Safe City Ch.198.2

Chapter 198.2: A Village God’s Manifestation

While continuing to mass-produce eyeballs at a furious pace, Cheng Qisheng first sent word back to Blue Sea, instructing the government to select some members for an advance team to conduct field tests on Fallen Heaven Star.

The Blue Sea government immediately sprang into action upon receiving the divine oracle.

As usual, the advance team for the new world would be restricted to believers, with a minimum combat strength requirement.

Anyone who met the criteria could sign up. Among applicants with equal combat strength, places would be allocated through an online lottery.

As soon as the announcement went out, the registration portal was instantly flooded with applications, even though the combat strength requirement had been set at level 90 or above.

Ever since Blue Sea had stopped near this enormous planet and it had become obvious that the Safe City was going to descend there, Lu Song had been making preparations well in advance. He had packed his weapons and clothes, intensified his pre-battle warm-up training, and gotten everything ready. He was just waiting for the moment to depart.

But when he saw the words [Restricted to Official Inner City Residents] on the registration platform, the hand holding his phone began to tremble slightly.

“Are only believers allowed to go again?”

Qi Yi and Qi Er, who had already registered and were waiting for the lottery results, turned to look at him with sympathetic expressions.

Qi Er said, “Well, this is only the advance team. Maybe you’ll be able to go when the city officially descends.”

Qi Yi, however, held a different opinion.

“I studied the world background information on the official website. Once we enter that world, we’ll only be able to enter the divine statues. Our range of movement will be limited at first, and we’ll probably have to operate separately. Outer City residents aren’t believers, so they won’t be able to receive guidance from our God or hear divine oracles. There’s a good chance they’ll end up completely isolated and helpless.”

He looked at Lu Song solemnly.

“My advice is that even if you’re allowed to go to this world, you shouldn’t. This time is different from before. We won’t be able to stay together the whole time, and you really might get lost.”

Both he and Qi Er knew that what Lu Song feared most was getting lost.

Lu Song sighed.

“No. This is already the second world that’s unsuitable for nonbelievers. Do you know what that means?”

Qi Yi thought for a moment. “Um… It means you’re really unlucky?”

Lu Song shot him an exasperated look.

“It means that if this continues, Blue Sea’s social structure could very well change as a result.”

“In previous worlds, such as Velvet Star, Dazzling Star, and Green Billow Star, Outer City residents could also participate in operations. Just like Inner City residents, they could gather supplies outside and bring them back to Blue Sea. Although some people chose to remain inside the city, they only made up a small minority, and their proportion wasn’t much different from that of the Inner City residents who stayed behind.”

Fundamentally, a Safe City had no means of producing its own supplies.

That was why its residents had to obtain resources from the outside world and bring them back. The Safe City would then manage and distribute those supplies accordingly. For example, in worlds where food was scarce, it could release stored provisions. In particularly cold worlds, it could use materials collected in the past to make thick clothing and bedding, then put them up for sale in Blue Sea’s marketplace.

Once all the Outer City residents stopped entering new worlds, they would become nothing more than consumers of resources for Blue Sea.

After all, this was an apocalyptic world. The value that ordinary people without any particular skills could create inside a Safe City was practically negligible.

Even when it came to logistical support, there were already the Dazzling Star natives, who were exceptionally good at such work and were all believers, taking the lead.

Even if the Dazzling Star natives hadn’t taken over every logistical position, and even if they hadn’t performed their duties as well as they did now, Blue Sea still wouldn’t have allowed all the Outer City residents to work in the Inner City. It had to ensure everyone’s safety, after all.

Believers would never betray Blue Sea. Under the guidance of divine oracles, they would all pull together in the same direction. Outer City residents, however, couldn’t offer the same guarantee.

Lu Song continued, “The best way for Outer City residents to create value for Blue Sea is to go outside and search for supplies. But if that option disappears, then the Outer City’s very existence becomes almost unnecessary.”

The previous world could be set aside. At least back then, Blue Sea had been undertaking extensive construction projects to maintain its disguise as [Ota], and Outer City residents could all participate in the construction work.

At the time, the various mutated plants and animals that Inner City residents purchased outside also needed to be manually sorted and processed. Even those who couldn’t leave the city had never been short of work.

But now, Blue Sea had only just completed its latest rank advancement, and all its buildings had undergone a round of upgrades. Fallen Heaven Star wouldn’t allow the Safe City to enter and could only be approached while remaining in the greater universe. Blue Sea simply didn’t have any extra work left for its Outer City residents to do.

