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

The two walked through the forest for about ten minutes, the layer of fallen leaves under their feet getting thicker and thicker, and the canopy of trees overhead getting denser and denser.

After passing through the woods, the view suddenly opened up.

A huge ancient tree stands in the very center of an open space.

That tree was much larger than all the surrounding trees; its trunk was so thick that it would take more than a dozen people to encircle it.

The tree canopy spread out nearly 100 meters above the ground, like a giant umbrella covering the entire sky above.

Zhao Hai and Qin Zhaoyang were standing at the base of that ancient tree.

The silvery-white metallic sheen on Zhao Hai's fists had faded, and he was looking up at the direction of the ancient tree.

Qin Zhaoyang squatted at his feet, the Gale Crossbow hanging at his side, his head also tilted back.

Chen Ye walked quickly over, stopped beside Zhao Hai, and followed his gaze to look ahead.

Five beams of light stood quietly in front of the towering tree, arranged in a semi-circle among the raised roots.

Those light gates were about a meter tall and a meter wide, with edges outlined by pale green light and a halo of light flowing across their surfaces like water ripples.

The inside of the light gate was a semi-transparent dark green, but it was impossible to see what was inside.

Above each of the light gates, a mark floats.

The shape of the mark was exactly the same as the leaf mark of the tree god's blessing on everyone's forehead, and it shone with the same pale green light.

Next to the mark, numbers are floating.

From the first door to the fourth door, the number is always 3.

The number of the fifth door is 2.

Chen Ye stared at the numbers for a few seconds, but didn't rush to speak.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind me.

Su Jin led her team over quickly. Her long sword was already sheathed, and her pace was much faster than usual, indicating that she had arrived as quickly as possible.

Yang Qing followed beside her.

Three team members followed behind, their foreheads still bare.

Immediately afterward, Lei Xing and Li Tianran arrived from another direction. One of the three team members behind them had already completed the trial mission.

Lei Xing stopped in front of the portal, looking up at the five green-glowing doors: "Could this thing... be like the mirrors in Mirror City, where elite monsters can spawn?"

Li Tianran shook his head slightly: "If elite monsters were going to spawn, they would have spawned long ago. It seems to be related to the blessing of the Tree God. Look at that mark, it's the same as the blessing mark on our foreheads."

Su Jin's gaze swept quickly across the five beams of light, then he glanced at the three teammates behind him who had not yet received their blessings, his brows furrowing slightly.

"If there's no danger, let's leave it for now. Three people in my team haven't finished their mission yet, and time is running out. By nightfall, we probably won't be able to cut down any more trees."

Just as she was about to turn and leave, Zhao Hai's voice suddenly came from the side: "The numbers on the last door have changed."

Chen Ye followed his gaze.

The number above the fifth light gate changed from 2 to 3.

At the very moment the numbers started ticking, Wen Ning led Zhou Yating out from the other side of the woods.

On Wen Ning's forehead, the leaf imprints were shimmering with a pale green light.

Zhou Yating followed beside her, her forehead also bearing a leaf-shaped mark.

Zhou Yating has also completed the trial mission.

Chen Ye glanced at the fifth light gate, then at the leaf-shaped blessing mark on Zhou Yating's forehead, and then looked away.

Instead of drawing a conclusion immediately, he brought up the system chat panel, quickly edited a message, and sent it out.

[Chen Ye: Everyone, assemble at the ancient tree on the north side of the camp.]

After sending the message, he closed the panel, leaned against a raised tree root, and waited for the others to arrive.

About ten minutes later, Jiang Ning arrived first with Jian Lan and Li Jiahao.

Jian Lan's brow was still empty; Li Jiahao had already obtained the Tree God's mark.

Jiang Ning glanced at the five beams of light, her expression unchanged, and walked to the edge of the crowd, standing still without saying a word.

A moment later, Wang Ze and Xia Yan also emerged from the woods.

All twenty-one people were present.

Chen Ye's gaze swept over everyone present, down to the marks on their foreheads, and he silently counted them in his mind.

Fifteen people.

Including himself, there are exactly fifteen people who have received the blessing of the tree god.

Now, only three members of Su Jin's team, two members of Lei Xing's team, and Jian Lan remain who have not received the Tree God's blessing.

Chen Ye's gaze returned to the five gates of light: "Now we have 15 people who have received the blessing of the Tree God. There are exactly five gates of light, and the number on each gate is three, which adds up to 15."

Wang Ze's voice rang out from the crowd: "So, these portals of light are related to the number of blessings from the Tree God. One blessing corresponds to one number?"

Chen Ye nodded: "That's how it seems for now. Unlike the mirror in Mirror City, the numbers here are separate."

Lei Xing stepped forward, stood in front of the second gate of light, and reached out to probe the surface of the gate.

The moment his fingertips touched the pale green light screen, the screen rippled slightly, like a pebble being thrown into water, but nothing was triggered.

Lei Xing withdrew his hand and looked at Chen Ye: "These doors should be accessible, but I wonder what's inside?"

"It's unclear right now." Chen Ye's gaze swept over the portals of light. "These portals show no signs of attacking, and no monsters have come out of them. I called you here just to confirm whether the number of people who received the Tree God's blessing matches the number on these portals."

Su Jin continued, "Since no monsters have emerged from this gate, let's leave it for now. There are still six of us who haven't received the Tree God's blessing. Let's chop down trees and complete the trial mission."

"You all continue cutting down trees. I'll keep an eye on these gates nearby. Let's meet here before dark," Chen Ye said, and the group dispersed.

Each team disappeared back into the forest in a different direction.

The footsteps faded into the distance on the fallen leaves, and the dull thuds and rustling of branches and leaves came again from all directions. But separated by layers of trees and the increasingly thick blood mist, the sounds seemed to be separated by a layer of cotton wool, becoming blurry and distant.

The open space where the towering ancient tree stood fell silent again, with only Chen Ye's team and Gu Qinghuan remaining.

Chen Ye summoned the trial panel, and a blue light screen unfolded before his eyes.

[Survival Trial Begins!]

[Trial Setting: Blood Mist Forest]

[Trial Difficulty: ★★]

[Kill Points: 4080]

Survival Points: 0

Countdown: 17:32:26

With 4080 kill points, plus the 5840 points he had saved up, and the survival points awarded after the trial, his total score has exceeded 10,000.

Chen Ye closed the panel and turned to look at Zhao Hai and the others: "Now that we've all completed the trial mission, you can continue chopping trees to earn more points, or you can rest and conserve your energy for the last night."