Chapter 138: Six Answers?!!
"Hold on, Mia... Think before answering," Alexandra cautioned.
"Answering what?" Mia asked, frowning.
"I was just going to say the sound barrier is active." She added.
Alexandra and the others stared at her as if she had grown two heads.
"Really? I thought you were going to answer the riddle," Alexandra said.
"Answer that? I don’t even understand it! How can you get the answer to ’What is there one of in every corner and two of in every room’?"
"...?!"
The five shook their heads and turned back to the blood-written words before them.
"Can’t we just force our way through?" Joseph whispered.
"Not possible," Vancouver said, and added:
"That creature is a thousand times stronger than us. We can only answer the riddle."
"Guys... Guys."
They all turned to David, who tapped the air, and his Cosmic Brain appeared before them.
They were all stunned.
"My Cosmic Brain is back online," David added in surprise.
The rest quickly checked theirs and smiled as all their Cosmic Brains were now online.
"Maybe it’s because of this red dome. It must’ve block the restrictions of the Forbidden Zone," Alexandra said.
"Another reason we shouldn’t mess with that thing." She quickly asked her Cosmic Brain the riddle.
[Answer Is: O.]
[Riddle provided: What is there one of in every corner and two of in every room?.]
[Answer explanation: The answer is the letter "O." In the word "corner," the letter "O" appears once, and in the word "room," it appears twice.]
Alexandra whispered the answer to her group. Now they faced a new decision: who would say it aloud? If the answer was wrong, that person would die.
"I will do it!" Vancouver said, without a moment’s hesitation. He took a deep breath and yelled, "The answer is ’O’!"
Silence.
The Sphinx stared at him for a few seconds, its gaze fixed on his determined expression. Finally, it nodded.
"Good... First question, correct."
"Phew..." The group sighed in relief, then turned to look at the three strangers, who were busy racking their brains.
"Next question." They looked back at the Sphinx as the blood-written words appeared again.
[What is it that no one wants, but no one wants to lose?]
"A lawsuit!" Vancouver yelled without hesitation.
"Oh? Aren’t you the smart one... Second question is also correct," Sphinx said.
’So fast? Are they using something? Okay then, I will have to bring the hardest riddle of all,’ the Sphinx thought.
Alexandra and the group watched as the third riddle appeared before them.
[Which object has an eye but cannot see?]
The group quickly asked their Cosmic Brains, but what they saw next made their faces turn pale.
[Current question has multiple answers.]
[Here’s a breakdown of the riddle’s answers:]
[(1): Needle: The "eye" is the small hole at the top of the needle used to hold the thread.]
[(2): A potato: The "eyes" are the buds from which new potato plants can grow, but they are not for seeing.]
[(3): A hurricane: The "eye" is the calm, clear center of a storm.]
[(4): Flute: The "eye" is the hole which makes the sound... But they are not for seeing.]
[(5): A pipe: Has an "eye" but can’t see.]
[(6): Traffic lights: Has three eyes but aren’t for seeing.]
"There are six different answers," Alexandra muttered in horror.
"Which means only one of us will get out of here alive."
’Are there any other ways?’ she wondered.
[None found, all of these are answers to the questions, so I can’t pick a specific one.]
"Now what should we do?" Mike asked.
"We have to pick an answer, but we won’t lose anyone," Alexandra said, clenching her fists.
"I made a promise to the Commander, and I don’t plan on failing." Her eyes were fixed on the gate.
"Among these six answers, one is the right one... But which one?" She asked herself, "Are we going to remain here?"
_______
[An hour and fifteen minutes later.]
"Fifteen more minutes," the Sphinx said, staring at them with a smirk.
"This creature is enjoying this," David hissed, turning to Vancouver and the others.
"We’ve been standing here for over an hour and gotten nowhere... Let’s just go and try."
"Go and try? What if five of us die picking the wrong answer?" Mia stammered, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You guys? Are you saying we sit here until the gate disappears?" he asked. The group looked at one another and slowly shook their heads.
"You’re right. We can’t just give up and wait to see another day here... I’ll take the lead."
The five nodded in agreement. With a resolute determination, they called out:
"We got the answer!"
"Finally," the Sphinx said, turning toward the group with a bored expression:
"These three guys have only answered the first question. They look so pitiful." It said, moving its gaze back to Alexandra.
"So...? What is your answer?" It asked, waiting for Alexandra answer.
Alexandra exhaled, her heart pounding. Not only her, but the other five were also worried.
"Needle is the answer!" she said loudly, her eyes locked on the Sphinx.
Silence...
Everyone held their breath, staring at the Sphinx, waiting for its words or action.
WHOOSH!
They turned to the gate as it glowed for a second, then faded completely.
"It has been centuries since someone so easily answered my three questions. I am impressed with you six," the Sphinx finally said, making way for them.
"Hurry up... The time is almost up," it added.
Alexandra and her team nodded and ran toward the gate without hesitation.
’Luckily, we can use our Cosmic Brains. That’s the only reason we could complete all the questions... This worked because this creature doesn’t have a Cosmic Brain, which means it isn’t from our galaxy... Then what is its origin?’ Alexandra thought as she rushed toward the gate.
"No way! We won’t stand here while they enter the gate! Come on, brothers! Let’s go!" Alastor yelled, seeing the six rushing toward the gate.
"Go. I will take care of these three," the Sphinx said. The group nodded and entered the gate one after another.
"We finally escaped the Forbidden Zone."