The story of this fourth installment takes place amidst signs of postwar reconstruction in the winter of 2028. Tensions are rising in New Port City as demonstrations are held concerning the interests of foreign cartels. This leads to a shooting incident involving riot police. It all started with a cyberbrain infection released by the terrorist Fire Starter. An independent offensive unit led by Motoko Kusanagi entrusts the suppression of the situation to their ghosts and aims for their own justice. Below the surface of the incident, lies the tin girl Emma and the scarecrow man Burinda Junior. As Kusanagi deals with the incident, she draws near to what those two ghosts were seeking. (Source: ANN)

In 2024, the terrorist incident known as The Laughing Man Incident occurred in which Ernest Serano, president of the groundbreaking micromachine company, Serano Genomics, was kidnapped and ransomed. One day, the case having remained unsolved for six years, Detective Yamaguchi, who has been investigating The Laughing Man Incident, sends word that he wants to meet with Togusa from Public Safety Section 9. However, soon after sending this message, Yamaguchi, crucial to the success of the case, dies in an accident. Many days pass and in the midst of a police interview relay concerning suspicions behind interceptors, a forewarning is received from The Laughing Man of his next crime. The incorporeal hacker begins to move once again. (Source: ANN)

Tachikomatic Days is a series of comedic shorts attached to the end of every episode of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG. The shorts feature the antics of the Tachikoma think tanks of Section 9 and usually involve plot points. The average short time is a little over a minute.

In the year 2029, Niihama City has become a technologically advanced metropolis. Due to great improvements in cybernetics, its citizens are able to replace their limbs with robotic parts. The world is now more interconnected than ever before, and the city's Public Security Section 9 is responsible for combating corruption, terrorism, and other dangerous threats following this shift toward globalization. The strong-willed Major Motoko Kusanagi of Section 9 spearheads a case involving a mysterious hacker known only as the Puppet Master, who leaves a trail of victims stripped of their memories. Like many in this futuristic world, the Puppet Master's body is almost entirely robotic, giving them incredible power. As Motoko and her subordinates follow the enigmatic criminal's trail, other parties—including Section 6—start to get involved, forcing her to confront the extremely complicated nature of the case. Pondering about various philosophical questions, such as her own life's meaning, Motoko soon realizes that the one who will provide these answers is none other than the Puppet Master themself.