The Eldritch Files

"This... This is impossible..."

It wasn’t just the members of the Crystal Skull Organization who were stunned by the scene; the professor was utterly frozen on the spot.

Compared to the members who only knew that this Copper Armor Statue might be terrifying, he, who knew the details, was far more frightened. His body swayed, and his voice trembled with disbelief, "A L-Living Copper Puppet... How... How can this be real?"

"To think something like this was placed beneath Dingxiang Mansion... This... How is this any different from hiding a nuclear bomb under your bed?"

CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

Amid their panic, the movements of the Snake-headed Copper Armor Statue, covered in mysterious script, grew increasingly fluid.

It was supposed to be an inanimate object, but now it moved as if it had come to life, its body twisting stiffly.

In its head, two eerie Ruby eyes began to emit a sinister glow.

The feeling of waiting for the unknown to manifest was unbearable. Seeing this, one of the Crystal Skull Organization members’ pupils suddenly constricted.

Instantly, several blurry shadows shot through the air, flying toward the Copper Armor Statue.

’Real or not, we have to strike first. Are we just going to stand here and watch?’

The blurry shadows lunged, but the Copper Armor Statue offered no resistance, allowing the Crystal Plague to drill into its body.

However, it showed no change. Instead, its two Ruby eyes grew even more sinister.

It was as if life had suddenly sparked within them. Though they were clearly inlaid rubies, they swiveled just like real eyeballs.

Meeting that living gaze, everyone felt their hearts sink.

"This thing... How is this thing..."

But at that very moment, someone was even more shocked than them: Han Su, who was standing behind a pillar, still clutching the Mechanical Fragment.

He didn’t doubt the thing was real; after all, he had just seen one not long ago.

But what stunned him now was something else entirely...

Pain!

The moment the Copper Armor Statue began to reawaken, he felt a sharp pain on the back of his left hand.

Faintly, even the cross-shaped scar had surfaced.

His Spiritual Power, as if beyond his control, spontaneously gathered toward the back of his left hand.

This was clearly a sign of the Mysterious Power in the back of his left hand being activated!

But he hadn’t actively channeled this Cross Copper Pattern Power at all. It was more like... it had resonated with something present in the room.

He had felt a similar sensation back when he subdued the Ghost Truck.

The crucial question was, why did the reawakening Copper Armor Statue inside Dingxiang Mansion resonate with the scar on the back of his hand?

Before he could find an answer, the professor from the Crystal Skull Organization, having confirmed the statue’s abnormality, had already fallen into despair. After a brief moment of adjustment, he suddenly came to his senses and barked at the others in a low, harsh voice:

"Don’t move!"

"Whatever you do, don’t attack that thing again..."

...

With that, he looked up at the ceiling of the secret chamber, toward where the knocking sound had come from, his voice trembling slightly.

"Is... Is the master of Dingxiang Mansion here?"

...

’Since a sound came from up there, the other party must be able to hear me, right?’

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he forced out the words, "Please forgive our intrusion..."

"We... We are followers of the Crystal Brain. We need this Mechanical Fragment to deal with a monster."

"But please believe us, we have no hostile intent toward you, honored sir. We never intended to harm anyone during this infiltration..."

He spoke every word with the utmost sincerity, afraid his earnestness wouldn’t be enough to earn the other party’s trust. "The Living Copper Puppet is here. We have no intention of fighting it. We beg you, honored sir, to show mercy."

"I am willing to leave my skull here as collateral and swear not to reveal the secret of this object. I also guarantee that we will return the Mechanical Fragment immediately after use and pay a corresponding reward..."

...

"Professor..."

His words made the other members of the Crystal Skull Organization cry out in unison.

’He’s decided to leave his skull behind before we’ve even fought?’

This professor from Crystal Skull had humbled himself to the point of groveling in the dust.

But there was no response to the professor’s words. The ceiling remained silent, so quiet you could hear the dust settling.

Only the Copper Armor Statue, having completed its revival, slowly lifted a foot to step forward.

That single step felt as if it had landed on their hearts.

Sweat beaded on the professor’s forehead. He suddenly cried out, "We are willing to give up the Mechanical Fragment and erase all related information from our minds! You can keep my skull as interest, honored sir, but please... please let my students leave..."

Still, there was only silence.

In the face of his increasingly desperate pleas, the master of Dingxiang Mansion answered only with silence.

This silence felt more like a silent mockery.

’So it wasn’t that Dingxiang Mansion was too easy to infiltrate. The motherfuckers were never worried about intruders in the first place...’

