Chapter 2.1: Explore the Outside World
When the divine oracle appeared, President Qin Zhi was in the middle of dealing with an overwhelming pile of affairs—so many that there seemed to be no end in sight.
Under normal circumstances, the temple’s area seemed enormous, covering a full 800 square kilometers—essentially the size of an entire city.
But to accommodate 360 million people, it was still far too cramped.
To put it this way: if there were no buildings on those 800 square kilometers and all 360 million people simply stood there, each person would only have about two square meters of space.
And that doesn’t even take into account the many large structures and statues of deities already present in the temple.
Even after mobilizing global resources to hastily construct several high-rise buildings in the shortest time possible, the survivors could only just barely squeeze in.
And fitting everyone in was only the beginning. With so many people, basic needs like food, water, and sanitation became enormous challenges. Food alone required at least 180,000 tons per day—and that was only counting staple foods.
How should it all be arranged? How should living spaces be allocated? How could food be distributed to every citizen of the Blue Sea? What about water supply and waste management?
With so many people crowded together, epidemic prevention was essential. Public security and order would clearly require military involvement. Various forms of energy had to be prioritized for certain departments first—otherwise even basic identity registration would stall at the very first step. How should all kinds of materials be allocated? With all social roles now disrupted, what would people do in the future? The citizens were deeply anxious about their new lives—how could they be reassured?
Not all of these problems had to be solved personally by the president, but the ultimate authority over the overall direction rested in her hands.
Documents were submitted one after another in endless layers. Every document she signed would affect the future of 360 million people.
During the earlier mass relocation, the president had only slept a total of two hours over three days—and even then, it was restless sleep, filled with dreams of organizing affairs.
Now, although the relocation had succeeded, she still couldn’t rest. In fact, she was even busier than during those previous three days.
President Qin Zhi’s eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion, and her hair was streaked with white, yet she remained full of energy. As she put it, once you push past a certain point, the sleepiness disappears.
When she heard the oracle instructing her to send people to explore the outside world, her spirits lifted even more.
“Yes! My Lord!”
The president stood up respectfully and bowed toward the direction of the temple. “Qin Zhi humbly obeys the divine oracle.”
The other ten high-ranking officials in the conference room all brightened as well. The fatigue and heaviness on their faces faded, and even their pale complexions regained some color.
It was as if each of them had instantly recovered at least half their strength.
Before leaving the safe city, everyone had witnessed the outside world being torn apart and reduced to nothingness.
Only they—a group of the fortunate—had survived under the protection of the deity.
But now that they had arrived in this new world, how could they not feel uneasy when they looked at the three suns hanging in the sky outside?
The higher one’s position, the more one knew—and the harder it was to calm the anxiety within.
Still, everyone tacitly suppressed their fear and unease, putting on calm and composed expressions to reassure the guards and civilians.
At a moment like this, hearing the divine oracle was incredibly comforting.
“Madam President, has the oracle descended?”
“What instructions has our Lord given?”
With a faint, deliberate smile, Qin Zhi swept her gaze across the others in the conference room.
“Our Lord has delivered an oracle: the outside world is a god-abandoned realm, filled with many dangers—but also many opportunities and benefits.”
“In Her mercy, for the next day and night, She will grant protection to the temple. All the dangers of that forsaken realm will be unable to invade it.”
“Therefore, we have a full 24 hours to explore this world, prepare defenses in advance, and seek out opportunities.”
When the officials heard the words “god-abandoned realm,” their expressions varied, but all of them stood up and respectfully bowed toward the towering divine statue outside.
“Grateful for our Lord’s mercy.”
A god-abandoned land was still better than a mother planet already destroyed. Since the deity had already delivered an oracle, the Blue Sea civilization had nothing to fear.
Besides, they still had a day and a night of divine protection from the temple—more than enough.
One must know that the unification of Blue Sea civilization had only happened six years ago.
The civilization had come a long way, directly forging an epic history of war, advancing from a feudal society all the way into modernity.
This could also be considered Cheng Qisheng’s doing. When she first cultivated the new humans, in order to better implant ideological conditioning, she used a primitive, wilderness-based social background.
In the wilderness, humans had to fight wild beasts almost every day, and danger existed everywhere.
As a result, not only was an imprint of loyalty to her left in the genes of the new humans, but an unavoidable combat instinct was also etched into them.
After some thought, Cheng Qisheng decided that as long as they didn’t engage in self-destructive internal strife like her second, fourth, and fifth batches—fighting themselves to death—she would not interfere.
She had previously nurtured seven civilizations. Each of those human civilizations developed differently, but they all led to similar “taboos”:
1. Civilization development must not be forcibly accelerated in technology; it must progress step by step, or it will collapse and humans will die.
2. Environmental destruction cannot exceed limits. Some damage is acceptable during development, but once advanced, the environment must be restored—otherwise humans will die.
