But this was not because they agreed, but because they all felt that this could hide their strength, as everyone considered themselves the strongest.
As for the island nation man, although he had reservations, he could not voice them. Due to the loss of his front teeth, his influence within the team had been reduced to its lowest point.
After assigning nicknames, the blonde man also designated each person's role. At this moment, he fully embodied the demeanor of a captain, though no one paid any mind. After all, it was just a temporarily assembled team, and it hardly mattered who led it.
The Muay Thai woman, carrying the little girl, was assigned to assist with the finishing blows. Meanwhile, Li Chonglou, who was most suited for this role, was assigned to the front lines as a vanguard.
As the de facto captain, he also conscientiously took on the most dangerous task of scouting.
Li Chonglou complied with everything without question, only occasionally casting his gaze upon the little girl.
This competition was vastly different from previous ones, which led Li Chonglou to suspect that there must be other unforeseen changes that they were unaware of.
The only person who might know about these changes was the little girl before him.
His earlier seemingly kind inquiry towards the girl was actually intentional, designed to mislead the others. This way, they would perceive him as merely a kind-hearted person and let down their guard, while also allowing him to conceal his keen interest in the girl.
If not for the presence of the Muay Thai woman, he would have already tried to bring the little girl closer to him for protection.
That was why he had been staying close to the Muay Thai woman.
As they set off again, Li Chonglou continued to follow behind the Muay Thai woman, silently observing the little girl's expression while planning his next move.
They had encountered an ambush even before entering the Devil Forest, which clearly indicated a punishment mechanism for the last team to arrive. Otherwise, if every team entering was attacked, no amount of death row inmates would be enough.
This meant they had started at a disadvantage from the moment they entered. Other teams might already be lying in ambush within the Devil Forest, a situation that was extremely unfavorable.
Coupled with the rule regarding the kilogram bombs, Li Chonglou now had to ensure that as many people as possible survived to the third round.
He had already gauged the skill level of these individuals during the previous skirmish. To put it bluntly, none of them were a match for him.
Therefore, in his subsequent plans, Li Chonglou had essentially disregarded the contributions of the other five. His sole objective was to keep himself alive.
Indeed, the adjustments made after suffering an initial setback proved correct. During the subsequent journey, over a mere distance of two to three kilometers, the six of them encountered four ambushes.
The last of these even involved the use of cannons.
Fortunately, the blonde man, who was scouting ahead, discovered them in time. Otherwise, even if they had survived, they would have been severely injured.
After dealing with the fourth wave of enemies, the group finally arrived in front of a yellow house.
Two fully armed staff members stood waiting. As soon as the group arrived, they immediately stepped forward to attach the kilogram remote-controlled bombs.
Naturally, the group would not allow them to attach the devices so easily. The blonde man seemed to have considerable knowledge in this area and proceeded to dismantle one of them for inspection.
The two staff members did not intervene, explaining, "The special feature is in the buckle. Once it's fastened, it cannot be privately released or removed, or it will directly detonate the bomb."
As soon as they finished speaking, a violent explosion erupted from a dense forest at the foot of the mountain, in front of the yellow house. The shockwave shot upwards into the sky in a visibly discernible manner.
The pupils of the group constricted. With such power, if it had exploded within a five-meter radius, no one would have been confident of escaping its blast zone!
One of the staff members picked up a dashboard displaying a dense array of red dots. After observing it for a moment, he murmured, "Six people died all at once. This year's participants seem rather weak."
The blonde man's brow furrowed, and he inquired, "What was that just now?"
"You are quite lucky. I had just finished speaking when I saw an instance. That's right, the explosion just now was caused by someone's kilogram bomb being detonated."
Upon hearing this, the island nation man instinctively took a step back, his face filled with horror.
The staff member glanced at him and chuckled, "While you can still withdraw now, your team's total kilogram count has already been set. So, I must remind you that the more of these you have, the easier it is for others to detonate them."
The others immediately turned their gaze towards the island nation man. His face paled, and he quickly declared, "I will not withdraw."
Aside from Li Chonglou, the island nation man had clearly seen the murderous intent in the eyes of the others. Even if he had wanted to withdraw now, he couldn't express it.
Thus, the island nation man was the first to have a five-kilogram remote-controlled bomb attached. Li Chonglou and the others followed suit, and then they continued their journey down the mountain.
"Stay alert. There might be genuine opponents lying in ambush this time."
The blonde man offered a reminder. Just then, Li Chonglou suddenly spoke.
"It's not fair for you to be scouting alone all the time. How about I take over the scouting responsibilities from here?"
The figures of the group immediately froze. The blonde man frowned slightly and asked, "Are you sure you can handle it?"
Apart from the island nation man, everyone else looked at him with suspicion.
"If something happens, I'll be the first one to face it. If I'm not afraid, why should you be?" Li Chonglou shrugged and said.
The others felt that his reasoning made sense and thus agreed.
The blonde man even patted Li Chonglou on the shoulder, saying, "Thanks, brother. If we make it out alive, feel free to ask me for anything you need."
Li Chonglou simply nodded, not taking it to heart.
Empty promises of false friendship were not worth considering.
After agreeing on a secret signal, Li Chonglou moved ahead alone.
At regular intervals, he would carve a cross mark on a tree to indicate safety and direction. This was Li Chonglou's task.
However, what the others did not know was that after Li Chonglou disappeared from their sight, he immediately activated his Celestial Eye clairvoyance ability. While making marks at each safe interval, he moved forward rapidly.
With his Celestial Eye clairvoyance, he was no longer as hesitant as before. Those ambushing ahead were completely exposed to his sight, like naked individuals. He would evade whenever possible, and if evasion was not an option, he would directly sneak up and assassinate them!
His sole objective was speed.
After the five of them had traveled for half an hour, they finally noticed something amiss and instinctively gathered together.
"What's wrong? Why hasn't number five returned yet?"
To ensure fairness, they had previously decided to rotate the scout every fifteen minutes.
"Could something have happened?" the Muay Thai woman asked with a hint of worry.
"The marks are still appearing, though."
The group was puzzled. Finally, the blonde man decided to speed up and investigate.