"Yes!"
The crowd immediately shouted in unison, their eyes filled with admiration as they looked at Li Chonglou.
Li Chonglou, however, was left somewhat amused and speechless by the sudden wave of enthusiasm.
"You all flatter me. I'm only choosing this path because I can't afford to waste time due to personal reasons. If I had the choice, I'd probably be one of the cowards you're referring to."
Yet, his words did not elicit any scorn from the crowd. Instead, they found themselves liking him even more.
"Damn, you're a smart one! You just voiced our true feelings!"
The crowd burst into laughter, and a few of them even stepped forward, clapping Li Chonglou on the shoulder.
"Brother, I'm not kidding when I call you brother today. For your openness, from now on, your business is my business, Old Niu. Just say the word if you need anything!"
"Hah, Old Niu, you're quick today. No way, I want to become sworn brothers with this guy too! I'll be the eldest brother!"
"Get lost, I said it first! If you want to be the eldest, I'll be that. If you want to join, you can only be the second."
"Old Niu, are you abandoning your elder brother like this?"
At this moment, another man chimed in teasingly.
Old Niu's face immediately flushed with embarrassment: "Big brother, how could I abandon you? I'm just recruiting a new junior brother for you."
The crowd erupted in laughter once again.
In an instant, the suicide squad, which was essentially heading towards certain death, had transformed into a cohesive unit, as if they were merely gathered for a simple, minor task.
As they bantered and joked, Li Chonglou observed everyone's expressions. To his surprise, he found that everything they said and did came from the heart, genuine and sincere. Their smiles and anger were clearly displayed on their faces.
It was as if they were true brothers.
Li Chonglou was also infected by the atmosphere. His previously worried state of mind suddenly became relaxed. Even the misfortune of encountering this sudden situation seemed to dissipate instantly.
It appeared that meeting such a group of people was also a good thing.
Just then, Xi Wen, the captain, glanced at his wristwatch, his expression turning serious.
"Brothers, time is almost up. We need to depart."
The crowd immediately ceased their smiles and nodded slowly.
"You don't look very old, so I'll call you Little Li. Stick close to Old Niu. Although this guy might seem unreliable, his strength is quite decent," Xi Wen instructed Li Chonglou.
Old Niu, upon hearing this, immediately protested, speaking with a touch of grievance, "Captain, why do I seem unreliable? I'm very reliable, okay?"
Xi Wen rolled his eyes at him but wasted no further words. With a wave of his hand, he led the group in a particular direction.
At this point, Li Chonglou noticed that despite their earlier banter and seemingly casual demeanor, when it was time to act, they were entirely different.
Without a doubt, a chilling aura had begun to spread throughout the entire team, though he wasn't sure when it had started.
From the aura emanating from them, Li Chonglou sensed that everyone's strength was extraordinary. At the very least, they were all stronger than anyone he had encountered before, including Yi Long and that Lei Feng.
At this moment, perhaps reminded by Xi Wen's earlier words, Old Niu took the initiative to explain more detailed information about the Beast Den to Li Chonglou.
According to him, the entire Beast Den was like an inverted pyramid, with the space becoming smaller as they descended. The first level was about twice the size of the base, while the third and lowest level was similar in size to the base.
The route was not complicated. From the entrance of the base all the way to the third level, there was a special, specially made dirt path, similar to a royal road. As long as they followed this path, they would reach the third level.
The first level originally had a stronghold at the entrance, but most of the people had evacuated due to the previous beast tide. This meant that once they exited the entrance, they would have to face the entire beast tide.
As he mentioned this, Old Niu introduced Li Chonglou to a new type of weapon.
It was a specially made firearm, similar in size to a submachine gun.
"This is the Ice Seal Gun. It's filled with compressed freezing liquid. One shot can turn an area of five square meters into absolute zero. We'll rely on it to get through the beast tide and reach the third level."
"Everyone was supposed to have one, but since you joined last minute, there wasn't time to equip you. So, don't stray too far from me later."
Li Chonglou nodded. Seeing this, Old Niu felt relieved. After finishing his explanations of other minor details, he said no more and followed the others in silent progress.
In fact, as they were talking, the group had already entered the entrance. It was also a relatively narrow passage with thick walls on both sides. Including Li Chonglou, the fourteen people had to split into two teams to pass through.
When Li Chonglou saw the light ahead dimming, he heard Wen Xi, who was at the front, cocking the trigger.
Combat was imminent.
As soon as they exited the passage, they were greeted by a dense swarm of mutated rats, the size of large dogs.
Not only were they enormous, but their forelegs also had several centimeters of sharp claws, and their mouths were filled with protruding fangs. Their pair of glowing blue eyes, in the dim light, resembled little blue lamps.
At this moment, Xi Wen had already led the group, holding submachine guns, clearing a path and charging directly into the rat horde.
Although these mutated rats were incredibly fast, their defensive capabilities were very weak. A single submachine gun bullet could generally penetrate two to three of them. Therefore, despite the sheer number of mutated rats, it was as easy as cutting vegetables for the group. They sliced through them.
While the others were engaged in combat, Li Chonglou took the opportunity to survey the surroundings.
First, the place they were currently in was indeed within a stronghold. As far as the eye could see, there were five or six safe houses, but they were all covered in mutated rats. In front of the group stood a three-meter-high wall.
Li Chonglou could see two stone staircases leading up to the wall. Xi Wen was heading towards the one on the left.
It seemed that mutated rats were the only species in the entire stronghold. The group took only two to three minutes to successfully ascend the wall.
Li Chonglou also climbed onto it. As he looked outside, his eyes narrowed.
Beyond the stronghold, there were countless mutated animals.
These included not only mutated rats but also cows, tigers, snakes, and more. Li Chonglou, with a cursory glance, spotted five to six different types of mutated animals.
Moreover, each of them was surrounded by a group, and strangely, they did not conflict with each other. Instead, they were all surging towards the stronghold.
Below the wall, countless monstrous beasts were fiercely battering the seemingly sturdy structure.