Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

“Tell me you’re capable of handling the Cult of Machines’ commission, even if we have no information right now. Omen, bullying and brute force aren’t my style. Didn’t you hear what Delusion said before? This commission can’t fail. We’re just suitable candidates, and even he can’t guarantee we’ll be 100% competent. Why don’t we spend more time thinking it over?”

Deep down, Lyle felt like a bottle, with black sludge crawling and rising on its inner walls, bringing a real chill into his somewhat agitated mind.

A bad omen is like a fog that surrounds you.

"Are you blaming me?" There was no anger in his strange tone, like an elder teasing a child. "I just made the choice deep in your heart."

"That's not my thought!" Lyle's consciousness roared from within the black mist, furious that this mass of fear had blocked his vision and restricted his freedom. "That's your thought! You are an anomaly born of madness, you are the omen that devours me!"

The black mist transformed into a distorted vortex, and at its center lay the sleeping Nia before Lyle. Just as Lyle was about to reach out his hand, a twisted, withered wooden claw emerged from the vortex—it was the Omen Giant, crouching on the ground like a grotesque monkey.

“You’re resisting me again, Lyle.”

Black sludge flowed from the two cavities where the skull was, swallowing the barren land beneath its feet.

The ominous sign raised its hand, revealing the world beyond the black mist.

“Look at your spirit, so small, so weak, like a small dark room. I can only kneel down with my proud knees and hunch my back to share a room with you.”

"You are afraid, Lyle, but is it me you are afraid of?" The giant, dripping with black mud, lowered his head, his enormous face close to Lyle's upturned face.

What you fear is this era, this powerful era in which magic exists.

"Andrei has shattered your arrogance as a transmigrator, and the power of magic has eroded your spine. The more you know, the more you fear."

The black mud swallowed Lyle, and in those empty eyes, Lyle saw in the darkness his own reflection of when he first arrived in Andrea and witnessed everything: excitement, anticipation, humility, and fear.

Lyle felt like a clown being stripped naked and paraded through the streets, utterly worthless before God, who was proclaiming his ugliness, displaying his sins, and then cleansing him.

"You've done a great job. Join Andre, learn séance, become a séance apprentice, and make your mark in this era..."

“As another part of you, I watched how you integrated into this world, as a humble being.”

The ominous giant braced himself on the ground and roared.

"But I humbly entered your world not to see us both become mortal."

"I am God!"

Pain, a shattered earth, a shattered sky, the entire spiritual world shakes and collapses under the roar of the ominous omen.

“You’re still lacking a bit of courage to stand up. Tell me, Lyle, does this world care about your damn time? Will it let you prepare before it destroys everything? No, being prepared is just wishful thinking. When two armies meet, the brave one wins.”

"Lyle, what would you do if your friend or family member needed help, and you were sure you couldn't do it?"

"...Do everything in your power?"

"It's not about courage, but I like it."

The ominous sign emitted a sinister laugh.

"We must act before we think of fear, with wisdom and strength, before all else..."

"We need something, something extraordinary..."

"crazy."

The torrent of pain engulfed him. Lyle could feel the wind, sharp as blades, whistling past him from unknown corners, blowing out from the cave of thought, bringing a profound enlightenment amidst the suffering.

The world of order has been crushed, and the majestic figure of the ominous omen rises within Lyle's soul.

"I humbly become your shadow because I will share this star with you."

Above the fragmented and expanding spiritual world lies a chaotic and ethereal spiritual starry night.

The ominous giant stretched out its claws, and the glowing star was held in its palm like a fruit, emitting a beautiful light that shone on Lyle.

In an instant, the perspective shifted.

Lyle looked at the glowing little star in his hand, and with a wicked smile, crushed it into crumbs.

"Let's make a scene. One more troublemaker like me won't make a difference to Andrei."

The distinctive smell of engine oil pulled Lyle back to reality.

