Safe City Ch.196

Chapter 196: Entering a New World

Cheng Qisheng was in an excellent mood.

Although these researchers had already made it clear that they would pledge their loyalty to [Ota], for her, nothing was quite as reassuring as having them become her believers.

In her good mood, the great Creator God of Blue Sea poured even more mental power into the planet known as Moon Silk.

While observing the planet with her mental power, Cheng Qisheng continued piloting her Safe City in circles around it, making one orbit after another.

The concept of a Cognitive Lock was clearly a type of rule.

And as far as Cheng Qisheng was concerned, any rule was bound to be delicious.

If she couldn’t see it with her naked eyes, all she had to do was use her mental power to search for where the deliciousness was coming from.

Cheng Qisheng wasn’t expecting to actually find anything.

This was different from the rules inside the Translation Meme. It had been independently placed on Moon Silk by the Safe City system itself.

There was a good chance it had already fused with the planet.

Although Cheng Qisheng had grown considerably stronger, she still wasn’t powerful enough to swallow an entire planet with her mental power.

So she had decided that if she couldn’t find the rule before the Great Annihilation arrived, she would simply give up.

She would just stay behind and take the opportunity to see what the Great Annihilation actually looked like.

Near Moon Silk, a dozen or so city lords watched Blue Sea circling the planet back and forth, their faces full of confusion.

They hadn’t stayed behind for any particular reason. It was simply that Blue Sea was obviously a major player, and major players were bound to have access to reliable information.

They were all supposed to evacuate Moon Silk, yet Blue Sea wasn’t leaving and continuing on its journey. There had to be a reason.

Perhaps there was some benefit to staying behind.

Although the various Safe Cities had spent the past six months enjoying close and friendly relations, they still maintained a cautious distance from one another in space. They intended to observe what Blue Sea was up to and follow suit if there was something they could benefit from.

Cheng Qisheng paid no attention to those dozen or so Tier 6 Safe Cities.

Ever since she’d gotten her hands on [Heaven’s Punishment], her state of mind had become practically unshakable.

The great Creator God of Blue Sea continued to have her Safe City circle Moon Silk, completely undisturbed.

At first, the researchers at the Science and Technology Institute, along with the Moon Silk natives who had only just learned the truth from the people of Blue Sea, gazed through the sky at their home planet with heavy hearts.

They were about to leave it behind forever.

This would be the last time they ever saw their home planet, the birthplace of Moon Silk civilization.

The people of Moon Silk were sorrowful.

The people of Moon Silk were forlorn.

Then the Safe City circled Moon Silk once, twice, three times… and then more than thirty times…

The people of Moon Silk: “…”

The Moon Silk researchers who had specifically gone to high places to gaze at their home planet silently went back downstairs and returned to their laboratories.

They had already said their farewells to their home planet more than thirty times. It was probably time to get back to work.

Our God above, we give thanks to our God. Moon Silk civilization has, in the end, been preserved.

——

“Found it.”

When Cheng Qisheng reached her ninety-first orbit, she finally detected a faint trace of something that belonged to a “rule.”

It smelled so good, so sweet.

Perhaps because it had already been used, though, it smelled like a cake left out overnight. It was still delicious, but its texture had gone a little soft.

No matter. Cheng Qisheng wasn’t picky about food.

Her mental power pounced on it like a hungry tiger, following that enticing scent as it coiled around the surface of Moon Silk.

Beneath the surface, there seemed to be a layer of solid wall. Although it was invisible, whenever her mental power struck it, it was immediately bounced back.

She decided to see if she could dig through it.

Cheng Qisheng had never actually tried using her mental power to perform a “digging” action before. But so what if she hadn’t? Everything had to have a first time.

If it didn’t work, she wouldn’t lose anything. But if it did, she’d get her hands on a delicious “rule”!

Cheng Qisheng closed her eyes and imagined the portion of mental power she had separated off transforming into a hoe, swinging vigorously at the invisible “wall” in front of her.

No good. Too slow.

Cheng Qisheng sent over more mental power, making it act like an excavator.

Still didn’t seem good enough. She added some more.

This time, it was a tunnel-boring machine.

The “wall” finally began to give way, but breaking through it would still take a considerable amount of time.

