Safe City Ch.17.2

Chapter 17.2: Territory +1

Cheng Qisheng, on the other hand, was having a great time watching.

Have you ever seen those videos where… ?

A piece of carpet so dirty that its original color could no longer be recognized was thrown onto the ground. Someone then used a high-pressure water gun along with various brushes and cleaning agents to scrub it from something unbearable to look at into something completely clean.

Watching it was strangely satisfying and stress-relieving.

From a bird’s-eye view, the Blue Sea army’s advance was even more satisfying than cleaning a carpet.

Wherever they passed, silence remained.

The streets they crossed were left only in shades of blood.

Even if a few scattered zombies wandered behind them, snipers positioned on rooftops above would take them down, turning them into small decorative “flowers” on the red carpet of the battlefield.

“Old Eighth’s kids really handle things cleanly.”

It was worth waking up early just to watch this battle unfold.

For other matters, Cheng Qisheng didn’t entirely trust Blue Sea.

But when it came to combat, letting Blue Sea handle it was absolutely reliable.

This army was like a ferocious beast, tearing through everything in its path.

And yet, at the same time, she could sense the lines of faith within them—burning, fervent, and obedient.

It was as if a beast was roaring at everything in its way while its threads of faith intertwined, expressing admiration and devotion toward her, as though they wanted nothing more than to purr and roll over in affection.

The great Creator God felt slightly flattered, so she closed her eyes and brushed her awareness over the entire army.

Cheng Qisheng had never actually bestowed blessings before. But every time she simply patted her believers on the head, they would act as if they had received the greatest honor imaginable.

Then they would happily go around telling others: The great Creator God blessed me!

So… a head pat counted as a blessing?

Whatever. She just went along and “patted” them one by one. Fortunately, she was already used to splitting her attention—thousands of people could be “patted” in an instant.

Huh?

There was a new thread of faith?

Cheng Qisheng opened one eye. It was actually Pan Tuan—the clever girl’s older sister.

Oh ho, these two sisters were quite something. One after the other, both ended up in her hands.

But how did she suddenly develop faith? Nothing special seemed to have happened during the battle.

She had just been fighting.

Ever since she took over the alien sl*ves from the Cosmic Safe City, Cheng Qisheng had discovered that the reasons people developed faith in a god could be incredibly varied.

Some people worshipped strength—they thought this god was powerful and could protect believers, so they decided to believe.

Some people started believing simply because they got a full meal.

Some originally followed other gods, but after hearing the Blue Sea people preach about their great Creator God, they became convinced that the Blue Sea Creator God was actually the same deity they had been worshipping all along—just called something different in different civilizations.

So they converted extremely smoothly, and their threads of faith were even quite thick.

There were also people who overthought things on their own. Even though Blue Sea never demanded it, they would secretly harm themselves just to prove their devotion.

The strange part was that when they did this self-harm, they hadn’t even been believers in Cheng Qisheng yet.

But after hurting themselves and ending up in a miserable state, they suddenly did start believing in the Blue Sea Creator God.

Cheng Qisheng could only assume it was due to sunk cost reasoning—since they had already paid a price, they felt like not believing would mean losing out even more.

Aside from these bizarre cases, most aliens’ faith came from wish-making.

The key point was—Cheng Qisheng had never actually fulfilled any of their wishes!

And she couldn’t even hear the thoughts of people who weren’t her believers.

These people would make wishes on their own, such as wanting to join construction teams, earn more points, get housing, or even just be able to stop being constipated…

Then when those wishes somehow came true, they firmly believed it must have been their sincerity that moved the Blue Sea Creator God.

And so, they began to worship Cheng Qisheng.

Meanwhile, Cheng Qisheng—who had done absolutely nothing—could only accept it.

She decided she would stop trying to understand why people believed in her.

Just like with Pan Tuan.

Who knew why fighting like a berserker for six hours would suddenly make someone develop faith in the Blue Sea Creator God?

It couldn’t possibly just be because the battle felt amazing… and she resonated with the Blue Sea people, right?

Anyway, as long as someone came to believe in Cheng Qisheng, they would enter her faith network and automatically be granted a kind of loyalty “thought seal” effect.

Hahaha—once you’re in, you never get out. No one is leaving. Everyone’s going to work for her!

Cheng Qisheng gently brushed over Pan Tuan’s head.

“You may not be very smart, but you’re still a good child~”

At that moment, the entire army—blessed by the deity—suddenly felt their spirits surge.

