Chapter 21.1: The Rich Creator God
Gu Gaga ran off without looking back.
Cheng Qisheng was fine with it. After checking the video and confirming that it hadn’t been attacked by anyone but had left on its own, she didn’t take it to heart.
Her goal had always been to prevent the four safe cities from attacking and devouring each other, avoiding the creation of a fourth-tier safe city.
Gu Gaga leaving was actually just fine.
Cheng Qisheng didn’t care—but the other three safe cities certainly did.
Gu Gaga’s private chat channel was filled with curses automatically filtered out by the AI.
[Gu Gaga you ****! I *****! You really **** now let us **** you ****]
[Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow!!!!]
[I’m so **** fed up with you, why are you running? If you run off, what are the three of us supposed to **** do? Weren’t we supposed to cooperate and form an alliance, you *****]
[Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow!!!!]
It wasn’t that “Meow Meow” didn’t swear—it was just that she was venting in “cat language,” and it was so harsh that it triggered so many blocked words that the AI simply couldn’t translate a single word properly.
Gu Gaga also knew it hadn’t handled things well, but it didn’t dare take the risk.
The most terrifying thing about Blue Sea wasn’t its intimidating array of weapons, nor the clearly centralized power of its city lord.
It was what it saw in Blue Sea’s residents—the fact that they enjoyed fighting.
That was truly terrifying.
Although Gu Gaga was only tier two, it had experienced many worlds and seen many civilizations.
It had encountered predatory civilizations two or three times before—civilizations that took pride in invading others.
These invader civilizations were usually unstoppable in the early stages, only to collapse in the mid-to-late stages because they focused only on offense and neglected their rear.
And the residents of Blue Sea looked exactly like them.
A civilization full of fighting spirit, one that enjoys battle… believing that Blue Sea wouldn’t invade others was even less believable than believing Meow Meow would quit “mutianmiao” (catnip).
Unless this civilization had a supreme leader capable of suppressing everyone and guiding the entire society to restrain its desire for battle while advancing steadily.
But anyone who had ever been in a leadership position knew how difficult it was to suppress a shared instinct across an entire civilization.
Even if Blue Sea had an emperor, it still wouldn’t be possible.
Gu Gaga looked at the three city lords questioning it, feeling a faint sense of melancholy, as if it alone had glimpsed the truth.
But after the three city lords finished cursing and calmed down, when they asked why it had fled, Gu Gaga still kept its mouth shut.
It would have to be insane to tell the truth.
If Blue Sea had originally regarded the four safe cities as something in its pocket, then Gu Gaga fleeing might barely be acceptable.
But if it also encouraged the others to run…
If none of the four little “desserts” remained, Blue Sea would definitely come to hate it.
[Gu Gaga Safe City: I thought about it. I’m only tier two, I don’t have much combat power. There are too many zombies over there, it’s too dangerous, and there’s no real benefit in staying.]
[Gu Gaga Safe City: I was wrong to run, but we never formally formed an alliance, so it doesn’t count as betraying anyone. How about this—I’ll give each of you three crates of fruit as compensation.]
After receiving the fruit from Gu Gaga, the three city lords became even more suspicious.
This tree-person Gu Gaga had always been someone who only took in but never gave out.
For it to run so decisively—and even be willing to offer compensation…
And considering that Gu Gaga was the closest safe city to Blue Sea…
This situation absolutely had something to do with Blue Sea!
But recently, Blue Sea had only sent out some people to clear zombies, and hadn’t even had direct contact with Gu Gaga Safe City.
The three city lords didn’t go so far as to withdraw based on such vague suspicions, but they did become far more cautious in their actions.
In any case, whatever the reason, Blue Sea was definitely not to be provoked.
With that in mind, all three of them specifically instructed their residents:
When operating outside, if they encountered Blue Sea residents, keep your distance and avoid any conflict at all costs.
—
Wang Moning killed the last zombie in this area and, exhausted, her arms sore and weak, plopped down on a rock to drink some water.
“Captain, are those people from another safe city?”
Song Xi was also signaling to her teammates to take out compressed biscuits for a meal. Hearing this, she followed Wang Moning’s gaze and saw about seven or eight people quickly slipping into an intact building that hadn’t collapsed.
Wang Moning didn’t have the Blue Sea people’s long-range vision, so she couldn’t see clearly no matter how long she looked.
Song Xi narrowed her eyes and examined them carefully.
“They’ve got white bands on their arms. They’re from Withered Star Safe City.”
For some reason, residents of the three nearby cities all wore different colored armbands.
After encountering them a few times, Blue Sea people could distinguish them easily—the different colors represented different safe cities.
Wang Moning watched as most of the Withered Star residents had already hidden inside the shelter and asked in confusion:
“Why do I feel like they’ve been avoiding us?”
Hadn’t the AI issued an announcement saying that Blue Sea and the three safe cities would not interfere with each other and would coexist peacefully?
So why were these people running as soon as they arrived?
Song Xi glanced over. Although the other side was hiding inside the building, her eyesight was sharp enough to clearly see someone carefully peering at them through a crack in the wall.
“Maybe they’re just shy?”
After thinking it over, that was the only explanation she could come up with.
“Then… are those also shy?”
Wang Moning pointed to the left.
A few “cats” wearing green bands—about the size of small tigers—had just walked over. The moment they saw them, they panicked and turned to run.
Because they were in such a hurry, one of them even slipped on a marble slab in the ruins and nearly failed to keep up with its fleeing companions.
Wang Moning knew they weren’t actual cats, but members of the Catfolk civilization. They were very strong in combat and, because they could transform into cats, they were also excellent at scaling walls and moving across rooftops—though their technological development was relatively weak.
