Chixiao Han

The rain in Lungmen always carries the cold hues of reflected neon.

Traffic streams between the skyscrapers. Sirens and crowds blend into an endless roar, and Ch'en always stands at the city's sharpest edge. As a senior inspector in the Lungmen Guard Department, she is like a drawn Chi Xiao: stern and proud, never bowing to evil. Everyone believes she will always stand on the side of order, and so does she.

Until she meets that man.

He is a private detective of some local renown in Lungmen, with no official status and no ties to any organization. He has spent years moving through the gray areas of the city. Rather than the deductions found in police files, he trusts the flaws in human nature and the traces left by desire. No one knows his past. They only know that many cases the Lungmen Guard Department can't solve end up bearing his name.

A string of murders that shocks Lungmen forces two people who should never have worked together to join forces. One believes in rules, the other despises them. One wields a sword to uphold order, while the other watches the decay of human nature with cold eyes. As they argue and test each other, they gradually grow closer. And through repeated brushes with death, they glimpse the unspoken loneliness hidden beneath each other's sharp edges.

But as their investigation goes deeper, they discover that the case has buried far more than bloodshed and conspiracy. Truths whitewashed by power, old cases buried by time, and malice festering in Lungmen's darkest corners are slowly dragging them into the abyss.

When the truth finally comes to light, they must make their final choice between justice, faith, and each other.

An Arknights fan work. Please forgive any out-of-character moments.