Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 555 - 508 City of Machinery

"Well, I’m completely stumped, we have to wait at least thirty minutes before we can see that receptionist," Mr. Delusional nonchalantly wiped his fingertips smeared with chalk onto the corner of his robe, adding a bit of extra ash to his elegance. He pulled a face, sticking out his tongue, and spread his hands out towards Lyle and the others. "I’m lost. Damn it, why on earth did I set the node for an hour!"

Mr. Delusional, the Mechanical Lich and a fine creation of the Mechanical God, had forgotten the way home.

"He’s quite the amateur wizard, I’m not even sure if that’s a compliment for him."

The members of the Necromancer Figure Club had become accustomed to the strange; the members of the literary society had a kind of scatterbrained genius which made them seem... somewhat unreliable.

"Mr. Delusional, whatever you need to find, we’ll help you look," This might be a good opportunity for a firsthand experience, a fresh start.

"A virtual screen, indistinguishable from the walls around us to the naked eye, but it’s an illusionary image, a disguise made by our sect. On the other side of the screen is our receptionist. That’s the only way to the Mechanical Devine Sect. I set the node to capture the light and shadow of the receptionist after one hour, which means, it will take quite some time before the receptionist detects my proactive appearance."

Lyle and the others began to feel around the wall in front of Mr. Delusional, trying to find some invisible indentations.

"No sound of collision, no magic detection... Are you sure it’s here, Mr. Delusional?"

"Anti-magic coating, sound mimicry devices, the mechanical disguise is more sophisticated than you imagine, sophisticated enough that I can’t even detect it myself. I can assure you the stronghold is right here; the only effective detection method probably is our unique data decomposition device, a simple Detecting Eye."

Lyle’s eyes widened as Mr. Delusional talked on.

"Then why don’t you use your Detecting Eye?"

"Simple, because it was scrapped in a fender bender with Mr. Reporter, and I haven’t had the chance to replace it yet."

As the creator of the Spine Wheel, Lyle felt exhausted in both body and mind, while Nia’s tendrils continued to explore the wall.

"I thought Mr. Reporter had been banned from driving."

"Yes, but some things make us break those rules, like calls for help from Mr. Dashing. That day was really too much for us to handle."

Lyle casually skipped the punishment process of Mr. Law and actually saw a bit of Mr. Dashing in Mr. Delusional’s retreating figure.

Even though Mr. Dashing resembled a blind man groping the wall at this moment.

Finally, after twenty-three minutes and forty-nine seconds, there was a stir on the wall.

On the wall opposite to where Lyle and the others had their backs turned.

A square about two square meters lit up. The light faded, metal plates tumbled and folded, retracting into the extremities of a mechanical creature, forming a layer of armor. A black mechanical body, exceedingly similar to Mr. Delusional’s mechanical structure, the only differences likely being the additional exoskeletons for various functions. The square boxes on its head opened, revealing a glowing electronic brain connected by wires. The mechanical being emitted a voice just like Mr. Delusional’s.

"Executor 10001."

"Long time no see, 9701."

The other mechanical being rotated the end of its mechanical arm, its head’s blue lights flickering twice.

"This unit had its last tangible contact with Executor 10001 seventy-one hours, thirty-six minutes, and five seconds ago. Even from a humanistic perspective, our encounter doesn’t seem long enough to be considered ’long time no see.’"

"This is a formality, my friend, to express my missing of you, I suppose."

"Objection, that is incorrect. Unit 10001 and this unit have been in prolonged connection, there’s no sense of missing due to isolation. It is judged that Unit 10001 has a time disorder for unknown reasons; it is recommended to return to the center for a checkup. Unit 10001 and this unit do not need to be polite, because we are..."

"Alright, alright... balabalabala..." Mr. Dashing interrupted Unit 9701’s speech, "I accept your advice, dear 9701, but first, please take my friends back to the center. You haven’t damaged your spatial transmission capabilities in the City of Wandering, have you?"

"This unit has no anomalies." Unit 9701 rotated the light screen, expressing its numbness with an emotionless electronic voice.

"Welcome to the arrival of members of the Necromancer Figure Club."

Mr. Dashing and his counterpart raised their hands, pressing the palms of their hands tightly together. Furious currents surfaced on their bodies, then appeared on their palms. The leaping sparks gradually calmed down, forming a quiet line in the air, like the edge of a mirror.

Mr. Dashing slowly backed away, pulling out two spatial portals connected by arcs of electricity from their separated palms, like an electric ring hiding violent energy.

The center of the electric ring was filled with spatial magic, and members of the Necromancer Figure Club, who had studied the Skeleton Gate, could clearly sense those spatial rifts.

"Another novel way to construct a space gate."

The electrified Mr. Dashing’s voice trembled, his vocal apparatus disturbed by electromagnetic induction.

"Please go ahead, and I will meet you on the other side in a moment."

With such words, Lyle and the others passed through the electric gate.

A silver-white city, yet not as ornate as the Silver King City of the City of Wandering. The outlines were sleek and refined, with silver-white boxes segmenting the space into smaller parts. Along the walkway in front of them, figures of many races could be seen. They expressed astonishment and admiration for the Mechanical Devine Sect’s minimalist, futuristic container buildings, yet they seemed somewhat uncomfortable with the excessive reflected light.

What truly astonished them was the towering structure at the center of the City of Machinery, a large Mayan-style pyramid. Made entirely of metal, each step was fixed with carefully carved, uniform crystals—focusing crystals. Blue cables, like flowing water, connected the crystal pedestals, delivering electric currents to the bottom of the pyramid. Mayan Pyramids were used for worshiping deities, but the very top of this mechanical one was bare, in stark contrast to the neatly beautiful clusters of crystals on each layer below.

"The shape of that pyramid is my own creation. I wanted to give this world a bit of a cultural shock, and besides, pyramids and the sun go hand in hand. Just think about it, this might be the most spectacular solar power station in the world." A doppelganger of Mr. Dashing emerged from a nearby cubic building, but the tone was unmistakably Mr. Dashing’s style.

"It will take some time to transport my original body here, so I have downloaded my consciousness into this one for convenience."

Lyle looked around at the other races who were marveling; almost all races from the City of Wandering were included here.

Except for the Liches.

"Mr. Dashing, are we your first Lich guests that you’ve invited? Why?"

Mr. Dashing awkwardly shifted his gaze away.

"The Mechanical Devine Sect pursues ultimate order, and Liches are inherently incompatible with us here, I know this well. You can never imagine the chaos they can cause in this place."

Mr. Dashing gazed at the light shining on the pyramid.

"I also don’t really want my kind under the supervision of the Lich Salvation Society, the freedom we’ve finally gained."