1936, The twenty-fifth year of the Republic of China, Shanghai.
This oriental metropolis is filled with an atmosphere of feasting and debauchery mixed with dull worries. The neon lights on the Bund are flashing, and the cafes in the French Concession are reverberating with jazz music, while in the dark alleys, there are whispered transactions and lurking murderous intentions. Newsboys on the streets shouted in childish voices: "The situation is tense, the Japanese troops are gathering, a storm is coming to Shanghai!"
On a rainy night, the pier beside the Huangpu River was silent, and the river breeze carried a moist atmosphere. A figure wearing a black raincoat stood on the edge of the pier, looking at the dots of ship lights on the river. Suddenly, the footsteps came closer and closer, becoming more and more rapid. The man turned around suddenly and faced a dagger with a cold light.
"Tell me, where did you hide your things?" The man on the other side threatened in a low voice, his eyes like daggers.
"Ha..." The man in black raincoat sneered, "Of course the thing is not in my hands. Your movements are too slow."
Before he finished speaking, a muffled groan came out. The man's body fell straight down, with a dagger stuck in his chest, and blood mixed with rain dripped all over the ground. The murderer cursed "useless trash" in a low voice, and then quickly disappeared into the rainy night. In the water stains next to the body, a strange symbol suddenly appeared - a lotus-like pattern with densely packed characters engraved around it, which seemed to be some kind of secret code.
