Light to the Night resumo, enredo, sinopse

Sinopse de Light to the Night

In 1997, a mysterious elevator disappearance case draws criminal police officers He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu into a web of intrigue. After facing many challenges and moments of doubt, the two ultimately uncover the truth. As time passes, they heal life's uncertainties, uphold justice, and resolve challenges with optimism and resilience.

Resumos de Light to the Night

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On July 1st, 1997, as China prepares for the historic return of Hong Kong, a bizarre event occurs at Yuanlongli International Garden. A mysterious young woman in blue high heels arrives, carrying a man draped in a black robe on her back. She bumps into a child without a word, leaving witnesses unsettled.

Ma Qiang, the security guard, watches her on the monitor as she carries the man up to the 18th floor—home to the Pattia Club, which had been shut down during a previous crackdown. When Ma Qiang and his colleague Wang go to investigate, the pair seems to have vanished. However, Wang discovers footprints on the dusty floor that lead them to what appears to be a corpse, prompting a call to the police.

Ran Fangxu, a rookie detective and top graduate from the police academy, is assigned to work under the veteran He Yuanhang, who has been temporarily seconded to the criminal investigation team. Their partnership starts poorly; Ran is physically ill upon arrival, which he insists is motion sickness from He's fast driving, though He mocks him for being a "cucumber" who can't handle a crime scene.

While He Yuanhang is dismissive, believing the case is a superstitious prank by local residents, Ran insists on a scientific approach. He re-enacts the suspects' movements, proposing they avoided a "psychological blind spot" by hugging the walls to remain unseen. The tension between the two increases when Officer Qu Dahai arrives. He Yuanhang tries to claim Ran as his apprentice to impress Qu, but Ran bluntly denies the relationship, stating he doesn't know He.

Investigating further, He Yuanhang notices the footprints are size 37 and questions how a woman of that size could carry a man so far. He eventually proves the "supernatural" elements were staged: a black cloak had been hung on a nail to fall on anyone entering, and a door previously thought to be locked was actually open.

They encounter a child who claims to have seen "ghost claws," but the boy eventually admits his injuries came from falling while being chased by He Yuanhang earlier. The story jumps to 2015, where He Yuanhang visits the Nanshan Branch to find Ran Fangxu. Ran is now working in the archives, avoiding field work and his former mentor. He Yuanhang corners him in a bathroom stall, mocking him for hiding like an ostrich.

He insists that Ran help him investigate the disappearance of a young boy named Han Zi'ang at Yuanlongli, a case that has yet to be officially filed. Although Ran is set to return to Beijing in a week, He Yuanhang goads him into helping by bringing up their shared history from eighteen years ago.

As they drive to the "Demon Building," they find the community still plagued by superstition, hearing rumors that a policeman named He was once impaled on the building's walls. Returning to the 1997 timeline, the professional rift remains wide. Ran secretly sends evidence—including four cigarette butts, fingerprints, and a security tape—to the forensic department under He Yuanhang’s name because the technicians don't recognize Ran's own signature. When He Yuanhang finds out, he is incensed.

At the station, Captain Feng refuses to separate them, arguing that He Yuanhang's high clearance rate and Ran's academic background make them a necessary team. Feng orders them to resolve the Yuanlongli mystery to stop the spread of eerie nursery rhymes and rumors about "white and black impermanence" that have terrified the residents. He Yuanhang later challenges Ran to a wager: if Ran can learn the names of the local tricycle drivers, He will follow Ran’s lead.

However, Ran’s formal, academic interrogation style scares the drivers away. He Yuanhang mocks him for being "posh" and out of touch with the common people. Ran argues that the disappearances suggest coercion and could lead to a homicide, citing Murphy’s Law, but He Yuanhang dismisses it as academic nonsense. Furious that Ran used his name for the forensic submissions, He Yuanhang forces Ran out of his personal car, telling him to find his own way back and withdraw the requests. Ran leaves the car in a rage, shouting that He Yuanhang doesn't deserve to be a detective.

In 2015, He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu return to Yuanlongli, a derelict building complex that has recently become a trendy "urban exploration" spot for social media influencers. The surge in foot traffic has coincided with the disappearance of several children, including a boy named Han Zi'ang. While He Yuanhang searches for the child, Ran Fangxu is burdened by the past.

He blames his own handling of a case in this very building eighteen years prior for his decision to leave the police force and become a teacher in Beijing. He Yuanhang, however, dismisses this guilt, maintaining that Ran Fangxu was always a talented detective. The narrative shifts back to 1997, during the time of the Hong Kong handover. He Yuanhang and a younger, more impulsive Ran Fangxu are investigating a mystery at Yuanlongli.

He Yuanhang uses his experience to manage local informants, eventually tracking them to Jin Manshan (Mr. Jin). Despite his criminal background, Mr. Jin insists his organization has transitioned into a legitimate business entity focusing on public management, security, and beauty wellness. He Yuanhang remains unconvinced and inquires about the whereabouts of Mr. Jin's brother, Jin Manlang, also known as Wolf. Meanwhile, Ran Fangxu’s meticulous investigation leads him to the 18th floor.

While attempting to retrieve cigarette butts from a ledge as evidence, he accidentally breaks a window, injuring a young woman named Qiao Suqing. Feeling responsible, he accompanies her home to clean the wound. At her apartment, they share a brief moment of connection, and she gives him a pair of slippers to keep.

As the investigation continues, a disturbing rhyme about "eighteen pillars and eighteen heads" begins to circulate via flyers, warning of "bloodshed" for those who do not pass it on. Ran Fangxu hears children singing it and questions locals. One boy mentions seeing a man with a bag soaked in blood.

Security guards reveal that the top floor once housed a secret club shut down during a prostitution crackdown, and they show Ran Fangxu a hidden door leading to the rooftop, which was concealed to prevent intoxicated guests from falling. Simultaneously, He Yuanhang receives a series of urgent pager messages from a witness named Old Wang, requesting a meeting at "New York Harbor Room 407."

Upon arriving, He Yuanhang finds Jin Manlang hiding in the room, claiming to be a "gas company worker" to avoid suspicion. He Yuanhang quickly apprehends him, suspecting he was there to silence Old Wang. On the rooftop of Yuanlongli, Qu Dahai and his team arrive at what they believe is a murder scene, only to find the bodies of eighteen chickens with their throats slit. The owner, Mr. Ge, is hysterical over the loss of his livestock.

While Qu Dahai dismisses the incident as a nuisance, Ran Fangxu remains serious. He suspects the killer slaughtered the chickens to mask the presence of human blood with animal blood. Despite the skepticism of his colleagues, Ran Fangxu insists on taking blood samples for forensic testing. Back at the station, He Yuanhang interrogates Jin Manlang. Though initially flippant, Jin Manlang eventually cracks under pressure.

He admits to meeting a masked individual who paid him 10,000 yuan upfront, with a promise of another 30,000 yuan and high-end Flip-top Yuxi cigarettes. The stranger’s chilling instruction was simple: he wanted certain targets to "disappear."

In 1997, the interrogation of Jin Manlang revealed a shady deal with a masked man. Jin was instructed to wait at the Qihuang Clinic—an unlicensed qigong center—on the afternoon of June 30th to make two people "disappear." However, Jin claimed he never intended to kill them; he only wanted to scare them into leaving Weiyang forever. He had waited on the 17th floor, but the targets unexpectedly went to the 18th floor.

Frustrated after waiting until sunset and unable to collect his final payment, Jin fabricated a story of a double murder using a bag of chicken blood and a stained cloak to gain status among his peers. The detectives also questioned Du Mandun, the resident of unit 407. A dedicated fan of detective novels, the old man initially claimed he saw nothing because he had fallen into a deep sleep after reading.

However, Ran Fangxu used his knowledge of micro-expressions to determine that both Jin and Du were genuinely recalling memories, as their eyes reflexively moved to the left while speaking. Eventually, Du Mandun recalled seeing a woman twice—once in a staircase corner and again while she was carrying an old man. He noted a specific detail: she had medical patches on both of her wrists. The narrative shifts to 2015, where He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu returned to the now-abandoned Yuanlongli.

He Yuanhang, who kept calling Ran by the name "Han Ziyang," seemed deeply fixated on the past. In the vacant unit 407, they discovered a box containing items from the old case: a detective novel belonging to Du Mandun and a mooncake box belonging to "Xiao Huilang." Most unsettling was a missing person poster that appeared brand new, with fresh ink and paper despite the years that had passed.

While checking for a noise in unit 407, they found only a few pigeons, but Ran grew increasingly uneasy, feeling that He Yuanhang was prioritizing these old mysteries over Ran's current teaching curriculum. Back in 1997, Ran Fangxu proposed searching medical records for the woman with wrist patches, but He Yuanhang dismissed the idea, arguing such patches could be bought anywhere.

During the investigation, He Yuanhang took a call from his daughter, Xiaohe, and his wife, who suspected rumors that he was trying to transfer back to a local police station to avoid the dangers of the criminal department. Ran Fangxu used the distraction to get He Yuanhang to sign off on further investigative steps.

Later, while purchasing orchids to compensate Qiao Suqing for a broken window, Ran spotted a pair of "Double Fish" heels at a night market, identical to those worn by the missing woman. Following this lead, the duo met a woman at a hotpot restaurant who identified the person on the poster as "Mengmeng," a former colleague from a massage parlor.

She revealed that Mengmeng was a local named Xu Meng, who was known for her quiet nature and her devotion to her gravely ill father, Xu Zhihong. The investigation led them to "Muse Foot Massage," where Xu Meng was rumored to have worked after her previous workplace, Pattia, was raided. Fearing he would be recognized from previous police raids, He Yuanhang forced Ran to go in first.

The plan turned chaotic when Ran was mistaken for a lewd customer and splashed with footwater, but they successfully obtained a photocopy of Xu Meng’s ID. Upon arriving at Xu Meng’s residence, the detectives were met with the stench of rotting meat. After Ran picked the lock to gain entry, they found a meal left out in haste. Ran discovered an expensive dress from a high-end brand called "Baozi," which seemed far too luxurious for Xu Meng's lifestyle.

He also noted a bottle of Penicillin for her father's lung disease and recalled seeing the old man with a cigarette in security footage—a strange contradiction for someone with a severe respiratory illness. As they finished their search, they noticed someone lurking outside and prepared to intercept the intruder.

In 1997, He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu were staked out at the Xu residence when they were suddenly doused in red paint thrown from outside. While Ran Fangxu couldn't help but laugh at his mentor’s paint-covered face, they successfully apprehended two thugs lurking nearby. The men claimed to be low-level debt collectors for Jin Manshan, admitting they had spent two hundred yuan on tattoos just to look intimidating.

They revealed that Xu Meng’s family had borrowed only eight thousand yuan, but the debt had ballooned to two hundred and fifty thousand due to predatory interest rates. The thugs noted that the father and daughter had vanished the day before the Hong Kong handover and hadn't been seen since.

During the search of the house, Ran Fangxu used a fake gun to intimidate the thugs, calling it a tactic of "habitual thinking" where criminals naturally fear any weapon a policeman carries. He Yuanhang teased him for being a "real cop with a fake prop" but respected his partner's initiative. Later, He Yuanhang returned home and lied to his young daughter, He Xiaohe, claiming the paint on his face was just an ordinary occupational hazard.

Meanwhile, Ran Fangxu remained dedicated to the case, arriving at the registry office hours before opening to dig into the Xu family’s history. In 2015, a crisis gripped Weiyang City as four teenagers from Binchuan District went missing. Captain Zhao assigned Qu Dahai to lead the investigation alongside the municipal bureau to address the public's growing fear.

During the briefing, He Xiaohe—now a trained officer—requested a field assignment, but Captain Zhao dismissed her, telling her to focus on taking care of her father instead. At the station, the mother of missing boy Han Zi'ang pleaded for help, insisting her son was in Yuanlongli because an "old immortal" in a floral shirt had told her so. Back in 1997, the investigation into the Xu family’s disappearance led the partners to their relatives.

Xu Zhihong’s sister was cold and unsympathetic, viewing her brother as a burden. She revealed that two summers prior, the father and daughter were caught in a disaster on Mount Wu. Xu Zhihong had fallen off a cliff during a storm, leaving him with chronic injuries that bankrupted the family. Xu Meng’s uncle added that while Xu Zhihong was a devoted father, the financial strain had pushed Xu Meng into working as a hostess.

He claimed to have cut ties with them the previous winter after they allegedly began scamming relatives for medical funds. In 2015, He Yuanhang’s investigation led him to a drifters' camp at a construction site in Yuanlongli. His sharp instincts told him they were being followed through the building. Suddenly, screams echoed through the halls, and He Yuanhang rushed in to find Han Zi'ang brandishing a dull knife against two other people. He Yuanhang sustained a minor injury while intervening.

He Xiaohe arrived to pick up her father, leading to a stubborn bicker between the two, as He Yuanhang accused Qu Dahai of trying to swoop in and take credit for finding the boy. Returning to 1997, He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu tracked Jin Manshan to a gambling den. To bypass the lookouts, He Yuanhang feigned being a drunk while Ran Fangxu carried him toward the entrance. After a successful distraction, they raided the den.

