The Lost 11th Floor – Pan Yueming, Chen Shu, Guo Jinglin

In 2013, in Jinchuan City, Canghai Province, the Huayuan Lake real estate project was being developed at the former Xinfay Mining Site when a human skull was unexpectedly unearthed. Qu Jianghe, the Deputy Director-General of the Municipal Public Security Bureau at the time, received the news and rushed to the scene, preparing to suspend work and conduct an investigation. However, he was blocked by Liu Yutang, the Deputy Mayor of Jinchuan City, who cited development reasons. Just then, Meng Chuansheng, the Chairman of the Hezhong Group and Qu Jianghe's brother, made a phone call to Liu Yutang, which made him back down, allowing Qu Jianghe to continue his work.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the wilderness, Zhuo Yue and his partner Mei Xue, who were investigating the truth about the wild man, accidentally discovered Qiu Shehui, who was hunting down the wild man. Qiu Shehui, now known as Lin Dashan, was a forest police officer. Zhuo Yue immediately reported the situation to Qu Jianghe, who promptly implemented measures to close off the mountain. However, after a night passed, Qiu Shehui had not been captured.

The next day, Yuan Tingliao, the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee of Jinchuan City, approached Qu Jianghe and revealed an anonymous tip pointing directly to the 9.19 case from years ago. Yuan Tingliao hoped that Qu Jianghe would thoroughly investigate the case. Qu Jianghe had many thoughts in mind and had no choice but to first clarify the skull case and the false police case. He sent the skull to the Provincial Department for restoration and took the opportunity to inquire about the situation behind the false police case from his old classmate and colleague, Yan Ge, who was also the chief of the Inspectorate General.

That night, there was a labor dispute at the Huayuan Lake construction site. Meng Chuansheng calmed the workers by promising to pay their wages during the work suspension.

Six years ago, Qiu Shehui, who shot and killed someone in a fight at the Xinfay Mine, was already wanted. Six months ago, under the instructions of Pang Keli, the general manager of the Black Sea White Sand Hotel under the Hezhong Group, Qiu Shehui became Lin Dashan, a forest police officer, tasked with hunting down the wild man on the mountain. Now, the Qiu Shehui discovered by Zhuo Yue is hiding in a rental house, refusing Pang Keli's instructions to stay hidden and expressing a desire to return home for a funeral. Fang also received the news of Qiu Shehui's father's death. Qu Jianghe lifted the checkpoint at the mountain and encountered Xia Zhongtian, a self-media person, who questioned whether the police were protecting a murderer. Qu Jianghe scolded him, and the angry Xia Zhongtian captured the scene on camera.

With the cooperation of Ju Hongqi, the district head of Jin Island, and Zhao Mingliang, the township head of Jin Island, the police successfully arrested Qiu Shehui. However, during the interrogation, Qiu Shehui claimed to be Qiu Jianshe, the twin brother of Qiu Shehui. The case made little progress. At the dining table, Qu Jianghe probed Meng Chuansheng for the truth of what happened back then, but Meng Chuansheng shifted the blame onto Song Jinyuan. Qiu Shehui was under Song Jinyuan's command, and Meng Chuansheng only knew that both of them were on the run with no news of their whereabouts.

The Qiu family from Majiao Village and the relatives and lawyer of Lu Rengang gathered at the police station to protest. Qu Jianghe arrived to mediate, and the lawyer, Geng Min, hinted to Qu Jianghe that Meng Chuansheng had issues. On the other hand, Meng Chuansheng failed to fulfill his promise of paying wages, leading to the workers' protest. He used this as leverage against Liu Yutang, forcing Liu Yutang to decide to put pressure on the police to expedite the case.

Six years ago, Meng Chuansheng took the risk of using explosives to search for gold mines underground, disregarding the dangers involved. Jinchuan City Public Security Bureau's Political Commissar, Jin Chuan, under pressure from higher authorities, urged Qu Jianghe to release Qiu Jianshe and close the skull case. However, Qu Jianghe did not agree to it. Xia Zhongtian, a self-media person, had been investigating the wild man mountain incident and, up to this day, the police had made no progress. Xia Zhongtian compiled the information he had gathered and published it online, attracting the attention of Wu Zhenggang, the Executive Deputy Governor of Canghai Province. With the overwhelming public opinion, Yuan Tingliao had to pressure Qu Jianghe again.

Based on the information provided by Zhuo Yue, Qu Jianghe approached Ju Hongqi to inquire about Lin Dashan's involvement, but Ju Hongqi was evasive and implicated Zhao Mingliang in the matter. After Qu Jianghe left, Ju Hongqi reported to Pang Keli, and Zhao Mingliang received the news and went into hiding in a rental house. When the police failed to find him, Qu Jianghe confronted Ju Hongqi again, suspecting that he had leaked information to Zhao Mingliang. Zhao Mingliang used the mine blueprint from six years ago to blackmail Ju Hongqi for money, and Pang Keli prepared to silence him. Qu Jianghe hit a dead end and decided to seek information about the 9.19 case from former Director Sun Jiaqiang. Sun Jiaqiang was Qu Jianghe's mentor and was wrongly implicated in the 9.19 case, but he didn't want to bring it up again. With no other choice, Qu Jianghe had to withstand the pressure and interrogate Qiu Jianshe. Through certain investigative methods, Qiu Jianshe was deceived into admitting his connection to Zhao Mingliang.

