After resting around the campfire for a while.

Seena, who had been meditating alone with her eyes closed, felt her magical power had returned to its peak. She opened her eyes and looked with a suspicious expression at Cook P. Jones, who was warming himself by the fire.

"Boss Cook, how much further is it? We've been traveling through this snowy forest for a full 21 days!"

"In such terrible weather! Even those thick-skinned magical beasts are hibernating!"

"And we're still trudging through this frozen wilderness!"

"You can't be bamboozling us, can you..."

Hearing Seena's question, the four people around the campfire all instinctively held their breath, and no one spoke casually.

The atmosphere within the team also turned sharp and cold, just like the surrounding air.

At this moment.

Hankley, who was usually taciturn but most urgently desired to obtain the "Divine Inheritance," also looked up at Cook P. Jones, who had suddenly fallen silent.

"Boss Cook, during these 21 days of travel, I quietly memorized our direction of movement."

"I discovered you've been leading us on a nearly straight-line route..."

"That Ancient Ruin couldn't possibly be located exactly in a straight line from where we entered the forest, could it..."

"Has there really been no turning at all along this path?"

"Are you really... taking us to that ruin?"

"Or are you..."

The Ninth Tier Ranger left the last sentence unfinished.

As for the remaining words, he didn't finish them, leaving a little leeway for Cook P. Jones.

Simultaneously, as Hankley's words fell, the gazes of Tannas and Loren also shifted to Cook P. Jones, who remained silent.

These issues were something the four of them had all noticed long ago...

Seeing that all four members of his team were beginning to doubt him, Cook P. Jones slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over each of their faces one by one.

Then, he spoke, asking with a grave expression:

"So, all four of you have noticed something off about my route?"

"Mhm." Seena nodded.

"Yes." Tannas also nodded and said.

"Of course." Loren did the same.

Hankley, who had raised the issue about the route, didn't speak. He silently stared at Cook P. Jones, his brow tightly furrowed.

Seeing everyone's reaction and distrust, Cook P. Jones unexpectedly smiled and let out a sigh of relief:

"After holding it in for so long, I can finally say it!"

"That is a very special ruin."

"If I want to bring people into that Ancient Ruin, I need to follow some special rules it has established."

"And its second hidden rule is: As the guide, I cannot voluntarily mention the Ancient Ruin's location, direction, or entry method, unless all those being led have noticed something unusual about it."

After saying this, Cook P. Jones fell silent again.

Seena, Hankley, and Tannas, upon hearing his explanation, all looked in unison at Loren, who possessed lie-detection methods.

Seeing this, Loren silently took out that Federation Coin from his bosom and tossed it into the air...

1.5 seconds later.

The coin landed, showing heads!

Loren gave a slight nod and uttered a very brief sentence:

"Confirmed to be the truth."

Hearing this, the atmosphere in the area relaxed once more.

Simultaneously, everyone present except Cook P. Jones fell into varying degrees of contemplation...

A long time later.

Loren looked up at Cook P. Jones and asked meaningfully:

"Mr. Cook, what can you tell us now?"

Hearing Loren's question, a "just as I expected from you" smile appeared on Cook P. Jones's face.

"To enter that Ancient Ruin, any route is meaningless."

After saying this, Cook P. Jones's gaze swept over Seena, Hankley, and Tannas again.

"This is also the reason I told you to leave immediately after dividing the loot at the very beginning..."

"We might never reach that ruin."

"Or, we might run into the ruin's entrance the very next second."

After listening to Cook P. Jones's explanation, the people sitting around the campfire fell into contemplation once more...

30 seconds later.

Seena also asked a rather tricky question:

"Are there other hidden rules you haven't told us about?"

A satisfied smile appeared once again on Cook P. Jones's face.

But at the same time, he also smiled and remained silent, choosing to say nothing more.

Seeing his reaction, the four of them all understood one thing at that moment:

[There are still hidden rules in existence, and Cook P. Jones cannot voluntarily tell the group about them.]

Another long silence ensued.

During this new silence, Loren silently applied a large amount of Fortune to himself and began thinking again...

After a good while.

A flash of inspiration struck Loren's heart, and an extremely bold idea emerged.

He quickly raised his head, looked at Cook P. Jones, and asked quietly:

"Is that ruin selecting the people who can enter it?"

"In other words, is it alive?"

As his words fell, Seena, Hankley, and Tannas all looked with surprised expressions in Cook P. Jones's direction.

A "just as I expected from you" smile appeared once more on Cook P. Jones's face, and he opened his mouth to utter a very ambiguous statement:

"Alive, yet not alive."

Hearing this somewhat unclear answer, the expressions of everyone sitting around the campfire grew solemn.

A Divine ruin with some degree of consciousness was very troublesome...

For them, even seeing its entrance might be very difficult...

Factors like unpredictability, the unknown, and concealment were all maxed out.

Right at this moment!

Under the influence of a large amount of "Fortune," another bold idea emerged in Loren's heart!

He suddenly thought of the "Spiritual Plane of the Illusion Dream Night" and "his own Illusion Space"!

"Mr. Cook, does that ruin exist in the real Star Realm?"

"Can we physically walk into that ruin?"

This time!

No smile appeared on Cook P. Jones's face.

Instead, he looked with a shocked expression at Loren, who had asked the question...

Then, Cook P. Jones began answering Loren's question in an excited tone:

"You cannot physically walk into that ruin!!"

"It does not exist in the real Star Realm, which is also the reason it has been able to exist for endless ages!"

As Cook P. Jones's words, filled with excitement and encouragement, fell!

Seena, Hankley, and Tannas beside him! All looked at Loren, who was once again deep in thought, with the eyes of someone looking at a "monster"!

Boss Loren! Whether we can enter that ruin or not is all up to you!!!

3 minutes later.

Loren once again raised his head from his prolonged contemplation!

"Mr. Cook..."

"Is the method to enter that ruin passive-type or active-type?"

"And, does one need to maintain conscious awareness?"