The little monster acted swiftly and smoothly. He seemed very capable of unlocking the Eight Diagrams Locks.
Sure enough, he quickly found a knack to do that. After a few minutes, he successfully unlocked the Eight Diagrams Locks. Then, he eyed Geoffrey curiously, as though he wanted to size up his capabilities.
Because of two prior experiences, Geoffrey was now able to maintain his composure. In fact, he acted as though he was in no rush.
He even observed the other monsters for a while before reaching out his hands to the Eight Diagrams Lock. He grabbed each side of the Eight Diagrams Lock with both hands and gently twisted it, unlocking it with ease.
Then he unlocked the second lock, the third, the fourth...
Once he'd successfully unlocked all six Eight Diagrams Locks, Geoffrey smiled at the little monster in front of him. Then, he began to reconfigure the pieces of the locks.
He paired the biggest two pieces of Eight Diagrams Locks with the smallest two pieces. Then the middle-sized ones were pieced and paired with them. All in all, a strange shape was formed.
There were endless permutations to the combinations of the pieces of the Eight Diagrams Locks. As Geoffrey's flexible hands continued to move nimbly, these Eight Diagrams Locks seemed to come to life, changing shape constantly.
After Geoffrey formed a large structure with all the Eight Diagrams Locks, he put it to the side and gently flicked at it with his finger. Immediately, the structure collapsed into small pieces again.
The little monster looked at Geoffrey's series of movements, his eyes revealing a look of surprise. It never occurred to him that this thing could be toyed with like this.
Geoffrey gestured towards the little monster and leaned against the side of the cage.
After their time was up, the other losers in the underground space began to be wiped out again.
Plop! Plop! Plop...
A series of sounds rang out, indicating that another batch of monsters had been eliminated. Geoffrey's eyes swept throughout the cages as he did a rough headcount. It seemed only a small number of monsters were left.
On the third day, a new round of test began. This time, they were asked to unlock an exquisite chain made of one hundred rings.
Geoffrey had never seen a chain of one hundred rings before.
Fortunately for him, he was very smart. After studying it for a while, he figured it out. In no time, he had unraveled it easily.
In comparison, the little monster on the other side scratched his head and ears, as if it was very difficult for him to unfasten this strange chain.
"You find it difficult, right?" Geoffrey called out to him with a shrug.
However, while the little monster was not stupid, he was also determined. Although the chain of one hundred rings was complicated, he tried again and again. It took him more than an hour to find out the technique of untying the chain, but eventually he separated the rings, one by one.
When the little monster unfastened the last ring, he let out a sigh of relief. Then, he turned to eye Geoffrey, intrigued. It seemed that now, he viewed Geoffrey as a worthy opponent.
Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop...
Time was over.
Geoffrey could hear the sound of more and more monsters being eliminated.
There weren't many monsters that had survived before, and now the sounds were sparser.
Then, three spiders emerged from the entrance to the underground space. One of them opened the cage and plucked Geoffrey out, locking him to its back.
The little monster was also treated the same way.
In addition to the two of them left in the underground space, there was a ten-foot-tall black ape, which was also locked on the back of a spider.
"Are there only three of us left?"
Sitting on the back of the spider, Geoffrey realized only now that the underground space was very empty. Were all the other creatures eliminated?
How terrifying!
Rustle, rustle...
The three spiders carried them, continuing deeper into the space.
At the very end of the underground space, there were layers of stairs, on which three spiders were slowly climbing.
The black ape curled up on the spider's back in silence. The little monster looked around briefly before eventually locking his eyes on Geoffrey. He was very interested in him.
Geoffrey was also used to the little monster's strange behavior. He just pretended not to notice it and decidedly closed his eyes, deep in thought.
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