The Eldritch Files

Hearing the mechanical ticking, every hair on Han Su’s body stood on end. He thought for a moment that ”Flashing” had arrived without him noticing.

He whipped his head around, only to see no sign of ”Flashing” in the surrounding space. But at the same time, an icy chill seeped into his body.

He felt uncontrollable fragments of memory surging through his mind. Memories of being kidnapped and taken back to the Ancient Castle, of escaping from it time and time again—they all became incredibly clear, surfacing against his will.

Across from him, Wei Lan suddenly shivered, her face turning deathly pale.

Han Su saw her eyes beneath the cat mask. An expression of pure terror quickly surfaced in them.

...

...

BANG!

Just as the gunshot rang out in the secret room, another scene was unfolding elsewhere in Dingxiang Mansion. In a luxurious yet dark room, Wine Barrel Nose, who had been chugging from a bottle of Whiskey, suddenly snapped his head up, his gaze exceptionally sharp.

Also in the room was the master of Dingxiang Mansion, the chairman of the Magic Box Group.

They were seated there, about to begin a conversation. The chairman of the Magic Box Group was supposed to lead the discussion, and he had originally held great expectations for it. However, his brief exchange with Han Su at the banquet had left him feeling a little uneasy.

Now, he was wary of the impending discussion.

The gunshot happened to interrupt their thoughts, putting them on alert.

Wine Barrel Nose’s gaze swept over everyone present. He suddenly chuckled. ”Sir, your security here at Dingxiang Mansion is rather average, isn’t it!”

The old man in the wheelchair, leaning on a cane, spoke faintly without even raising his eyelids.

”I’m used to it. A group like this manages to sneak in every year.”

”Hm?”

Wine Barrel Nose frowned. ”You know who snuck in?”

”It should be the Crystal Skull Organization.”

The old man spoke slowly. ”They’ve been searching for a long time. There should be six of them in the secret room underground. One is a former professor from Qinggang University. Four more are hidden at the banquet. The moment you step outside, they’ll take all of my guests hostage.”

”And as you know, the people from Crystal Skull aren’t afraid to die.”

”...”

”Four of them, you say?”

Wine Barrel Nose set down the bottle and stretched his limbs. His entire demeanor seemed to shift. ”I should be able to handle them without alarming the other guests,” he said. ”But, Sir, do you know what they’re after?”

The old man smiled. ”They’re likely after a Mechanical Fragment in my secret room. An unregistered one.”

”If the Disaster Management Bureau knew about it, I’m afraid they’d be here to search the place immediately!”

”...”

The others in the room turned pale at his words. ’Is that something he can just say out loud?’

Some grew instantly wary. ’He’s saying this so casually... Does the old bastard plan to silence us all if this conversation goes south?’

”It is precisely because of the current circumstances that I can tell you this.”

The old man chuckled. ”You’ll forget it all anyway. You’ll only remember at the crucial moment. That’s one of the properties of the Mechanical Fragment. In fact, the very reason these ’rats’ periodically sneak in here to die is because of that property.”

”It’s because people periodically talk about it, plan actions for it, and even die for it, that it can remain stably anchored in reality.”

”It doesn’t matter that I’m telling you this. You will forget. Even if you write it down right now, you won’t remember doing so afterward. Not until a certain... frequency emerges. Then, you’ll suddenly recall it.”

”But after a while, you’ll just forget again.”

”Of course, I’m not its master, theoretically. It’s just staying with me, waiting for its true owner to appear...”

”...”

As the people in the room listened, their expressions became indescribably strange.

Wine Barrel Nose suddenly realized that the old master of Dingxiang Mansion was hiding something truly extraordinary.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Magic Box Group, who was being exposed to this deeper circle for the first time, was reeling from the shock.

’Are they telling a joke?’

’Why do they look so serious while talking about something so bizarre?’

While everyone else looked grave, the old man suddenly smiled. ”We can continue our conversation. Pay them no mind. You just need to check if your own people are still around. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee you’ll see them again.”

As he spoke, his ancient yet intensely oppressive eyes slowly swept over everyone. He gripped his cane with both hands.

He raised it slightly and tapped it gently on the floor.

The tip of the cane was banded with a Copper Pattern, inscribed with complex and bizarre runes. As it touched the floor, it let out a soft, humming vibration.

HUMMM!

The vibration seemed alive as it seeped down, layer by layer, through the floor and the structure of the building.

It traveled onward, lingering, its final destination unknown.

He paused briefly, then tapped again. Several more taps followed, some light, some firm, all carrying a mysterious frequency.

Then he spoke slowly, ”So many of you have come, yet you’re the ones making such a racket and disturbing my guests!”

