Safe City Ch.170

Chapter 170: “You’re one amazing Truth Stone”

Good grief.

Cheng Qisheng casually flipped through the “book” in front of her.

The literature review was comprehensive, the survey was solid, the arguments rigorous, the reasoning and logic airtight. It even approached the issue dialectically, with views that were remarkably fair and objective.

It was also a book written entirely in the format of an academic paper, with a complete framework and a clear, systematic structure.

Back on Blue Star, any game that became popular would generally have its own forum or dedicated discussion community.

And in those communities, there would always be detailed guides carefully written by veteran players and either marked as essential reading or pinned to the top, with titles like How to Master This Game as a Beginner.

Blue Sea had nothing like that.

Usually, the pinned posts on Blue Sea’s online gaming forums were invitations to arrange offline fights.

Of course, on Blue Sea, the combat-related forums did have detailed tutorials written by veterans for beginners among their highlighted or pinned posts.

The titles were usually things like:

Follow Me and Learn How to Take on Ten People at Once.

The Proper Use of Ambushes and the Preparations You Need to Make.

How to Avoid Friendly Fire from Every Possible Angle.

I’ll Teach You How to Master Dazzling Star.

That last title would get a new post from a different combat expert every time they entered a new world. The title was practically copied and pasted word for word; only the name of the world at the end changed, becoming I’ll Teach You How to Master Green Billow Star or I’ll Teach You How to Master Moon Silk Star

And now, Cheng Qisheng had one such detailed guide in her hands:

How a Beginner City Lord Can Master a Safe City.

When she had asked that question earlier, her original intention had been to use it to verify her own hypothesis while also learning more about how extraordinary abilities were being applied by people across different worlds, so that she could prepare Blue Sea in advance for whatever it might encounter in future worlds.

But she genuinely hadn’t expected there to be this, this, this much.

“How did they even manage to do this?”

It wasn’t as though Cheng Qisheng had never watched other people purchase answers from the Truth Stone.

Normally, when the Truth Stone gave an answer, getting a few hundred words—or a thousand at most—was already considered a lot.

But since the [Answers] that came through its channel were guaranteed to be genuine, the people asking the questions were generally quite satisfied.

Cheng Qisheng had assumed that this was simply how the Truth Stone operated.

At this moment, the enormous red stone was standing over some region of Moon Silk Star.

Although it couldn’t speak and had no organs capable of expressing emotions, Cheng Qisheng could sense through their binding link that it was feeling quite proud of itself.

The image it transmitted showed one humanoid creature saying to another:

“When we asked the God Stone which merchant was selling Fragrant Butterfly Grass, we shouldn’t have asked who currently had the lowest price for Fragrant Butterfly Grass. We should have asked which Fragrant Butterfly Grass merchant was most desperate for money.”

“A merchant who is short on money will usually be much more eager to complete a deal. Even if we make a lot of demands, they’ll do everything we ask in order to earn the money.”

Hah!

Cheng Qisheng suddenly found herself looking at the Truth Stone in a whole new light.

“You specifically found someone who was short on nuclear crystals to answer?”

The Truth Stone immediately displayed an orc reaction image with an emphatic expression:

“That’s right, that’s right!”

It actually had plenty more to say.

For example, it hadn’t merely selected a poor city lord—it had specifically picked out a city lord who was exceptionally impoverished even by the standards of high-tier city lords. It had even compared the respondent’s species.

If it got a high-tier city lord with two hands to answer the question, they might already lose patience after writing a dozen or so pages.

But if it got a squid-like civilization, naturally gifted for painstaking manual work thanks to its eighteen thick tentacles and more than a hundred smaller tentacles, the situation would be completely different.

A high-tier city lord might not be willing to spend more than a month earning nine million nuclear crystals.

But a dirt-poor high-tier city lord would definitely be willing to spend a single night earning those nine million nuclear crystals.

—After all, it remembered every single thing those intelligent beings who had once haggled with it over the number of nuclear crystals had said right in front of it.

The Truth Stone desperately wanted to take credit for all this.

Unfortunately, it rummaged through all the various “reaction images” it had recorded and simply couldn’t find a single image that could adequately convey what it had actually done.

In the end, it could only display another image.

