Chapter 3.2: Upgrade
Human—but they couldn’t let their guard down.
What if she was a creature capable of disguising itself?
One of the soldiers shouted, “Can you speak?!”
The little girl cried out, “#￥%￥%”
Well, they had already realized when they saw the writing of this world earlier—there was definitely a language barrier between the locals and the Blue Sea people.
Not understanding her didn’t matter; at least she proved she could speak.
But the Blue Sea civilization never underestimated anyone—even a child.
The combat team still tossed down a set of small handcuffs and ankle shackles, gesturing for the girl to put them on herself.
Then two soldiers climbed down. One of them fitted her with a bite guard.
It was a bit too large, but adjustable—just barely manageable for the little girl.
Finally, the child—wearing a bite guard, handcuffs, and shackles—was lifted up. The moment she reached the top, she was placed into a hastily constructed wooden cage.
The girl had been terrified at first, but when she realized these strangely dressed adults (in heavy hazmat suits) seemed even more fearful than she was, she gradually calmed down.
The combat team remained on high alert, guns trained on the child:
“Requesting the High Priest from the temple to conduct an examination. We need to determine whether she is safe.”
One soldier stepped forward and used a hooked pole to pass over food and water found in the house.
The little girl looked at the person standing three meters away and the long hook, took the items, and lowered her head to eat.
She was very thin—so thin her cheeks were sunken. The way she ate was ravenous, clearly showing she had been starving for a long time.
One of the white-robed bishops carefully observed the girl:
“She can eat food, so she’s probably not a zombie. I’ve tested it—zombies can’t consume any human food. Even if you force it in, they’ll just vomit it back out.”
Another white-robed bishop: “? How did you test that? Weren’t all the ones sent to us corpses?”
“That’s easy—just ask the soldiers for a live one. But be careful during experiments; getting bitten would be disastrous.”
“Since we’re such good friends, if you get bitten, can I study you?”
“Sure. I’ll designate you as my autopsy bishop—but you have to designate me as yours too.”
“No problem. By our god above, it’s settled.”
The two white-robed bishops hit it off immediately. There was no need for contracts or formal agreements—for the people of Blue Sea, a vow made “By our god above” was already the highest level of commitment.
After giving the girl a thorough examination, they reached a conclusion:
“She’s not a zombie, but she’s severely malnourished. She must have been starving for a long time.”
“Don’t let her keep eating. Give her some light salt water first—she can only handle liquid food right now.”
The personnel who had gone down to inspect the cellar also came back up:
“There are food scraps and human waste inside. She’s been staying down there for at least several months.”
The captain leaned over to check the depth of the cellar:
“At this height, a child couldn’t have gotten down there by herself. And the lid was closed—it looks like her family put her there to hide.”
Which meant the disaster in this world had been going on for at least several months.
The deputy captain nodded and handed over a photograph:
“Found this in a nearby house. She should be the youngest daughter of that family.”
In the photo, the girl stood together with a middle-aged couple and a young man no older than his early twenties.
“Also…”
Although they knew the little girl couldn’t understand them, the deputy captain still instinctively lowered their voice and handed over the tactical tablet.
On it was a photo of a female zombie that had been shot dead. Most of her face was already badly decayed, but it was still clear she was the middle-aged woman from the photograph.
“The soldier who took her down said that when they found her, she had locked herself in the back room. There were deep bite marks on her arm, a hammer on the floor, and most of her teeth had been smashed. The forensics expert said those broken teeth were knocked out by herself.”
A trace of respect appeared in the captain’s eyes:
“It seems that when the disaster happened, the adult had already been infected and only had time to hide the child.”
“Even at the very last moment before being fully turned, she tried to reduce the threat she posed to her child.”
The deputy captain was also moved. “Has there been any decision from above about what to do with this child?”
The captain nodded. “Orders have already come down. Someone will come to take her. She’ll stay in the rear and move forward together with the vanguard exploration team.”
The deputy captain nodded, not surprised. After all, she was an alien—those in authority would never agree to let her enter the temple.
Seeing the concern about the girl’s future, the captain patted the deputy on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry. The expert group will use her to speed up deciphering this world’s language. She’ll be well taken care of.”
The captain’s guess was correct. When the expert group received the girl, they treated her like a treasure.
By the sixth hour after the vanguard set out, the experts had learned the girl’s name. In Blue Sea language, it sounded like “Huan Lingfeng,” but its actual meaning was “Yu Bao.”
Communication was still difficult, but Yu Bao could draw.
