"I don't remember, but the name Yuna gives me a familiar feeling. So... you know me?"
The woman made Sigmund and Baruch's hearts sink slightly.
Sigmund whispered: "Yuna, do you remember who you are?"
The woman's eyes glazed over slightly, then she continued shaking her head: "I don't remember, but it still feels familiar."
Then the woman said: "Can you take me away? I don't want to be a slave anymore."
"Of course we—" Baruch started to agree.
Sigmund interrupted him, asking quickly: "Yuna, do you remember where the other colleagues who were on the mission with you went?"
The woman shook her head blankly: "I don't know."
Then she asked again: "Are we colleagues? What did I do before?"
Sigmund pondered for a moment, didn't answer, but asked instead: "Do you remember how you got here?"
The woman still shook her head: "I don't remember."
Then she said somewhat irritably: "Are you taking me or not?"
Sigmund's voice softened: "Of course we'll take you, but not now—we need to prepare a bit."
Back in the room.
Baruch asked curiously: "Sigmund, when are we rescuing Yuna?"
Sigmund said calmly: "No rush; let me think it over."
Baruch said sullenly: "Why? Yuna's suffering; shouldn't we get her out of this hell as soon as possible?"
"I'm afraid of alerting the one who did this," Sigmund said. "There are over 20 other female agents out there. If we rashly rescue Yuna without figuring out where they are, I'm afraid..."
Baruch fell silent; he understood Sigmund's meaning. After thinking, he said unwillingly: "Then we'd better reassure Yuna to avoid her acting impulsively. And best to set a deadline—if we never find the others, we can't leave Yuna hanging forever."
"Relax, I know. Actually, I think the others might also be in some tribes on this savanna." Sigmund said. "Tomorrow we'll head back to Conakry, report the situation to HQ, and get them to send more people. The savanna's huge; finding those tribes won't be easy."
Baruch suddenly smiled: "Looking at it this way, the Guinea government's forcing those tribes to settle on farms is actually good for us—saves a lot of effort."
...
The next day.
Sigmund and Baruch left the tribe early, driving back to Conakry.
Preparing to report the situation to HQ.
But the two never imagined that as soon as they reached the hotel, they were subdued.
A face often seen on TV appeared before them.
"Hello, gentlemen from Mossad..."
A few days later, Sigmund and Baruch left Conakry, carrying a brand-new mission.
Meanwhile, Martin leisurely wandered Conakry for two more days before flying back to Los Angeles.
Back in Los Angeles, Martin continued post-production on It while participating in the US election.
With Martin's suggestions proving effective several times, Trump began listening to him more and more.
Time came to September 26.
The first TV debate of the 2016 US presidential election kicked off, marking the US political scene entering its climax.
Recently, strong attacks on various groups had erupted across the US, along with chaos and anxiety, once again reminding people that overshadowing this land wasn't just the halo of the chosen land, but increasingly sharp social contradictions and urgent social predicaments needing resolution.
The on-stage debate was a comprehensive one.
The organizers, the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates, announced days earlier that the debate would cover three topics: America's Direction, Achieving Prosperity, and Securing America, encompassing politics, economy, and security—the three key areas.
The debate was moderated by NBC's Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, with live coverage by major US TV networks and cable channels.
Per the format, no ads during the debate, total 90 minutes, divided into 6 segments of 15 minutes each, two segments per topic.
At the start of each segment, the moderator asks a question first, giving each presidential candidate 2 minutes to respond, after which they have a chance to spar over the opponent's answer.
Though the debate venue was isolated by various security measures, numerous students still gathered on campus, waving flags to boost their supported candidate.
All major US TV networks and cable channels deployed dozens of broadcast vans; some media even set up guest interview sites right outside the venue.
Media estimates suggested the debate's viewership could break 100 million.
As night fell.
Countless people across North America waited in front of their TVs for the debate to begin.
In terms of debate style, Hillary was rigid and formulaic, droning on, while Trump was utterly unpredictable.
On the other hand, pro-Hillary mainstream media were also anxiously concerned about Hillary's debate performance.
September 7, NBC held a TV town hall where Hillary and Trump appeared sequentially, no direct face-off, but the scene was already unsettling.
When Hillary appeared, her meticulous detailing of her views was often interrupted by the moderator's questions.
When Trump appeared, the moderator was helpless against the domineering Trump; it was the moderator who got interrupted.
NBC's moderator faced fierce criticism from mainstream media: She speaks facts, yet you interrupt? Trump spouts nonsense, and you don't point it out, don't question, letting him sail through?
Some called for the next debates' moderators to muster the courage to argue with Trump; TV stations should fact-check Trump's blather on-site, not let the trickster get away.
That posture, as if a bunch of reporters and editors couldn't wait to jump in, one for Hillary.