He now stood in a deep alley of a city in a state of disarray. A loose, swaying street sign twenty meters away indicated that this was the Bright District, a neglected narrow alley, or perhaps an abandoned city. The cobblestones on the ground were old and broken from long neglect, and the puddles in the cracks gleamed with a greenish sheen, as if a nest of slime monsters lived beneath them.

Mr. Delusional stood just two meters away from him, facing a solid wall. The position he faced looked no different from the surroundings, with the same fine cracks, the same yellowed wall surface, and the same pieces of peeling plaster.

He was getting a little impatient waiting upstairs, as two robotic arms tapped and struck the bricks from left to right.

"Perhaps he's looking for the entrance to Diagon Alley."

"That delusional person must be a terrible wizard."

Lyle and the ominous sign were making their own jokes.

He shifted his gaze to the three people behind him.

Shiny, manipulative, and adaptable.

"Why are you all here too?"

Mr. Delusional's request was for Lyle personally, and the three members of the Necromancer Figure Company didn't have a good impression of the request. What made them put aside their precious time and everything with Lyle to go to the Cult of Machine God? Was it curiosity or another purpose?

"Huh? Didn't the Plague Doctor say 'we accept the commission'? 'We' means all of us in the Necromancer Figurine Company, right?" Shining tilted his head, the scales on his face rustling as they moved.

“I’m not interested in that place, but we can’t let the plague doctor go deep into the enemy camp alone.” He manipulated his arm, and the joints made a loud cracking sound.

“I’m interested. I’m quite interested in the Mechanicus, especially in its aspects of destruction and conquest.” Mr. Flexibility gave a forced smile and winked at Lyle’s gaze, as if the two were on the same wavelength.

"You guys..."

Lyle covered his face, and under his sharp, sinister gaze, his smile appeared particularly chilling.

Mr. Delusional looked at the four smirking men, hesitated for a long time, and then raised his hand.

"Um, Lyle, our Mechanicus invited you all to be our guests..."

"Although I've gotten used to the general mental state of the lich race."

"Could you at least put on a show of it?"

Chapter 513 City of Machines

"Alright, I'm completely out of ideas. We'll have to wait at least thirty minutes to see the receptionist." Mr. Delusional casually wiped the lime between his fingers on the edge of his robe, adding a touch of grime to his elegant demeanor. He stuck out his tongue and spread his hands towards Lyle and the others. "I can't find my way. Damn it, why did I set the node to one hour in the first place!"

A masterpiece by the God of Machines, the Mechanical Lich, Mr. Delusion Forgot His Way Home.

"He's a pretty amateur wizard, and I'm not even sure if that's a compliment."

The members of the Necromancer's Figurine Club were already used to it. The members of the Literature Club had a divergent and wonderful way of thinking, which made them seem... a little unreliable.

"Mr. Delusional, what are you looking for? We'll help you find it." This might be a good opportunity to experience it firsthand, as a new beginning.

“A virtual screen, indistinguishable from the surrounding walls in appearance, but it is a virtual image, a disguise created by our cult. On the other side of the screen are our hosts. That is our only way to reach the Cult of the Machine God. I set the host's capture time point to one hour, which means that it will take quite some time for the host to realize that I have appeared on my own initiative.”

Lyle and the others began to grope along the wall they were facing, trying to find some invisible indentations.

"No collision sounds, no magical senses... Are you sure this is the place, Mr. Delusional?"

"The anti-magic coating, the sound mimicry device, and the mechanical camouflage are far superior to what you imagine, so superior that even I can't detect them. I can guarantee that the base is right here. The only effective way to detect it is probably through our unique data dismantling device and a simple detection prosthetic eye."

Lyle stared wide-eyed as Mr. Delusional continued his rambling.

"Then why not use your detection prosthetic eye?"

"Simply because it was totaled in a rear-end collision with the reporter, and I haven't had time to replace it yet."

Lyle, the creator of the Spinal Wheel, felt physically and mentally exhausted, while Nia's tentacles continued to grope along the wall.

