found two bodies outside the wooden house and searched the area while the fat man checked inside.
• The wooden house exploded, killing Feizai, and bandits in the woods opened fire on Peng Jiahu’s team.
• Peng Jiahu’s team came under heavy attack; Datou was killed by a grenade, and a rocket destroyed the police SUV carrying Simao.
• Shi Dazhuang noticed that his call had disconnected and worried about Qingmu while Yu Meiren reassured him.
• Shi Dazhuang took Yu Meiren and Xiao Zhang to a rice noodle shop, where a bespectacled man with a suitcase asked to join their table.

Shi Dazhuang, Xiao Zhang, and Yu Meiren met Bai Xiaosan, a stranded traveler whose wallet and identity card had been stolen after the Mangdian Grand Hotel fire, and brought him to the police station. Bai’s poem moved Yu Meiren to tears as she said she missed her father, then a gunshot sounded outside when Xiao Zhang went to see whether Chief Meng had returned.

• Yu Meiren invited Bai Xiaosan to sit with their group, and Shi Dazhuang tested his claim that he came from Zhongshan by speaking Cantonese.
• Bai Xiaosan struggled with the spicy local rice noodles and explained that his wallet had been stolen while he watched the hotel fire.
• Xiao Zhang told Bai Xiaosan that they were from the police station, and the group returned there to take his statement.
• Bai Xiaosan recited a poem, prompting Yu Meiren to join in and then tell Shi Dazhuang that she missed her father.
• Xiao Zhang went outside after hearing a car arrive, and a gunshot rang out.

Shi Dazhuang fought off armed attackers at the police station while Peng Jiahu and Sanzi retreated through the rainforest under fire. The attackers withdrew in a pickup, and Peng Jiahu’s group remained in the dark woods as an engine started nearby.

• Shi Dazhuang switched off the light, told Beauty and Bai Xiaosan to hide, and moved toward the courtyard after gunfire erupted at the police station.
• Shi Dazhuang climbed along the corridor beam, killed two approaching bandits, and then took cover as three armed attackers returned fire and retreated toward a pickup.
• Peng Jiahu ordered Sanzi to fall back into the rainforest and evaded a rocket attack while covering their retreat.
• Peng Jiahu and Sanzi alternated covering each other as they withdrew deeper into the woods, then both sides stopped firing after darkness fell.
• Peng Jiahu heard an off-road pickup engine start in the woods and discarded his empty magazine.

Shi Dazhuang and Meng Yan stopped the gunmen, but discovered that Bai Xiaosan and Beauty had vanished. As Shi Dazhuang warned everyone about a suitcase, it exploded, hurling him and Meng Yan away.

• Shi Dazhuang shot a gunman trying to escape in the pickup and held the remaining attackers at bay from a tree.
• Meng Yan arrived with police and used firecrackers to make the gunmen flee, allowing Shi Dazhuang to shoot them dead.
• Shi Dazhuang and Meng Yan found Xiao Zhang dead, then realized Beauty and Bai Xiaosan had disappeared from the reception room.
• Shi Dazhuang told Meng Yan to search for Bai Xiaosan and the girl, but a young officer found a suitcase in the room.
• Shi Dazhuang shouted for everyone to run, and the suitcase exploded, hurling him and Meng Yan away.

After Mu Ka’s attack left officers dead and Yu Gang’s daughter missing, Shi Dazhuang received permission to lead the operation and pursued the criminals toward Kuaziba. The search split between Shi Dazhuang’s team and Peng Jiahu’s helicopter as the hunt continued into the night.

• Shi Dazhuang reported the attack to Director Yan, who authorized him to command the operation and ordered that the criminals be stopped within the country’s borders.
• Meng Yan organized a town-wide search, while Shi Dazhuang studied a map and decided Mu Ka was likely headed for Kuaziba.
• Peng Jiahu and Sanzi were rescued by helicopter, and Peng Jiahu learned that four of his officers had died and two were wounded.
• Shi Dazhuang directed Peng Jiahu to block the Nangou River route while he led men toward Kuaziba.
• Near Kuaziba, Shi Dazhuang sent Meng Yan’s group to Grandpa Enkun’s house and went to check Yu Gang’s grave.

