Gu Chuan, a middle manager at a major internet company, works himself to death and transmigrates into 1944 as a triple agent: “Dawn,” sent to Japan by Yan'an and planted in the Military Statistics Bureau by the Japanese. He also brings along his System and a row house in the suburbs of Hangzhou, with thirty years left on the mortgage.
All three sides receive secret orders warning that there's a traitor in their ranks, and the traitor they're supposed to find is none other than Gu Chuan himself. The Japanese suspect him, the Military Statistics Bureau is watching him, and Yan'an tells him to “stay put and make no moves.” As he fends off all three sides, Gu Chuan uses the modern supplies in his house to stir things up: grinding antibiotics into a family secret remedy, powering a Republican-era radio with a power bank, and passing off instant noodle seasoning as Western spices.
With all three sides pointing their guns at him, Gu Chuan plugs in his phone and puts on Empresses in the Palace, learning palace intrigue while waiting for dawn.
