"Alright, alright..."

Though Sphinx's expression was extremely astonished, it still strictly adhered to its settings.

So when Ronald gave the correct answer, it quickly adjusted its posture, then spoke with a dignified and beautiful expression:

"Adventurer, congratulations on answering my question correctly."

"As a reward for correctly answering two questions, you can make a choice now—either receive a reward from me for the right answers, or you can let me provide you some assistance within the rules."

"What do you intend to choose, adventurer?"

"..."

Having heard Sphinx's offer of a reward, Ronald lowered his gaze, quickly coming up with an idea:

"I choose the latter, and I need you to do me a favor."

"Please go on."

"You should know, there are quite a few evil pursuers behind us, chasing the two of us. So I hope you can pose very difficult questions to them and help us buy as much time as possible."

Upon hearing Ronald's request, Sphinx seemed extremely pleased.

The monster guarding the maze didn't propose any additional conditions, directly nodding in agreement to Ronald's request:

"Quite a good suggestion!"

"Adventurer, you can trust me."

"That group chasing you will definitely not get past my obstacle in a short time!"

"..."

"Roar—"

Things turned out to be quite coincidental.

Just as Sphinx finished speaking, Ronald heard the sound of claws running on the ground, accompanied by the roars of monsters behind him.

Turning his head to look.

It turned out to be Bai Chuan's predatory individual, charging out from the corner of the maze.

Even in the cartoon world constructed by "Maze Picture Book," the terrifying appearance of these fellows could still be observed to some extent.

Crawling on the ground in a hideous form, their entire white-skinned bodies were covered with horrid spikes, the densely packed fangs in their large mouths couldn't even close properly.

Seeing the appearance of the predatory individual.

Ronald had no doubt about one thing—if this were reality, an ordinary person meeting such a terrifying creature would likely have only one outcome: being devoured alive.

"..."

"Nicole, let's go!"

Seeing the terrifying posture coming towards them, Ronald grabbed Nicole's small, rough hand, almost dragging the investigator girl, as they both crossed the place where Sphinx was seated.

Sphinx smiled while watching the two pass through, then turned its head to look at the newly arrived predatory individual:

"Little fellows, hold on a moment."

"I have a riddle challenge here, want to give it a try?"

Behind Ronald and Nicole, Sphinx naturally adhered to the rules, obstructing Bai Chuan's predatory individual.

However, the situation came as a bit of a surprise.

These terrifying creatures didn't possess the higher wisdom required for communication. When faced with Sphinx's obstruction, they lunged toward the creature like true beasts.

"How dare you!"

For those who dared to challenge its rules, Sphinx let out a roar, and as a lion, its lower body pounced forward simultaneously.

Their encounter was without suspense.

The first batch of pursuing predatory individuals was crushed under Sphinx's feet in the blink of an eye.

Crunch crunch—

Soon, the dense sound of bones and flesh breaking echoed.

In just a moment, there was only a pile of remnants under Sphinx's feet, without any living creature.

After completing this massacre without suspense in a matter of seconds.

Sphinx calmly returned to its original position, then sat down with a dignified posture and turned to give Ronald a gentle smile.

"..."

Although this creature didn't speak, Ronald understood its meaning.

—Adventurer, wasn't that well done?

"..."

Ronald politely nodded to the creature, then pulled Nicole and continued to flee deeper into the maze.

Maintaining this state, the two of them traveled a certain distance.

Being dragged around in the air by Ronald, it took Nicole a while to regain her senses:

"Ronald, what was the question just now!"

"I couldn't understand your conversation at all, eh?"

Ronald promptly explained to Nicole:

"The one just now was Sphinx, originally a monster from mythology that blockades passersby with riddles to kill."

"As for its riddle, it's actually two: one is—what animal walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening? The answer is naturally human because this riddle hints at the stages of childhood, adulthood, and old age."

"The second riddle—there is a pair of sisters, the older sister gives birth to the younger one, and the younger one gives birth to the older one, which actually hints at the day and night cycle."

Nicole was enlightened.

"I understand now, this riddle is great!"

"Next time when I gather with folks from the bureau, I can use this question to test them too."

Ronald glanced back at Nicole.

The investigator girl now looked calm and indifferent, seemingly having not let the previous tense situation bother her in the slightest.

Faced with her carefree demeanor.

Ronald suddenly had a thought and then continued:

"Moreover, there's another thing—though it has a very pretty face, it's actually a male."

"Ha? It's a guy!" Nicole predictably widened her eyes in disbelief, quickly asking, "How is that possible? It's so pretty, eh!"

Ronald continued his explanation:

"Because ultimately, Sphinx is just a monster."

"If we couldn't answer its questions correctly, the end meeting the predatory individuals just now would be the same for us. Its appearance is only a facade to hide its savageness."

"..."

Informed by Ronald of the truth.

Nicole's momentary excitement quickly dissipated.

Walking through the maze guarded by Sphinx, the two continued to solve the labyrinth and headed south.

The facts proved.

Sphinx's obstruction to the predatory individual was very effective.

It took Nicole and Ronald a full day to finally make their way out of this enormous, unbelievably complex labyrinth. During this period, they encountered no additional disturbances, not even the noise of predatory individuals pursuing them.

The two breathed a sigh of relief and slowly walked towards the exit of this icy maze.

At this last moment.

Nicole took another look back at the scenery behind them, with some melancholy:

"Ronald, I think I never want to walk through a maze like this again in my lifetime."

"..."

Nicole said this with a touch of sentiment, but she was met with silence.

She didn't receive any response from Ronald.

Once the investigator girl realized something, she turned her gaze forward, then she realized again the situation they were facing.

Because right in front of them.

A stretch of several kilometer-wide seawater blocked their path.

And what's more troubling was that when the two attempted to swim across, they discovered the edge of the water was protected by the rules of "Maze Picture Book."

Just walking on the water's edge, they found no way to continue forward.

Let alone trying to swim across!

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