Chapter 12: City Lords’ Goodwill
To put it bluntly, after Cheng Qisheng spoke, the entire group chat fell completely silent.
In this world, a total of thirteen Safe Cities had descended, and the Blue Sea Safe City was the only newcomer.
Barely twenty-four hours had passed, and a Tier 1 city advancing to Tier 2 was already shocking enough.
And now, it had even crossed tiers and taken down a Tier 3 Safe City.
The key point was—Blue Sea usually seemed pretty mild-tempered.
When “Coriander” sent her wood, she sold food supplies in return.
When “Meow Meow” spoke up for her, she even sent Meow Meow a gift.
When she spoke normally, her tone was gentle, and she would occasionally be willing to share some intelligence about this world.
She was the kind of presence in the group chat who didn’t talk much, but still had a certain visibility—others generally thought she was easy to get along with.
And yet now, the Blue Sea Safe City, still using that same gentle tone, said that the one who killed the “Cosmic” was her.
—
Blue Leaf Safe City—
A young man was drinking juice. The moment he saw that message, he spat it all out.
Blue Sea?
How could it be Blue Sea?!
He felt heartbroken and full of regret.
When they had tried to recruit Blue Sea before, they didn’t put in much effort because they assumed she was a newcomer. After Blue Sea stopped responding much, they simply gave up.
If only they had known! They should have been more sincere!
But now it was too late to recruit her again. She had already rejected them. If he went to pester her now and made her unhappy…
Thinking of the name “Cosmic” going dark… he decided to drop the idea.
—
Zhou Yue Safe City—
Zhou Yue was lying in bed reading a construction-themed novel for inspiration while also checking the City Lord group chat. After reading it, she accidentally squeezed the book so hard that several pages were crumpled into a single sheet of paper.
“Oh my god, how could it be her?!”
She quickly tried hard to recall whether she had ever offended this big shot during her dealings with Blue Sea.
Relief—good, good!
From the chat logs, their transactions had been completely fine, and the big shot’s tone had always been quite calm.
When they exchanged the mineral detection device, she had also been honest and straightforward, with no attempts to scam her.
Zhou Yue finally relaxed, carefully putting away the now-flattened “construction-themed novel” and focused all her attention on the City Lord group chat.
Yes, Zhou Yue almost never spoke in the group chat—but she was constantly lurking and reading everything.
Compared to “Coriander,” who believed in the philosophy of “the more friends you have, the more paths you can take,” Zhou Yue had always believed in: “As long as I have no presence, no one will be able to target me.”
She quietly lurked, trying to gather more information.
About why Blue Sea had killed Cosmic.
Although Cosmic really did have a foul mouth, there hadn’t been much interaction between him and Blue Sea in the group chat, and Blue Sea usually seemed pretty good-tempered.
What exactly had happened?
—
Coriander Safe City
Wen Huahua remained in a state of shock.
He had even previously reminded the big shot to be careful of Cosmic, and had worried whether that person would eventually come for her.
And now—the big shot had directly killed him?!
No, no, he needed to quickly think of some flattering compliments to firmly suck up to the big shot!
He had always diligently sent morning and evening greetings to the big shot, and whenever he learned any useful information, he would immediately pass it along. His relationship with the big shot could definitely be considered “somewhat good.”
At a time like this, he had to quickly stand on the big shot’s side and speak up!
But perhaps because the shock was too overwhelming, Wen Huahua—who usually could spit out rainbow praise without even thinking—now had a completely blank mind.
He buried his face in the blanket and groaned.
“Stupid brain! Think! Hurry up!”
—
Meow Meow Safe City
A group of beast-people transformed into cat forms.
The tabby cat “Meow Meow” stood on a raised platform, surrounded by colorful disco lights. Nearby, a calico cat swayed its body while performing a song.
Below, a chaotic dance of cats filled the floor.
Meow Meow glanced at the group chat. Thinking about the fact that Cosmic was now thoroughly and irreversibly dead, she felt an overwhelming sense of joy and suddenly shouted:
“Meow! Keep dancing, keep being happy!”
—
Gu Gaga Safe City
A treant was taking inventory of how many nuclear crystals it had earned that day when it saw the message. One of the branches on its head dropped straight down.
