The three of them reacted and found themselves in front of a mechanism. As the parts on their bodies flew out and entered the mechanism, the five slots were instantly filled. The Zhen Ge Ge mechanism slowly began to shake, as if opening. A beam of light shot straight into the sky, and a glowing portal appeared before them. Chen Tian, Chen Shi Xue, and Yun Shui Ying looked at each other. Could this be the real trial, and the previous tasks were just small objectives to open the door?
"You didn't tell me this quest could be this complicated."
"This is my first time taking on a quest like this. I don't know either. Chen Tian, do you think we should go in?"
"Yes, we've come this far, there's no turning back. Be careful, who knows what's inside."
Chen Tian's expression was grave. Only he knew the true danger of this quest. If the other two encountered danger, they would have no chance of survival, only death. This wasn't just talk; he understood the secret behind this quest very clearly. The three slowly stepped into the light. The chains on their arms and legs did not appear, indicating that as long as they entered the portal, this restriction would no longer exist.
After passing through the portal, the three figures found themselves in different areas. They were separated. Fortunately, the game interface allowed them to chat.
Yun Shui Ying: "Chen Tian, it seems we've been separated."
Chen Shi Xue: "This level isn't going to make us fight alone, is it?"
Chen Tian: "Yes, it is. But what's the situation on your end?"
He was concerned about the other two. His own situation was fine; it was a maze-like level, which was simple for Chen Tian. The main challenge was for the others.
"I'm in a snowy mountain, but I'm at the foot of the mountain. This snow mountain is different. The snow is black. Isn't normal snow supposed to be white?"
Yun Shui Ying looked at the snowy mountain before him. Black snow fell slowly from the sky. There was an indescribable feeling about the black snowflakes. Normally, snowflakes were white, so the game should have followed this rule.
"Time Epoch" was a game that recreated modern times with 100% accuracy. Many of its settings even surpassed those of most other games, which was why it was so popular. Seeing this information, Chen Tian fell into thought. It seemed his companions were in for trouble. Images flashed wildly in his mind, and then a picture froze. He sent two messages to the two of them and directly closed the friend interface. Next was the time for the trial.
Before him was a gray secret realm. The walls were made of gray material. He didn't know what kind of material it was. His eyes provided no information. He swung his fists at the nearby wall, channeling all his strength. With a rumble, the wall only showed an indentation, a fist-sized mark only a few centimeters deep.
"It seems brute force won't work. I'll have to enter the maze and slowly find the exit."
He had initially planned to unleash his full power to destroy the maze and create a passage. The maze had a rule: a straight line through the maze would always lead to the exit. That was his initial idea, and it wasn't cheating. Unfortunately, the wall withstood his full-strength blow without breaking, indicating that this method wouldn't work. The developers might have anticipated this and implemented protective measures.
He wondered if the other two's levels were difficult. He stopped thinking about it and stepped into the maze. He sensed that the maze was very large. What puzzled him was that he could see various paths within his senses, but no matter how he thought about them, he couldn't find an exit. It was very strange.
He perceived the entire maze, the map in his mind, with thousands of different routes. All of them were useless. The maze seemed to have no exit. He continued to wander the maze, and for a long time, he encountered no danger. Could it be that this maze was just a maze with nothing special?
Chen Shi Xue was in a forest, a mountain forest. After reading the message Chen Tian sent, she didn't hesitate and entered the forest, hoping it was as he said. The other side was the same; the black snowy mountain had a strange aura.
If viewed from a god's perspective, one would see that the areas where the three were located were connected, with the connection point in the center. This meant that the three needed to walk to the central area to meet. As for what would happen then, they didn't know.
He walked through the maze as if nothing were wrong, but he didn't relax at all. It couldn't be this simple. With a snap, he seemed to have stepped on a trap. The ground beneath his feet sank, but nothing happened. This made him even more puzzled. What was the point of this trap?
He stepped on the trap without issue, but Yun Shui Ying encountered a major problem. While walking on the snowy mountain, she had initially relaxed as there was no danger. Suddenly, a massive object fell from above and landed on the ground. An avalanche occurred on the snowy mountain, sweeping down. Yun Shui Ying could only flee in a hurry.
If she didn't run, she would be buried by the avalanche. Strange, there was no danger moments ago, and now it appeared out of nowhere.
She ran towards the second area at the foot of the snowy mountain. Finally, the avalanche reached the foot of the mountain and subsided. It was equivalent to taking a step back.
A spirit of not giving up emerged, and she stepped onto the snowy mountain again.
"I really don't know who this trap is meant to scare."
He shook his head and lifted his foot. The ground returned to normal. Nothing had happened. This trap was just for show, he could only think that. He continued forward. As for the maze routes, they kept appearing in his mind. It was difficult to find a suitable exit route, especially since the maze was large and the routes were complex. Fortunately, he had already planned out a portion of the route.
*Snap, snap!*
Two consecutive sounds echoed. More traps, still nothing happened. Chen Tian couldn't help but complain that the developers were putting these here to scare people.
Chen Shi Xue and the others, who were walking fine, suddenly encountered enemies and entered combat. Both were bewildered. The enemies flew down from above, but they hadn't stepped on any traps!
This was somewhat acceptable, but then a series of enemies and crises followed, leaving them in a sorry state.
"Chen Tian, are you okay? It feels like there are quite a few challenges on my end."
"Me too. It's either tree monsters, swamps, or..."
"I just had an avalanche, snow giants, and ice rain. I haven't even reached half the distance yet. It's too difficult."
A message popped up. Seeing their complaints, Chen Tian sent a message: 'Nothing's happening on my end. I've stepped on several traps. It's probably the developers' prank to annoy players.'
After some communication, the three continued to move forward.
He didn't consider the situation of the other two triggering traps. This scenario hadn't been factored in. The locations were different. Could it be that when he stepped on a trap, the others suffered? Was that possible? Was it possible?
After that, Chen Tian didn't step on any traps, and the progress of the other two improved significantly. Suddenly, a voice sounded. "Wuhu, I stepped on another trap!" He didn't care at all, as nothing happened. He continued to move forward, only to find that he couldn't advance. The path ahead seemed to be blocked by a barrier.