The prime suspect behind an attempt to blackmail the Ministry of Energy has turned up dead in Niihama City, ostensibly the victim of a tragic accident; however a more thorough examination of the body turns up evidence of homicide. Togusa follows up on the death of the suspect, and obtains "photographic evidence" which the man had intended to use against the Ministry of Energy; however the film the pictures were taken with has been exposed to light, and subsequently turned completely black. With most members of Section 9 still assigned to guard the Prime Minister, Togusa is given a Tachikoma and sent to the Shinjuku Refugee District of New Tokyo to investigate the photo lead...