"This platform... is enormous."

Bai Cheng gazed out the window, her eyes narrowing.

The vast indoor space was incomparably larger than any previous station. Multiple tracks ran parallel, and rows of mechanical boarding gates lined both sides in perfect order.

Bai Cheng swept her gaze across, and there were ten whole tracks.

The walls were marked with a neat black font: "Boarding Platform #1"

In other words, this single boarding platform could accommodate up to ten trains simultaneously.

Just as the system had described, this Promotion Station was indeed massive.

But Bai Cheng wasn’t overly concerned. She reasoned that very few had reached the peak of Common Rank, let alone survivors who had completed two Trophy Missions.

Take Leng Ningxue, for example. Bai Cheng considered her Talent to be exceptional, yet even she had fallen a step behind.

"Barring any surprises, I’m likely the only one in this entire station."

As the train slowed to a stop, the screen abruptly displayed the station’s details:

[Arrival Station: #00 Forest Altar Station!]

[Station Type: Open Multiplayer Promotion Station]

[Description: Defeat the Boss, break the shackles within, and grow stronger!]

[Remaining Time Until Departure: – ]

[Station Rules: – ]

A straightforward introduction. True to its name, this was an open station with no restrictions.

Finding no useful information, Bai Cheng decided not to waste time and prepared to disembark.

"Logically, there shouldn’t be any other survivors here, but just in case..."

Since there were no rules here, supplies on the train could not only be stolen but even destroyed.

Leaving an employee to guard it was a necessity.

Bai Cheng glanced at her three employees. Any one of them could handle the task.

This was a Boss battle for promotion from Common to Elite rank. She doubted that the enemy would be overwhelmingly powerful.

But before she could speak, the quick-witted Zi Yuan stepped forward, clinging to her arm and swaying playfully.

"Young Lady, let Zi Yuan accompany you! Zi Yuan is your personal bodyguard, after all~"

"Fine, fine," Bai Cheng nodded. It didn’t matter who went with her.

Then, she turned to Lü Duo. "This is a good chance to see your abilities. Lü Duo, you’ll come with me. Chi Yan, stay behind."

""Yes, Young Lady."" The two answered in unison.

One clenched the corner of her dress tightly, vowing to prove herself, while the other remained expressionless, simply obeying orders.

Bai Cheng, Zi Yuan, and Lü Duo stepped onto the platform. However, after completing the authentication at the mechanical door, no information appeared on the small screen beside them.

Bai Cheng waited a few seconds, then frowned in dissatisfaction. "What? Not even a reward this time?"

With no other choice, she proceeded down the narrow corridor.

When she pushed open the door at the end, the sight inside the station made her freeze again.

She now stood within a dense, thriving forest. The sky was clear and cloudless, birds were chirping, and the insects hummed. It was as if she had returned to her newbie days.

There were no structures in sight, only untouched wilderness.

"Where the hell did I end up? Is this even a station?"

Bewildered, she turned back to the door she had just exited. It was embedded on a towering boulder that curved inward at the top.

The door’s color was nearly identical to the boulder. Without close inspection, no one would notice that it was there.

The overlapping trees also blocked her line of sight, making her wonder: "So... where’s the Boss?"

Zi Yuan focused for a moment, then shook her head. "Young Lady, there are no traces of magical beasts nearby."

Lü Duo, however, closed her eyes and carefully attuned herself to the surroundings.

"Young Lady, there are ten such boulders with hidden doors arranged in a circle. There is a large clearing with no vegetation at the center of the circle, a hundred meters ahead."

Bai Cheng blinked. "So this station can accommodate up to a hundred people?"

"Let’s go check it out."

Clearly, the clearing Lü Duo mentioned was the heart of this station.

Pushing through the dense forest, the three soon arrived at an open expanse.

As Lü Duo had described, a vast circular plaza lay before them.

The ground was meticulously paved with fine white gravel, unmistakably man-made.

At the center stood a low, round platform with steps leading up on all sides. At its peak rested a strange stone monument.

Bai Cheng and her two employees approached the center, ascending the steps to the monument.

Suddenly, the cryptic patterns on its surface shifted, forming lines of text that emitted an eerie red glow:

[Trophy Mission Detected: Pioneer Bai Cheng]

[Progress: Completed]

[The Thunder Monarch of the Slumbering Forest has awakened, and it will crush all who dare to challenge it!]

[Would you like to initiate the challenge?]

Bai Cheng raised an eyebrow and clicked [Yes] without hesitation.

The moment she did, the ground trembled violently. Bolts of lightning split the sky, plunging the world into darkness.

BOOM—!

A surge of purple energy, laced with thick blood energy, coalesced on the platform.

Zi Yuan and Lü Duo immediately tensed, ready for battle.

Zi Yuan drew her violet blade, her gaze sharp. Meanwhile, Lü Duo summoned an elegant longbow woven from emerald energy, her aura shifting dramatically.

Without a word, they positioned themselves. One in front and one behind, their movements perfectly synchronized. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Meanwhile, inside Boarding Platform #1...

Chi Yan stood outside the train, arms crossed, leaning lazily against the wall with his head slightly bowed as if napping.

The entrance to the station was blocked by a triangular screen, making it nearly impossible to miss the arrival of another train.

The station was deathly silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

But suddenly, Chi Yan’s ears twitched at the sound of a water droplet hitting the ground.

His eyes snapped open. "Why is there water in a station?"

He never doubted his hearing.

Then, a shadow flickered at the end of the train.

Chi Yan lunged after it without hesitation.

At the same time, a hazy, watery figure materialized near the train door.

An arm formed by water vapor reached for the handle, but the door didn’t budge.

"Locked?" The voice, neither distinctly male nor female, sounded surprised.

Then, Chi Yan’s cold, mocking voice came from behind.

"What a clumsy diversion."