Chapter 26.1: Danger! Retreat!
“Gasp!”
The three city lords were all astonished by Blue Sea’s grand display.
Rocket launchers could actually be purchased from the system shop as well, but the problem was that heavy weapons weren’t something you could simply buy and immediately use.
First of all, a rocket launcher wasn’t like a gun that could be fired with the press of a button.
A rocket launcher vehicle weighed dozens of tons, and operating a single vehicle required at least three trained professionals working together. For people who knew nothing about military equipment, even the instruction manual provided by the shop might as well have been an incomprehensible ancient text.
There was reportedly a city lord who had purchased a rocket launcher vehicle despite having no residents who knew how to operate it. He had no choice but to gather some residents and learn from the manual together.
As a result, during their very first firing attempt, they assembled it incorrectly, and the rocket detonated inside the vehicle on the spot.
That was why skilled personnel had always been extremely expensive on the talent market for every Safe City.
Yet Blue Sea had deployed an entire battalion.
How many usable military specialists did they have?
To begin with, the command staff alone required a large number of trained professionals.
Then there were the communications vehicles, command vehicles, and other units that made up the battalion headquarters.
Within the artillery platoons, gunners, fire-control operators, and drivers all had to be trained as well.
Reconnaissance teams were certainly necessary, and the number of support specialists required was even greater.
On top of that, there had to be radar teams responsible for calculating coordinates, loading crews in charge of ammunition, maintenance teams that followed along to ensure repairs could be carried out at any time, transportation units delivering ammunition and fuel, military medics, and countless other specialists.
Blue Leaf was practically drooling with envy. Even if just one or two of these people were given to him, the combat strength of his Safe City would increase tremendously.
Meow Meow was equally envious. Her tail swished back and forth as she stared intently at them, her expression unusually serious.
“The Great Elder was right, meow. Blue Sea’s future potential is limitless.”
The Great Elder—a black cat—was likewise sitting upright nearby with a solemn expression.
“The Four-City Alliance was formed out of necessity. I originally thought everyone was holding something back, but I didn’t expect Blue Sea to be so open and straightforward. I underestimated her.”
The elder turned to Meow Meow.
“Did you pass along the information I asked you to tell the Blue Sea City Lord?”
Meow Meow flicked her tail confidently.
“I did, meow. Don’t worry, Elder. But are you sure this information will actually be useful to Blue Sea?”
Normally, when a disaster world has a World Quest, the coordinates where Safe Cities descend are not too far from the quest location. In this world, all the Safe Cities had appeared within the Nation of Ming.
Velvet Star had multiple countries, and the information Meow Meow had given Cheng Qisheng was that there was a country called Yumbra that possessed the largest grain storage facility in the entire world.
Moreover, she even had a map leading to that granary. It had been given to her by a local resident of Yumbra who had become stranded there.
That local had once participated in the construction of the grain storage facility. According to him, the granary had its own independent power system. Even after the apocalypse began, it should have continued operating normally for at least three years.
In other words, the enormous quantities of grain inside should still be perfectly preserved. All one had to do was get there, pick it up, and transfer it into their Safe City.
At first, Meow Meow had been overjoyed, feeling like she was the chosen cat of destiny.
But she quickly discovered that the very first step—getting there—was practically impossible.
She had a map, but she didn’t have coordinates.
One option was to spend large amounts of nucleus crystals relocating her Safe City repeatedly, gradually moving in that direction and hoping to end up somewhere nearby.
But the cost of relocating so many times would be astronomical. After spending all those crystals, there was no guarantee she would even find the place.
The other option was the most primitive one: travel on foot.
Following the map, she would first have to cross multiple cities to reach the coast. Then she would need to acquire a seagoing vessel and navigate to Yumbra using only a compass and nautical charts.
Just thinking about it was enough to make her scalp tingle. The journey would be unimaginably long, and the dangers along the way would be impossible to predict.
Anyway, that local from Yumbra insisted this was the case. Holding a nautical chart and a hand-drawn route map, he had enthusiastically gestured and explained his grand plan to Meow Meow.
In Meow Meow Safe City’s ranking system, aliens were awarded status based on their contributions, so this local was extremely eager to make the project happen.
His eyes practically sparkled with excitement.
“Great Empress Meow! That’s a super-granary capable of feeding five hundred million people for an entire year. As long as you give the word, it can be yours!”
Meow Meow’s response had been simple:
“Do you have more faith in me reaching that granary safely, or in me being a cat goddess?”
She might be young, but she wasn’t stupid.
Given that Velvet Star was crawling with zombies everywhere, traveling from one country to another was practically the same thing as committing s**cide.
And now that supernatural zombies had begun appearing, the odds of dying had risen from ninety percent to ninety-nine point nine-nine percent.
As far as Meow Meow was concerned, this intelligence was actually pretty useless.
Strictly speaking, it was useless to every Safe City.
Everyone was currently located within Ming Nation. Blue Sea was undeniably powerful and seemed to possess a complete national infrastructure, but she still didn’t believe Blue Sea could travel such an immense distance and reach another country.
“Won’t Blue Sea think we just gave them worthless information?”