“Besides, people are naturally prone to getting comfortable. If they spend two consecutive worlds without going outside, quite a few Outer City residents will gradually get used to living in the Safe City, where they don’t have to worry about anything. Even if an opportunity eventually comes along that allows them to enter a world, there will definitely be large numbers of people who don’t want to go. That’s when conflicts will arise.”

Blue Sea had always treated its residents with considerable leniency, whether they belonged to the Inner City or the Outer City.

Lu Song could well understand Blue Sea’s leniency. The Blue Sea civilization could afford to be tolerant because it was powerful enough to overturn the table at any moment. It didn’t need to arm itself with threats and intimidation under ordinary circumstances.

But there would always be people who interpreted leniency as permission to push their luck a little further.

If even a small group of Outer City residents caused trouble, the Blue Sea government would inevitably have to consider changing its attitude toward the Outer City residents under the current circumstances.

Even though Lu Song lived in the Inner City every day and acted alongside its residents, he knew perfectly well that, at his core, he was still an Outer City resident.

If the Outer City residents as a group caused trouble, or if events unfolded as he suspected they might, he would be affected, too.

By now, many Outer City residents had come to understand how Blue Sea’s “divine oracles” worked. As a result, they had grown accustomed to avoiding leaving the Safe City unless they were accompanying Inner City residents.

And if the Blue Sea government opened up the opportunity to visit Fallen Heaven Star to Outer City residents this time, only to discover that the number of Outer City residents willing to leave the city had plummeted…

“No, I have to do something.”

Qi Yi and Qi Er were still digesting what Lu Song had said when they suddenly saw him get to his feet and head toward the computer desk.

Their first reaction was that Lu Song had worked himself into a frenzy and was planning to find some other way to join the registration pool.

“Song, what are you doing? The registration system is monitored by the central AI. You can’t hack your way in.”

Lu Song was already seated in front of the computer, his expression resolute as he placed his hands on the keyboard.

“I’m going to post on the Outer City forums.”

“I want to tell the Outer City residents that in an apocalypse, stagnating and losing your value is what leads you toward death.”

“This time, the Outer City has to participate.”

At that moment, Lu Song felt as though he were standing at the forefront of fate, catching a glimpse of a small branch in the Outer City’s future.

And now, all it would take was a gentle nudge from him to change its course.

…

“Ten Thousand Outer City Residents Jointly Sign Petition Requesting Permission to Explore the New World.”

“The petition states: ‘We are Blue Sea residents, too. Please let us share in Blue Sea’s responsibilities.’ ‘The greater the responsibility, the greater the merit. The less the responsibility, the fewer the points—’”

“According to this reporter’s findings, a total of 33,192 Outer City residents participated in the joint petition. Lu Song, a representative of the Outer City residents, stated that the petition was primarily intended to request permission to participate in the new world’s mission. He hoped the government would not impose a blanket ban on Outer City residents leaving the city simply because they could not receive divine oracles and were more likely to encounter life-threatening dangers.”

“Many Outer City residents expressed concerns that remaining inside the Safe City for an extended period would deprive them of opportunities to obtain additional resources through field missions, resulting in a substantial decrease in their personal income. They were also worried that their value to Blue Sea’s survival would diminish. Therefore, they hoped the government would relax travel restrictions and allow Outer City residents to make contributions to our God and to Blue Sea as well.”

“In response to this joint petition, the relevant authorities issued the following statement:

‘Of course! Blue Sea honors every brave soul. We commend the determination of our Outer City residents to serve our God. However, the government must first dispatch an advance team to investigate the new planet’s specific conditions before sending in the main force.

‘We would like to remind everyone in advance not to purchase any new weapons for this mission, nor do you need to prepare any travel equipment.

‘Please prepare your oldest, most unwanted set of clothes. When residents pass through Fallen Heaven Star’s transformation field, their clothes will be damaged in the process, and the same goes for their shoes. So it’s best not to wear shoes at all. Anyone with dentures should promptly get another dose of the anti-aging medication, as your dentures will fall out—’”

“That concludes this edition of the news. Thank you for watching. Our God above, Blue Sea forever! See you next time.”

After watching the news on his phone, Blue Sea soldier Wu Mingfeng switched it off and placed it inside his storage locker.

Someone called to him from outside. “Mingfeng, are you ready?”

Wu Mingfeng called back loudly, “Coming!”

He jogged outside and saw that eleven people had already gathered there, making a full twelve-person squad.

Everyone was dressed in tattered rags. Gathered together, they looked less like a squad of elite ability users and more like a meeting of the Beggars’ Guild.

