Safe City Ch.58.2

Chapter 58.2: Blue Sea Aesthetics

Qin Chongming might not have wanted to talk, but Lang Feiyue certainly did.

As the captain of a hunting squad herself, she was immediately fascinated by this improvised signal flare.

Blue Sea wasn’t without signal flares, but with resources still limited, they were certainly expensive.

Even so, most hunting teams carried one or two with them. Out in the apocalyptic wilderness, where there was no internet or electricity, if teammates became separated during an emergency, having a signal flare could make all the difference.

The sphere the silver-haired man had produced, however, was clearly homemade.

It was a rough mixture of fur, bone fragments, and various other materials.

Handmade meant one thing:

Cheap.

Lang Feiyue immediately asked how it was made.

Realizing these powerful aliens were interested in their handcrafted signaling devices, the two Dazzling Star adults hurried back inside and carried out an entire crate full of the smoke balls.

“We make them from snow beast bones, fur, and dung. Different kinds of snow beasts produce different colors, so they’re useful for communicating with the rest of our clan.”

Life on Planet Dazzling Star wasn’t suitable for large human settlements, but its people had developed their own ways of coping.

In some regions, people fashioned large drums from snow beast hides to communicate with nearby groups.

In others, they carved whistles from bone, or flew kites high overhead to indicate their current situation.

The Dazzling Star clan of this family had taken things even further.

Generation after generation, they had experimented with the bones, fur, and even the dung of different snow beasts, painstakingly developing an entire range of handcrafted smoke signals.

The only drawback was that these signal flares had to be lit with fire before they could be used.

In a true emergency, who would have time to stop and start a fire?

Because of that, these smoke signals were used less for urgent rescues and more for long-distance communication between relatives living nearby.

Inside the cabin, the silver-haired child—only a few years old—watched as his parents kept running in and out. Unable to resist his curiosity, he toddled after them.

The silver-haired woman nervously took hold of her child’s hand, cautiously watching Lang Feiyue and the others for any sign of displeasure.

Lang Feiyue, however, didn’t notice her anxiety at all.

She simply saw a little child with silver hair despite his young age, snow-white skin, and big round eyes.

He was rather adorable.

He looked a bit frail—his tiny arms were all skin and bones—but that wasn’t unusual. Kids would grow stronger as they got older.

In an excellent mood after seeing the homemade signal flares, she casually took a piece of candy from her pocket and offered it to the little boy.

“Here. Go ahead.”

In such cold weather, people needed sugar and fat for energy. Item cards rarely produced candy, but Blue Sea still had reserves. As a result, most Blue Sea citizens now carried a small pouch of sweets whenever they went out.

The moment the silver-haired woman saw the candy, her heart settled.

To the people of Dazzling Star, sugar was a genuine luxury.

Yet this woman had handed a piece to her child so casually.

That made her even more convinced that Blue Sea would be a wonderful place to live, and she became even more enthusiastic in her explanations.

“This blue one means we’re running low on food and are asking whether anyone is willing to trade us supplies.”

“This red one means there’s bloodshed, danger—we need help.”

“And the green one we just used means there’s no danger, but something important has happened and everyone needs to gather.”

“And this one…”

The Blue Sea citizens gathered around listened attentively.

Granted, they couldn’t actually understand the language.

But through gestures, drawings, and demonstrations, they were able to grasp the general idea.

And the more they understood…

The more excited they became.

They were incredibly interested in anything that could be useful in combat.

The Dazzling Star people might not have the time to stop and light a smoke signal in the middle of a fight.

But Blue Sea warriors certainly could.

Just imagine it:

A Blue Sea explorer stumbles upon a huge pack of snow beasts.

He lights a smoke signal to call for reinforcements—

And thousands upon thousands of Blue Sea warriors come flooding in.

Just how many item cards would that earn?

Even Cheng Qisheng couldn’t help looking over with interest.

By now, Blue Sea had already established a complete system for accepting residents from other civilizations into the Safe City.

New arrivals generally lived in the Outer City, where they paid rent and transportation fees and were assigned suitable jobs.

The carefully designed points system ensured that every resident could maintain a normal standard of living while also creating value for Blue Sea each day, allowing the city to acquire even more resources.

