Cen Wanli has been a murder weapon controlled by the Gu father and son for eighteen years. Her silver thread has never left a target alive, yet she is outplayed by the mysterious gambler Shan Chengying at an underground casino in Mojin City.
The man uses the casino's annual profits as his wager and forces her to sign on as his exclusive subordinate. The copper gear pendant around his neck fits perfectly with the metal fragment Cen Wanli has kept hidden close to her for over a decade. "Your parents weren't in an incestuous relationship. Gu Mingyuan had them killed!" His words shatter eighteen years of false memories.
Since childhood, Gu Mingyuan has fed her the lie that "you are a disgrace." But evidence brought back by Shan Chengying proves that her parents developed the Qiming technology. This world-shaking invention got them betrayed and murdered by the person they trusted most.
Even more chilling conspiracies follow. Lin Xing, the "little sister" she has risked everything to protect, was actually a pawn placed by the Gu family. Yet she takes a poisoned bullet for Cen Wanli and reveals an astrological cipher she has hidden for years. The serum Gu Yanci gave her is laced with poison, while a mysterious faction bearing a boat-shaped insignia has kept its eyes on her metal fragment all along.
Shan Chengying says he swore to protect her when he was four. But the more tender he is, the more Cen Wanli suspects him: did he approach her to protect her, or to get his hands on the secrets of Qiming?
When the copper gear turns and the cipher is cracked, she realizes that her altered childhood, Lin Xing's illness, and her parents' deaths are all part of the Gu family's plot. Qiming is no energy core at all, but a Pandora's box capable of destroying everything!
The Gu family wants to seize the technology and silence her, while a mysterious faction waits to profit. Cen Wanli refuses to be controlled any longer. With Lin Xing by her side and the key in hand, she joins Shan Chengying to take revenge. But when the ultimate truth comes to light, she discovers that the person controlling everything has been right beside her all along?
