The Chef, The Actor, The Scoundrel

In Beiping during the 1940s, the Imperial Japanese Army's Unit 731 begins a grim biological-weapon project using cholera. The plan foreshadows a deadly threat to civilians. The city becomes a backdrop for secret experiments.

The project spirals out of control as the virus threatens their own troops. The outbreak triggers a city-wide lockdown, isolating Beiping from the outside world.

Two scientists are secretly summoned to Beiping to manage the outbreak. They must work under cover amid the chaos, trying to contain the virus without alerting the public.

The virus spreads beyond Beiping, and residents inside grow hungry and desperate. The widening reach raises the stakes for everyone involved.

The Scoundrel encounters the scientists inside Beiping and tries to rob them, unaware of who they are. The confrontation raises the tension as loyalties and motives remain hidden.

The scientists are taken to a Japanese restaurant owned by the Chinese chef Liu Ye, where they are guarded and watched. An opera actor, played by Zhang Hanyu, also lives there, adding to the uneasy dynamics.

The trio cannot decide what to do: the Chef wants to release the captives to avoid trouble, the Scoundrel claims to be part of the Chinese Eighth Route Army, and the Actor contemplates killing both scientists and the Scoundrel to prevent offending either side.

Liang Jing, the chef's wife, discovers the cholera canister among the scientists' belongings, realizing the visitors are Unit 731 agents. Her discovery forces a pivotal shift in how they view the situation.

Faced with the discovery, the three men set aside their differences and decide to cooperate, aiming to profit from selling the canister. They begin to coordinate their actions around the canister, planning how to extract value from the situation.

The Scoundrel and the Actor employ various interrogation methods to extract more information from the scientists. Their tactics heighten the danger and push the group toward potential missteps.

The Chef, acting as translator, secretly supports the scientists, balancing risk with his own moral stance. He quietly guides conversations to protect their interests.

As Beiping sits under the shadow of the outbreak, the group faces growing moral ambiguity and the pressure of survival. The virus threat tests loyalties, power, and the limits of cooperation.