From Robinson Crusoe

The interrogation lasted all night.

The natives were called away one by one, and returned in a trance, sitting on the wooden boards as if their souls had been taken away.

Werner waited anxiously, observing the expressions of these people, hoping to gain some information from them in advance.

But without being able to communicate, he could not understand anything. He could only stay on the wooden board and honestly accept the arrangement of fate.

He was the last one in line among all the prisoners.

……

Finally, the long ordeal came to an end, and Sunday's finger pointed to Werner.

Like all the natives before him, Werner followed Saturday, leaving the campfire and making his way up the hillside.

It was already daybreak, and the thin morning light, along with the lights on the watchtower that had been on all night, illuminated the path leading to the platform.

After entering the cave courtyard, they turned and arrived at the core area that Chen Zhou had built on the island for nearly three years.

……

Werner knew that he had entered the most important and dangerous place.

As a prisoner, he should restrain his eyes and not peek into things that he should not peek into, as that would bring disaster to him.

But he just couldn't control his curiosity, or he couldn't suppress the contempt in his heart that came from the civilized world. Even as he followed Saturday with his head down, he was still looking around with his restless eyes.

The neatly laid floor tiles in the courtyard, the French windows with large glass sheets, the stacked wooden boxes in the house, and the various 17th century style furniture...

Werner was surprised by the furnishings in the cave.

Before entering here, he had two ideas.

One idea is that the life of the "ghosts" is no different from that of primitive indigenous peoples. They must be using various primitive wooden and pottery utensils and living a simple life like wild monkeys.

Another idea is that the "ghost's" living environment should be filled with a large number of machines beyond his imagination, as magnificent as the residence of the queen's court craftsmen.

Otherwise, how could the "Ghost" have created such advanced muskets.

He never expected that this residence would be decorated like their captain's room or first mate's room. Except for the structure and some minor details, the style of the furniture placed in the house was similar.

Before he had time to think carefully or take a closer look at the interior furnishings, Saturday, who was leading the way, turned right and Werner could only limp after him - he didn't want to be whipped.

……

There was still only a dim oil lamp lit in the "interrogation room".

As you step into it, your vision suddenly becomes dark.

Like all the natives who had been here before, Werner was grabbed by the clothes and thrown behind the long table by Chen Zhou as soon as he passed through the short and narrow corridor.

His ankle was injured and he had been working all afternoon, so he had no time to rest. He was thrown behind the long table and was unable to keep his balance on one leg. He rolled over and hit the wall behind the chair and fell to the ground.

"Oh shit!"

Subconsciously, I cursed at this rude behavior.

In Werner's heart, the hatred value of "Ghost" instantly surpassed Sunday and became the person he wanted to kill the most.

However, this is on Chen Zhou's territory.

With just a glance, Saturday jumped over the table, slapped Werner hard in the face, kicked him in the back, and ordered him to get up immediately and sit on the chair.

I don’t understand the indigenous language, but violence is also a form of communication.

No matter how much his feet hurt, for the sake of his own life, Werner had to endure the pain, use all his strength to get up, and then sit on the chair.

……

As soon as Werner sat on the chair and before he could adjust to a comfortable position, his hands and feet were tied up skillfully by Saturday.

Leaning against the back of the chair, facing Chen Zhou, Werner instinctively wanted to lower his head to avoid the gaze of the "ghost".

However, he was not allowed to do so on Saturday - Werner's hair was pulled, and he could only slightly raise his head to face the tall man in the dim light.

Feeling regretful for his recent abuse and realizing that the situation was not good, Werner quickly begged for mercy.

Faced with the pressure of death, this cunning fraudster burst out with the best acting skills of his life.

His trembling voice, his crying tone, his tears and snot, his sincere words and deep feelings would move even the coldest-blooded inquisitor.

……

But unfortunately, Chen Zhou didn't understand Spanish. He just thought that the brown-haired man's performance was extremely funny.

He raised his hand and lightly pressed the switch of the high-intensity flashlight.

The moment the beam of light was emitted, the whole world seemed to instantly change from early morning to noon.

The blazing light made it impossible for Werner to open his eyes.

His originally clear consciousness also fell into confusion with this strong light——

“Oh, my God!

What on earth is this?

Werner considered himself a man with little faith in God, which was a common problem among most sailors.