Ran Fangxu apprehended Jin Manshan, identifying him by his signature gold chain and gold teeth. Jin Manshan played the "old fox," denying any personal connection to Xu Meng and claiming she was just a "small fish" among his clients. He also defended his brother, Jin Manlang, asserting that the man was a coward who wouldn't even kill a chicken, regardless of any boasts he might have made while in custody.

He Yuanhang eventually released Jin Manshan on the condition that he use his street connections to uncover what else the Xu family was mixed up in. As they drove back that night, He Yuanhang spoke proudly of his daughter’s intelligence and stubborn nature. When he tried to get Ran Fangxu to open up about his own family, he was saddened to learn that Ran’s parents had already passed away. Soon after, Jin Manshan’s inquiries yielded a lead: the person who had hired his brother to target the Xus drove a Mercedes-Benz with a license plate ending in 688.

After returning from his investigation, He Yuanhang stops by a local noodle shop for a bowl of mutton rice noodles. The neighbors and the shop owner welcome him back but warn him about the new director at the station, Director Qu, whose stern "poker face" has everyone on edge. He Yuanhang humorously reassures them that he will handle the situation once he officially returns in three days.

At the station, Captain Feng leads a briefing regarding a major burglary at the Dongshan Mine where valuable materials were stolen. He orders the team to prioritize the special task force for the case. However, Ran Fangxu stands his ground, insisting that his current missing person case is more urgent. He cites statistics from his studies at the police academy, noting that twenty-five percent of missing person cases turn into homicides and they have already passed the critical seventy-two-hour window.

To protect his apprentice, He Yuanhang steps in and mediates, promising Captain Feng that they will solve the case within three days, or he will personally deliver Ran to the task force. While sharing a meal, He Yuanhang tries to bridge the gap with his stubborn apprentice, suggesting Ran call him "Old He" instead of being so formal.

Ran reveals the personal trauma driving his obsession: his own parents first went missing and were later found dead after authorities initially dismissed their disappearance as a minor issue. He Yuanhang realizes that Ran’s intensity comes from a place of profound grief. Seeking new leads, He Yuanhang returns to the Muse Foot Massage parlor. He manages to pull one of the employees, Lili, aside for a private talk.

Lili confesses that the missing Xu Meng actually "took a hit" for her. She recounts a night when Song Qingsong, the wealthy owner of Qingsong Cement, visited and became violent after Lili touched his briefcase. To appease him, the manager, Zhao Hongmei, swapped Lili for Xu Meng. Lili notes that the briefcase contained thick stacks of white paper rather than money, and Song had threatened to make Xu Meng "disappear from Weiyang" when she wouldn't stop crying.

Across town, Song Qingsong manages his business interests while seeking funds from an associate named Mr. Liu. However, his mood sours when he confronts his subordinate and brother-in-law, Wu Shanlong. Song is furious because he received a blackmail letter, leading him to believe the father and daughter he ordered to be killed are still alive.

Although Wu Shanlong insists he hired a professional hitman to bury them in the mountains, a paranoid Song orders him to dig up the bodies to provide proof, threatening that if they aren't dead, Wu will be the one to disappear. Eighteen years later, a retired He Yuanhang attempts to convince his daughter, He Xiaohe, to let him help with the "Yuanlongli case."

Now a police officer herself, Xiaohe is dismissive and tells her father to stop obsessing over the investigation and stay away from the scene. When Ran Fangxu, now working as a teacher, arrives to visit his old mentor, Xiaohe remains cold and leaves the room, frustrated by her father’s persistence. Back in the past, He Yuanhang’s wife calls to inform him she is going on a business trip, leaving him to look after their young daughter.

He Yuanhang brings the young Xiaohe to the station, where she meets Ran Fangxu for the first time. The precocious girl embarrasses her father by telling Ran that her mother warned He Yuanhang to "butter up" the academy graduate so he could get a promotion later. Meanwhile, Ran Fangxu continues his investigation at the residential apartments. A neighbor gossips about the woman in Room 415, Qiao Suqing, being the mistress of an elderly man who recently died.

However, the neighbor points out that Room 1703 is the one Song Qingsong actually uses to house various women. Ran heads to the seventeenth floor with the property manager and finds the door to 1703 slightly ajar with music playing. A man inside claims to be Song’s secretary, but Ran’s instincts kick in. He subdues the man, who is actually a notorious thief named Ma Qiang (also known as Luan Dongzi).

As He Yuanhang arrives at the scene with young Xiaohe, he is surprised to find that his apprentice has managed to catch a burglar in the middle of their missing person investigation.

In 1997, Ran Fangxu stood outside the police station, stubbornly waiting for the businessman Song Qingsong to fulfill a promise. His seasoned mentor, He Yuanhang, was far more cynical. He told the young officer that if a "fox" like Song actually kept his word, every pig in Weiyang would be climbing trees. To He’s surprise, a Mercedes with the license plate 688 pulled up just as he finished his mocking remark.

Meanwhile, the underworld figure Jin Manshan watched from the shadows. When a hotheaded subordinate wanted to strike back for their "brother" Wolf, Jin stopped him, reminding him they had "transformed" into businessmen and shouldn't rely on blades. He saw a bigger opportunity to squeeze Song Qingsong for a share of his business by exploiting Song’s connection to their recent troubles.

Inside the station, He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu questioned Wu Shanlong, Song’s brother-in-law, who claimed the items found in a safe belonged to him. During the interrogation, the two officers utilized a "good cop, bad cop" strategy. They went through an inventory of Moutai, Zhonghua cigarettes, and a gold Rolex, but the pressure mounted when they brought up thirty thousand yuan in cash.

He Yuanhang alluded to the "unspoken rules" of the underworld—a forty-thousand-yuan hit job requiring a ten-thousand-yuan deposit and a thirty-thousand-yuan balance. Ran Fangxu noticed Wu’s shifty behavior; the man lied about a missing briefcase but clearly remembered the specific amount of cash. Under the weight of their suspicion, Wu was pressured to arrange a meeting with Song. At the Dahuihuang Nightclub, Song Qingsong’s evening was spiraling into chaos.

While venting his rage on a hostess, he received a frantic call from Director Li informing him that the Dongshan Mine had been robbed. The bidding documents were gone, and the authorities were declaring all stolen files null and void. Song was ordered to burn his own copy to avoid being framed for the theft. Fury consumed him as he realized the eight million yuan he had invested had effectively turned into worthless paper.

He felt cornered, especially as business associates began to distance themselves. He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu eventually cornered Song in his private room at the nightclub. He Yuanhang pretended he was just stopping by to relax, but the tension was palpable. They confronted Song with a report of solicitation and showed him a photo of a woman named Mengmeng from Muse Foot Massage, whom Song had allegedly beaten. Song denied ever hitting women and demanded evidence.

To break the stalemate, He Yuanhang implied that Wu Shanlong had already confessed at the station, specifically about a briefcase and the order to make Mengmeng "disappear" from Weiyang. To save his boss, Wu Shanlong incited a riot by smashing a bottle against his own head and screaming that the vice squad was raiding the club. In the resulting panic, Song Qingsong managed to slip away to his car. A high-stakes chase ensued through the city streets.

He Yuanhang pushed his humble Fukang to its limit, determined not to let Song’s Mercedes escape. He was willing to cause an accident just to get both the man and the car back to the station. However, the pursuit ended in a collision that disabled the police vehicle, allowing Song to vanish. Adding insult to injury, the traffic police later informed He Yuanhang that Song had reported the accident as a rear-end collision, demanding thirty thousand yuan in damages.

Meanwhile, a panicked Wu Shanlong called a female associate, warning her that the police were onto the Mengmeng matter and that they would all be in trouble if Song was caught. While babysitting He Yuanhang’s young daughter, Xiaohe, Ran Fangxu continued the investigation at the old Yuanlongli compound. They explored the complex’s underground garage, a place that could be used to bypass security cameras. While navigating the dark tunnels, Ran and a young Xiaohe stumbled upon Manager Qian.

The property manager, often mocked as a "penny-pincher," claimed he was merely fixing motion-sensor lights he had turned off to save electricity. Xiaohe immediately accused him of being a thief, but the confrontation was interrupted by other staff members. Ran discovered that the garage keys were no longer strictly controlled; since the Pattia Club had opened, guests and staff had been using the garage as a shortcut, making the "maze" accessible to many untraceable individuals.

In 2015, the focus shifted to a new generation of law enforcement. He Xiaohe was assigned her first independent case involving a missing boy named Han Zi’ang. While the municipal bureau was forming a task force for a string of disappearances in the Binchuan District, Captain Zhao handed the Zi'ang case to Xiaohe, noting it was likely just a prank. He Yuanhang, now older, desperately wanted to help his daughter.

He even posed as a "Living God" (a diviner) to gain information from the boy’s mother, Wang-jie. However, Xiaohe caught him in the act and was deeply embarrassed. She rejected his help, urging her father to stop dwelling on his old cases and "demons." She insisted that he should go home and stay out of the investigation for the sake of her career and his own peace of mind.

In 1997, He Yuanhang continued his relentless search for the fugitive Song Qingsong. He stopped at a repair shop near the Qingsong Cement Factory to fix his damaged vehicle and gather information. The shop owner revealed that the factory was guarded like an armory and mentioned a massive brawl that had occurred recently involving over two hundred men. It was a violent clash between Song Qingsong and his rival, Cripple Du, over the lucrative business at the Dongshan Mine.

At the cement factory, Wu Shanlong met with Song Qingsong. Song rewarded him for his recent performance but immediately demanded the return of over 100,000 yuan in goods stolen from Yuanlongli. Song also questioned Wu about the location of a woman’s body. When Wu offered to dig it up, Song ordered him to burn or dissolve the remains instead, demanding a photograph as proof of the destruction.

He warned Wu that if the police caught him, he would have to take the fall alone, or his entire family would disappear. While He Yuanhang was waiting for his car at the repair shop, he was spotted by Wu Shanlong from the factory. To aid their escape, a bulldozer was sent out to dump a massive load of sand over He Yuanhang's car, allowing the suspects to flee in the confusion.

Later, Wu Shanlong was confronted by a man demanding "lost profit" compensation for his brother, Little Gray Wolf, who had been arrested. During the tense exchange, Wu signed a 300,000-yuan contractor agreement and callously admitted that he was the one who had "taken care of" the father and daughter from the earlier incident at Yuanlongli. In 2015, Ran Fangxu and He Xiaohe continued their investigation at Yuanlongli.

Ran tried to explain Trémaux's algorithm as a method for solving the building's labyrinthine corridors, but Xiaohe found the explanation overly complicated and simply drew a direct line from the entrance to the exit. On the rooftop, they encountered the property manager, Qian Dajun, who was harassing an elderly man, Jin Manshan, over a chicken coop. Jin fiercely protected his colorful chicks, threatening to maim anyone who touched them.

Xiaohe was fascinated by the birds, but when the old man gave her an egg, she accidentally cracked it against her head, only to realize it was raw. He Xiaohe also visited Danfeng Middle School to speak with Principal Qin regarding Han Zi'ang. The school intended to expel the boy after a stabbing incident, but Xiaohe urged the principal to reconsider.

She argued that the boy was a social recluse obsessed with manga who likely acted out of fear and self-defense in the "haunted" Yuanlongli. She shared her own history of rebellion, explaining how one person’s refusal to give up on her allowed her to become a police officer. Moved by her plea, Principal Qin agreed to delay the expulsion pending the police investigation. Ran Fangxu decided to leave He Xiaohe in the care of Qiao Suqing.

While Xiaohe was there, a neighbor named Old Du approached the elder He Yuanhang, spreading rumors that Qiao Suqing was a mistress and that Ran had been seen frequenting her apartment. He Yuanhang dismissed the gossip, telling the neighbor to stick to his detective novels. When He Yuanhang met Qiao, he told her he only trusted what he saw with his own eyes and ignored the rumors.

Due to the urgency of his case, he asked Qiao to continue watching his daughter for the evening. Following a lead from Mengmeng’s former colleague, Lili, He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu learned about a mysterious "Mr. Sun." Lili described him as a regular who frequently brought Mengmeng expensive clothes from labels like Baozi and Double Fish. This led them to Su Yuzhi’s boutique. Su identified the man as Sun Zhengyong, a Fujianese businessman who dealt in high-end counterfeits.

She explained that Sun often bought authentic dresses to use as templates before giving the originals to girls he liked. She recalled a drunken argument at the Batia club where Sun grew angry because Mengmeng rejected his romantic advances. Back at Qiao Suqing’s home, Xiaohe noticed Qiao was studying for the Adult Gaokao to improve her life. Inspired, Xiaohe made a pinky promise with Qiao that they would both work hard to become top students.

Meanwhile, in a secret meeting, Wu Shanlong met with Zhao Hongmei. He was visibly injured and paranoid, explaining that Song Qingsong wanted him to take the fall for the police investigation into Mengmeng. When Zhao pressed him for the truth, Wu finally admitted that Mengmeng was dead.

On a dark and stormy night, a security guard discovers a severed head hidden in a bag. Trembling with fear, he disposes of the remains by dropping them into a ventilation opening on the rooftop of the Yuanlongli building, whispering pleas for forgiveness into the rain. The investigation into the disappearance of Xu Meng and her father leads Ran Fangxu to Sun Zhengyong’s clothing store.

