Toto is in Unity Town now.
While watching Shorts, Toto had been captivated by a paradise-like place where people could use electricity as much as they wanted.
He wanted to go there.
The electricity was only a secondary concern.
He simply loved the peaceful atmosphere shown in the Shorts.
It did not seem like the Philippines.
To find out where the place was, he pieced together every clue in the video.
That was how he found the village called Unity Town.
So Toto wrote them an email without hesitation.
He said he wanted to live there.
Not long afterward, an invitation really did arrive.
All he needed to prepare was a few changes of clothes.
Everything else would be provided by Unity Town.
After persuading his mother, he went to Unity Town with his younger siblings.
There, they showed him a container home, saying it would be their temporary residence.
Compared to the place where Toto had lived, it was magnificent.
It was state-of-the-art.
There was even a bathroom inside.
Just as in the Shorts, it had air conditioning, and they could use electricity as much as they wanted.
It had not been a lie.
It was also fully equipped with basic appliances.
They did have to pay rent, but it was not much.
Since they had found his mother a job, the rent was not a heavy burden.
There were childcare facilities and restaurants, so his mother could leave his siblings there and go to work.
Everything about Unity Town was wonderful, but the best thing was that he could attend school.
The young students of Unity Town were required to attend school.
If they did not, they at least had to attend a vocational school.
Toto enjoyed going to school.
He loved the thrill he felt whenever he learned something new.
When things he had learned in different subjects fit together like pieces of a puzzle, it was exhilarating.
So he continued studying.
But after attending school, he noticed something strange.
The kids here seemed a little crazy.
They all went around talking about Rebels.
They all dreamed of becoming Rebels.
Toto found it awkward at first, but that did not last long.
Before long, Toto’s dream had also become becoming a Rebel.
He dreamed of becoming a person as impressive as the Rebels who had created, managed, and maintained such a wonderful place as Unity Town.
Toto wanted to work for Unity Town too.
But becoming a Rebel was no ordinary task.
It was incredibly difficult.
But that was all right.
The thing Toto was best at was studying.
All he had to do was sit down and look at a book.
Studying was the easiest thing in the world.
.
.
.
Programming class in Unity Town.
“If you organize it like this, it works. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
Contrary to their replies, the children’s expressions clearly showed that they understood nothing at all.
Watching them, Tian Zihao smiled.
What Tian Zihao taught was hacking.
They had managed to follow along fairly well up to the intermediate level, but they struggled somewhat when moving on to the advanced material.
Tian Zihao gently encouraged the children.
“It’s okay if you don’t understand. You don’t necessarily have to understand this. It’s difficult. So if you don’t get it, it would be better to give up on this quickly and look into something else. If you can’t understand even this much, you won’t be able to touch what comes next. Understand?”
Tian Zihao was sincerely advising the children.
There was no need to be sincere about a place they could never reach.
There were plenty of jobs.
They could work in a factory, become office workers, or work on a farm.
Tourism, shops, and restaurants were fine choices too.
Being a Rebel was not the only best job in the world.
But those words did not work on the children of Unity Town.
The children of Unity Town did not dream of becoming celebrities, athletes, or tycoons.
They lived as though becoming a Rebel was their only dream.
The children of Unity Town were rather unusual.
Whenever they did anything, their first consideration was whether it would help them become Rebels.
From attending classes to deciding how to behave, they thought and acted with Rebels in mind.
To the children of Unity Town, Rebels were no longer merely something they admired. They had become their dream.
The system created by the adults was the problem behind the way the children of Unity Town had changed.
Simon, Patrick, and all the other adults were worried.
They were worried that the children dreamed of becoming Rebels.
They wanted the children to pursue something other than becoming Rebels.
There were so many different professions and so many different things to do in the world, and they wanted the children to experience them all freely.
They had the will, the money, and the programs to support them.
So they had eventually settled on the following idea:
Try something else. Try everything you can, and if none of it works out, we’ll let you become a Rebel.
But then they worried that if they did that, the children would look down on becoming Rebels.
It would seem like becoming a Rebel was what one did when there was nothing else left to do.
So they decided to turn the idea upside down.
They declared that only the best children, only a very small number of them, could become Rebels.
They had to do well in their studies,
be good at building relationships,
know how to look after those around them,
and possess upright character.
They made the exams difficult and raised the cutoff for the physical fitness tests.
At this level, surely the children would give up and choose something else.
They thought the children would choose careers other than becoming Rebels.
To show them that other professions existed, they taught a wide variety of subjects.