As she drew and gestured, the expert group quickly pieced together what had happened when the “unclean miasma” erupted.
It hadn’t appeared in the form of a disease, nor were there any warning signs—it had suddenly emerged at dusk one day.
Some people suddenly turned into zombies and began chasing and biting those who hadn’t changed. Those who were bitten quickly turned into zombies as well.
By the seventh hour, the temple had moved equipment out of the safe city and set up a temporary research facility outside. There, they reached the same conclusion Yu Bao had described:
“The ‘unclean miasma’ currently spreads only through blood transmission. Infected individuals spread it by scratching and biting others. Once it enters the bloodstream, it rapidly replicates.
Its target is the brain—the closer the wound is to the brain, the faster the infection spreads. At its fastest, it can turn a living person into a zombie in as little as two seconds.”
The stationed military officer sent over asked with a serious expression:
“Your Excellency, are we certain it only spreads through blood?”
The white-robed bishop nodded. “I’m certain. It does not spread through the air. Otherwise, given the infection speed of the unclean miasma, we would all already be newly turned zombies.”
Soon, the president also received this report.
Her expression remained calm:
“This is good news. Soldiers no longer need to fight in heavy, cumbersome protective suits.”
“Pass down the order: continue advancing outward, secure more safe locations, eliminate more zombies, and obtain more core crystals to offer to our god.”
By the eighth hour, without protective suits and gas masks, the soldiers moved much faster than before. They cleared a fourth village and brought out thirteen local survivors.
By the tenth hour, all five villages had been cleared. Including Yu Bao, a total of thirty-two survivors had been rescued.
Drones flew high into the distance, sending back images of a nearby town—densely packed with zombies everywhere.
There were at least seven to eight thousand zombies in that town.
So close to their rear lines, yet with such a massive number of zombies—no matter the reason, Blue Sea had to eliminate them.
First, they needed to clear the roads. The villages were connected to the town by roads, but they were now clogged with vehicles and a smaller number of zombies.
These were likely locals who had tried to flee when the disaster struck, only to end up trapped on the highway.
By the eleventh hour, the Blue Sea vanguard had cleared all visible zombies from the roads.
By the twelfth hour, heavy military vehicles finally arrived. One by one, the small cars clogging the highway were pushed aside, clearing a route for the convoy to advance.
By the thirteenth hour, the vanguard reached the town.
The helicopters arrived before the ground troops.
Armed with rockets, they used their loud, droning roar to lure large numbers of zombies out of the town.
Then came the large-scale clearing.
First the rockets were fired, followed by fighter jets and drones. The thunder of combat never ceased, and soldiers even stood inside the helicopters, firing machine guns downward to finish off targets.
Only after that did the real assault on the town begin—clearing out the zombies that hadn’t been drawn out by the helicopters.
By now, it was night. Human vision was limited, and zombies couldn’t be detected by infrared imaging, making it seem like an unsuitable time to attack.
But that didn’t matter. When it came to warfare, the Blue Sea civilization always had its methods.
—Whoosh!
—Bang!
Survivors hiding inside the town had just excitedly spotted the helicopters—
when suddenly, the sky outside lit up.
Flares shot into the air one after another, as if they were free.
Before one finished illuminating the sky, another followed, turning the entire town as bright as day—brighter, even, than daylight.
This time, the number of zombies was nothing like the scattered few in the villages.
The town’s environment was far more complex, and casualties during the clearing process were inevitable.
But the people of Blue Sea did not fear battle.
Here, they would build the fence of their homeland!
Under the blazing light of the flares, the soldiers raised their guns and lifted their left arms:
“By our god above!!”
“Blue Sea endures forever!!”
In the next moment, under command, the soldiers moved into the town.
By the seventeenth hour, the town had been completely cleared, with 315 survivors rescued.
The harvesting teams then entered to collect the core crystals—
By the eighteenth hour, under the President’s orders, the soldiers began carrying out the long-decided “Fence Plan,” using materials found in the town as well as supplies transported from the safe city.
All the houses in the town were demolished—turned into bricks and chunks of concrete. Rebar, rubble, iron doors, wire fencing—everything that could be used, was used.
From the safe city, truck after truck rolled out, bringing both materials and manpower.
Among them were engineering troops and ordinary civilians alike.
After all, construction was something Blue Sea excelled at.
Before leaving their home planet, they had mobilized the entire population to build within the temple.
One hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, one million—
In the end, five million people of Blue Sea spread out like a swarm of bees, occupying every edge from the town to the villages.
