Jinggang City is a steel jungle divided by plutocrats and neon lights. In this world, human beings are transformed into irrational monsters - "corrosion" due to contact with "relics of the past". The only official force that can compete with it is the "Special Investigation Bureau" with extraordinary power.
Lin Wan, a newly hired archivist, stepped into this power institution full of lies in order to find her missing sister. An accidental supernatural power trigger allowed her to see the truth about the "Red Zone Riot" three years ago on a murder weapon. The figure who cold-bloodedly brandished the knife in the sea of corpses was exactly the same as her immediate boss, ace executive Shen Qingqiu.
As the investigation deepened, Lin Wan discovered that Shen Qingqiu had not only lost key memories, but also lurked in his body a terrifying power that had the same origin as the "corrosion". When the sleeping "first generation" wakes up in the rainy night, and when the chaebol's conspiracy breaks through the disguise, two women who were originally on opposite sides are forced to stand back to back in the center of the storm.
The night is long and the embers will be extinguished. On the edge of sanity and madness, Lin Wan must use her soul to feel Shen Qingqiu's pain and awaken her sleeping memories; and Shen Qingqiu must also face the sins that she has personally created. They want to fight their way to the dawn amidst the malice of the entire world.
Purpose: Mutual salvation in the abyss: The story explores the proposition of "trauma and healing". Neither Shen Qingqiu nor Lin Wan are perfect heroes in the traditional sense. They each have their own imperfections and pain. The real redemption is not a one-sided rescue, but two broken souls accepting each other and serving as anchors in a desperate situation, and finally completing self-reconciliation.
Awakening against the system and destiny: The "Special Bureau" is used as a metaphor for the huge system that suppresses human nature. When the rules themselves become the source of evil, individual awakening and resistance become particularly tragic. The novel praises those "fire bearers" who still adhere to the bottom line of human nature in the darkness and dare to wield their swords against the hypocritical order.
The long night will ember, but the glimmer of light will never go out: "Long night" represents the years of suffering, forgetfulness and despair, while "ember" represents the remaining warmth and hope after burning. Even if the world has collapsed, even if the memory has been erased, as long as there are still people willing to remember and empathize, that weak spark will never be completely extinguished.