Safe City Ch.57

Chapter 57: Fate-type Ability

The moment Tian Buke activated the golden item card, the Chain of Faith that belonged to him lit up instantly.

It lasted only for the briefest instant.

By the time the Universal Translation Meme appeared, the glow had already faded, returning to its usual matte color.

Just as Cheng Qisheng had suspected, Tian Buke’s supernatural ability really was Wish Fulfillment.

However, unlike other supernatural beings, whose Chains of Faith remained illuminated continuously, his chain only emitted an extremely brief flash when he activated his ability.

The flash was so fleeting that if Cheng Qisheng hadn’t been watching it intently, she might never have noticed it.

It was truly remarkable.

Cheng Qisheng possessed extraordinary control over her followers. She didn’t even need to deliberately observe them—after watching over Dark Star for hundreds of billions of years, it had long since become second nature.

By now, even while her physical body in the real world was asleep, she could devote part of her consciousness to overlooking every member of the Blue Sea Civilization.

Whenever one of her followers experienced something unusual, or prayed to their god with exceptional fervor, Cheng Qisheng would sense it instantly.

Theoretically, no matter how quickly Tian Buke’s Chain of Faith changed when he activated his ability before, she should have been able to detect it.

Yet somehow, she had never noticed it until now.

At this moment, after the ability had been used, Tian Buke’s Chain of Faith looked exactly the same as that of any ordinary person.

No matter how closely Cheng Qisheng observed him, she could not find the slightest hint that made him special.

That was precisely why she had chosen to use the Universal Translation Meme as a test.

Because even if the Chain of Faith never changed at all, as long as Tian Buke managed to draw the Universal Translation Meme from the golden item card, it would prove that he truly possessed a luck-based supernatural ability.

And even if he failed to draw it, that was fine as well.

After all, even if she, the Creator God, had issued a divine oracle declaring that the golden item card would contain the Universal Translation Meme, only for it not to appear in the end, it would not diminish Tian Buke’s devotion in the slightest.

Tian Buke would only become even more convinced that this was a trial set for him by the great Creator God.

The hallmark of the “Old Eighth”: never question the great Creator God.

Now that the test was over, Cheng Qisheng was delighted that Blue Sea had gained another unique ability user and that the translation problem had been solved. At the same time, however, she was puzzled by the Chain of Faith that kept flickering between bright and dim.

“Why can’t luck-type ability users be detected?”

She poked Aether.

“Do you know the reason?”

“I’m sorry, City Lord,” Aether replied. “I don’t know.”

After answering, the jellyfish-like AI looked up at Cheng Qisheng. After a moment’s hesitation, it added,

“However, Aether can use the ability user-related information I have previously acquired, together with my computational capacity, to infer a plausible explanation for you, City Lord.”

As it said this, although Aether had no physical body, it somehow experienced the same itchy, awkward feeling people in TV dramas seemed to get all over.

As an intelligent core built upon computational power—created from the very beginning to assist the lord of a Safe City by providing answers known to be correct—it instinctively found it uncomfortable to offer an answer that even it could not be certain was right.

But seeing Cheng Qisheng deep in thought, her brows tightly knitted, it also felt that this was exactly what it ought to do.

Unsure of itself, Aether could only leave the decision to Cheng Qisheng.

“Aether cannot guarantee that the following answer is correct.”

It still offered a rational warning.

“The answer Aether provides may mislead your judgment and lead you down the wrong path. City Lord, are you willing to accept that risk?”

“Sure,” Cheng Qisheng said. “Go ahead. Give me your deduction.”

Aether reiterated, “Aether’s forthcoming analysis and recommendations may not be correct and could affect your judgment.”

Cheng Qisheng smiled.

“You’ve given me plenty of advice before. I never felt it caused any problems.”

“That’s because every piece of advice Aether has given you in the past has been correct.”

Cheng Qisheng immediately laughed.

“Whether a piece of advice is right or wrong depends on the person. Aether, do you remember when you once suggested that I drive half the residents out of the Safe City?”