He finds the owner absent, with a young clerk who only started working two days prior. The clerk explains that he was instructed to tell everyone that Sun is out restocking. Meanwhile, at a boutique named Baozi, an employee named Jessica confirms that Sun is a VIP client. On May 10th, he purchased twelve identical classic-style dresses, claiming they were gifts for various women. Back at the police station, Jin Manlang—now a manager for the Longwei Group—retracts his previous statement.

He denies hiring anyone for a killing, insisting he only pursued Xu Meng and her father to collect a debt. He even threatens to report He Yuanhang for using illegal methods to force a confession. Later, He Yuanhang encounters the immaculately dressed Jin at a demolition site. Despite Jin’s arrogant claims that his group prioritizes peace, He Yuanhang remains deeply suspicious of the man he once knew as a low-level thug.

Qiao Suqing is now serving as the finance director for Longwei Real Estate, managing the Yuanlongli demolition. While some neighbors spread malicious rumors about her past, He Yuanhang defends her as a professional woman who has worked hard to improve her life. Hoping to keep his protégé in the city, He Yuanhang brings Ran Fangxu to see Qiao, asking her to help persuade him to stay.

However, Qiao believes it is time for He Yuanhang to let go of the past. When Ran produces a train ticket to Beijing for the next morning, He Yuanhang finally exerts his authority as a mentor, officially ordering Ran to remain in Weiyang to finish the case. While He Xiaohe stays overnight at Qiao Suqing’s home, He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu spend the night reviewing weeks of surveillance footage.

Their persistence pays off when they spot Sun Zhengyong scouting the Qihuang Clinic on June 27th. They realize Sun likely tricked Xu Meng into believing the clinic had moved to the eighteenth floor. Suddenly, they notice Sun appearing on the live security feed at the same building. They rush to the scene, and after a struggle where He Yuanhang coaches Ran through a tactical takedown, they apprehend Sun.

During interrogation, Sun Zhengyong claims Xu Meng borrowed 30,000 yuan from him in late June, stating she was being threatened and needed to flee with her father. He admits they had a heated argument after she rejected his drunken proposal, but he denies any involvement in her disappearance. The investigation hits a snag when He Yuanhang's old rival, Qu Dahai, reveals that Sun was actually in police custody for five days starting June 29th for selling counterfeit goods.

This provides Sun with an ironclad alibi for the night of the 30th. Meanwhile, the corporate world is in turmoil. Wu Shanlong reports to Song Qingsong that while he was attempting to relocate a body, he was intercepted by a rival's men who stole both the vehicle and the corpse. Furthermore, Director Li begins blackmailing Song with bid documents for the Dongshan Mine. Fearing his downfall is imminent, Song Qingsong orders tickets to Los Angeles.

Wu Shanlong, remaining loyal to his brother-in-law, agrees to stay behind and take the fall for any crimes discovered at the cement factory to protect Song’s family. Disheartened by the lack of evidence, He Yuanhang contemplates returning to his local precinct, but Ran Fangxu refuses to give up. To break the deadlock, He Yuanhang introduces Ran to his "immersive experience" method of reconstruction. He has Ran carry him through the building to simulate Xu Meng carrying her father.

During this simulation, they notice a discrepancy: the father was seen holding a cigarette in the footage despite having a terminal lung condition that made smoking impossible. This realization leads them to discover a hidden keyhole near the elevator, revealing a secret, secondary elevator system.

He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu used a key to unlock a hidden compartment in the elevator, discovering a secret door and a letter written in a cryptic language. As they investigated the "haunted" building, He Yuanhang remarked that one must always trust science over superstition, feeling a sense of relief as the mystery finally began to unravel. Upon returning to the station, Captain Feng informed them that they had performed a great service.

Thanks to their leads, the police caught Wu Shanlong, who had been using actors to mislead the investigation. The truth behind the mine case was revealed: Director Li had sold the same tender for the Dongshan Mine to both Song Qingsong and Cripple Du for millions. He then staged a theft to cover his tracks, but the recovery of the tender documents from Wu Shanlong’s home sealed the case.

With his secondment ending, He Yuanhang prepared to return to his local precinct and invited his apprentice, Ran Fangxu, to his home for a meal. Eighteen years later, the dynamic between the two had shifted. Ran Fangxu, now seasoned and living in Beijing, urged his retired mentor to finally enjoy his old age. He suggested it was time for He Yuanhang to step down and let the younger generation, including He Yuanhang’s daughter, He Xiaohe, take the lead.

However, He Yuanhang remained obsessed with the "June 30th" case. He insisted on seeing the investigation through to the end, continuing to plaster reports on the walls in search of the truth that had eluded him for nearly two decades. He Xiaohe, now a police officer herself, found her father still lingering around the old case files in the corridor. Although she urged him to go home and stop involving himself, He Yuanhang offered to help her with the investigation.

When she hesitated, he and Ran Fangxu slipped away to continue their work. He Yuanhang utilized Ran Fangxu's signature technique—immersive re-enactment—to simulate the victim's movements and demonstrate the hidden logic of the crime scene. Through this method, Xiaohe understood the secret of the old building.

Based on the marks left behind, she deduced that the victim, Han Zi'ang, had not been lying in wait to attack anyone; instead, he had been fleeing an assault and hid in a wooden cupboard for protection, acting only in self-defense. Seeing that Xiaohe was now fully capable of analyzing complex cases, Ran Fangxu felt at peace. He told her he would wait for her good news in Beijing, though his departure left the aging He Yuanhang visibly emotional.

The investigation eventually uncovered the story of Xu Meng and her father, Xu Zhihong. Years prior, a mountain accident had left the father severely injured, forcing Xu Meng to take out predatory high-interest loans for his treatment. Faced with constant harassment from debt collectors, they decided the only way to survive was to disappear from Weiyang. Utilizing Xu Zhihong’s mechanical skills, they fashioned an elevator key and modified the shaft to stage a "supernatural" vanishing act.

They chose to escape during the broadcast of the Hong Kong handover in 1997, when the streets were empty. By creating a mysterious disappearance, they hoped to terrify their creditors into giving up. They fled through a basement garage path not covered by security cameras. He Yuanhang’s final report suggested that while their disappearance was a calculated act to evade debt, the police should expand the search to locate them.

Back in 1997, Ran Fangxu visited He Yuanhang’s home for the first time, bringing gifts for the family. He Yuanhang pulled his apprentice aside, warning him not to mention his return to the local precinct to his wife, Sun Yun. During the meal, Sun Yun saw through their awkwardness but treated Ran Fangxu with great respect, promising to introduce him to young women from her bank. Little Xiaohe, however, mentioned that a woman named Qiao Suqing already liked him.

The evening was filled with professional pride. While Ran Fangxu acknowledged He Yuanhang as his mentor, He Yuanhang secretly swapped the names on the final case report, giving Ran Fangxu the primary credit to help his career. As they said goodbye at the station, He Yuanhang watched with a heavy heart, realizing how much he valued their partnership. In a surreal blur of memory and reality, the aging He Yuanhang stood on the platform, tearfully watching the train depart.

Suddenly, he saw his apprentice standing before him again, and he proudly introduced Ran Fangxu to the people around him as his unbeatable partner. However, a sense of unease soon took hold. He remembered the train leaving and Ran Fangxu returning to his life in Beijing long ago. Confused, he questioned how the train—and his apprentice—could have possibly come back, as the lines between his memories and the present began to fade.

In 2015, at the Weiyang train station, He Yuanhang experiences a vivid hallucination of his apprentice, Ran Fangxu, leaving for a teaching position in Beijing. The illusion is shattered when he encounters Qian Dajun, a developer and former property manager of Yuanlongli. Qian is stunned by He Yuanhang’s behavior and bluntly reveals the grim reality: Ran Fangxu has been dead for twelve years, having met a tragic and brutal end.

The shock of this realization causes He Yuanhang to spiral into a frenzy before collapsing, leading to his urgent hospitalization. While he is recovering, the truth behind He Yuanhang’s condition is revealed to his colleagues. For the past two years, his daughter He Xiaohe, along with neighbors and fellow officers, had been participating in a "benevolent charade." Whenever He Yuanhang hallucinated Ran’s presence, they would stage fake cases—such as missing children—to keep him occupied.

Once the "case" was solved, they would "send Ran off" at the train station to snap He Yuanhang back to reality. This system failed when a real disappearance occurred at Yuanlongli, causing He Yuanhang to lose his grip on the charade. Upon waking, he finally acknowledges that his apprentice is truly gone. The narrative shifts back to 2002, a time when China was swept up in the excitement of its first World Cup appearance.

He Yuanhang is serving as a deputy station chief, managing the unrest following the closure of the Qingsong Cement Factory, where workers are demanding a year's worth of unpaid wages from the hidden boss, Wu Shanlong. Meanwhile, Ran Fangxu is a rising star in the criminal investigation department. He is called to assist with a difficult triple homicide at a roadside hair salon.

Despite a heavy thunderstorm and open taps washing away the evidence, Ran uses his "creative thinking" to track the killer through a drainage ditch. He finds a discarded, blood-stained raincoat with a missing button that matches one found in a victim's hand, allowing the police to lock onto the suspect in less than half a day. During this same period, a resident in Yuanlongli searching for his missing rooster, "General White," discovers a human skull on a rooftop.

He Yuanhang returns from training to find his jurisdiction in an uproar. DNA tests confirm the remains belong to Xu Zhihong, the central figure of a missing person case from June 30, 1997. Forensic analysis reveals that Xu suffered blunt force trauma while alive and was later dismembered. This discovery proves that the 1997 case—which He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu had closed as a disappearance to avoid debt—was actually a homicide.

Feeling responsible for the error, He Yuanhang tries to take the blame to protect Ran’s reputation, but Captain Feng views the case as a necessary test for the young detective. He Yuanhang is seconded back to the investigation and finds Ran at the crime scene in a state of despair. Consumed by guilt, Ran believes his failure five years ago led to the deaths of the Xu family.

He reveals that his obsession with missing person cases stems from the unresolved disappearance of his own parents. He Yuanhang tries to pull his apprentice out of his self-loathing, urging him to focus on bringing the killer to justice. However, while navigating the site, He Yuanhang suffers a heavy fall, causing a panicked Ran to rush to his aid.

In 2015, He Xiaohe takes care of her father, He Yuanhang, whose mental health has severely declined. His condition began with a stroke in 2002, followed by a serious injury during a law enforcement operation and the sudden death of his apprentice, Ran Fangxu. After retiring two years ago, He Yuanhang received some of Ran Fangxu’s belongings, which triggered a relapse.

He now lives in a hallucination where his apprentice is still alive and has spent the last twelve years teaching in Beijing. Whenever he "sees" Ran Fangxu, he desperately tries to convince him to stay and help solve their old cold cases. Back in 2002, He Yuanhang wakes up in a hospital bed after falling into a rooftop shaft.

The doctor explains that while he only suffered minor abrasions, the fall was caused by a sudden stroke brought on by dangerously high blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol. Despite orders to stay for observation, He Yuanhang is restless. When Ran Fangxu visits and apologizes for letting his personal emotions interfere with the case, He Yuanhang pulls out his IV drip, insisting they immediately resume the investigation into the "June 30th Case."

The investigation focuses on Song Qingsong, the primary suspect who fled to the United States five years ago. Ran Fangxu finds it suspicious that Song would abandon his cement factory and his three-year-old son to escape what would have likely been a minor bribery sentence due to insufficient murder evidence.

They decide the best way to find Song is to track down his former driver, Wu Shanlong, who took over the cement factory but has since gone into hiding due to massive debts. They locate Wu Shanlong at the Da Huihuang Club, where he is boasting about his wealth to the staff. His bravado is cut short by the manager, Zhao Hongmei (Mei Jie), who is tired of him leeching off the establishment.

She berates him, calling him a "smelly driver" and revealing that the police recently found the remains of old man Xu Zhihong in Yuanlongli. She calls Wu a murderer and tells him to run away like his brother-in-law, Song Qingsong, did. When He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu intervene, Wu Shanlong initially plays dumb but eventually agrees to talk. Under interrogation, Wu Shanlong admits that Song Qingsong offered him 40,000 yuan to "eliminate" Xu Meng and her father.

Wu claims he was too afraid to do it himself and suggested Song hired someone else. He reveals the motive: Xu Meng had seen a bidding document in Song’s bag at a foot massage parlor and tried to extort him, which drove Song to a murderous rage. When Ran Fangxu mentions a name from the past, "Wolfie" (Xiao Huilang), Wu Shanlong’s nervous reaction suggests he is hiding more, though he insists he hasn't spoken to Song in five years.

As the investigation continues, Ran Fangxu receives a report from the forensics department. High levels of arsenic (arsenic trioxide) were found in Xu Zhihong’s skull, suggesting he was slowly poisoned over a long period. Ran Fangxu becomes obsessed with re-examining the residents of Yuanlongli, explaining his "Fantian Theorem"—the idea that to truly understand the center of a crime, one must become a part of it. He Yuanhang worries that his apprentice is becoming too consumed by the case.