3. Intervention must be selective. You cannot constantly help them, or they will become complacent—and humans will die.
4. Do not interfere in internal struggles for leadership within a civilization. Forcing the removal of external pressure only leads to stagnation, corruption, and a lifeless society—and humans will die.
Humans really were easy to “raise into extinction.”
So—let them play freely. Fight if they want, just don’t start throwing nuclear bombs at each other.
Qin Zhi had become president at just forty years old, and it wasn’t only because of her governing ability. Two-thirds of the people in that conference room had been defeated by her in military command at some point.
The ring on her hand—bearing the authority and recognition of the deity—had been obtained through sheer strength. It was something that Cheng Qisheng had dug out from the relics of an interstellar civilization and personally given to her.
If nothing unexpected happened, once Qin Zhi reached the end of her natural life, and the next president could no longer suppress the others, the Blue Sea civilization would likely fall into another round of war.
But now, the Dark Star had been destroyed, and the Blue Sea civilization had arrived in another world—one that still contained external threats.
In the past, Cheng Qisheng had been deeply troubled by how much the Blue Sea civilization loved fighting. Now, she felt completely reassured by it.
It was fortunate that it was “the eighth batch.” If it had been the seventh batch instead—smooth sailing all the way, focused only on technological development without cultivating military strength or cunning—
—Cheng Qisheng quickly looked at the Blue Sea civilization’s expedition force, already fully prepared, to cleanse her eyes.
Yes, in such a short time, the exploration team had already selected personnel, prepared equipment, and was ready to set off.
—“Report to the Commander-in-Chief! Combat Battalion assembled. Infantry group: 4,000 personnel. Tank group: 2,000. Drone combat group: 1,000. Required: 7,000. Present: 7,000!”
—“Report to the Commander-in-Chief! Air Operations Battalion assembled! 50 pilots, 20 navigators, mechanics…”
—“Report to the Commander-in-Chief! Engineering Battalion…”
—“Report… Logistics Battalion…”
—“Report… Reconnaissance Battalion…”
—“Report… Survey Team…”
Finally, the commander-in-chief reported to the president:
“Reporting to Your Excellency the President. The Blue Sea vanguard expedition force: required strength 20,000, actual strength 20,000. Equipment and supplies are fully prepared. Awaiting your orders!”
Qin Zhi looked down at the members of the vanguard.
“Everyone, you are about to step into a god-abandoned land. As president, I do not know what unknown dangers you will face, nor whether you will return alive. I also do not know whether this place can become our new home. But all of us know this: our mother planet has been destroyed. This is the Blue Sea civilization’s last hope!”
“Set out! Explore it! Develop it! Conquer it!”
“I can only promise you this: if you die, I will send a second team, then a third, a fourth… until every last Blue Sea citizen is exhausted!”
Yes, the Blue Sea civilization’s pre-departure mobilization was that simple and brutal:
—Soldiers, don’t worry about dying, because if you die, we’ll just all die together in succession!
Yet strangely enough, the people of Blue Sea really responded to this approach. The soldiers’ expressions grew increasingly passionate.
Qin Zhi raised her left arm.
“In the name of the Lord! Blue Sea endures forever!”
The soldiers stood straight and rigid, raising their left arms in unison. Their roar shook the earth:
“In the name of the Lord! Blue Sea endures forever!”
The gates of the temple opened wide. The pope and white-robed bishops stood on both sides, praying for the deity’s protection.
“May the Lord bless you.”
After the entire exploration force had departed, two hundred white-robed bishops also offered prayers for themselves.
“May the Lord bless me.”
After finishing their prayers, they followed them out as well.
From ancient times to the present, clergy had always served as medical personnel.
Since the exploration force was going on a mission, medical support was naturally required. Thus, the temple assigned two hundred highly skilled white-robed bishops who had battlefield experience, along with three hundred priests assisting in medical duties, and two blue-robed archbishops to coordinate operations.
When members of the expedition encountered danger, the bishops and priests would pray for divine blessings while simultaneously performing surgery.
Strictly speaking, the prayers were effective, because the deity could truly observe the condition of the believers—like a god’s-eye view.
It was just that before, everything had been like watching a video sped up billions of times, so fast it gave her a splitting headache, forcing her to guess and infer what was happening (she was honestly shocked she could even understand it). Now, however, it was at normal speed.
—Suddenly having normal playback… was actually a little hard to get used to.
It was like someone who had been nearsighted for a long time suddenly putting on a perfectly fitted pair of glasses—only to feel dizzy from how clear everything had become. Cheng Qisheng was now in exactly that condition, only more severe.
Fortunately, her adaptability had always been strong.
Suppressing the discomfort, Cheng Qisheng continued observing the expedition team while also monitoring the messages in the chat group of other city lords.
From what she could tell, the safe cities had arrived in this world at different times. Some had clearly been here for a long time; their messages suggested familiarity. Others had only just arrived and were still in the exploration phase.
Cheng Qisheng focused mainly on those still in the early exploration stage.
