Chinese war drama A Lonely Hero's Journey, starring Joseph Zeng, Zang Songwen and Chen Duling, released its first batch of episodes on August 6, 2024. The drama tells the story of Gu Yizhong (Joseph Zeng), who becomes the face of protest against Japanese oppression in his hometown of Suzhou. Episode one focuses on his investigation.

In this episode, the narrator introduces the viewers to the current situation in Suzhou in the year 1941. Not only is the occupied city infiltrated by the Japanese invaders, but it also has to deal with the puppet regime of Wang Jingwei, the spies of Chongqing and also the CPC, as they all want to seize power. After the Japanese failed to pacify and the CPC actively resisted their invasion, a new army base was formed. Gu Yizhong, the young master of the Gu family, is caught up in this whirlwind.

He is a talented architect and also an anti-Japanese activist. He has an extremely busy schedule as he has to meet important officials and has also been given the responsibility of designing the new bank. But he puts all his plans on hold to meet Xiao Ruoteng (Wang Yuwen). She is a secret agent of the CPC. The viewers then see the duo sharing a boat ride. It seems that they are very fond of each other and are in a romantic relationship.

The next scene shows Xiao Junxia, the director of CPC's Iron Blood Action Group. He is discussing the plan to rescue a senior intelligence officer with his group. Meanwhile, Yizhong and Ruoteng arrive at the secret base. Ruoteng has brought them weapons, while Yizhong presents a map of the park where the rescue operation will take place. But his map is criticized for being messy. He wants to join the operation, but Junxia rejects his request because he is not part of the group. But he eventually changes his mind after Ruoteng convinces him to give Yizhong a chance.