The people in the room exchanged glances, suddenly realizing he wasn’t speaking to them.

...

...

”Get them!”

In the tense, frantic secret room, a bizarre scene suddenly unfolded.

The members of the Crystal Skull Organization were closing in on Han Su and Wei Lan from behind, the illusory sound of shattering glass periodically echoing through the air.

That was the sound of the Mysterious Power barriers Wei Lan had erected being forcefully shattered by the Crystal Skull members. Yet, at this critical moment, Wei Lan seemed to have forgotten everything around her. She just stood there blankly, clutching a corner of the Mechanical Fragment.

It was as if her soul had left her body.

’She’s been affected by the Mechanical Fragment?’

Han Su had only been affected for an instant before recovering. But one look at Wei Lan told him something was terribly wrong.

The Mechanical Fragment’s influence was potent, to be sure—it had managed to bypass his glove and his left hand to affect him. But its corrupting effect wasn’t that strong. He had only been dazed for a moment before snapping out of it, and the ticking in his ears was already fading.

’Wei Lan’s power level is much higher than mine,’ he thought. ’How can she look like she’s been completely drained in an instant?’

”Let go!”

Not wanting Wei Lan to get hurt, he shouted and forcefully snatched the Mechanical Fragment away from her.

As if waking from a dream, Wei Lan released the Mechanical Fragment.

She seemed to have exhausted all her strength. She looked up at Han Su, her expression one of utter shock.

”It’s you... It’s you...”

”...”

But before she could say more, the members of the Crystal Skull Organization were upon them.

To shatter Wei Lan’s barriers, they had held nothing back. They had used so much of the crystal’s power that the flesh on their faces was starting to rot. Combined with their skeletal arm bones, they looked like demons from hell.

Crucially, they seemed to have lost their patience, as several of them had already drawn their guns.

Han Su grew even more frantic. Having snatched the Mechanical Fragment, he was about to recite the Fishing Song and escape.

But he hadn’t expected that after letting go of the Mechanical Fragment, Wei Lan would sway and lose her footing. On top of that, the recent invasion of the fragment’s icy aura had also severely depleted his own Spiritual Power.

In his haste, he could only pull Wei Lan close and duck behind a thick pillar in the secret room to shield them from gunfire.

Wei Lan, who had been so impossibly formidable just moments before, fell into his arms, limp as a noodle. She leaned against him, struggling to lift her head to look at his face, her eyes bloodshot.

”’You’ what...?”

Han Su held her and urged, ”Weren’t you just being all-powerful? Pull yourself together...”

Several plans flashed through his mind, but their situation was truly desperate.

’Wei Lan is too affected; I can’t count on her. And while I’m holding this Mechanical Fragment, I can’t even recite the Spell.’

But he couldn’t bring himself to abandon both the Mechanical Fragment and Wei Lan to escape. Gritting his teeth, he resolved to fight it out.

But just then, a metallic reverberation sounded from above his head.

THUD!

The sound was like metal striking the ground, but it had a bizarre, living quality to it. It seemed to come from a great distance, yet it entered the secret room with perfect clarity, startling everyone into thinking the sound was right above their heads.

They hastily looked up but saw nothing.

Before they could react, a second strike sounded, then another, and another, each one penetrating deep into the secret room.

Everyone’s eardrums buzzed, creating an intensely uncomfortable sensation.

The strikes continued, echoing into the secret room one after another. It sounded like some kind of rhythmic code.

Just as the tapping was about to end, a cold voice rang out, ”So many of you have come, yet you’re the ones making such a racket and disturbing my guests!”

”Since that’s the case, you can all stay!”

”...”

CRACK...

Immediately after, there was a strange sound of grinding metal.

The Crystal Skull members hadn’t yet reacted, but Han Su’s heart suddenly lurched.

From behind the pillar, he looked toward the Snake-headed Copper Armor Statue in the corner of the room.

At some point, the Copper Armor Statue had lifted its head.

This time, Han Su was certain it wasn’t a hallucination. The Copper Armor Statue’s cobra-like head was slowly rising.

It slowly stretched its body. Its upper and lower metal components, as if rusted shut, were gradually limbering up.

For some reason, the sound of twisting metal was exceptionally clear, drowning out every other noise in the secret room.

The Crystal Skull members, who had been frantically searching for the source of the voice, froze where they stood.

Then, one by one, expressions of utter disbelief appeared on their faces, as if an invisible chill were creeping up their spines.

”Professor...”

One of the Crystal Skull Organization members stumbled back two steps, his voice trembling. ”Th-this... Isn’t this supposed to be a replica?”