Convinced that the cyber terrorist known only as the Laughing Man has
resurfaced Section 9 accelerates their investigation. Major Kusanagi
enters a virtual chat room devoted to the Laughing Man and has an
unusual encounter. Are the people there and the views they express
simply fantasy or do they speak the truth?
Meanwhile.. a serial
killer emerges who skins his victims alive in the unique pattern of a
T-shirt: Section 9 must uncover the killer?s identity before he claims
his next victim. Then Togusa goes undercover at an institution for
patients suffering from 'closed cyber brain syndrome' but he finds more
than he expects including a clue in the Laughing Man case!