In 2000, the small coastal city of Linzhou in southern China was gripped by fear. A series of serial rapes and murders took place, with dozens of single women attacked and killed on their way home from late-night shifts. The killer always left cigarette butts at the scene, brazen and cruel. Wen Hao, who had just graduated from the police academy with top marks, was assigned to the Linzhou Criminal Police Team, full of passion and idealism for investigative work. The case was already reaching its most critical stage.
The third victim in this years-long series was Lin Qing, the only survivor. The killer made a mistake during the attack, and Lin Qing narrowly escaped, but the experience left her with deep psychological scars. Determined to catch the killer and protect others, she overcame her trauma and entered the police academy. After graduating, she too was assigned to the Linzhou Criminal Police Team, where she became Wen Hao’s apprentice.
One is a “top student detective” with a solid theoretical grounding but little field experience; the other is a “survivor officer” whose past trauma has given her a piercing gaze. Master and apprentice stand side by side at crime scenes filled with cigarette butts, bloodstains, and fear. Wen Hao uses meticulous logical deductions to trace the killer’s movements, while Lin Qing draws on her own experience and keen instincts to catch crucial clues. As they inch closer to the truth case by case, they grow more in sync, and unspoken feelings begin to stir.
The killer’s methods grow more elusive, yet the attacks keep coming, and Linzhou’s nights are shrouded in the shadow of death. As the investigation closes in on the heart of the case, the killer turns his sights on Lin Qing. In the final showdown, Wen Hao is gravely injured protecting her. But through relentless investigation and seamless teamwork, the two finally bring to justice the serial killer who had evaded capture for years. When the dust settles, trauma becomes strength, and their understanding deepens into