And because every single Blue Sea citizen was absolutely devoted to the Great Creator—standing united like an unbreakable wall—and because they possessed overwhelming military strength, Cheng Qisheng wasn’t the least bit worried even if the Safe City eventually gained four or five hundred million Outer City residents.

As a result, Blue Sea had become quite generous about accepting new residents into the Outer City.

When Tian Buke had first requested permission to bring this family back to Blue Sea, Cheng Qisheng’s only thought had been that they would simply be taking in a few ordinary workers.

Instead, she had received an unexpected bonus.

This seemingly ordinary family had actually brought valuable technology with them.

Cheng Qisheng couldn’t help glancing toward Tian Buke.

His faith chain hadn’t lit up just now.

As the family’s sponsor, Tian Buke would receive a reward as well if the newcomers contributed technology or skills that proved useful to Blue Sea. While the family themselves would earn points for their contribution, their recommender was also entitled to a share of the credit.

Cheng Qisheng sipped the fruit juice she had squeezed herself and thought to herself,

Even if this guy didn’t have any supernatural abilities, his luck is incredible.

And the best part was that such an extraordinarily lucky young man happened to be her follower.

That was a very satisfying thought.

While the two Dazzling Star adults continued explaining the various uses of the smoke signals to the Blue Sea citizens, other Dazzling Star people scattered throughout the surrounding area also spotted the column of blue-green smoke rising into the sky.

“That’s Tianya’s house!”

The moment Tianya’s father had seen the Blue Sea warriors streaking across the horizon, he had abandoned the day’s hunt and hurried back home.

Now, standing by the window and looking toward the distant plume of blue-green smoke, he could just make out the vast dark mass suspended above it.

What was more, it had already been half an hour since he’d first seen them.

And the already enormous crowd seemed to have grown even larger, covering an even greater stretch of the sky.

Tianya’s mother lay weakly in bed and coughed several times.

“What happened? Were those winged strangers you mentioned attacking Tianya’s family? Did she release a red smoke signal?”

Her eyes were filled with grief.

Her husband had already told her that Tianya’s home had been surrounded by those mysterious strangers.

Given their overwhelming numbers, even if Tianya had released a red distress signal, no one would realistically dare attempt a rescue.

How many more horrors does this hopeless world still have in store?

“No… she didn’t release the red one.”

“It was green.”

“Green?”

The sorrow on Tianya’s mother’s face gave way to confusion.

“So… she’s safe?”

It never crossed her mind that her daughter might have used the signal deceptively to lure people into coming.

No Dazzling Star person—not even the youngest child—would ever do such a thing.

In this harsh, snow-covered world, family bonds ran especially deep.

Even though children eventually grew up, left their parents, and ventured out to survive on their own, that only made those bonds all the more precious.

Emotion.

It was the only comfort the people of Dazzling Star—whose world had no future—could find on this desolate planet.

Tianya’s father stood up and put on his cold-weather gear.

“She’s calling for us. I’m going over to see what’s happened. I’ve left your food beside the bed. Don’t worry—I should be back before nightfall.”

“All right.”

After coughing several more times, Tianya’s mother watched her husband leave, then stared blankly at the ceiling of their little cabin.

She remained lying there.

When mealtime came, she made no attempt to eat.

What was the point anymore?

Her illness had grown steadily worse.

At first it had only been a cough.

Now she couldn’t even get out of bed.

Each coughing fit felt as though it would tear her lungs apart, and she spent entire nights unable to sleep.

Most medicines obtained from item cards were intended for treating injuries.

Medicine that cured disease was exceedingly rare.

Green-rank item cards were already difficult enough to obtain, and disease-specific medicines were rarer still.

Tianya had four older brothers and one older sister.

Two of her brothers had died several years earlier.

One had been killed by a snow beast.

The other had been attacked by a snow beast while sleeping at night. Their house had collapsed, and during the fight he had frozen to death.

The surviving siblings had all tried everything they could.

None of them had managed to obtain the medicine their mother needed from an item card.

They had even tried trading with other members of the clan, but no one had the right remedy.

For illnesses like this, the people of Dazzling Star had no solution.

You endured it if you could.

If you couldn’t…

You died.

That was simply the fate of the Dazzling Star people.