They thought that would solve the problem.
It did not.
Instead, because it was difficult, the children developed an even stronger determination to achieve it.
That determination spread like wildfire.
Only the very best of the best could become Rebels.
The rules created out of a desire to keep the children from becoming Rebels instead encouraged them to compete.
It was all right to fail to become a Rebel.
But giving up without even trying was shameful.
The guiding principle of Unity Town was to challenge oneself to the very end, even if one’s abilities fell short.
Until then, they were expected to pour in everything they had.
No one criticized them for challenging what they could not accomplish.
Nor did anyone tell them to settle for reality.
No one advised them to think about the future.
They simply watched over the children.
Even so, there were children who stuck out like awls.
“Your name is Toto?”
“Yes.”
After class, Tian Zihao called Toto aside.
As much as possible, he tried not to recruit students into becoming Rebels.
But this child named Toto was simply too promising to pass up.
Was this what it meant to say that if you taught someone one thing, they understood ten?
He wanted to teach Toto more and tell him more.
He wanted to speak with him and hear his opinions.
Toto was too valuable a resource to let slip away.
So Tian Zihao gathered his courage.
“How are your classes? Can you keep up?”
“So far.”
“You know what I do, right?”
“Yes. Maintaining the data center, managing web pages, and creating the apps and programs that are needed.”
“I think I could do my work even better if I did it together with you. What do you think? Would you like to work with me?”
After pausing for a moment, Tian Zihao slowly and cautiously made the offer to Toto.
“Um… Could I think about it a little longer?”
“Why? You don’t like it?”
“Teacher Edward, Teacher Anna, and Teacher Shin Junggi all said the same thing. It’s still difficult for me to decide.”
Tian Zihao felt as though he had been struck in the back of the head.
He had truly worked up the courage to say that, but it seemed the others had already been doing the same thing.
“Mm-hm… Take your time and think about it. Then let me know.”
“If I choose it, do I have to do only that? Or can I work in another field at the same time?”
“If you can manage it, of course you can.”
“Then I’ll think about it and get back to you.”
After Toto left, Tian Zihao was left alone.
Tian Zihao reconsidered.
It seemed everyone had roughly the same eye for talent.
Perhaps truly outstanding people were bound to stand out.
He had not intended to recruit the children this early, but he suddenly grew anxious that, if he made one wrong move, he might lose all the good talent.
The IT field really needed talent.
The others needed manpower too, of course, but the IT field genuinely needed gifted people.
Tian Zihao decided that he would bring in the necessary personnel ahead of time.
Fortunately, the level of the children in Unity Town was already extremely high.
That was because they had worked so hard to become Rebels.
Even the children who performed the worst here were highly skilled workers who could not be found anywhere else in the Philippines.
That was how serious the children were about becoming Rebels.
Anyone he chose would probably be excellent, but Tian Zihao’s eyes grew sharp as he sought to select the most outstanding children among them.
It was the moment Unity Town transformed into a massive talent pool.
********
Gang Palchun was flustered.
How long had it even been since he began distributing Disand? The Daehun Faction had already begun looking for him.
No, he had barely distributed any of it. Had they already started digging into the distribution route?
How good was the Daehun Faction’s radar?
How many informants did they have to figure things out so quickly?
His surprise at the Daehun Faction’s intelligence network lasted only a moment.
He had to think of a way out.
A way to survive.
If the Daehun Faction caught him, it was over.
There would be no rebuilding the Triad and no future for him.
There was only one thing Gang Palchun could do here: disappear.
He would lie low for a while and watch the situation.
If Gang Palchun disappeared, the Triad would raise hell, but if they became desperate enough, they would move themselves.
To be honest, he was not making much money compared to the risk of distributing drugs with his life on the line.
Nor was he loyal enough to the Triad to risk his life for them.
He had only wanted to use the Triad to grow bigger.
At this moment, the most important thing to Gang Palchun was Gang Palchun’s life.
Just then, his phone rang.
It was Maoqin.
“Yes. Team Leader.”
“A special envoy is coming in three days?”
“You should have told me sooner.”
“He’s bringing the drugs?”
“Understood. I’ll make the preparations.”
Maoqin was like this to the very end.
He was sending a special envoy now?
Something must not have pleased him.
He was even sending someone to give him pointers.
A good idea occurred to Gang Palchun.
It seemed he had found good bait to hand over to the Daehun Faction.
Gang Palchun naturally informed his juniors that a Triad envoy was coming.
