Chapter 134: Interrogation

Gu Yinglong is only two years younger than Chen Mu and the others, making her roughly the same age, but because she is petite and has a dull expression, she looks a bit cute.

Moreover, due to her lack of memory, her speech and actions are somewhat slow, making her appear even more adorably dim.

Out of sympathy for her experience, Dong Junwei and the others took great care of Gu Yinglong, even fighting to have her sleep beside them last night.

This morning it was Tang Jing's turn to look after her; she prepared washing supplies and taught her how to use a simple toothbrush and how to wash her face with cotton thread……

Gu Yinglong was eating a tomato, but her gaze kept fixed on Chen Mu's hand, as if she were very interested in his Humanoid Sealing Machine.

"Is it interesting?" Tang Jing laughed.

"Hmm." Gu Yinglong nodded: "Fun."

Chen Mu's hand did not stop moving as he said: "Can a tomato this size continue to be split?"

"No." Gu Yinglong shook her head; she had just finished a tomato, and another was quickly shoved into her hand, and she continued to nibble on it with a grin.

There is simply too much food; even if we eat recklessly and store it, most will eventually be thrown away.

Therefore, Dong Junwei decided that for the next two days they would rely entirely on tomatoes, green peppers, and eggplants for rations.

Tomatoes can be eaten raw without issue, but green peppers and eggplants are not something southerners are used to eating raw, so Du Jia Jia's grilled eggplant and grilled green pepper on the iron plate are being supplied without limit these days—eat as much as you want.

And for today's breakfast, the kitchen no longer lit a fire; everyone ate tomatoes.

After eating their fill, they went to the toilet, then came back to keep eating,

Du Jia Jia even considered making tomato sauce for easier storage, but because of seasoning issues, the idea was ultimately shelved.

"In other words, the final form of the splitting is the same proportion as us." Chen Mu looked at Tang Jing.

"Hmm." Tang Jing nodded.

"But I still have a question."

"What?"

"Given the current situation, this splitting ability does not change the total amount of material of the object itself, right?"

"That should be the case."

"But take a tomato, for example: after splitting into countless tiny tomatoes, is the original tomato skin enough? Isn't the surface area supposed to increase greatly?"

Tang Jing laughed: "You're still the first person to think of this problem."

"Is what I said wrong?"

"The question is good, but the concept is wrong."

"Huh?"

"Surface area is an abstract concept and cannot be directly represented by the area of tomato skin; the microscopic description of an object shrinking is very complex, and I can't explain it clearly……"

"Oh……"

"But resolving your confusion is still relatively easy."

"Oh?"

"When a large tomato splits into countless tiny tomatoes, the tomato skin's surface area indeed increases, but…… it also becomes thinner."

"Uh……" Chen Mu felt he had really turned stupid, unable to think of even such a simple problem.

"Of course, the actual situation is far more complicated than this; explaining it would be difficult, and moreover, many things I cannot confirm for the time being." Tang Jing said.

Chen Mu knew that Tang Xueba had given him face.

It's not that explaining is difficult; it's that understanding it himself is difficult.

He no longer dwelled on the problem; seeing Gu Yinglong had just finished her second tomato, he handed her another.

Gu Yinglong licked her lips, but after feeling her stomach, she still shook her head.

It was obvious her mouth still wanted to eat, but her stomach was already full.

Two tomatoes the size of adult fists, gulped down in the morning, were indeed enough to fill someone of Gu Yinglong's stature.

However, tomatoes have little calories and are mostly water; after a trip to the toilet they're gone.

So after a while she can eat again.

From last night to this morning, each boy ate about a dozen or so, each girl seven or eight, to the point that smelling tomato now makes them want to vomit.

Chen Mu's demands in this regard aren't high; eating only tomatoes is fine for him, and Gu Yinglong seems not to mind either, perhaps because her days at Yi Zhong weren't very good.

The morning was short, and Chen Mu sealed about a hundred tomatoes in total.

In fact, without being able to sterilize, this preservation method has limited effect, since there's really not much else they can do.

After lunch.

Tang Jing routinely went to deliver food to the two prisoners.

Chen Mu observed from not far away.

All that was heard was Tang Jing saying: "Your companion fainted yesterday; we forced him to drink some tomato juice, after which he improved a bit, but he's still shouting curses there—really annoying to hear. By the way, what's his name?"

"Kong Qi."

After the person said that, he only then regretted having so easily given away his name, but when he looked at Tang Jing, she showed no expression, as if she had just asked casually and didn't really care.

He was wondering whether, if the other party asked for his name, he should say it or not.

To speak would ruin his tough attitude;

to stay silent would be to betray his companion?

However, that girl had no intention of continuing to question him; she simply carried the empty plate away.

He actually felt a bit lost for a moment.

Lunch was tomatoes, five in total.

For a prisoner, that's already generous.

But he also clearly knows that the other side hijacked their Yi Zhong vehicle, and these vegetables are so plentiful they can't be finished.

……

Wei Dalei walked up beside Chen Mu, also looking at them from a distance just like him, saw Tang Jing leave again quickly, and somewhat impatiently said, "Why be so polite to them?"

"I want to find out something about Yi Zhong from them," Chen Mu said.

"So we should let them suffer a bit, right?" Wei Dalei said in a deep, muffled voice.

"Oh? You even know how to interrogate?"

"What's there to understand? It's just questioning; if they won't talk, we have the tiger bench, chili water, pulling out fingernails… I don't believe they can hold out—they're not special forces..."

Chen Mu's face full of satisfaction, he patted his shoulder: "Fine, then these tasks are yours; I'll make the tiger bench, we don't have chili water, can substitute green peppers, and as for pulling out fingernails, your strength is enough..."

"Huh?" Wei Dalei exclaimed: "Me?"

"You brought it up, so of course you're doing it." Chen Mu spread his hands.

"Well… maybe we should wait a bit longer; I feel Tang Jing has already made a breakthrough..." Wei Dalei said sheepishly.

After all, they're just ordinary high schoolers; sometimes self-defense is unavoidable, but if we really had to use any means to torture them for a confession, even Chen Mu, who has killed before, would have a psychological barrier.

Moreover, with Tang Jing present, we don't need such methods for now.

……

Not long later, Tang Jing returned.

"Any gains?" Chen Mu asked.

"Yeah, we got their names—one is Wu Xing, the other is Kong Qi." Tang Jing replied.

"Are they cooperating?"

"Kind of half-cooperating, but it should be soon." Tang Jing smiled: "What are you discussing?"

"Old Wei says if you can't do it, I'll replace you." Chen Mu bluntly sold out his friend.

"Oh?" Tang Jing looked seriously at Wei Dalei.

"No!"

Old Wei shouted loudly and ran off as if flying.