Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 556 - 509: Suit Devil

A metallic white sheet covered the land above, squeezing the vegetation and soil to the edges of the city. The City of Machinery was extremely delicate, so monotonous in its delicacy that it resembled a meticulous black and white drawing. The mirror-polished city walls didn’t even have crevices, and there were no signs of explosion craters or the stains and filth left by experiments. Neither the shadowed gaps between walls housed robed skeletons murmuring to themselves, nor were there rooms filled with the revelries of various chaotic creations.

Lyle had just gotten used to these little accidents in life, and here, he found it somewhat quiet.

It wasn’t that the City of Machinery was dead silent; on the contrary, the city was vibrant with multiracial tourists milling about everywhere. But without the Liches, it always felt like something was missing.

"Property loss report," Mr. Delusion read Lyle’s thoughts. "I think that’s one of the benefits of not having Liches. Our financial reporting officer here is a bit obsessive-compulsive: if there were more troublemakers, his mechanical lifespan would be greatly reduced."

"We would compensate for that!" The one controlling the Andrey Liches spoke up in their defense, "City of Wandering has many accidents due to experiments in its diverse regions and multiracial setup, but we have always been very generous with compensation, as long as you don’t alarm Mr. Dean."

"Of course, I’m well aware of that, and believe me, I’m more familiar with the process than you are," said Mr. Delusion, who seemed to lighten up a bit. "Using the Liches’ compensation to repair those damaged buildings, the City of Wandering’s economic vitality remains high under such positive stimulation. The whole city continues to progress as a result. Aside from Andrey’s reputation and the City of Wandering mayor’s hair, there are no other losses. The Arcanists are very clever... and very tolerant."

"But this city doesn’t need stimulation to keep progressing; it’s our instinct," Mr. Delusion looked at the pyramid, as the focusing crystal had subtly shifted direction with the sun during the conversation, to the extent that was invisible to the naked eye. "Compared to those benefits, Lyle, I hope you can understand, being a member of Andrey is indeed a joyful thing, but when I act as a leader of a certain race or in charge of a certain area, that joy turns into pain."

"But you do need the power of the Liches right now, Mr. Delusion," pointed out Changeable with a smile.

"To be precise, it’s Lyle’s personal power that’s needed. The Mechanical Divine Sect should not be under the restraint of the Salvation Association, and I wouldn’t place such a ticking time bomb in our city. But right now, I need such a powerful force to solve our problems. That billion was originally my offer for the services of a Salvation Association member to deal with the problem..."

"A mere billion for a Salvation Association member’s appearance fee? No disrespect, Plague Doctor, just... well... you know. I assumed that the Salvation Association professors were all researchers indifferent to fame and fortune," said Shiny, looking at Mr. Delusion skeptically.

"A billion is a price that expresses my sincerity, and anyway, those people won’t care about those shiny numbers, right? Perhaps this City of Machinery might spark some interest in them, and then..."

"Then you get the professor’s help for free."

"A billion, my friends, I could cry when I lose it, if only I had tear ducts."

"So, what’s the actual content of your commission, Mr. Delusion? You haven’t told us yet," Lyle reminded the somewhat distracted Mr. Delusion. Whether it was his own association members or he himself, they were all a bit preoccupied, probably due to the novelty of a new environment. As for Mr. Delusion, it was likely the intense novelty of tense Liches.

"For now, I need to go check it out one more time, alone. Lyle, I will need to excuse myself for a while. During this time, please feel free to explore the city... but not too freely." Mr. Delusion bent his metallic spine, and the projection from the open square box stopped five centimeters in front of Lyle’s face.

"The security personnel in this city are my same model machines, please don’t make them busy, I beg you."

Only after Lyle nodded did Mr. Delusion walk satisfactorily into an alley, with Shiny following out of curiosity five steps behind, only to stop bewildered at the mouth of the street.

"It’s a dead end, he disappeared."

The rest of them paid no heed to Shiny’s words. They had already started heading towards the bustling shops.

This was the second street facing the portal, with a variety of everyday items displayed in the glowing shop windows, including mechanical-limbed furniture and the like. These smoothly designed devices didn’t necessarily possess any technology beyond the era; some simple designs could easily be achieved with magic. But these were more convenient and had wider applicability.

The Lava Lizard’s breeding pools, which Lyle believed, were originally fully automatic pots. A human child looked up at a popping popcorn machine, then put his Magic Script homework into it. The result didn’t quite meet his wishes; his one-lensed Elven Tutor doubled his homework and rewarded him with a small bucket of snacks for his daring attempt.

A buzzing sound arose among a group of Stone Monsters. One Stone Monster, wielding a drill, made holes in its companion’s spiky stone bodies, then hammered in metallic spikes of a different color. The Stone Monster adorned with many metal spikes stood out among its peers, and so a hippie Stone Person was born. Other iterations like spiked Stone People, death metal Stone People, or something else were likely to follow. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The City of Machinery brought new cultures to these races, and the combinations of these amusing racial cultures made Lyle both laugh and cry.

But there were also some visually delightful things.

The Mechanical Divine Sect brought suits.

With their stiff appearance and smooth lines, these garments made a significant visual impact, especially when worn by Succubi.

In a suit store named 00007, a crowd of eager Succubi crammed inside.

Oddly enough, the majority were female. Perhaps males weren’t as interested in these "boxes worn on the body," but beauty-loving ladies were very willing to try on these crisp, new clothes.

"They look very neat, and we suspect they have some subtle connection to the Order Side, so we decided to profane them, using these suits to showcase the charm of chaos," a confident Succubus in a suit answered. "And I like these dark colors. They match us well."

Sharp-eyed Lyle spotted a familiar figure in the crowd trying on clothes; she stood in front of a mirror, looking at her attire.

A black suit with a red lining on the inside, Fema Black Abyss wrapped her arms around herself, with a coquettish stance and the blush of embarrassment on her face clearly visible in Lyle’s eyes.

The Black Abyssal Demon princess seemed enchanted by her own reflection.

"It’s been a while, Lady Fema."

"Who!... It’s Lord Lyle. My respects to you, Lord Lyle," the demon race princess’s shyness was suppressed as she saluted Lyle formally, though her face still retained a blush.

Lyle waved his hands, "There’s no need to be so formal, Fema."

"All of us from the Demon Race who survived the City of Wandering ought to show respect to you, Lord Lyle," her golden red eyes filled with serious formality.

"You look really good in that outfit, Fema."

"Hahaha, do you think so? I feel the same," the demon race princess’s voice was quite joyful, and her hands held her increasingly warm cheeks as uncontrollable laughter squeezed through her teeth; her body swaying back and forth like a maggot.

"..." It was an unexpectedly different side.

"..." She came back to her senses and looked at Lyle coldly. "My apologies, Lord Lyle."

"You really like that suit, don’t you, Fema?"

"Don’t mention it again, Lord Lyle, I’m going to change back right now," Fema said, like a little girl whose sense of shame had been exposed, heading toward the fitting room.

"You’re going to change back? But you’re quite adorable at this moment."

The female demon froze in place, her body trembling excitedly.

She turned around, her teeth pressing against her lower lip, trying to hold back a smile, her face turning completely red.

"I’ll buy it! Don’t say another word!"