Mu Ka tried to convince Yu Meiren that her father had been a corrupt drug kingpin, then rigged her father's grave with explosives as Big Daddy approached. Mu Ka and his accomplice fled with Yu Meiren, and an explosion went off behind them, leaving her fearing Big Daddy had been killed.

• Mu Ka confronted Yu Meiren at her father's grave and claimed her father had sold opium, betrayed Mu Kuo, and gotten Yu Meiren's mother addicted.
• Yu Meiren rejected Mu Ka's accusations and insisted that Big Daddy, Grandpa Qingmu, and her mother had told her the truth about her father.
• Hearing a car approaching, Mu Ka planted C4 and a detonator at the grave and ran a concealed wire toward a nearby tree.
• A long-haired man arrived, and he carried Yu Meiren away through the woods with Mu Ka.
• An explosion erupted in the direction of Kuaziba, and Yu Meiren cried out for Big Daddy as Mu Ka explained that light traveled faster than sound.

Shi Dazhuang found Mu Ka’s warning at Yu Gang’s grave, then rushed to Kuaziba after an explosion killed Meng Yan, two auxiliary officers, and Lemao. Qingmu escaped the cave’s Group Dream and realized its dreamscape extended into the surrounding forest, leaving him to wonder about Kitano Masatake and the hourglass symbol.

• Shi Dazhuang spotted a wire and C4 at Yu Gang’s grave, safely disarmed the trap, and found Mu Ka’s note directing him to the Nangou River.
• An explosion destroyed the gate to Old Enkun’s courtyard, where Shi Dazhuang found Meng Yan and two auxiliary officers fatally wounded, along with Lemao dead inside.
• Qingmu left the cave, checked that he was awake, and reflected on how a Group Dream could create an immense, lifelike world.
• Qingmu realized the dreamscape extended from the cave into the surrounding woods and wondered who Kitano Masatake was and what he had to do with the hourglass symbol.

Shi Dazhuang and Peng Jiahu watched helplessly as Mu Ka crossed into Mianyue with Yu Meiren, while Director Yan forbade them from crossing the border. Qingmu then declared that no one had authority over him and set out across the river alone.

• Shi Dazhuang’s team found a cave with diving gear and evidence that Mu Ka had crossed the river, then spotted Mu Ka carrying Yu Meiren toward the Mianyue outpost.
• Peng Jiahu and Shi Dazhuang wanted to cross and arrest Mu Ka, but Director Yan ordered them to wait for official instructions.
• Mu Ka taunted Shi Dazhuang over the loudhailer, threatened to torture and traffic Yu Meiren, and walked away with her.
• Shi Dazhuang and Peng Jiahu discarded their gear and offered to cross as civilians, but Director Yan stopped them and ordered everyone to stand by.
• Qingmu said he was not a police officer and that Director Yan had no authority over him, then took a map and boarded a bamboo raft toward the opposite bank.

Qingmu crossed into Mianyue and rode to Masuba to find Mu Ka before Yu Meiren was harmed. A madman led him to a western alley, where Qingmu learned Mu Ka and the girl were inside a nearby building.

• Qingmu understood and spoke Burmese, then persuaded a villager to lend him a motorcycle and rode toward Masuba.
• Qingmu failed to catch Mu Ka's jeep and decided to search Wu Suotun's residence for clues to Mu Ka's whereabouts.
• A madman from the cave recognized Qingmu and led him west through Masuba, where Qingmu scattered leaves disguised as banknotes to distract the women in the street.
• In a deep alley, Qingmu grabbed a tattooed man by the neck and demanded to know where Mu Ka and Yu Meiren were.
• The tattooed man pointed to a door and said Mu Ka and the girl were inside discussing business.

Qingmu forced a lookout to reveal that Decha was holding an auction for Beauty, then killed him and entered the courtyard to rescue her. After killing several armed men, Qingmu learned that Decha was in the second building on the right and shot the informant.

• Qingmu made the lookout reveal that Decha had brought Beauty to be auctioned to prostitution-street bosses, while Mu Ka was absent.
• Qingmu killed the lookout after realizing his dream of being stabbed reflected the man's true intentions, then asked the madman to guard the borrowed motorcycle.
• Qingmu entered the courtyard and attacked the armed men who reached for their weapons, killing several of them.
• Qingmu learned that Decha was in the second building on the right and shot the informant before he could finish pleading.