He told them to book a luxury hotel and make a restaurant reservation.
He instructed them to treat the envoy with their utmost care.
He firmly ordered them to prepare to meet him at a small harbor in Incheon.
He also told them the place and time.
There would be informants here too, anyway.
Someone would let it slip.
.
.
.
Du Mansik received a special order from Maoqin.
It seemed Disand was not being distributed in Korea as well as expected, so he was to go to Korea, assess the situation, and provide consulting.
His special mission was to teach Gang Palchun, who was serving as the head of the Korean branch, how things should be done.
He had been given full authority over everything concerning Korea.
He had even been told that if things went well, he might be given the position of head of the Korean branch.
Maoqin’s command was sweet.
Du Mansik accepted without hesitation.
He thought this was finally his chance to make his presence known.
So he loaded the Disand and arrived at Incheon Port.
Perhaps they had known he was coming, because men in black suits were waiting for him.
“Are you from the Triad?”
one of the men asked.
“That’s right.”
“I see. Hey—get him!”
At the black-suited man’s words, dozens of men surrounded Du Mansik.
.
.
.
Screech.
In front of a warehouse somewhere in Incheon.
A large sedan came to a stop.
When Geunsu, the chief secretary waiting there, opened the rear door, Seo Daehun, the boss of the Daehun Faction, stepped out from the back seat.
“““How are you, Brother!”””
The moment Daehun appeared, the gang members’ booming greetings filled the warehouse.
“Yeah. You’ve all worked hard.”
Daehun greeted his men in return.
After getting out of the car, Daehun walked straight ahead, and the members of the Daehun Faction followed behind him.
Where they stopped, a man was bound as though hanging from a rope.
He was Du Mansik, the Triad’s special envoy.
A gag had been stuffed in his mouth, and his shirt had been stripped off.
Beside him was a bag filled with candy.
“Is this the bastard?”
“Yes. We caught him right at the scene.”
Geunsu answered Daehun’s question.
While tracing the candy, the Daehun Faction had obtained information that a deal was going to take place.
They had heard that a high-ranking figure from the Triad, the supplier, would be bringing the candy, so they had gone into hiding and waited.
But the meeting place had been empty.
The people who were supposed to make contact never showed up.
They thought the information had leaked and the meeting place had been changed.
They were about to give up and leave when a boat came in from the distance.
They decided to wait, just in case.
Bingo.
“He hasn’t said anything?”
“Brother, you told us to leave him alone, so we only tied him up.”
“Well done. It’s been a while since we had some fun. What I told you to prepare?”
“Here it is.”
Geunsu answered and handed him a baseball bat.
Even as Geunsu handed over the bat, he asked again, apparently uneasy.
“Brother. We can handle something this rough ourselves. You don’t have to step in personally.”
“Heh heh. I know. But if we can’t even take care of something like this, how are we supposed to face Alex?”
“That’s right, Brother.”
“That’s why I’m going to do it myself today.”
“But isn’t a baseball bat a little too weak for this, Brother?”
“Krkrkr. I know. I do. But today, I suddenly started thinking about the old days. Back in middle school, when we used to get into gang fights with bats. I started missing the feel of it in my hands. So I thought I’d start with a baseball bat.”
“Ah~ I understand.”
“It’s going to take a while today. I’m planning to take it slow and draw it out. Go get something to eat and come back.”
“No, Brother. I’ll wait.”
“You will? Then order something. We can eat while we do this.”
Daehoon loosened up his body as if he were stretching, then swung the bat through the air several times.
Whoosh! Whoosh! The sound of the air splitting was chilling.
Daehoon stood beside the tied-up man and spoke to him in a tone filled with a touch of curiosity.
“You know what? I really like moments like this. The world’s gotten so smart these days that there aren’t many chances to use your body. It’s been a while, so I’m feeling pretty excited. Try to understand if I get a little carried away.”
“······”
“Don’t say anything if you can help it. I’m really asking you. That way, this will last longer. If you blab everything out, I won’t have an excuse to hit you. An excuse. Well, let’s begin.”
Daehoon began beating the tied-up man with the baseball bat.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The baseball bat began mercilessly pummeling the man.
Each blow landed with a heavy sound.
“Uuuhh.”
A scream leaked through the gaps between the gagged man’s teeth.
“Ooh~ Nice impact. You must have done some exercise. Don’t worry. I won’t hit anywhere that might break. Just bruises, you know? I’ll only hit places that’ll be sore and black-and-blue for a while. Don’t be disappointed if it tickles. Think long-term. This is just the appetizer. We’ve got plenty of time, so let’s take it slow and enjoy the main course.”