The line was immense—stretching 60 kilometers in a full circle.
And along that line stood the tireless people of Blue Sea.
They carried bricks, stacked walls, and worked without rest.
No one slacked off. If it were just working for a boss, maybe they would drag their feet.
But this was a command from their god.
Every single person poured their full strength into it, sweating as they built a protective fence for their homeland in this land freshly cleansed by war.
Twelve minutes remained before the twenty-four-hour deadline—
—the final brick was placed atop the wall.
From Cheng Qisheng’s vantage point above, she could clearly see it:
Centered on the safe city, a massive wall now encircled the cleared villages and town, rising straight into the sky.
It would stand there indefinitely, blocking the zombies from outside—ensuring that even without the beginner protection period, the safe city would not have to fear being overrun.
—The Fence Plan was complete.
From this moment on, beyond the safe city, there would always be a solid line of defense.
She shifted her gaze back to the temple.
A total of 5,098 core crystals had already been cleaned and were carefully placed as offerings before the statue of the Creator God.
The jellyfish-like central AI’s steady voice showed a slight fluctuation:
“Core crystals detected. Marketplace unlocked. City Lord may use core crystals to purchase items or upgrade and modify safe city structures.”
“Safe city has met upgrade requirements.”
“Conditions: 1) Population has reached 1,000,000. 2) Core crystals have reached 3,000.”
“City Lord, would you like to use 3,000 core crystals to upgrade?”
“Reminder: After upgrading to Tier 2, the area of your safe city will double, and all defensive structures will have their protection level increased by one fold.”
It hadn’t forgotten that the City Lord was currently unable to speak, and added:
“To upgrade, please blink three times. To decline, please blink four times.”
Cheng Qisheng chose not to upgrade.
The AI was slightly puzzled, but it obeyed.
Cheng Qisheng patiently waited as time ticked by.
Five minutes.
Three minutes.
One minute.
The final ten seconds.
3—2—1—
“Attention: Beginner protection period has ended. Your safe city is no longer immune to external threats.”
The jellyfish AI swayed as it announced:
“Your safe city is now officially active. City Lord will advance to Transcendent Tier 1 along with it.”
The transparent barrier covering the safe city instantly dissipated. At the same time, Cheng Qisheng felt a warm current flow through her body.
She slightly opened her mouth. “Te… test…”
She moved her hand again. After struggling for two minutes, her fingers finally lifted slowly.
Good. That’s enough. Test complete.
Cheng Qisheng closed her eyes first and sent a group message to all her followers, saying she intended to expand the temple.
As for why—she didn’t need to explain. The people of Blue Sea would come up with some grand, noble reason on their own.
Then she finally looked at the AI core and, with great difficulty but slowly and firmly, issued the command:
“Up… grade.”
“Understood, City Lord.”
[Safe City has advanced to Tier 2—]
The virtual screen instantly updated.
[Safe City — Tier 2]
[Actual area: 1,600 square kilometers]
[Manifestation area: 10 square kilometrers]
[Resident capacity: 360 million]
[Status: Fully manifested—]
Cheng Qisheng did not look at the screen.
She slowly raised her left hand.
Then her right hand.
Very slowly—like an elderly person moving—but far faster than before. At the very least, she could now barely take care of basic movements.
“As expected.”
This time, her speech was smooth and fluent, without the previous difficulty.
The test result matched her expectations.
As long as she continued to upgrade, her body would keep recovering.
Cheng Qisheng controlled her body and slowly sat up.
She took a deep breath.
The feeling of regaining control of her body was… intoxicating.
Light flickered in her eyes—joy, and also ambition.
The gaze of the Creator God fell upon the safe city.
—The people of Blue Sea were looking in shock at their newly doubled homeland.
After their initial astonishment, they erupted into cheers, then tears, gratitude, reverence.
Then, without knowing why, three hundred million people simultaneously raised their left arms and shouted:
“By our god above!! Blue Sea endures forever!!!!”
“By our god above!! Blue Sea endures forever!!!!”
Cheng Qisheng looked at this most obedient and well-behaved child of hers and lightly tapped the screen.
Compared to other city lords… she really was quite fortunate, wasn’t she?
This child wasn’t the smartest, nor the fastest to develop.
But it was absolutely the most suited to the environment of the safe city.
Cheng Qisheng smiled.
“Good child… Tier 3, Tier 4, Tier 5…”
“Let’s walk all the way up together.”