Meanwhile, Ran Fangxu picks up He Xiaohe from school. Xiaohe, feeling neglected by her father’s constant work, convinces Ran Fangxu to take her to a basement where her band practices. There, Ran Fangxu encounters the band's keyboardist, a boy he once chased during an investigation. Despite the rough surroundings, Xiaohe takes great pride in her role as the lead singer and bassist, even showing off the songs she has written.

In 2015, He Xiaohe deals with a crisis involving a boy named Han Zi'ang, who is suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The boy is catatonic in the hospital, and the school is under pressure from parents to expel him. He Xiaohe manages to negotiate a seven-day deadline with Principal Qin to find evidence and clear the boy's name. During this time, He Yuanhang runs into Qiao Suqing at a clinic.

Now working for the demolition office, Qiao remains single. He Yuanhang urges her to stop living in the past and let go of her feelings for the late Ran Fangxu. Back in the past, Qiao Suqing treats a minor injury for Ran Fangxu. She shares her history, explaining how she moved from Guangxi to work as a carer for an elderly man in Yuanlongli.

After the old man died in an accident, she stayed in the building despite the neighbors' gossip. She confesses to Ran Fangxu that since the incident on the rooftop, she constantly feels like a pair of eyes is watching her at night. Their conversation is interrupted by neighbors complaining about a "pervert" in the building who has been stealing women's laundry and shoes.

Following a lead, He Yuanhang catches a man who has been spying on the Xu family’s home for six years. The man, a handicapped and lonely divorcee, confesses that he was paid 500 yuan in the summer of 1996 to watch the apartment and report any unusual activity. He describes the man who hired him as a tall, bespectacled gentleman in his mid-twenties with a side-parted hairstyle. As the investigation shifts, Wu Shanlong is suddenly ambushed and knocked unconscious by an unknown assailant while checking on his car.

Wu Shanlong, still nursing a head wound from the recent attack, photographed the body of a young girl hidden in his trunk before driving to a remote area to dispose of the remains. Meanwhile, He Yuanhang continued his investigation into the person who had been monitoring the Xu family. He discovered that the Guangdong phone number belonging to the employer was now out of service, cutting off a vital lead.

In 2002, Ran Fangxu investigated reports of a prowler stealing women’s lingerie and stockings. He questioned Du Mingliang, a young man caught acting suspiciously in the building. Du claimed he was merely playing "guerrilla warfare" to hide his gaming habits from his overbearing, menopausal mother. Their conversation was interrupted by Du’s mother, who berated her son before revealing that years ago, she had seen Xu Zhihong arguing with a man named Zhang Ersong at the Qihuang Clinic.

She described Zhang as a con artist from her hometown who had served time in prison for fraud, though his business had since expanded into a larger establishment called Songbentang. Neighbors also recalled strange occurrences at the Xu household just before the 1997 Hong Kong handover. Xu Zhihong had been heard chiseling away at his doorframe, claiming he needed to widen the opening to sell a large wardrobe to pay for an expensive qigong master to treat his father.

However, the wardrobe was never sold. The following day, a scrap collector haggled with Xu for a long time but only ended up taking away a collection of jars and bottles. During a band rehearsal, He Xiaohe and her friends were confronted by the angry father of their keyboardist. The man shouted at the students for wasting time on music instead of studying, eventually smashing their keyboard in a rage. Later, Ran Fangxu picked up a frustrated He Xiaohe.

When she got into a heated argument with her father, He Yuanhang, over her musical ambitions, Ran stepped in to mediate. He suggested that adults often discourage dreams because they have suffered too many failures themselves. Back in the 2002 timeline, He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu visited Zhang Ersong’s clinic. They bypassed the long queue by confronting Zhang about his criminal past in Langzhong and his fraudulent credentials.

Ran presented evidence that Xu Zhihong’s skull contained traces of arsenic, which he linked to the high levels of realgar in Zhang’s proprietary prescriptions. Zhang admitted that Xu had threatened to expose him to the media over a refund dispute but insisted their conflict never reached the level of murder. He further revealed that Wu Shanlong had once sought qigong to treat a "strange habit" of collecting women’s clothing and watching women from a distance.

A breakthrough occurred when Wu Zhengxiong, a video rental shop owner arrested for producing obscene discs, offered information about the severed head case in exchange for leniency. He claimed that in 1997, he saw Wu Shanlong hiring a man known as Wolfie to "deal with" Xu Meng and her father. Wu Zhengxiong was certain of the identification because he had seen Wu Shanlong driving a Mercedes with a distinct license plate ending in 688.

He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu interrogated Wu Shanlong, who complained about the police's lack of compassion for his head injury. Wu claimed an unknown assailant had knocked him out with a stone after he parked his car. When confronted with the murder plot, Wu eventually confessed to hiring Wolfie on Song Qingsong's orders, but he maintained the intent was only to scare the Xu family into leaving town. Denying any involvement in their deaths, Wu was eventually released.

Ran Fangxu decided to trail him, hoping he would lead them to an accomplice or show his hand now that he felt free. In 2015, He Xiaohe worked late to prove that Han Zi'ang had acted in self-defense, hoping to save him from expulsion. After learning from a colleague that her father was the man Ran Fangxu respected most, she sought her father's guidance.

He Yuanhang suggested that teenagers often hide their true interests from their parents, suspecting that Han Zi'ang might have frequented unlicensed internet cafes. They visited a hidden cafe in Yuanlongli run by Du Mingliang. There, a gamer recognized Han Zi'ang as a regular who enjoyed Japanese anime and confirmed seeing two of the other missing children at the cafe as well.

In 2015, He Xiaohe leads a police raid on an illegal internet cafe in Yuanlongli, arresting the owner as a key suspect. However, Captain Qu Dahai of the special task force arrives and takes over the case. Xiaohe’s father, He Yuanhang, is outraged that his daughter is being sidelined after finding a lead. He confronts Qu Dahai, citing the "Tremaux Algorithm" once used by his late apprentice, Ran Fangxu.

Qu Dahai lashes out, blaming He Yuanhang’s past behavior for Ran’s death. The emotional weight of the accusation causes He Yuanhang to suffer a medical episode, during which he hallucinates Ran Fangxu’s presence. Back at the station, Qu Dahai receives orders to merge several cases into the "Five Teenagers Case." Despite his earlier harshness, Qu eventually relents under pressure from He Yuanhang, who uses his "conversations" with the late Ran Fangxu as a shield.

Qu grants He Xiaohe special permission to assist with the investigation of Han Zi’ang’s case, provided she reports all actions to the task force. The story shifts back to 2002 during the World Cup. Ran Fangxu and He Yuanhang are investigating the disappearance of Xu Zhihong and his daughter, Xu Meng. They learn that a resident named Wu Shanlong does part-time electrical work for the building's property manager, Qian.

Other residents, including Qiao Suqing, complain of a creepy "gaze" at night and notice that women's shoes and clothes frequently go missing. Ran Fangxu enlists Qiao Suqing's help and uses a camera to find a hidden pinhole lens Wu installed in her room. Simultaneously, He Yuanhang tracks down a former associate of a fugitive criminal. The man reveals that in 1997, Wu Shanlong approached a thug named Wolfie to "do away with" the Xu family.

When the thug failed to act, Wu later boasted that he had handled the matter himself. Realizing Wu is the killer, He Yuanhang and Ran Fangxu coordinate a sting operation. To flush Wu out, they have Manager Qian cut the power to the building, much to the annoyance of residents trying to watch the China vs. Brazil World Cup match.

Wu Shanlong realizes the police are closing in and flees his room, which is filled with stolen high-heeled shoes and silver coins. He Yuanhang finds a stool still warm from the suspect's presence, sparking a high-stakes chase through the building and into the underground garage. In the chaotic struggle, Wu attempts to ambush the officers but falls from a height, dying instantly after being impaled by steel rods.

He Yuanhang is also gravely injured when a steel rod pierces his lung and breaks his ribs. At the hospital, He Yuanhang eventually wakes up. Ran Fangxu informs him that forensic evidence found in Wu’s bathroom—human bone fragments matching Xu Zhihong and skin flakes in a pair of blue heels matching Xu Meng—confirms Wu as the murderer. Ran explains the motive: Wu had a physiological defect that fueled a twisted obsession with women.

He had targeted Xu Meng and tricked the family into a "staged disappearance" to escape debt, only to murder them when they resisted his attempts to possess her. As He Yuanhang recovers, his wife, Sun Yun, presents him with a divorce agreement, intending to take Xiaohe to the provincial capital for a fresh start. However, Xiaohe stubbornly refuses to leave her father or her "rock and roll career" in Weiyang. Sun Yun eventually leaves alone, granting He Yuanhang custody.

Ran Fangxu later visits to present He Yuanhang with a Second-Class Merit for his role in solving the Xu family case. Deeply moved, He Yuanhang teases his apprentice but ultimately tells him to get back to work at the station.

In 2002, He Yuanhang prepared for his discharge from the hospital. His apprentice, Ran Fangxu, arrived early to help him pack. While tidying up, He Yuanhang noticed a paper titled "Paradox Thinking in Criminal Investigations" written by Ran. Although Ran dismissed it as naive "armchair theorizing" from two years prior, He Yuanhang praised its practicality and constructive insights. When asked about his future, He Yuanhang expressed his desire to remain with the criminal department despite his injuries.

Ran assured him that a position would be kept for him. However, He Yuanhang remained unsettled by the resolution of the Xu Meng case. He found it suspicious that a five-year-old mystery was wrapped up in less than three days. He suggested the possibility that Xu Meng might have escaped from Wu Shanlong long ago and that Wu had simply kept her shoes as trophies. During their talk, Ran revealed that Captain Feng had retired the previous week.

Realizing his apprentice had been promoted to Captain, He Yuanhang was genuinely happy for him and urged him to get back to his new responsibilities. Four months later, the police department focused on a theft ring hiding in an urban village. The group had stolen 1. 5 million yuan in cash from the Railway Administration. During a briefing, Director Zou caught Ran Fangxu dozing off after an all-nighter and sent him outside to wake up.

The operation’s main difficulty was the northeast corner of the village, which was filled with hidden paths and escape routes. Ran stepped up and volunteered to secure the area, a task so difficult that his colleagues joked he was staking his life on it. The operation was a success. Ran coordinated with a public security team to box in the suspect, Luandongzi.

Trapped in his car, Luandongzi immediately tried to bargain for leniency by reporting the property manager of Yuanlongli, Qian Dajun, claiming he was "bad news." Back at the station, Luandongzi tried to protect his accomplices by claiming he stole the money alone during a heavy rainstorm. Ran was skeptical. He calculated that 1. 5 million yuan weighed nearly forty pounds and that the escape route was 1,400 meters long.

To test the story, Ran forced Luandongzi to carry a thirty-pound bag of rice and run laps around a field, timing him to see if he could truly outrun security. Luandongzi collapsed in less than two minutes and confessed there were actually four of them. He also revealed that Manager Qian had a stash of valuables hidden in an underground garage at Yuanlongli.

Ran went to investigate the garage and caught Manager Qian rejecting a bribe in an attempt to look honest in front of the police. Ran noticed a locked box among some junk. Although Qian claimed it only contained discarded office consumables and that he had forgotten the passcode, he "remembered" it once Ran threatened to take him and the box to the station. Ran discovered evidence that Qian was embezzling property supplies to sell for profit.

Before leaving, Ran warned the manager that greed leads to ruin. Once Ran was gone, a relieved Qian secretly retrieved a human arm bone he had been hiding. Meanwhile, He Yuanhang continued his private investigation into Xu Meng’s past. He tracked down a relative who revealed that Xu Meng once had a boyfriend named Wan Qiming. Her father had disapproved of the relationship and forced them apart.

He Yuanhang recalled a description of a suspicious, well-mannered man with glasses who fit Wan's profile. He later visited a magazine studio owned by Wan, only to find the owner was away for field research. The assistant mentioned that Wan had previously worked in Guangdong and had a peculiar interest in collecting antique knives and making biological specimens. On the home front, tensions between He Yuanhang and his daughter, He Xiaohe, reached a breaking point.

Now in her rebellious phase, Xiaohe showed up with green hair and a punk aesthetic, which her father dismissed as a "rock nerve" phase rather than "rock spirit." He was further enraged to learn from her teacher that she had been skipping school and had a total score of only 95 on her mock exams—contradicting Ran's attempt to claim she scored 95 in every subject. Ran acted as a peacemaker, driving Xiaohe to her music club.

On the way, Xiaohe noticed Ran blushing while texting and advised him to buy flowers for Qiao Suqing. Ran followed the advice and met Qiao Suqing for a date, bringing a cake and flowers. During their conversation, Qiao Suqing opened up about her traumatic years working for an abusive, light-sensitive old man at Yuanlongli. She had endured his physical and verbal abuse only because she needed the high pay to settle her late mother's debts.

She admitted she had stayed in that miserable apartment even after the old man died, hoping she might run into Ran again. Ran offered to let her stay in an apartment assigned to him by his unit, but she politely declined, feeling she didn't deserve such kindness. Elsewhere, Xiaohe fled a rehearsal after a friend’s father discovered them and chased them out. While wandering, she met a young man playing a guitar.

Fascinated, she asked him to teach her, but he told her he was leaving for another city the next day. He encouraged her to go to Beijing if she truly wanted to pursue the origins of Chinese rock. As Ran was driving back later that evening, he encountered a massive fire at a roadside house. He rushed to the scene just as an ambulance arrived, hearing from the crowd that a child had tragically been unable to escape the smoke. Xiaohe, who had just left her friend's house, narrowly avoided the disaster.