Decha negotiated with four crime bosses over three Chinese girls being sold into sexual exploitation when Qingmu arrived looking for another girl taken by Mu Ka. Qingmu offered to buy all three girls back and pulled out a stack of money, leaving the bosses uncertain how much he could pay.

• Decha presented three terrified Chinese girls to four crime bosses after Mu Ka took back another girl.
• The bosses argued with Decha over the missing girl and the price of the three girls, then backed down when Decha said General Wu Suotun wanted the one Mu Ka had taken.
• Gunshots sounded in the courtyard, and Qingmu entered the room in flip-flops after Decha's man failed to return.
• Qingmu asked Decha where Mu Ka had taken the girl from China and said he would take all three girls back as well.
• Decha offered to sell the girls for ten thousand US dollars each, and Qingmu agreed before pulling a stack of money from his pocket.

Qingmu killed Decha’s men and forced Decha to reveal the location of Wu Suotun’s villa, where Mu Ka and the girl were being held. After using Decha’s memories to reach the villa in his consciousness, Qingmu returned to the room and aimed his AK at Decha.

• Qingmu offered Decha money for the girls, then scattered the cash to distract the men in the room.
• Qingmu told the girls to close their eyes and ears, seized an AK, and killed everyone but Decha.
• Qingmu threatened Decha until he agreed to lead him to the villa where Wu Suotun took women.
• Qingmu entered Decha’s consciousness and used his memories to find the villa and see its known defenses.
• Qingmu returned to the room, where Decha saw him pull the AK’s trigger.

Qingmu rescued three little girls and left them at a restaurant while he went to save Yu Meiren. Drugged and dressed for the general, Yu Meiren hallucinated a fairy-tale wedding before recognizing Qingmu and fainting.

• Qingmu freed three little girls, found money on their captors, and promised to take them home.
• Qingmu left the girls and the madman at a restaurant with money for food, then rode off to find Yu Meiren.
• Two old serving women bathed and dressed Yu Meiren, then used a needle and an injection to make her cooperate with makeup.
• The drug made Yu Meiren imagine she was a princess awaiting a prince, while the servants prepared her for the general.
• Qingmu entered the room, and Yu Meiren recognized him as Grandpa Qingmu before she collapsed.

Qingmu rescued the unconscious Yu Meiren from Wu Suotun’s villa and unleashed his fury on the people who had drugged and abused her. He escaped with her as the villa exploded, and Yu Meiren woke in his arms, believing the gunfire and destruction had been a dream.

• Qingmu found needle marks on Yu Meiren and learned that the women had drugged her with Mu Ka’s approval.
• Qingmu killed the two older women with the needle they had used on Yu Meiren, then shot a man and a woman who confronted him.
• Qingmu fought his way through the villa’s guards, took their jeep, and ordered the driver to carry grenades and rockets inside and detonate them.
• Qingmu carried Yu Meiren away as the villa exploded, and she woke against his shoulder.
• Yu Meiren called Qingmu Papa Qingmu and agreed to help him cut down all the poppies.

Qingmu carried Yu Meiren into Wu Suotun’s heavily guarded residence to cut down the poppies, while an enormous crow helped him fight off the defenders. Yu Meiren kept plucking flowers as Qingmu advanced through the compound.

• Qingmu brought Yu Meiren to Wu Suotun’s residence and told her to close her eyes while he went to cut poppies.
• Qingmu disarmed a guard at the gate, and Yu Meiren broke a poppy as the guard fell dead.
• A giant crow swept in on a dust storm, helping Qingmu reach the gate and defeat the machine gunners and rooftop sniper.
• The crow drove soldiers from the building, while Yu Meiren continued pulling poppies from her vision of a flower-filled field.
• A soldier’s rocket attack failed, and the crow emerged from the flames as the soldier accidentally blew himself up.
• Yu Meiren plucked another poppy and flung it away.

Qingmu carried Yu Meiren through Wu Suotun’s camp and reached his study, where Wu Suotun had activated a self-destruct device and tried to escape. Qingmu killed Wu Suotun’s guard while Yu Meiren counted another poppy; Wu Suotun’s fate remained unresolved.

