Maze

As the pool water changed, Ophelia glanced at it but didn't translate directly. Instead, she looked at Luo Jun, her seemingly calm gaze revealing a hint of doubt.

"What's wrong? What's the problem?"

Seeing Ophelia's reaction for the first time, everyone was very curious. So many shocking questions and even more mind-blowing answers before hadn't moved her. How bizarre must this question from the spring be?

After a few seconds of silence, Ophelia asked, "What did you have for dinner last night?"

Uh... what?!

The others doubted they had misheard, but Jin Fei immediately exclaimed, "Impossible! Did you translate it wrong?"

Ophelia said, "No, these are all commonly used characters in the Ancient Parami; I couldn't possibly be mistaken."

"Indeed..." Zhuge Chi nodded. "What to eat for dinner is a very mundane question, there shouldn't be any obscure words... I suspect that this might not be the literal meaning, but some kind of implication?"

"What could last night's dinner be hinting at?" Ottos blinked, looking at Luo Jun: "The woman you slept with last night?"

"Are you crazy? He was with us on the airship last night." Jin Fei said to Ophelia, "I still suspect there's a translation error. Take a closer look..."

While they were still arguing, Luo Jun stepped forward and replied, "Canned pork and beans, jam, and dry bread."

These are all supplies that everyone brought; they're still in their backpacks.

"Hey, don't answer so quickly!" Jin Fei tried to stop him, but it was too late; the words reflected in the pool had already begun to change.

"Correct answer."

Is that really the problem?!

"Why should I?!"

"That's unfair! You cheated! Tell me, what methods did you use?"

The gourmets and the dream shooters were all furious, questioning the night, but Luo Jun just shrugged.

Heavenly secrets must not be revealed!

Now, only Ophelia remained to answer the question. The nun stepped forward and placed her hand on the stone tablet.

Everyone was curious about what secrets would be uncovered about her.

Although both she and Mu Ning gave off a cold and aloof vibe, the difference between them was obvious to everyone. Mu Ning exuded a detached indifference that came from having seen through all the truths. Despite her seemingly cold demeanor, her interactions with others were still quite natural.

But Ophelia was completely different. This mysterious nun sent by the Holy See headquarters was more like a machine than a human being. Her tone of voice was completely flat, and most of the time she didn't even look at people when she spoke. Her body language was also minimal... giving people an eerie sense of oppression.

What kind of embarrassing questions might a woman like this have? Would she elicit a different reaction when asked?

Everyone was eagerly anticipating it.

The pool water changed, and a line of Ancient Parami script appeared.

And then... that was it...

Ophelia wasn't translated, so they couldn't understand it either!

I forgot about that; of course, they have no reason to translate something that would embarrass them!

All eyes are on Ophelia. Even if you don't translate, you still have to answer, right? Let's hear your answer!

Ophelia parted her lips slightly. "*&%...&￥*%*%()&)&"

The answer was also in Ancient Parami Language!

Then, the pool water changed, and a word appeared... Having seen it so many times, they recognized it without translation and answered correctly...

Damn it... she's too cunning! Everyone looked at Ophelia with indignation... and Night!

Amidst the disapproving gazes of the crowd, the building in front of the fountain slowly opened, revealing a passageway.

The group continued onward, and after passing the Honest Fountain, the enormous pyramid seemed not far away, but the path ahead was not smooth.

After walking about a hundred meters forward, they came to a T-junction, where they could only go left or right. The group chose to go left, and after turning two corners, they came to a Dead Alley. In front of them was a statue of a warrior holding a long sword. Just as they were about to turn back, the road behind them was blocked by a moving building, and the statue slowly came to life.

These small monsters posed no threat to them, and after easily dealing with them, what opened up was not the path ahead, but the building that had trapped them behind them.

Returning to the T-junction, I chose the right-hand path. This time, however, I encountered numerous forks in the road. After trying each one, I found myself facing either traps, Dead Alley guarded by monsters, or even ending up back in familiar territory after circling around. This wasted a lot of time.

There is no distinction between day and night here; only at the top of the central pyramid, there is a huge gem that shines brightly day and night, just like the sun, making people's biological clocks somewhat disordered.

"The second half looks short, but it's a huge maze!" Jin Fei looked up at the pyramid, which seemed so close at hand. "So many branching paths, I feel like I've already circled half of the pyramid."

"My reconnaissance abilities are of no help either," Mu Ning sighed. "They can only extend a few dozen meters at most, not enough to reach the end of every side path..."

"To reach the pyramids... this is the only way forward." Zhuge Chi was also somewhat frustrated. This lost ruin, Amgilla, exuded an irresistible power. Most people would only feel their movements were restricted, but Zhuge Chi, with his highest level of cultivation, felt it much more acutely than others...

This is a form of repression, and could even be described as an attack!