At the Nanshan Public Security Bureau, the atmosphere is heavy as parents of missing children gather to demand updates. Among them is the father of Hong Jinyang, a boy who has been missing for over twenty days. The distraught families plead for any leads, leading to a confrontation with officers. Captain Zhao Jie intervenes, preventing his team from removing the missing person posters and asserting that the families have every right to seek their children.

Standing before the crowd, Zhao Jie issues a solemn pledge: he vows to solve the case within seven days, stating he will resign if he fails to provide an answer. The task force begins analyzing the disappearances of five teenagers who vanished after skipping school.

Investigations at an illegal internet cafe in Yuanlongli clear eighteen suspects, but the police conclude they are dealing with a serial kidnapping since the victims were strangers to one another and one survivor, Han Zi'ang, showed signs of extreme trauma. Officer He Xiaohe proposes that the bureau issue a formal statement to Han’s school to clarify that his previous actions were self-defense triggered by the kidnapping. Captain Qu Dahai agrees and assigns her to the task.

He Yuanhang remains critical of Qu Dahai, claiming the captain merely mimics the "Fantian Theorem" developed by Ran Fangxu. This theory suggests that to truly understand the center of an event, one must observe the surrounding "ripples." Meanwhile, He Xiaohe’s efforts at the school are successful. Principal Qin expresses his gratitude, noting that Han Zi'ang is now viewed as a hero rather than a delinquent.

To reach the boy, He Xiaohe learns from his classmates about his obsession with the manga character Nangong Xuanyue. Dressed as the character, she visits Han in the hospital, and the catatonic boy finally speaks, whispering that "Xuanyue has been resurrected." The narrative shifts to the aftermath of a devastating fire at a rehearsal space. Ran Fangxu is frantic with worry, but he eventually finds He Xiaohe emerging from a friend’s home.

Relieved but angry, Ran attacks the friend, assuming He Xiaohe was being harmed. He Xiaohe fiercely defends her friend, calling Ran self-righteous and claiming he has no understanding of her life. Traumatized by the death of her bandmate Keyboard in the fire and feeling neglected at home, He Xiaohe reaches out to her father, He Yuanhang. However, he is dismissive and hangs up because his phone battery is dying. Feeling unwanted, He Xiaohe seeks refuge at Jiajia Grocery.

She fabricates a story for the owner, claiming she is an adopted child fleeing a father who beats her. Sympathetic, the owner allows her to work in exchange for a place to stay, warning her only to stay away from the unlicensed internet cafe downstairs. During her time there, she visits the ruins where Keyboard died to mourn, promising his memory that she will eventually go to Beijing to study music and become a great keyboardist.

Meanwhile, He Yuanhang tracks down Wan Qiming to investigate his connection to the missing Xu Meng. Wan explains they were pen pals who met through a magazine. He describes Xu Meng as a woman with color blindness, which is why he only took monochrome photographs of her. Their plans to marry fell apart when Wan moved to Guangdong for his career while Xu Meng stayed to care for her eccentric father, Xu Zhihong.

When Wan returned in 1996, he discovered that the father and daughter had been in a mountain accident. To pay for medical bills, Xu Meng had been forced into sex work. Wan describes the father as a selfish man who exploited his daughter. Despite his admitted hatred for the old man, Wan provides a firm alibi, explaining he was in Hong Kong for the 1997 handover during the time of their disappearance.

Back in the present, Ran Fangxu officially reports He Xiaohe as a missing person to Zhao Jie. While some believe she has simply run away again, Ran is deeply concerned about her psychological state following the fire. He Xiaohe’s location is eventually compromised when a teacher spots her buying cigarettes at Nanhu Market. After a brief chase, the teacher reports the encounter to He Yuanhang.

Using the bus ticket found at the scene, Ran Fangxu and the police begin a coordinated search of 24-hour shops and bus stations along the market route, hoping to find her before she disappears once more.

In 2015, the Nanshan Branch of the Weiyang Public Security Bureau reached a stalemate in their investigation into the missing students. Zhao Jie and his team had spent days questioning taxi and tricycle drivers, but no one remembered taking students to Yuanlongli. During a meeting where everyone was frustrated by the lack of clues, He Xiaohe arrived with a potential breakthrough.

She reported that Han Zi'ang had finally spoken, though his words were cryptic and steeped in the language of the "2D world." He spoke of Charon the ferryman carrying souls to Yinyi Village and a Trojan Horse that would "eat" people. While Zhao Jie dismissed the boy's ramblings as nonsense, He Xiaohe insisted that these anime-inspired terms were likely metaphors for the real-world crime scene.

He Yuanhang, the captain, agreed that while the boy's words were difficult to parse, they might hold the key. He hypothesized that if Yinyi Village represented Yuanlongli, then Charon might refer to a specific mode of transportation. He pointed out that while the task force was focused on commercial vehicles, they hadn't considered "ride-shares"—unlicensed "black cars" used by shopkeepers to restock supplies that occasionally pick up passengers.

He Yuanhang then identified three construction sites on the map that would have likely interfered with surveillance coverage, suggesting these areas should be the focus. The story shifts back to 2002, when a young He Xiaohe was desperately trying to save money for a trip to Beijing. While working to earn her fare, she met a man named Yuan Ziqiang.

He claimed he was driving to the provincial capital for business and offered her a "hitchhike" to the train station there, promising it was the best way to get to Beijing. Though she was initially cautious, her intense desire to leave home and study rock music clouded her judgment, and she eventually agreed to go with him. Meanwhile, Ran Fangxu was scouring the streets for He Xiaohe.

He noticed a grocery store where several students were supposedly studying, but the scene felt staged. He decided to leave and then "double back" (a "back-and-forth" tactic) to catch the owner off guard. Realizing he couldn't maintain the lie, the owner admitted he had seen the girl. Ran Fangxu’s investigation led him to a local black cybercafé, where he discovered He Xiaohe had been saving money and was often seen helping out.

Surveillance footage showed her leaving with a man in glasses—the same man she knew as Yuan Ziqiang. He Xiaohe began to feel uneasy as they traveled. When they stopped at the Youcheng Hotel, Yuan Ziqiang claimed they had to wait for more friends to arrive before continuing to Beijing. Sensing her suspicion, he showed her his ID card to prove his identity.

However, when he was out of the room, He Xiaohe pried open a drawer and found multiple different identity documents. Realizing she was in the hands of a professional criminal, she tried to remain calm when Yuan Ziqiang returned. Back at the station, Ran Fangxu compared descriptions with the police wanted list and realized that "Yuan Ziqiang" was actually a notorious human trafficker known as "Mei Shu" (Uncle Mei), a master of disguise.

In the hotel, He Xiaohe made a move, pretending she was sick of eating instant noodles and wanted to buy bread from the shop across the street. Yuan Ziqiang allowed it, pointing her toward a nearby store. He Xiaohe rushed inside and begged the woman behind the counter to let her use the phone to call the police. To her horror, the woman was an accomplice. He Xiaohe was dragged into the back room and drugged.

Ran Fangxu arrived at the hotel and discovered the deception. He learned from a neighbor that the real shop owner was an old man who had been away for a week; the "tall, thin woman" was an imposter. Ran Fangxu immediately tracked a silver van with the plate Chuan N 97023. He then placed a difficult call to his mentor, He Yuanhang, who was away investigating the Xu family's involvement in a 1995 mountain accident.

He Yuanhang was stunned to learn his daughter had been kidnapped. Abandoning his task, he flagged down a car to head back to Weiyang. The police tracked the van as it moved south through Wei Tunnel 9 on the 410 National Road. He Yuanhang, coordinating with Ran Fangxu, realized he was in a position to intercept. As the traffickers—who now had He Xiaohe and a nine-year-old boy in the back—tried to navigate past checkpoints, they found themselves cornered.

He Yuanhang threw himself into the middle of the road to block the van's path. Inside the vehicle, He Xiaohe regained consciousness and saw her father risking his life. Desperate to escape, the traffickers prepared to ram through, leaving He Xiaohe screaming in terror as the van accelerated toward her father.

In 2002, the confrontation between He Yuanhang and human traffickers reached a violent peak. Standing defiantly in front of the traffickers' van to save his daughter, He Yuanhang refused to move, even when the criminals threatened to run him over. He was struck twice by the vehicle as He Xiaohe watched in terror. Fortunately, Ran Fangxu and the police arrived just in time to stop the escape.

Following Xiaohe's lead, the police located a repair shop where other kidnapped boys were being held, finally bringing an end to the harrowing ordeal. Years later, He Xiaohe and her father returned to the scene of a similar case to investigate. Their inquiries led them to a local restaurant where neighbors reported the owner’s eccentric behavior. While at the shop, Xiaohe’s attention was drawn to a photo on the wall.

She was stunned to recognize the man in the image as "Uncle Mei," the same trafficker who had kidnapped her as a child. Suspecting a connection, she confirmed that the recently rescued boy, Han Zi'ang, had needle marks on his arm, suggesting the use of anesthetics—a signature of Mei’s current operation targeting students near underground internet cafes. This discovery provided a crucial direction for the task force.

Ran Fangxu, who had mentored Xiaohe since her rescue, recalled how he had encouraged the boys saved in the 2002 raid. He had even used two months of his own salary as a "risk investment" to help them pursue their dreams in the digital age. This memory mirrored Xiaohe's own past; she had once asked her father to support her dream of studying music in Beijing.

He Yuanhang had agreed to support her, provided she finished her basic education first, reminding her that even a rock artist needs to be literate. Back in the present, He Yuanhang joined the investigation of Yuanlongli as an expert, proposing the theory of "hiding under one's nose." He suspected Mei was hiding in one of the many vacant units scheduled for redevelopment. During the search, they encountered Manager Qian, who was acting suspiciously.

Qian was caught hurriedly hiding items from a safe inside a cement tank, attempting to mask his actions as building a "safety barricade" when He Yuanhang questioned him. Meanwhile, a breakthrough occurred in an old murder case. The widow of a former mine director provided hidden recordings and photos proving that Song Qingsong had been systematically blackmailed and framed by his own brother-in-law, Wu Shanlong.

The evidence suggested that Wu had forged ransom notes and stolen tender documents to force Song out of the country. Elsewhere, a woman named Zhang Meilan (also known as Zhao Songli) was seen flaunting her wealth at a beauty salon, only to drop dead on the street shortly after leaving, sparking a new police investigation. As night fell, the task force conducted a sweeping search of the empty buildings in Yuanlongli.

After a brief, tense encounter with students acting as NPCs for an escape room, Xiaohe and her father focused on the vacant units. He Yuanhang noted that Uncle Mei habitually used fake identities ending in "Qiang," leading them to unit 1316, registered under the names Zhao Songli and He Yiqiang. The team converged on the unit, and He Xiaohe eventually forced her way inside.

Upon searching the apartment, she made a gruesome discovery: a frozen, rigid corpse hidden inside the refrigerator. This shocking find confirmed that the investigation had uncovered something far more sinister than a simple kidnapping ring.

Following the discovery of the body in the freezer, a forensic examination identifies the victim as Mei. Traces of anesthetics were found in his neck, and bruises on his limbs indicate a struggle before he was shoved into cold storage to die of hypothermia. Since the time of death was four weeks ago, He Xiaohe realizes Mei could only have been responsible for the first disappearance.

She suspects a successor has been carrying out the recent kidnappings using Mei's established methods. As the seven-day deadline looms, Qu Dahai is frustrated by the lack of progress but orders the team to keep searching until all the children are found. He Yuanhang believes the perpetrator must be using a hidden route to move the children through the crowded neighborhood. During his investigation, he learns that a resident's blue flatbed cart was stolen a week prior.

By simulating the kidnapper's path with a similar cart, the team discovers a discarded syringe in the woods. He Xiaohe deduces that Han Zi'ang was likely drugged on the cart but struggled so fiercely that the syringe fell out, leading the kidnapper to strike him on the head. In a flashback to 2002, Ran Fangxu and He Yuanhang investigate a brutal assault on Zhao Hongmei, who was left with severe brain damage.

Ran notices the attack matches the MO used against Wu Shanlong and suspects the same culprit. Both victims were linked to the Hongyun Huihuang establishment, where Wu was a major shareholder. The investigation reveals that Zhao and Wu likely scammed Song Qingsong, the former owner of a cement factory, leading to his financial ruin. Ran suspects Song has returned to Weiyang to seek revenge. The officers track a specific type of wrench used in the assaults to a scrap yard.

Though the owner is initially evasive, he eventually admits that Song Qingsong had been there. Ran and He find Song at his old, abandoned cement factory. Song calmly admits to his crimes, explaining that years ago he hired Wu Shanlong to kill a girl named Xu Meng, but Wu betrayed him. Bitter over the loss of his factory and his family's disappearance, Song admits to the recent assaults but regrets that he didn't manage to kill Wu.

According to the records, Song ultimately chooses to take his own life. Back in 2015, the police identify a hidden room within the apartment complex layout. They launch a rescue operation and find the four missing boys in a state of shock. The suspect, Peng Dachuang, is taken into custody. Despite the successful rescue, the veteran officers He Yuanhang and Qu Dahai continue their long-standing habit of bickering, even as they acknowledge the vital contributions of the younger team members.