It muttered under its breath, “The newcomer is a monster.”
“Ah!”
It let out a pained sigh.
“A monster we can’t afford to mess with.”
It had originally thought the newcomer was just arriving and didn’t understand anything yet—so it could take the chance to deceive them a bit and earn extra crystals.
What a pity. This was someone not to be trifled with.
Although it loved crystals, it valued its life even more. It had no intention of provoking someone who could take down a Tier 3 Safe City.
The treant opened a private chat with the Blue Sea Safe City and transferred 130 nuclear crystals.
Gu Gaga Safe City: “There was a miscalculation when I bought second-hand equipment from you before. I just settled the accounts, and I’m returning the extra core crystals.”
Gu Gaga Safe City: “I overpaid by 20 crystals—please take it as an apology gift.”
Cheng Qisheng accepted the refunded crystals and sent back a simple “okay.”
Then she sent the same “okay” to another city that had also returned resources.
Although the group chat was temporarily silent, her private message inbox was quite lively.
In just a short while, four Safe City lords had already come to apologize, saying that during previous resource exchanges they might have received slightly more than they should have, and they were very sorry. They were now returning it immediately, and the “handling fee” could be kept by her as compensation.
Some city lords spoke at length in apology, others gritted their teeth and added extra nuclear crystals as compensation, and some even gifted additional supplies.
Their tone was especially careful and sincere, as if terrified she might hold a grudge.
Cheng Qisheng held a yellow list in her hand. As each apology and refund came in, she crossed off one name after another.
She was slightly surprised to realize that every city lord who had previously cheated her out of a little crystal during trades—thinking she didn’t understand the market—had, within just three minutes, completed a full “refund + apology” package.
Even those city lords who were usually so quiet they were almost invisible in the chat had done the same.
Not a single person harbored any luck-based hope. After Cheng Qisheng revealed her strength, they all “slid on their knees” with remarkable naturalness.
It seemed Cosmic really had been an exception.
Among those who had survived until now, none of them were fools.
At the fourth minute, within the still-silent group chat, someone finally spoke.
[Coriander Safe City]: Aaaahhhh oh my god! It’s you, big shot!! So strong, so strong!
[Coriander Safe City]: Cheering for you!! Cosmic finally hit a wall! He even tried to trick me into giving coordinates before, but luckily I didn’t give them, sob sob—otherwise the one whose name turned gray in this chat might’ve been me!
[Coriander Safe City]: Big shot, you’re doing justice for everyone!! Sob sob, let me hug your thigh~
Coriander’s messages broke the silence in the group chat and set the tone for Cosmic’s death.
[Blue Leaf Safe City]: Like for Blue Sea. Cosmic really was a tumor in our group. He definitely provoked you first.
[Meow Meow Safe City]: Meow meow meow~
[Zhou Yue Safe City]: Like for the big shot. Also, Meow Meow, did you get high again?
[Gu Gaga Safe City]: Like +1 (for trading resources and nuclear crystals, contact me)
[Snowfall Safe City]: Like +1
[Orange Orange Safe City]: Like +1
[What the Hell Is Going On Safe City]: Like +1
[…]
Today, aside from the death of Cosmic, another strange phenomenon occurred.
All eleven city lords—except for Cheng Qisheng—had come out to “like” the message. It was truly rare. At least four of them were people who had never once shown up in the chat since she joined.
She sent a message in the group chat: [Thanks everyone =v=], while privately messaging Coriander to ask why all the city lords had suddenly appeared.
Was there some hidden rule she didn’t know about—like “after a Safe City war ends, everyone must like the winner’s message as congratulations”?
Coriander quickly replied.
[Because everyone is afraid that if they don’t show their stance, you might think they’re Cosmic’s accomplices~]
[Although the possibility is very small, what if? Also, big shot, you just killed a city lord—killing a Tier 3 with a Tier 2 city is definitely very strong. At a time like this, the other city lords will absolutely try to observe your personality, temperament, and taboos, so they don’t accidentally offend you.]
Coriander was completely open and unreserved in what he shared. He even told her that three city lords had privately messaged him, asking about Blue Sea Safe City and whether he knew what kind of person she was.