This time, it was a treant speaking:

“There’s a knack to asking questions, too. Spending one hundred thousand nuclear crystals to get an answer worth ten thousand is not the same as spending one hundred thousand nuclear crystals to get an answer worth ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine.”

It seemed to be speaking to one of its relatives, and there was a distinctly instructive tone to its words.

“You have to learn how to make use of the rules. Within the limits of the rules, you need to get as much as possible for yourself. Understand?”

Cheng Qisheng had no idea whether the little treant understood, but one thing was certain: the Truth Stone, which had been silently listening in from the sidelines, understood perfectly.

“So this book… No, these answers were the most you could bring back while staying within the rules? As in, if you had added even a few more words—or even just one more word—you would have gone beyond what the rules allowed?”

The Truth Stone happily displayed another orc reaction image giving an emphatic thumbs-up.

It knew its master was clever. No matter what kind of image it displayed, its master could always accurately understand what it was trying to convey.

In other words, the Truth Stone had always been busy figuring out how to squeeze more nuclear crystals out of questioners so that its master would get the most value possible.

But this time, for once, it had shifted its focus to figuring out how to “squeeze” more answers out of the respondent.

It had even deliberately sought out a squid-like city lord who had never traded with the Truth Stone before.

Since the other party had never conducted a transaction with it, they had no idea what a normal transaction process was supposed to look like. Naturally, that made it possible for the Truth Stone to arrange things exactly as it wanted, allowing this respondent to bring its master even more answers.

For all that it usually acted silly, perhaps it was simply a racial talent, but whenever it came to figuring out how to swindle people, the Truth Stone seemed to have its meridians opened all at once. It picked things up instantly.

In the end, it had managed to accomplish everything while riding the rules’ absolute limit.

Cheng Qisheng could feel how immensely proud the Truth Stone was. She reached out with her mental power and gently stroked its stone head again.

“Thank you.”

She didn’t brush the Truth Stone off just because it had the intelligence of a child (although its intelligence skyrocketed whenever it was figuring out how to swindle people). Instead, she sincerely thanked it.

“The answers you brought back are going to help me a lot. They’ll also make our Safe City stronger and help us earn more nuclear crystals. You’re one amazing Truth Stone.”

When praising a child, you had to do it in a way children liked. Straightforward words were easier for it to understand.

Sure enough, the Truth Stone’s emotions immediately shifted to one of pure enjoyment.

And it wasn’t just because its master had praised it.

It also really liked having its head rubbed. Not in the sense of physical touch, of course. At its core, the Truth Stone was simply a stone. When other intelligent beings touched it, it didn’t feel much of anything.

But Cheng Qisheng was touching it with her mental power.

For the residents of Blue Sea, this mental power was called a blessing.

And when applied to the Truth Stone, it could likewise give it a faint sense of comfort.

For the Truth Stone, which previously had almost no means of experiencing anything beyond the feeling of being “full and satisfied” after eating crystals, this sensation was incredibly addictive.

It started playing that awful song again—the one that nevertheless managed to convey its loyalty.

After hearing it several times, Cheng Qisheng had developed enough resistance to it that she could listen to the whole thing without changing expression, while her mental power never stopped gently stroking the Truth Stone.

While using one stream of mental power to “massage” the Truth Stone, Cheng Qisheng lay on the sofa in the real world, hugging a cushion. To her left, Aether was diligently going about its usual work.

After praising her subordinate, Cheng Qisheng began carefully studying this Book of Answers.

First, she opened the table of contents.

That’s right.

The unknown respondent had even made a table of contents for the book.

What a meticulous respondent!

Cheng Qisheng carefully studied the contents page.

The entire book was practically packed with substance from beginning to end, without a single bit of filler. If there really were such a thing as an academic discipline dedicated to studying Safe Cities, this book would unquestionably have a place among its top works.

The very first chapter, to begin with, was the respondent’s own viewpoint.

“If I absolutely had to choose between firearms and extraordinary residents, then in my opinion, the development of extraordinary residents is more important than the development of firearms.”

“However, if possible, I recommend that Safe Cities develop in both directions. Based on my experience, once a Safe City reaches the later stages of development, the firepower of its weapons is generally meant to deal with other Safe Cities and prevent the city from being attacked in the greater universe.”

