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

More than sixty people sat around the campfire in twos and threes.

Someone took out food and water from the storage space and chewed it dryly.

Some people hugged their knees, staring blankly at the pulsating flames in the middle.

People were talking in hushed tones, their voices very low.

Zhao Hai sat down next to Chen Ye, stuffed a compressed biscuit into his mouth, chewed it twice, swallowed it, and then looked at the low-level passengers across the campfire with blank expressions: "The first day is over, and only five people have completed the trial mission. Can we protect these people?"

Lei Xing walked over and plopped down on the open ground next to Zhao Hai. He glanced around in the direction Zhao Hai was looking and said, "At this rate, we might not be able to protect these low-level people. We only have a few of us who have received the Tree God's blessing. By the time we've all finished, the trial will be over."

He spoke very bluntly, without lowering his voice. Although the lower-class passengers next to him did not look up, their shoulders visibly stiffened.

Su Jin walked over from the edge of the crowd and sat down on the other side of Chen Ye: "This blessing from the tree god is entirely based on luck. As long as the higher-level members of us can complete the trial mission tomorrow and help them, we should be able to save quite a few people."

Zhao Hai was silent for a few seconds, then said, "I hope so."

After saying that, he turned his head and glanced at Chen Ye, as if waiting for him to make a decision.

Chen Ye tossed a dry branch into the fire, his gaze fixed on the flickering flames: "After Gu Qinghuan and I finish our trial tomorrow, we'll help them."

The lower-class passengers next to them noticeably straightened their backs. Although they didn't say anything, their subtle movements revealed their current mood.

Just as everyone was slowly catching their breath from the tension, Wen Ning's voice suddenly broke in: "The blood mist seems to be getting thicker."

The group of people talking by the campfire fell silent at the same time, and even those who were eating dry rations nearby stopped chewing.

Chen Ye stood up and looked around. The originally thin mist was slowly churning, as if stirred by an invisible hand, converging on the open space where they were from all directions.

"What's going on? We haven't cut down any trees yet." Lei Xing stood up, his brows furrowed. "Only cutting down trees would produce blood mist. Could it be drifting in from somewhere else?"

Zhao Hai also stood up: "It doesn't seem to have drifted over. There's no wind around; the fog is moving on its own."

Chen Ye stared at the slowly churning crimson mist for a moment, his mind quickly recalling the commonalities from the previous trials.

He then said, "It's not a matter of cutting down trees, it's probably due to the time of day. In Corpse Capital, there's no fog during the day, only thick fog at night. In Ghost Capital, monsters don't come out of the houses during the day, only at night. In this Blood Mist Forest, the blood mist is thin during the day, but it naturally thickens at night, it has nothing to do with whether or not trees are cut down."

Lei Xing was stunned for a moment, then cursed, "Damn it, the insect hive and Mirror City were fine at night, but it started again here in the Blood Mist Forest."

Su Jin had already drawn his longsword: "In other words, we can safely cut down trees during the day, but a large number of monsters will appear at night."

"No, I didn't sense any monsters around. This blood mist isn't that simple."

Gu Qinghuan walked over, and six throwing knives hovered beside her, trembling slightly.

The lower-class passengers also gathered around, looking around warily.

The crimson mist in the forest grew increasingly thick.

The dark red mass that was originally just slowly churning in the wind has now become a visible, flowing mass.

Fog surged in from all directions.

The campfire's light dimmed in the blood mist, barely penetrating far, leaving only a blurry, warm yellow halo in the center of the camp.

Chen Ye stood still, the tip of the Demon-Slaying Halberd planted on the ground, his gaze following the surging blood mist.

He could sense something changing, not visually, but physically.

At first, I felt a slight dizziness.

It's like that throbbing feeling in your temples when you stand up after staying up two nights in an internet cafe in Yuncheng.

But then an inexplicable restlessness rose from my chest, as if something was slowly expanding inside my chest cavity, squeezing my heart and lungs.

Not right.

Chen Ye frowned, trying to suppress his irritation. But the more he suppressed it, the stronger it rebounded.

He turned his head to look at Wen Ning beside him.

Wen Ning stood there, her hands hanging at her sides, her fingertips trembling slightly, her gaze fixed on something in front of her, her pupils unfocused.

Chen Ye followed her gaze and saw only a severed tree stump and a swirling mist of blood; there was nothing else there.

"Wen Ning".

He called out.

Wen Ning's body trembled slightly, as if she had been pulled back from some deep place.

She turned her head to look at Chen Ye, her pupils slowly focusing, and her lips moved slightly.

Her face was paler than before, and the color of her lips was also lighter.

"How are you?"

Chen Ye asked another question.

Wen Ning didn't answer. She suddenly took half a step forward, her shoulder almost touching Chen Ye's arm.

The distance was so close that Chen Ye could feel her body trembling slightly.

"They...I saw them...the people from the previous train...the way they died right in front of me...blood...blood everywhere...and I was powerless to do anything..."

Wen Ning's voice was very low, as if she were talking to herself.

"It's all an illusion."

Chen Ye steadied his voice and tried to concentrate, but the restlessness that seeped into his body from the blood mist remained in his chest, like a blunt thorn embedded in the gap between his ribs, impossible to pull out or press down.

Not far away, Su Jin was standing still, his long sword already drawn, the tip pointing to the ground, his narrow eyes staring straight at him, looking very strange.

Chen Ye's gaze lingered on her for a moment. He noticed that Su Jin was looking at him and Wen Ning.

He actually sensed a hint of killing intent in Su Jin's eyes, and the blood mist amplified a certain emotion in Su Jin.

More passengers in category 10 or below have begun to show symptoms.

Someone squatted on the ground, holding their head in their hands, and made low sobbing sounds.

Some people stood there trembling, their pupils dilated.

Some people had already knelt down, their foreheads pressed against the ground, their shoulders heaving violently.

A young man in a gray-white jacket suddenly stood up, veins bulging on his forehead and blood vessels at his temples protruding like earthworms.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he was making incoherent roars, like a wild beast driven to the brink of despair.

"Shut up! Stop shouting! Everyone stop shouting!"

Another voice boomed from the other side of the crowd, filled with intense agitation and unease.

Zhou Yating squatted on the edge of the campfire, her hands pressed tightly against her temples. Her bangs were soaked with cold sweat and clung to her skin; her face was frighteningly pale.

Qin Zhaoyang's situation is even worse.

He sat down on the ground, his head drooping, his chest heaving rapidly, as if he were having difficulty breathing.

He kept muttering something: "This time we're doomed...we're all going to die...like Wang Shuo and Li Zheng...we can't escape this time..."