Chapter 36.2: Evolution of Blue Sea
“Lord!”
The fishermen standing in the center of the village stared fixedly at the gigantic Safe City.
They thought that at any moment, angels with white wings would emerge from within it.
Something did emerge the next moment.
But it wasn’t angels.
It was fighter jets, drones, reconnaissance aircraft, helicopters, and other modern flying machines.
Countless drones dotted the sky like decorations.
Reconnaissance aircraft and helicopters flew off into the distance.
Meanwhile, formation after formation of fighter jets headed straight toward the fishing village with a clear purpose.
“Oh my God…”
At that moment, countless thoughts raced through the fishermen’s minds, but they didn’t even have time to voice them before the bombardment began.
— BOOM!
— BOOM!
The two roads that the fishermen had tried every possible method to destroy—but had never succeeded in damaging, managing only to pile obstacles on them to slow the zombies—were cleanly and decisively blown apart.
Before the villagers could even react, more than twenty fighter jets came to a hover above the fishing village.
Soldiers dressed in black combat uniforms lowered ropes from the aircraft. Tactical masks concealed their faces, hiding every expression in shadow.
In almost a single second, they descended from the sky and landed lightly on the ground.
Ming Hao had raised cats before.
He swore that these people landed more quietly than cats.
They began walking forward.
With his exceptionally sharp eyesight, Ming Hao could see the powerful muscles beneath their uniforms moving subtly with each step. Their movements were incredibly light, yet every action radiated danger.
— Dear heavens, why are their legs so long? And they walk with such presence. This is practically a fashion show designed for maximum visual appeal.
The commanding officer at the front approached the villagers and removed his face mask, revealing a young face that looked no different from that of an ordinary Ming Nation citizen.
His gaze landed precisely on Ming Hao.
“By the grace of our God.”
The officer performed a standard Blue Sea salute.
“Hello. We are from Blue Sea. Thank you for rescuing five citizens of Blue Sea.”
Ming Hao stared blankly at him.
The captain beside him gave him a hurried little shove, and only then did he stumble forward.
He swore once again:
His legs were still shaking.
But there was only one person in the entire fishing village from the Ming Nation who could speak the Ming language.
That person was Ming Hao.
So, despite his trembling legs, he forced himself to walk over.
Then he discovered that the officer was at least 1.9 meters (6’3″) tall.
“H-Hello. There’s no need to thank us. It was the right thing to do.”
The officer could tell that Ming Hao was nervous.
Lowering his head slightly, he looked at him and spoke in a gentle tone:
“Blue Sea will repay the help you gave to Blue Sea’s citizens. We have brought supplies to support you, and we will also clear all the zombies from this island.”
— “WOOOOHOOO!!!!”
Suddenly, cheers erupted from across the island.
There were explosions, zombie roars, and the rapid rat-tat-tat of gunfire breaking out everywhere at once.
It sounded as if the entire island had suddenly become a battlefield.
Or perhaps as if enormous crowds were holding a dance party in the middle of a war.
Listening to the chaotic noise in the background, Ming Hao’s mind went completely blank.
All he could hear clearly was the steady, powerful promise of the young officer standing before him:
“The cleanup operation has already begun.”
Above the officer and his soldiers, dozens of fighter jets hovered in the sky with a thunderous roar.
They resembled a pack of raging steel beasts.
Yet beneath those steel monsters, the Blue Sea officer maintained a warm and courteous smile.
“Please don’t worry. You will not be caught in the fighting.”
“This village is currently under Blue Sea’s protection.”
…
Cheng Qisheng didn’t stop to see what was happening at the fishing village. Instead, through the perspective of a believer aboard the reconnaissance drone, she looked down at the land below.
She could see cities scattered across islands of various sizes. Since zombies couldn’t swim, and Yunbula was a coastal nation with countless islands, it was clear that many survivors were still alive there.
As the reconnaissance drone buzzed overhead, survivors on many of the islands rushed to higher ground. They waved pieces of cloth in their hands or spread their arms wide, shouting toward the sky.
The drone’s mission was to gather as much information as possible about the visible area, so it simply recorded its route and marked which islands still had survivors before continuing directly toward the location of Yunbula’s grain reserves.
Three hours later, the drone had not yet reached the approximate location of the granary, but it had arrived above a vast stretch of mainland.
The pilot stared down in astonishment.
“My God!”
It was an exclamation without any particular meaning—something believers often blurted out when they were so shocked that they didn’t know what else to say.
Cheng Qisheng saw the scene as well.
“What a pleasant surprise.”
From the pilot’s viewpoint, they could see walls stretching across enormous sections of land.
They were not the walls of a Safe City. Instead, they were relatively crude and weathered fortifications, obviously scarred by countless battles—man-made defensive walls.
Across this vast region, the wall formed a continuous barrier. Only the section facing the sea had an opening; everywhere else was tightly sealed, keeping huge hordes of zombies trapped outside.
Inside the enclosure, large numbers of survivors were moving about, and there was even a sizable area that had been cleared and cultivated for farming.
The people working inside heard the drone’s buzzing overhead. Looking up, they immediately burst into excitement, waving their arms and celebrating.
