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

"Then let's keep attacking upwards. The mark will appear sooner or later." Chen Ye put the Demon-Slaying Halberd back into his storage space and glanced around the hall. "Let's clean up the battlefield first."

The elite monsters in the three-star trial should drop items of a higher rank than those in the two-star trial. They had just finished clearing out the mechanical spiders when they saw two halos flashing.

Qin Zhaoyang was the first to rush over and squatted down next to the remains of a giant spider. There were some dropped items there, but they were still under protection and the protective shield was still in place.

"Who killed this guy? There's a bow inside, it looks like it's blue quality, can you get it out for me?"

Qin Zhaoyang shouted excitedly.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Hai walked over. He was the one who had killed the mechanical spider. He bent down, took out the longbow from the light shield, and handed it to Qin Zhaoyang.

Qin Zhaoyang took the longbow. The bow was a deep silver-gray color and more than twice the length of his crossbow. The smooth metallic patterns on the bow's limbs shimmered with a steady, pale blue halo.

He looked at it twice, then brought up the item attribute panel.

Alloy Longbow (Blue Quality)

[Type: Ranged Weapon]

[Effect: Strength +10]

[Note: This item increases the user's Strength attribute by 10 points. The additional attributes from this item are not affected by talent or skill bonuses.]

Qin Zhaoyang's eyes instantly lit up like two light bulbs. He abruptly stood up, turned around, and brandished the longbow in his hand at Chen Ye: "Brother Ye! A blue-quality longbow!"

Chen Ye glanced at it sideways and nodded slightly: "Your Gale Crossbow can be retired now."

Without saying a word, Qin Zhaoyang put the crossbow in his hand into his storage space and directly held the alloy longbow in his hand to test its feel.

In front of Chen Ye was a protective shield for picking up items. Inside lay a magic ring, its metallic surface covered with fine, light blue patterns.

He bent down, picked it up, and brought up the item's attribute panel.

【Alloy Ring (Blue Quality)】

[Type: Magic Weapon]

[Effect: Spirit +10]

[Note: This item increases the user's Spirit attribute by 10 points. The additional attributes from this item are not affected by talent or skill bonuses.]

Chen Ye walked to Wen Ning's side and handed her the alloy magic ring: "This is for you."

Wen Ning took the ring and put it on her right wrist.

Chen Ye gave the alloy ring to Wen Ning because Wen Ning provided support throughout the battle and did not gain any kill points.

Wen Ning was contributing to the group, while Zhou Yating had earned points, so Wen Ning couldn't be left with nothing.

After collecting their loot, they didn't rush to continue upwards, but instead circled around the area.

Chen Ye was observing the floors of these elevators.

Of the 52 elevators, 24 are already in use. These elevators stop at different floors, while many others stop at the same floor.

The elevator used by Chung Sau's team is currently on the 21st floor and does not go directly to the 30th floor.

The elevator that Lu Qingchuan's team used is still stuck on the 20th floor, which means that for a period of time just now, both Zhong Xiu and Lu Qingchuan's teams were on the 20th floor.

After going around in circles, the group returned to the elevator they had used, and the elevator doors were still open.

They haven't closed the elevator since they got to the 19th floor, because it can't be closed; they have to clear this floor to continue using the elevator to go up.

"Lu Qingchuan's team is still on the 20th floor. Could they have been wiped out by that woman?"

Qin Zhaoyang's gaze fell on the floor display of the elevator next to him.

Gu Qinghuan shook her head slightly: "Probably not. Lu Qingchuan's team has one more person than Zhong Xiu's team. This control tower has 100 floors. It's impossible for the two teams to fight to the death on the 20th floor. Perhaps they have had a tentative exchange. Let's go up and take a look."

"Let's go, to the 20th floor."

Chen Ye stepped into the elevator.

Gu Qinghuan, Zhao Hai, and the others followed one after another.

Chen Ye pressed the button for the 20th floor.

The elevator doors closed, and the elevator smoothly ascended.

It took less than five seconds to go from the 19th floor to the 20th floor.

The elevator doors slid open, and Chen Ye stepped out of the car, his gaze falling on the open space in front of him.

The layout of the 20th floor is completely different from that of the 19th floor. It is also an empty lobby with a higher ceiling than the 19th floor, and cold white light strips are arranged along the dome.

In the central area, a massive mechanical wreck lay on the ground, several times larger than the mechanical spiders, resembling a steel gorilla.

Its metal frame was twisted and deformed, with exposed gears, cables and hydraulic rods broken and turned outwards. Its head had completely detached from its torso and rolled onto the ground several meters away. Its two round electronic eyes were completely dim.

The ground around the wreckage was littered with metal fragments, broken mechanical arms, and shattered armor shells.

But apart from that, there were no other signs of combat, so it seems there was only one mechanical monster on this floor.

Lu Qingchuan's team was sitting on the floor under a metal wall on the right side of the hall, and there were no survival markers above their heads.

Lu Qingchuan noticed the elevator doors opening, and he turned his head to look in the direction of the elevator entrance.

Chen Ye led his team over.

Lu Qingchuan stood up from the ground.

Chen Ye walked up to Lu Qingchuan and stopped, asking directly without any pleasantries, "You guys fought against that Zhong Xiu?"

"We didn't directly engage in combat; we were just competing to kill the boss on this floor."

Lu Qingchuan turned his head to look at the pile of metal debris in the center of the hall, and raised his chin in that direction.

Chen Ye followed his gaze and looked over: "So you guys couldn't win against her?"

"I definitely couldn't beat her. She killed that boss. She's very strong. Her talent should be able to increase both strength and agility at the same time. It would be very difficult for me to beat her."

Lu Qingchuan withdrew his gaze, his tone revealing little sense of defeat.

Chen Ye nodded slightly. He didn't ask for details. Being ranked first on the leaderboard on train G4939 meant Lu Qingchuan's observation skills were not bad, and his judgment of that woman should be basically accurate.

Lu Qingchuan continued, "After she killed that mechanical monster, a six-pointed star cursor appeared above her head; that should be her survival mark."

"I suspect that there is a BOSS-level mechanical monster every ten floors of this control tower. After killing it, you should be able to get a survival mark. Her team passed through the tenth and twentieth floors. The short-haired woman in her team also has a six-pointed star mark above her head."

There are countless trains that lead to death, and countless survival trials, each with its own unique challenges.

This was the first time Lu Qingchuan and his group had participated in a trial mission to obtain survival marks, so he could only guess.

Chen Ye nodded slightly: "That seems to be the case. Two people in her team have obtained the Survival Mark, so they're not in a hurry to go to the 30th floor. They should be farming points now, since the elevator can only go up and not down."

Qin Zhaoyang suddenly interjected, "If that's the case, Zhong Xiu is a high level and can clear monsters quickly. If she clears all the way up, what's the point of the others? They can't go down, and there are no monsters to fight up. They might as well not come in at all."

Lu Qingchuan glanced at him: "What this young man said is right, that's indeed the logic."

Chen Ye's gaze lingered on Lu Qingchuan's face: "What are you planning? You're not thinking of dragging us into taking down Zhong Xiu's team, are you?"