The officer had made his stance clear, but clearly didn't wish to elaborate further at that moment. Li Chonglou could only remain silent.
Thus, he followed everyone back to the 'Dark Department' camp.
To enter the Dark Department, one first had to ascend a high wall. This high wall was the metal structure Li Chonglou had seen earlier. From a distance, its height was not apparent, but upon approaching, he realized it was three to four meters tall. As Li Chonglou followed the officer up the spiral staircase to the top and looked inside, a completely different scene unfolded before his eyes.
A training ground, a firearms range, and civilian houses were laid out in three distinct zones. To the right was a small grove of trees. The immediate impression of the entire Dark Department camp was that of a training base. It was also quite sizable, covering an area equivalent to three football fields, and at this moment, he could see batches of people training. Shouts and yells immediately reached Li Chonglou's ears.
However, the officer offered no explanation and instead led him down another staircase leading further inside. The two of them walked in silence until they reached the civilian houses. Among them, a two-story building constructed of red wood stood out remarkably. A plaque hung outside, bearing the large characters 'Dark Department'.
The officer led him straight inside, where burly, bare-chested men seated around several round tables all turned their gazes towards him.
"Finally, a rookie has arrived? Damn it, I'm not playing anymore!"
"Hey, Lao San, what kind of cheating is this! You owe three tables!"
"What are you playing cards for at a time like this? Don't you see the rookie has arrived."
A bare-chested man with a wolf tattooed on his right arm chuckled, got up from his seat, and walked towards Li Chonglou.
"Rookie, come here. Welcome to the Dark Department."
"Damn it, this guy is such a cheat!"
"It's not like you didn't know that before. We've always said not to play cards with him."
The people at that round table grumbled, tossed their cards aside, and gathered around. Li Chonglou, however, did not respond to the wolf-tattooed man's greeting. Instead, he frowned slightly, observing everything.
Unperturbed by Li Chonglou's indifference, the bare-chested man acted as if they were old acquaintances and placed a hand on Li Chonglou's shoulder. "Come on, rookie, introduce yourself to everyone."
As the man finished speaking, he noticed Xiao Bai in Li Chonglou's arms, his eyes immediately lighting up. "Holy crap, isn't that a sacred beast? Brothers, we've hit the jackpot this time!"
As he spoke, the man reached out as if to snatch Xiao Bai. Li Chonglou's gaze turned cold, but before he could make a move, a stern voice suddenly echoed from the front.
"Nonsense! Lao Er, get out of the way."
The bare-chested man's body suddenly stiffened. He quickly stopped his actions, cleared his throat, and obediently stepped aside. Li Chonglou looked up and saw a one-eyed man standing before a wooden door inside, glaring at everyone. The previously noisy hall fell into dead silence.
The one-eyed man then addressed Li Chonglou, "Newcomer, come in." With that, the man turned and entered the wooden door. Li Chonglou said nothing more and walked over slowly.
Once his figure disappeared from the hall, the others began to whisper amongst themselves.
"Lao Er, this rookie seems a bit aloof."
"Aloof? He's just a rookie. After going inside, he'll still be following us around." The tattooed man, his earlier amiable demeanor gone, spoke with evident disdain. "However, considering the sacred beast, let's all be a little nicer to the rookie when we go in. Don't bully him too much."
As soon as the tattooed man finished speaking, the hall erupted in laughter.
Meanwhile, Li Chonglou was already seated at a long table. It was a very simple room, containing nothing but a long table and two chairs. However, numerous documents were spread across the table, including maps and lists of names. Most striking was a photograph of a face with a dagger stuck in it.
"What should I call you, brother?" The one-eyed man clasped his hands on the table, his remaining eye filled with solemnity.
"Chonglou," Li Chonglou met his gaze calmly. After a long silence, the one-eyed man's expression turned satisfied. He continued, "You have good bearing. Have you learned about the specific rules of the Iron Forest before?"
"I am eager to hear them."
"Good, I like smart people." The one-eyed man smiled slightly and continued, "My name is Yi Long, you can also call me Captain Long. Although I am not from your country, I am of ancient Huaxia descent, so you don't need to be overly wary of me."
Li Chonglou did not respond, merely watching him quietly, like a diligent listener. The one-eyed man's satisfaction grew.
"Then I will directly explain the rules to you. Firstly, as you already know, once you follow us into the Iron Forest with the Dark Department, you can choose to move freely."
"Of course, if it were that simple, I wouldn't need to be blabbering here. The Iron Forest has an extremely strong magnetic field. The kilogram bomb you are carrying will become your greatest obstacle. A slight misstep can cause resonance and trigger an explosion. You should understand its power, right?"
Li Chonglou's eyes narrowed slightly, recalling the scene he had witnessed earlier. Such power meant even he could not escape unscathed, unless he could remove the bomb on his person. Yi Long seemed to have guessed Li Chonglou's thoughts and said directly, "Don't even think about it. This bomb is one of the competition's rules; it cannot be removed."
"However, we can make it temporarily inactive. You tried the spray when you came in, right? We have more advanced ones that can ensure the bomb on your person will not explode." Yi Long raised an eyebrow at this point. "This is what I wanted to talk about as my second point. If you act with us, not only will you earn more points, but you also won't have to worry about the bomb for the time being."
"As for what the mission is, if you weren't carrying a sacred beast, I would explain it in detail. But it's not necessary now. You just need to let your sacred beast follow us, and we will also dispatch people to ensure your safety." His intention was quite clear: he wanted Li Chonglou to stay with them until the mission he mentioned was completed.
Li Chonglou asked curiously, "Aren't the competition rules just about passing through the Iron Forest first? What is this about points?"
Yi Long chuckled and said, "It's just that your generation is lucky. In the past, there were indeed no points, and as you said, as long as you passed first, you won. It was your victory." As he spoke, A Long's eyes suddenly turned cold.