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

Chen Ye swung his Demon-Slaying Halberd repeatedly, the tip of the spear slicing through the trunks of three vines and severing them in half.

But his gaze didn't linger on the broken sections; instead, he quickly scanned the surrounding situation.

The vines' attack range was getting closer and closer, and the roots of the ancient tree were being entangled and climbed by countless new vines, with dark red sap covering the entire bark.

Just as the vines contracted to within ten meters of the crowd, the six light gates behind them simultaneously erupted with blinding light.

Six beams of green light burst forth from the depths of the door, like six lightsabers plunged into the darkness, repelling the surrounding blood mist and vines.

Wherever the light touched, the thick blood mist, like wax branded with a hot iron, rolled and swerved to the sides. The approaching dark red vines twisted and retreated violently as if they were on fire, emitting a low hissing sound.

"Back off!"

Chen Ye shouted.

The twenty-one people simultaneously shrank towards the light gate, and stood with their backs against the six light gates.

The vines stopped outside the boundary of the light gate, like pythons chained together, writhing back and forth at the junction of blood mist and radiance, making a soft, rustling sound.

But instead of receding, they gathered in greater numbers, layer upon layer, piling up at the edge of the light to form a dark red living wall.

Chen Ye looked around; they were completely surrounded.

Everywhere you look, there are vines curling up, some as thick as buckets, some as thin as fingers, densely clustered outside the range of the light gate.

"It seems there are no monsters on the last night. These vines are not monsters; in my mental perception, they are simply this forest itself."

Gu Qinghuan's voice came from behind Chen Ye, and six throwing knives hovered around her, their rotation speed having slowed down considerably.

"It seems this forest doesn't want us to leave."

Su Jin's long sword hung low, its blade covered in dark red liquid that dripped down from the tip.

The blood mist grew thicker and thicker.

The radiance emanating from the portal was being suppressed inch by inch by the surging blood mist.

The once clear boundary is becoming blurred, and the twisting of the vines is getting closer and closer in this silent tug-of-war.

"The portal probably won't hold for much longer. Does it really mean we have to go inside?"

Chen Ye turned to look at the six light gates behind him. There was a big problem with this trial. According to the rules, if the Tree God's blessing was not obtained by the end of the trial, the trial would be wiped out.

But given the current situation, if they don't enter the portal, they'll be dead before the trial even ends.

"We have nowhere left to retreat." Su Jin wiped the juice splattered on his face with the back of his hand. "These six light gates won't hold for long. Once the blood mist enters, we'll all be entangled to death by these vines."

The pale green light was being compressed even thinner by the blood mist.

"There's no other way." Chen Ye turned around, his gaze quickly sweeping over the people in his team before landing on Zhao Hai: "Brother Hai, each door should only be able to let three people in. I'll take Zhao Yang and the squad leader, and you and Wen Ning will go through the same door."

As soon as Chen Ye finished speaking, he pulled Qin Zhaoyang and Zhou Yating through a portal of light.

After the three entered, the number on the light door changed from 3 to 0.

Zhao Hai tried, but couldn't get in. He turned around to go through the same light door as Wen Ning, but Wen Ning had already disappeared.

"Zhao, let's go together."

Wang Ze's voice came from the side.

"it is good."

Without hesitation, Zhao Hai, Wang Ze, and Xia Yan entered the same portal of light. After they entered, the number on the portal also changed from 3 to 0.

Without hesitation, Jiang Ning led Li Jiahao and Jian Lan through the light portal closest to them.

Lei Xing and Li Tianran exchanged a glance, pulled one of their teammates along, and went through a portal of light.

Five of the six light doors were already full, leaving only one spot available at the sixth light door. Wu Gang was frantically banging on that light door, but it refused to let him in.

Gu Qinghuan walked past Wu Gang and entered the portal of light.

As Gu Qinghuan entered, the number on the last light door also changed to 0.

Wu Gang slumped to the ground, his face filled with despair.

Behind him, Lao Wang and Xiao Li sat side by side on the fallen leaves at the edge of the open space.

Old Wang pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took out two, and handed one to Xiao Li, who took it and put it in his mouth.

Then he took out a lighter, lit it for Xiao Li first, and then lit it for himself.

The flame flickered briefly on their fingertips, illuminating the calm expressions on their faces that belied their impending death.

Old Wang took a deep breath, and the smoke slowly escaped from his nostrils, mingling with the approaching blood mist around him.

He let out a long sigh of relief: "That felt good."

Xiao Li also took a deep drag of his cigarette, then glanced at Wu Gang, who was slumped on the ground in front of the sixth light gate.

The light emitted from the portal grew weaker and weaker until it finally disappeared completely.

With the light gate no longer offering resistance, an overwhelming swarm of vines surged forth at the same moment.

The dark red tide converged from all directions, piling up, winding, and tightening layer by layer, completely engulfing Old Wang, Little Li, and Wu Gang on the open ground.

Before the six light gates were swallowed up by the overwhelming vines, they sank into the ground, leaving only a few shallow ravines and scattered pebbles on the ground.

……

Inside the doorway.

Before Chen Ye, Qin Zhaoyang, and Zhou Yating stood an excessively spacious hall.

The floor of the main hall is paved with dark stone bricks, with fine moss embedded between the brick seams. The dome is so high that the top cannot be seen, with only a deep, dark green light slowly flowing overhead.

In the very center of the main hall stands a tree.

The tree wasn't particularly tall; compared to the ancient trees that blocked out the sky, it even seemed somewhat slender, with a trunk about the thickness of two people's embrace.

The entire tree emitted a warm halo, enveloping the main hall in a soft light.

"This place... is completely different from what I expected. I thought there would be some kind of terrifying place inside the door."

Qin Zhaoyang's voice was clearly filled with confusion. He looked around and his gaze fell on the glowing tree in the center of the hall.

"We should still be careful; those light portals were clearly opened specifically for us."

Zhou Yating was also looking around at her surroundings.

Chen Ye didn't rush to speak; his gaze first quickly swept around the main hall.

There was no exit, no passage; it was a closed space. The only entrance was the vanished door of light behind them.

He withdrew his gaze and focused again on the glowing tree in the center of the main hall.

Just then, a voice came from ahead.

"The quality of this group of passengers is quite good; there's even an SSS-level passenger."

The voice was old and deep, with a hoarse quality that came with age, but the tone of the voice carried a hint of interest.

The moment the voice fell, Qin Zhaoyang's body stiffened abruptly. He had already raised his crossbow, the arrowhead pointed in the direction of the voice: "Who? Who's speaking?"

Chen Ye reached out and pressed down the crossbow arm that Qin Zhaoyang had raised: "Don't be nervous, take a good look first."

His gaze was fixed on the tree in the center of the hall. There was only that tree in the hall, nothing else. The sound was coming from that tree.

At that moment, the tree was changing, and a human face slowly emerged on the trunk.

The face had deep contours, sunken eye sockets, a high nose bridge, and a slightly upturned corner of the mouth.

His skin was the same color as tree bark, a dark brown, rough and covered with fine lines, but his eyes were exceptionally bright.