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

The appearance of the green light and handprints made everyone's hearts jump. Although they all said it was just bluffing, it would be a lie to say they weren't nervous when it came to the real thing.

Koei Ichiro was also nervous. As soon as he opened the door, he pointed his pistol inside, and at the same time, his eyes locked onto the source of the green light.

But when he saw it clearly, Koei Ichiro almost cursed. It turned out to be a huge salamander.

What's even more ridiculous is that on its smooth, ugly head, a few strands of black hair are used to firmly tie an old-fashioned waterproof flashlight.

A layer of green transparent tape had been deliberately pasted onto the glass surface of the flashlight, and it was this tape that filtered out the eerie green light.

"Baka..."

How could a top ninja from the prestigious Sakura Kingdom be so terrified by a flashlight strapped to the head of a silly fish? This ridiculous scene was even broadcast live globally—it's utterly disgraceful!

Moreover, in his view, it was obvious that Zhang Qilin was deliberately playing a trick on them.

bang...

Koei Ichiro didn't hold back and pulled the trigger directly.

The bullet created a vacuum zone in the water and instantly struck the giant salamander.

"What's going on?" Koejiro asked hurriedly upon hearing the gunshot.

"It's nothing, it's just a fish. We've all been tricked. That guy surnamed Zhang tied a flashlight to the fish's head and deliberately played us for a fool. It's utterly boring!" Koei Ichiro said angrily.

what……

But just as he was about to leave, he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be words on the lens of the flashlight.

He quickly swam over, ripped the flashlight off, and then saw that there were indeed some words written on the lens.

"Follow the tide!"

Upon seeing these four words, Koei Ichiro was immediately overjoyed.

"Could this be the clue mentioned in the information? Hahaha, this was too easy to get!" Koei Ichiro exclaimed with delight. "This Zhang Qilin is truly a novice among novices. Such an important clue, and he's set it up so obviously. Haha, does this guy really think a flashlight can scare us away? How ridiculous!"

Seeing such an important clue, Koeichiro felt that this nightmare-level locked room was nothing special.

"Big brother, what's going on? Why are you laughing so happily?" Koejiro's voice came through the communicator.

Koei Ichiro laughed and said, "Haha, we've found the important clue mentioned in the information—the dragon-patterned stone box. We should be able to find it by following the tides!"

"What?! That's so simple? Haha, that's great! This secret room is even simpler than we thought!" said Koejiro.

Upon seeing this, Yamamoto Ichiro couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, hahaha, Zhou Sang, I thought your Great Xia had really produced a design genius, but it turns out this is what you cracked for us? Is your genius designer here to be a joke?"

Hearing this mockery, the representatives of Great Xia were extremely frustrated and looked helplessly at Zhang Qilin.

Originally, the appearance of a nightmare-level secret room gave them a glimpse of victory and a glimpse of the future of Great Xia.

However, as the secret chamber was gradually cracked, first with straightforward information hints, and now with the easy discovery of the Zhang family's ancient building and important information, they truly had given up all hope.

They even wondered if the god of escape rooms was getting old and blind, how could such a simple escape room be rated as a nightmare?

Isn't this just making them happy for nothing?

The fall from heaven to hell is an absolutely unpleasant experience.

Zhou Xingbang opened his mouth, but was powerless to refute. All his words could only turn into a final sigh.

However, Zhang Qilin calmly replied, "Don't rush, the real show is just beginning!"

"Just beginning?"

Zhang Qilin's words stunned everyone present.

Yamamoto Ichiro sneered, "Zhang Qilin, even now you're still being stubborn? Your 'Zhang Family Ancient Building' has been seen through, your clues have been obtained, and your bluffing tricks have been exposed! What 'show' is left? A tragic curtain call?"

"Oh, really?" Zhang Qilin looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Instead of worrying about us, I think you should think about what will happen to them after they die."

Hearing this, Yamamoto Ichiro narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Heh, you think you're worthy to keep our Sakura Country's explorers here? This crappy secret room, let alone a four-person team, even one person could probably solve it. Garbage, just garbage. You'll never be able to come up with anything decent, and you still want to use this old-fashioned thinking..."

