Refusing to speak, Elvin wasn't dead, but he just wouldn't open his mouth.
He wouldn't even let out a single scream.
During interrogations, regardless of how skilled the interrogator or how brutal the methods, the last thing anyone wants to encounter is someone like this—someone who refuses to speak.
Elvin wasn't an interrogation subject that required civilized handling. The Grey-cloaked People's strategy was to get him to talk as quickly as possible. No matter what Elvin said, as long as he opened his mouth, he'd soon spill everything he knew.
They weren't afraid of Elvin spewing nonsense, weren't afraid he'd make up stories, weren't afraid he'd prepare a series of lies to outsmart the torture methods. As long as he talked, the Grey-cloaked People had plenty of ways to verify the truth and extract the real facts.
But the issue was that Elvin wasn't talking, even though only five minutes had passed.