Conquering the Abyss

He Wen is down on his luck after a romantic disappointment. His girlfriend of four years ended their relationship over the gap between her demand for 188,000 yuan in betrothal gifts and the realities of buying a home and a car. Heartbroken, he goes to a KTV to drink and shout his sorrows away, but a small mishap with an open door leads to a clash with three men in the next room. He Wen has trained in martial arts for a few years and works out regularly. Fueled by alcohol and resentment, he grabs an ashtray and knocks down the ringleader, then swiftly takes out the other two. A man in his thirties in the room next door witnesses the whole fight. He hands He Wen a business card and invites him to make “steady money” together, but He Wen, who wants a stable life, politely declines. He thinks it's just a brief encounter with a stranger, but trouble soon follows. On his way home from work the next day, He Wen is abducted and hauled in a van straight to the basement of an internet café. In the dim room, the ringleader he injured the day before has his head wrapped in gauze and is gathered around a hotpot with more than a dozen men. After a one-sided beating, the man issues an ultimatum: pay five thousand yuan for medical expenses, or they'll come after him every day. Covered in injuries, He Wen staggers home. While searching a drawer for medicinal liquor, he catches sight of the business card he'd forgotten about. His phone still works despite its shattered screen. As his finger presses the number, he has no idea that this call will not only change the course of his life, but also drag him into a storm of upheaval.