In 2024, the Laughing Man Incident shook Neo Tokyo when Ernest Serano, the president of the pioneering micromachine firm Sereno Genomics, was kidnapped and held for ransom. Six years later, Detective Yamaguchi, who has been pursuing the case, contacts Section 9’s Togusa for a meeting. Just after sending the message, Yamaguchi dies in a tragic accident, leaving the investigation stalled. Amid a police interview chain that examines the motives of those involved, a warning arrives from the elusive hacker known as the Laughing Man, announcing his next crime. The unseen cyber‑criminal begins to orchestrate his plans.