Die Now Episode 1 Recap
> Die Now Recap
In a city illuminated by neon lights, within a lavish bathroom, a man named Xue Xin, a detective fiction novelist, was seen washing a knife. His white shirt cuff was stained with blood, and half a basin of blood pooled in the sink. He had just committed murder, finding it a simple act, and smiled sinisterly at his reflection, licking a trace of blood from his lips.
For years, Xue Xin and his long-time pen pal, Ji Lu, had engaged in a secret game of sending each other riddles. Xue Xin had reached a point where he could no longer devise a riddle Ji Lu couldn't solve. He believed the only way to win was to create an unsolvable riddle, which meant Ji Lu would be unable to reply.
Driven by a desire for a flawless crime, Xue Xin targeted Ji Lu for a true locked-room murder, aiming for no footprints, no motive, and no traces. A week after Xue Xin killed Ji Lu, his perfect plan seemed to have succeeded, with no one discovering the crime. However, he then received a letter from Ji Lu, dated two days after his death.
The letter read: "Xue Xin, by the time you receive this letter, I will no longer be alive. Please help me solve this final riddle!" Xue Xin was utterly shocked and disbelieving. In a panic, he rushed to Ji Lu's residence to search for his notes, but was arrested by police who informed him he was the author of the letter.
This dramatic scene was actually a play staged by Jingnan University's Reasoning Literature Club, as indicated by a director's call of "Cut!" Xia Chi, a member of the Reasoning Institute, played the male police officer, muttering that the plot felt contrived and not based on a real event. Meng Qin, the club's president and the play's "director," praised Qing Zhi, who portrayed the female police officer, for her beautiful profile.
Qing Zhi smiled, and Xia Chi, looking at her, smiled back. After Meng Qin dismissed everyone, Xia Chi followed Qing Zhi out of the classroom. As they exited, a camera in the hallway eerily turned and began filming them. From behind a monitor, a pair of mysterious female eyes watched. Xia Chi continued to follow Qing Zhi to the campus fountain, offering to walk her back to her dorm.
Qing Zhi was Xia Chi's girlfriend; he had been smitten with her since their first day at school, considering her his goddess. He had joined the Reasoning Club, studied, and even ran for her. Despite being together for a month, they hadn't held hands. Xia Chi, determined to finally hold her hand, subtly reached out to put his arm around her shoulder as they walked.
However, Qing Zhi's book suddenly dropped, and she bent down to pick it up, leaving Xia Chi's arm awkwardly in the air. He was astonished by the timing. He tried again, but Meng Qin's untimely appearance thwarted his efforts. Nevertheless, Qing Zhi invited him to lunch on Saturday by the musical fountain near the park, and Xia Chi happily accepted. After Qing Zhi left, Xia Chi and Meng Qin discussed the "case" from the play.
Meng Qin admitted that while the initial details were derived from his uncle's case, the subsequent plot developments were his own invention. He explained that the real case was far more intricate: Xue Xin's post-mortem letter from Ji Lu was not sent by the police.
As a detective novelist and Ji Lu's long-time pen pal, Xue Xin was highly observant; he meticulously studied the letter for three hours, examining the handwriting, ink, folds, and tone, confirming its authenticity to be from Ji Lu, even performing fingerprint comparisons. Accompanying the letter were two other items: a business-card-sized card and a paper filled with ciphers.
Although Xue Xin confessed and the case was closed, several aspects remained unexplained: his motive, the finding of no mental issues in his psychological evaluation, the true sender of the letter, and the meaning of its contents. Later, Qing Zhi, upon returning to her dorm, received a package containing the very letter Ji Lu had sent to Xue Xin. Terrified, she called Xia Chi to inform him.
Xia Chi and Meng Qin rushed to her dorm, where a shocking event unfolded: Qing Zhi was nowhere to be found in dorm 2609, and neither the dorm aunt nor any students recognized her. In a panic, Meng Qin remembered their video recording from the play. They hurried back to review it, only to discover that the footage of Qing Zhi had been replaced by another woman.
Distraught, Xia Chi wondered if his entire relationship and romantic intentions were merely a delusion. However, a wishing coin, given to him by Qing Zhi, fell from his collar, reaffirming his conviction that he wasn't delusional and that Qing Zhi was real. Recalling Qing Zhi's call about receiving Ji Lu's letter, Xia Chi concluded her disappearance was linked to Ji Lu. They then visited Meng Qin's uncle, where they retrieved and photographed the case file.
Analyzing the cipher paper and card, Xia Chi realized the numbers were not random. He noticed that each paragraph in Ji Lu's letter began with three blank spaces. Combining this observation with the cipher, Xia Chi deduced that 'three' was the key, enabling him to crack a Caesar cipher. The decryption revealed six letters: 'Duan Nao.' Immediately afterward, a 'random door,' a warped space, materialized before them, which they promptly entered.
