From Robinson Crusoe

The night is deep.

Bonfires burned brightly in front of the cabins on Saturdays and Sundays.

The bright firelight shone on the faces of the natives, and the aroma wafting from the pottery pot made the hungry people swallow their saliva and stare at the boiling barley porridge in the pot.

On Saturday, he moved out the small table that he often used in the house, placed it next to the campfire, and placed a row of pottery bowls on it.

After resting in the afternoon, he carefully completed the task assigned to him on Sunday and buried the three bodies in the forest deep in the soil.

Then on Saturday he herded the sheep for a while, strolled among the crops, and observed for a while how the natives were treated on Sunday.

It was not until this moment, when he went to the cave on Sunday, that he was able to take over this group of natives and cook a meal for them that was “not enough to fill you up but not enough to kill you.”

……

He took the pottery jar with his hands padded with wet thick canvas and waited patiently for the barley porridge to cool down. On Saturday, he stood in front of the table and invited the natives to come for dinner.

The natives were tired and hungry. They used wooden sticks to dig a pit for most of the day. They finally waited for the evil star Sunday to leave. They did not dare to act rashly when facing Saturday, who seemed kind.

They stared at the steaming earthenware pot on the table, not even bothering to wipe their muddy hands. They took the ceramic bowls filled with barley porridge and poured it into their mouths impatiently.

Only Werner, a Spaniard who claimed to be from the "civilized world", knew to wipe his hands on his clothes before taking the ceramic bowl away.

In fact, he really wanted to ask the boy who cooked for them in a gentlemanly tone:

"Can I have a spoon, please?"

But considering that the native could not understand what he said, and that the fierce and brutal native might return at any time, and his empty stomach, he swallowed the words, held the pottery bowl and squatted in a row with other natives to eat barley porridge.

When I cooked barley porridge on Saturdays, I habitually sprinkled some green onion leaves and added a pinch of coarse salt, which gave the ordinary barley porridge a unique flavor.

The natives were so hungry that they felt dizzy and ate voraciously without noticing that the food was any different from what they usually ate.

Werner, who often drifts on the sea and is used to eating "dark cuisine" on the ship, tasted something different.

"Salt? And other spices...

These natives know how to cook. Don’t they just eat it after it’s slightly roasted?

And this barley, if no other sailors land on the island, barley doesn’t grow here…”

Werner was eating and thinking at the same time. Just as he was looking forward to having another bowl after finishing the current one, until the barley porridge in the clay pot was finished, he saw the native boy who cooked for them holding the clay pipe and walking towards the small wooden house not far away without looking back.

Then, the person Werner least wanted to see appeared - Sunday with a long knife on his waist.

……

His young face was still serious, without any emotion.

As soon as they appeared, the natives, whose mood had improved slightly after eating barley porridge, quickly lowered their heads.

In just one afternoon, Sunday had already imprinted a deep fear in their hearts.

At least now that they have no ability to resist, they will appear to be extremely submissive.

……

"Have they finished their meal?"

Sunday walked up to Saturday and asked.

He spoke Chinese, which was undoubtedly the coded language on this island.

"just ate."

Put the pottery jar at the door of the cabin on Saturday -

This is a ventilated place, so food is not likely to spoil. Chen Zhou often uses boiled barley to make nests, and they occasionally help Chen Zhou boil some barley for future use.

After glancing at the natives squatting in a row, Sunday continued his questioning.

"Are there any who behave in a special way or like to talk to their companions?"

"No, they didn't say anything."

Sunday nodded.

“Pretty honest.

Don’t wash the dishes yet. This is not a job you should do. You are the leader now, do you understand?

Leave the work to them, and you only need to supervise whether they are doing their job well and punish those who are lazy. "

Having said this, Sunday paused and pointed to the cave.

"The 'god' said that he would ask you to go to him later to get a whip and beat anyone who disobeyed him.

Also, these people are not allowed to sleep in the houses.

Later, move out a few wooden boards and lay them on the ground in front of the cabin. Remember to clear the weeds around it and do not put out the campfire.

To be able to see everyone clearly.

I will be on duty in the first half of the night and you will be on duty in the second half.

After you finish moving the planks, go to bed and I will call you in the middle of the night."

As he said this, Sunday walked into the wooden house, pulled out a stool, walked in front of the natives, sat on the stool without saying a word, and stared at them coldly.

