"This... this is impossible..."
Not only were the mbers of the Crystal Skull Organization shocked by the scene before them, even the professor appeared utterly stunned.
Compared to those mbers who only knew that the Bronze Armor Statue might be dangerous, he, who knew the full details, was far more terrified. His body swayed, and his voice was filled with disbelief: "Li... Living Bronze Puppet, how... how could it be real?"
"Such a thing is actually placed beneath Lilac Courtyard? This... this is no different from hiding a nuclear bomb under the bed!"
"Ka-cha" "Ka-cha" "Ka-cha"
Amid their panic, the Snake-Headed Bronze Armor Statue, inscribed with mysterious encrypted text, was already moving with increasing fluidity.
It was originally an inanimate object, but now it seed as though it had co to life, twisting its body stiffly.
At the head, the two eerie ruby eyes gradually began to emit a demonic glow.
The feeling of awaiting the unknown was unbearable. One of the Crystal Skull Organization mbers’ pupils abruptly contracted upon seeing this.
In the air, several blurry shadows suddenly shot toward the Bronze Armor Statue.
"Regardless of whether it's real or not, we must strike first—are we just going to keep watching?"
The blurry shadows lunged forward, and the Bronze Armor Statue did not resist at all, allowing the Crystal Plague to invade its body.
Yet it still showed no change. Instead, those two ruby eyes beca even more sinister.
It was as if the eyes had suddenly gained spirit. Though clearly inlaid rubies, they rolled like actual eyeballs.
Under that gaze, which now seed alive, everyone felt their hearts sink.
"This thing... what is this thing..."
And at the sa ti, even more shocked than them was Han Su, standing behind a pillar with a chanical fragnt still in his hand.
He had never doubted this thing was real—after all, he had seen it not long ago.
But what shocked him now was sothing else...
Pain!
When the Bronze Armor Statue began to awaken, he had already felt a searing pain on the back of his left hand.
Vaguely, even the cross-shaped scar had surfaced.
His spiritual power seed to spiral out of control, actively converging on the back of his left hand.
This was clearly a sign that the mysterious power on the back of his left hand was being activated!
But he had not consciously used the power of the cross-shaped bronze mark. It was more like... it had resonated with sothing present.
Back when he subdued the Phantom Truck, he had also felt this sensation.
But the question was, why would the awakening Bronze Armor Statue inside Lilac Courtyard resonate with the scar on the back of his hand?
Before he could find an answer, the professor of the Crystal Skull Organization, upon confirming the abnormality of the Bronze Armor Statue, had already fallen into despair. After a brief adjustnt, he suddenly realized sothing and urgently hissed at the others:
"Don't move!"
"Absolutely do not attack that thing again..."
"——"
With that, he looked up toward the top of the chamber, where the knocking sounds had just co from, his voice trembling slightly:
"Has... has the master of Lilac Courtyard arrived?"
"——"
Since there had been sounds from above just now, surely the other party could also hear his words?
His Adam’s apple rolled once before he spoke with difficulty: "Please forgive our intrusion..."
"We... we are followers of the Crystal Brain. We need this chanical fragnt to deal with a monster."
"But please believe, we have no hostility toward you. This infiltration was never ant to harm anyone..."
He spoke each word with utmost sincerity, fearing that his earnestness might fall short and fail to elicit a response: "The Living Bronze Puppet is here. We do not wish to fight. We beg you to show rcy."
"I am willing to leave my skull here as collateral, swear not to reveal the secret of this object, and promise to return the chanical fragnt once used, with appropriate compensation..."
"——"
"Professor..."
His words caused the surrounding mbers of the Crystal Skull Organization to cry out in disbelief.
To decide to leave one’s own skull behind before even a fight?
This professor of the Crystal Skull Organization had practically cast all dignity into the dirt.
Yet despite his words, there was no response at all. From the ceiling, only the sound of dust falling could be heard in the silence.
Only that Bronze Armor Statue, now fully awakened, took a slow step forward.
That step landed like a heavy weight on their hearts.
Sweat beaded on the professor’s forehead as he suddenly shouted: "We are willing to give up this chanical fragnt and erase all related mories from our minds. You may keep my skull as interest—but please... please let my students go..."
Still, silence.
To all his desperate concessions, the master of Lilac Courtyard offered only silence.
This silence now felt more like a wordless mockery.
"So it’s not that Lilac Courtyard was easy to infiltrate—it’s just that they never gave a damn if anyone did..."
At this mont, Han Su also felt a sinking heaviness in his heart.
No wonder it seed so easy to break into Lilac Courtyard—damn it, the place was full of traps...
