The iron gate the guide mentioned was actually an entrance to a passage. True to its name, it was a massive iron gate, thicker than a grown man's fist, secured by seven locks from top to bottom. Each lock was interconnected, and any mistake in unlocking them would cause all the others to jam shut.
It was similar to a mortise and tenon joint in its intricate, interlocking design, with the sequence fixed.
The guide, however, expertly unlocked all seven in mere minutes. A wide passage leading downwards was then revealed.
The walls were entirely concrete, much like a tunnel, though significantly smaller. The passage ended in a turn in the distance.
Despite this, the wind blowing out from it was icy cold, indicating it was not a sealed space.
At this moment, the little girl suddenly grabbed the guide's trouser leg.
"Think of your family, think of your mother. You have no choice."
To the surprise of all six, the guide uttered these words coldly to the little girl before turning to leave.
Li Chonglou's brow furrowed. He crouched down and asked the little girl, "Child, didn't you volunteer to participate?"
The Muay Thai woman let out a snort and said, "You don't actually think such a small child would participate in this competition for fun, do you?"
"Don't say that. We are teammates now, and we should be united from this point on," the blonde man suddenly interjected, then turned his gaze towards the Japanese man.
"As for your misunderstanding, I hope it is resolved the moment we step inside. If you can't manage that, then don't step through this door."
Except for Li Chonglou and the Japanese man, the other four suddenly stepped forward, turning to face the pair.
These four had, unbeknownst to the others, reached a consensus.
Li Chonglou placed a hand on the little girl's shoulder and remained silent for a long time. Inwardly, he felt the urge to kill the Japanese man on the spot to simplify matters. However, he knew that the weight load assigned to each team was averaged. If he were to kill the Japanese man now, his share of the weight would be distributed among the remaining five.
This was a far more serious consequence than a direct confrontation.
Therefore, he ultimately decided against acting rashly, and instead slowly nodded.
The Japanese man's face remained sullen. Finally, he spoke a single sentence.
"I won't make a move until the final round."
The Muay Thai woman beside him rolled her eyes, while the other three showed smiles.
"That's good. It's best if we can all safely reach the final round. Then let's not waste any more time."
With that, the blonde man winked at the Muay Thai woman, who understood and stepped forward to pick up the little girl.
Li Chonglou let go. As the only woman present, it was naturally better for her to carry the little girl.
Then, they entered the iron gate one by one. As soon as everyone had passed through, the open iron gate suddenly closed on its own, as if possessing a life of its own.
Li Chonglou heard the movement behind him and glanced back, only to realize that there were rows of wires behind the iron gate, and it wasn't simply a mortise and tenon structure.
At this moment, the little girl, who had been looking down, spoke softly.
"Now I will explain the specific rules of this competition to you."
Though the little girl spoke very quietly, in the vast passage, only the footsteps of the six could be heard, so her voice echoed clearly in the air.
"The competition is divided into three stages: Devil's Valley, Beast Cage, and Iron Forest. Before entering each stage, a certain weight of explosives will be attached. The initial total weight will be determined by the number of team members. Once determined, the total weight will remain unchanged, and will be divided equally among the remaining team members..."
The six individuals did not interrupt the little girl, even though they had already been briefed before arriving.
At this moment, the little girl was like an official, meticulously detailing the competition rules.
Li Chonglou looked at her back, his expression grave.
He had known the rules of the Iron Forest competition beforehand, but Long Shi had not mentioned that other innocent individuals would be involved. The little girl before him was clearly forced to be here.
What was the Iron Forest competition? In plain terms, it was a group of individuals with special combat abilities attempting to pass through a place called the Iron Forest while being pursued and blockaded by murderers and death row inmates.
Long Shi had said that no one participating in this competition was innocent. The death row inmates and murderers were a given, but which of the contestants hadn't taken a few lives?
Therefore, Long Shi had emphasized that the Iron Forest competition consisted of three rounds. As long as they survived the first two, they could fight without restraint in the final Iron Forest, even killing everyone else.
This was because only one victor would emerge from each competition.
This method was akin to raising gu worms, where a collection of disparate individuals were thrown into a place to fight to the death. Those who survived to the end were naturally the strongest, and would then be eligible for the next event.
Yes, the Iron Forest competition was merely the beginning.
But now, the beginning itself had encountered an unexpected complication.
Li Chonglou, watching the little girl's back, adjusted his plans.
Their team was not the only one participating. This meant that there were likely other individuals similar to the little girl, and they might not be children or girls.
In short, the current situation was that innocent civilians were mixed in among people who could be killed at will.
Just then, the little girl's words caused their expressions to change.
"As of now, there are a total of seventeen teams participating in this Iron Forest competition. Yours is the last. The competition will officially begin the moment the iron gate opens."
"Damn it, why didn't you say so earlier!"
The blonde man exclaimed in anger, then quickly urged the others to move faster. The little girl was clearly startled by his shout. Her large, cute eyes instantly turned red, and with a pout, she buried her head in the Muay Thai woman's embrace.
The Muay Thai woman, who had also accelerated, frowned but said nothing in the end.
She was just a civilian. It was remarkable enough that she could memorize so much information. How could she distinguish between what was important and what was not?
The others clearly understood this, so none of them joined in with shouts or curses.
In the vast passage, the six individuals, now moving at high speed, reached the end of the passage in mere seconds.
After the turn, a mountain forest, presenting a whole new world, appeared before them.
This passage was clearly built beneath a mountain, directly connecting its two ends.
At this point, the blonde man quickly asked, "Tell me, where will the people who arrived earlier start!"
The little girl's body trembled. Despite being frightened to tears, she tried her best to recall the information she had memorized. After a moment, she pointed a trembling finger towards a certain spot.