During interrogation, Peng Dachuang is uncooperative and aggressive. He Xiaohe, who was a childhood friend of Peng’s late son, nicknamed "Pony," asks for a chance to speak with him. She plays music and shows him an old photo of himself with Pony, causing Peng's defensive exterior to crumble. Peng reveals that his spiral into crime began when he caught Mei, a human trafficker, abusing a child. In a rage, he killed Mei and took over his hidden space.

Driven by the trauma of losing his son and the impending demolition of his home in Yuanlongli, Peng had convinced himself he was "saving" other children from their unhappy lives. He believed he was protecting these "ponies" in a sanctuary, fearing that if he moved away from the neighborhood, his own son would never be able to find his way home.

After killing the trafficker Mei, Peng Dachuang’s emotions remained volatile. When he rescued a young boy, he nicknamed him "Pony" after his own late son. The boy, distressed by his parents' constant fighting, begged Peng to let him stay. Peng agreed, caring for him like a father, but his mental state fractured when the boy eventually mentioned returning to his real parents and school.

Refusing to be abandoned again, Peng forced the child to stay, claiming he would handle the boy's education at home. To fill his void, Peng began drugging and kidnapping other children, eventually keeping four "ponies" in his care. Among them was Han Zi'ang, who proved difficult to control. When Han attempted to escape, Peng became violent, nearly killing the boy until Han instinctively called him "Dad" (Lao Han'er).

The word reached Peng's buried humanity, causing him to weep and spare the boy. Observing the aftermath, He Xiaohe realized that while Peng had survived the fire that killed his real son, his soul was still trapped in the flames. She reflected on Ran Fangxu’s "domino effect" theory, noting how the loss of Peng’s son had triggered a chain of tragedies.

For Xiaohe, becoming a police officer was her way of "patching" her own family, which had felt incomplete since Ran Fangxu's death. In 2015, He Xiaohe returned Ran Fangxu’s long-held belongings to her father, He Yuanhang. Among the items were letters Ran had written to his grandmother, which had all been returned because the old woman had passed away back in 1992.

Moved by Ran's hidden burdens, He Yuanhang decided to recover data from Ran’s old, fire-damaged phone to find any living relatives. With the help of an old acquaintance at a net cafe, he accessed an email account linked to the phone. He successfully logged in using his own name and birthday as the credentials, realizing that Ran had trusted him above everyone else. Inside the account, they found a draft email written on the very afternoon Ran died in 2003.

Addressed to He Yuanhang, it contained a startling confession: "The June 30th case was wrong. All wrong." He Xiaohe finally understood her father’s condition; two years ago, the shock of seeing this message for the first time had caused him to faint, leading to years of hallucinations where he imagined Ran had returned from Beijing. Memory of the past resurfaced for He Yuanhang.

He recalled a visit to Ran’s apartment in 2002, where Ran and a colleague named Qiao were close. He also remembered Ran's suspicion regarding the "June 30th case" involving Xu Meng. Ran had discovered that a pair of blue high heels—a crucial piece of evidence used to convict Wu Shanlong—had gone missing from the bureau's archives after a pipe burst. Ran had been secretly reinvestigating the case and had discovered blood hidden inside those shoes. Realizing that the truth remained buried, He Yuanhang and Xiaohe knew they had to follow Ran’s final lead to uncover what really happened.

He Xiaohe visited the Archive Room at the Weiyang Public Security Bureau Nanshan Branch to investigate the June 30th Case (Case C2643). While there, she met Mr. Xia, a veteran of the logistics office. Mr. Xia spoke fondly of the late Ran Fangxu, noting that the modern archive facility existed only because Captain Ran had tirelessly lobbied the leadership for funding.

He confessed that he could still imagine Ran sitting in the room, diligently turning through case files page by page. While searching through the evidence for Case C2643, Xiaohe reviewed a list that included a Pattia staff badge, a black robe, and other items belonging to Xu Meng. However, she noticed that a pair of blue leather heels was missing from the evidence box.

Mr. Xia insisted that every item was recorded, and upon checking the logbook, Xiaohe discovered that the shoes had been checked out by Ran Fangxu years ago and were never returned. Xiaohe later spoke with Liang Juan, who recalled a lunch in the winter of 2002 where Ran Fangxu had uncharacteristically brought up fashion.

He had asked the staff whether red or blue leather heels were easier to pair with clothes, eventually proposing a bizarre combination of blue leather wrapped over red shoes. Xiaohe shared this discovery with He Yuanhang, and they realized Ran had likely discovered the blue heels in the evidence were fakes. He Yuanhang explained that "cardboard shoes"—cheap fakes made of cardboard covered in artificial leather—were common in the 90s and would peel apart if they got wet.

To verify this, He Yuanhang sought out Lili, a former colleague of Xu Meng. Over a meal of Mao Xue Wang, Lili recalled a similar conversation with Ran Fangxu in 2002. She explained that Xu Meng was incredibly picky about her appearance and would never have worn fake shoes. Furthermore, since they worked in a foot massage shop where their footwear frequently got wet, cardboard shoes would have fallen apart almost immediately.

Lili noted that He Yuanhang had the exact same stunned expression Ran Fangxu wore during their interview years ago. Based on these findings, He Yuanhang and Xiaohe concluded during a phone call that Wu Shanlong had been framed. He Yuanhang pointed out that the blue shoes in Wu’s home were found on a rack where every other pair was meticulously arranged by color, yet the blue ones were in the wrong spot.

This suggested that whoever planted them didn't account for Wu’s obsessive-compulsive nature. He Yuanhang theorized that the real killer must have had a grudge against the Xu family, possessed the strength and technical skill to dismember bodies, knew of Wu’s fetish, and was intimately familiar with the layout of Yuanlongli to avoid surveillance. Determined to find the truth, He Yuanhang decided to move into Yuanlongli, renting Room 609 from Wang Wuluan.

His arrival was met with curiosity by the local "holdouts" who were resisting redevelopment led by the aggressive Qian Dajun. He Yuanhang joined the neighbors' group chat and encouraged them to provide any information regarding Ran Fangxu’s activities in the area during 2002.

During a confrontation between the residents and the demolition team, He Yuanhang asserted his legal status as a tenant and defended the project manager, Qiao Suqing, from the neighbors' indiscriminate anger, while also warning Qian Dajun to mind his conduct. He Yuanhang also spoke with the local internet cafe owner, whose son, Du Mingliang, had been helped by Ran Fangxu years ago.

Through these local connections, he learned that Ran had been investigating "double-layered" counterfeit shoes—shoes where one layer of leather was wrapped over another. He Yuanhang tasked Xiaohe with tracking down vendors from the 1997 Riverside Night Market. After contacting hundreds of people, Xiaohe finally identified a woman named Liu Guifang. When they tracked her down at a mahjong parlor, Liu admitted to selling fake shoes back then.

She examined a photo of the double-layer leather shoes and identified the craftsmanship as that of Mr. Lu, a "fake shoe king" from Pingzhao County known for making counterfeits that could pass as authentic. Realizing they were following the same trail Ran Fangxu had taken thirteen years earlier, He Yuanhang and Xiaohe prepared to head to Pingzhao County to find the craftsman.

He Yuanhang and He Xiaohe successfully located the workshop of the veteran shoemaker, Mr. Lu. Through his son, they learned that the younger Ran Fangxu had visited years ago and uncovered a vital clue. The elder Mr. Lu recalled a man in his thirties who had approached him with a strange request: he paid a staggering 800 yuan—enough to buy several pairs of luxury shoes—to have a pair of high-quality red leather heels covered in blue leather.

The man was roughly 175 centimeters tall with a short haircut and a hoarse voice, but his most defining feature was three cigarette burn scars on his arm. Recognizing this man as the likely killer in the June 30th case, He Yuanhang decided on a two-pronged approach. He would remain in Yuanlongli to gather local information while Xiaohe visited various police stations to search for leads on individuals with those specific burn scars.

To guide her search, He Yuanhang urged Xiaohe to use Ran Fangxu’s "untangling the ball of thread" philosophy. This theory suggested that every complex mystery has a loose end that, once pulled, unravels the entire case. Xiaohe recalled that Ran Fangxu believed clues were most often hidden in the basic necessities of life, particularly clothing and daily habits. Following this lead, Xiaohe focused on a "Baozi" brand dress found at the home of the victim, Xu Meng.

While a man named Sun Zhengyong had previously been cleared due to an alibi, Xiaohe discovered a discrepancy regarding a dry-cleaning card. At the Baozi flagship store in Weiyang, a clerk explained that their classic 1997 dresses came with a special dry-cleaning card. A checkmark on the card in the evidence room confirmed the dress had been cleaned once. Since local records only spanned five years, Xiaohe traveled to the provincial headquarters to access the digital archives.

The investigation into the past also highlighted the deep connection between Ran Fangxu and Qiao Suqing. In a flashback to 2003, Ran Fangxu shared a lavish meal with Qiao Suqing and entrusted her with a sealed envelope of evidence for safekeeping, instructing her not to open it until his word. During that dinner, he warmly invited her to join He Yuanhang’s family for a New Year's Eve reunion, insisting she was part of the family.

Qiao Suqing, who felt she had no home to return to, was deeply moved and promised to attend after her shift. At the provincial headquarters, Xiaohe’s search yielded a name: Yao Xincheng. Records showed he purchased the dress on December 29, 1996. However, she found a highly suspicious "new for old" return entry from July 2, 1997.

On that day, a customer bought a new version of the dress at the provincial store at 10:05 AM and rushed to the Weiyang store to return it by 4:20 PM. By using the new dress to cancel out the old purchase record, the buyer had effectively erased Yao Xincheng’s name from the system.

Xiaohe realized that Ran Fangxu had discovered this same trail in 2003, even purchasing a New Year’s gift for Qiao Suqing and a scarf for Xiaohe at that same store. Back in the present, the conflict in Yuanlongli intensified. Manager Qian, determined to force the remaining residents out, resorted to harassment by smashing windows and installing signal jammers to cut off all communication.

Qiao Suqing visited He Yuanhang to apologize, explaining that her boss had given Manager Qian full authority over the demolition. She finally handed over the documents Ran Fangxu had left with her years ago, including a hard drive. He Yuanhang took the drive to Du Mingliang to recover the data, discovering it was originally from the home of Wu Shanlong.

They realized Ran Fangxu had bought the drive at a judicial auction specifically to prevent the victims' private data from being recovered or exploited by others. Seeking the final pieces of the puzzle, He Yuanhang visited Xu Meng’s aunt. The elderly woman remembered a kind young officer—Ran Fangxu—visiting her years ago to ask about Yao Xincheng. He had even left her a red envelope as a gesture of kindness.

Standing in the same spot where his protégé once stood, He Yuanhang felt a wave of sorrow, knowing how close Ran Fangxu had been to the truth. Meanwhile, He Yuanhang confronted Manager Qian, warning him that justice would eventually catch up to him, even as the corrupt manager prepared to escalate his tactics against the holdouts in the building.

Years after the investigation into Xu Meng's case was closed, He Yuanhang continues to retrace the steps of his late apprentice, Ran Fangxu. He visits Xu Meng’s cousin, who recalls Ran visiting five years ago to inquire about a man named Yao Xincheng. During that visit, Ran used the cousin's phone to contact a property manager named Ma Qiang, requesting resident lists for Yuanlongli for every year except 1997 and 2002, which he already possessed.

Meanwhile, He Xiaohe conducts an extensive search for Yao Xincheng across internal and public networks. Despite finding numerous individuals with that name, none match the description provided by the shoemaker, Mr. Lu, or have a connection to Weiyang. As she updates her father, He Yuanhang finds himself plunged into darkness when Manager Qian cuts the power to his unit at Yuanlongli. Undeterred, He Yuanhang vows to see the investigation through despite the harassment from property management.

He Yuanhang later tracks down Ma Qiang to ask about Ran’s final days. Ma Qiang recalls that on the day before he died in 2003, Ran had visited the property office with New Year gifts while looking for Yao Xincheng. Ran appeared deeply troubled, remarking that if the man had no connection to Yuanlongli, he would be at a total loss for where to turn next.

Ma Qiang reflects with sadness that it was the last time he ever saw the young officer alive. The investigation leads He Yuanhang to reflect on the clues Ran left behind, specifically the blue high-heeled shoes and the dry-cleaning records linked to Yao Xincheng. Just as He Yuanhang prepares to move out of the building, a security guard named Wang Xinglong arrives to bring him hot water.

Wang mentions that he also saw Ran on the morning of New Year's Eve in 2003. Ran had emerged from the elevator at 8:00 AM with bloodshot eyes, looking as though he had been awake all night, before rushing off to an urgent matter. Realizing that Ran must have discovered a critical secret within Yuanlongli during that final night, He Yuanhang abruptly cancels his plans to move.

He tells the guard to inform Manager Qian that he intends to stay and fight until the end. He is now certain that Ran's unsent message—stating that the entire June 30th case was wrong—was the result of whatever he discovered in the building that morning. He Yuanhang’s mind drifts back to that tragic New Year's Eve. He, He Xiaohe, and Qiao Suqing had gathered at his home, waiting for Ran to join them.