“From your perspective, that was the correct recommendation. It would have solved the problem in the fastest and most efficient way. But from my perspective, it was the wrong recommendation, so I didn’t adopt it.”

“That’s how intelligent beings are. We exchange ideas, challenge each other’s thinking, and offer our own answers and suggestions. Whether something is right or wrong depends entirely on one’s perspective and way of thinking.”

She poked the intelligent core, which was floating up and down while listening attentively.

“Just like now. You’re willing to offer deductions that even you aren’t certain about. From the perspective of an intelligent core, I’m sure that makes you very uncomfortable. But considering how you’ve always wanted to evolve, this is actually the kind of behavior only an intelligent being would display.”

Aether floated into Cheng Qisheng’s palm, allowing her to gently knead its jellyfish-like body.

It heard the City Lord say with a smile,

“Aether, you’re making progress.”

The surface of Aether’s body gradually flushed pink once more.

Its jellyfish-like skin turning completely rosy, it finally presented its own hypothesis based on the information stored in its database.

“Luck-type ability users are connected to fate. Their abilities cannot be detected. Many City Lords have conducted extensive research into this phenomenon, but none have reached a conclusion. Aether’s hypothesis is that when such an ability is used, it produces no energy and leaves no trace whatsoever.”

“It is more like a hidden form of causality. It merely alters the probability of events occurring. What people can observe is only the causality after it has been changed—they cannot see what it was before. Therefore, the change itself leaves neither trace nor evidence.”

“For example, City Lord, you have now discovered Resident Tian Buke’s ability. You have already instructed Aether to award him a bonus and provide him with generous treatment in the future. But how can you be certain that your discovery of his ability was not itself the result of Resident Tian Buke unconsciously activating his power?”

Cheng Qisheng fell into thought, focusing on a single crucial point.

“Are you saying that, in theory, when a luck-type ability user uses their ability, it can never be observed under any circumstances?”

She slowly emphasized her words.

“Under any circumstances?”

“Yes!” Aether answered with certainty.

On this topic, it was actually rather confident. As the City Lord’s support AI, the moment Cheng Qisheng asked about luck-type ability users, Aether had already reviewed every relevant item available in the marketplace.

“Even the highest-grade ability detection devices used in Safe Cities are clearly marked as being incapable of detecting fate-type ability users. They can only be identified through the user’s own awareness, and luck naturally falls into that category as well.”

“How could causality possibly be seen? If causality could be seen, wouldn’t that mean it could also be controlled? That simply cannot happen.”

“However, there’s no need for you to worry, City Lord. Even if such abilities can’t be detected, once an ability user reaches the later stages of their development, they’ll discover it themselves.”

After all, if someone always ends up first in every queue, wins every lottery they enter, is always the one who gets promoted and receives raises, wins free vacations, and is upgraded every time they check into a hotel, then no matter how slow they are, they’d eventually realize that they were anything but ordinary.

Cheng Qisheng thought back to the Chain of Faith she had seen flash brightly for an instant before dimming once again.

That was right.

In theory, a causal thread should never be visible.

Because by the time causality has been altered, what people are confronted with is already the altered outcome.

And yet…

She really had seen it.

Was it because Tian Buke was her follower?

Or was there some other reason?

Was her ability truly just a psychic-type power?

Cheng Qisheng narrowed her eyes slightly as she gently rubbed Aether’s little jellyfish-like head.

“It’s fine. There’s no rush.”

Cheng Qisheng was now a Tier-3 Transcendant. As a Tier-3 Transcendant, her lifespan had already been extended to 150 years.

In the future, as long as the Safe City continued to advance in rank, her lifespan would only grow longer.

Cheng Qisheng poked the pink jellyfish.

“We’re only at Tier 3 right now, so there are many things we still don’t know. Once we reach the higher tiers—given enough time—we’ll eventually find the answers, won’t we?”

Aether’s body flushed an even deeper pink. Looking up at Cheng Qisheng’s faint smile, it didn’t know why, but it felt as though a current had once again surged through its body, leaving it tingling all over. It could no longer calmly devote its computational power to careful analysis, yet at the same time it felt an inexplicable sense of comfort, as though it were completely immersed in the work it was meant to do.