Cheng Qisheng had time to spare, but Moon Silk didn’t.

The Great Annihilation was fast approaching. When it arrived, Cheng Qisheng would have to leave even if she hadn’t managed to devour the rule.

Just as the great Creator God of Blue Sea was making her mental power work diligently at “digging” like a tunnel-boring machine, a sudden flash of inspiration struck her.

She stopped and began reconstructing her mental power.

A massive body. A thick, layered shell with the texture of mineral ore. Gel-like cushioning layers beneath the skin. A skull shaped like an enormous shovel. Broad, thick claws resembling excavator buckets.

Add a streamlined, spindle-shaped torso, a long neck, and a body that was narrow at the front and wide at the rear, and the result was a perfect physique in which every part seemed designed specifically for digging through the ground.

——A sea monster modeled after Zhu Feifan.

As long as Cheng Qisheng wanted to, she could learn every detail of any believer’s physical condition. Reconstructing Zhu Feifan’s sea monster body was no difficult task for her.

Once she had finished, she tried controlling the “mental sea monster.” Using Zhu Feifan’s signature posture, it began furiously clawing forward while simultaneously burrowing its head downward.

The wall didn’t hold out for long. Under Cheng Qisheng’s expectant gaze, it finally “broke.”

At almost the exact same moment, an irresistibly sweet fragrance, perceptible only to her, instantly filled the entire planet of Moon Silk.

It smells so good!!!

Delighted, Cheng Qisheng guided her mental power around the planet and discovered that these “rules” felt like long, thin threads winding around the entirety of Moon Silk.

A closer examination revealed that the threads weren’t tangled randomly. Instead, they intersected and intertwined, forming an extraordinarily complex pattern.

Cheng Qisheng had already taken her seat at the dining table with considerable ceremony. She had arranged her napkin and even prepared a serving of fruit. Yet now, she slowly lowered the fruit fork in her hand.

Blue Sea Safe City was home to people from the magical world, including Lilith. Thanks to them, Cheng Qisheng was particularly sensitive to patterns that were so obviously drawn with deliberate intent.

Lilith was currently leading her team in drawing numerous magical runes, incorporating certain technological concepts into their designs. They were also breeding large numbers of magical constructs—Magic Eye AIs—with the intention of equipping airships with them to assist the pilots during flight.

The feast was put on hold. Cheng Qisheng took out a pen and paper and copied down the intricate pattern formed by the threads of rules, reproducing it exactly as she saw it.

She had a vague suspicion that this might be how the Cognitive Lock had been created.

By using “threads of rules” to draw various patterns, one could manifest different rules.

Cheng Qisheng thought of the “Translation Rule” she had once devoured in its entirety. Ever since she had consumed it, none of her believers had experienced any language barriers when communicating with one another.

Looking at things now, could that be because the rule she had swallowed was a complete one?

Cheng Qisheng’s mental power covered all her believers. So, after she acquired the Translation Rule, it had spread across all Blue Sea residents, just like the “Cognitive Lock” covering Moon Silk.

Had she misunderstood something before?

Cheng Qisheng brought her Safe City above Moon Silk and looked down from on high at the enormous pattern beneath her, something only her mental power could perceive.

Was it possible that a rule was simply a rule?

It had no template and no categories. In essence, it was like a blank book that nevertheless carried the force of law.

Ordinary people couldn’t see it, but the world had to abide by the “laws” written in that book.

Those who possessed rules could divide them into individual threads of rules and weave them together to form new “laws.”

Such as [Translation]. Such as [Cognitive Lock].

It was like how rules were flour. Flour could be used to make all sorts of delicious foods—dumplings, noodles, steamed buns, stuffed buns, and so on—but at their core, they were all made from flour.

In that case…

Cheng Qisheng’s mental power hovered above the threads of rules.

If she devoured these rules and then learned more ways to create [Laws], wouldn’t she be able to create new [Laws] of her own in this vast universe?

Cheng Qisheng committed the idea to memory, then hurried to work, following the intricate pattern as her mental power slithered forward like a hungry snake, devouring the threads of mental power one by one.

She ate and ate and ate and ate—

This was actually quite a physically demanding task, because her mental power had to follow the pattern and crawl across the entire planet to consume the threads of rules.

