You could make a case for it representing the sparse, desolate nature of the book's theme, although I think it's just the author's preference....
Kill him, unpleasantly. Would your MC commit murder for ten million dollars (or a roughly equivalent in-world sum)?
Wary, but not really scared. He's been hunting the bad guy for seven years, so he's hardly an unknown quantity. What would your MC do if they...
I'd say yes, it is. There are vast inconsistencies and absurdities, in the plot but mostly in the world, which I didn't notice when I was a child...
Being from the future, he'd probably recognise it sooner or later. And then... he'd go into hiding, find food and shelter, and try to figure out...
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