Yamamoto Ichiro was talking big, but before he could finish, a collective gasp of surprise suddenly rippled through the crowd.

Immediately, I saw the pupils of the people next to me shrink, as if they had seen something terrifying.

He glanced at the live stream screen, his pupils contracting rapidly. "How is this possible!"

……

Koeichiro, holding a flashlight, was in a good mood and was about to leave to find Koejiro.

However, when he turned around and saw the scene behind him, he was almost scared to death.

Suddenly, a woman appeared behind him. Her skin was swollen and almost transparent from being soaked in water, and her dead fish eyes were fixed on Koei Ichiro.

Their faces were almost touching.

What Koei Ichiro didn't notice was that the woman's hair was like a large net, already covering the entire room. The flashlight was more like bait, luring Koei Ichiro into this carefully prepared net.

Trying to escape? Not so easy.

Koeichiro reacted extremely quickly, "A ghost!"

He shouted urgently and raised his gun to prepare to fire.

But it was too late.

Suddenly, a burst of green light erupted from the Forbidden Woman's eyes. Koeichiro felt as if his brain had been struck hard by a heavy hammer, and then he lost consciousness.

The next moment, countless strands of black hair gathered together, instantly enveloping Yamamoto Ichiro. At the same time, strands of black hair burrowed into Koeichiro's eyes, nostrils, and mouth, creating an extremely eerie scene.

This sudden, eerie scene truly frightened everyone.

Because no one was prepared, they all instinctively felt that it was impossible for anything supernatural to appear in this historical-themed locked room.

A brief silence.

But soon, Yamamoto Ichiro stood up excitedly.

"This is a historical drama! Where did these ghosts and monsters come from? This is a blatant violation! Zhang Qilin, you used supernatural elements! God of the Locked Room, please immediately stop the competition, declare the Great Xia dynasty guilty of cheating, and unleash a cataclysmic disaster upon them!!!"

Park Guk-chang jumped up as if he'd been injected with adrenaline, spitting as he spoke excitedly: "That's right! Cheating! This is an insult to all countries that abide by the rules! I beg the god of secret chambers to investigate and punish them severely!"

The representative from India, Raji, naturally wouldn't let this opportunity to kick someone when they're down slip by. With a righteous expression, he declared, "Revered God of the Secret Chamber, the rules cannot be disrespected. This action by Great Xia is a challenge to your authority! It must be punished most severely as a warning to others!"

Immediately afterwards, representatives from several countries that were at odds with Great Xia stood up and echoed their sentiments, and the protests quickly gained momentum. It was as if as long as the voices were loud enough, the accusation of "cheating" could be firmly pinned on them.

[Damn it, this is shameless! They cheated just to win. They should just wipe Great Xia off Earth already!]

[Baka! Our explorers from Japan died unjustly! It's outrageous!]

[I was wondering how a historical escape room could be designed to be nightmarishly difficult; turns out it's because of the addition of supernatural elements. This is so unfair!]

Have you ever considered that since this thing has been manifested, it means it was permitted by the secret gods?

[Heh, even the God of Secrets has his moments of carelessness, and Zhang Qilin just happened to take advantage of that!]

……

For a time, people in Japan, South Korea, and other countries were filled with righteous indignation.

For them, they wished they could wipe out the Great Xia immediately.

They couldn't accept even the slightest unexpected event.

The representatives of Daxia were completely taken aback; they were also somewhat bewildered.

Isn't this a historical drama? How come a ghost suddenly appeared?

That doesn't make sense.

For a moment, hearing the protests that were ringing out everywhere, they all felt a little guilty.

Zhang Qilin slowly stepped forward, facing the representatives of many countries alone, yet his figure remained as steadfast as a deep pool and a towering mountain.

His gaze swept over Yamamoto Ichiro, Park Guk-chang, and the others as if they were a swarm of noisy ants.

"Protest?" His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a metallic quality, clearly reaching everyone's ears. "What are you protesting? Are you protesting that your so-called elite troops from the Sakura Kingdom are utterly useless, unable to even handle a small arrangement in my secret chamber before losing their lives?"

