Chapter 54

At this moment, Lanling was truly grateful to the穿越者 (time traveler) Dragon Emperor who had come to this world thousands of years ago. If it weren't for him unifying the world and making Chinese characters the universal script, Lanling would have died here today.

The Shadow Spider Queen was taken aback, her blood-red eyes flashing with a bloodthirsty light, then she giggled, "Wow, so our handsome man has such an outstanding brain. I love devouring brains like this the most."

Then, the Shadow Spider Queen licked her mouthparts and smiled cruelly at Lanling, "Little handsome, when dinner time comes, I'll still pick you. I told you, I love sucking the brains of smart people the most."

Upon hearing this, Lanling was utterly terrified.

After saying this, the Shadow Spider Queen's massive body disappeared into one of the countless tunnels in the cave.

However, even though she was gone, everyone present was still completely unable to move or make any sound. The only thing they could do was watch.

Yejingyu was still unconscious.

According to the giant monster, Lanling would be the Shadow Spider Queen's first target at every mealtime from now on.

Of course, she would still pretend to ask questions. If Lanling couldn't answer, his brain would be sucked out.

Of course, if he could answer, would the Shadow Spider Queen really not eat? So Lanling felt that even if he answered every question correctly, he could only survive for one or two days at most. This monster wouldn't really let him starve to death, right?

He had to find a way to save himself.

"Devil Star, what can we do to save ourselves now?" Lanling asked in his heart.

"Nothing," Devil Star replied straightforwardly, answering very frankly.

"Aren't you extremely powerful and strong?" Lanling asked.

Devil Star replied, "That's true, but I haven't absorbed enough energy yet. The Shadow Spider Queen is an incredibly powerful mental monster, her cultivation is more than a thousand times ours. What can I do?"

At this moment, Devil Star was no help. If the Shadow Spider Queen pierced her fangs into his brain to suck out his brain, he would certainly die, even with Devil Star.

In the next few hours, Lanling racked his brain to find a way to save himself, but he was completely at a loss.

In the face of a power disparity of millions of times, nothing could make up for this gap. Or could he rely on his intelligence? Or his eloquence?

In this tense time, it felt like years had passed, yet it also felt like time had flown by.

Unconsciously, six hours had passed.

"Ha ha ha!" The terrifying Shadow Spider Queen appeared before everyone again, bringing another nightmare.

"Time flies, we meet again. It's my dinner time," the Shadow Spider Queen said coquettishly, then crawled directly in front of Lanling, extending her furry, terrifying claws and lightly brushing them across Lanling's face.

Instantly, his scalp almost exploded.

"Little handsome, I really missed you in these few hours. You are so beautiful, I really look forward to how delicious your brain will be," the Shadow Spider Queen said, her face very close to Lanling's. The stench from her mouth made Lanling wish he could die.

Next, the Shadow Spider Queen got even closer to Lanling, even pressing her large belly against his face. The feeling almost made Lanling faint.

"Listen, my stomach is so hungry, it's rumbling," the Shadow Spider Queen said, "So, our riddle game is about to start again?"

Lanling immediately perked up his ears, afraid to miss a single word.

"This time, it's another riddle. It's not on top, it's not below, guess a character," the Shadow Spider Queen said smugly.

This riddle was very similar to the one at noon, and the Shadow Spider Queen was proud of her intelligence.

"I'm starting the countdown. Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

Lanling suppressed his nervousness and immediately thought. In just two seconds, he got the answer.

"One!" Lanling shouted, "The answer is one!"

That's right, not on top, not below, it's the character 'one'.

The Shadow Spider Queen's face changed, her eyes flashing with a cruel light, her two fangs twitching.

This handsome human actually answered again. Was she going to starve like this?

Instantly, she had a strong impulse to pierce her fangs into this pretty boy's eyes, suck out his brain, and tear him to pieces.

But she still held back. After all, this was a rule she set herself, to toy with human intelligence to gain mental pleasure.

"Since you're so smart, how about I add another question?" the Shadow Spider Queen said coquettishly.

Lanling knew this thing would cheat. If he answered one question, she would keep adding more, and he would certainly die. There must be a question he couldn't answer.

No, he had to block this possibility.

So, Lanling said, "Add a question? No problem. This meal, you can add one question, the next meal, you can add two, and the meal after that, you can add three."

This was a kind of reverse psychology, to prevent the Shadow Spider Queen from adding questions indefinitely until he couldn't answer.