Ran was supposed to pick up Qiao Suqing from her part-time job, but he never arrived and failed to answer his phone. Despite the growing worry, they shared a meal and exchanged scarves. He Yuanhang expressed his hope that Qiao Suqing would officially join their family, and Xiaohe affectionately called her "Auntie," moved by the idea of her becoming Ran’s wife. The celebration was shattered by the news of Ran’s death.

An investigation revealed that his car had spun out of control on a road made slick by oil from knocked-over fuel drums during a heavy rainstorm. The loss left the family broken. In a fit of grief and resolve, He Xiaohe cut her hair short and later shaved her head before visiting Ran’s grave.

Standing before his tombstone, she promised her father and the memory of "Uncle Ran" that she would enroll in the police academy and finish the work he started. In the present, He Yuanhang discusses reopening the June 30th case with Xiaohe, though they still lack the definitive evidence needed to find Yao Xincheng. Moved by He Yuanhang's dedication to Ran’s memory, the neighbors at Yuanlongli agree to assist him in looking for leads and restoring his utilities.

The situation escalates when Manager Qian loses patience and arrives with an excavator to begin a forced demolition. He targets a small structure belonging to a local shop owner, who threatens to go down with his building. He Yuanhang rushes to intervene, warning Qian that his actions are criminal. In the chaos, the excavator’s bucket smashes through a cement bollard, revealing a gruesome secret: a dead body entombed within the concrete.

Following the discovery of the hidden remains, Manager Qian Dajun was taken into custody, where he confessed to the dark history of Yuanlongli. Years earlier, a resident had died after slipping in a poorly constructed hallway. Lacking the funds for proper repairs, Qian had stolen maintenance materials to build a storage shack in the underground garage.

In July 1997, while Officer Ran Fangxu and a young He Xiaohe were exploring the "underground maze," Qian discovered a severed head and two arms inside an electrician's bag. Fearful that a police investigation would tank property values and prevent his family from selling their units, he chose to suppress the truth. Qian initially hid the bag in a chicken coop, then tried to stuff it into a drainpipe, but found the opening too small.

Eventually, he buried it in the woods behind the complex. For five years, he lived in a state of constant paranoia until the summer of 2002, when his uncle, Ge Jingsong, accidentally fished a skull out of the water. The discovery sent Officer Ran into a frenzy of searching, nearly uncovering the rest of the remains. Panicking, Qian dug up the remaining hand bones and encased them in a cement block in the garage, hoping they would stay hidden forever.

He admitted he grew to loathe the building and desperately wanted it demolished so his guilt and the "monsters" within would finally vanish. Based on Qian’s testimony, He Xiaohe met with Captain Zhao and Captain Qu to request the formal reopening of the "June 30th case."

She presented a powerful piece of evidence: an unsent message found on Ran Fangxu’s old phone from the day he died, which stated that the original investigation was wrong and that Wu Shanlong had been framed. Recognizing that Ran had died with this heavy regret, the station agreed to the request. However, they warned that He Yuanhang needed to find a definitive breakthrough quickly, as they had no legal authority to delay the redevelopment indefinitely.

In the wake of Qian’s arrest, the company appointed Jin Manlang as the new head of demolition. An aggressive social climber, Jin was determined to clear the building to secure a promotion to Vice President. He attempted to bribe He Yuanhang with double, then triple rent to vacate Room 609, but the retired detective stood his ground, citing his legal three-month lease.

Frustrated, Jin turned his attention to the other residents, handing out bags of cash—100,000 yuan per household—as immediate compensation for signing. While most residents were swayed by the money, Jin used psychological warfare on the holdouts, blasting loud symphony music outside the building. When the elderly Mr. Meng retaliated by throwing objects at the demolition team, Jin had him detained by the police.

Qiao Suqing also visited He Yuanhang, offering him an unauthorized 50,000 yuan moving fee out of concern and warning him that the company leadership had reported him to the authorities. Despite the isolation, He Yuanhang remained in the building, telling the "spirit" of his late apprentice that he was using himself as a "golden birdcage" to make the real killer restless and lure them into the view of his surveillance cameras.

He Yuanhang’s persistence led him to a new lead regarding a man named Yao Xincheng. He contacted a former property owner and discovered a suspicious transaction from 2003. Although Yao Xincheng had paid for the unit, he had never bothered to transfer the deed into his name. Crucially, the seller revealed that another police officer—Ran Fangxu—had visited him to ask about this very transaction on the night before New Year's Eve in 2003, only hours before he died.

The tension at Yuanlongli reached a breaking point as Jin Manlang ordered his men to cordon off the "New York Block" and instructed a crew to prepare blast points for demolition, despite He Yuanhang still being inside. Simultaneously, former residents returned in a riotous mood, demanding more money after rumors spread that the "cursed building" required eighteen victims to satisfy its legend and was still two short.

As He Xiaohe arrived at the chaotic scene, He Yuanhang led the police into a specific room. Inside, they found a space covered in macabre, haunting drawings. Waiting amidst the gloom was Qiao Suqing.

He Yuanhang finally uncovers the truth about the apartment in Yuanlongli. Standing within its walls, he confronts Qiao Suqing, asserting that she is the real owner. Though Qiao initially claims she was merely a resident serving a former employer, He Yuanhang lays out the evidence. In 1996, Yao Xincheng bought the apartment in the name of his father, Yao Baiyuan.

In 2002, Yao Xincheng commissioned Qiao to sell it, but she bought it back a year later using Yao Xincheng’s name. She never transferred the title to herself, desperate to keep her name off the official records to avoid gossip about being a "kept woman" while maintaining control over a place she both hated and feared. Qiao eventually admits her unease, confessing that Yao Baiyuan abused her and Wu Shanlong stalked her there.

He Yuanhang remains unmoved, reminding her that hatred is no excuse for murder. The confrontation ends as He Xiaohe arrives to arrest Qiao Suqing for the kidnapping and murder of Xu Zhihong and his daughter, Xu Meng. At the police station, Qiao attempts to exploit her past connection with He Xiaohe, suggesting the officer should have recused herself due to their history. However, He Xiaohe maintains a professional distance, emphasizing that they are now strictly an officer and a suspect.

When questioned about a dress found at Xu Meng’s home—a garment Yao Xincheng had given Qiao in 1996—Qiao dismisses it as a common style she sold at a wholesale market, claiming she never wore anything gifted by the Yaos because they reminded her of the elder Yao’s cruelty. She even attempts to bond with He Xiaohe by bringing up her memories of the 1997 Adult College Entrance Exam and Ran Fangxu, but He Xiaohe shuts her down.

The investigation shifts to a pair of red Double Fish brand heels that were modified to look blue. Zhu Ziqiang, a former driver for Yao Xincheng, testifies that in the summer of 2002, Qiao Suqing paid him to take the red shoes to a shoemaker in Pingzhao County to be covered in blue leather, insisting he remain disguised during the trip.

Faced with this, Qiao admits to the alteration but claims the shoes were later stolen by Wu Shanlong, who had a fetish and frequently stole women’s clothing. She denies knowing the Xu family, but He Xiaohe reveals that Qiao’s mother, Fang Xiuhong, was a victim of the August 24th Mount Wu Accident—the same tragedy that involved the Xus. Trapped by the connection, Qiao Suqing breaks down and recounts the horrors of the 1995 Mount Wu trip.

During a heavy fog, the group became separated. Qiao claims she passed out and woke up to find Xu Meng accusing her of a heinous act. Xu Meng alleged that in a mad scramble for warmth, Qiao tried to strip the clothes off the Xus, nearly pushing Xu Zhihong off a cliff and breaking his leg.

More devastatingly, Xu Meng accused Qiao of pushing her own mother, Fang Xiuhong, to her death when the older woman refused to give up her clothes. The tragedy was only the beginning of Qiao’s "living hell." After the accident, her aunt took her in, only to mistreat her once the compensation money arrived. Her aunt eventually sold her to Yao Xincheng as a servant.

Yao Xincheng brought her to Yuanlongli to care for his father, Yao Baiyuan, a man who turned out to be a sadistic pervert. Yao Xincheng promised to give Qiao the apartment if she served for five years. She endured the abuse until late 1996, when Yao Baiyuan fell to his death while peeping at female employees on the 18th floor. Yao Xincheng honored his promise, allowing her to stay in the apartment.

Qiao eventually moved into the real estate and insurance sectors, buying the apartment back as an investment while keeping it in Yao’s name. Qiao’s past returned to haunt her when Xu Meng surfaced in Weiyang, working at the Pattia foot massage parlor. Recognizing Qiao, Xu Meng began a campaign of blackmail, threatening to tell the police that Qiao had murdered her mother on Mount Wu. Xu Meng grew increasingly bold, eventually entering Qiao’s home and stealing her belongings.

It was during this period of desperation that Qiao encountered Wu Shanlong, who lived on the 17th floor. Wu Shanlong offered to "handle" her problem in exchange for sexual favors. According to Qiao, Wu Shanlong later broke into her home and confessed that he had murdered both Xu Meng and her father.

He used this secret to exert terrifying control over Qiao, forcing her to endure his harassment and even installing hidden cameras in her apartment to film her every move. Qiao claims she lived in constant fear of meeting the same fate as the Xus, who she discovered had been dismembered. She asserts that her decision to modify the red shoes and plant evidence was a desperate attempt to frame Wu Shanlong and escape his grasp. Despite her elaborate story portraying herself as a victim, He Xiaohe remains convinced that Qiao’s narrative is a carefully constructed web of lies.

Xiaohe confronted Qiao Suqing, accusing her of spending years crafting her "airtight" story. Qiao Suqing remained calm, arguing that since she had already confessed to the secret of pushing her mother off a cliff, she had no reason to lie about anything else. She admitted she had not been home on July 2, 1997. Instead, she had traveled to the provincial capital that morning to buy a Bauhaus-brand dress and returned it in Weiyang that afternoon.

Her goal was to erase any purchase records so the dress found at Xu Meng’s place could not be traced back to Yao Xincheng, and by extension, to herself. Xiaohe pointed out a fatal flaw in this narrative. Qiao Suqing claimed Xu Meng was killed in 1997 and that the blue shoes in question were only acquired in 2002. Xiaohe demanded an explanation for why Xu Meng’s DNA and skin cells were found inside those shoes.

Qiao Suqing dismissed the evidence, suggesting that the "perverted" Wu Shanlong might have kept the victim’s underwear and later stuffed it into the shoes out of some twisted sentimentality. She insisted that Ran Fangxu never doubted her and that she would not admit to any crimes she did not commit. He Yuanhang waited for the results of bloodstain tests while discussing the case with Xiaohe.

The search of the apartment had yielded little, as the scene had been thoroughly scrubbed, showing no positive blood reaction even with luminol. Yuanhang suspected that Qiao Suqing's confession regarding her mother was a calculated move. By framing the death as a result of hallucinations caused by hypothermia, she would at most face a charge of involuntary manslaughter, a move intended to mask her much larger crimes.

He was convinced that Qiao Suqing had stayed near the crime scenes for eighteen years to protect a deep secret. Xiaohe and Yuanhang began to analyze the patterns of the deaths surrounding Qiao Suqing. They noted that both Yao Baiyuan and Wu Shanlong had died in "accidents" involving slipping on oil or paint and falling at construction sites. Yuanhang suddenly realized that Ran Fangxu’s crash site on Jiangdong Road also had oil on the ground.

They concluded that this was the killer's signature method. Qiao Suqing had likely set a trap to silence Ran Fangxu after he discovered the truth. With only thirteen hours left before the detention limit for Qiao Suqing expired, Yuanhang tasked Xiaohe with coordinating with Zhao Jie and the traffic police to find any surveillance footage from that night twelve years ago.

Overwhelmed by guilt for sending his student into the hands of a killer, He Yuanhang's health took a turn for the worse. While reviewing interrogation tapes and searching for clues among Ran Fangxu’s belongings, he hallucinated seeing his late pupil. The combination of high blood pressure and exhaustion triggered an ischemic stroke, and he collapsed in the office.

Xiaohe rushed to the hospital, where the property manager, Manager Ma, handed her a note her father had been clutching tightly when he fell. Though her father was stable but required observation, Xiaohe decided to stay focused on the case, knowing that solving it was her father’s greatest wish. Qu Dahai worked tirelessly in the archives, searching for unresolved accident footage from New Year's Eve 2003.

He and Xiaohe hoped to find Qiao Suqing near the scene of Ran Fangxu's death. Meanwhile, Xiaohe spoke with Zhao Jie about Ran Fangxu's digital legacy. They realized that on the day he died, Ran Fangxu had rushed into the office to write a case summary email. However, there was no record of such an email in the internal system.

They eventually realized Ran Fangxu might have been using an office automation account under He Yuanhang’s name to keep his investigation discreet. The investigation hit a snag when they discovered the account had recently been deleted during a system cleanup. Xiaohe brought in a local hacker to perform data recovery on the main drive. Although the data was restored, it was encrypted.

After several failed attempts to crack the password, Xiaohe remembered a conversation with Ran Fangxu about the South Pole. He had told her that though they were both "at the bottom"—born on the final days of their respective months—the day after their birthdays always brought a brand new month. Using a combination of their birth dates (0331 and 0630), Xiaohe successfully logged into the account. In the drafts, she found a reinvestigation report for the "June 30" case.