[Big shot, just tell me how you want me to respond! I’ll say exactly that! Or if you don’t want people discussing you, I can just stop replying!]
Cheng Qisheng didn’t even need to guess what kind of image she was about to have in Coriander’s mouth.
Coriander was a smart person. Now that their relationship had drawn closer, he was fully focused on clinging to her as a backer. He was doing everything he could to prove his usefulness to her—so naturally, he would only speak more positively about her, not less.
[Blue Sea Safe City]: Just speak your mind honestly =v=
After congratulating Cheng Qisheng, the group chat gradually shifted into an enthusiastic discussion about how obnoxious Cosmic was.
After observing for a while, she came to a conclusion.
Perhaps this topic had simply become a shared talking point at the moment—but the content itself showed that every city lord truly, genuinely disliked the Cosmic.
The main reason was simple: that guy had privately tried to approach almost every city lord.
And unfortunately for him, everyone in this world was extremely cautious.
All of them could see exactly what Cosmic was trying to do.
No one would like someone who wanted to kill them.
By the same logic, everyone was also wary of Cheng Qisheng, who could cross tiers and destroy another Safe City.
Hating Cosmic was real, but so was the desire to use this opportunity to get more information about Blue Sea—so they could analyze her personality.
The more cautious ones wanted to figure out her temperament so they could avoid stepping on her landmines in the future.
The bolder ones wanted to see whether they might be able to find some advantage from this newly risen powerhouse.
After everyone had spent a long while tearing down Cosmic, Blue Leaf finally asked:
[@Blue Sea Safe City Big Shot May I ask how you ended up fighting Cosmic? Was your coordinates leaked?]
His tone was noticeably careful. Compared to his previous “senior big brother” attitude, he now acted like he was almost ready to put Cheng Qisheng on a pedestal.
[If it’s inconvenient to say, it’s fine—I just heard there are one-time high-tier items that can locate a city lord’s coordinates. I’m worried something like that might exist in lower-tier zones too. If so, it’d be impossible to guard against.]
Cheng Qisheng slowly sat up straight.
The perfect opportunity to reinforce her “persona” had arrived.
[Blue Sea Safe City]: Don’t worry, he gave me his coordinates. After I went over there, it turned into a normal Safe City war.
[Blue Leaf Safe City]: Phew! So that’s what happened. Big shot, you were also tricked by Cosmic—he brought this on himself. Serves him right.
Compared to an ambitious newcomer who deliberately targeted and devoured another Safe City, the city lords were far more comfortable believing that Cosmic had simply brought disaster upon himself and gotten killed instead.
But clearly—Blue Leaf had relaxed too early.
[Blue Sea Safe City]: Nope =v=
[Blue Sea Safe City]: Before I went, I already knew he wanted my core. He made it way too obvious, and he even provoked me. So I prepared a bit, then went over and fought him =v=
Blue Leaf: “……”
The other city lords: “……”
They had all assumed it was Cosmic tricking a newcomer into revealing coordinates, only to be brutally counter-killed due to underestimating her strength.
But in reality—she had gone there on purpose?
The way she said something so violent in such a calm, casual tone was deeply unsettling.
Being targeted wasn’t the issue; as long as he didn’t reveal coordinates, Cosmic couldn’t reach her, and there would be no danger.
A Safe City war consumed enormous resources and combat power. Unless absolutely necessary, most city lords avoided initiating wars—except for those who enjoyed plundering others.
But Blue Sea had chosen to fight.
What exactly had Cosmic done? How far had he pushed her for her to willingly start a war?
[Blue Sea Safe City]: You all know, right? He had already been provoking me in the group chat before. Meow Meow even defended me.
The city lords immediately scrolled up through the chat history like crazy.
Could it be… was Blue Sea talking about that incident in the group chat where Cosmic had been asking about how much stockpile Blue Sea Safe City had?
Back then, Meow Meow had even reminded Blue Sea not to reveal it, and Blue Sea had given Meow Meow dried fish as a gift in return.
Just for that?!?!
[Blue Sea Safe City]: Yep =v=
The group chat fell silent again, like a flock of birds suddenly choking on their own breath.
Asking about food reserves was indeed pretty off-putting.
