The poor Umelians' hair stood up to the point that a few strands fell to the ground, the two Gems instead felt almost like exploding, probably if the notes had been a little more acute it could have compromised their physical form, made of light. People screamed and protested, also trying to limit the sound by covering their ears with pillows and even clothes.

Topaz rushed like a fury towards the source.

From the apartments of the buildings that surrounded it a lot of civilians had appeared to protest and understand what had disturbed their quiet afternoon, only one of them had no one come out to protest and coincidentally the source of the noise came from there. She climbed onto the crescent-shaped balcony and through the glass, which vibrated like a surface of water on a rainy day; saw a young Umelian struggling with a ramshackle electric guitar. It wasn't even fair to say he was trying to play it, he was just mistreating it.

<< Hey imbecile! Do you want to blow everyone's eardrums?! >> Topaz shouted.

It was not a language suitable for a security officer, but at the time they would have forgiven her for sure, since everyone's nerves were jumping.

The young man did not hear her. And how could he with that noise?

The stereo system, in the form of five large discs attached to the wall; it vibrated with the effort as they spread the terrifying concert across the room, the vibrations shook the floor as if there was an earthquake and pieces of furniture not attached to anything moved along the countertops often falling to the ground.

<< I'm talking to you! >> she said again.

Still ignored, this was too much for her.

She opened the window and entered the house which was a heap of disorder in every corner: books thrown on the ground, unwashed clothes, remains of food squashed on the furniture… what an incredible chaos! Yet, that place and the elements in it were very elegant and tasteful, it was not the lair of an ordinary drifter with strange tastes, they had made it so on purpose. She looked at the guy better: his eyes were wide-eyed and tinged with sickly yellow, his teeth chattered as if he were cold but his mouth was forced into a smile and he lacked a large amount of hair that left him large empty spaces of bare skin. It was… disturbing. She had rarely seen people reduce themselves to such a bad state.

She found herself forced to snatch the guitar from his hands and tear it to pieces. 

Rebuilding it would have been a problem for the owner, but he did not seem pained at all. In fact, he probably wasn't even realizing what was happening around him, continuing to play musical instruments that weren't there.

The ambulance arrived before the patrol designated for the collection of testimonies and evidence. It would take some time to figure out what the hell had happened to that boy, Topaz had left the crime scene immediately after releasing her statement to her colleagues. There would be an investigation, but with the Pearl case in the middle they probably wouldn't find the solution anytime soon, she was sure of that.

For this reason she had decided to investigate on her own. 

It was against the rules and she didn't have the authority to do it, but she had it in her head that she wanted to prove to others and herself that she was able to solve a case even without a diploma or anything written to give her permission. She silenced her conscience before it gave her remorse, she would go deep into her idea at any cost.

Before leaving, she had copied two important clues. The first was linked to the strange behavior of the boy: she had already seen those symptoms several times, in cases related to criminal acts or simple domestic accidents, which had as the only common element a very famous drug: the "Black Gold".

Even in technologically and civilly developed planets like Umelia, the plague of drugs was a well-established reality.

The effects of using illegal alien substances are no different from those found on Earth, unfortunately: high arousal, increased cognitive performance… there is neither for everyone. Black Gold is the latest addition to the market, a potent exciting that has become popular especially among students and employees with difficulty concentrating.

Those who have these problems only see benefits, but then there is the absence of sleep, the increase in irritability, stomach ache and so on. 

It comes in the form of a brown powder which is then cooked with hot water to transform it into a drink with a particular device. Topaz found traces of it in three glasses in the kitchen, the pungent and toasted smell was unmistakable, as well as for the dark color and the brownish foam left on the bottom.

According to the investigation of Umelia, there was only one Black Gold dealer currently active; they had arrested many people of the circle and despite acquaintances and exchanges of business still had not been able to find him. Whoever it was, he was a person able to hide and erase his tracks, the worst qualities for a criminal like that. This led her to the second clue.

Near the traces of Black Gold, her eye had fallen on a small fragment of paper with a strange "indication" on it, partially covered by a scribble perhaps in an attempt to erase it or at least make it illegible. 

“Starting from the spiral eye, straight up to the fool's slide.

Group 3, Pylon 5 "

At first glance they seemed to be just gibberish, but not to her. As absurd as it was, that set of letters was an address.