Every person who brought someone in acted as a guarantor, and if anything happened to the newcomers, the guarantors would be held absolutely responsible!
Actually, there was another hidden reason. If Li Chonglou hadn't had the identity of the Dragon Team, and after the previous commotion, he had gained some notoriety, he probably wouldn't have been able to apply for this spot.
Even if he wanted to, he would have needed to find another guarantor who could bear the responsibility, like Old Tie.
As for the so-called rules, there were only two points.
One was that after coming out, one could not reveal the existence of the underground world. This did not conflict with what Old Tie said about needing more people. No matter how short the underground world was on manpower, its primary objective was to maintain stability between the underground and the surface worlds. Only after ensuring this could they talk about development.
If the news spread and became common knowledge on the surface, and if there were any collusions of interest, it would only take a moment for infiltration incidents by "black souls" to occur!
After all, the population was large and diverse. Otherwise, in a safe zone, a five-layer or even two-layer realm would not pose much risk.
The second point was to avoid incidents of conversion into black souls after entering.
This point was somewhat uncontrollable, so the threshold had to be raised. For instance, if it happened, someone would have to come forward to take responsibility, so that false friends who had only known each other for a few days wouldn't want to bring others in.
In the previous mission, to capture Wei En, the Wu family had initially taken responsibility and was eager to resolve the matter. Li Chonglou only found out later. Old Tie had seized this opportunity to try and send him into the underground world.
It was estimated that if Old Tie were given a choice again, he would definitely not do it.
As for the person named Dong, who had a conflict with him at the time, yes, he was Old Tie's man.
However, all of that was in the past. Old Tie did not harbor any ill intentions. What needed to be dealt with now was bringing Chen Pao and the others in.
What Old Tie said was not unreasonable. Once they entered, if any of them rebelled, he, as the guarantor, would be in great trouble. However, for Li Chonglou, he didn't have many conditions to consider these matters now.
"Don't worry, I'm all prepared. They definitely have to go in. It's just the matter of the exotic beasts that I'll consider further."
Then, the two hung up the phone.
Xiaobai immediately let out a series of cries, as if it had a thousand words to say.
It was strange, really. Although Xiaobai didn't speak human language, and Li Chonglou hadn't learned beast language, he always understood what Xiaobai meant every time it spoke.
For example, right now, Xiaobai was emphasizing that it could protect itself with spiritual energy, just like Chen Pao and the others, so there would be no worry about black soul invasions.
Li Chonglou asked doubtfully, "But wouldn't that mean you couldn't absorb black souls to cultivate anymore? Then what's the point of you going in?"
Xiaobai cried out again.
"Devour internal organs?"
Only then did Li Chonglou realize that Xiaobai had such an evolutionary path.
According to Xiaobai's explanation, this was an idea that suddenly appeared in its mind after its last evolution, much like the instinct to walk when one's legs are intact. However, there was a restriction: the exotic beast it devoured had to be stronger than it when it was alive.
Beasts weaker than or equal to it wouldn't achieve this effect.
Upon hearing the word "effect," an idea suddenly popped into Li Chonglou's mind.
"Could you perhaps also devour bloodlines?"
If that were truly the case, then Xiaobai's potential would be completely different! It would be at least one level higher than before!
The more Li Chonglou thought about it, the more excited he became. Xiaobai, on the other hand, showed that it also didn't know.
"In that case, you can go with Xiao Hai. That kid probably has a lot of trouble too."
Li Chonglou suddenly grinned. Xiaobai tilted its cute little head and looked at Li Chonglou with confusion.
After that, Li Chonglou could finally have a good night's rest.
The night passed without incident.
The next morning, Li Chonglou, his energy restored, woke up from his deep sleep and stretched comfortably.
"Looks like I have to go back to the underground world."
This was an unavoidable move. Fortunately, for people with special identities, there were no restrictions on entering the underground world. For Li Chonglou, it was just a bit more troublesome.
It wasn't until noon that everyone was fully prepared, and under Li Chonglou's leadership, they all headed towards the east district.
There was a slight accident when they crossed the bridge. The guards at the checkpoint were not aware of the rules inside and had never encountered a situation where so many people were brought in at once. They had to report to their superiors.
After a delay of about half an hour, the group finally received permission to enter.
In the car, Hawkeye expressed his dissatisfaction. "This east district is so troublesome. I used to refuse any missions that involved this place."
Chen Pao teased, "That's why you only found out about the existence of the underground world now. If you had come in earlier, perhaps you would be the one leading us in now."
Hawkeye rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about? With my strength, even if I went in, I might not be able to access the world of those big shots."
This self-deprecating remark left Chen Pao speechless. Since the other party didn't care, teasing seemed particularly boring.
Li Chonglou smiled and said, "Don't say that. If it weren't for your deterrence last time, we might not have been able to hold back the people from the Civilian Association."
Hawkeye chuckled. Although he felt a bit proud, he said modestly, "That's thanks to the weapons Master gave me. If it were my old weapons, they wouldn't have had such power."
Li Chonglou shook his head. "Weapons are just tools. If the person lacks strength, it's still no good."
Hawkeye was a bit embarrassed by the praise, but Chen Pao and the others had no objections.
Because it was the truth.
Although they had fought desperately to stop Yuan Bei at the time, if Hawkeye hadn't been there to deter him, they might have been willing to pay a price to break through the encirclement. In terms of merit, Hawkeye was definitely the major contributor.
After all, using firearms for suppression was considered unusual in the cultivation circles. At least, he was the first person everyone present had seen who did so.
Li Chonglou suddenly changed the subject.
"By the way, once we get in, don't call me Master anymore, especially when there are outsiders. You can call me Boss or Leader."
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then they understood Li Chonglou's intention.
He wanted to remain low-key to the end!
But it made sense. In an unfamiliar environment, only those who were low-key could survive better. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down; this was the bloody experience of their ancestors.
Not long after, Li Chonglou met the two security guards stationed outside Red Coast. Upon seeing the group, the two security guards couldn't help but be taken aback.
"Brother, are you trying to take all of them to the front line?"
Li Chonglou nodded.
"Uh, aren't you being a bit too bold?"