Similar methods were used quite commonly among gods. Through dreams, they could establish a preliminary connection with selected potential believers, allowing them to arrive at a specific location. Then, through performing miracles, they turned potential believers into true believers. There were basically similar stories in different mythological systems.
As one of the most established Norse mythological monsters, it was not surprising that Jemengard would use such a method to select believers. Moreover, the death rate of its potential believers was shockingly high.
According to the old man, he had contacted a total of 16 potential believers. In the end, only three of them managed to leave the island and return to human society. The remaining people would either be lost in the maze forever or swallowed whole by Nightmare Cadet.
And now, he regarded Zhang Heng as the 17th potential believer on the island.
This was not his fault for being careless. The main reason was that the island was unusually desolate. There was nothing on it, and sometimes, no one would come for more than ten years. As the most ferocious monster of the giant race, Nightmare Gad had always been the only one who targeted others. No one had ever provoked it.
The old man never expected that there would be such a person in this world, so he firmly believed in Zhang Heng’s identity.
Since that was the case, Zhang Heng decided to accept his new identity. He asked the old man politely, “Is this maze difficult to walk through?”
The old man nodded. “I know what you’re thinking. This is not a big island, and the central maze takes up even less space. No matter how complicated the maze, as long as you try the dumbest method, you’ll always find the right path.”
“Is that so?”
“A normal labyrinth might be like this, but if you use this method in the one behind me, you’ll never find the right path.”
“Huh?”
“This labyrinth keeps changing,” the old man added, “So the wrong way to go back and try the wrong way again won’t work here. Moreover, not only will the place you walk through change, but the labyrinth in front of you will also keep changing.”
“So it’s purely a matter of luck?”
“No, it is actually to test if you have a strong enough mental connection with it. The previous three people who passed through the maze didn’t really put in much effort. The slowest one took less than half an hour, and the fastest one only took ten minutes,” the old man said, “As long as your mental connection with it is strong enough, the moment you step into the maze, you’ll naturally know where to go.”
This was not good news for Zhang Heng because he was not a true believer. There was no spiritual connection between him and Yemengard. The only connection between the two was that Zhang Heng planned to go in and kill it. If Cheng Sihan was still alive, he could save her, then leave the subway line with the Fan sisters and Ma Lu. If possible, he could get Loki’s whereabouts from Yemengard.
However, Zhang Heng didn’t show any signs of anxiety or depression. Instead, he continued chatting with the old man.
The old man seemed to have stayed on the island for a long time. Typically, it was difficult for him to meet people, so he was happy to continue chatting with Zhang Heng.
He wasn’t sure if it was because of Zhang Heng’s identity as a potential believer, but his attitude was also very good. He answered almost every question he asked. After all, if Zhang Heng passed the maze, he would become a believer, and from then on, he would be one of them, and if Zhang Heng did not pass through the maze and hang himself inside, then the things he knew would not reach the ears of a third person.
But even so, the old man still chose to avoid answering some of the more core questions.
For example, Zhang Heng asked the Old Man How Big Yemengarde was, how often it moved, how often it left the maze, and so on. Once the old man heard such questions, he would shut his mouth.
Therefore, Zhang Heng changed his direction and started to talk to the old man about his own matters. This time, the old man’s words were clearly more frequent.
“I’ve been on the island for 51 years. Before I came here, I was a construction worker. Our team was fast, and the build quality was good. We won many awards and even appeared in the newspapers. At that time, when the capital was going to build a subway, our construction team was the first thing the leaders thought of. In the end, the noise during the construction attracted its attention. After that, it summoned me here and to become a receptionist.”
Even though Zhang Heng had already guessed the old man’s identity, this was the first time the latter had personally admitted that he was the missing worker from more than 50 years ago.
The old man’s expression became complicated as he talked about the incident.
It was clear that he missed the old days. Even though that was over 50 years ago when resources were scarce, and there was neither telephone nor computer, but no matter how scarce it was, it was still much better than this small red island with nothing. Furthermore, he still had his family and friends back then. Now, many of them were no longer around.
However, after such a long time, he seemed to have accepted his fate. The nostalgic look on his face disappeared for a moment, and he returned to his usual self.
“Have you entered this maze before?” Zhang Heng asked,
“Unfortunately, I’m not qualified. I can only do some menial work outside,” the old man said, “I know you’re probably feeling a little apprehensive right now. Maybe you’re scared by the numbers I mentioned earlier and are hesitating whether to enter the maze or not. But in fact, I don’t think you need to be so worried because this might be the biggest opportunity in your life. It has always been very picky, and not many people can catch its eye. I’ve been here for more than 50 years, and I’ve only received 17 people, and that includes you. The last time I received a guest on the island was 12 years ago.”
“Twelve years ago?” Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
“That’s right, and that guy is a hothead. He looked like he was in some kind of trouble. We only talked for less than five sentences, and then he plunged into the maze,” the old man said, “He’s also the person I told you about who only took ten minutes to complete the maze. I don’t know how he’s doing now, but he was still an unknown singer when he came to the island. He sang in a bar. If you can pass through the maze, I’ll tell you his name. I’m actually curious about how everyone on the island is doing after they leave, but I can only ask the next person about them.”
Zhang Heng thought about it for a moment before asking another question. “Can we use tools to get through this maze?”
“Tools?” The old man was taken aback. “What tools? Ladders? But you don’t have any ladders… in this regard, it hasn’t made any requests, so I won’t stop you if you need any tools.”
