Episode Summary
Ni Xiangdong's simple delivery job turns into a nightmare when he finds his boss in the box. After a shocking body-swap and a run-in with the police, he leaves a trail of dead witnesses. He and his accomplice, Wu Ximei, try to mislead a sharp detective named Meng Chao, but their story is unraveling. With the body count rising, Meng Chao closes in, searching for evidence inside the suspect's own home.
Spoiler Alert
What's in the Box?
A Simple Delivery Goes Wrong
We kick things off with a guy named Ni Xiangdong. He's driving along a deserted coast with a big wooden box in his truck. You can tell he's on edge. He's just a delivery guy. His boss, Cao Xiaojun, paid him to drop this box off on some remote hill. He wasn't told what was inside.
He gets to the drop-off spot. No one is there to meet him. He waits. Nothing. So he decides to call his boss. He dials Cao Xiaojun's number. A phone starts ringing from inside the box.
That's not good.
He pries the crate open. And there he is. Cao Xiaojun is stuffed inside. Just as Ni Xiangdong is trying to figure this out, someone in a mask jumps out, snaps his picture, and runs. Ni Xiangdong gives chase but he trips, falls, and smashes his phone. He heads back to the box, but then he hears police sirens. He has to get out of there. He hoists the heavy box onto his back and makes a run for it.
The Body Swap
The sirens aren't actually for him, though. They're for a missing guard from a nearby coastal post. But Ni Xiangdong doesn't know that. He gets down the hill and sees cop cars blocking the road. He has no choice but to stop.
He decides to check the box one more time. And this is where the episode just goes completely sideways. Cao Xiaojun is gone. A different man is now in the box. It's Liu Chengan, the guard who was reported missing.
Before Ni Xiangdong can even process this, the other coastal guard, an old man, wanders up. He's looking for his missing partner. He gets a clear look at Ni Xiangdong's face. Big mistake. Ni Xiangdong kills him. Just like that. No hesitation.
He then acts like he's a security guard who was just attacked. It's a bold move. The cops buy it. They call him an ambulance and send him to the hospital, clearing a path right through their own crime scene.
The Cop and the Widow
A Suspicious Story
Let's talk about the cops. The main detective is Meng Chao. He's actually working a totally different case. An old man in an apartment building called the police. His drain clogged, and when he mopped up the water, he found a human body part.
Meng Chao and his apprentice, Tong Hao, trace the plumbing upstairs. They end up at the apartment of a woman named Wu Ximei. She says she lives there with her husband and child. Her husband's name is Cao Xiaojun. She claims he's away on a business trip.
Meng Chao's instincts tell him something is off. He spots a family portrait on the wall. It shows a family of four, not three. His suspicion grows when a neighbor says they saw a man carrying a large wooden box out of the building earlier. The neighbor identifies the man as Ni Xiangdong.
When the cops mention this, Wu Ximei pretends to be shocked. She says a junk box fatores from her home is missing. Then, she very helpfully provides Ni Xiangdong's license plate number. She's a little too calm. A little too prepared. Meng Chao knows she's lying.
The Body Count Rises
Back at the station, Meng Chao connects the dots. He realizes the "injured security guard" from the coast is his suspect. He and Tong Hao race to the hospital. Of course, Ni Xiangdong is already gone.
Ni Xiangdong slips through the city and heads straight back to Wu Ximei's apartment. She tells him the police are onto them. Their plan, whatever it was, is failing.
As Ni Xiangdong is leaving her apartment, he's spotted by a drunk neighbor, Li Qingfu. Ni Xiangdong can't have any witnesses. So he kills Li Qingfu. That's two bodies in one night.
The next morning, police find Li Qingfu's corpse. Meng Chao looks up and sees Wu Ximei watching the scene from her apartment window. He goes right back upstairs to question her. She plays the part of the worried wife perfectly. She acts clueless about the murder and asks if there's any news about her "missing" husband, Cao Xiaojun.
She goes into another room to comfort her child. This gives Meng Chao the opening he needs. He immediately starts searching her apartment for any clue he can find.
