"Rendgen"

The man in the chair eagerly awaits, smiling with anticipation as he braces himself for what the hooded man is about to reveal. He sits rigidly, his legs crossed and hands tightly clasped around his right knee.

"It didn't see it go down, but one of my crows spotted a dead body in an alley a few blocks away where I was. It was curious, so it flew down towards it. When it returned and showed me the footage from its perspective, I saw a body with its head missing and the letters HKR scrawled in blood on its forehead.

The man in the chair leaned forward, his gaze sharpening as he asked, "Do you have any idea who it was?"

"Not a clue."

"HKR… which means HAKER… which means us… marked on a decapitated head of an unknown dead person…?"

The man sitting in the chair leaned back and let out a heavy sigh before he spoke again. "If what you say is true, then we are being framed for murder…"

He leaned back forward and rested his elbows on his knees, intertwining his fingers under his chin as he spoke further. "And if the cops aren't stupid, they will investigate this more thoroughly, but I have faith in him to steer their attention away from us."

"Who are you referring to?" the man in the hood asked.

"Don't you worry about that."

"Anyway, I think we both have an idea who's behind this." The man in the chair said.

"Are you sure it's them?"

"I'm not a hundred percent sure if it's them, but ever since those bloodthirsty cannibals who call themselves Rendgen (X-ray) came to be known around this area a year ago, they've been using the excuse of targeting us to kill random people who they suspected might be HAKER members.

He straightened his posture and placed his hands on the armrests of the chair before uttering, "I have a task for you, crow," he addressed the hooded man.

"I want you to make your crows focus on finding where those disgusting freaks are hiding, and make sure they avoid the area where the body was first spotted, I'm not sure what they're up to. They might be nasty fucks, but we don't know what they're fully capable of, nor who their leader is."

Crow nodded and said, "Alright, I'll get to it. We'll be in contact."

As he prepared to exit through the same way he had entered, the man sitting in the chair called out to him.

Crow looked back and said, "huh? What is it?"

The man sitting in the chair motioned to his left with his thumb, and suddenly a door materialized out of thin air with a bright exit sign above it. "Please walk through the exit," he instructed.

"Is this supposed to be a joke?" Crow asked, a bit annoyed with the man in the chair.

"Nope, it's the actual exit. Cute, isn't it?"

Crow remained stoic, not uttering another word as he made his way towards the exit door.

When his hand was about to touch the doorknob, the man in the chair spoke up suddenly,

"Take care, crow."

After a brief moment of silence, Crow turned the handle and exited through the door.

The man in the chair was left thinking to himself, "It's been a year, and suddenly they are getting serious about targeting us and are trying to lure us out with such a lame-ass tatic? Let's say we bite the bait, how would they be able to identify us? They took too long to start getting serious. Who or what could be making them act up now? ASH? It won't be surprising if those fuckers from ASH is behind the scenes now, they would do absolutely anything to try and take us down. But whatever, they can do whatever they want. I just hope this all goes away soon…"

Back at the detective bureau, Lennie occupied a private investigator's room, anticipating Anna's arrival. In the room, a trophy-shaped object with a ball atop it projected a small area of city H, where the crime occurred. Additionally, a spherical table was neatly stacked with case files.

Later, Anna knocked on the door, and Lennie invited her inside.

"Ah, I've been waiting for you."

"My apologies, I went out for a bit to grab a cup of coffee." She held up the coffee cup, featuring a prominent yellow star with her name on it, for Lennie to see.

"I also stopped by the M.E.'s office. They reiterated what I previously mentioned to you and Lieutenant Hodge: the victim's head was indeed severed with a sharp blade. Additionally, they discovered that his last intake was sugar water. However, they haven't uncovered any other significant details."

"Okay... moving on, I believe we might have a major breakthrough in this case."

"Don't keep me waiting, spill the beans," Anna exclaimed, her voice brimming with excitement.

"I dug into some old case files, and in the past year, there have been over 100 murders reported in this city," Lennie disclosed.

"Alright, go on," Anna urged, prompting for further details.

"This projection showcases a small area of the city where the majority of the murders occurred. Interestingly, it's also the location where we found the body," Lennie explained, gesturing towards the projection.

"So... are you suggesting that these murders might be the work of an individual or a group?" Anna asked, seeking clarification.

"Ever heard of Rendgen?"

"Yeah, I heard of them, they're a blood thirsty group of lunatics, or so I've heard."

"You're right, they are lunatics and definitely blood thirsty. Six months ago, before you and I became partners, me and my ex-colleague captured one of their members. Before we could ask him where their hide out was, he bit his tongue right off."

"Yikes," Anna muttered as she took a sip of her coffee.

"Let's go meet the lieutenant," Lennie suggested suddenly.

When Lennie and Anna met upon Hodge's office door, they heard a distinct conversation going on.

Lennie knocked on the door and was welcomed in by the lieutenant.

"Heyyy~ I was just about to call you guys over. This is Shepherd; he's with the canine unit. He'll be assisting you on the case."

He introduced a diminutive man with dog-like features, whose stature resembled that of a child.

"Sup, guys, you can call me Doggo. And you, pretty lady, can especially call me Doggy," he winked, addressing Anna with a playful tone.

Anna tried very hard not to cringe and cracked a fake smile.

"Nice to meet you, Doggy... Doggo," Lennie greeted, "I'm Detective Lennie, and this is Detective Anna."

"Oooh, Anna, that's a pretty name," Doggo remarked, offering a compliment.

Anna forced a giggle, still trying very hard not to cringe.

"Alright then, shall we get down to business?" Hodge exclaimed with loud enthusiasm.