The Shadow Spider Queen couldn't stand this. The feeling of superiority that humans had, as if they were the only intelligent beings in the world and everyone else was ignorant livestock.

Lanling guessed correctly. The Shadow Spider Queen had intended to keep adding questions until Lanling couldn't answer, then directly suck out his brain, tear him to pieces, and eat him bit by bit, or force the other humans to eat him.

But now, Lanling's superior intelligence and arrogance irritated her. She immediately said, "Fine, I'll follow your rules. Two questions this meal, three the next. I want to see how long you can survive."

Then, the Shadow Spider Queen racked her brain to recall the memories she had devoured, trying to pick a more difficult question.

"Blue in some places, purple in others, what character is it?" the Shadow Spider Queen asked.

"Vegetable!" Lanling answered directly, without waiting for her to count down. These riddles were too simple.

"Ah..." The Shadow Spider Queen immediately screamed in rage, extending her fangs to kill Lanling.

Lanling sneered, "Of course, you can suck out my brain now. But if you do, you'll break your own rules, which will become a mental obstacle for you, constantly reminding you that you're not smart. In the future, your mental cultivation will be stuck, making no progress."

The Shadow Spider Queen paused, feeling that Lanling was right.

In the endless years, why had she been so happy and found time easy to pass? It was because of her intelligence and confidence.

If she broke the rules today and directly ate this pretty boy, it would mean she wasn't smart, and her previous confidence and pride would be false.

This shadow would become a permanent mental obstacle, and she would never escape it.

No, she couldn't break the rules. She had to defeat humans in the way they were best at, to prove that she was smarter, more intelligent, and superior to humans.

Taking a deep breath, she endured her hunger and smiled coquettishly, "Very well, it looks like I'll be hungry tonight. But don't worry, in eight hours, it will be breakfast time, and there will be three even harder questions waiting for you. My pretty boy, you have eight more hours to live."

With that, the terrifying Shadow Spider Queen disappeared without a trace.

Instantly, all the prey hanging in the cave sighed in relief. This was the first time no one had died during the monster's mealtime.

Then, everyone looked at Lanling with admiration and gratitude.

Because Lanling had not only saved himself but also saved everyone else.

At this moment, Lanling closed his eyes and began to sleep, conserving his energy. After all, at this point, being anxious and afraid was useless. He needed to rest and prepare for the intellectual storm in eight hours.

...

Eight hours passed quickly.

Soon, the terrifying Shadow Spider Queen rushed to Lanling again, her eyes blood-red.

Moreover, her stomach was rumbling loudly, and she no longer pretended to laugh.

"You have three riddles to solve today," the Shadow Spider Queen said, "I ask you, on which day do the sun and the moon appear together?"

As soon as this question was asked, everyone present racked their brains, but no matter how long they thought, there was no such day.

On Earth, sometimes the sun and moon appear together, but the moon is very faint, almost invisible.

But in this world, the sun and moon never appear together.

Instantly, everyone looked at Lanling with sympathy, thinking he was doomed.

The Shadow Spider Queen smiled smugly, thinking this pretty boy was dead for sure, and she could finally taste his delicious brain.

"Tomorrow," Lanling answered directly.

In this world, there is no day when the sun and moon appear together, but when the sun and moon are combined, it forms the character 'ming' (明), which means 'tomorrow'.

The Shadow Spider Queen's face changed, and everyone present suddenly understood, looking at Lanling with even more astonishment.

"Indeed, you are very smart. Now, for the second question," the Shadow Spider Queen said, almost losing her composure, "What walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?"

Lanling was speechless. This riddle was overused. He answered directly, "It's a human. As a child, they crawl, as an adult, they walk on two legs, and in old age, they use a cane."

"Ahh... Ahh..." The Shadow Spider Queen was completely enraged, her once alluring face becoming hideously ugly.

Gradually, she calmed down and asked slowly, "Now, there's another new question. If you can answer, I'll let you go. If you can't, you'll die, and I'll suck out your brain."

Lanling frowned, sure that the Shadow Spider Queen was cheating. This was an impossible question.

"Ha ha ha..." The Shadow Spider Queen laughed smugly, "You can't answer, can you? Then you die!"

With that, she extended her claws, tearing off all the spider silk on Lanling's body and lifting him high with her terrifying claws.

"Smart child, I want to see how delicious your brain is," the Shadow Spider Queen's terrifying fangs were about to pierce Lanling's skull.

Lanling was about to die a tragic death!

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