Paradise and Hell

January 2, Year 19.

Luzon.

Manila City Proper.

Standing south of the Pasig River in Manila, Li Qingye stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of the Homo sapiens Company's Manila branch, gazing out at what was undoubtedly paradise:

Towering and magnificent commercial buildings, bustling office towers, dazzling shopping malls, and upscale restaurants – it was undeniably prosperous and busy.

He gently spun his ergonomic chair, his gaze calmly shifting to the Manila north of the Pasig River – the Tondo district.

Houses built haphazardly from tin sheets.

There was almost no space between the two houses, as if they were piled-up garbage heaps.

Rooms less than twenty square meters housed at least ten people.

The surrounding environment consisted of either garbage mountains or septic tanks.

One river separated a view of heaven and hell.

Recalling his gaze, Li Qingye had brought quite a few people with him to Manila this time. Chen Jianxiong, who was handling some matters, hurried over to him.

"Boss, this is the intelligence I've gathered over the past three months. Please take a look."

Flipping through the documents, Li Qingye remained expressionless. Even with the countless horrifying descriptions within, his heart did not waver in the slightest.

Zhang Wei, who had followed them, looked somewhat pale at this moment.

Li Qingye glanced at him and casually pulled out a page from the documents. "This is what you wanted."

With trembling hands, Zhang Wei looked at the contents of the paper, his heart pounding. A few minutes later, his face turned even paler, and tears streamed uncontrollably from his eyes.

"Let's go! Let's go see what darkness is!"

With that, Li Qingye, along with Fili and Chen Jianxiong, walked out. Zhang Wei also stood up, clutching the paper tightly in his hand as if it bore an unbearable weight.

More than a dozen modified jeeps left the parking lot of the branch building and headed northwest towards the Tondo district.

After crossing the river, various gazes watched the convoy through the alleys and streets of the slum.

There was greed, envy, prying eyes, as well as awe and hostility.

The convoy stopped in front of a row of tin shacks. A group of security personnel, vigilant of the surrounding slum dwellers, had their handguns with the safety off, ready to fire at any moment.

Inside the jeep, Li Qingye asked calmly, "Jian Xiong, let's begin!"

"Yes." Chen Jianxiong picked up a portable pheromone bio-computer and entered a series of commands. Soon, the pheromone hives deployed on the jeep's roof began to release various pheromones in all directions.

More than twenty minutes passed.

The bio-computer screen displayed some feedback.

Chen Jianxiong immediately reported, "Boss, the mission is complete."

"Let's go for a walk," Li Qingye said, opening the car door.

The group walked through the messy streets of the slum. Flies buzzed everywhere, and the strong smell of spices and fried food filled their nostrils – the specialty cuisine known as "pagpag."

Many of the shops on either side were selling "pagpag."

Stepping on the sewage-filled, garbage-strewn road, Li Qingye felt no discomfort, for in his eyes, the rest of the world was equally dirty and dark.

At the end of the street was a building enclosed by bricks and tin sheets.

The group walked very, very slowly for the mere three hundred meters.

A father and son brushed past Li Qingye.

"Dad, I got first place in the exam today! When I earn money in the future, I'll definitely take Mom, Dad, and my sister to live in a big house in the south..." the child said with longing.

The father smiled reluctantly and ruffled his child's hair. "Haha, study hard. Today, I'll reward you with some pagpag."

"Really?" The child couldn't help but swallow.

Not far away, a scrawny little girl, overhearing the conversation between the father and son, showed envy in her eyes. Her stomach rumbled louder and louder.

Suddenly, as if she had made up her mind, she rushed towards Li Qingye. Fili reacted instantly, drawing his handgun without hesitation.

Before Fili could fire.

The little girl knelt on the ground and shouted in a weak yet firm voice, "Sir! Please, take me with you! I'll do anything, just give me a little food. I don't eat much..."

Fili lowered the muzzle of his gun towards the ground, seemingly awaiting orders.

The little girl's eyes were filled with longing and pleading. "Sir, please, I'll really do anything..."

It was the light of wanting to live, weak yet incredibly tenacious. She knew this was her last chance. If she missed it, perhaps starvation in a corner awaited her.

"A good look in your eyes, like stars. I suddenly admire you a little," Li Qingye said, looking into her eyes with a slight upturn of his lips.

As Li Qingye slowly walked past her.

Despair completely enveloped her eyes.

Was I rejected? Is this the end for me? I'm so unwilling! Perhaps this is my fate! Like a rotten fruit in a garbage heap, not even worthy of being picked up and made into pagpag...

"Follow us! If you still have the strength."

What? The little girl's desperate eyes suddenly lit up with ecstatic joy, a light that seemed like a supernova exploding.

Although hunger was making her lose consciousness, the desire for life supported her in keeping pace with Li Qingye. Her body, already exhausted, was squeezed for the last ounce of strength.

The surrounding slum dwellers were utterly indifferent to this.

They reached the end of the street.

Inside the compound wall, it was silent. Suddenly, several figures wearing masks and baseball caps appeared at the entrance and directly pushed open the closed iron gate.

Li Qingye led the group inside without hesitation.

This was a relatively enclosed neighborhood. Inside dozens of tin shacks, it was very quiet. As the iron gate closed again.

Chen Jianxiong spoke, "Boss, the person is inside."

When the soldiers pushed open a room with the group, Zhang Wei completely lost control: "Brother! Sob sob sob..."

He recognized at a glance the decadent middle-aged man slumped in front of a computer. The man had an iron chain locked around his leg, and one of his legs was crippled.

The others in this room were not much better off.

This was one of Fuqing Gang's hideouts in Manila. Over a hundred Chinese nationals who had been tricked into coming here were held captive, forced to engage in online gambling.

Fuqing Gang specialized in tricking Chinese nationals into coming to work. What they were seeing was just the tip of the iceberg.

Zhang Wei's brother, Zhang Hao, was one of those tricked. The scammers used high salaries as bait, specifically targeting Chinese people.

After being deceived and brought to Manila, these victims were either extorted, locked in slums and forced into hard labor, or coerced into becoming drug mules. Some even had their organs harvested. The fate of the girls was even more tragic.

Because Zhang Hao was a programmer, his treatment among these people was considered relatively good. He only had his leg broken because he didn't comply at first.

Exiting the room, Li Qingye stood in the middle of the block.

Chen Jianxiong, standing beside him, had seen much darkness, but the shocking scene before him still made him extremely uncomfortable.

Li Qingye's eyes grew colder, "This stinking world truly needs a cleansing."

"We've already apprehended the Fuqing Gang leader in Manila, but their branches in other countries will likely notice the problem here soon," Chen Jianxiong reminded him.

"It doesn't matter. I've never worried about threats from dead people."

Thank you all for your support (ω｀), and thanks to the book friend "Misaka Onee-san 20001" for the reward.