For three consecutive days, the prisoners went on a hunger strike, each of them weak and listless from hunger, yet refusing to compromise. This earned them a grudging admiration from the warden and the guards, mixed with intense frustration. However, when someone starved to death on the fourth day, the warden made a point of visiting the surveillance center to observe. Seeing that the prisoners still showed no signs of compromise, faces resolute as if prepared to die, he grew deeply concerned. If all the prisoners perished, his own good days would be over.
Facing various pressures, on the fifth day, the warden had no choice but to concede once more and immediately sent food to the prisoners. With assurances from the prison authorities, the inmates all breathed a sigh of relief and laughed. Their resistance had won yet again, and occasionally, they cast glances of awe at Luo Zheng, who was reading in his cell.
