Traces of Memory

In the near-future city of Haishi, a series of bizarre self-destruction cases shatters the peace: an acrophobic person leaps from a balcony, a miser burns all his possessions before setting himself on fire. There are no signs of outside interference at the scenes, only traces of the extreme emotions that seem to have awakened in the victims just before their deaths.

When Lu Man, captain of the city bureau's criminal investigation squad, hits a dead end, she is forced to call in Lin Su, former chief analyst for the “Neural Traceback” technology program. This genius, whose life spiraled out of control after his partner's experiment collapsed, can pick apart the tiniest flaws in memory replays, but is also easily consumed by negative memories. After joining forces with hacker A-K, they discover the cases stem from a psychological virus called “Heart Erosion.” Through “conceptual triggers” such as symbols and melodies, it forcibly awakens the victims' altered traumatic memories, driving them to mental collapse.

As the traceback investigation deepens, every clue points to the failed “Dawn Project,” a secret memory-editing experiment conducted years ago by Rocksolid Technologies. Even more unsettling is the reappearance of Dr. Chen, the technology's founder. He is not simply a criminal, but a proponent of the belief that “memory is a cage,” who sees “Heart Erosion” as a “baptism” that awakens people to the truth.

When memories can be altered and the truth hides deadly poison, Lin Su must track down the virus's source through a maze of distorted memories while confronting his own altered past. In this “memory game,” where lives are the stakes, they must ultimately choose: embrace the comforting lie of happiness, or bear the pain of the truth?