Chapter 293

Long before Kamikawa Miharu livestreamed a corner of the palace in Heian-kyo, the world already knew the palace was extraordinary and miraculous; even after livestreaming of the three corridors ceased and what happened inside remained unknown, people were certain something was there, and something had occurred.

Otherwise, Kamikawa Mitsu and his sister would not have failed to return, nor would others have remained inside so long, with only a few emerging until now.

The world desperately wanted to know what opportunities the palace held, whether Michael and his team had brought out other treasures besides grass, soil, and the Living Spectrum, and what the three corridors contained and what they had endured.

Only Michael and his team could answer these questions.

Perhaps to create a sensation, perhaps to promote their own strength, perhaps for other reasons… the day after Michael and his team returned, Russian television aired an impromptu special interview during prime time at 8 p. m.

Correct—the interviewees were Michael and the eight elite team members who had entered with him; of thirty, only eight emerged.

Eight p. m.

Around the world, people from every nation tuned in punctually to Russian television; viewership reached an unprecedented peak, nearly one hundred percent.

After a brief program introduction, the host cut straight to the point, introduced Michael and his team's identities, and asked them about their experiences inside the palace.

Then.

Michael and the other seven members, through their accounts and mutual additions, described the horrors they encountered in the left and middle corridors.

Countless viewers were horrified.

This was a real-life horror film.

Amid their terror, they also sensed something crucial in Michael's words.

"Mr. Michael, you said your group of thirty split into teams of ten, each entering one of the three corridors—yet the eight survivors all came from the left and middle corridors? No one emerged from the right corridor?"

The host, equally alarmed, asked with uncertainty.

Michael nodded and sighed.

"None of the team members who entered the right corridor returned. Not only them—among everyone who returned, not a single soul came from the right corridor. All survivors came from the left and middle corridors."

Everyone watching the broadcast felt a chill run down their spines.

One hundred percent mortality rate?!

"Mr. Michael, do you think everyone in the right corridor is dead?" The host swallowed hard.

Michael did not answer immediately; he paused, then said:

"I never entered the right corridor, so I don't know what conditions were like there. I asked teammates from the left corridor—they experienced something different from what I encountered in the middle. They vanished silently; I encountered treasures that vanished. If the right corridor was similar, then the probability of total death is very high."

Upon hearing this, Director Takahashi and the others turned pale.

Michael's words seemed merely speculative, yet weren't they also a veiled admission? In his view, the right corridor likely saw at least massive casualties—otherwise, how could not a single person have emerged?

"Aren't Kamikawa Mitsu and his sister in the right corridor?" Professor Beishan said, his voice hesitant after a long pause. "Could they possibly…"

He could not bring himself to finish.

Had the worst fear come true? Had Kamikawa Mitsu and his sister truly died inside the palace?

Director Takahashi and the others fell silent.

Yet the interview continued.

The host, based on online viewers' voting, asked Michael a series of follow-up questions.

"Mr. Michael, you said the middle corridor leads to a treasure hall filled with mountains of treasures—but not all are real; touch one, and a person dissolves into light, and the treasure vanishes too. 【33】 As far as I know, many more people entered afterward. 【34】 As the saying goes, 'Men die for wealth, birds die for food.' Surely some of those who entered later still reached for the treasures—has anyone obtained a real treasure?"

"Mr. Mike, you said the middle passage leads to a treasure hall, with treasures piled up like a mountain inside, but the treasures aren't all real — the moment you touch one, the person disintegrates into light particles, and the treasure vanishes along with them.

As far as I know, many more people entered afterward.

"As the saying goes, men die for wealth, birds die for food. There should be people who came in afterward and went to take the treasures, right? Did anyone get the real treasure?"

"We told those who entered afterward about the treasures, but some believed we were trying to hoard them and ignored our warnings—every new group that arrived, someone always touched them anyway. 【37】 As for who obtained a real treasure…" 【38】 He fell silent, and everyone present who had been with Michael in the middle corridor also grew quiet.

"The people who came in afterward — we told them about the situation with the treasures, but unfortunately some of them thought we were planning to pocket the treasures for ourselves, so they paid no heed and went to touch them. Almost every time a new batch came in, there was bound to be someone who wouldn't listen.

As for who actually obtained a real treasure…"

This silence drove viewers to distraction.

To speak half a sentence, to leave half unsaid, to drag out words like molasses—no one can bear it!

But some observant viewers noticed: Michael and his team said nothing, yet their eyes held strange expressions—complex, hard to describe.

The host sitting beside Michael noticed too.

"Mr. Michael, if you have something you can't say, it's fine—you don't have to speak. We can move to the next question."

Michael shook his head, then spoke slowly:

"It's not something I can't say—I just don't know whether those people truly obtained the real treasures."

"Those people?" The host's eyes widened, catching the key phrase, his breath quickening. "Does that mean more than one person obtained a real treasure?!"

Michael grunted in affirmation, lost in memory.

"Many who entered afterward didn't believe us—they touched the treasures. As expected, they all turned to light. Just when we thought no real treasure existed, one man blamed us for his friend's death. 【49】 Later, a physical altercation broke out; he was accidentally shoved and fell against a nearby sword. His hand touched the blade. 【50】 We thought he was dead—but he wasn't. His body didn't dissolve, and the sword didn't vanish. We were elated—it was a real treasure. Everyone grew restless, eager to seize it. 【51】 But before we could move, a door suddenly appeared in the hall. The man and the sword were sucked into it. 【52】 The door was strange—inside, it looked like a black hole vortex; in an instant, they vanished."

"At the time, many of the people who came in afterward didn't believe our words, and a great number of them went to touch the treasures. The result, as you can imagine, was that they all dissolved into light. Just when we thought there were no real treasures at all, one person blamed us for his friend's death.

Afterward, someone got into a physical altercation with him, and that person was accidentally knocked down, falling onto a treasured sword not far away, and his hand touched the sword.

At that moment, we thought he was done for, but he actually turned out fine — his body didn't dissolve into light, and the sword didn't vanish either. We were thrilled — this was a real treasure. Everyone grew restless, wanting to snatch the treasure.

But before we could act, a doorway appeared out of thin air in the hall, and that person, along with the sword, was sucked into the doorway.

"That portal was very strange. Inside it looked like some kind of black hole vortex. In the blink of an eye it sucked a person in, and the person just vanished like that."

"The treasure didn't vanish—but it was pulled into an unknown door along with the man. I don't know whether this counts as obtaining the real treasure—or not. Nor can I tell if the door itself might be another fake treasure."

The host understood: Michael suspected Su Daji had not only created fake treasures that dissolved people into light, but also fake ones that sucked touchers into unknown portals—killing thieves in multiple ways.

The supporter understood what Mike meant. The other party suspected that Su Daji had not only set up fake treasures that would vaporize people on contact, but had also set up fake treasures that would suck people into an unknown portal on contact, using every possible method to kill the treasure thieves.

"The sword didn't vanish—so it might be real. Because of this, those who had dared not touch treasures before became tempted again. More people touched the treasures—and three more, like the first man, touched objects that didn't vanish. 【58】 They were: a bamboo slip, a bead, and a plant shaped like a sword."

"That treasured sword didn't vanish, so it was possibly a real treasure. Because of this, those who had previously dared not touch the treasures were tempted once again, and one after another more people touched the treasures. Among them, three more, just like that earlier person, touched treasures that didn't vanish.

"What happened after?" The host asked, impatient.

"And then?" the host asked impatiently.

"Afterward, those people were also drawn into the gateways, but those gateways all looked different."

…….