# Chapter 2: Heavy Casualties
The metallic lifeform moved forward at extreme speed, yet inside there was no sensation of shaking at all. At this moment, Linley and his group were all in the main hall of the metallic lifeform.
"The layout isn't bad." Linley looked around and praised.
This metallic lifeform had become quite large in volume. The center was the main hall, and behind the hall were rooms lined against the abdominal walls.
The silver-haired old man with three black horns on his head smiled and said loudly, "Everyone, this is the main hall. There's free wine available here, and we've also specially hired chefs. If anyone wants to eat something, you can tell these two, and they'll have the chefs prepare it for you." As he spoke, the silver-haired old man pointed to the two white-robed youths beside him.
The group of demons all showed smiles on their faces. This employer had indeed thought things through thoroughly.
"Behind the main hall are everyone's lodgings. There are 130 rooms in total. You can choose freely, one person per room. If anyone wants to live together and combine two rooms into one, just tell my metallic lifeform directly." The silver-haired old man smiled. "For example, you can say—'Kandon, combine these two rooms together.' Kandon is the name of my metallic lifeform."
The demons all nodded in satisfaction.
The metallic lifeform was also an intelligent lifeform, so naturally it could easily change the internal layout.
"Let's do it together." Linley spoke up. Immediately, the two rooms in front of Linley began to change. The original two doors became one door, the wall between the two rooms disappeared, merging into a large room. The bed in this room had also become a size larger.
"Bebe, you can stay in the room next door." Linley turned and instructed.
Linley suddenly became surprised. At this moment, Bebe was staring intently into the distance. Linley followed Bebe's gaze: "Eh?" There was a young man in black tight-fitting clothes and a cute young girl with a small braid. Bebe was staring at that girl.
"What's wrong with Bebe?" Linley was somewhat surprised.
Dylia had a smile on her face: "Linley. Could it be that Bebe has taken a liking to that little girl?"
Linley raised his eyebrows upon hearing this and carefully looked at the cute girl. The girl had relatively large eyes that hid a hint of mischievousness. She noticed Bebe staring at her and glared back, letting out a coquettish snort: "Hmph!" Then she turned her head away: "Brother, that guy with the straw hat is so annoying."
That young man also turned to look, smiling slightly at Bebe, Dylia, and Linley.
Then they entered their room.
"Bebe." Linley called out. "She's already gone into the room. What are you standing there dumbly for?"
Bebe stood there foolishly for a good while. Then he suddenly turned his head to look at Linley: "Boss, that girl is just too, too, too... too cute!" This loud shout made some distant demons turn to look.
Linley and Dylia were both stunned by Bebe's outburst for quite a while.
"Let's go inside first." Linley immediately grabbed Bebe by the collar and pulled him directly into the room.
Bebe's eyes were shining with excitement: "Boss, I've discovered something!"
"Go on, what did you discover?" Linley and Dylia both looked at Bebe with smiles.
"I'm absolutely certain now!" Bebe clenched his fists. "Love at first sight really does exist in this world!"
Linley and Dylia were dumbfounded.
"When I saw her, wow, I felt warm all over, as if I'd been hit by a soul attack. My mind went completely blank. After a while, I came to... I came to, and I understood!" Bebe was extremely excited. "My mission in coming to the Infernal Realm is—to win her over!" Bebe clenched his fist, his eyes filled with determination.
Linley and Dylia couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny?" Bebe snorted. "Boss, think about it. What a coincidence that we've been in the Infernal Realm for so long, and the very first escort mission we take, we run into her? That's called fate!"
Bebe straightened his straw hat and slightly tidied his hair, then announced loudly: "I've decided. Before we reach Azure Maple City, I'm going to win this beautiful girl over. Boss, just watch!" With that, Bebe actually walked straight out.
"This Bebe..." Linley didn't know what to say.
Dylia smiled: "Linley, don't worry. Let Bebe do as he pleases."
"What am I worried about?" Linley sighed emotionally. "Bebe grew up with me. After all these years, it's good that he now has a girl he likes. But honestly... he only took one look at her and decided he liked her."
Linley still found it unbelievable.
"Can Bebe be judged by common sense?" Dylia said.
Linley was still very happy inside. As for who Bebe liked, that was Bebe's business. He couldn't interfere.
Life in the metallic lifeform was very peaceful. Although they encountered some blind bandits and robbers along the way, a large group of demons standing out was enough to scare those bandits into scattering in all directions. In the blink of an eye, six years had passed.
During these six years, Dylia mainly focused on refining the Highgod divine spark, while Linley trained.
As for Bebe, he pursued that girl.
And indeed, Bebe spent three days getting along with that girl. Both of them were mischievous and playful, and they had a wonderful time together. The girl's brother saw this and didn't object. After six years... Bebe and that girl named Nisse were already considered a young couple.
Everyone in the metallic lifeform knew about this pair of lively characters.
Inside the room.
Three Linleys were sitting cross-legged on the ground, wearing earth-yellow robes, light cyan robes, and sky-blue robes respectively.
Linley's earth deity clone had been pondering the Gravitational Space. Although Linley could cast the Gravity spell, he had been groping at the edges of this Gravitational Space.
Linley's fastest progress was with his wind deity clone.
The four profound mysteries of Fast, Slow, Sound, and Music—Linley's understanding of them was steadily improving. Especially the Fast and Slow concepts. According to Linley's estimation, at this rate, in a few decades, these two profound mysteries could be mastered and fused. It was possible.
As for Linley's original body, it was diligently comprehending the Laws of Fire.
