The sight within the room was a horrifying nightmare; the man's physical form had been so brutally disfigured that he was unrecognizable. His limbs had been severed, and his eyes gouged out, while a knife had been mercilessly thrust through his rectum and into his stomach.

A pungent odor permeated the room, an overpowering combination of the metallic tang of blood, the musk of sweat, and the acrid scent of semen.

"Damn, that's quite a sight," Hans exclaimed, stroking his beard.

Aiko's gaze settled upon him briefly before she wordlessly strode towards the lifeless body, her footsteps soft against the floor.

"Do you think this could be the doing of the Black Dragon?" Aiko inquired, her voice hushed and tense.

Hans furrowed his eyebrows in deep contemplation. "Guillaume De La Plume is not just any ordinary man; he's a high-profile politician," he mused before continuing. "And there's only one person in this city who targets people of his caliber."

Aiko knelt down beside the body, her eyes scanning the grotesque scene with a mixture of horror and curiosity. "But why go through all of this trouble?" she murmured, almost to herself. "What message is being conveyed here?" As she spoke, she reached out a tentative hand to brush aside a lock of hair that had fallen across the victim's face, revealing the full extent of the brutality that had been inflicted upon him.

The cuts that had separated the victim's limbs from his torso were shockingly precise, leaving behind almost surgical incisions that spoke to a level of skill and expertise that made Aiko's skin crawl. The limbs themselves had been arranged in a chillingly symmetrical pattern, as if the perpetrator had taken care to ensure that each arm and leg was placed with exacting precision.

As Aiko continued to examine the body, her eyes were drawn to the empty sockets where the victim's eyes should have been. The wounds looked ragged and brutal, as if the killer had not simply removed the eyes, but had gouged them out with a savage force. The sight was enough to make even a seasoned hunter like Hans feel a shiver of revulsion.

Every trace of hair had been meticulously removed from the balding scalp, leaving behind a sickly sheen of bare skin. The removal appeared to have been done with such care that not a single follicle remained.

As she leaned in closer, Aiko noticed that something else was amiss. Each tooth had been expertly removed from the victim's mouth, leaving behind a gaping hole where the once-perfect smile had been.

Aiko's attention was drawn to a small metallic object on the victim's head, and she realized that it was a mind chip - a device used to store memories and thoughts. With a growing sense of unease, she carefully removed the chip and connected it to her own interface, hoping to gain some insight into the victim's life and perhaps even uncover some clues about the identity of the killer.

As she began the process of hacking into the chip, Aiko couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding. It was widely known that mind chips could not be accessed after the host's death, but she was still hopeful that she might find some information that could shed light on the case.

But her hopes were soon dashed. The chip had been formatted and wiped clean, leaving behind no trace of the victim's memories or thoughts. Aiko cursed under her breath, frustration and disappointment warring within her.

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Hans leaned over Aiko, his voice low and urgent. "Give me the chip," he said, holding out his hand. Aiko hesitated for a moment, but then reluctantly handed it over. Hans wasted no time in inserting the chip into his own interface, his red eyes flickering as he began to access the data.

For a few tense moments, there was nothing but silence, broken only by the soft hum of the interface. Aiko watched anxiously as Hans closed his eyes and seemed to dive deep into the chip's contents, his expression growing more intense with each passing moment.

Suddenly, without warning, Hans's eyes snapped open, and they were no longer red but a piercing shade of white. Aiko felt a chill run down her spine at the sight, wondering what kind of information Hans was accessing.

For what felt like an eternity, Hans remained in a trance-like state, his body perfectly still as he continued to explore the data on the chip. Aiko could only watch and wait, her heart racing with anticipation and fear.

Finally, with a sudden gasp, Hans withdrew from the interface, his eyes returning to their usual red hue. He turned to Aiko, his expression grave. "We need to talk," he said.

Hans snatched the chip from his interface and flung it forcefully to the ground. The tiny device shattered into a thousand pieces, scattering across the blood-stained floor. Aiko watched in horror, unable to comprehend why Hans would destroy their only chance at solving the case.

Before Aiko could ask him what he was doing, Hans turned to her, his face twisted in anger and disgust. "This man was a monster," he hissed, his voice barely above a whisper. "He deserved every bit of what happened to him."

Aiko's heart skipped a beat at the intensity of Hans's words. She had never seen him like this before, and it sent a shiver down her spine. She couldn't help but wonder what kind of monster Guillaume de la Plume had been, to elicit such a strong reaction from Hans.

But before she could say anything, Hans turned on his heel and stalked away, his strides long and purposeful. Aiko hesitated for a moment before hurrying after him, her mind reeling with questions and uncertainty. She knew that whatever they had stumbled upon was bigger than they could have ever imagined, and that the consequences of their discovery were going to be dire.

As they drove on in the dimly lit night, Hans lit up a cigarette, the ember casting flickering shadows across his face. Aiko watched him silently, waiting for him to speak.

After a long drag, Hans turned to her, his eyes grave. "Do you remember the missing kids of the Red District?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Aiko felt a chill run down her spine at the mention of the Red District, a seedy part of the city where all sorts of illegal activities took place. The missing kids had been a mystery that had haunted the city for years, with no leads or suspects in sight.

"What about them?" Aiko asked cautiously, her voice barely above a whisper.

Hans took another drag of his cigarette, exhaling a cloud of smoke that hung in the air between them. "I think I know what happened to them," he said, his voice dark and foreboding. "And I think it's connected to what we just found."

Hans continued to smoke, his eyes fixed ahead as he spoke. "As I breached through the chip's data, I found a message from the Black Dragon," he said in a hushed tone. "He hid it well, so that no police officer could find it, but only a well-enhanced cyberhunter."

"What did the message say?" she asked, her voice trembling.

Hans took another drag of his cigarette, his eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and disgust. "There were photos and videos of Guillaume with kids around 7 and 10," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "And he was..." Hans stopped for a moment, as if unable to continue.

Aiko leaned in, her heart racing with anticipation. "What was he doing?" she asked, her voice barely audible.

Hans took a deep breath before finally speaking. "He was...," he began, his voice heavy with emotion. "He was molesting them. The sick bastard was molesting them."

His face grew grim as he continued to speak. Aiko could see a small tear form in the corner of his eye, but he didn't wipe it away.

"My niece, Sarah, who disappeared 3 years ago... she was with them," he said, his voice shaking with emotion.