Ran Fangxu had written it in He Yuanhang's name to ensure his mentor received the credit. The report contained a list of evidence and pointed to a specific location: Ran Fangxu’s woodcarving toolbox. Zhao Jie realized that the wooden box was currently sitting in his own home. As the truth began to surface, a memory flickered of Ran Fangxu arriving at Qiao Suqing's door years ago, asking to step inside for a talk.

Ran Fangxu had previously conducted a silent investigation of the room Qiao Suqing rented. By simulating the crime scene, he discovered a disturbing detail on a lampshade in the bathroom. After spraying it with alcohol, traces of blood became visible, confirming his suspicion that the room held secrets. He meticulously preserved this evidence, keeping his findings hidden in a woodworking box until they could be found later.

Following Ran Fangxu’s passing, his colleague Zhao Jie went to Ran's home to organize his belongings. In the study, he found the woodworking box but was initially too grief-stricken to open it, keeping it sealed for years. Meanwhile, at the police station, Zhao Jie insisted that the primary credit for the recent progress in the case belonged to He Xiaohe.

He noted that he would soon be transferring back to a local station, while He Xiaohe’s career in the criminal department was just beginning, and she needed the record more than he did. In a search for information on Qiao Suqing’s past, the police called Xingwang Restaurant in Yuede City to reach her aunt. The aunt was defensive, claiming she hadn't heard from Qiao in five or six years.

She insisted she hadn't "sold" her niece; rather, she claimed she found her a place with the wealthy Yao family to save her from a predatory uncle. She even alleged that Qiao’s own mother had intended to marry her off during a trip to Mount Wu years ago, suggesting the family had simply been looking for a "way out" for the girl. Qiao Suqing was briefly released from custody, signing for her returned phone and bag.

However, before she could even leave the premises of the bureau, He Xiaohe intercepted her with a new arrest warrant. Faced with the reality of the situation, Qiao appeared defeated. During the interrogation, He Xiaohe confronted her with evidence Ran Fangxu had gathered, specifically an image from an elevator.

He Xiaohe revealed the truth Ran had deduced: the person being carried in the photo wasn't Xu Zhihong, but Qiao Suqing herself, proving that Xu Meng had been the one acting as the carrier. Initially, Qiao tried to take the full blame, confessing to the murders of Xu Meng and her father. She claimed she and Wu Shanlong had conspired to kill them, with Wu handling Xu Meng’s body while she dismembered Xu Zhihong at home.

She described carrying the remains to the garage in batches, admitting she had accidentally left behind an electrician’s bag. She even offered a hollow compliment to He Xiaohe, stating that Ran would have been proud of the investigator she had become. However, Xiaohe coldly told her she wasn't worthy of mentioning Ran's name. The interrogation shifted when He Xiaohe accused Qiao of a second murder: the death of Ran Fangxu.

Qiao was stunned and adamantly denied it, insisting Ran’s death was an accident, just like Yao Baiyuan's. He Xiaohe then presented road surveillance from the night of Chinese New Year in 2003, showing a figure dressed exactly like Qiao near the crash site. She also pointed out that the deaths of Yao Baiyuan, Wu Shanlong, and Ran Fangxu all involved construction sites and slippery grease. Qiao was visibly shaken, eventually breaking down and shouting that she had been lied to.

Realizing that Xu Meng had used the clothes she gifted her to frame her, Qiao revealed that Xu Meng was still alive and was the true killer of Ran Fangxu. The police tracked Xu Meng down to a riverbank where she was calmly fishing. When they arrived with the detention warrant, she showed no fear, accepting her arrest with an eerie sense of tranquility. Back in the interrogation room, Qiao Suqing recounted the true history between them.

They had met as pen pals in 1995, bonded by sharing the same birth date and coming from broken homes—one missing a father, the other a mother. They had hoped to bring their surviving parents together to form a complete family. Their plan led to a tour group trip to Mount Wu in August 1995. While crossing a narrow path, a thick fog rolled in. Qiao, suffering from the cold, fainted.

When she woke up, her mother was gone, and the Xu family had vanished. She spent years believing her mother had simply fallen in a tragic accident. The two women reunited six months later in Weiyang while Qiao was living at the Yao household. They were like two trapped animals; Xu Meng was being tormented by her father, Xu Zhihong, a gambling addict who constantly beat her for money to pay off shark loans.

Qiao recalled a specific Chinese New Year when they exchanged gifts, trying to find a moment of happiness. Qiao had encouraged Xu Meng to move in with her, but Xu Meng felt bound by her debts and her father. Eventually, the situation turned fatal. When Xu Zhihong discovered Xu Meng had taken out high-interest loans and threatened to kill "that little brat" (Qiao Suqing), Xu Meng killed him.

Qiao helped her hide the truth and dispose of the body, while Xu Meng lied to a neighbor, Uncle Wang, claiming the noise was just her chiseling a door frame for a wardrobe. It was during this time that Xu Meng revealed the darkest secret of Mount Wu: back in 1995, her father hadn't just watched Qiao’s mother fall. He had pushed her off the cliff while trying to steal her coat for warmth because Qiao was freezing. From that moment on, the two women believed they were the only family each other had left, bound together by a legacy of survival and blood.

Qiao Suqing assisted Xu Meng in the grim task of pulverizing Xu Zhihong’s body. To ensure no forensic evidence remained, they used specific chemicals Xu Meng had researched to scrub away every trace of blood. Xu Meng’s plan was calculated: she would act as if nothing had happened for three days to maintain the illusion that her father was still alive.

Afterward, she intended to stage a bizarre disappearance, exploiting local rumors of the "cursed building" in Yuanlongli to explain why both she and Xu Zhihong had vanished. Xu Meng explained that her situation was dire, as she was being hunted by loan sharks and targeted by Song Qingsong, who wanted her gone from Weiyang. By staging a disappearance, they could shift any police suspicion toward Song Qingsong and away from the truth of her father's death.

She urged Qiao to stay behind to avoid drawing attention to their secret connection. Xu Meng promised that once Qiao sold Yao Xincheng’s house, they would use the money to build a safe home in a place where no one knew their past. The staged disappearance was elaborate. Qiao Suqing dressed as Xu Zhihong, wearing a pair of blue heels—originally red heels that had been dyed—to create a distinct visual trail.

To mislead investigators, Xu Meng had kept her father’s hands until the end, using them to leave fingerprints on the elevator buttons. They used a universal elevator key and slipped away through an underground garage that Xu Meng knew well from her time working at Badiya. However, an unexpected variable emerged when Wu Shanlong, Song Qingsong’s driver, spotted Xu Meng. Later, Qiao received a call from Xu Meng, who had been intercepted and locked up by Wu Shanlong.

Xu described him as a "sick pervert" but claimed she knew how to handle him. She instructed Qiao to distribute flyers featuring nursery rhymes during a "comeback livestream" when the streets would be deserted. Xu also warned Qiao to erase the purchase records of a "Baozi" brand dress that Yao Xincheng had bought for her, fearing the gift could link them together.

Anxious about the burial site, Qiao Suqing eventually dug up the remains and burned the fragments along with the blue heels to ensure the body could never be identified. While covered in dirt from the task, she spotted the police and quickly bought a potted orchid, using it as an excuse for her messy appearance. This was the moment she first met Ran Fangxu.

His presence was comforting, and she invited him into her home, hoping that by letting a policeman see her living normally, her nerves would finally settle. Over the following years, the two women orchestrated the downfall of Wu Shanlong, who had resurfaced as a maintenance worker. Xu Meng dug up bone fragments of her father and planted them in Wu’s drain, while Qiao placed fake shoes on his rack to incriminate him for Xu Zhihong's death.

Qiao also set a fatal trap in the garage based on Xu Meng’s design. When Wu Shanlong fell to his death, Xu Meng was secretly watching from the shadows. Ran Fangxu, unaware of the truth, helped clean a wound Qiao sustained while acting as Xu Meng's cover that day. Despite their bond, Qiao Suqing began to yearn for a normal life. She had fallen deeply in love with Ran Fangxu and found a sense of peace in his presence.

When Yao Xincheng finally authorized the sale of the house, Qiao received the money but kept it a secret from Xu Meng, unwilling to leave the life she was building with Ran. However, Ran eventually confronted her, revealing he had pieced everything together—from the dirt on her clothes at their first meeting to the evidence of the Baozi dress and the altered blue shoes.

Heartbroken, Qiao Suqing admitted she only wanted to crawl out of the darkness and "live in the sun." Ran urged her to turn herself in, and she agreed to do so the following morning. Her only request was to have one last "reunion dinner" that evening with Ran and his colleagues. Ran agreed to pick her up at 8:00 p. m. , but the night ended in tragedy when he was killed in a gasoline explosion.

A devastated Qiao Suqing blamed Xu Meng, believing her sister had discovered Ran’s investigation and silenced him. In the interrogation room, Xu Meng eventually confessed to being the mastermind behind a long history of violence. She admitted to the 1996 killing of Qiao’s abusive employer, Elder Yao, to free her "sister." She detailed how she had killed her father and Wu Shanlong, claiming full responsibility to protect Qiao.

She even confessed to a 2002 fire that killed a young boy named Keyboard. Xu Meng explained that the boy had seen her years earlier and recognized her again in 2002; because he was acquainted with the police, she felt he posed a threat to their safety that she could not ignore. Xu Meng’s final actions had been driven by the realization that Qiao was drifting away.

When she had visited Qiao to invite her to their "new home," Qiao had made repeated excuses to stay. Suspicious, Xu Meng looked around the apartment and discovered a pair of men's slippers. Realizing there was a man in Qiao’s life she didn't know about, Xu Meng had stayed in Weiyang for several days, determined to uncover the identity of the person who had stolen her sister’s loyalty.

In the interrogation room, Xu Meng reveals the deep-seated jealousy and possessiveness that drove her to murder. After discovering that Ran Fangxu was a police officer, she initially assumed Qiao Suqing was merely using him as a cover. However, as months passed, Qiao became increasingly distant, rarely replying to messages and claiming to be busy with work.

Consumed by suspicion, Xu Meng secretly returned to Weiyang to surprise her for the New Year, only to see Qiao at the Yunshan Zizhu Restaurant with Ran. The sight of her sister wearing a genuine smile she had never seen before convinced Xu Meng that Ran was a threat to their bond. The situation reached a breaking point when Qiao Suqing called Xu Meng to confess that she intended to turn herself in.

Qiao admitted she had already confessed everything to the police and planned to surrender the following morning, after spending one final New Year's Eve with Ran. Distraught by what she perceived as a betrayal, Xu Meng decided to eliminate the officer. She staged a fatal accident on a rainy night by spreading oil on the road near a construction site.

To ensure success and provide a fallback, she disguised herself as Qiao Suqing—wearing a wig, a red scarf, and an identical "Baozi" coat—intending to frame her sister if the crime was discovered. To further cover her tracks, she even purchased a train ticket to fake an alibi, pretending she had just arrived from out of town. During the interrogation, Xu Meng shows no remorse, laughing manically as she blames Ran for ruining their lives.

She believes that without him, she and Qiao could have lived happily together forever. He Xiaohe, unable to contain her fury, decries Xu Meng as a heartless monster who destroyed countless families, including Ran’s. Eventually, Xu Meng leads the police to the location where the skeletal remains of past victims were buried, providing the physical evidence needed to close the long-standing 630 Case. As legal proceedings conclude, Qiao Suqing is overwhelmed by guilt.

She attempts to apologize to He Xiaohe and her father, He Yuanhang, but her pleas for forgiveness go unanswered. He Xiaohe tells Qiao that while she does not hate her—leaving her fate to the law—she intends to forget the criminal standing before her. Instead, she chooses only to remember "Auntie Qiao," the kind woman who cared for her during a summer day in 1997. The court ultimately sentences Xu Meng to death and Qiao Suqing to life imprisonment.

In the aftermath, He Xiaohe is honored at a commendation ceremony. Director Zou presents her with a Second-Class Merit medal and provides an honorary certificate for He Yuanhang to recognize his assistance in the case. He Xiaohe is officially transferred to criminal field operations and is given the rare opportunity to adopt either her father’s or Ran Fangxu’s badge number. However, she chooses to keep her own number, believing Ran would have supported her path.

Later, she visits Ran’s grave to report that the case he pursued for years has finally been solved. Meanwhile, the Yuanlongli community is prepared for demolition. He Yuanhang visits the site one last time, watching as the buildings that held so many memories of his partnership with Ran are reduced to rubble. As the structures collapse, the old man is overcome with emotion, weeping silently in a corner.

The urban legends surrounding the community seem to disappear into the dust of the demolition. The story concludes at the Senior Wellness and Care Center, where He Xiaohe and her colleagues arrive to present He Yuanhang with his award. They find him lost in a vivid hallucination where he is seeing Ran Fangxu off on a train to Beijing. He Yuanhang speaks to the empty air, urging his partner to quit his teaching job and return to the police force.

The officers realize he is relapsing into his illness, but they choose to play along out of respect and love. They stand together, tearfully bidding farewell to the empty space as if Ran were truly standing there, finally at peace now that the weight of the past has been lifted.