Linley had the strongest affinity for earth and wind elements, followed by fire, while his affinity for other elements was extremely weak.
Now that Linley had cultivated two clones, he naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to increase his strength. His original body began to study the Laws of Fire.
"The profound mystery of Gravitational Space—I still can't get started. Instead, I've made a breakthrough in the Laws of Fire." Linley laughed at himself. "Of course, the breakthrough was in the simplest profound mystery—the Fire Element." Whether it was the Laws of Fire or the Laws of the Earth, the simplest profound mysteries were respectively the Fire Element and the Earth Element.
Moreover...
"Comprehending the Earth Element and comprehending the Fire Element are somewhat similar." Linley found it relatively easier to get started with the Fire Element profound mystery.
"Linley, you're awake." Dylia also opened her eyes at this moment.
"How's your training going?" Linley stood up.
"Not bad. I've now comprehended five profound mysteries." Dylia said.
The Laws of Wind had a total of nine profound mysteries. Before refining the Highgod divine spark, Dylia already understood four profound mysteries. After spending six years, Dylia had only managed to comprehend one more.
"Let's go. Let's go out, get something to eat, and have a drink." Linley and Dylia walked side by side out of the room.
The journey was very peaceful. Most demons were cultivating in their own rooms. At this moment, there were only a few demons in the main hall. Of course... among them were definitely two people—Bebe and Nisse.
"Linley, Dylia, what a coincidence. You're coming out too." Someone walked over from beside Linley—it was Nisse's brother.
"Salomon, indeed quite a coincidence." Linley smiled. "Come on, let's go have a drink."
Salomon, as Nisse's brother, was also a Highgod. However... Linley guessed that Salomon could only be considered an ordinary Highgod. Because in this escort team, the strongest were still the Six-Star Demon and the three Five-Star Demons.
Linley and the other two walked directly toward Bebe and Nisse. At this moment, Bebe and Nisse were teasing each other.
"Nini, tell me, why are you women both so beautiful and yet so stupid?" Bebe was sitting on a chair, looking sideways at Nisse beside him.
Nisse thought for a moment, then said: "Ah, I know."
"Go on, dear Nini." Bebe looked at Nisse.
Nisse wrinkled her little nose and said: "Women are so beautiful so that you men will fall in love with us. As for women being stupid... that's so I can fall in love with you!"
Bebe's eyes widened: "Stupid, to fall in love with me?"
"If I weren't stupid, how could I fall in love with you?" Nisse looked puzzled.
"Oh!" Bebe slapped his forehead in frustration. Why could he never outtalk Nisse?
The three people beside them heard this exchange and couldn't help but laugh.
Bebe turned his head and was surprised to see Linley: "Boss."
"Hehe, you two keep chatting. We'll sit over here." Linley said with a smile. The dining tables in the main hall were relatively small round tables, usually seating three people. Four would be too crowded.
Linley, Dylia, and Salomon sat down in a corner of the hall.
"Linley, this Bebe is really quite adorable." Salomon smiled. Then Salomon seemed to be thinking about something. He pondered for a moment, then actually activated his divine domain, enveloping Linley and Dylia within it.
"Hmm?" Linley and Dylia looked at Salomon in confusion.
Salomon smiled: "Linley, Dylia, I want to talk about something, but I can't let others hear it. So... I'm completely isolating the sound."
Linley and Dylia both looked at Salomon in surprise. What matter required such secrecy?
"This rumor is known to very few people. But over these six years, your younger brother Bebe has gotten along well with my sister. I'll tell you this rumor too." Salomon's expression turned serious.
"A rumor?" Linley and Dylia were puzzled.
Salomon slowly said: "Do you know where this escort team's starting point actually was?"
"The starting point?" Linley frowned. "Wasn't it Imperial Wing City?"
"No." Salomon shook his head. "According to what I've heard, the starting point of this escort team was far away in Peakrock Prefecture!"
"Peakrock Prefecture?" Linley was greatly shocked.
Peakrock Prefecture was in the western region of the Amethyst Continent, while Twilight Twilight Prefecture was in the central part of the Amethyst Continent, and Rainbow Sun Prefecture was in the easternmost part.
"Yes." Salomon said seriously. "The rumor says that the escort team encountered enemies along the way, and the demons were almost completely wiped out. Only a few remained. So the employer hired another batch of demons in our Imperial Wing City."
Linley and Dylia were startled.
"You knew this, and you still came?" Linley immediately saw the problem.
"First of all, this is just a rumor." Salomon smiled bitterly. "Secondly, I only learned of this rumor half a year ago."
Linley immediately judged that everyone had already been traveling for six years. Since it was half a year ago, it seemed Salomon had heard it from someone else in this metallic lifeform.
"It's just a rumor." Linley said.
Salomon shook his head and lowered his voice: "Don't be so sure. Think about it—why did they have us gather in the restaurant, not daring to let us assemble conspicuously at the city gate? They waited until evening, then had us sneak quickly into the metallic lifeform. Before we could even get settled, the metallic lifeform immediately took off."
Linley listened and found it somewhat reasonable.
"So, it's best to be careful." Salomon said in a low voice. "If we really encounter danger, the enemies won't be too harsh on us. We can just scatter and escape. Keeping our lives is the most important thing. Failing this mission just means losing the reward money."
Linley and Dylia both nodded slightly.
Then Salomon dismissed his divine domain, and the three of them drank and chatted casually.
Suddenly—
A divine sense swept through the entire metallic lifeform! Linley and Dylia didn't notice anything, but Salomon's face changed color. He whispered: "Divine sense probing?"
"Divine sense probing?" Linley was also startled.