The secret chamber of national destiny, the design of the ancestral home, you're building the Z

As Koheko swam deeper into the water, she felt increasingly uneasy. She looked at the iron terracotta warriors, and the spotlight shone into a rusted hole in one of them, allowing her to examine it closely.

But it was empty inside, there was nothing there.

Koeko frowned slightly and looked away.

But she didn't notice that just as she looked away, a pair of dark eyes suddenly appeared there, staring fiercely at Koheiko.

Koeko didn't see it, but the camera captured it.

what……

Suddenly, a chorus of exclamations erupted within the palace of the Mystic God; those with a weak heart nearly wet themselves in fright.

This kind of unknown and terrifying scene is even scarier than a supernatural escape room movie.

[Holy crap, how come there's a pair of eyes inside that iron golem? Is it another Forbidden Woman?]

[Wait a minute, if she's a Forbidden Woman, why is she sealed inside an Iron Servant? Could it be that there's a Forbidden Woman inside all those Iron Servant characters?]

Something's not right. Something feels off. These iron mercenaries didn't just appear here for no reason; there must be some important clue or information.

[Fuck, that scared the hell out of me! This is just a scare tactic, isn't it?!]

……

The iron terracotta warriors and their eyes displayed in the basement were unsettling and created a great deal of pressure.

Moreover, the purpose of this thing is even more puzzling.

How could so many iron terracotta warriors be hidden in the basement of an old house?

Absolutely extraordinary.

Koeko had, of course, thought of this as well.

She went to an iron figurine, scraped off some rust with her dagger to confirm that it was an ordinary iron product. She then tapped it, and a dull sound came from inside, proving that it was hollow.

"Empty?" She thought carefully about the information she had looked up before coming in. "According to what I know, the area around Banna in Daxia is rich in jade mines, but the jade mines are controlled by the imperial court. For ordinary people to get involved is a capital offense. Moreover, the relationship between the Yao people here and the Han people in Daxia is not harmonious."

"Although the Zhang family has managed to establish themselves here, they must be living in constant fear. Could it be that they forged these iron figurines to smuggle jade out of the country? Hmm, that's quite possible!"

To be fair, this Gu Huihezi was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the Great Xia Dynasty.

Thinking about this, Koeko felt a little relieved.

She stopped dwelling on the strange iron mercenaries and turned to continue exploring deeper into the basement. Soon, at the far end of the room, an ancient vertical shaft, about one meter in diameter and built of bluestone, appeared in the beam of light.

The water flow around the wellhead was noticeably more turbulent, even forming a slow but continuously rotating underwater vortex. The source of the tidal force seemed to be coming from this bottomless well.

"Could the dragon-patterned stone box be hidden here? It's certainly well-hidden!"

She assessed the suction force of the vortex and found it to be within a controllable range, so she prepared to approach the wellhead and explore downwards.

But at that moment, the vortex suddenly widened, and the power of the tide seemed to be instantly amplified.

The vortex at the wellhead suddenly increased several times over, and the suction became violently strong! The water flow throughout the basement was stirred up, turbid sediment was stirred up, and visibility instantly became blurred!

"Oh no!" Koeko's face changed drastically as her body was uncontrollably pulled toward the well opening! She struggled to swim, trying to resist the sudden force, but in the raging current, human struggle seemed so powerless, leaving her unable to break free for a time.

Fortunately, she quickly grabbed a rusty iron figurine, which helped her regain her balance.

But before she could even catch her breath, she suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back of her hand. When she looked again, she saw several scratch marks on the back of her hand.

"This... is impossible!"

Koeko's expression changed drastically because she hadn't seen what had grabbed her at all. Looking around, she saw nothing but the Iron Mercenary.

Even so, Koheko did not unconsciously let go, which shows how terrifying this woman's mental fortitude is.

She knew perfectly well that if she let go, she would be pulled into the well by the whirlpool.

She hadn't explored the well yet and had no idea what was inside.

"What exactly happened?"

Koheko stared intently at the iron mercenary in front of her, where a small hole had been corroded in the waist area.

"Could there really be something inside?"

Koheko stared at the cave entrance.

Suddenly, a pair of dark eyes appeared at the entrance of the cave.

His eyes were filled with resentment and hatred; his gaze alone could make one feel madness.

Glug glug...

Even though she was mentally prepared, Koheko still choked on her saliva.

"Baka! What?! There are ghosts here?!"

Just then, a pale, swollen hand with black, curled nails that was almost transparent from being soaked suddenly shot out from the hole and grabbed Koheko's wrist like an iron clamp!

The cold, slippery touch sent chills down her spine!

The hand grabbed Koheko's wrist and pulled her in with frantic force.

Due to excessive force, the skin on his wrist was cut open by the sharp edge of the hole.

Even so, that hand did not let go, frantically pulling at Koeko.

In her haste, Koheko didn't have time to think and bit her tongue again, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

To Koheko's surprise, the essence of blood from her tongue had no effect on that hand.

"What?! How is this possible?!"

When she saw the Forbidden Woman, Koheko wasn't afraid. When she was grabbed by this hand, she wasn't afraid either. But now, when she saw that the blood essence on her tongue was useless against this hand, Koheko was truly afraid.

As someone who has conquered many haunted rooms, she believes that the essence of blood from the tip of her tongue has a restraining effect on any ghosts or monsters.

However, this rule doesn't apply here.

"Could it be that what's inside isn't a ghost? But how is that possible? How can a living person live underwater? That's against the rules!"

A tremendous wave of emotion surged within Koeko's heart.

Moreover, she noticed that faint red blood was flowing from the cut on the pale, swollen wrist.

Ghosts and monsters, however, do not have blood.

This completely overturned Koeko's worldview.

Not only was Koeko stunned, but everyone outside the arena was stunned.

Yamamoto Ichiro was so excited that he stood up abruptly, instinctively wanting to accuse Zhang Qilin of cheating. Otherwise, how could a living person live underwater all the time?

This is unscientific; it violates the rules.

But having learned from past mistakes, he still didn't dare to utter the words, fearing he might anger the secret god again.

Seeing Koeko being held by that hand, Yamamoto Ichiro was momentarily flustered, which made him very anxious.

Because if Koheiko loses, he can't afford the enormous cost.

Ten thousand units of national fortune are worth it.

He's starting to regret it, but unfortunately, there's no going back.

……