Alei saw the news in the newspaper about Liu Meng and actor Wang Ke collaborating, which reminded him of a story in a comic. He then went to the woods and dug up Wang Ke’s body. He summoned Wei Lun for questioning, but during the interrogation, Aga appeared with a box of gold bars, claiming that Alei had taken bribes from Wei Lun to help him get acquitted. Wei Lun confessed upon hearing Aga’s accusation, leading to Alei’s suspension. This was all orchestrated by Aga, who had Xiao Zhao keep an eye on Alei. Xiao Zhao found a letter on Alei’s desk containing photos of water birds, and after reporting to Aga, they located the gold bars at the spot in the photo, framing Alei. Aga’s motive was to get promoted to sheriff, and Alei was a strong competitor, so he had to eliminate him.
Luna woke up in the hospital with amnesia, not knowing how she got there or her identity. Alei visited her, and the doctor suggested electroshock therapy, but Alei decided to take her home instead. Luna didn’t trust Alei but followed him home because she vaguely remembered hearing his voice reading a story to her while she was unconscious. At Alei’s house, Luna asked to see his police badge, but since he was suspended, he couldn’t show it; instead, he showed his police academy diploma to prove his identity. Alei explained to Luna that her comics were related to the case and his suspension, which Xiao Zhao overheard, prompting him to inform Aga of the suspicious conversation.
Alei asked Luna to think about what she had previously drawn in her comics, but she couldn’t remember. Hungry, she ate some noodles Alei cooked. While playing with a lighter, a man’s face suddenly appeared in Luna’s mind, which she quickly sketched. At this moment, the janitor came to find Alei, saying there was a man in the storage room who was incoherently banging his head against a cabinet. Luna recognized this man as the one she had just drawn. Alei told Luna to get her comics from her room. After they left, Alei and Xiao Zhao broke into Alei’s house, found the sketch, and learned about the strange man from the janitor. They decided to follow Alei to investigate but were eventually spotted and lost him.
Alei and Luna followed a small tag on the stranger’s neck to the “Old Friend Hotel,” which according to the janitor was newly opened but was actually in ruins. Inside, Alei found a newspaper dated twenty years in the future, which seemed odd. At that moment, the stranger picked up an axe, targeting Alei because of Luna, who had caused his imprisonment. As Luna escaped, her notebook fell, and the wind flipped open the pages, revealing new comic drawings in what was previously blank.
The man’s name was Da Bing, and he and his father were both bellboys at the Old Friend Hotel, living in room 237. Da Bing was frequently beaten by his father for his mistakes. One day, he was accused of stealing a customer’s gold watch, which led to public humiliation when his father made him undress to prove his innocence. The watch was later found in the laundry, but instead of an apology, the father and son were further insulted by the hotel manager and the customer. That night, Da Bing’s father gave him milk laced with sleeping pills, then killed the customer and took the watch. Another incident involved a colleague teasing Da Bing and getting him drunk; his father, seeing this, beat him again in room 237 and later killed the colleague while Da Bing was asleep.