He subconsciously clenched his left hand, only to feel a dull ache in the joints, as if rust had set in.
And in his arms, Wei Lan could barely stand anymore. Han Su glanced at her and saw her face frighteningly pale, her body indescribably cold. Yet she seed not to hear the noise in the chamber. Her eyes remained fixed on him.
"You guys find a way to escape with the item!"
Seeing that there was still no response, while the Bronze Armor Statue had already begun its second step, the professor of the Crystal Skull Organization completely despaired.
He let out a low sigh and said, "The information we found... was deliberately planted for us to find..."
"We were the offering, sent straight to the altar..."
"If we want to survive, we must fight..."
"——"
As the last word left his lips, his expression hardened. Suddenly, he threw the box in his hands toward a nearby Crystal Skull mber. Then, he slowly turned around and charged directly at the awakening Bronze Armor Statue.
At that mont, he carried a fierce desperation.
Both hands erupted with dazzling crystal light. He leapt high, slamming his frenzied power onto the Bronze Armor Statue.
And then—nothing happened.
The Bronze Armor Statue took the full force of the blow without even staggering. It rely continued to slowly raise its head.
On either side of the snake head, the red glow flickered strangely—then locked onto him.
The arm suddenly jerked straight upward, then the joint rotated and thrust forward.
"Shiiik."
In an instant, a bronze arm pierced through the professor’s chest and abdon. Within the bronze palm, it still held a heart that was beating violently.
"This is the Living Bronze Puppet?"
Blood poured from the mouth of the Crystal Skull Organization’s professor, yet a self-deprecating smile surfaced on his face. Despite having his heart ripped out, he could still control his movents.
Suddenly, he slamd his head forward, colliding with the snake head of the Bronze Armor Statue.
In his eyes, the crystallized light blazed to an extre intensity.
It was as if a bright and dense liquid had ford, surging with a mad aura, as it flooded into the Bronze Armor Statue.
Even Han Su was startled by the magnitude of this spectacle.
With just one glance, he already understood that this was a special ability possessed by mbers of the Crystal Skull Organization.
All mbers of this organization had been contaminated by the Crystal Plague, leading to mutations in both body and mind.
The ntal mutation in particular was abnormally strong. Even in death, they could reincarnate their lives by contaminating the spirit and will of others.
And now, this professor of the Crystal Skull Organization was clearly doing just that.
Even if the opponent was made of bronze, the fact that it could awaken ant it could also be infiltrated by spiritual power.
So, staking his life, he tried to inject his spiritual power into it, even attempting to control it.
But in the face of his desperate action, the Bronze Armor Statue still gave no response.
It continued its programd movents, slowly retracting the outstretched hand. The heart that still beat within its grasp was crushed with a gentle squeeze of the fingers.
In the next mont, it reached out, removed the Crystal Skull Organization’s professor from its body, lifted him slightly, and then slamd him heavily onto the ground.
Its foot slowly lifted and ca down. "Pop"—the professor’s head burst under its step.
Everything happened so slowly, so stiffly, yet nothing could hinder it.
"Professor..."
Several mbers of the Crystal Skull Organization understood that the professor had intended to entangle the Bronze Armor Statue alone, to buy them ti.
But none of them had expected him to die so quickly.
They didn’t know what to do for a mont. They split into two groups. One charged toward the professor—so drew their guns, others, burning their last reserves of strength, had their hands and eyes blaze with crystallized light, rushing with a manic energy toward the awakened Bronze Armor Statue.
The other group obediently grabbed the box on the ground, eyes red, and charged straight at Han Su.
They only wanted to snatch the chanical fragnt and escape from this place.
But all of this suddenly froze, like a paused videotape halfway through playback.
After killing the professor of the Crystal Skull Organization, the awakening of the Bronze Armor Statue was complete. The eerie glow in its demonic ruby eyes flickered.
Then, it seed to exhale slowly. From the mouth area, a puff of gas sprayed out.
The air was suddenly filled with the scent of rusted bronze.
A coarse and rigid presence, centered on it, instantly enveloped the entire chamber.
On the ground and walls, patches of eerie bronze-green corrosion began to rapidly appear, piece by piece, layer upon layer. This bronze-green hue expanded wildly throughout the room, growing, and even spreading onto human bodies.
All mbers of the Crystal Skull Organization began to develop patches of this bronze-green growth on their bodies. Their joints felt seized by rust, and their movents instantly turned sluggish.
"Clang!"
The bullets they had fired were all corroded by the bronze rust in an instant, dropping to the ground mid-air.
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