The drone circled above, attracting even more people. There were far more of them than at Yunyang Base.
Drawing on her experience of “raising” and managing human populations, Cheng Qisheng only needed a quick glance to estimate that at least fifty thousand people were living below.
This was a large-scale base belonging to Velvet Star.
Just as she was about to take a closer look, she suddenly sensed a change in one of her believers’ chains.
The strength of the faith itself hadn’t changed—it was still as thick and robust as before.
What had changed was the believer. Compared to the others, this believer had become different somehow. If she had to describe it, the chain had become brighter.
It had gone from a matte finish to a glossy one.
Cheng Qisheng quickly located the believer.
The location: the small fishing village.
There were actually two such believers, both members of the traveling team. One was a young woman who could speak Ming Nation’s language, and the other was a young man who carried his fishing rod everywhere he went.
The girl’s name was Yin Yuan, and the boy’s name was Qu Tianming.
Their names were ordinary enough. What was extraordinary was that both of them had been running extremely high fevers. After the military arrived and checked their temperatures, the readings shot up to 45°C—yet somehow neither of them had died.
The Blue Sea military had brought medicine for them, but it was obvious that no medicine could realistically cure a fever of 45°C.
The two of them had continued burning up, their temperatures rising higher and higher.
A Blue-Robed High Bishop who had accompanied the military was already trying other treatment methods while also attempting to summon a Red-Robed High Bishop or arrange to transport them back to a Safe City for treatment.
When Cheng Qisheng turned her attention to them, their fever began to subside at a completely unscientific speed.
One moment they were so hot that they seemed capable of cooking an egg; the next moment, their body temperatures had returned to normal.
Fortunately, their “doctor” was the Blue-Robed High Bishop. She accepted the miraculous recovery almost immediately.
Standing sincerely beside their beds, she prayed for them while quickly conducting another examination. Then she declared with certainty:
“You are both fine now. It seems you have received a blessing from the gods. Give thanks to our divine creator.”
The two young people accepted the explanation without hesitation. After all, they had received plenty of blessings from the Creator God over the past few days.
The idea that the great Creator God had cured their fever sounded completely believable!
After all, who could recover normally from a fever of 45°C without any lasting effects?
It must be because we’re exceptional that our God favors us.
Filled with happiness, the two of them bowed their heads sincerely.
“Thank you, our God! Thank you for granting us health!”
Cheng Qisheng, who was used to watching her believers add their own dramatic interpretations to everything, was completely unfazed.
Just moments ago, the pair had been burning with fever and barely conscious. Now they were full of energy again.
Yin Yuan got out of bed, put on her shoes, and reached toward the cup sitting on the table, intending to take a drink.
But before her hand even touched it, the cup flew into her grasp by itself.
Yin Yuan froze.
Qu Tianming froze too.
“Whoa!!! That’s so cool!!!”
Excited, he threw off his blanket and tried to jump out of bed to get a better look.
But what emerged from beneath the blanket wasn’t a pair of legs.
It was a long fish tail.
Qu Tianming’s first thought was:
What a huge fish. If I could catch one like that…
The fish tail suddenly flipped upward and smacked him across the face.
Qu Tianming stared blankly.
Yin Yuan, who had turned around to look at him, stared blankly too.
The soldiers guarding the doorway looked at the fish tail, then at Qu Tianming’s face, then back at the fish tail, and finally at the water cup floating in Yin Yuan’s hand.
Surprised. Shocked.
But they still had a job to do.
The soldiers remained perfectly still. Only their violently trembling pupils betrayed the turmoil in their hearts.
Inside the room, only the Blue-Robed High Bishop recovered from her momentary surprise almost immediately.
Looking at the utterly bewildered Yin Yuan clutching the water cup, and at Qu Tianming, who was frantically swishing his fish tail while trying to figure out where his legs had gone, she declared with absolute certainty once again:
“This is a blessing from the great Creator God!”
She extended both hands—one toward Yin Yuan and the other toward Qu Tianming. Her expression remained calm, serene, and saintly.
“Let us give thanks to our God together.”
As soon as the two young people heard that this was a blessing from the gods, most of their panic and confusion immediately faded away. Their hearts settled at once.
If it was a divine blessing, then it shouldn’t be a bad thing, right?
The two of them took the Blue-Robed High Bishop’s hands and closed their eyes, praying with sincere devotion:
“Most Holy, Most High, Most Glorious—”
“Like light, like wind, like clouds—”
—Cheng Qisheng quietly watched her believers as they prayed.
“Great Lord of the Starry Seas—”
“Supreme Creator God—”
—Those two thick chains of faith, now transformed in nature yet still utterly devoted to the Creator God, remained firmly wrapped around her.
“Your majesty overwhelms Blue Sea—”
“Your mercy saves all living things—”
—Cheng Qisheng closed her eyes and felt it: as battles continued, more and more chains of faith were changing into that luminous form.
The number was still small, but it was a sign.
“Your grace illuminates the ages—”
“Our God above, Blue Sea forever—”
Cheng Qisheng opened her eyes.
She was in an excellent mood. She reached out and pinched Aether’s head while it busily carried out its work, then ordered herself a cup of milk tea to celebrate.
The evolution of Blue Sea had begun.
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