Death Train: SSS-level talent right from the start!

Su Jin frowned. She hadn't expected this group to be so difficult to manage. The trial had only just begun, and they were already in a hurry to start the trial mission.

She took half a step forward, raising her voice a few decibels: "I said I would do my best to protect your safety. Once we figure out the rules, we will naturally help you obtain the blessing of the Tree God. Anyone who messes around will get out of the group. If you want to die, we can't be bothered to protect you."

She paused, glanced around the crowd, then pointed in four directions: "You, you, you, and you, you can all go and complete your trial missions. You can get out of here now."

The four people she pointed out turned pale instantly.

The short-haired woman was the first to be chosen. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but the sound got stuck in her throat.

The other three people, two men and one woman, were the ones who had spoken up earlier. Now they too were frozen in place, their lips trembling, none of them taking that step.

"Sister Su...that's not what I meant..."

The short-haired woman's voice lowered, becoming softer and almost pleading.

"roll."

Su Jin's tone was icy.

The four people stood still, none of them moving.

Some people lowered their heads, some clenched their fists, and some bit their lips, but no one took a step away.

They knew in their hearts that if they left this group, their chances of survival were almost zero.

"Since they don't want to leave, let's just kill them. Disobedient people are going to die sooner or later anyway, so it's better to save others from being implicated. If you don't want to do it yourself, I can do it for you."

Jiang Ning walked up from the middle of the group at some point, and with a flick of his wrist, the longbow with a pale green glow appeared in his hand.

The four men's expressions changed drastically.

The short-haired woman's pupils contracted sharply, and she subconsciously took half a step back, her gaze fixed on the longbow in Jiang Ning's hand, which was already nocked an arrow.

Jiang Ning's fearsome reputation had already spread throughout the G5002 train. Jiang Ning wasn't the strongest on the train, but he was definitely the most dangerous; he was truly capable of killing.

The four men exchanged glances, despair welling in their eyes, but no one dared to plead for them.

The short-haired woman gritted her teeth, turned around, and walked quickly into the depths of the forest.

The other three hesitated for a few seconds, but eventually followed. The four figures quickly disappeared into the shadows between the ancient trees.

Su Jin watched the four figures disappear into the woods, then turned to the remaining passengers: "Anyone else have something to say?"

No one spoke. The passengers who had been complaining earlier shrank back. Some lowered their heads and stared at the tips of their shoes, some pretended to check their weapons, and some squeezed into the center of the crowd, afraid that they would be targeted.

Most of them survived by finding the survival marks scattered after the Mirror Master was killed in Mirror City. Their strength was weak, and they would surely die if they were separated from the group.

The team of 68 people suddenly lost 5 members.

Su Jin didn't say anything more, turned around and walked back to the front of the group. Most of the four people she had driven away were probably not going to survive anyway. In order to make the remaining people more obedient, she had to do this. The rules had to be established.

Chen Ye didn't say a word the whole time; he was looking at the tree.

The mark left by the axe on the tree trunk was not deep, only about three or four centimeters deep. The wood fibers at the edge of the cut were curled up, and a wisp of red mist was seeping out from the gaps between those curled fibers.

That wasn't blood.

It was a kind of blood-mist-like gas, almost identical to the red mist that permeated the forest, only more concentrated, which made it look like blood.

Chen Ye stared at the cleavage mark for a few seconds, then looked away and turned to Su Jin: "It seems that only by cutting down trees can those monsters be summoned."

Su Jin nodded: "I'll do it."

She raised her long sword again, aiming it at the large tree that had already been cleaved in two.

A white light enveloped the blade once more, and then she exerted force with both arms, unleashing a powerful slash of the blade.

A crescent-shaped white arc of light swept across the tree trunk, making a muffled "hiss" sound.

The tree was cut in half, its thick trunk tilted for about two or three seconds, and then crashed to the ground.

The tree canopy, dozens of meters high, crashed down on the neighboring trees, and broken branches and fallen leaves rained down. The dull thud echoed through the forest for a while before finally quieting down.

Thick blood mist gushed out from the broken surface, like a red fountain squeezed out by high pressure. It lasted for more than ten seconds before gradually weakening and finally merging into the light red mist that already permeated the forest.

The surrounding crimson mist visibly thickened.

Su Jin didn't look at the broken edge; her gaze was fixed on the dark figure that emerged from the blood mist.

It was a humanoid monster, entirely black, with its limbs sprawled on the ground, and a pair of blood-red eyes staring intently at Su Jin, who was several meters away.

It opened its mouth and let out a low growl.

The monster slammed its hind legs off the ground, launching itself upwards at an astonishing speed. Its ten fingers spread wide, and the black claws at its tips aimed straight for Su Jin's face.

Instead of retreating, Su Jin advanced, slashing horizontally with his longsword.

Three white blade waves flew out almost at the same time.

The first cut cleaved the tree spirit's waist and abdomen, the second severed its right arm, and the third swept across its neck.

The monster's body was dismembered into several pieces in mid-air, fell to the ground, twitched twice, and then stopped moving.

The system notification flashed past Su Jin.

She sheathed her longsword and turned to Chen Ye: "This monster is called a Tree Spirit, an ordinary monster, but it's stronger than the Faceless Men of Mirror City."

Chen Ye did not respond.

His gaze remained fixed on the severed tree stump, where blood mist was still seeping from the break, though the concentration was much weaker than when it was first cut, it was still visibly continuing.

Chen Ye frowned slightly: "It seems that this trial is not so simple. Although there is no limit to the number of Tree God's blessings, the blood mist in the Blood Mist Forest becomes more concentrated with each tree that is cut down."

Li Tianran nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the severed tree stump: "Indeed, if the survival marks displayed on the mirror in Mirror City are a visible progress bar, then the blood mist concentration in the Blood Mist Forest is an invisible progress bar. If this mist becomes too dense, it may pose a threat to us."

Lei Xing crossed his arms and said, "To complete the trial mission, we must cut down trees. Without cutting down trees, we cannot obtain the blessing of the tree god. This is just a different skin, but it's still the same trick, and it's even more insidious. These blood-red mists don't affect us much now, but if they become too dense, it might cause a big problem."

Su Jin was silent for a few seconds before speaking: "But no matter what, the trial mission must be completed. We can only continue chopping down trees and figure out which trees can produce blessings and which trees will summon monsters."

She turned her head to look at Chen Ye: "What do you think?"

Chen Ye nodded: "Go ahead and cut them down. Let the higher-level ones go first, cut down a few to figure out the pattern."