……

The natives didn't dare to look Sunday in the eye. They didn't even dare to glance at Sunday out of the corner of their eyes. They could only squat there obediently, their bodies stiff.

The suffocating silence lasted for a long time.

The only slight disturbance during this period occurred when the wooden boards were brought in on Saturday and the whip was handed to Sunday.

……

The bonfire is still burning.

The dry firewood crackled from time to time, and the smell of smoke filled the air around the grass.

Following Sunday's order, the natives washed the dishes with clean water and carefully placed the pottery bowls beside them.

I told them on Sunday that if they lost or broke their bowls, they should use their hands to catch the food from now on.

……

The evening breeze disturbed the flames and leaves rustled in the distance.

The natives, including Werner, lay straight on the wooden boards, but no one dared to sleep.

Some people were thinking about today's experience; some people were missing their lives in the tribe; some people were stroking the scars from being beaten; some people wanted to eat another bowl of porridge; some people were thinking about how to escape...

Various thoughts were intertwined in everyone's minds, but no one uttered a word.

They lay on hard wooden planks, looking at the night sky, confused about their future situation and regretting their past decisions.

At times like this, having nothing to do is actually a torment.

Time seemed to pass extremely slowly, causing everyone to involuntarily begin to capture details in the environment.

The sound of wind, birds, insects, burning wood, breathing and heartbeat...

They didn't know whether they could fall asleep smoothly during this torture, nor did they know whether they would be beaten after falling asleep.

Lying there in fear.

Just when everyone thought that the night would pass like this, Saturday, who was in the wooden house, was called to the cave by Chen Zhou. After returning, he said something incomprehensible to Sunday, and a new round of torture began.

Sunday's loud shout was like cold water poured over everyone's head, causing them to stand up from their beds like springs.

……

"What does this bastard want to do again!"

Werner had been tortured for nearly a day, and just as he was about to fall asleep on the wooden board, all his sleepiness was wiped away by Sunday's voice.

He hated this abominable wild monkey so much that he wanted to pin Sunday to the ground and strangle him to death, but he was powerless. He could only follow the example of other natives and stand up honestly.

Who says he is the most special one who stands out?

Moreover, as a "superior person", he also felt that his life was much more precious than that of other natives and could not be easily abandoned here.

……

"You, come out and follow him."

Sunday pointed to the first native on the board and motioned him to follow Saturday.

The native trembled with fear when he remembered the three companions who had followed these people in the afternoon and never returned.

He thought these people were going to take him away and eat him.

In fear, the man didn't bother to obey Sunday's orders. His legs went soft and he fell on the wooden board, begging Sunday not to kill him.

In the end he got two resounding lashes and the promise of Sunday - he would not die.

He didn't know if he could trust these people, but the lacerated wound on his back reminded the native that if he didn't follow the other clothed man, he would be killed right now.

Follow the person wearing clothes, and you can at least live a little longer.

Between two pathetic choices, the native can only choose the relatively better one.

……

The departure of their companions plunged the natives into an atmosphere of sympathy for their own kind.

They heard the promise of Sunday, but they did not trust Sunday.

After all, it was violence, not goodwill, that was used to suppress them on Sunday.

But as Chen Zhou once told Sunday, when faced with these unreformed and barbaric natives, violence is often the most effective way of management.

……

The native who was singled out followed closely behind Saturday.

The skin on his back that was whipped by the whip was burning with pain, stimulating his nerves, and he could feel his heart beating faster.

Inside the cave’s outer wall, a long-burning oil lamp in a watchtower illuminates the way to the platform.

The surroundings were shrouded in darkness, and the natives looked around several times, trying to escape when Saturday was not paying attention.

But he finally couldn't muster up the courage, and he walked into the cave door obediently, then stepped into the storage room, and entered the dark "rat breeding room" through a small door.

Many rats had died in this undecorated room. The floor was covered with a thin layer of wood and the room was lit only by a small oil lamp.

Behind a long table that runs across the center of the room, separating the two sides of the room, is a wooden chair with armrests.

As soon as the native walked into the room, Chen Zhou's big hand grabbed the back of his neck.

Like a little chick, he felt his body lighten and was thrown to the other side of the long table.

Saturday, who entered the room first, jumped nimbly, climbed over the long table, pulled up the native and pressed him on a wooden chair.

……

Before the native could react, the rough hemp rope had strangled his hands and feet.