Pan Tuan didn’t even have time to react to what had happened. She only felt as if someone had gently held her in their arms and kissed her on the forehead, like a mother comforting her child. The faint fatigue in her mind was instantly swept away.

Meanwhile, the Blue Sea soldiers became even more energized.

“Divine blessing!”

“It’s the blessing of our god!”

“Praise the Lord!! Blue Sea will endure forever!!”

The Blue Sea people expressed excitement in only one way:

Combat.

And so, the already overwhelming offensive immediately accelerated to a whole new level.

Before the survivors even had time to react, the advancing army in the sea of blood suddenly pushed open the nearest school gate.

—The troops entered, shields raised, and the gate was closed again.

Once inside, the zombies that had trapped the school’s survivors for half a year became yet another “red carpet.”

The army paid no attention to the small area where the survivors were gathered. Instead, they first cleared out all zombies in the open ground.

Then they charged into building after building, clearing floor after floor.

Blue Sea combat doctrine:

No matter where you go, you kill everything first—only then is it safe to proceed to the next step.

As long as even a single zombie remained in the area, they would not leave combat mode.

At 10 p.m., what should have been a night of darkness and fear for the survivors had instead become as bright as daylight.

The headlights of armored vehicles were turned on one after another, and combined with battlefield floodlights, the entire Agricultural College campus was illuminated with stark clarity.

At this point, the survivors hiding inside one of the buildings had actually become a little afraid to go out.

The behavior of this army was too brutal—and too abnormal.

Their area, where the survivors were clearly gathered, was impossible to miss. Yet the soldiers made no announcements.

No communication.

No contact at all.

After entering the Agricultural College sector, they simply started killing—killing and killing and killing.

While doing so, they silently erected barbed wire fences, gradually enclosing the entire area.

It was as if this army had entered Zilan University for one purpose only: to kill zombies.

The survivors hid behind windows, secretly observing the soldiers who were sweeping through each section.

“Are they even regular troops?”

“Damn… I’m actually kind of scared. They’re way too ruthless. After they finish killing the zombies, are they going to start killing us too?”

A student nervously went to ask the old academician:

“Professor, do you know this army?”

The academician stared silently at the troops below, but could not match them with any force he knew of.

A faint suspicion had long lingered in his mind: private armed forces.

When they had been trapped in the school for three months without any rescue—even leaflet drops from helicopters—the old academician had already guessed that something must have gone terribly wrong with official state institutions.

Perhaps even weapons systems had failed; otherwise, nearby military bases would not have remained completely silent.

This armed force, which had cut a bloody path all the way to Zilan University, must have a purpose.

Either they wanted the university campus and intended to turn it into a base.

Or—perhaps they wanted him.

It wasn’t that the old academician was overly confident; it was simply a realistic possibility.

He suddenly thought of the students who had escaped earlier.

Could it be that those students had relayed information about them and attracted this army?

If it was for the campus, he could present his identity and negotiate with this army.

If it was for him…

The old academician looked at the blood-soaked road outside. In the distance, more zombies had already been drawn by the noise and were crashing into the gates outside the campus.

For an army to reach the school under such conditions, if they truly came for him, they might only be willing to take him alone.

After all, there were quite a lot of students. For a military force, bringing them along would absolutely be a burden.

And this army… didn’t look like the kind that was easy to talk to.

He silently organized his thoughts, preparing how to use his identity to negotiate with them so they would be willing to evacuate the students as well.

“Professor! Professor! They’re here!!”

Hearing the students’ shouts, the old academician took a deep breath to steady himself and slowly walked outside.

Under the lights, a tall soldier removed his officer’s mask, revealing a young face.

He placed his right hand over his heart and gave a slight nod.

“In the name of our god, greetings.”

The old academician froze for a moment.

What kind of opening was that?

But thinking about it, it was the apocalypse—religious development made sense. Since he was already under someone else’s roof, he might as well follow their customs.

He also mimicked the gesture.

“Hello.”

The officer waved his hand, and a Velvet Star translator stepped forward.

“Are you Academician Zhang Xiongyuan?”

While he spoke, the officer took out a photo clearly cut from a newspaper and compared it briefly.

Yes. That was indeed him.

Zhang Xiongyuan nodded.

“Yes, that’s me. You are here for me?”

The Velvet Star translator immediately relayed his words to the officer.

Zhang Xiongyuan’s heart sank.

Not good—they were foreigners.

If that was the case, his hope of getting them to take all the students might not succeed.

He hardened his resolve.

Even in the apocalypse, working for foreigners was acceptable—but the students had to be taken with him.