"Zhang Qilin! Don't try to deny it!" Yamamoto Ichiro's eyes were bloodshot. That was one of the most outstanding explorers in their Sakura Kingdom. His death was a huge loss to them.

"The rules are based on history! Where did you come from, you monster? This is cheating!"

"Oh?" Zhang Qilin raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a hint of playful inquiry. "Mr. Yamamoto, let me ask you, what is the core rule of the God of Locked Rooms regarding 'historical themes'? Is it—'Everything designed must be based on things that actually existed in the long river of history or have been clearly recorded or legendary, and conform to historical logic'?"

"So what if it is...?" Yamamoto Ichiro had a bad feeling.

"Did the rules explicitly state in black and white that 'historical themes are strictly prohibited from featuring any supernatural phenomena or supernatural creatures'?" Zhang Qilin pressed, speaking slowly but relentlessly.

"This...this is common sense! History is history, and ghosts and monsters belong to the supernatural!" Yamamoto Ichiro argued.

"Common sense?" Zhang Qilin suddenly laughed, a laugh tinged with a detached indifference and mockery that seemed to survey a thousand years of history. "Your common sense is nothing more than the walls of your shallow understanding. My Zhang family has traversed the dark side of China for thousands of years, witnessing bizarre and inhuman creatures in ancient tombs, desolate villages, and secluded pools—things far beyond your imagination. This creature is called the 'Forbidden Woman,' a monstrous being born from the resentment of a woman who suffered injustice and humiliation in ancient times, her body left to rot in the most yin places, nourished by malevolent forces. She is a true 'mark' solidified in certain dark corners of Chinese history! She exists in oral traditions, in the writings of local tales, and even more so in… the archives secretly kept by my Zhang family for generations! Why can't she be considered part of 'history'?"

"That's sophistry! You say it exists, but who has ever seen it? It's clearly fabricated!" Park Guk-chang shrieked.

Zhang Qilin's gaze suddenly shifted to him, his eyes sharp as knives: "Good question. Then, please tell me, what is the ultimate standard for judging whether a historical escape room design 'truly existed'?"

Without waiting for an answer, he abruptly looked up at the eternally glorious, sacred light high in the sky, his voice rising sharply, carrying an awe-inspiring and inviolable quality:

"This is the supreme rule of the God of the Secret Chamber! The rule proclaims: Anything a designer can successfully materialize with their spiritual power is considered to fit the theme!"

"At this moment, the 'Forbidden Woman' stands in my secret chamber! This is the final and unquestionable judgment of the God of the Secret Chamber regarding the 'historical authenticity' of this object!"

He turned abruptly, pointing his sword at Yamamoto Ichiro and the others, his voice booming like thunder:

"And you—"

"After the God of the Secret Chamber has already made his judgment, how dare you openly gather a crowd to make a fuss, questioning the fairness of this ruling and the legitimacy of its existence as recognized by the rules!"

"You are not questioning me, Zhang Qilin, nor my Great Xia. You are questioning the authority and wisdom of the God of the Secret Chamber, who established and maintained the rules governing all national destiny challenges on Earth!"

"Honorable God of the Secret Chamber!" Zhang Qilin bowed deeply once more, his tone solemn and stern. "Such blatant blasphemy against divine authority and the very foundation of the rules, if left unpunished, will likely be imitated by many. With the rules collapsing, what will become of divine authority? I beseech the God of the Secret Chamber to uphold the absolute fairness of the Secret Chamber battle and to grant you your supreme authority… Your Holy Judgment!"

"You...you're spouting nonsense!!!" Yamamoto Ichiro, Park Guk-chang, and the others were instantly terrified, their faces turning ashen, and their bodies trembling violently.

The accusation that Zhang Qilin was accused of "questioning the gods" is a hundred times more fatal than any other charge!

They only wanted to take the opportunity to put pressure on and bring down the Great Xia Dynasty. How dare they really question the gods? But Zhang Qilin's words were all based on the rules and his logic was meticulous, putting them directly on the fire of blasphemy!

……