“Yes, City Lord.”

In a slightly dazed voice, it said,

“Aether will always follow you.”

Tian Buke had surpassed every other ability user resident in the Safe City, instantly becoming Blue Sea’s most valuable ability user.

In theory, however, activating his ability was actually quite difficult, because the greater the stroke of luck he wanted, the stronger his conviction had to be.

The human brain is not completely under one’s conscious control—a fact that Ruo Buyan was the perfect example of.

She had desperately wanted to believe in the Creator God of Blue Sea. She had tried countless methods, even considering brainwashing herself, yet none of them worked.

Was it because she didn’t want to?

Not at all.

She wanted it very much. She had even gone to the Outer City Temple to pray before Cheng Qisheng’s statue, offering to sacrifice twenty years of her lifespan in exchange for becoming one of her followers. She frightened the white-robed bishop on duty so badly that he immediately arranged psychological counseling for her.

Even so, Ruo Buyan still couldn’t develop genuine faith.

Her brain simply refused to cooperate.

It was like telling someone, “Don’t think about a red car.”

The instant they heard those words, a red car would inevitably appear in their mind.

Tian Buke’s ability was truly incredible—but it was every bit as difficult to use as it was powerful.

The difficult part was that he might focus on wanting a particular outcome, but while trying hard to think only of that, other thoughts would inevitably pop into his mind.

What if it doesn’t appear?

What should I eat today?

Why didn’t I score eighty points in PE over ten years ago?

Thoughts like those.

But!

Tian Buke was a citizen of Blue Sea.

That made all the difference.

Every single Blue Sea citizen believed in the Creator God without reservation.

Even if Cheng Qisheng told them that snow beasts were about to fall from the sky, they would believe her without the slightest hesitation.

With Tian Buke’s ability combined with his identity as one of her followers, it could be said that in the future, whatever Cheng Qisheng wanted to obtain, he could draw it for her.

Although such extraordinary strokes of luck would only occur once or twice a year, just imagine how many crystals that would save!

Cheng Qisheng had never been one to stand on ceremony with her followers.

Recognizing Tian Buke’s contribution, she immediately improved his benefits.

This included better housing, bonuses, a higher guaranteed minimum salary, and other perks.

In addition, although the probability of Tian Buke and Arnold encountering trouble if they flew back on their own for another hour or so was only about 0.0001%, Cheng Qisheng decided to play it safe. She instructed them to stay where they were while Blue Sea sent a team to retrieve both of them along with the Universal Translation Meme.

There were countless varieties of supernatural abilities. Fate-type powers alone had innumerable branches, and Wish Fulfillment likewise came in many different forms.

What if Tian Buke’s version of Wish Fulfillment happened to include a drawback like, “Immediately after receiving an extraordinary stroke of luck, you’ll suffer a bout of terrible misfortune”?

This was a priceless wish-granting machine. Cheng Qisheng wasn’t about to take even the slightest risk with it.

Although her followers tended to act impulsively in their daily lives, she considered herself a very cautious person.

“Stay where you are with Arnold and the Universal Translation Meme. I’ll send people to pick you up.”

As soon as the divine decree descended, Tian Buke obediently agreed without asking why he and Arnold weren’t allowed to fly back on their own.

When the Creator God told him that bringing the Universal Translation Meme back would be a great contribution and that he would be rewarded for it, Tian Buke had another request instead.

“My Lord, may I invite this family to join Blue Sea?”

His reasoning was simple. The family sounded as though they had been living a difficult life, and after all, they were the ones who had given him the golden item card. Since the Creator God was rewarding him because of the treasure that had come out of that card, he felt that he should repay the family’s kindness as well.

Cheng Qisheng readily agreed. Since she was already sending a large team to retrieve them as a precaution, they could simply bring the family back together with everyone else.

More than an hour later…

Over a thousand Blue Sea citizens descended from the sky, their black skeletal wings spread wide, each dressed in the black hooded combat uniforms that had become fashionable over the past few days.

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