1939, Shanghai. Shen Sheng is the most inconspicuous translator in the Military Telecommunications Department. His daily job is to copy boring telegram codes. No one knew that he had another world in his head - one in which he could see the rules.
There are 'rules' within the military: new recruits must be bullied by the elders for three months. There are 'rules' on No. 76: Communist suspects caught must be detained for three days before being tried. There are 'rules' in the French Concession patrol house: no one will be arrested after receiving money. These rules are like a net, trapping everyone.
Until one day, he discovered that his immediate boss, Chu Deming, had begun secretly investigating the 'Nightingale'. The rule Chu Deming follows is: grab the people closest to you first.
There are only three days of silence left. Three days later, Chu Deming will arrest all the people on the suspect list and torture them. And he is the first on the list.
There is only one way to break the situation - use the rules to muddy the water.