Fortunately, she had plenty of stamina. Hehe.

Above Moon Silk, Cheng Qisheng was busy feasting.

Meanwhile, deep beneath the surface of Moon Silk, inside an underground shelter, the chairman of [Zipa] and a group of senior executives were congratulating themselves on having built this shelter far below ground long ago.

Look at that—it had finally come in handy!

Although [Zipa] was underground, it was still one of the Three Major Companies, so its senior executives had access to plenty of information.

[Zephyr]’s destruction had been confirmed, while [Norn] had fallen silent as well.

It seemed both had been eliminated by [Ota].

Damn it.

The executives looked toward the cryogenic pods inside the shelter. These were their last source of confidence.

They were primitive cryogenic pods, products of several centuries ago, capable of allowing people to sleep safely for seven hundred years.

[Zipa] hadn’t lost.

They could still sleep in their cryogenic pods and gamble on what the world would look like seven hundred years later—and what the apocalypse would be like then.

Seven hundred years was a long time. No matter who it was, everyone would eventually turn to dust, even the mighty [Ota].

Even if they possessed overwhelming military forces, enormous folding cities, and countless mutants…

As Chairman Isolde continued thinking, her expression suddenly changed.

She wasn’t the only one. The other [Zipa] executives reacted as well. Some abruptly sprang to their feet, some clutched their heads, and others’ eyes flew wide open.

“No! That’s not right! Something’s wrong!”

“That’s a Safe City!”

“They’re a Safe City!!!”

Almost everyone from [Zipa] rushed up from underground.

They climbed back to the surface, only to discover through the bionic surveillance devices they had deployed that the vast planet of Moon Silk was practically deserted.

“How could this happen…? How could we have failed to see it…?”

One of the executives covered his face, pressing so hard that he seemed ready to tear the skin right off. He suddenly remembered an occasion when he had ordered his people to wipe out a faction occupying a folding city.

That hadn’t been a folding city at all.

It had clearly been a Safe City.

A Safe City they could have attacked, conquered, and taken over by replacing its city lord!!!

But he hadn’t done any of that. In fact, he had personally ordered its destruction, severing his own chance to become a city lord with his own hands.

“No! This can’t be right! What exactly went wrong? It was so obvious—how could we have failed to see it?”

Amid their overwhelming panic, terror, and helplessness, someone suddenly thought of something.

“They didn’t take all the resources with them. We have plenty of resources here. Why would they leave?”

Exactly!

The fake [Ota] had already become the dominant power on Moon Silk. It was understandable that the other Safe Cities had left, but why had it left too?

“Unless—”

Everyone’s faces turned deathly pale. They might have been the weakest of the Three Major Companies, but no one could have reached their current positions by being a fool. After thinking it through, they could vaguely guess the reason.

“Unless… something is about to happen to Moon Silk.”

There could be no other explanation.

That was why the Safe Cities had left.

That was why the Safe Cities had taken everyone with them.

Everyone except them.

Every person was trembling. Some had already fainted, while others had collapsed limply to the ground.

On the vast, empty planet, surrounded by nothing but desolation, they clung desperately to their agony and to a despair so profound it threatened to swallow them whole.

— —

“I’m stuffed!!”

Cheng Qisheng devoured the final thread of rules and contentedly patted the Old Eighths.

Perfect!

Next, all that remained was to watch the Great Annihilation unfold.

Blue Sea Safe City waited for roughly another two days, and sure enough, the Great Annihilation arrived right on schedule.

The prophet, Gong Cheng, stood on the balcony, watching the scene that had appeared countless times in his visions.

A dense, overwhelming void slowly approached. Almost in an instant, it swallowed the entire planet of Moon Silk.

The dozen or so Tier 6 Safe Cities surrounding Moon Silk escaped by taking the role of spectators.

Gong Cheng’s body trembled slightly. Only after his mother gently patted him on the shoulder did he manage to calm down a little.

This was the prophecy he had been seeing all along.

And now, it had come true.

Like a nightmare, it had truly appeared and devoured the entire planet.

But perhaps it wasn’t entirely a nightmare, after all.

At least the people of Moon Silk had escaped this annihilation.

