Star pro player Aster Phoenix's car passed through an alley in Domino City. As they passed the alley entrance, he noticed something and raised a hand to signal the driver to stop.
His manager beside him asked curiously, "Aster?"
"Nothing. I'm just taking a look. You guys head back first."
The manager glanced at the alley beside them and nodded. "All right. Aster, head back early too. Don't forget you have a match tomorrow."
"I know."
The manager's car drove away. Aster turned and walked toward the alley.
The alley was wrapped in police tape like a blue-and-yellow cocoon. Rotating police lights stained the damp brick walls a sickly purplish red. Uniformed officers stood at the entrance like silent sentries, their radios occasionally crackling with static, yet no one crossed the plastic cordon marked "Scene Preservation."
Three unmarked black vans were parked deep inside the alley, their dense rooftop antenna arrays thrusting toward the night sky like metallic thorns. A professional investigation team was gathering clues at the scene like keen hounds.
Clearly, a case had occurred here. But due to the special nature of the incident, the police were only responsible for sealing off the scene, not for conducting the investigation or collecting evidence. A more specialized team was handling the examination, though this investigation team was secret and its identity had never been disclosed to the public.
Aster, however, was an acquaintance—practically half an insider.
"Hanoi Knights?"
Aster walked straight in.
By now, the Hanoi Knights had essentially unified Domino City's Underground. Some official jobs were even handed over to them. For instance, the Hanoi Knights had an investigation team related to Dark Duels, specifically responsible for examining every case in the city involving Dark Duels.
The investigator in charge of the scene recognized him as well. After