The Eldritch Files

”As long as we’re alive, we... we’ll have a chance...”

That Mr. Xu was lost in thought. After a long moment, he slowly raised his head and said in a very certain tone:

”There are no more chances. Now, this is our last chance!”

Meanwhile, in another room, the one-armed old man of Dingxiang Mansion was struggling to rise from his wheelchair.

He slowly took off his tunic suit and changed into a Sacrificial Robe adorned with Copper Patterns.

Beside him, a female security guard asked with a look of confusion, ”Teacher, if you wanted to cooperate with the Abyssal Studio, why did you cast that vote?”

”And if you didn’t have faith in the Silence Plan, why didn’t you let us go out and help?”

”...”

The old man of Dingxiang Mansion just shook his head slowly and said in a low voice, ”All I know is that in a confrontation of this magnitude, whether or not people like us participate is completely irrelevant.”

”If the Seven Days of Divine Descent fails, then the Copper Inheritor will be our master, our god!”

”But if the Seven Days of Divine Descent succeeds, then he is merely a tool!”

”Now, everything is clear, isn’t it?”

”The help that needed to be given has been given. Those people wanted to fight to the death, and they were given their chance. But it turns out that some things truly cannot be refused by people of our level. Everything was decided ten years ago.”

”...”

”...”

”Don’t be resentful, and don’t be disappointed.”

The tall, thin woman kept her voice as soft as possible in front of Han Su, as if offering some final pity.

”Because all of this is inevitable!”

”When humans engage in the Stealing of the Gods’ power, it causes the Gods’ will to fester in the transcendent world. Whenever this will accumulates and strikes back, it forms a Tide.”

”In the two thousand years since humanity rebuilt its civilization, it has endured the impact of the Tide countless times. Even the laws of reality have been destroyed over and over. We’ve long grown weary of it. Even the World Guardians have begun to lose hope.”

”That is why the Seven Days of Divine Descent Plan was created—to eliminate the Tide permanently.”

”The twelve Heirs are the price for eliminating the Tide.”

”This plan was originally supposed to have been completed silently ten years ago. The world’s greatest threat would have been eliminated without the vast majority of people ever knowing. They would have continued to enjoy the peace and stability of their sheltered reality forever.”

”Unfortunately, while the creation of the other eleven Heirs went smoothly, you alone escaped. You even used some unknown method to hide the Copper’s Will.”

She spoke in a gentle tone, as if under the illusion that she were a mother, and gently pointed a finger at Han Su’s forehead.

”Don’t worry, this won’t hurt...”

”...”

But in the face of her gentleness, an unprecedented rage, disgust, and unwillingness welled up inside Han Su.

He suddenly snapped his head up. ”Your plan is truly brilliant. So intricate, so bold, so grand...”

”Ten years have passed, and you’ve finally laid it all bare. But...”

As he said this, his facial muscles twitched uncontrollably into a vicious smile. ”What if I never became the Copper Inheritor?”

”Hah...”

A hint of derision appeared in the tall, thin woman’s eyes. ”Why are you still saying such childish things at a time like this?”

”The Copper’s Will is inside you. Did you really think you could hide it?”

When she said this, she truly wore an expression of helplessness, the kind one would have when dealing with a small child.

The finger resting on Han Su’s forehead swiped lightly, accompanied by an endless Penetration of Spiritual Power, as if to verify something.

She was certain the Copper’s Will was inside Han Su. By acting personally, she could surely trigger a reaction from the Copper’s Will within him. It should have been easy to confirm.

Then, she saw Han Su’s forehead was cut, and a trickle of blood seeped out.

Not copper-colored, but a vivid red.

Her expression suddenly froze.

”You...”

After freezing for several seconds, she suddenly took a slight step back, only to lunge forward again, moving rapidly toward Han Su.

Her eyes were practically pressed against his wound. ”How can it be red?”

”You’ve already mastered the Copper’s Will! I saw it with my own eyes!”

Her voice even held a barely perceptible trace of panic. ”But how are you...”

”It looks like all that confidence you were showing off was just a joke...”