In the past, people often mentioned God, usually as a colloquialism or out of habit.

But at this moment, seeing the strong light in the dark room, he really couldn't understand what was emitting such a dazzling light.

"Is there really magic in this world?
'Ghost' is a wizard living in the deep sea?
Or are there real people who can communicate with God, instead of those fake ones who secretly have sex with little boys in the church..."

……

The more ignorant a person is, the more indifferent he is to things beyond his imagination, and the less he thinks they are a big deal.

Werner happened to be at that stage where he had some knowledge but did not fully understand it.

Because of this, the strong flashlight had a far greater impact on him than on the natives.

……

Seeing that the brown-haired man was in the same state of "shock" as the natives, Chen Zhou did not give him a chance to recover and immediately began the interrogation.

He first tried to communicate with the brown-haired guy using "broken English".

It can be seen that this person has a certain understanding of English and seems to be able to understand some of the words, but the difference between 17th century English and 21st century English is really too great.

It is like there is an article of thousands of words in front of the reader, but the reader can only recognize a limited number of words in it. It is impossible for him to summarize what the article is about.

Werner was uneducated and could only understand English because he lived on the sea for many years and had to deal with the British. This was how he learned some nautical terms and slang.

If he were to communicate with the British people of this era, he might not be able to communicate clearly, let alone Chen Zhou, a "man of the future" who speaks the characteristics of 21st century Chinese spoken language.

……

Seeing that the brown-haired guy frowned and listened carefully for a long time but was still confused and couldn't even fart, Chen Zhou knew that the way of communicating through language must be different.

So he took out the paper and pen he had prepared long ago, turned off the strong flashlight, and began to try to communicate in writing.

Of course, there are significant differences between 17th century English and 21st century English.

Even in the Bible, he could only understand a small part of the words, and the labels on the ship's medicines were half spelled and half guessed, so he didn't dare to take those medicines at all.

As for this brown-haired guy, he is not as good as him in English reading.

Of all the simple words written on the paper, the brown-haired man didn't recognize any of them.

Realizing that showing English to the prisoner was completely useless, Chen Zhou had to use his last resort - stick drawings.

……

After several unsuccessful attempts at communication, Werner realized that if he didn't contribute some useful information, his fate would definitely not be good.

After untying the ropes that bound his arms, he didn't even take the opportunity to rub his eyes that were hurt by the strong light. He picked up a pen and began to "describe" the important information he knew.

In a hurry, Werner directly disrupted the previously formulated plan and first threw out the matter about the treasure of the Inca Empire, hoping that this "blockbuster bomb" could increase his chances of survival.

I didn't notice how white, smooth and delicate the paper I was using was, nor did I pay attention to the gorgeously shaped pen in my hand.

Under the dim light of the oil lamp, only the rustling sound of pen tips rubbing against each other could be heard in the interrogation room.

...Werner has quite a talent for painting.

He quickly drew an Indian wearing a feather crown, and then used just a few strokes to outline the legendary golden temple, golden palace and golden sun statue.

After expressing the elements symbolizing wealth, Werner drew a small island on the paper.

On the edge of the island, he drew a few small wooden houses. Further away, there were a few simple-lined little men digging a pit, with a few large wooden boxes next to the pit.

Werner pointed at the wooden box excitedly, drew a long line connecting the wooden box and the golden temple, raised his head, and looked at Chen Zhou with anticipation.

He hoped to see greed and enthusiasm for wealth on the face of this mysterious "ghost", which would represent his chance of survival.

……

However, Chen Zhou's face, half illuminated by light and half shrouded in shadow, remained calm, without any emotional fluctuations.

In the 17th century, the Spanish took great pains to bury the goods they brought out of South America. What else could it be other than gold, silver and treasures?

After listening to "Zebra's" narration, Chen Zhou already had a guess as to what was in the supply boxes buried by the Spaniards.

What the brown-haired guy did was merely confirming his guess, which was not enough to surprise him.

……

"Any more?"

Chen Zhou leaned over and held the long table, pulled out the A4 paper from Werner's hand, grabbed the pen, and asked for more details through the drawings.

For example, the total number of ships in the fleet, the number of sailors, the number of cannons, the number of muskets, and the size of the ships.

……

These special questions made Werner realize that the courage and appetite of the "ghost" before him seemed to be greater than he had imagined.