Han Su’s heart sank as well.

’I was wondering why this Dingxiang Mansion was so easy to get into. Turns out the whole damn place is a trap...’

He clenched his left hand unnaturally, feeling a dull ache in the joints, as if they had rusted.

In his arms, Wei Lan could barely stand. Han Su glanced at her and saw her face was deathly pale and her body was indescribably cold. Yet, she seemed oblivious to the commotion in the secret room, her eyes fixed solely on him.

"Find a way to take the item and leave!"

Seeing that there was still no response and that the Copper Armor Statue had already taken its second step, the Crystal Skull professor fell into complete despair.

He sighed softly and said, "The information we found... we were meant to find it..."

"We are the sacrifices who walked right into the trap..."

"If we want to live, we have no choice but to fight for our lives..."

...

As the last word left his lips, his expression suddenly turned fierce. He abruptly tossed the box in his hands to a nearby Crystal Skull member. Then, he slowly turned, took a sudden step, and charged directly at the reawakening Copper Armor Statue.

At that moment, he was filled with a ferocious, do-or-die energy.

A dazzling crystalline light erupted from his hands. He leaped high into the air, pressing his frenzied power violently onto the body of the Copper Armor Statue.

And then... nothing happened.

Struck by such a heavy blow, the Copper Armor Statue didn’t even stumble. It just slowly raised its head.

On both sides of its snake head, a strange red light flashed, locking onto him.

Its arm suddenly jerked upward, then the joint pushed forward.

SHIINK.

In an instant, a copper arm had pierced through the professor’s chest. In its copper palm, it held a heart that was still beating.

"So this is a Living Copper Puppet?"

Blood gushed from the Crystal Skull Organization professor’s mouth, but a self-deprecating smile appeared on his face. Even with his heart torn out, he could still control his actions.

Suddenly, he slammed his head forward, crashing it against the Copper Armor Statue’s snake head.

The crystalline light in his eyes burned to an extreme intensity.

It was like a dense, brilliant fluid, imbued with a mad frenzy, pouring into the Copper Armor Statue.

This immense commotion startled even Han Su.

With a single glance, he knew this was a special ability possessed by members of the Crystal Skull Organization.

The members of this organization had all been contaminated by crystal, causing their bodies and minds to mutate.

The mental mutation made them abnormally powerful. Even in death, they could achieve a second life by contaminating the minds and wills of others.

And now, this Crystal Skull professor was clearly doing just that.

Even though he was facing a copper object, the fact that it could reawaken meant it could also be susceptible to the Penetration of Spiritual Power.

So, at the cost of his own life, he wanted to infuse it with his Spiritual Power, and perhaps even control it.

However, in the face of his desperate act, the Copper Armor Statue still had no reaction.

It continued to move along its own trajectory, slowly retracting its outstretched palm. With a gentle squeeze of its five fingers, it crushed the still-beating heart.

The next moment, it reached out, plucked the Crystal Skull professor from its body, lifted him slightly, and then slammed him heavily onto the ground.

It slowly lifted its foot and brought it down. SPLAT. The Crystal Skull professor’s head was crushed.

Everything it did was slow and stiff, yet completely unstoppable.

"Professor..."

Several Crystal Skull Organization members knew the professor had intended to tie up the Copper Armor Statue to buy them time.

But they never expected their teacher to die so quickly.

For a moment, they didn’t know what to do. They split into two groups. One group rushed toward the professor—some drew guns, others mustered their remaining strength, their hands and eyes erupting with crystalline light as they charged madly toward the awakened Copper Armor Statue.

The other group obediently grabbed the box from the ground. With red eyes, they charged viciously at Han Su.

All they wanted was to snatch the Mechanical Fragment and escape.

But it was all like a videotape that had suddenly frozen midway through playing.

After killing the Crystal Skull professor, the Copper Armor Statue’s revival was complete. A bizarre light flickered in its two sinister Ruby eyes.

Then, it seemed to let out a slow breath, and a puff of gas suddenly sprayed from its mouth.

The air was suddenly filled with the smell of copper rust.

A difficult, rigid quality seemed to radiate from it, enveloping the entire secret chamber.

On the floor and walls, strange patches of verdigris began to appear rapidly. Piece by piece, layer by layer, the greenish-copper color expanded at high speed throughout the room, growing and even spreading onto the people.

This verdigris began to grow on all the Crystal Skull members. Their joints seemed to seize up as if corroded by rust, and their movements suddenly became sluggish.

CLANG!

Even the bullets they fired were instantly corroded by rust, falling from the air with a clatter.

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