As Cheng Qisheng read this, she was reminded of how, shortly after Blue Sea Safe City had advanced to Tier 6, they had happened to encounter another Safe City.

At the time, she had been preparing to run away, only for the other side to flee first.

The speed at which they escaped was proof enough that the greater universe wasn’t exactly peaceful.

Now, seeing what this respondent had to say, it seemed that her guess had indeed been correct.

She continued reading.

“As for the role of extraordinary residents, they allow a Safe City to adapt to various apocalyptic worlds (see Chapter Seven for specific examples). Many worlds prohibit the entry of external weapons, but extraordinary residents are unaffected by such restrictions.”

“Additionally, the native inhabitants of certain special worlds may accept the existence of extraordinary powers but be unable to accept firearms. For example, in certain ancient worlds, a Safe City that brings out modern weapons will have difficulty integrating into the local society. It may even be regarded as [evil] and subsequently rejected and attacked. Therefore, cultivating the abilities of the residents themselves is the safest option.”

Cheng Qisheng silently made a note of this point.

It was indeed true.

Take Moon Silk Star, for example. Of all the weapons Blue Sea Safe City had collected, they had avoided using anything except the Holy Bullets whenever possible, precisely to prevent the locals from noticing that something was wrong.

She had originally thought Moon Silk Star was simply an unusual case.

Apparently, quite a few other worlds had similar circumstances.

That wasn’t really a problem, though.

After all, no matter what kind of apocalyptic world it was—even if it really was an ancient one—it was impossible for it not to have even a basic weapon system like spears, right?

For Old Eighth, as long as there were spears, there was no problem.

“In short, within the Safe City system, weapons are used for defense and for initiating wars between Safe Cities. The development of extraordinary residents, on the other hand, can improve the Safe City as a whole.”

“But there is one thing to keep in mind. If you only develop extraordinary residents without developing external defensive weapons, there is a good chance that an enemy Safe City in the greater universe could destroy you with long-range weapons. Two Safe Cities rarely encounter each other in the greater universe, but once they do, a war may very well break out.”

Just as she had expected.

Both were important. If she absolutely had to choose one, then she should focus on improving the strength of the extraordinary residents.

But the recommendation was to develop both.

Following the instructions, Cheng Qisheng opened the table of contents for Chapter Seven, which contained specific examples. She was just about to examine it carefully when, beneath the main heading, she immediately caught sight of a line under the subsection heading 7.1.

—Sources of Samples and Data.

The great Blue Sea Creator God’s spirit jolted.

Her serious, studious state instantly transformed into one of eager anticipation.

Whoa.

Could it really be what she thought it was?

She flipped to that page, and her breathing immediately grew lighter.

Sure enough, the section was incredibly detailed, densely recording all the apocalyptic worlds this city lord had personally experienced.

Cheng Qisheng didn’t even need to count them, because the respondent had already summarized the total number of worlds.

—Once again, she couldn’t help marveling at what a thoughtful respondent this was. May they make a fortune.

Cheng Qisheng looked at the number recorded there.

A total of 459 apocalyptic worlds.

All kinds of world types, all kinds of apocalyptic scenarios, the local circumstances, how the respondent’s Safe City had dealt with each world, which worlds were suitable for firearms, which were better suited to extraordinary residents—it was all laid out with crystal clarity.

The respondent had even written about the very first world their Safe City had ever encountered.

Before receiving the answer, Cheng Qisheng had actually thought the wait had been rather long.

But now, looking at the detailed descriptions of all these different worlds…

How had the respondent managed to produce such a high-quality, incredibly comprehensive answer in such a short amount of time?

With this book in hand, no matter what world Blue Sea Safe City entered in the future, there was a very good chance they would be able to find a comparable world in the Book of Answers and identify a similar set of circumstances.

That meant they could avoid stepping on all the land mines this respondent had already stepped on.

This wasn’t merely a comparison of cases from 459 apocalyptic worlds. It was also the accumulated experience of another Safe City that had survived and struggled through hundreds of years of apocalyptic worlds.

Cheng Qisheng stared at the densely packed pages, every single one filled with information.

What difference was this from getting a gigantic experience pack while playing a game?

Ten million nuclear crystals had actually bought her a Book of Answers like this.

What a bargain!

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