Chapter 118: Wei Lan Remembered

Copper rust spread, and everything in the secret chamber was shrouded in an aura of antiquity and decay.

Human bodies, flesh, joints — all seemed to have rusted like machines, making movement extremely difficult in this bizarre space.

Except for the spirit — only spiritual power continued to flow as usual.

But all spiritual power that had seeped into reality was being corroded, bit by bit, by the copper rust, and ultimately devoured.

It was as if the spiritual power, which was originally exuded to resist the copper rust, had instead become its nourishment.

At this moment, the Bronze Armor Statue had already turned around and was walking toward the nearest member of the Crystal Skull Organization.

In this space, its movements grew faster and more fluid, while everyone else’s became more sluggish and stiff, as if rusted in place. This formed a stark contrast: the others looked mechanical, while it alone appeared alive.

It walked up to a member of the Crystal Skull Organization, raised its bronze-colored palm, and slowly covered the person’s head before tightening its five fingers.

“Pop.”

The head of the Crystal Skull Organization member was exceptionally hard. According to the intelligence shared by Miss Ai, it could withstand the crushing force of a truck. But before this bronze hand, it was as fragile as an eggshell.

Not only did the brain matter burst, but even the spiritual active substances within the crystal skull were crushed and completely obliterated in that instant.

The Crystal Skull members who saw their companion’s miserable fate had eyes filled with despair and terror. They wanted to scream, to fight back, but could do nothing.

In this rust-covered world, only the Bronze Armor Statue continued to move.

One after another, it shattered the heads of the Crystal Skull members.

Blood splattered, mixing with the crystallized skulls and brain tissue to form one grotesque image after another.

Because it only took one strike to kill each target, it instead gave rise to a mechanical dullness.

Its attack on the Crystal Skull members could not even be called a massacre — it was more like a tedious harvest.

At the same time, just as the Bronze Armor Statue began its indiscriminate slaughter of the Crystal Skull members, behind a pillar, Han Su hurriedly picked up a box from the ground.

It had belonged to one of the Crystal Skull members who had just charged toward Han Su.

That person had followed the Professor’s dying command to take the box, seize the Mechanical Fragments, and escape. But right as he approached Han Su, the copper rust took hold of him, and the box he was carrying rolled to Han Su’s side.

Though Han Su had already punched a hole into the box, at least it served to hold the fragments, so he wouldn’t need to constantly expend spiritual power.

For some unknown reason, Han Su was unaffected by the copper rust. And the moment he placed the Mechanical Fragments into the box, it created a degree of isolation — and it seemed to revive Wei Lan slightly.

Suddenly, she tightly embraced Han Su, her voice choked with sobs. “So, it was you, wasn’t it?”

“You were the one who rescued me from that monster-filled ancient castle back then?”

“…”

“What?”

Wei Lan’s words stunned Han Su on the spot, his scalp tingling for a moment.

He looked down in disbelief and saw Wei Lan’s tear-streaked face.

“So it was you… it really was you…”

Fear and joy coexisted on Wei Lan’s face as she tried to lift her hand to touch Han Su.

But her hand trembled violently and couldn’t rise. All she could do was keep speaking, her voice soft, as if afraid that the truth might shatter.

“I always wondered why I kept having that nightmare but could never remember it after waking up. I wondered why I came back to Qinggang City from so far away — I never liked this place and even dreamed of escaping it forever…”

“So it turns out… it all had a reason!”

“…”

“She really remembered? Was it because of… this Mechanical Fragment?”

The shock in Han Su’s heart defied description — he was no less shaken than Wei Lan.

Why did she remember this?

In theory, rescuing her had happened in the previous Life Line.

In this current Life Line, she was never kidnapped and had lived a complete and uninterrupted life.

“Can you still move?”

He tried to pull Wei Lan up. He had countless questions to ask, but this was clearly not the place for answers.

Yet when faced with his question, Wei Lan’s gaze shifted — then abruptly turned to ice.

Her eyes widened as she saw the Bronze Armor Statue slowly turning its head toward her, the two ruby eyes in its snake head glinting with eerie brilliance.

It felt just like that cold corridor — the moment she had seen the bronze statues lining both walls.

She remembered how helpless she had been, locked in that cold, hard room, trembling in fear, so hopeless she didn’t even dare to cry aloud.

At that time, it was also this man who had suddenly kicked open the bronze door in front of her and yanked her out.

Then he had carried her and run like mad.

In the end, he had held her while they fell — fell — and then she had awakened from the nightmare and returned to reality.

Before that, she had revisited the same dream countless times, even seen reports on the kidnapping case, seen articles about the kidnapped children, and the one surviving child.