He was forced to press his whole body against the chair back, his legs against the chair legs, his hands against the chair armrests, and sit upright on the chair, facing Chen Zhou, whose half body was hidden in the darkness.

It would have been fine if he hadn't been injured, but this man had just been whipped twice by Sunday, and the bloody whip marks on his back were painful. When he touched the back of the chair, he grimaced in pain.

Chen Zhou looked at the native's expression and didn't care about his pain.

He waved his hand, signaling Saturday to blow out the oil lamp.

With a whoosh, the whole room fell into pitch-black darkness.

Along with the darkness also grew the fear in the hearts of the natives.

The fear of the unknown made him struggle involuntarily, trying to break free from the ropes on his body, or knock over the chair and find a way to escape.

However, Zhou Liu had already held the chair tightly according to Chen Zhou's instructions beforehand, and he could not break free at all.

The sound of the chair legs rubbing against the wooden board suddenly disappeared.

The native's heavy breathing did not last long, and Chen Zhou finally succeeded in installing the high-intensity flashlight on the pre-prepared bracket in the dark.

This flashlight comes from the first anniversary of the challenge, on September 1660, 9, and is a "portable" flashlight.

Although it is said to be portable, the flashlight is thicker than Chen Zhou's forearm and is quite heavy.

In addition to the pneumatic telescopic focus, this flashlight is also equipped with a 12000 mAh lithium battery and 80W white laser lamp beads with a lumen value of up to 10000lm. It can be said to be a small sun.

Because there are abundant oil reserves in the cave, there is enough oil for lighting.

Chen Zhou worked from sunrise to sunset and seldom did outdoor work in the dark. Moreover, electrical appliances could only be obtained through mysterious rewards and were very rare. Therefore, it had been properly kept in a wooden box and had never been used.

Chen Zhou had previously wanted to interrogate the natives overnight and obtain intelligence from them in advance, so he remembered this high-intensity flashlight.

……

A qualified interrogation room, in addition to a closed and depressing environment, a mentally collapsed and unprepared interrogee, and an uncomfortable chair, also requires necessary strong light.

Especially the light that shines directly on the face, which makes it impossible for people to open their eyes and can amplify the fear in their hearts.

For the ignorant natives, there is probably nothing else in the world that can emit such dazzling light except the sun in the sky.

After several measures to increase inner pressure, a high-powered flashlight was finally taken out, and I believe the interrogation effect can be further improved.

……

We tested in advance whether the high-intensity flashlight could be used normally, and customized a "light stand" according to the position of the chairs.

After completing all the preparations, Chen Zhou ordered the natives to be brought in one by one on Saturday.

In fact, the purpose of selecting indigenous people for trial separately is to prevent them from "collusion".

But in Chen Zhou's opinion, the possibility of these guys colluding in their testimony is very small.

Not to mention that since he launched the attack, the natives had been in chaos, only concerned with discussing how to escape or resist, and had no time to consider how to unify their statements after being caught.

To take a step back, even if they were given time to collude in their testimony, the natives would not have the awareness to do so.

Not to mention these natives, even in the 21st century, there are many criminal gangs that did not collude in advance and truthfully confessed their crimes when they were arrested.

After being captured, these natives had even less time to communicate.

Not only did they have to work, but they also had to be on guard against being beaten up on Sunday, so they dared not speak.

What's more, concealing the reasons for landing on the island and what happened in the tribe would not bring them any benefits.

Tribes are only the earliest stage in the development of human civilization. They do not even have a complete concept of family, let alone ethnic concepts, national concepts and cultural identity.

Such people are like highly malleable clay figures.

If placed among the Angsa people, their thinking will shift towards that of the Angsa people; if placed in China, they will tend to be like the descendants of Yan and Huang.

……

With the sound of the flashlight switch being pressed, a dazzling white beam of light shone directly on the native's face.

The sudden strong light made the entire "interrogation room" seem as bright as day.

The moment the bright light of up to 10000 lumens pierced his eyes, he felt as if all the scenes in front of him melted and became extremely blurry.

Out of instinct to protect his body, he closed his eyes tightly.

But even with his eyelids closed, the strong light still made the world "in front of" him fall into a flawless white.

The natives were already extremely frightened, and suddenly exposed to something like a "miracle", they completely lost the ability to think.

After Chen Zhou indicated that Zhou Liu could begin questioning and took out a pen and paper to record the natives' "confessions", he told Zhou Liu everything he knew without reservation. (End of this chapter)