But to escalate that into starting a full Safe City war…
Many city lords began frantically searching their memories in their own Safe Cities:
“Wait… I don’t think I’ve ever offended her, right?”
In Cheng Qisheng’s private messages, the city lords who had already returned funds started apologizing all over again in a frenzy.
Some even tried to send additional crystals as apology gifts, but she refused them all.
[Blue Sea Safe City]: It’s enough that you returned the extra crystals. No need to give me more—it’s already more valuable than the goods I sold you. It’s fine, just be more careful next time =v=
Such a gentle and polite response.
Yet the city lords were even more terrified, worrying she might “give them a big one” someday. They began asking around other city lords to verify what kind of person she really was—and discovered that Cheng Qisheng’s usual personality really was quite good.
[I asked Coriander. He basically praised Blue Sea to the heavens, saying she has a very good personality, repays kindness with kindness. She gave Meow Meow ten packs of dried fish and Meow Meow said the same—Blue Sea is very principled. She even sold Meow Meow discounted cat food she found in this world after Meow Meow spoke up for her.]
Two city lords who were relatively close privately analyzed in a chat:
[So it seems Blue Sea isn’t exactly “repaying kindness”—she’s more like “repaying everything she remembers.” If you’re good to her, she remembers it. If you’re bad to her, she remembers that too.]
[Yes, yes, I agree. As long as you don’t provoke her, everything is fine.]
[I was terrified—I once slightly overcharged her when she bought equipment from me. I immediately went to apologize in a panic, and luckily she didn’t hold it against me. I really thought I was going to die.]
Normally, swallowing a loss like that and then being forced to spit it back out would feel very unpleasant.
But compared to Cosmic—who merely asked about Blue Sea’s food stockpile and ended up dead while his city was destroyed—this city lord already felt extremely lucky.
[Actually, as long as you don’t provoke her, she’s fine. I’ve traded with her a few times. Her prices are quite reasonable and her attitude is good. Cosmic really did covet her core—Blue Sea had every right to be angry.]
[Yes, yes. In the future, when chatting with her, we should be more polite. I don’t want to trigger a war. Whether it’s losing territory or exhausting my citizens, I can’t afford it.]
[+1]
Cheng Qisheng watched as, just as she had expected, the amount of probing and recruitment attempts in the City Lord chats dropped by 90%.
Everyone became noticeably more polite. The group chat atmosphere turned peaceful and harmonious, and even their tone toward one another became much more courteous.
Even when discussing trade, everyone’s pricing became much more reasonable.
This was exactly how it should be.
Cheng Qisheng wasn’t incapable of investigating the true value of equipment or bargaining—she simply preferred not to bother when there was an easier way.
More importantly, she did need to show a bit of her “biceps,” to ensure no other city lord came looking for trouble.
Blue Sea had just expanded into such a large territory—she needed a period of safety to consolidate and digest her gains.
Cheng Qisheng also needed to spend more time and energy on Blue Sea—on internally consuming the newly obtained resources, and externally expanding to acquire even more.
Coriander’s reminder had always stayed in her mind: the next world might not have such abundant resources.
Other Safe Cities might only need to gather supplies for a million or ten million people.
But her Blue Sea needed enough resources for 360 million people.
The fence she had built in Miang’an City before—abandoning it now would be a pity.
Just right. She could push forward from Qianli City all the way to Miang’an City, sweeping through everything in between and collecting all reachable resources as thoroughly as possible.
Also, it had already been almost a month since arriving in this world, and the so-called world mission was about to be issued.
No matter what the mission was, having more territory and stronger manpower would never be a bad thing.
During the first month, as a newcomer, she hadn’t fully understood the rules of Safe Cities or this world, so she had acted cautiously. She had only taken a small town before stopping Blue Sea’s expansion.
Now, having eliminated Cosmic, gained more territory, and secured goodwill from other city lords…
The timing was finally perfect—heaven, earth, and people were all in alignment.
It was time to show what she could really do.
Cheng Qisheng looked out at the Blue Sea Safe City, now several times larger than before.
Then she looked at her army, which had just finished a battle and was now reorganizing and resting.
Now, she could truly take root in this world and begin exploring it in earnest.