But she had never connected the kidnapping case to herself.

Because every time she revisited the dream, she would completely forget it upon waking, not leaving behind even the slightest trace.

It wasn’t until this moment — when the memories surged back in their entirety and overwhelmed her — that she truly returned to reality.

Only, upon returning to reality, the first thing she saw was that familiar Bronze Armor Statue. Its towering, unstoppable presence seemed to throw her right back into the nightmare.

“No time to hesitate…”

Han Su didn’t know what Wei Lan was thinking, but he could tell the Mechanical Fragment was affecting her deeply.

Meanwhile, the Bronze Armor Statue had finished crushing the last Crystal Skull Organization member’s head and was now turning toward them with rigid steps, casting a massive shadow over them both.

The pain on the back of his left hand intensified, and that strange sensation in his heart grew stronger.

Copper rust filled all directions. Even chanting the Fisherman’s Chant to withdraw his presence might not help him evade the corrosion — so instead, he clenched his teeth and turned around.

Facing that enormous bronze hand reaching for him, he had no intention of dodging or resisting. Instead, he stared directly at the eerie ruby eyes on the snake head of the Bronze Armor Statue and extended his own hand.

Then, confronting this overwhelmingly powerful and terrifying entity, he opened his mouth and spoke softly:

【The Will of Copper Shall Endure Within the Reflection of the World!】

“Buzz!”

The copper rust that had filled the air suddenly seemed to be influenced by some kind of will — it froze in place, suspended in midair.

To describe it more precisely, there was a moment in which every single particle ceased to vibrate.

Thus, the eerie voice and the sound of metal collisions vanished entirely. Within the secret chamber, a moment of deathly silence emerged.

Han Su felt an excruciating pain in his left hand — it had reached its peak.

He saw a cross-shaped scar appear on the back of his hand, and the flesh began to split. Blood seeped from the wound, but then turned into a strange bronze color.

The palm of the Bronze Armor Statue had extended to within ten centimeters of Han Su’s head — yet it came to a halt.

Han Su maintained the position of his outstretched right palm, inch by inch pressing toward the snake-shaped head of the Bronze Armor Statue. At the same time, he recited the Fisherman’s Chant, striving to activate an even stronger spiritual power:

“Gods descend with their divine decree!”

“The Will of Copper Shall Endure Within the Reflection of the World!”

“…”

“…”

In the secret chamber of the Lilac Courtyard, the Old Man had been squinting slightly, seemingly indifferent to everything. But suddenly, he noticed the wine before him.

Ripples began to appear layer after layer, continuous and unending, as if some sort of tremor persisted.

He suddenly realized something, straightened up slightly, and his breathing grew rapid. He shouted sharply, “All of you, get out, out!”

While driving others away, he fixed his gaze on the female security personnel: “Quick, quickly push me down!”

…

…

Within the secret chamber, following the utterance of those two lines, the Bronze Armor Statue suddenly began to tremble involuntarily.

It was as if a chaotic command was coursing through its body, causing all the Mechanical Components throughout it to clash and resist one another.

But this internal struggle did not last long — it came to a halt.

Facing Han Su, the two eerie red eyes in the snake head gradually began to glow.

But the red light was not dazzling. Instead, it radiated a sense of gentleness — or rather, docility.

Slowly, slowly, the bronze palm was withdrawn bit by bit. Then it gently pressed against its own chest and, facing Han Su who stood before it, placed its hand over its chest in a salute.

“So it really worked…”

Han Su slowly retracted his gaze, contemplating for a moment, then suddenly shouted in a deep voice, “Open a path — let me out!”

The Bronze Armor Statue remained silent, but suddenly turned around and walked toward a certain spot. Then, without warning, it hurled a fist forward.

With a loud boom, a large hole appeared in the wall — a wall so hard that even bullets could barely leave a mark.

“A rather rough way to open a door…”

Han Su murmured to himself, a thought flashing through his mind. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but still earnestly said to the Bronze Armor Statue:

“Remember, whatever used to drive you before — forget it. I’m giving you a new command code.”

“And that is ********”

“……”

The red light in the snake head of the Bronze Armor Statue flickered — it was unclear if it understood.

Han Su had no time to dwell on it. He lifted Wei Lan into his arms and dashed through the large hole in the wall.

“This…”

All around was silence. It was unclear how much time had passed before a voice suddenly rang out — it was the owner of the Lilac Courtyard who had rushed over.

Seeing the bloodied corpses scattered across the floor, the now-empty platform, and most of all, the Bronze Armor Statue standing still in the secret chamber, maintaining its gesture of hand over chest — he looked as though struck by lightning.

“Has… has the heir returned?”

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