Although Tianya’s mother was only fifty years old, by Dazzling Star standards she had already lived an exceptionally long life.

In fact, she had decided the day before that she would simply starve herself to death, so as not to waste any more of the family’s precious food.

But today, something unexpected had happened at her youngest daughter’s home.

She forced herself to keep going.

Even though she had no desire to eat, she also didn’t want to die just yet.

At the very least…

She wanted to know that her daughter was safe before she left this world.

When a person loses the ability to move, they inevitably spend a great deal of time thinking.

Tianya’s mother thought back to her childhood.

In those days, Dazzling Star hadn’t been nearly this cold.

At least at noon, children could play outside without wearing cold-weather gear.

But now…

The planet grew colder with each passing year.

Even wrapped in insulated clothing, there was a chill that never seemed to leave your bones.

In the past, it had been enough to light the stove only at night.

Now, if they went a single day without heating the cabin, ice would form indoors.

They had to keep heating torches burning inside the house, or the cold became so unbearable that no one could sleep.

Everyone could see what was happening.

Dazzling Star was only going to get colder.

So…

What would the future become?

After she died, how many more years could her husband and children survive?

Time passed little by little.

Tianya’s mother gradually became worried.

Her husband still hadn’t returned.

She wondered what was happening at Tianya’s home.

Had something gone wrong?

She knew she should have been anxious.

Yet, strangely, she also felt that…

If our whole family were to die together today… I think I could accept that.

When people no longer had hope, they could accept almost anything.

And Dazzling Star…

Had long since lost all hope.

Bang!

The cabin door was yanked violently open.

The force was so great that it bounced back slightly after striking the wooden wall with a dull thud.

Snow and icy wind rushed inside.

No one paid it any attention.

Ever since the previous month, the people of Dazzling Star had been sleeping in their cold-weather clothing anyway.

Tianya’s father stood in the doorway, snowflakes still clinging to his body.

The familiar numbness had vanished from his face.

In its place was a light in his eyes—bright, alive, filled with hope.

“Kailina!”

He called his wife’s name.

“You’re going to be saved!”

“We’re going to be saved!”

“Come on, let me carry you. We… we’re going somewhere. Somewhere with many powerful people!”

In the end, Kailina wasn’t carried in her husband’s arms at all.

Instead, two young and sturdy Blue Sea citizens simply lifted her entire bed—with her still lying on it—then took to the sky, flying at high speed toward the Safe City.

In truth, a single Blue Sea citizen could have carried the bed alone.

But to keep it stable during flight, they decided to have two people carry it together.

Just over an hour later, Kailina caught sight of the enormous, majestic Safe City.

In all her life, she had never seen such a colossal structure.

Even in her weakened state, she couldn’t hide the astonishment on her face.

The Blue Sea citizens carrying her, however, were already accustomed to the sight of their home. They didn’t linger in the sky at all, instead descending directly onto one of the city’s aerial flight lanes.

Since this world had no zombie virus, civilians entering the city didn’t need to undergo the usual quarantine procedures.

Kailina was soon transferred into the care of the city’s staff, with her husband remaining by her side the entire time.

They walked through a long corridor until they arrived at an even larger building.

A door opened.

They passed through layer after layer of heavy curtains.

A wave of warm air rushed toward them.

It was a warmth that the people of Dazzling Star had never experienced before.

It was so comfortable that Kailina almost drifted off to sleep.

Her cold-weather suit was removed, and she was wheeled on a cart into a spotless white room.

Several Blue Sea people in white coats discussed her condition among themselves.

She couldn’t understand a word they said, but she could tell they were examining her.

Everything felt so miraculous…

…and so bewildering.

The people of Dazzling Star had once possessed a modern civilization.

But nearly all of that technology had disappeared a century ago.

For someone of Kailina’s generation, life had begun and continued entirely amid frozen wastelands.

To her, many of the medical examinations felt almost like mysterious rituals.

Something above her head emitted a soft beep—a thermometer.

A strange object was pressed against her chest while its other end rested in the ear of a person in a white coat—a stethoscope.

She was wheeled into another room, where more incomprehensible procedures were performed—a chest X-ray.

Finally, a syringe that resembled one of the healing potions she knew was used not to treat her, but to draw a sample of her blood.