• Wu Suotun activated the building’s self-destruct device, then opened a safe and planned to use its gold and dollars to delay Qingmu.
• Qingmu advanced through the camp with Yu Meiren, killing the remaining guards as a crow circled overhead.
• Qingmu told Yu Meiren that a few of the biggest poppies still needed cutting before they could go home.
• Wu Suotun opened the secret passage, but a crow flew out and startled him before Qingmu entered the study.
• Wu Suotun’s subordinate tried to shoot Qingmu, but the crow flew through him and terrified him.
• Qingmu told Yu Meiren to close her eyes and shot Wu Suotun’s subordinate; Yu Meiren counted her seventy-ninth poppy.

Qingmu and Yu Meiren escaped Wu Suotun’s residence after Beauty activated the explosives, leaving Wu Suotun trapped inside. As the house exploded behind them, Beauty murmured, “Eighty.”

• The crow declared Wu Suotun guilty of seven sins, including harming Yu Meiren, and Qingmu prepared to execute him.
• Wu Suotun threatened to blow up the house, but Qingmu shot his hand when he lunged for the inactive detonator.
• Qingmu woke Yu Meiren and had her press the red button, starting a ten-minute countdown.
• Qingmu left Wu Suotun wounded and took some dollars from the safe as he carried Yu Meiren toward the secret passage.
• Wu Suotun failed to crawl out before the countdown ended, and the house exploded as Qingmu and Yu Meiren reached the mountain near Mu Ka’s laboratory.

Qingmu confronted Mu Ka, who defended his opium empire as a means of liberating his homeland, and stopped him from firing by severing his consciousness from his motor control. After an ethereal voice asked Qingmu to spare Mu Ka for Duwa’s sake, Qingmu shot him, and Yu Meiren counted to eighty-one.

• Qingmu met Mu Ka with Yu Meiren and let Beauty watch as he prepared to cut the last poppy.
• Mu Ka explained his ambition to build his homeland through opium and heroin, defending the sacrifices he had made of girls and drug users.
• Qingmu accused Mu Ka of heinous crimes and revealed that Mu Ka’s long speech had given him time to block Mu Ka’s motor control.
• Qingmu took Mu Ka’s gun and aimed it at him, while Mu Ka was unable to move.
• An ethereal voice asked Qingmu to spare Mu Ka for Duwa’s sake, but Qingmu fired and Yu Meiren counted to eighty-one.

Qingmu met Duwa at her mountain temple and questioned her choices as a teacher, including her attempts to save Mu Ka. Duwa explained the cave’s lingering dream and revealed that Kitano Masatake had once been a renowned awakener and mentor of the great dream.

• Qingmu followed a dreamlike bubble to Duwa’s temple, where it scanned his consciousness and identified him as a dreamless person.
• Duwa told Qingmu that she had taught Medicine Granny lucid awakening and had tried to save Mu Ka because she hoped to make him her disciple.
• Qingmu challenged Duwa’s belief that people could leave their wrongdoing behind by turning toward spiritual practice.
• Qingmu told Duwa that Du Juan would not return and described what had happened in the Japanese army’s pig-cage cave.
• Duwa explained that the cave held a broken old dream that Qingmu’s mental strength had reactivated, then said her mother had told her Kitano Masatake was once the world’s greatest awakener and a respected mentor of the great dream.

Duwa told Qingmu about the Awakeners' Alliance, an organization that once restrained people with extraordinary mental powers, and revealed that it had vanished after splitting during the war. She explained her search for the truth behind the Alliance and her mother's death, while Qingmu learned that Situ had investigated the possibility that World War II was a shared dream and may have found evidence.

• Duwa showed Qingmu the Alliance's symbol and explained that people like him, Situ, and Kitano Masatake could wield dangerous power without restraint.
• Duwa said Qingmu was not technically an Awakener because he did not dream, and told him the Alliance had split during the war and disappeared afterward along with the Dream Corridor.
• Duwa told Qingmu that Situ had proposed World War II was a dream shared by everyone and had been searching for evidence, which she had heard he found.
• Duwa revealed that she had been seeking Alliance members to learn why her mother was injured and how the Alliance disappeared.
• Duwa asked Qingmu to share any future discoveries about the Alliance, and mentioned that Situ had posted a contact marker claiming he had discovered aliens.

