Safe City Ch.190.1

Chapter 190.1: “…may you sleep well”

Cheng Qisheng’s mental power also began focusing its attention on the [Norn Company].

[Zephyr] had already been reduced to rubble. Aside from the weapons on the ground, there was practically nothing else left to salvage as spoils of war.

As for [Zipa], its upper management had fled with some of its resources. Apart from things they couldn’t take with them, they had carried off pretty much everything that could be moved.

But it was precisely because of this that Blue Sea had been able to seize a [Company] with virtually no bloodshed and obtain one [Heaven’s Punishment] weapon. Cheng Qisheng was therefore quite content with the outcome.

—So, strictly speaking, [Norn Company] was the first complete jackpot Blue Sea had obtained after being rewarded with three [Heaven’s Punishment] weapons.

Rather than saying that Blue Sea’s residents had opened the gates to [Norn Company], it would be more accurate to say that after destroying its automated defense system, they had blasted their way through its massive, sturdy isolation barrier.

That was right. The headquarters of the three major [Companies] were less like corporate offices and more like entire cities.

If the apocalypse hadn’t been brought about by the [Companies] themselves, this place really would have looked like an enormous surface-level safe city built for the end of the world.

Never mind all the scattered branch offices. The area occupied by the headquarters alone was larger than Blue Sea Safe City.

“My God!!!”

Blue Sea’s residents, accustomed to the desolate landscapes of Moon Silk, were stunned by the sight before them after destroying the outer barrier.

This was especially true of those who were either flying in the sky or riding in airships, giving them a much farther-reaching view.

They could clearly see that this vast expanse contained lush green plains, rolling hills and mountains, and even an enormous artificial lake.

Clusters of cities stood in concentric rings. Surrounding them was an entire industrial manufacturing complex, with individual factories arranged like little soldiers guarding the cities.

Straight, wide roads stretched out in every direction.

Blue Sea had also built roads in Broken River, but its roads were primarily intended for transportation and the movement of goods. Combined with Blue Sea’s aesthetic preferences, the overall style was rather rugged and utilitarian.

[Norn Company] was different.

With the apocalypse having already engulfed Moon Silk, even a single naturally growing plant out in the wilderness could fetch an astronomical price. Yet here, at [Norn Company]’s headquarters, there were neatly trimmed ornamental plants, carefully sculpted into decorative shapes, lining both sides of the roads.

Whether it was the factories’ architecture, the lakes, the mountains and rivers, or the towering skyscrapers at the very center, everything looked exquisitely refined at a glance.

One could even call it art.

Cheng Qisheng was rather surprised by what she saw as well.

She knew the [Company] wouldn’t let its own people live in poor conditions, but this standard of living was far too good! From the looks of it, this place was even more advanced and comfortable than Blue Star.

No wonder the [Company] was so confident.

The environment here really was much better than that of a safe city.

It was just that when compared with the vast, barren wasteland outside, the contrast was particularly ironic.

“This is truly an eye-opening experience!”

A Blue Sea resident gazed at the scene and sighed with deep emotion.

But he didn’t think any less of his own divine temple simply because the local power had such a comfortable living environment.

After finishing his exclamation, he flapped his wings, glided lightly to the ground, and headed straight for the ornamental greenery along the roadside.

“I wonder if these trees can be used as building materials. Or we could burn them into charcoal… Can we pull them out now?”

Another companion landed beside him.

“Don’t pull them out yet. The Temple hasn’t arrived. These trees look pretty nice, all green and lush. Maybe we can transplant them back to Blue Sea later. They’d look quite good there, too.”

“Sure, sure! Hey, I’ve got an idea. We could plant them near the kindergarten, so the little kids wouldn’t have to climb fake trees anymore.”

“Some of these trees are species we’ve never seen outside. Could they be natural plants that used to grow on Moon Silk? Mark them down. Once the Temple arrives, we can have the experts take a look. Maybe they have all sorts of uses, just like the long-tendril trees!”

While they discussed the trees, another Blue Sea resident sprawled out on the road and began examining the material beneath her.

“[Norn Company]’s vehicles should be hovercars. These roads are assembled from high-strength, lightweight alloy panels and composite ceramic plates.”

She raised a hand and tapped the surface, a satisfied expression appearing on her face.

“The panels are intact. We just need to dismantle the locking joints, and we can lift them out and transport them away. The metal cables underneath can be recycled, too.”

Nearby, another resident was studying the material of the gigantic isolation barrier that was being smashed to pieces. Hearing this, his eyes lit up.

“Hovercars? Doesn’t that mean Blue Sea will soon have this technology, too?”

The resident lying on the ground replied, “The Science and Technology Institute was already researching hovercar technology. Now that we have actual models to study, it shouldn’t be long before Blue Sea can fully crack the technology.”

Some Blue Sea residents weren’t particularly knowledgeable about technology and had no interest in trees, either. They simply jogged over to the nearest [Norn Company] supply transit hub, tapped and knocked on various parts of it, and calculated how to dismantle it and transport all the usable construction materials back to Blue Sea.