"I thought the reporter had been banned from driving."

"Yes, but there are things that make us break those rules, like a gentleman's plea for help. That day was really tough for us."

By glossing over Mr. Law's punishment, Lyle actually saw a hint of nonchalance in Mr. Delusional's retreating figure.

Although Mr. Xiaosai was feeling his way along the wall like a blind man.

Finally, after 23 minutes and 49 seconds, there was movement on the wall.

On the other wall that Lyle and the others were facing away from.

A light appeared on a square grid of about two square meters. The light faded, and the metal plates rolled and folded, retracting into the robot's limbs, becoming a layer of armor. The black mechanical body was very similar in construction to Mr. Delusional's, the only difference being the mutated outer shells added for different functions. The square box on its head opened, revealing a glowing electronic brain connected by wires, and the robot emitted the same voice as Mr. Delusional.

"Executor No. 10001".

"Long time no see, number 9701."

Another mechanical entity rotated the front end of its mechanical arm, and the blue light on its head flashed twice.

"The last material contact between this machine and Executor 10001 was 71 hours, 36 minutes and 5 seconds ago. Even from an anthropological point of view, our meeting would not be considered a 'long time apart'."

"That's just a polite way of saying it, my friend, to express how much I miss you, I guess."

"Objection, this is an error. Number 10001 and this machine have a long-term data connection, so there's no issue of 'longing' caused by isolation. It's determined that number 10001's internal time is malfunctioning for unknown reasons. We recommend returning it to the center for inspection. There's no need to be polite with number 10001 and this machine, because we are..."

“Alright, alright… balabalabala…” Mr. Delusion interrupted No. 9701, “I accept your suggestion, dear No. 9701, but first, please take my friends back to the center. You shouldn’t have damaged the spatial teleportation function in the City of Wanderings, right?”

"There is nothing wrong with this machine." 9701 rotated the screen, his emotionless electronic voice expressing his numbness.

"Welcome to Andre Necromancer Figure Company."

Mr. Delusional and his counterpart raised their hands, their palms pressed together. Violent currents surged across their bodies, then appeared on their palms. The pulsating arcs gradually subsided, becoming a still line in the air, like the edge of a mirror.

Delusionally retreating, two electric arcs connected a spatial portal on the separated palms, revealing an electric circle concealing violent energy.

At the center of the electric circle is spatial magic; members of the Necromancer Figurine Club, after learning about the Gate of Bones, can clearly perceive those spatial rifts.

"Another novel way to construct a space door."

Mr. Delusional's voice trembled as electromagnetic induction disrupted his vocalization mechanism.

"Please go ahead first. I will meet you all on the other side later."

Having received this information, Lyle and the others passed through the electric space-time portal.

A silver-white city, yet less opulent than the White Shadow Royal City of the Wandering City. Its lines and contours are simple and refined, with silver-white cubes dividing the space into small sections. Along the walkways, one can see figures from various races. They express astonishment and admiration for the Mechanicus's simple, futuristic container architecture, but seem somewhat uncomfortable with the excessive reflections of light.

What's truly awe-inspiring is the solitary, towering structure at the heart of the mechanical city—a magnificent pyramid in the Mayan style. Constructed entirely of metal, each step is adorned with meticulously carved, uniformly sized crystals, including light-gathering crystals. Blue cables, flowing like water, connect to the crystal base, transmitting electricity to the pyramid's apex. While Mayan pyramids were used for worshipping deities, this mechanical structure's bare top contrasts sharply with the beautifully arranged crystal clusters on each of its lower levels.

"The shape of that pyramid is my personal idea. I wanted to bring a cultural shock to the world. Moreover, the pyramid is highly compatible with the sun. Just think, this might be the most spectacular solar power station in the world." A clone of Mr. Delusional emerged from a nearby square building, but the tone was definitely in Mr. Delusional's style.

“It would take some time to transport my main body here, so I downloaded my consciousness into this body first, which is very convenient.”