His only relatives had already died. There was nothing left for him to hold on to.

If the other side refused…

Zhang Xiongyuan looked at his aged hands and thought grimly that he might as well threaten death.

These people had gone through so much trouble to come here—they definitely wouldn’t want to waste half a day only to leave with a corpse.

The two sides communicated through the Velvet Star translator.

The officer said, “Please come with us. We need an agricultural expert. Let’s leave immediately.”

Zhang Xiongyuan replied, “I cannot leave alone. These are all my students—my children in a sense. I must take them with me.”

He was just about to add, “If you don’t take them, I won’t go either.”

When the officer nodded and said something like:

“%#￥#￥”

The translator immediately said, “He says okay. Prepare to go up to the rooftop.”

Zhang Xiongyuan froze. “Did you translate that correctly? I said I want to bring everyone—78 people. Not a single one can be left behind.”

He repeated it firmly: “Not one person can be left out.”

The translator once again relayed it to the officer.

The officer responded: “%￥%￥”

The translation came back: “He says it’s fine, no problem. Are we leaving now? The helicopter will arrive shortly.”

Zhang Xiongyuan: “…N-now?”

So straightforward? Was this a lie?

He immediately decided that if they tried to separate him from the students, he would insist on letting the students leave first while he stayed behind.

But it turned out to be completely unnecessary.

The helicopter arrived—and it was huge, capable of carrying over a hundred people.

Zhang Xiongyuan and all the students boarded together. All 78 of them stayed close to him, not a single one missing.

—With a deafening roar, the helicopter lifted off.

Through the window, Zhang Xiongyuan looked outside, feeling a bit dazed.

Just like that… they had successfully left the school?

And they even took all the students with them?

He stared dazedly at the enormous helicopter.

What exactly was that army?

And since they already had helicopters, why did they still need so many people to fight their way here step by step?

Wouldn’t it have been enough to just use helicopters to pick everyone up directly?

—

Watching the helicopter disappear into the distance, Cheng Qisheng wrote in her little notebook:

Zilan University: territory +1, talent +1, stored campus resources +n, land +4000 mu.

Not bad, not bad. Another fruitful day.

—

The officer ordered the soldiers to rest on-site, set up tents, prepare food.

Tomorrow they would continue clearing zombies around the school as the center. With this advance force in place, the main army from Qianli City would soon be able to push forward.

Pan Tuan collapsed onto the ground, only now realizing how sore and exhausted she was—so tired she couldn’t even lift a finger.

She looked around. Good, good. The other Velvet Star people were the same, all lying there like they were half-dead. Clearly, tonight would be a deep, heavy sleep.

Just as she sighed in relief, she noticed that the Agricultural College worker was still full of energy—wandering around everywhere.

Weren’t they supposed to be non-combat personnel?!

Blue Sea people were way too physically strong!

—

Meanwhile, Ma Yuetian excitedly lifted her hoe.

Of course she was tired too—but excitement filled her mind.

She looked out across the vast, vast fields of the Agricultural College.

Not only were there fields inside the campus, but more could be seen outside as well. Some plots were even fenced off, already planted with food crops.

Covered in blood, holding a blood-soaked hoe, she grinned like a complete maniac.

“Great! They’re gone—this place is ours now!”

“Just how much food could we grow here, hahahaha!!!”

Ma Yuetian laughed to herself with pure delight on her side.

—

Meanwhile, inside the helicopter, Zhang Xiongyuan kept staring out the window.

He looked at the ruined buildings, the abandoned cars scattered across the ground, and the ever-present stains of blood.

Every scene reflected the bleakness of the apocalypse.

The former prosperity of Velvet Star had been buried beneath layers of blood. The streets were filled only with wandering zombies—there was no sign of human life anywhere.

His eyes reddened. The students weren’t doing much better; some were wiping away tears, others sniffled quietly.

“Teacher, in the future, we…”

One student tried to say something, but in the end, swallowed the words back down.

Zhang Xiongyuan said nothing. He didn’t know what to say either. He simply stared out the window in silence.

At this moment, he had already realized that there was no longer any place on this planet where humans could live normally.

He thought that for a long time to come, he would likely be living in some underground base—or perhaps a sea base.

This helicopter was probably heading toward one of those places.

How many survivors would there be?

Fifty thousand? Forty thousand?

Or… even fewer?

Until—

He saw something massive appear abruptly in the distance.

A gigantic structure.

A safe city so enormous it seemed to overshadow even the mountain ranges themselves.

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