The longer he stayed, the stronger his urge to escape became...

"Do you think it's possible that the previous teams didn't even make it into the pyramid, but got lost in this maze?" Ottos asked. "Maybe we'll stumble upon them by chance while we're wandering around aimlessly."

"That possibility cannot be ruled out," Zhuge Chi said through gritted teeth. "It's also possible that they encountered a trial like the Path of Vice ... We still don't know what happened to the missing Rolf and Ma Lei. This ruin has too many secrets. I think we haven't figured it out yet..."

"Instead of analyzing it this way, let's keep it simple." At this moment, Luo Jun stepped forward. "Come with me."

As he spoke, he walked to the crossroads in front of him, took out a small knife, and tossed it into the air.

The knife bounced a few times on the ground before finally pointing to the right.

"So casual?" Ottos was stunned.

Jin Fei remembered that Luo Jun had done something similar when he chose the Path of Vice, so he followed him. "We don't have any other way to tell, do we?"

The group continued along the road on the right, and after turning two corners, they arrived at a small square with a roundabout of eight roads in all directions.

A place I've never seen before!

This is a good sign. Generally speaking, as long as it's not Dead Alley or a return to the starting point, it means that progress is being made.

However, there was nothing particularly challenging about this square; it was just a simple crossroads. Luo Jun stepped forward and picked up the knife again.

"This way." Without hesitation, he walked in the direction the knife tip was pointing. The others hesitated for a moment, but could only follow.

Ten more times... Luo Jun silently counted in his mind.

Just moments before, as everyone was discussing how to navigate the maze, Luo Jun finally heard the long-awaited mission prompt in his mind.

"Trigger Quest: Arrive at the Pyramid"

Mission Difficulty: 85

Severity Coefficient: 12 times

"Mission Consume: Five Uses"

"Mission Quota: Twelve uses"

"Mission Time Limit: 24 hours"

"Accept or not?"

When the task was triggered, Luo Jun was stunned for a moment, but then he deciphered two pieces of information from it.

First, the Master is indeed in the pyramid. Based on experience, the tasks assigned by the dice are always things that are beneficial to him or that he has a strong desire for. His strongest wish right now is to rescue the Master, so guiding him to the pyramid means that the Master is indeed there.

Secondly, Master might not be able to hold on for much longer.

Severity Coefficient of twelve generally indicates two situations: either the host's life or death, or success or failure would have severe consequences, such as tens of thousands of lives lost or a massive catastrophe.

From the first perspective, even if the mission fails, the supplies for a few people should be enough to last for many days. During this time, the dice will refresh every day, and he will eventually be able to find his way to the pyramid.

So, even if he doesn't reach the pyramids this time, he probably won't die... but his Master might not be so lucky.

His team has been missing for several days. If they are lost in the pyramids and injured, their condition is likely very bad.

Previous missions never had explicit time limits because the events they were related to were inherently time-sensitive. For example, when rescuing someone, it was clear that the person would die if they were even a step too late. Another example is the previous case-solving mission, where the Fifth Elder directly gave the time limit without requiring any additional instructions from the mission leader.

But this time is different. The mission has a clear deadline, which is additional information that if they don't arrive within 24 hours, there will be big problems!

Furthermore, according to Luo Jun's speculation, his Master and the others may have mastered some secret of the pyramids, and if they cannot arrive in time to help them, it may trigger a huge disaster!

This is the significance of a twelve-fold Severity Coefficient!

Therefore, Luo Jun did not hesitate at all. At each intersection, he decisively threw away his knife and quickly crossed the road!

Fortunately, most intersections only have two or three forks in the road, making it not too difficult to throw the knife. With the Double Insurance, it's almost always successful. Even if it fails occasionally, it's just losing the knife, and there's no need to Regret; you can just throw it again.

Using methods like drawing lots or spinning wheels to indirectly determine events is, to some extent, exploiting loopholes, but it's not without its costs.

Because success brings benefits while failure incurs no consequences, the Severity Coefficient is significantly lower than a direct judgment of the event, and the experience gained from success is greatly diminished...

But it's much better than failing and then stubbornly continuing down the wrong path.

After a series of attempts to point the way with knives, the group finally arrived at a T-junction.

Luo Jun glanced at the Mission Description; he had run out of dice rolls, but they hadn't reached the pyramid yet...

Looking up at the pyramids so close by, seemingly right behind this building, they exude an immense sense of oppression...

Luo Jun estimated that he would reach the pyramid after passing at most three more intersections... However, given the nature of the previous maze, without the guidance of dice, choosing the wrong path at these intersections could lead to a very complex and vast network of branches.

Returning to a previous location is considered good; you can rely on memory to find your way back. The worst is getting lost in a completely new maze, not knowing how long it will take to find your way out.

(End of this chapter)