Watching the residents of the four cities already joining the battle below, Meow Meow squatted in an utterly ungraceful brooding-hen pose.
“Could they take it as a provocation, meow?”
After she had explicitly rejected the Yumbra native’s proposal, he had continued trying to persuade her. Every single day he requested another audience, determined to convince her.
At this point, Meow Meow felt like she was the one being provoked.
So annoying, meow.
She had already explained countless times that it wasn’t a matter of not wanting the granary.
It was that she simply didn’t have the strength to obtain it.
Yet the man kept pestering her.
If the Great Elder hadn’t stopped her, insisting that the fellow was still useful, Meow Meow would have thrown him out of the Safe City long ago.
Compared to Meow Meow’s complete disregard for appearances as she crouched like a nesting hen, the black-cat Great Elder was far more elegant.
Raising a paw to his mouth, he let out a soft chuckle.
“City Lord, the key point of sharing this information isn’t whether Blue Sea can actually obtain it. The value lies in the information itself.”
“It’s like if another cat told you there was a lake full of delicious Bobo Fish and hoped you could catch and eat them. Even if you checked the depth and realized you couldn’t dive deep enough to catch the fish, would you develop any ill feelings toward the cat who told you about them?”
Meow Meow thought about it for a moment.
That seemed reasonable.
“But we’ve already formed the Four-City Alliance, meow. At least in this world, Blue Sea won’t attack us, meow. So why should I bother doing things like this?”
The black-cat Great Elder lowered her head and gently groomed Meow Meow’s fur. By blood relation, she was Meow Meow’s grandmother, which was why she was more affectionate toward her than the other elders.
“City Lord, you’re still young, so you don’t yet understand that relationships require maintenance.”
“By sharing this information with Blue Sea, we gain no immediate benefit, but we also suffer no loss.”
“If Blue Sea remembers even a little of our goodwill, we don’t need her to help us in the future. We only need her, when faced with a choice someday, not to kick us while we’re down.”
“For us, that alone would mean we’ve achieved our goal.”
Meow Meow only half understood.
Among the Catfolk civilization, she was indeed still considered a kitten. She needed more time to learn all these twists and turns of social maneuvering.
But that was fine.
If she didn’t understand now, didn’t she have the Great Elder?
She could just follow instructions.
Furiously taking mental notes, she summarized the lesson:
Tell Blue Sea any useful information you know. Don’t worry about whether you’ll get benefits in return. As long as it doesn’t harm you, it’s worth doing.
…
Meanwhile, in Withered Star Safe City, Withered Star was equally stunned.
He had assumed everyone was tacitly holding something back.
Was Blue Sea really not hiding any of its strength?
Then should he reveal some of his own true capabilities as well?
Otherwise, after the zombie battle was over and it came time to divide the crystals, the AI systems of the four Safe Cities would jointly calculate each city’s contribution to the fight.
What if his city ended up dead last?
Withered Star hesitated for a second before issuing an order.
“Activate the Electromagnetic Rifle Company.”
The electromagnetic rifles were products purchased from the system shop. Not only were they exceptionally effective against armor, but they could also sustain continuous fire for long periods and had an impressive range.
However, they were one of Withered Star’s most precious assets, accumulated over a long period of saving. Their lifespan was measured by the number of shots fired, so under normal circumstances he was extremely reluctant to use them.
But after seeing Blue Sea deploy an entire rocket artillery battalion—and thinking about how the crystals would later be divided according to each city’s contribution—he gritted his teeth and ordered the Electromagnetic Rifle Company onto the battlefield.
The rifles proved their worth immediately.
As soon as they entered the fight, they cleared out a vast swath of zombies, allowing Withered Star’s residents to charge all the way to the feet of the Tier-2 zombie.
…
Blue Leaf had originally intended to wait and see.
But after seeing Withered Star reveal his trump card as well, he could no longer sit still.
The battle has only just started! One city has deployed a rocket artillery battalion, another has sent in an electromagnetic rifle company. Are you all really willing to burn through your reserves like this?
Anyone who didn’t know better would think they were fighting a Tier-3 zombie rather than a Tier-2.
But now that two Safe Cities had already committed their heavy firepower, what would be left for him when the crystals were distributed if he didn’t contribute as well?
“AI, have the Demon Suppression Bureau join the battle.”
“Yes, City Lord.”
Soon, a very different-looking force appeared on the battlefield.
They wore silver armor and carried ancient-looking badges at their waists. Some wielded spears, others swords. As they moved, some could even summon flames directly into existence.
These warriors looked only slightly taller and stronger than ordinary people, but their physical power was astonishing.
Some crushed zombie skulls with a single hand.
Others sprinted across the tops of zombie hordes as casually as if they were running on level ground.
One swordsman leapt forward and severed the Tier-2 zombie’s right leg with a single strike.
“ROOOAR—!”
Although nearby zombies quickly swarmed over and reconstructed most of the missing limb, the Tier-2 zombie was visibly enraged.
Throwing back its head, it unleashed a series of piercing screams.
The sound shook the battlefield.
Many combatants immediately looked sick. Some vomited on the spot, while blood began trickling from the ears of others.
