Chapter 121: The Password Door

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: The Password Door

Seraphina Sinclair didn’t make any rash moves. These things looked as if they could reanimate at any moment.

Besides...

’Come to think of it, we ran into a monster in the first area, and another in the second.’

’That means the chances of these things coming to life are pretty much one hundred percent.’

’And, based on our experience from the second level, the monsters are bound to awaken the moment we find the path to the next area.’

’These monsters are packed so tightly together. If they all wake up, we’re screwed, aren’t we?’

The danger was real, but the most pressing task was finding the path to the next area. The instance only lasted four hours; being trapped here was the real path to ruin.

Seraphina Sinclair thought as she carefully observed the vines, which were twisted into humanoid shapes.

Hannah Morgan was also frowning, her expression exceptionally serious. Her eyes scanned every one of the chaotically arranged humanoid vines in the space, but she couldn’t discern any pattern.

It was the same for Seraphina Sinclair. ’Are these things just completely random?’ she wondered.

’Or maybe we’ve been focusing on the wrong thing ever since we came in.’

’If the distribution of these humanoid vines isn’t the key, then what is?’

Seraphina Sinclair was thinking, Hannah Morgan was thinking, and Chloe Reed was cowering quietly in a corner.

With Magnus Barrett gone, the boisterous team was much quieter.

Milo Shaw didn’t know what he should be doing or what he should be looking at. After all, Hannah Morgan had always been the brains of their operation.

He stood before a humanoid vine. The top of this one was an unopened flower, while the one next to it had two leaves instead.

’Could there be some kind of pattern to these things?’

Milo Shaw shook his head. Just thinking about it made him dizzy.

Meanwhile, Hannah Morgan had also considered this. She keenly noticed that the flowers were in different stages of bloom, and the number of leaves also seemed to mean something.

She frowned. Just as she was about to investigate further, she saw Seraphina Sinclair suddenly put on a strange monocle.

’Isn’t that something you’d see in cosplay? What modern person uses one of those?’

Hannah Morgan guessed she was probably a bit nearsighted and had taken it out to see more clearly.

’Maybe she hasn’t managed to get a proper pair of glasses?’

’So she has to make do with that.’

Hannah Morgan was no fool. On the contrary, she was very intelligent.

But it’s nearly impossible for someone to imagine something they’ve never seen before.

She didn’t know that such equipment existed in this world, so her thoughts naturally wouldn’t stray in that direction.

Milo Shaw was even more direct. "Serafelle, that monocle looks pretty cool! How bad is your eyesight?"

Seraphina Sinclair ignored him. A question like that wasn’t worth a reply.

’Am I supposed to correct him and tell him it’s a piece of special equipment?’

Seraphina Sinclair had no interest in flaunting her gear in his face.

She had only taken it out to use [Mystic Insight].

The Description for [Mystic Insight] was very clear: "Ignores all negative effects on vision."

’We’re clearly underground with no skylight, yet it’s as bright as day.’

’We can’t even tell where the light source is.’

’What else could it be?’

’Something is obviously obscuring our vision!’

The moment [Mystic Insight] took effect, Seraphina Sinclair saw the source of the ambient glow. The tiny specks of light filling the air formed a distinct ribbon of light.

Most importantly, by following this ribbon of light, Seraphina Sinclair easily discovered the pattern in the flowers and leaves.

The principle was simple.

Trying to find the answer by looking only at the problem can be complex. But when you already know the answer and look back at the problem, a pattern-finding puzzle like this is no different than a simple arithmetic problem like "what is one plus one."

The distribution of the humanoid vines did indeed have a pattern; it was just too well-hidden to be easily discovered.

Now, guided by the ribbon of light, Seraphina Sinclair could see the pattern with ease. Each ribbon of light ultimately pointed to a humanoid vine with leaves on its head.

From there, the conclusion was easy to reach.

’It’s a password,’ she realized. ’And a three-digit one at that.’

’And if there’s a password, there has to be a door.’

’Where could the door be?’

"It’s a password."

Seraphina Sinclair removed the monocle and slipped it into her pocket—in reality, she was stowing it in her Silver Moon Earrings. Worried the others wouldn’t grasp her meaning, she added, "The message from the vines is a password. Let’s find the door."

She offered no further explanation.

Hannah Morgan immediately looked at her. Following Seraphina Sinclair’s gaze, she also saw the three humanoid vines topped with leaves. She asked tentatively, "Is the password three-five-one?"

Seraphina Sinclair nodded, her gaze already sweeping the space as she considered where the door might be hidden.

Milo Shaw, however, grew excited. He looked at Seraphina Sinclair and opened his mouth to ask something, but her focused expression stopped him. He had no choice but to turn to Hannah Morgan. "Hannah! How did you figure that out? How did it become a password door? We already found the code?! You guys are amazing!"

Hannah Morgan gave him a couple of noncommittal replies, but her gaze kept drifting back to Seraphina Sinclair.

’I still don’t understand why it’s a password, or why it’s those specific humanoid vines,’ she thought.

’But she figured it out after just a moment’s glance.’

’This woman... She’s an absolute, one-of-a-kind genius.’

’How could someone like her be a complete unknown?’

’Who is she?’

As Hannah Morgan’s mind raced with speculation, Seraphina Sinclair had already located the door.

As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is the safest. The keypad was right next to the entrance where they had first come in.

It was a seemingly ordinary stone wall, but upon closer inspection, one could spot three extremely well-hidden circular indentations, nearly identical in color to the vines.

"Over there," Seraphina Sinclair said, pointing to the stone wall. "Go enter 351."

Milo Shaw eagerly volunteered. "I’ll go!"

He hurried over to the wall and reached out to press the indentations.

Sure enough, the spot his finger touched depressed slightly, emitting a faint mechanical click.

He pressed the numbers in order, all while clutching the Sunflower to his chest, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice!

This was the most intense moment. Even Seraphina Sinclair had silently taken out a rune. The moment the door opened, the monsters would come to life!

No one could help being nervous in a situation like this. So what if you were mentally prepared? When faced with life and death, it was only natural for your heart to pound in your chest!

As the last number was entered, a dull CLICK echoed from beneath their feet.

The entire space trembled slightly, and the motionless humanoid vines seemed to shudder along with it, as if they would spring back to life at any second.