A Lonely Hero’s Journey 孤舟 Episode 16

Xiao Ruotong asked Hu Zhiping about the whereabouts of Ding Jiansheng, but Hu Zhiping declined to disclose it on the grounds of organizational secrets. Zhou Zhenwu wanted to go with him, but Hu Zhiping refused because the three of them had difficulty moving. Xiao Ruotong volunteered to join him. Hu Zhiping drove to the meeting point with Zhou Zhifei, leaving Xiao Ruotong and Ding Jiansheng waiting in the car, and got out of the car alone to meet Zhou Zhifei. When the two met, Hu Zhiping asked Zhou Zhifei to hand over the "seabed" in exchange for Ding Jiansheng. Zhou Zhifei handed over the interrogation CD and tried to persuade Hu Zhiping to continue cooperation. Hu Zhiping did not comment, just destroyed the CD and left, leaving behind a meaningful figure.

After leaving Zhou Zhifei, Hu Zhiping deliberately let Ding Jiansheng show up to induce the long-awaited military spy Eagle Eye to launch an attack and ended Ding Jiansheng's life with one shot. When Gu Yizhong arrived, Hawkeye had already escaped without a trace, but the melon seed peels scattered on the ground exposed the sniper's long-term ambush. Downstairs at the sniper point, Gu Yizhong accidentally discovered the fragments of the disc that Hu Zhiping had crushed before. This discovery made him suspicious.

Xiao Ruotong and Hu Zhiping returned in a hurry, but were questioned by Zhou Zhenwu. Zhou Zhenwu was furious, drew his gun and pointed it at Hu Zhiping, and showed a note accusing Hu Zhiping of being an undercover codenamed "Cell No. 8". Hu Zhiping pretended to be innocent and showed a note, claiming that he was busy arranging the visit of provincial party committee leaders to Suzhou, in an attempt to clear the suspicion. However, his carefully crafted lies failed to completely dispel Zhou Zhenwu's doubts.

The situation was urgent, and Zhou Zhenwu decided to return to the base immediately, report the matter to the organization in detail, and request instructions. Before leaving, he strictly ordered Xiao Ruotong to suspend all activities and find a safe and hidden place to temporarily avoid the limelight. To ensure safety, they also put up "Closed" signs at contact points.

At the same time, Gu Yizhong found Kondo Masao with the CD fragments and pointed out that No. 90 often used CDs to record interrogation data, suggesting that this may be related to Ding Jiansheng's death. Just as the two sides were discussing this, Zhou Zhifei suddenly interrupted and expressed dissatisfaction with Gu Yizhong's speculation. At this time, someone presented the bullet taken from Ding Jiansheng. Zhou Zhifei took the opportunity to point out that this was a bullet used exclusively by military special agents, and revealed that the agent code-named "Eagle Eye" had sneaked into Suzhou and was probably Ding Jiansheng's. A real killer. This series of new clues makes the situation even more confusing.

Seeing that Zhou Zhifei was trying to shirk the responsibility, Huang Xinzhai deliberately revealed the news that Quan Shui, the military commander's agent, had also arrived in Suzhou, and clarified his connection with Quan Shui. After hearing this, Zhou Zhifei was very anxious and hurriedly used his son's status as a hostage in Japan to express his loyalty to Kondo Masao to dispel his doubts. However, Kondo Masao did not completely trust Zhou Zhifei, but instead ordered him to arrest Quanshui as soon as possible.

Zhou Zhifei returned home and pretended to be concerned about the safety of the spring water, but in fact he secretly planned a trap. He lied that Hawkeye had alerted Masao Kondo, forcing the spring to evacuate quickly. Quanshui did not doubt that he was there, so he hurriedly bought a train ticket, contacted Eagle Eye, and handed him the letter written by Zhou Zhifei to Lao Xu to take back to Chongqing.

During this period, Gu Yizhong paid close attention to Eagle Eye's whereabouts and tracked him. When Hawkeye cautiously entered a small room, Zhou Zhifei's pre-arranged killer was already waiting on the second floor. However, Hawkeye is extremely alert, and even if the killers hold their breath, they are still noticed by him.

A fierce chase ensued. Seeing this, Gu Yizhong quickly joined the pursuit. He witnessed the thrilling scene when Hawkeye was surrounded by the men of Agent No. 90 Li Jiuzhao and held hostage. Gu Yizhong tried to dissuade Li Jiuzhao from leaving alive for interrogation, but Li Jiuzhao shot Eagle Eye without hesitation and took away the letter from him.

Gu Yizhong angrily informed Huang Xinzhai of the matter and mentioned that Hawkeye had seen a woman before he died. When Huang Xinzhai heard this, he immediately thought that the woman was probably Quan Shui. He reminded Gu Yizhong that if he could seize the spring water, he could deal a fatal blow to Zhou Zhifei.

Holding the letter in hand, Zhou Zhifei angrily blamed Quan Shui, believing that she should not let outsiders deliver such an important letter to Lao Xu. Once it fell into the hands of Masao Kondo, the consequences would be disastrous. Quan Shui looked at the blank letter and was shocked that Zhou Zhifei had actually attacked Eagle Eye. She had never expected him to be so ruthless. Zhou Zhifei tried to persuade Quan Shui to leave, but Quan Shui firmly refused and revealed the new mission: Jiang Boxian, the director of the Shanghai Party Department of the Kuomintang who fell into the hands of No. 76, must be rescued. She asked Zhou Zhifei for help, but he persuaded him to join Mr. Li. During the dispute, Gu Yizhong suddenly visited and bluntly stated that he came specifically for the spring water, and the atmosphere instantly became subtle and tense.