Throughout the entire examination, Kailina remained tense, gripping her husband’s hand tightly.

Unable to understand the Blue Sea language and surrounded by strangers in an unfamiliar place, the two people from Dazzling Star instinctively felt uneasy.

Beep!

Something in the pockets of the medical staff suddenly chimed.

No matter what they had been doing, they all paused at once and pulled out a palm-sized device with a glowing screen.

They exchanged a few excited words.

Smiles spread across their faces, and several of them glanced toward Kailina as they talked.

It was obvious they were discussing something related to her.

Kailina grew even more nervous, shrinking into herself.

Her husband reacted much the same way, though he did his best to remain composed.

One of the doctors stepped forward and spoke into the glowing device.

The device suddenly answered—in the language of Dazzling Star.

“Please don’t be nervous. Our phones have just been connected to the Universal Translation Meme. From now on, we’ll be able to communicate normally.”

Kailina stared in astonishment.

“A translator? This… this thing lets us understand each other’s language?”

“That’s right,” the doctor replied. “This is a phone. It has many uses. Once you become residents of Blue Sea, you’ll each receive one as well.”

She lifted Kailina’s examination report.

“The test results are back. You have pneumonia. The affected area in your lungs isn’t very extensive, and your blood oxygen level is still quite good. Praise be to the Great Creator—this isn’t a particularly serious illness.”

Her voice was gentle, despite Kailina appearing much older than she was.

“We’ll give you fever-reducing medicine and medication to help clear the mucus. We’ll also start an IV to replenish your fluids and electrolytes, and provide supplemental oxygen.”

“You’ll recover very soon.”

Kailina and her husband simply stared.

The illness that had tormented her for so long…

The illness that every member of their family had believed to be incurable…

To the doctor standing before them, it was merely a straightforward condition that could be treated with relative ease.

She was soon transferred to a hospital ward.

It’s so warm…

For the first time in her life, she could lie comfortably in bed without wearing layers of heavy clothing.

The medical staff gave her injections and medicine.

The haze that had clouded Kailina’s mind for so long finally began to lift.

Her body no longer swung between freezing chills and burning fever.

She had no energy left to think about anything else.

She fell asleep.

A deep, peaceful sleep.

A warm sleep.

When she woke the next day, she was still weak, but she could clearly tell that her condition had improved.

“You’ll still need to continue your treatment,” one of the doctors told her, “but you should be well enough to leave the hospital in seven days at the latest.”

By now, Kailina had learned that the people dressed in white coats were known as the White-Robed Priests.

While she was hospitalized, she was even served meals.

Not crackers.

Not instant noodles.

Freshly cooked rice with hot dishes, served steaming warm.

Nothing was cold.

“I… what do I have to give in return?”

Kailina asked uneasily.

The White-Robed Priest smiled gently.

“You’re a patient. Don’t worry about things like that.”

“Focus on getting better first.”

“Rest assured—in Blue Sea, saving a patient’s life is what matters most.”

Kailina still couldn’t shake her unease.

“But… I haven’t done anything.”

“Why are you treating me so well?”

The priest walked over and drew back the curtains.

Through the transparent protective barrier outside, the immense statue in the distance could still be seen.

Her expression grew reverent.

“Everything is according to God’s will.”

“Our God loves all people.”

“You’ll recover.”

Kailina stared blankly in the direction of the statue.

“Is… that…”

“…your God?”

The people of Dazzling Star had always possessed the concept of gods.

Whenever despair overwhelmed them, they prayed for a deity who would come and save them.

And so, stories of divine beings had been passed down from generation to generation.

But no god had ever answered.

Until now.

Now…

Kailina had seen a true god.

Tears suddenly welled up in Kailina’s eyes.

Imitating the White-Robed Priest, she placed a hand over her heart and gazed, with reverence and longing, toward the colossal statue whose lowered eyes seemed to watch over all living beings below.

“Thank you…”

“…Divine One.”

Cheng Qisheng felt a new strand join the chain of faith.

But she wasn’t surprised.

Because before this—

With the sole exception of Kailina, who had been unconscious with illness—

Every other person from Dazzling Star had become her follower on their very first day in the Safe City, surrounded by the warmth and safety of Blue Sea’s heated shelters.

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