And so, Cheng Qisheng witnessed the following scene:

Faced with this exquisite little world that looked like a work of art, the residents of Blue Sea were busy tearing up roads and digging up soil.

Not a trace of envy crossed their minds at the sight of such a beautiful environment. Their only thought was, Wow! So many good things! I’m taking them all home!

Groups of residents crouched here and flew around over there. They even labeled the earthworms underground as suitable for taking back home, looking utterly determined to carry every useful thing in the entire area back to Blue Sea.

Cheng Qisheng smiled and gently patted her believers on the head, watching as they dug around here and there, then suddenly looked up in delighted surprise, gazing toward the sky with faces full of happiness.

In theory, even after Blue Sea had breached [Norn Company]’s headquarters, there should still have been small pockets of resistance.

After all, what had truly been wiped out was [Norn Company]’s military force.

It was much like a war between safe cities. Once one side’s military strength was destroyed, the rules would automatically determine that the war had ended.

However, as Blue Sea explored [Norn Company]’s headquarters, it didn’t encounter a single opposing force. Clearly, [Norn]’s upper management had already fled in a hurry.

The good news was that although they had taken their trusted subordinates with them, they hadn’t been able to carry away the material resources, which required enormous amounts of space.

If Blue Sea really wanted to track them down, it shouldn’t be a problem, either.

After all, Blue Sea was now the undisputed ultimate villain of Moon Silk. Having wiped out all three major [Companies] in one fell swoop, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the entire planet now belonged to Blue Sea.

But Cheng Qisheng didn’t order Old Eighth to pursue them.

What would be the point?

Judging by the usual tactics of the [Company]’s upper management, they had probably fled to some underground shelter they’d prepared long ago for emergencies. They would hide there, consumed by resentment, hatred, panic, and fear, hoping to wait until the storm passed before making a comeback.

But according to the timeline, Moon Silk would face the Great Annihilation in another six months.

By then, all their ambitions and schemes would turn to nothing.

—Blue Sea didn’t have much time to spare, either.

They had to use these six months to reclaim all the “inheritance” left behind by the three major [Companies] and bring it back to the Safe City. At the same time, they needed to collect every resource they could find on Moon Silk.

The native inhabitants of Moon Silk also had to be brought back to the Safe City from every region of the planet.

Putting everything else aside, just the vast mineral deposits buried beneath this planet’s surface would be enough to keep Blue Sea mining day and night without ever exhausting them.

The good news, however, was that the three major [Companies] had their own mining technologies. Now that Blue Sea had inherited them, half a year of mining should yield an impressive harvest.

Blue Sea had already gained so much on this planet.

Cheng Qisheng’s mental power passed over the heads of one believer after another, following the perspectives of different believers as it continuously ventured deeper into the complex.

She saw vast, empty military barracks, complete with soldier training grounds, tactical airships that hadn’t been deployed to the battlefield, and fully equipped hangars.

—All Blue Sea’s now.

She saw heavy equipment factories, where all kinds of armored vehicles, weapon casings, and alloy components moved back and forth along suspended freight transport routes.

—All Blue Sea’s now.

She saw robot production lines. These robots had no independent thought, but they were agile enough to help humans with a wide range of tasks. Having received no explicit orders to stop, they continued working diligently on the production lines even after the [Company] had been destroyed.

—All Blue Sea’s now.

She saw energy production facilities. Inside were not only various power generation units, but also three enormous factories for energy storage batteries. They were already fully operational, so Blue Sea could simply dismantle them and take them away.

The more Cheng Qisheng’s mental power saw, the more excited it became. It swept past the remaining underground vertical farming complexes, tens of thousands of enormous supply warehouses, countless hover vehicles that could be brought straight back to Blue Sea and put to use, and technology parks filled with all manner of equipment, semi-finished products, and completed goods…

Gradually, her mental power came to a halt.

Every [Company] had its own technology park.

But compared to what Colleen remembered of Moon Silk before the apocalypse, when at least a group of White-tier and lower-tier researchers would have been bustling about like worker bees, the situation here was clearly very different.

Now that the [Company] had risen to the very top of the world, it had completely shed its outward facade and become even more brazen in its actions.

The entire technology park was silent. Not a single staff member could be seen. Only robots moved constantly between the various giant screens, following their programmed instructions.

Like bees gathering nectar, they collected the information displayed on the different screens and consolidated it, or transferred it to other screens.

And beneath those giant screens were rows upon rows of brains in vats.

There were at least a hundred thousand of them.

Even the residents of Blue Sea, who had mentally prepared themselves for what they might see, felt their souls tremble when confronted with the sight of brains operating continuously under electrical stimulation in a space that stretched beyond the limits of their vision.

The place had been cleaned meticulously. There wasn’t a speck of dirt anywhere. But that only made it even more unbearable for Old Eighth and the others.

This was more horrifying than blood smeared across every wall. The suffering seemed to overflow and fill the entire space, like an unfathomably deep ocean. Once immersed in it, one couldn’t help but feel as though they were suffocating.

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