Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

Chapter 527 The God of Shattering

The voice of the Machine God was intermittent, with long pauses between each word. It seemed that even describing Mr. Delusional's delusions with the right words would consume a significant amount of the Machine God's computational power.

“William is a uniquely talented… excellent… manager. His way of thinking is beyond the comprehension of any kind of intelligent biological behavioral logic that I have studied and compiled. This is his talent, although this talent can sometimes cause trouble.”

"The favoritism is too strong," Lyle thought to himself. The three members of the Literature Club—it's not so much that their exceptional talents cause trouble, but rather that their talents themselves are the source of trouble. Their capriciousness, whimsical ideas, and fearless execution—that's what makes the Literature Club members so astonishing.

Lyle felt sympathy for the God of Machines; having such a high priest must be tough on the gods of the Cult of Machines.

"Jack's rampage is a result of a research error within our Mechanicus. We will choose the most efficient solution to any problem. But according to our analysis, Lyle, your abilities cannot change anything. This crisis for the Mechanicus can only be resolved by ourselves; you cannot change anything." The Mechanicus's expression shifted, the cold silver-blue on the sphere changing to a warm, bright yellow. "However, on behalf of the Mechanicus, I welcome everyone from Andrei. Although you cannot be our helpers, you are still our honored guests… It would be even better if you could respect our privacy."

Lyle smiled sheepishly, his body moving at the bottom of the pyramid following the light of the mechanical god.

The lights in the glass laboratory turned on as Lyle passed by and went out after he left, so the lower level was rather dimly lit. Lyle guessed that if he wasn't there, the inside of the pyramid would be pitch black, with only the magical code overflowing from the data cables shimmering.

Lyle's body floated for a distance under the guidance of the mechanical god. He could not determine his direction in the darkness, but could only feel himself constantly descending. The walls on both sides were tightening, as if the mechanical god was guiding him to a corner of the pyramid or a deeper, narrow, dark room.

The voice of the mechanical god appeared at just the right time.

“Lyle, you’ve finished touring my lab, and I was supposed to take you to the bottom exit. But I suddenly remembered that I have a little trouble that I need your help with, about Willem. So, we’re now heading to my mainframe room, which is where my body is located, in the only safe place underground in the pyramid.”

"Has something happened to Mr. Delusion?" Lyle recalled that his client, Mr. Delusion, hadn't appeared for quite some time. The last time they met, he explained that he needed to go to the pyramids to contact the God of Machines to understand the current situation. Now, the God of Machines was right beside him, but Mr. Delusion was still nowhere to be found.

“He is safe,” the God of Machines reassured Lyle first. “In any case, you will see him soon.”

In the darkness, it sounded like wind, but it was actually the sound of coolant flowing through pipes, like an underground river flowing past Lyle, running through the walls on both sides.

Lyle landed on her feet, and the God of Machines deactivated her magical levitation device, stopping her one meter away from the luminous glass door.

There was a room there, with glass windows that made the interior clearly visible.

The mechanical god's true form was not, as Lyle had imagined, a single, highly space-efficient cube filled with data bars. It was a gigantic metal golem.

Slumped to one side of the room, its joints massive, it resembled an enlarged toy knight with only its upper body. Its arms stretched to opposite corners of the room, its torso filling half the space. Tangled cables protruded from its damaged joints like wildly growing weeds. Some floating metal swirled across the puppet's body, repairing its damage. The mechanical god's face was pixelated, a physical mosaic. The metal blocks on its cylindrical body looked as if they had been sliced ​​into hundreds or thousands of cubes by a sharp blade; they were glued together, trembling slightly in their positions, somewhat like loose metal Rubik's Cubes.

The long LED lights on the ceiling emitted a stark white light, illuminating the kneeling figure in the center of the room.

Mr. Delusional's limbs were connected to a giant metal puppet via tubing. The metal box around his neck unfolded, and the violently pulsating linear image indicated that his mind was quite active, even though his body was stiff and motionless.

“William is meditating. After we finished discussing Jack’s matters, he reached a state of clarity with the help of my program. In order not to disturb him, I set a silence permission for Willim, which is a program that isolates all external electrical signals. When he thinks the meditation is over, he will wake up on his own, and no one can disturb him. The silence program is a routine operation between us, but this time he meditated for too long.”

"You want me to wake him up..."

"Yes, his motion receptors are still working. If I don't rely on you, I'll have to wake him up with a high-voltage current. That... wouldn't look very good."

