CHAPTER 323: CHAPTER 5: THE PRISONER_2

During his three years of military service, Li Junwen brushed past death countless times, but this time, death stood right in front of him, unavoidable.

After leaving the hospital, he closed his small supermarket and donated all the remaining products to the elderly in the community. After doing all this, he began wandering aimlessly around Qiantang City, trying to find the meaning of his life in his final days...

But during this time, he heard about a corrupt member of the Qiantang City Management Committee, who colluded with local gangs and exploited the community, leaving the populace simmering with anger they dared not express, cursing him behind his back...

Upon hearing about this, Li Junwen instantly found his target.

He knew he was dying, but before he did, perhaps he could still accomplish something significant.

Something significant enough to leave his name in history.

Using the skills he learned at the Anomaly Investigation Bureau back in the day, he planned a meticulous assassination in just a week...

He succeeded.

While the committee member was driving to the Management Committee building, a time bomb attached beneath the car exploded, sending the entire vehicle up in flames.

The explosion was witnessed by at least a thousand people.

Li Junwen did not flee. Instead, he walked out from the crowd, approached the burning wreck, and announced to everyone that he was the killer.

Thus, Li Junwen was apprehended once more.

But Li Junwen never expected that fate would play an even greater joke on him this time.

The committee member he killed was not the villainous scum he had heard about. On the contrary, the man was extremely honest and had undertaken numerous significant actions against corruption and crime upon taking office. In the process, he offended many people—the ones he offended were the true wrongdoers.

Only then did Li Junwen realize he had been used. Those people tricked him, exploiting his limited time and inability to verify rumors, using him to eliminate the committee member.

As for those who "vented" to Li Junwen during the investigation, they were either paid off by the gang or part of its peripheral members.

But the worst for Li Junwen was yet to come.

After being detained, the prison conducted another comprehensive medical examination on him—it turned out his pancreatic cancer was a misdiagnosis, and he only had an inflamed bile duct.

Li Junwen went mad, banging his head against the walls and iron doors of the cell, forcing the prison to move him to a special cell with soft walls, floors, and even the ceiling.

The trial verdict came swiftly, and it was unsurprisingly—death penalty, to be executed in two days.

Li Junwen calmed down; he stopped banging his head and just squatted in a corner of his cell, silent.

The day before his execution, he escaped from prison.

No one knew how he opened his cell door. The surveillance cameras in the corridor only captured him walking out of the cell, knocking out the guard outside with a single blow, and then quickly running out of the camera’s view.

It must be said, this is a ruthless man.

Under citywide pursuit, he ran to the territory of the gang that used him, killed the gang leader, and then found each person who had deceived him, ripping out all their tongues.

He did all this in four hours. Afterward, he fled Qiantang City overnight, speeding westward along an abandoned road.

The last large-scale manhunt for Li Junwen took place in Shuzhou. After being chased for three whole days by sheriffs, with no way out, he dove into the Hengduan Mountain Range, entering the "Surrendered Area," regarded as a human forbidden zone.

The manhunt ended, as no one thought he could survive in the Surrendered Area... even if he did survive, he wouldn’t come out as a "human."

On January 1st, Year 4703 of the Xiazhou Federation, as the entire federation welcomed the New Year, an unexpected visitor appeared at Sentinel Post 055 in the Hengduan Mountain Range.

The soldiers at the post were eating rice balls when they saw this figure, looking like a wild man, appearing on the surveillance monitor at the gate.

He banged on the iron gate of the post and said in a hoarse voice, "I’m Li Junwen, and I’m here to surrender."

Li Junwen, who disappeared for four months, returned to the civilized world, creating a stir across various circles... The Public Security Bureau in Qiantang City hadn’t even managed to reach Shuzhou before agents from Dubhe Tower took him back to Chunming City.

Since then, Li Junwen has been "detained" in a special cell tailor-made for him in Dubhe Tower, until today.

...

"Did he really stay in the Surrendered Area for four months?" Yang Lian asked incredulously.

"According to what he said, that’s the case." The old director nodded, "Actually, when he escaped into the Hengduan Mountain Range back then, the border troops organized a large-scale search until they found his tracks leading all the way into the Surrendered Area. That’s when the manhunt was halted."

"When he came back...was he still human? Staying in the Surrendered Area for four months, wasn’t he infected?" Yang Lian asked again.

"What I’m more curious about is how far he traveled in the Surrendered Area during those four months and what he encountered." Yang Qi murmured.

"Those things are top secrets of Dubhe Tower. If you’re interested, you’d better ask him directly," the old director said.

"You’re asking me to pick up this person so he can be a guide and lead me into the Surrendered Area?" Wang Xiyi quickly caught on.

"Although Dubhe Tower has approved, whether you can persuade him is up to you. We can’t force him to lead you into the Surrendered Area—but within the limits of what’s possible, Dubhe Tower will try to meet any conditions he might have as your bargaining chips."

"Is this guy really that powerful?" Ye Jiu, who had been sidelined and unable to join the conversation, asked, "Even Dubhe Tower can only ’negotiate’ with him?"

"Ever since he came back from the Surrendered Area, his mental state has been unstable," the old director sighed. "He’s a very valuable specimen. To protect him, Dubhe Tower hasn’t taken any strong measures... The so-called detention merely imposes some restrictions on his personal freedom."

"Hmph, I think he’s probably just faking craziness," Ye Jiu scoffed. "Who knows if he just wandered around the edge of the Surrendered Area for a bit, waited for the searchers to leave, and sneaked back, hiding in the mountains—all when drones weren’t widespread. There’s no telling if he actually stayed in the Surrendered Area for four months. In my opinion, beat someone like this, and they’ll be honest!"

"Brother, if you don’t want to get scolded by Dad, I suggest you keep quiet," Ye Xuan glanced coldly at Ye Jiu and said.

"Dubhe Tower doesn’t take strong measures against him, which doesn’t mean I can’t, right?" Wang Xiyi organized the files back into the folder as she fixed her sharp gaze on the old director.

"I don’t know, don’t ask me, and don’t say I taught you if you cause trouble," the old director controlled the electric wheelchair, turning around, and somehow produced a cigarette to dangle from his mouth.

"The descent craft to Chunming City is parked on the rooftop helipad and departs in fifteen minutes," after saying this, the old director wheeled himself out of the operation meeting room.

"All right, I understand." Wang Xiyi exhaled heavily and stuffed the folder into her backpack.

"I’ll go with you," Yang Qi said.

"And me, and me," Ye Jiu chimed in, "I’m also curious about what kind of person this actually is... Plus, it’s convenient for me to also head home."