At first, she had been filled with awe and anticipation—after all, this was a civilization that could transform into cats! How amazing was that!
Wang Moning had even imagined how, if they ever made contact, she would subtly, politely, and casually find a way to pet the fur on them.
But there was no “if.” Far from letting her touch them, the catfolk residents always turned and ran the moment they spotted their team from a distance.
Not just them—the residents of Blue Leaf Safe City, who wore red armbands, were the same. Could it be that the rules of the safe cities included a clause forbidding close contact with residents of other safe cities?
“There isn’t, right?”
Song Xi tried to recall the guidelines the AI had sent to residents. “No, there’s no such rule.”
“Then they’re definitely just shy.”
“But all three safe cities are like this,” Wang Moning said.
For some reason, she always felt like the residents of other safe cities treated Blue Sea people like some kind of demon king-level existence.
Anyway—it just felt very villain-like.
But Song Xi was very certain.
“Then all three safe cities must just be shy!”
Since the problem couldn’t possibly be on their side, it must be the others who had a problem.
She even felt a bit regretful. “Such a pity. I really wanted to meet the catfolk civilization.”
Wang Moning immediately agreed. “Right? Right? Me too! A civilization that can turn into cats—it’s so rare!”
Song Xi nodded with regret.
She had once fought against a lion and won.
So she was very curious whether catfolk or lions were stronger in combat.
Ah, but the catfolk civilization just happened to be avoiding them—so there was no chance for a friendly spar.
Thinking of the catfolk’s sharp claws, Song Xi sighed. “What a pity.”
Thinking of their smooth fur, Wang Moning also sighed. “Yeah, what a pity.”
Cheng Qisheng looked at the two of them: “……”
She could guarantee these two were definitely regretting completely different things.
Yet somehow, even though the two of them constantly talked past each other, they always ended up agreeing perfectly. No wonder they had become such good friends.
As for the fact that residents of the three safe cities were avoiding Blue Sea’s people, Cheng Qisheng had noticed it even earlier than the residents themselves.
But as always, it didn’t really affect Blue Sea in any meaningful way—in fact, it was even more convenient.
As long as they didn’t interfere with each other, things were fine.
Right now, Cheng Qisheng was spending most of her time on these residents who were going out to explore and fight.
Through the perspectives of residents scattered across the city, she observed the existing buildings and traces of human civilization, trying to locate the base of that virologist.
And then she realized—this task was truly quite difficult.
This city was called Mianyan City. It was said to be the largest city on Velvet Star, and before the apocalypse, it had also been the city with the most widespread vegetation coverage.
In the pre-apocalyptic era, it had been a tropical tourist city, where various plants distributed throughout the city served as its most beautiful decoration.
But after the apocalypse, without gardeners trimming branches, spraying pesticides, and removing weeds—and with shifting temperatures—within just half a year, Mianyan City had become a half-city, half-forest existence.
Weeds grew so thick that they could swallow a person whole. Tree roots had broken through floor tiles, and skyscrapers were completely covered in vines, turning entirely green.
Cheng Qisheng found that what Xiang Qin had said was entirely correct.
A civilization on the verge of destruction faces disasters on all fronts.
Zombies were only the most basic collapse of human society. Humanity also had to contend with rising temperatures, vegetation that destroyed cities, and an environment that could no longer support modern life.
Humans not only had to deal with zombies, but also with rapidly spreading plants and animals growing larger as they expanded their territory.
Mianyan City was simply the fastest to show these changes due to its geographical location.
If another three or five years passed, the entire Velvet Star planet would become a similar environment, with almost no habitable space left for humans.
Cheng Qisheng recorded the situation of Velvet Star one by one in her notebook.
She didn’t know what use these notes would have, but at the very least, the next time she went to another world, she would be better prepared if she encountered something similar.
…
Whoosh—
Wang Moning swung her blade and killed a rat that had lunged at her. The corpse—fat and as large as a kitten—fell to the ground.
“These rats aren’t afraid of people anymore,” she muttered.
Her impression of rats had always been small creatures hiding in sewers or cracks in the floor, scurrying away the moment they saw humans.
But this rat showed no fear at all. It charged straight at them. If Wang Moning hadn’t dodged quickly, she would’ve definitely been bitten.
Song Xi used her stick to poke at the corpse a couple of times. After confirming it was a normal rat and not some kind of zombie rat, she finally relaxed.
“Animals are like that,” she said. “When you’re stronger, they’re weaker. When they sense you’ve weakened, they become stronger.”
She cut through the grass ahead and looked toward the distant skyscrapers, now completely covered in vines.
“It looks like humans living in this city are in a very weak position.”
On their way here, even encountering a nest of ants meant those ants would aggressively rush at them, trying to fight them head-on.
The ants were slightly larger than normal ones. They definitely couldn’t beat humans, but judging by their bright red color, they were probably poisonous.
Fortunately, the exploration team all wore combat boots and had sharp senses, allowing them to notice the aggressive ant nest in time. Otherwise, a single bite would have been troublesome—swelling and pain were one thing, but infection would be far worse.
Grass taller than a person’s waist, human buildings largely destroyed, zombies occasionally jumping out from the undergrowth, and animals that would suddenly lunge at them to bite…
Even Song Xi, whose combat ability was considered exceptional, couldn’t help but remark:
“This place is full of hidden dangers.”
Not the kind of danger that could directly wipe out humanity—but the kind that made living here impossible.
If not for the divine oracle, she would have even started to doubt whether there truly was a human base of Velvet Star natives in Mianyan City.
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