Gong Cheng looked toward the enormous statue of the Blue Sea Creator God, then exchanged a glance with his mother, who had also become a believer. In perfect unspoken understanding, they lowered their heads and began reciting their prayers reverently before the void that had once been their home planet.

“Most holy, most supreme, most glorious—”

“Like light, like wind, like clouds—”

“O great Lord of the Star Sea—”

“O supreme Creator God—”

“Your majesty overturns Blue Sea—”

“Your mercy saves all things—”

“Your compassion illuminates the ages—”

As the two continued their recitation, all the Safe Cities chose their respective directions and sped into the greater universe at the fastest possible pace.

A Safe City of Tier 6 or higher could reach another star region in half a second.

In an instant, the newly vacated region was left with only Blue Sea Safe City.

——Cheng Qisheng, meanwhile, was busy cursing the Great Annihilation.

She had discovered something: the Great Annihilation didn’t appear out of nowhere. It followed a specific route.

Every planet along its path was reduced to nothingness, which explained why there was nothing left behind it.

No wonder the Safe City system required them to keep moving, never allowing them to remain in any one world for too long.

As it turned out, the Great Annihilation was chasing them from behind!

The problem was that the routes through the greater universe were chaotic and unpredictable, much like subspace. No one knew when or where the Great Annihilation might suddenly appear.

The good news was that only planets that had entered the formal apocalypse stage would appear in the greater universe. For now, Cheng Qisheng didn’t need to worry about her home, Blue Star.

No, her advancement speed was still far too slow. She needed to hurry and make Blue Sea into a true planet as soon as possible.

She needed more residents!

She needed more territory!

Damn it, who knew how long she’d have to travel through the greater universe this time before finding a suitable world?

The Moon Silk researchers were still studying the technology needed to extract resources and energy from planets. At this stage, while traveling through the greater universe, Safe Cities couldn’t obtain many resources from other planets.

Hopefully, she’d find a suitable world within three months—

Cheng Qisheng hadn’t expected that less than half a month after leaving Moon Silk, she’d come across a planet surrounded by so many Tier 6 Safe Cities that it practically looked like a meeting of city lords.

Her first thought was that it was probably best not to get involved in other people’s business in the greater universe.

But then she looked at the other Safe Cities’ tiers. They were only Tier 6 or 7. And when she thought about the five [Heaven’s Punishment] weapons stored inside her own Safe City…

Cheng Qisheng leisurely piloted Blue Sea over.

As soon as she approached, before she had even opened a private chat, she suddenly received a message.

[Meow Meow Safe City has sent you a private chat invitation. Please check it, City Lord!]

Hmm?

Was Meow Meow, the city lord from Velvet Star, here too?

Cheng Qisheng had Aether check whether private chat channels were available for purchase in the shop. Only after confirming that the item was genuine did she accept the invitation.

Meow Meow’s messages immediately popped up. It barely gave Cheng Qisheng any time to speak before launching into a long, rapid-fire stream of words.

[Meow Meow Safe City: Blue Sea! My ally! Long time no see, meow!! You’re so strong! You’ve actually reached Tier 7, meow!!]

[Meow Meow Safe City: Hurry over, hurry over! This world is a super-huge divine cultivation world!]

[Meow Meow Safe City: Meow, I just got here too, but I can share the intel I’ve just learned with you! We’re allies, after all, meow. We should look out for each other in this world too~]

[Meow Meow Safe City: Apparently, divine cultivation worlds are generally plagued by demons and monsters. Physical matter can’t enter, and Safe Cities can’t enter either. Residents have to transform into energy to enter this world. They can then attach themselves to local statues of gods that don’t possess divine power to move around. Evil gods or righteous gods, either will do, as long as there are statues that the locals worship!]

[Meow Meow Safe City: Now here’s the juicy part, meow! If the natives of this world worship our residents, it can make our residents stronger. The residents can also use this world’s divine power to construct their own divine kingdoms!]

[Meow Meow Safe City: And the most, most, MOST important thing is that the residents’ divine kingdoms can be taken away! Once brought out of this world, they can be converted into additional Safe City territory!!]

Cheng Qisheng: A world where you can take away vast amounts of territory?!?!

[Blue Sea Safe City: I’m coming!]

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