Qingmu brought Yu Meiren and the other three girls back toward the Chinese border after the destruction of Wu Suotun’s residence. At the river, Shi Dazhuang and Peng Jiahu learned they had permission to cross for a rescue, but then spotted Qingmu returning with the girls.

• Qingmu took Yu Meiren to the restaurant, where she reunited with the other girls and recognized the madman as Beggar Yeye.
• After the girls ate, Qingmu set off on the motorcycle with them, while the madman stayed behind and waved goodbye to Beauty.
• Qingmu returned the motorcycle to its owner and gave the couple stacks of US dollars to buy a replacement for their son’s wedding.
• At the Nangou River, Director Yan told Shi Dazhuang and Peng Jiahu they could cross into Masuba that night to rescue the hostages and arrest Wu Suotun and Mu Ka.
• Shi Dazhuang and Peng Jiahu spotted Qingmu approaching on a bamboo raft with the four girls, and Shi Dazhuang relaxed after seeing Beauty safe.

After the operation against Wu Suotun and Mu Ka, Yu Gang was honored as a martyr and Qingmu received a bravery medal for his role in fighting the drug traffickers. Back in Spring City, Qingmu ignored a flight attendant’s invitation to call her and prepared to return to Wuzhong.

• The police arrested drug traffickers, seized drugs, and rescued women and children after capturing Mu Ka, while Yu Gang and other fallen officers were named martyrs.
• Shi Dazhuang moved Yu Gang’s ashes to the Ruihekou Martyrs’ Cemetery, where Old Enkun and the villagers paid their respects.
• Qingmu and Yu Meiren attended Yu Gang’s burial ceremony, and Yu Meiren wept during the memorial tribute.
• Director Yan thanked Qingmu for his contributions, and the Ruihekou Civil Affairs Bureau awarded him a medal for bravery.
• Qingmu traveled toward Wuzhong with Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren, then met a flight attendant in Spring City who offered him her phone number.
• Qingmu found the flight attendant’s number on a business card and threw it away.

Qingmu left the money from Nangou River with Shi Dazhuang and went looking for local food while Shi Dazhuang and Yu Meiren visited the wildlife park. Yao Jingjing took Qingmu to lunch, where they exchanged WeChat details, and he recognized Ma Fuqing at a nearby table.

• Qingmu gave the US dollars he had brought back to Shi Dazhuang, who divided them among Old Enkun, fallen officers’ families, and their travel expenses.
• Shi Dazhuang took Yu Meiren to the wildlife park, while Qingmu went to the hotel front desk to ask about local specialties.
• Qingmu discovered that Yao Jingjing was asking about his room, 1717, and she offered to take him to a restaurant for crispy rice and rice cakes.
• Over lunch, Yao Jingjing thanked Qingmu for helping her on the plane, asked about his unusual business card, and added him on WeChat.
• Qingmu noticed a familiar man dining with a provocatively dressed woman and recognized him as Ma Fuqing.

Qingmu ran into Ma Fuqing in Spring City and grew suspicious of his abrupt departure from Wuzhong. After connecting Ma Fuquan’s iron cage to the cave with the pig cages, Qingmu gave Shi Dazhuang a lead that pointed to Ma Fuqing’s possible role in the drug network.

• Qingmu encountered Ma Fuqing at a restaurant, where Ma said he had come to Spring City after the prosecution dropped his brother’s case and his mother died.
• Ma Fuqing paid for Qingmu and Yao Jingjing’s meal, and Qingmu later realized Yao Jingjing had mistaken his mention of Beauty for a woman.
• Qingmu asked Shi Dazhuang to investigate Ma Fuqing, who had left Wuzhong the same day the case was dropped after booking his flight in advance.
• Shi Dazhuang revealed that Ma Fuqing owned three properties in Spring City and had traveled between the city and Wuzhong for years.
• Qingmu connected Ma Fuquan’s iron cage to the pig cages in the cave and suggested Ma Fuqing had put his brother there, possibly linking him to the drug network.
• Shi Dazhuang left to arrange surveillance and left Beauty with Qingmu.