Li Chonglou stood there with a faint smile, and it took a moment for the three of them to react.
He wasn't dead!
This guy wasn't dead!
At this moment, people behind them also squeezed forward. Their first reaction upon seeing Li Chonglou was similar to that of the three.
They all thought they were seeing a ghost!
"Why are you all crowding here?"
A deep voice suddenly rang out. The faces of the three changed, and they quickly made way.
"Instructor Lin."
At the narrow staircase, the more than twenty people who had gone on the mission together were now crammed in, filling the already small space.
However, after the voice appeared, everyone consciously divided into two lines, creating a clear path in the middle.
A man with a square face, around forty years old, quickly appeared in Li Chonglou's line of sight.
Upon seeing the person, Captain Wang greeted him enthusiastically.
"Lin Guang, it's indeed you leading the new recruits."
The square-faced man paused for a moment and instinctively asked, "Old Wang, why are you here again? And new recruits?"
Captain Wang's duty seemed to be solely to bring in new recruits.
"Yes, this is Li Chonglou, one of the trainees who passed this mission. He was delayed due to some other matters."
Upon hearing the name Li Chonglou, Lin Guang's expression also faltered. He stopped, his gaze falling on Li Chonglou.
Confusion, curiosity.
And a hint of surprise.
"Li Chonglou? Didn't they say he was declared a martyr?"
Well, as expected, everyone thought he was dead.
Li Chonglou felt a bit speechless. So that's why he'd been sneezing earlier.
I knew something bad was bound to happen!
This time, without Captain Wang needing to explain, Li Chonglou spoke up, "Hello Instructor Lin. Captain Wang Bing misunderstood my situation. I'm not dead; I was just trapped there and couldn't get out for a while."
Lin Guang looked at Captain Wang doubtfully.
"That's right. The boss also knows about the martyr status. It should be canceled shortly."
"Cancel his martyr status, and he won't even get any benefits?"
Lin Guang voiced the crucial point, and Captain Wang nodded.
Li Chonglou also realized that this was probably what he had heard about the choice earlier.
However, to be declared a martyr before even being dead, Li Chonglou felt such a thing was improper. Compared to that, whether he received the benefits or not was no longer important.
He was confident he could handle things anyway.
"This guy isn't dead. Damn, won't his reputation be completely stolen?"
"Are you stupid? Haven't you heard it's already been canceled?"
"I'm not talking about that. What about his business on Donghai Island..."
The people behind them began to whisper, which made Li Chonglou feel speechless.
Were these guys so petty? What did the business on Donghai Island have to do with them?
Captain Wang also sensed something was amiss. Anyone with eyes could tell that Li Chonglou didn't seem to have a good impression among them.
"Alright, Brother Lin, I'll hand him over to you. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."
Captain Wang waved his hand. He could vaguely guess the situation here and couldn't help much, so it was better to leave early.
He knew a little about Li Chonglou's situation, but as an internal official, he wasn't affected by the events at the time and had no other opinions about Li Chonglou.
However, it was true that the boss paid him special attention.
Therefore, he didn't want to offend anyone, nor could he help much, so it was naturally better to leave sooner rather than later.
Lin Guang tried to persuade him, "Old Wang, it's almost dinnertime. Why don't you stay for dinner before leaving?"
"Well, I have other work to attend to, so I won't bother you. You guys eat, you guys eat."
Captain Wang smiled and shook his head, truly leaving as he said.
Lin Guang felt a bit helpless. It was easy for him to leave, but he still had to arrange things afterward.
In fact, he just wanted to inquire from Captain Wang about the General Bureau's attitude towards Li Chonglou. There were mainly two rumors circulating in the martial world.
One was that Li Chonglou was just a pawn of the General Bureau, and the incident with the civilian association was a tactic intentionally used by the General Bureau to pressure the other party.
As for why this was the case, some speculated that the high-level officials of the three major families had been restless recently. The situation in Shangjing reaching this point could not possibly be solely the General Bureau's responsibility.
Therefore, the General Bureau wanted to use this incident to clearly express its stance.
After all, despite the existence of the three major powers, in many instances, the General Bureau was the true decision-maker. Shangjing, and even the entire Hua Xia, represented a facade that enjoyed some privileges.
The other rumor was that it was an accident.
An accident, but one that could provoke such a reaction from the General Bureau, undoubtedly indicated another fact: Li Chonglou's identity was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface!
To fight against a top force for a member of the Dragon Team, especially during such a complex situation, who would believe it if they heard it!
So, for a moment, Lin Guang couldn't quite grasp the attitude towards Li Chonglou.
In that incident, he had no direct stake, but he knew that many people above him harbored dissatisfaction, or even enmity, towards such a figure.
This kind of influence exists everywhere. What if someone found him for help?
It was troublesome.
Lin Guang's brow furrowed instantly.
Li Chonglou silently observed all of this, saying nothing.
After a long while, when everyone had fallen silent, Lin Guang finally spoke, "Alright, you can all head to the mess hall. Li Chonglou, is it? You'll come with me first for an enlistment test. Don't worry, it's just a simple personal record."
Lin Guang said and then led Li Chonglou away.
"Brother Wu, what do you think?"
Liu Ti Xing suddenly spoke, and Liu Tian Zhi also looked at Wu Di.
"You want to see it too?"
The two nodded.
"Then let's go."
To be honest, he was also very interested in Li Chonglou's test results.
This so-called enlistment test wasn't as simple as Lin Guang had said; it was a real test.
The first time they all took it, none of them scored an A!
Despite their disdain, they also wanted to see what kind of abilities this figure, who had become a household name in Shangjing, possessed!
They had wanted to test him during their time on Donghai Island, but the situation had developed too quickly. The mole incident didn't even provide an opportunity, and the situation had stabilized completely.
After the three-day mission, they only learned upon returning that the higher-ups' requirements were actually much lower than what was stated in the mission briefing.
According to what Lin Guang told them later, the reason for the highest pass rate in the executive department in a century was because the higher-ups' original objective was for them to stabilize the situation.
In other words, the mine didn't necessarily have to be fully captured, and the people from Heilin and the islanders didn't necessarily have to be completely eliminated.
Under normal circumstances, these three points were almost impossible to achieve, especially in a situation where foreign forces were involved.
Three days was simply not enough time!