Chapter 1036:

The hall had cleanly split into two camps, everyone braced for drama. But after a tense moment… nothing happened.

Terrance finally lifted his chin and barked, “See? Didn’t I say everything was perfectly fine? If you let these two scare you, do you have any idea how much Detour Inc. would stand to lose?”

Laurel didn’t hold back either. She pointed furiously at Rylie. “Rylie! You really hate our family that much, don’t you? You’d rather doom us all just to make yourself feel vindicated? What kind of person thinks like that?”

Gregg added harshly, “Anyone not aligned with Detour Inc. isn’t welcome here. You’d better leave now.”

Brice, restrained by security, scowled and strained to speak.

Suddenly, a massive, gut-shaking blast erupted from beneath the center of the hall. The floor lurched violently, like the onset of an earthquake.

Then, before everyone’s horrified eyes, the red-carpeted ceremonial stage—and a large surrounding section of flooring—tore apart as if clawed open from below, crashing down in a deafening collapse.

This wasn’t an outdoor event. It was a packed banquet hall.

And those standing directly on the collapsing section were the worst possible victims—Detour Inc.’s executives and Terrance’s staunchest backers. Dressed in tailored suits and evening gowns, they had positioned themselves confidently near the stage out of trust. And that trust made them the unluckiest people in the room.

𝖳𝗵e 𝖻е𝘀𝘁 r𝘦a𝗱𝗂ո𝘨 𝘦xpеr𝗶𝘦ոсe o𝗇 𝘨𝖺l𝗇ovе𝗹𝗌.co𝗆

Their screams were swallowed whole as the floor gave way, dropping them into the gaping pit below.

“Aah!”

“It collapsed! It actually collapsed!”

“Somebody help!”

A cloud of dust exploded upward, laced with gray-black toxic fumes reeking of sulfur and mercury. It rushed out like a volcanic blast, spreading at alarming speed.

Panic swept through the room like a contagion—fast, wild, and unstoppable. People lost their minds, shoving and clawing toward any exit.

Terrance and a few shareholders barely dodged the falling debris, but having stood so close to the center, the shockwave sent them sprawling.

After inhaling several breaths of the toxic air, they doubled over, coughing uncontrollably.

They stared in shock at the yawning black pit that had swallowed the stage—the so-called “gold mine” into which they’d poured all their dreams, gone in an instant. As they watched the crowd stampede like terrified animals, only one thought echoed in their heads: “It’s over. Everything is ruined.”

Marcus wrapped an arm around Rylie to shield her from the shoving crowd, hauling Brice back with his other hand. Suddenly, Rylie shoved his hand aside. “Marcus, get Professor Morrison out first.”

Without waiting, she sprinted back into the chaos.

Marcus’s stomach twisted, but knowing the professor wouldn’t survive being trampled, he lifted the old man and rushed toward the safer edge of the hall, passing Brice off to bodyguards along the way.

Brice grabbed Marcus’s arm in alarm. “I noticed a strange smell just before everything went wrong. Valerius the Conqueror sealed these tombs with mercury—the fumes are poisonous. We can’t just rush in!”

Marcus replied simply, “My sister’s still in there.”

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