Qu Jianghe was exhausted from his official duties and hired a nanny named Chen Chunfeng to take care of his father and July's daily life. While playing with July, Qu Jianghe received a message from Zhao Mingliang, inviting him to meet and claiming to have a blueprint from six years ago to give him. Qu Jianghe sent July to kindergarten and instructed Chen Chunfeng to pick her up, while he prepared to meet Zhao Mingliang. However, Qu Jianghe faced multiple obstacles on the way, and even got into an argument after a collision with Luo Hai, Chen Chunfeng's partner's tricycle, leaving him temporarily trapped. Zhao Mingliang, driving a car that had been tampered with, had an accident on a mountain road. By the time Qu Jianghe arrived, Zhao Mingliang had already died, leaving behind the message "334."

Yan Ge received reports about Qu Jianghe from various sources through Zhao Shuliang, the director of the Provincial Department, and decided to release Qiu Jianshe. When Qu Jianghe received the news, he rushed over but couldn't say anything in front of the Chief Inspectorate, only watching Qiu Jianshe leave. Qu Jianghe learned that the skull contained traces of cement and gold sand, so he immediately sought out Sun Jiaqiang. Sun Jiaqiang told him that the current false police case and the skull case were likely related to the 9.19 case from years ago. Sun Jiaqiang admitted that he believed some workers were buried underground, but the case files disappeared, witnesses retracted their statements, and he was deeply trapped. Sun Jiaqiang advised Qu Jianghe not to continue the investigation.

It will take three more days for the skull to be repaired. During this time, Yan Ge, as the Chief Inspectorate, received many letters reporting Qu Jianghe. She approached Qu Jianghe hoping to help, but he remained tight-lipped and unwilling to speak up. Chen Chunfeng, who was placed by Meng Chuansheng as a spy around Qu Jianghe, received instructions to search for the blueprint at Zhao Mingliang's house but found nothing. Qu Jianghe and Zhuo Yue arrived at that moment and passed by her, but Qu Jianghe still noticed traces left by Chen Chunfeng. At this point, Qu Jianghe received information that Zhao Mingliang had visited Fudi Mountain Cemetery and Yingzi Fitness Club before his death. Qu Jianghe went to investigate, but the mole also informed Meng Chuansheng about it. Meng Chuansheng obtained the blueprint from the cemetery and left. Qu Jianghe saw everything and was almost certain that Meng Chuansheng was the mastermind behind all of this. While family ties couldn't hinder his pursuit of justice, the strong blood relationship left him somewhat confused.

Qu Jianghe found Xia Zhongtian and gave him a beating for spreading news that slandered the police. Later, he informed Meng Chuansheng about the incident, hoping that Meng Chuansheng would help. Meng Chuansheng thought his younger brother had finally come to his senses and ordered Sha Jin to use threats and incentives, which led to Xia Zhongtian retracting his posts when the Inspectorate visited him. After the crisis was resolved, Qu Jianghe seemed to have changed. Not only did he stop Zhuo Yue from continuing the investigation, but he also accepted Meng Chuansheng's dinner invitation for the first time.

Zhuo Yue and Mei Xue went to Fudi Mountain Cemetery to investigate without Qu Jianghe's knowledge. Unexpectedly, they obtained a video of Qu Jianghe at the cemetery. Qu Jianghe, who was tracking them, learned about this and immediately invited Zhuo Yue for a drink, getting him drunk and destroying the video. Due to numerous reports against Qu Jianghe, which led to distrust from the higher authorities, Yan Ge was transferred to become the director of Jinchuan City Public Security Bureau, taking charge of the bureau's work. Shortly after Yan Ge took office, Yuan Tingliao mentioned that foreign visitors were coming and wanted to lift the restrictions on the Huayuan Lake construction site in advance, which caused dissatisfaction from Qu Jianghe. Luo Hai filed a lawsuit against Qu Jianghe and publicly accepted an interview with Xia Zhongtian to defame Qu Jianghe. Qu Jianghe went to apologize to him, but Luo Hai accused him of assault. Zhuo Yue discovered that the USB drive had been tampered with and suspected Qu Jianghe. Zhuo Yue went back to the cemetery, only to find out that the photographer had already resigned. Yan Ge approached Qu Jianghe on behalf of the bureau, attempting to appease his emotions and pointed out that Meng Chuansheng might be involved in something suspicious. Meng Chuansheng invited Liu Yutang for a drink to thank him for helping with the unsealing of the construction site. Sheng Liya had a meal with Qu Jianghe to express her gratitude for his act of bravery, but their interaction was captured by Xia Zhongtian. Qiu Jianshe was also brought by Xia Zhongtian and publicly cried, accusing Qu Jianghe of being wrongly portrayed. When Qu Jianghe arrived to handle the situation, Qiu Jianshe took advantage of the situation and accused Qu Jianghe of assaulting him, and this was captured by Xia Zhongtian as well. There were numerous negative posts about Qu Jianghe online, and Yan Ge advised him to take a rest and lay low for a while to avoid the spotlight. Qu Jianghe responded with sharp remarks, and the two of them parted ways unhappily.