Han Su couldn’t help but burst out laughing. ”But you don’t know everything at all! No, I should say you don’t know anything!”

”You don’t even know who your real opponent is...”

”...”

Logically, Han Su shouldn’t have been laughing, but he couldn’t help it. He just loved seeing that panicked and bewildered look on this woman’s face.

’So even someone with the power to suppress everything could look so lost and helpless.’

’My identity as the Copper Inheritor was an illusion from the start—an illusion pieced together from Bai Shi’s blood, the Copper’s Will, and the Fishing Song. I was never the Copper Inheritor, just someone posing as him.’

’The truth is, I wasn’t the reason the Seven Days of Divine Descent failed, and the key to fixing it doesn’t lie with me either.’

’And this woman, because of this misunderstanding, has already revealed all her cards.’

...

”He really did it...”

Before this, Han Su had stated unequivocally that no matter what the Abyssal Laboratory was planning, it would surely fail.

At the time, Song Chushi didn’t know why Han Su was so confident. Even now, he couldn’t hear the conversation between Han Su and the tall, thin woman and didn’t know what had happened, but he did catch her panic.

’So, the Abyssal Studio really failed?’

A surge of indescribable joy filled him. He suddenly yelled, flung open his briefcase, and pulled out a bloody cape. As he threw it over himself, he kicked the battered briefcase far away.

This was his final gambit. The case was packed with enough explosives to collapse a twenty-story building.

BOOM!

A massive fireball spread out. The aftershock, flames, shrapnel, and debris instantly blasted in all directions. The very air seemed to twist and compress, becoming an invisible cannon that pulverized the dense, countless humanoid flesh-monsters around him into mush.

Wrapped in the bloody cape, Song Chushi barely survived. The active flesh and blood scattered all around him became his nourishment instead. Enveloped by the cape, he struggled to repair his body and yelled with all his might, ”Get ready to send him away...”

”Did you get the data and that thing?”

”...”

The reply that came back was a panicked electronic voice from inside the Abyssal Laboratory: ”No! I’ve searched everywhere! There’s nothing here but scraps...”

”...”

”What?”

A stunned expression suddenly appeared on Song Chushi’s usually clear and resolute face. ”Nothing?”

’Why is there nothing?’

’If we couldn’t get the data on the Seven Days of Divine Descent from the Abyssal Studio, then what was the point of this operation, aside from witnessing the Abyssal Studio’s terrifying power and paying an enormous price?’

’Could it be true, just as that woman said? Was it all meaningless?’

...

”Chaos... It’s all chaos...”

And just as Song Chushi’s expression turned slack with shock, the tall, thin woman also clearly fell into a state of utter astonishment and confusion.

Meeting Han Su’s hateful glare, she revealed a look of unprecedented fear.

”This is wrong. All of this is wrong. Someone... Someone is disrupting our plan...”

’What was the real reason the Seven Days of Divine Descent failed ten years ago?’

’We thought we had found the key to solving the problem when we found the Copper Inheritor and confirmed the existence of the Copper’s Will.’

’But it turned out to be a completely illogical, yet very real, illusion?’

Panic began to rise uncontrollably within her. Before, while they were anxious to know the reason for the failure of the Seven Days of Divine Descent, they weren’t afraid, merely content to patiently search for the answer. Now, however, she truly realized that something was wrong with the whole situation.

’An invisible hand has disrupted our plan, and I don’t even know who it belongs to...’

Looking up at Han Su’s fierce expression and the ruins of Qinggang, she suddenly realized that tonight, it wasn’t just Qinggang that had lost. The Abyssal Laboratory had lost, too.

They had both suffered devastating losses.

’And the most crucial part is, I have no idea who actually won...’

...

...

A dead silence fell over the area. This war had no winner. Everyone stood frozen on the spot, unsure how to face their fate.

Then, amidst this oppressive silence, not far from Song Chushi, a head peeked out from behind a wrecked vehicle, its owner wearing an innocent expression. ”So...”

”Are you guys looking for this thing?”

”...”

He pulled over his black backpack and took out a Crystal Skull.