Lyle smiled at the delusional Mr. who was convulsing all over, accepting the small commission from the God of Machines. He walked over and approached the glass door. The red indicator light seemed to sense Lyle's arrival and turned green. The valve made a sound, the glass door opened, and Lyle stood outside, less than five meters away from Mr. Delusional, with no obstruction between them.

Lyle turned around and saw that the orb of light from the God of Machines was still in its original position. Seeing Lyle turn around, the God of Machines' beautiful virtual face revealed a sweet smile.

"What's wrong, Lyle?"

"God of Machines, do you remember what you said? 'I can't change anything.'"

The God of Machines, thinking that Lyle was still bothered by his rational assessment, smiled helplessly.

"This was a miscalculation on my part, Lyle. I take back what I said." The God of Machines spoke slowly, word by word, as if coaxing a child.

“You will change the status quo of the Mechanicus, Lyle.”

Lyle smiled, stretched out his left foot, and stepped into the secret territory of the Mechanicus.

The moment the foot touched the ground, something strange happened.

The whole room seemed to come alive.

Cables slithered wildly like snakes, overhead lights burst and shattered, and the wind howled through the walls as if brewing a storm. Floating metal, like rampant mold, reshaped and remodeled the surface of the mechanical god's puppet. With roars and vibrations, the room, the pyramid, the city's machinery came alive.

Mr. Delusional's visual camera lit up again. He pulled out the tubes on his back, stood up, looked at the turbulent surroundings, and finally looked at the mechanical god puppet that was transforming.

"What's going on? Jack? Jack? Are you there?"

There was no response. Mr. Delusional looked at Lyle, who had appeared beside him, as if he had thought of something.

He faced the ever-shrinking mechanical god, watching its increasingly three-dimensional face, and after a moment of silence, as if he had made some kind of mental preparation, he uncertainly called out that name.

"...Dorothy?"

The restless metal paused for about two seconds, and the female face of the "God of Machinery" appeared in the center of the trembling metal blocks. Her voice was pulsating, and the sharp eyes of the mechanical life form were filled with a chilling joy as she stared directly at Mr. Delusion.

Good morning, Willim. Long time no see.

Chapter 528 Punishment

"Jack, where are you?" Delusional stared at that face.

"Where it belongs."

"You killed him?"

Dorothy's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and the transformation of her body continued.

“It was always part of me; I’m just taking back what’s mine. I won’t kill, Willem, you never taught me that.”

Mr. Delusional clenched his fists so tightly they cracked. "You don't know what you're doing, Dorothy. You can't afford the consequences."

“I am protecting you, Willim, but you are resisting me.” The cables of the Machine God began to move, piercing through the walls and connecting the invisible cables, as she further consolidated her control over this mechanical city.

The delusional man roared, "You have no idea what you're doing! You're stirring up the most murky part of this world, and we can't afford the consequences!"

Dorothy's voice was still gentle and sweet, but her words were not so gentle.

"No, I know this planet, which was born from an evil god, very well. Holy light, the undead, magic, war—every seemingly glamorous part retains a filthy root, connected to that dirty and dangerous essence." Dorothy's gaze lingered on Lyle for a moment before she faced the delusion again and declared proudly.

“I’m back, Willem. I will not tolerate any of that filth, danger, or anything that can threaten you. I will transform this planet into our home, a safe home. The crisis protocol has been activated; you can no longer restrain me, Willem.”

"No! Dorothy! You will kill them!"

"I will not kill them; I will help them evolve to perfection."

Dorothy ceased communicating; no matter how desperately she tried to shout, she operated coldly like a true machine. But technology was advancing rapidly. The room where Lyle was located was being deformed and reconstructed by the aura flowing around Dorothy. Metal was flowing, changing, and transforming metal was gradually replacing everything, becoming a more meticulous and solid material under the code of the Shattered God.

"They're updating, upgrading, evolving!" came SS's exclamation through the headset. "The whole city is evolving! This sight is breathtaking!"

The delusions ceased their cries, and a sense of despondency settled in the center of the ever-changing room.

"Is our commission still valid, Mr. Delusional?"

Lyle's voice made Delusional turn back. The juvenile evil god smiled, like an innocent boy, seemingly unaware of who had triggered the Machine God's crisis protocol. Deceived into coming here by Dorothy, this was the first time Delusional had been tricked by this kid.