Daehoon swung the bat again.
The more he struck him, the more the tied-up man suffered, but aside from a few small cries, he said nothing.
“Uwahahaha. Good. I like that very much.”
Daehoon was thoroughly satisfied.
The tied-up man, on the other hand, glared at Daehoon.
“Those eyes are impressive too. What a shame. It would’ve been nice if we’d worked together. I like guys with eyes like yours. But people with eyes like that don’t realize how dangerous they are. They don’t know that those eyes were bought with their life.”
Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack!
The baseball bat swung once more.
After beating him for quite some time, Daehoon finally threw the bat aside.
“Good grief, I’m too tired to keep hitting him. How can I get this worn out after only a few swings? How do baseball players swing these things hundreds of times a day?”
“It’s their job, isn’t it? People will do anything if they’re paid.”
“Is that so? The bat seems sufficient. What else do we have?”
“We have all kinds of knives, from sashimi knives to machetes. As for powered equipment, there are drills, cutting machines, and grinders.”
The tied-up man had managed to keep his expression composed while Daehoon was using the bat, but when he heard about sashimi knives and electric drills, he began flinching in terror.
“I hear you guys use electric drills a lot these days.”
“They’re useful. You don’t risk injuring yourself while using them, they require less strength, and the wounds are deep, so they’re fairly efficient. Most importantly, they’re versatile. We have drills, and cutting machines in various sizes, so they’re convenient to use.”
Daehoon wore a satisfied expression.
“Right. People have to keep learning and advancing like this. That’s how you survive. But do you have anything other than things that make blood fly? I don’t really want to see much blood today.”
“Then how about this?”
Geunsu held out a torch.
With a single click, a powerful flame shot forth.
“Oh-ho~ You use things like this these days too? You have plenty of butane gas, right?”
“We have it by the box.”
“Then shall we begin? Where should we start?”
“Wouldn’t it be more painful if we started with a sensitive area?”
“No.”
“Is there a reason?”
“It would end too soon. We should start with the least sensitive places. Places where you can’t feel any pain. But by the time you do feel it, it’ll already be unbearable. For example, a place like this.”
Daehoon pressed the torch against the man’s heel.
Perhaps it was truly agonizing, because the man screamed.
“Aaagh~~~~ Aaagh~~~~”
The tied-up man seemed to keep saying something.
But because of the gag in his mouth, it couldn’t be heard clearly.
Was it because of the torch?
The smell of meat cooking drifted through the air.
“Mah-hahge.. mah-hah-dago.”
The man kept shouting.
“Brother, I think this bastard’s trying to say something.”
“No. You heard wrong. Let’s continue.”
“Yes, Brother.”
“Mah-hah-dago!!”
The tied-up man desperately cried out something, but Daehoon and Geunsu did not stop.
.
.
.
Du Mansik felt wronged.
He could have told them everything.
There were no secrets he wanted to hide.
And there was nothing else he knew.
He wanted to tell them immediately, but the moment they saw him, they stuffed a gag into his mouth.
No matter what he said, they didn’t even pretend to listen.
While he was tied up in the warehouse, the boss arrived.
The moment he came, he said the night would be a long one and told him to look forward to it.
He was scared.
Terrified.
Still, he was relieved.
The weapon the boss picked up was a bat.
He could take that much.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
No.
He had been mistaken.
It hurt far too much.
So he looked at the boss, trying to convey that it hurt and that he wanted him to stop hitting him.
With a look of respect in his eyes.
But what?
His eyes were impressive?
Eyes worth trading his life for?
No, that wasn’t it.
He had no intention of doing anything like that.
Du Mansik wasn’t a man with such clear principles and convictions.
No matter how much he shouted, the gag in his mouth kept his words from coming out properly.
They had stuffed his mouth full of cloth so he couldn’t speak at all, then sealed it shut.
And now they were taking out a knife, then an electric drill.
This was seriously not happening.
Absolutely not.
He resisted with everything he had.
They talked among themselves about how they were advancing and how efficient everything was.
And in the end, they brought out a torch.
No.
No, don’t.
His body was cooking.
All the hair on his body was burning away.
The smell of charred flesh filled the air.
Don’t do this. He would tell them everything.
He would tell them absolutely everything.
Please, just take this thing out of his mouth.
Du Mansik’s desperate wish finally came true late that night.
No—early the next morning.