Not only was he not afraid of their fleet, he even wanted to confront them head-on.

"What gave him such confidence?

Is that the white light?

Damn!

What other tricks does he have? God, is he really a devil from hell? "

Taking the pen, his wrist hovering over the paper, Werner didn't know whether he should tell everything he knew.

The location of the buried treasure only concerns his personal life, but the size and equipment of the fleet involve far more than just him. Even though he has always been good at deception, he can't help but hesitate in the face of such serious consequences.

"He doesn't know whether it's true or not anyway, why not lie to him?
Should I exaggerate the strength of the fleet or portray it truthfully?

Judging from his appearance, he obviously knows something about guns and sailing ships. If I double the number of ships in the fleet, can I scare him off and make him release me?"

Werner's brain was working rapidly, but before he could find the right choice, he suddenly felt his hand lighten.

The pen returned to the "ghost".

……

"Since you don't want to betray your companions, I will respect your choice!"

Knowing that the brown-haired guy was hesitant, he must be trying to deceive himself.

Having been through a whole night, Chen Zhou was already feeling tired. Exhausted both physically and mentally, he didn't want to deal with this cunning guy anymore.

The “stick drawing communication method” is too inefficient.

He had basically obtained all the necessary information from the natives, and the details that the Spaniards could add were just icing on the cake.

From his innocent look with tears and snot when begging for mercy, you can tell that this guy is not someone you can easily deal with.

Chen Zhou didn't want to waste his energy dealing with the brown-haired guy, nor did he want to imprison him and slowly extract his surplus value.

There is a shortage of staff on the island, and it takes a lot more effort to look after this guy than to look after the natives. After all, the "brown-haired guy" is much more cunning than the natives.

He has made up his mind.

After waking up, he chose a flat piece of land at the edge of the farmland, near the woods, and built a gallows.

Then let this guy who is willing to sacrifice himself for his companions be responsible for the first test of the gallows.

When the brown-haired man was hanged, all the natives would stand in front of the gallows and admire the death of this "stubborn man".

Of course, it doesn’t matter if the natives miss this “grand ceremony”—

The brown-haired man's body will remain hanging on the gallows until it rots or the next unlucky person is chosen.

This is the most appropriate warning.

At least that's what Chen Zhou thinks at the moment.

……

"Take him away!"

Chen Zhou said to Saturday, rubbing his swollen temples and added a few more words.

“His performance is very substandard, don’t give him breakfast before work today.

When you get back to the cabin, you and Sunday should take off his coat, wash it and dry it. It may be useful later."

As he spoke, Chen Zhou picked up the paper and pen on the table and took the flashlight from the shelf.

He turned his head and glanced at the guy whose death was already certain.

In front of Werner, Chen Zhou pointed the flashlight at the wall of the cave and pressed it lightly.

The dazzling beam of light instantly illuminated all the details on the wall, and every grain of sand and stone was clearly visible.

Smiling at Werner, Chen Zhou twisted the front end of the flashlight and adjusted the focus.

The concentrated light beam suddenly spread out and turned into a large circular spot of light, and its brightness was greatly reduced.

“Do you understand?

Haven’t you seen it before? "

Chen Zhou's tone was extremely flat, revealing a condescending disdain.

Flipping the strobe mode switch button, the interrogation room immediately fell into a state of rhythmic transition between light and dark.

……

The change in brightness was so great that Werner squinted to adjust.

He looked at it all in disbelief, at the thick glowing stick in the "ghost's" hand.

Although he figured out where the light came from, a chill ran down his spine.

There are some secrets he can know, but there are some secrets that can kill people.

Obviously, this secret is one of the most dangerous secrets in the world.

"Do not!

No no no! "

A strong sense of uneasiness came over him, as if he had seen his own death. Werner waved his hands repeatedly, wishing he had never seen this scene.

But no one cared.

Saturday roughly pulled the person on the chair up, then tied Werner's arms behind his back tightly with ropes, and walked to the long table with Werner, whose body had become limp due to excessive fear.

At this time, Chen Zhou had turned off the high-intensity flashlight.

He grabbed Werner by the collar, lifted him up, and carried him to the other side of the long table.

"Saturday, you'd better take off all his clothes later, don't leave him any.

I'm afraid he'll get this dress dirty when he dies.

What a pity..." (End of this chapter)