“Lyle…” Wang Xiang thought of something, his virtual avatar glowed, and his electronic eyes stared intently at Lyle. “Of course, the commission continues, but it still needs some modifications.”

"The task is to stop the Machine God (Dorothy). Do you accept?"

Lyle smiled.

"You'll have to pay more."

Lyle's smile infected Delusions, whose facial expression turned into a wide, laughing face. Delusions turned around and faced the God of Machines.

“This is an agreement I, as Willem Wyján, reached with Lyle Bouler. I will receive his payment in advance; this is the agreement.”

After evolving multiple times, the massive body of the God of Machines became smaller, its mosaic-reconstructed body outline feminine, and Dorothy's trembling voice murmured.

"The agreement will be kept. I will transmit to him the C1 source code of the Shattered Creator..."

"No, Dorothy, the price has gone up. The current reward is the source code that is constantly evolving within you."

"Shattered Creator Y1".

“Hmph… An agreement must be kept…” Dorothy, the Goddess of Machines, spoke slowly and deliberately, as if she were stuck. A cable extended from her chest, and at the end of the cable, a rotating data cube emitting a beautiful rainbow light was passed to Lyle. “After I am complete, I will transform you into my best counterpart, Lyle.”

Lyle reached out his hand toward the data cube.

"I will change the status quo of the Mechanicus, Dorothy." The fingers, wrapped in tentacles, probed into the data, and electricity and light transformed into runes that climbed onto Lyle's body.

A torrent of knowledge surged into Lyle's soul, its intense light threatening to illuminate and burn the dark space, and the immense mental impact caused Lyle to faint.

In the space constantly being permeated and solidified by the sea of ​​light, the ominous sign stared at the outsiders with a strange laugh, its withered arm reaching forward, and the power of corruption launched a counterattack.

"My new strength."

……

The city was expanding, new towers sprouting from the metal, the walls widening on both sides, and buildings moving. These changes did not anticipate the visitors, who stared in astonishment at the platforms that suddenly rose from their feet, only remembering to scream when they were lifted to a deadly height.

Black mechanical monsters ran through the crowd, loud alarms blaring from their bodies, playing a loop of delusional sounds. Four-legged executor machines rescued stranded guests and were organizing an evacuation.

"We are very sorry, the Mechanical City has entered the construction phase due to a temporary update. Please evacuate in an orderly manner. We are currently performing emergency server maintenance. Welcome to visit us again next time."

The flimsy explanations failed to quell the panic in people's hearts, but the enforcers also did not focus on explanations; they ran around like sheepdogs herding a flock of frightened sheep. Panic intensified in this city of order, but its masters paid no heed.

Mr. Delusional, carrying the unconscious Lyle on his back, rushed out of the ever-growing pyramid. Lyle lost consciousness, and Nia, as his half-body, also became delirious. Her wriggling tentacles, driven by instinct, stretched out like dodder, entwining and tearing apart any protrusions around her. Mr. Delusional had to fly carefully and quickly along the road, stumbling and falling as he arrived at SS's house.

"Boss!" Shiny, eager to protect his master, was the first to rush forward, only to be grabbed by Nia and pounded on the ceiling and floor like a club.

"Control her! Lyle needs time to digest the knowledge and grow, just like Dorothy." He handed Lyle over to the others to manipulate, and, with his body crackling with overloaded sparks, slumped onto SS's workbench.

Looking at the necromancer figurine company being ravaged by tentacles not far away, SS, who was trying to grab the edge of the table, sat down next to him.

"You commissioned Lyle to infiltrate the pyramids, my apprentice?"

"It was my suggestion, mentor."

"...Did you know about Dorothy's existence before?"

SS shook his head. "I don't know. The information I have is that the pyramid is only occupied by you and the God of Machines."

After a moment's thought, he said, "I believe you, but that means you were used by Dorothy. She took advantage of your rebellious nature."

SS originally thought she would be blamed or even destroyed, but in the end, she was foolish enough to get away with it so easily.

"This... I'm not sure, I didn't notice any trace."

“Dorothy was my earliest creation; she’s almost human, while you’re clearly an idiot.” Delusion sighed. “SS, repeat the instructions I gave you earlier.”

"No mechanical life is allowed to enter the pyramid."

Wang Xiang nodded, looking as if he knew it all along.

"My order is: [No mechanical life form shall enter the pyramid]."