The ones who had been here longer were very tight-lipped—none of them were willing to reveal what this world was like. Only the newcomers were still discussing it openly.
[Coriander Safe City: Big shots, do you think it’s reliable if I send 200 people out to scout the situation?]
[Coriander Safe City: Would 300 be too many? I’m afraid of a total wipeout.]
“Coriander” was clearly trying to extract information from the experienced city lords. Not only did they describe their own arrangements in detail, they even @-mentioned other city lords.
Cheng Qisheng noticed that Coriander had a sharp eye—they didn’t tag the seemingly kinder “Blue Leaf,” but instead directly addressed the quiet “Withered Star.”
[Coriander Safe City: @Withered Star Safe City Big boss, could I ask how many people you sent out to check the situation before? Please, my manpower is too limited, I really don’t dare to act rashly~]
[Withered Star Safe City: You’re Tier 1? A newcomer?]
[Coriander Safe City: No, boss, I’ve already been to one world. This is my second world. Wuwuwu… in the last world I was too inexperienced and too aggressive, a lot of my residents died. I had to pull in some natives just to fill the quota. It’s not that I’m unwilling to spend energy crystals for information—I really don’t have a single crystal left now. Please help me, sob sob sob!]
[Withered Star Safe City: If you’re not a beginner, I suggest you send fewer people out.]
[Coriander Safe City: Okay, okay, thank you, boss. Could you tell me why?]
[Withered Star Safe City: No. Figure it out yourself.]
[Coriander Safe City: Alright, alright, you’ve already helped me a lot, thank you so much~ Boss, this is some timber I obtained in the last world. I’m not sure if it’s useful to you, but it’s all I have as resources right now. Please accept it. I’ll give you more when I have more later~]
[System notification: Coriander Safe City has transferred 80 tons of hardwood to Withered Star Safe City.]
Then another prompt appeared, indicating that Withered Star Safe City had accepted the transfer.
Cheng Qisheng stared at the virtual screens.
There was too much information. She needed to organize it.
First: Safe Cities were not fixed in a single world. They moved through many worlds—and those worlds were clearly dangerous.
Why? Were safe cities only allowed to remain in disaster worlds?
Energy crystals seemed very important. They were likely a form of currency, and most probably could be used to upgrade a safe city.
Population was also crucial to a safe city. If the population was too small, they had to recruit natives to fill the quota. Considering that the activation of a safe city previously seemed to require reaching one thousand people, Cheng Qisheng inferred that if the resident population was insufficient, the city might not even function properly.
Transactions between safe cities could be conducted directly through the group chat—though it wasn’t clear whether there was any commission or “tax” taken.
Also, the population sizes of these safe cities were probably not large. From the earlier argument between “Meow Meow” and “Cosmic Lord,” it could be inferred that a total population exceeding ten million was already considered very large.
And even Coriander thought sending out 300 people was “too many.”
Cheng Qisheng thought about her own 360 million residents—and the 20,000-member vanguard expedition she had just sent out…
Coriander had mentioned that their original world had been destroyed.
So did that mean the city lords of these safe cities were all survivors who had escaped from destroyed original worlds using safe cities?
They were most likely ordinary people before obtaining a Safe City, which meant they could only bring survivors from nearby native worlds into the city.
But she was an exception.
The Dark Star had indeed been destroyed—but she was not a Dark Star native.
Before activating the Safe City, her identity had been that of the Dark Star’s creator deity. The Blue Sea civilization trusted her completely; with a single command, all of them relocated into the Safe City.
Other Safe Cities, however, had residents who could rebel. “Withered Star,” for example, had become a new city lord only after killing the previous one. But Cheng Qisheng never had to worry about something like that.
After reviewing her own advantages, Cheng Qisheng felt slightly more at ease.
She still clearly remembered what “Meow Meow” had said—that “Cosmic Lord” intended to kill her and seize the core.
Safe Cities were not always friendly with each other. She needed to be prepared for the possibility of war at any time.
But for now, she should focus on the information provided by “Withered Star.”
Cheng Qisheng didn’t know whether Withered Star’s information was true, but forming hypotheses and preparing in advance was never a mistake.
—“If you’re not a beginner, send fewer people?”
What was the biggest difference between a beginner and a non-beginner?
Cheng Qisheng thought of the 24-hour newbie protection period.
During that time, external dangers could not enter the Safe City.
So why would sending fewer people be better? If it were a direct, physical threat, logically, sending more people should be safer.
An image flashed through her mind—the unlucky seventh interstellar civilization that had been wiped out by a virus.
Was it contagious?
Yes. It was likely related to contagion, or something similar. The more people you sent out, the more chaotic the situation became as it spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred.
But a beginner Safe City could isolate danger; viruses couldn’t enter the Safe City. Therefore, for non-beginners, it was better to send fewer people.
Cheng Qisheng immediately closed her eyes and transmitted this information to the expedition team.
Whether Withered Star’s words were true or false, adding extra precautions would never be wrong.
