CHAPTER 326: CHAPTER 7: HUNGER

"No way!" Li Junwen immediately shouted, "You can’t send me back there! You must be threatening me!"

"Yes, I’m threatening you." Wang Xiyi replied with pleasure.

"It’s useless... I’m a valuable observation sample, Dubhe Tower wouldn’t allow you..."

Before Li Junwen could finish, Wang Xiyi interrupted him: "Dubhe Tower has been observing you for twenty years, and the little value left in you has long been exhausted... If you still refuse to cooperate, do you think Dubhe Tower will have the patience to keep supporting a worthless piece like you?"

"You... I..."

"Do you know how much taxpayer money it takes to keep this cell running?" Wang Xiyi pressed on relentlessly.

"Ha... haha... what’s it got to do with me..." Li Junwen said harshly, but with fear inside, "Kill me! Just kill me!"

"Killing you would be too easy, wouldn’t it?" Wang Xiyi raised an eyebrow.

She wanted to say more, but was tugged at the sleeve by Yang Qi.

"Mr. Li, I’ve read your file... Although you are a wanted criminal, you’re not a truly wicked person. The first time you killed someone was because that person occupied your family’s homestead, caused a disturbance, and injured your father; later, you decided to close the supermarket you ran for half a year and gave away the remaining items in the warehouse to the nearby elderly who were in need; then, you decided to rid the harm for the people... Even though you were deceived during this process, your intentions weren’t bad..." Yang Qi said calmly.

"What exactly do you want to say?" Li Junwen’s initially agitated mood slightly calmed. He stared at Yang Qi and asked.

"We just need you to help with a small task." Yang Qi said, "One of our colleagues is now trapped in the Surrendered Area... Coincidentally, he’s in a location very close to where you once were."

"Someone else went in?" Li Junwen’s pupils slightly contracted.

"We want to save him, but we know nothing about that place." Yang Qi said, "So, we’re seeking your help."

Li Junwen was silent for a few seconds, then said: "Can you let me think alone for a while... I may need to really recall."

"Okay."

Yang Qi pulled Wang Xiyi out of the room.

"You two make quite a team." Ye Jiu waved at the two who returned to the monitoring room, "Good cop, bad cop routine, you’ve really got that guy stunned."

"You might have misunderstood my intentions." Wang Xiyi glanced at Ye Jiu coldly, "I really want to throw him into the Surrendered Area."

"But if you do that, Dubhe Tower will be the first to oppose it." Yang Qi said, "Li Junwen has been living here for twenty years, every method that could make him speak, Dubhe Tower must have tried already. That’s precisely why he initially showed that fearless attitude... because he knows, even if he doesn’t say a word, Dubhe Tower will still keep him alive."

"Have you tried torture?" Wang Xiyi looked at the lead researcher, "Dubhe Tower isn’t a place that cares about human rights, right?"

The researcher smiled awkwardly and muttered softly, "It didn’t work either."

Twenty minutes later.

After Li Junwen finished "eating" once again, he voluntarily pressed the communication button, one he had only used sparingly over the past twenty years.

"I’ve thought it over, you can come in," Li Junwen said.

...

"Are you sure you really want to go into the Surrendered Area?" Li Junwen seriously stared at Wang Xiyi and Yang Qi, asking.

"Yes." Yang Qi nodded, "That person is very important to us."

"Hunger." Li Junwen suddenly said.

"What did you say?"

"Hunger... the biggest enemy you’ll face there is hunger." Li Junwen repeated.

"The planned operation time is one month, and we’ll carry supplies sufficient to last over three months. Whether we find that person or not, we will return after one month in the Surrendered Area... If we can’t get out of the Surrendered Area in three months, I think the most serious problem won’t be the lack of supplies."

"No, you’re wrong." Li Junwen shook his head.

"This isn’t about the amount of supplies..." he suddenly sighed, "Your enemy is hunger."

"As long as supplies are sufficient, no one will be hungry. We’re more worried about the fights that might erupt after encountering strange creatures, we need you to describe the situation in the Surrendered Area as detailed as possible... such as environmental changes, geographic features, and the frequency of strange creatures appearing..."

"Hunger! I mean hunger!!!" Li Junwen suddenly interrupted Yang Qi, yelling with agitation, "You want to know what’s there, don’t you? Then I’ll tell you, it’s hunger!! Hunger!!!!!"

"Is he a little mentally unstable?" Ye Jiu pointed at Li Junwen on the screen in the monitoring room, asked.

"He shouldn’t be... Normally, just after eating, he should be at his most stable emotionally." The researcher frowned, "Could it be that recalling those memories has somehow triggered something in him..."

"Can you describe it specifically?" Yang Qi asked patiently and kindly, "What kind exactly... hunger?"

"Hunger is hunger, haven’t you starved before?" Li Junwen looked at Yang Qi like he was an idiot.

"But if we carry plenty of supplies..."