Chapter 243: Enigma (Edited)
Alan couldn't respond.
The Sphinx patiently waited for a while and then sighed, "Please, leave."
Alan took two frustrated steps back, standing at the end of the line.
"I mean, leave." The Sphinx was not satisfied with this, "Go!"
Alan's face changed, "But you said there is no way out..."
"I also said, you can try." The muscles in the Sphinx's arms bulged, and its face turned sullen, with a dangerous gleam in its eyes.
Seeing this reaction, Alyosha put his hand on his rifle and looked at Tom, who nodded, signaling him not to make any moves. Alyosha relaxed again.
This subtle movement couldn't escape the Sphinx's eyes, but it didn't take Alyosha's weapon to heart. With a flick of its tail, the mouth of Alyosha's rifle twisted.
At this sight, Alyosha's face suddenly changed. He realized that the Sphinx before him was not an ordinary lion with a human head.
Forced by the Sphinx, Alan could only take a step towards the tunnel he had come from. His legs were trembling, and he felt that going back was not the right decision.
He looked at Tom with almost pleading eyes, but as if Tom didn't see anything, he turned to look at Hermione; after the twitch of her nose, he knew that Tom and Hermione were the only two wizards who could save him here.
Hermione had a kind heart and wanted to plead on Alan's behalf, but before she could say anything, Tom reached out his arm and wrapped it around her waist, holding her close and pinching the soft flesh around her waist, telling her to keep her mouth shut.
Seeing this, a flash of resentment flickered in Alan's eyes. He walked to the edge of the platform with a sullen face, took a deep breath, and walked towards the hallway.
He walked forward, but nothing happened. Then he walked faster and faster, and before him appeared the small door he had entered through. He ran excitedly, and the door turned into a growing point of light, and finally, he rushed out of the door and was outside the pyramid in an instant.
"Haha! Who said there was no way back?!" He was excited, panting heavily, unusually thrilled by his escape. "Damn it, I won't..."
His words choked in his throat: only now did he realize that the outside world bore no resemblance to what he had seen just before entering!
He was actually in a bustling construction site!
A huge granite block was being dragged beside him by dark-skinned men, naked or wearing only a pair of shorts around their buttocks, while men with dog heads and muscular bodies mercilessly whipped them with greased whips.
Upon noticing Alan's presence, the man with the dog head approached him and spoke a few words in the same language as the Sphinx, and then several slaves dressed in tunics approached, held Alan, stripped him, and threw him into the team carrying stones.
Alan struggled, but he couldn't change his fate. When he resisted being thrown into the group, the whip of the man with the dog head mercilessly fell on his back. All Alan felt was a sharp pain that pierced his soul, and his back immediately swelled with a whip mark that hurt like hell...
Tom and the others watched as Alan entered the tunnel, took two steps, and then stood still. After a while, a fresh breeze blew through the tunnel, and Alan fell face-first, rolling his body along the tunnel.
Everyone was horrified.
"Your soul will serve the great gods for eternity, until it dissipates, and your body will sustain this place." The Sphinx's calm voice sent a shiver down the rest of the group's spines.
Dr. Hunter was crying.
The Sphinx's gaze shifted to Tom and Hermione, and it said softly, "Don't worry, you are priests, not the same as slaves, and you will join the Son of God in their eternal pleasures."
Tom smiled bitterly, unaware that wizards could be given preferential treatment.
"Your turn," the Sphinx looked at the old Yushatu, "Same question, tell me the answer."
Old Yushatu whispered, "The lantern."
It was the light, the darkness beneath the lamp, that lost the light.
The Sphinx smiled affectionately. It stood up, stretched its two front legs, and made its way towards the old man.
Old Yushatu silently walked to the end of the platform, where he waited for the others.
After the old man, Tom arrived, and the Sphinx once again paved the way, presenting Tom with a whole new puzzle. Tom's body tensed slightly, feeling a hint of tension.
"I am the black son of a white father; I am a wingless bird that flies straight into the clouds. When I was born, everyone who touched me cried; once born, I would soon vanish into thin air."
The riddle was much longer this time, and Tom, who had heard it, let out a long sigh: this riddle, he would solve it!
"Smoke."
"Correct."
Tom had finished as well.
He too crossed the platform, giving Hermione an encouraging look.
The Sphinx sat with crossed legs in front of Hermione, "If you don't say it, you say my name, and you have to say it. But if you can say my name with words, it will be a miracle."
It looked at Hermione with a smile on its face. Hermione stood there without saying a word.
After a while, the Sphinx smiled satisfactorily, "A beautiful answer, clever girl. Silence is the best answer, isn't it?" It made way for Hermione.
Once Hermione passed, Tom calmed down.
Despite his emotional crisis, Dr. Hunter, who was behind Hermione in line, had easily passed with enough knowledge, and now only Sara and Alyosha were left.
"What organ of the human body, under what circumstances, will increase its size tenfold?"
Hermione blushed slightly at the question.
Alyosha smiled, not expecting the question to be so easy, so he confidently said a word.
The Sphinx returned the smile, "Wrong answer." It bit into Alyosha's body with a violent bite, chewing forcefully, blood spilling everywhere.
Sara, standing next to Alyosha, was stunned.
The Sphinx enjoyed for a while before realizing that there was still one person who hadn't taken the test, and it looked at Sara, blood running down the corners of its lips.
"Tell me, your answer," it licked the corners of its scarlet mouth, looking extremely excited.
"The pupils, under the condition of being strongly stimulated." Sara hesitated in answering the question, the Sphinx growled, seeming extremely disappointed, but it had to make way for Sara.
"You... answered correctly."