In reality, however, all twelve of them were ability users with combat strength exceeding 90. Their primary objective this time was to test how much of their abilities as ability user residents they would be able to use after entering Fallen Heaven Star.

—Ahead of them, in an area belonging to the outskirts of the Safe City, a huge ring of light was radiating a dazzling array of colors.

This was the passageway into Fallen Heaven Star.

Once Blue Sea got close enough, it could automatically open the passageway. To open it, Blue Sea had already sacrificed a small portion of its land, which had been transformed into streams of invisible energy.

The good news was that, before approaching the passageway, the Blue Sea government had thoughtfully removed the city gates. That way, once they left Fallen Heaven Star, they could simply reinstall them.

The squad leader stood before the passageway.

“Are you ready?”

Wu Mingfeng and his teammates answered in unison, their voices ringing out loudly.

“Ready!”

Together, they raised their left arms in unison, striking a pose that looked as though people from some primordial era of Blue Sea had been swinging around on vines.

“Our God above!”

“Blue Sea forever!”

The twelve lined up and entered the dazzling, multicolored passageway.

Wu Mingfeng was second to last in line. Watching his teammates transform into streaks of light the moment they entered the passageway, he felt a surge of excitement.

Oh, God! This was so fascinating!

He couldn’t wait to dive in himself and experience what it felt like for his body to become a spiritual entity.

Finally, it was his turn.

Reciting the holy scriptures, Wu Mingfeng stepped into the passageway.

In an instant, his body felt strangely weightless.

The sensation that he was no longer quite himself made his excitement give way to a brief, instinctive flicker of panic.

But the warmth of a blessing from their God quickly calmed him down again.

Then, he suddenly plunged downward.

…

Xiaoluo Village—

Inside a dilapidated little local temple, a shabby clay deity statue began to emit a faint halo of light.

Wu Mingfeng opened his eyes.

Then he realized he was lying down.

“Huh? I’m not dead yet?”

A voice came from ahead.

From Wu Mingfeng’s extremely low vantage point, he could only vaguely make out the other party’s thighs, which were covered in fur.

The other party bent down of its own accord, and only then did Wu Mingfeng get a clear look.

It was a wolf.

Not only could this wolf talk, but it was also picking its teeth. Behind it lay several humans dressed in tattered clothes, their faces contorted with terror.

The wolf looked utterly arrogant.

“Who would’ve thought that a half-formed little Earth God would be so hard to digest?”

“Well, well! Lord Wolf here will just have to eat you one more time.”

The wolf’s ordinary-looking mouth suddenly split open, expanding to three times its original size as it sucked in Wu Mingfeng.

Wu Mingfeng felt as though he were being sucked up by a vacuum cleaner. His weightless body involuntarily drifted away from the deity statue and toward the wolf’s gaping jaws.

Before he could even attack with his water-based ability, Cheng Qisheng noticed what was happening.

She glanced over—

It seemed Fallen Heaven Star really was different. In the past, observing her believers had never felt this immersive. It was as effortless as a fish slipping into water.

And after Cheng Qisheng looked over, the evil giant eyeball that had briefly caught her attention began to seem more lively, its previous coldness giving way to something animated.

The flame-like patterns at the center of its pupil slowly ignited. As Cheng Qisheng shifted her gaze, the eyeball turned to aim directly at the wolf’s head.

The wolf’s head burst into flames.

“ARGH!! AAAAAHHHH!!!!”

The wolf demon let out a horrific shriek and collapsed heavily to the ground. As though consumed by a raging inferno, it turned to ash in the blink of an eye.

Cheng Qisheng, who had only wanted to take a look: ?

Wu Mingfeng, who had been confident he could handle the wolf himself: !

The villagers of Xiaoluo, whom the ravenous wolf had been holding captive behind it, cried out:

“The Earth God! The Earth God has manifested!”

“The Earth God killed that wolf demon!”

“Heavens, you have eyes after all!!!”

“The Earth God of our Xiaoluo Village has manifested!”

They practically tumbled over one another as they scrambled toward the little Earth God temple. As though clutching at their last lifeline, they frantically kowtowed before the small, low-roofed shrine.

Wu Mingfeng could see two faint golden streams of light emerging from the heads of two of the kneeling villagers.

They had a clear destination and shot straight into the clay statue of the Earth God in which he resided.

Wu Mingfeng felt a warmth spread through him. It was like eating a starfruit vegetable—his entire body suddenly felt invigorated.

Back on Blue Star, Cheng Qisheng had been lounging lazily on the sofa, her mental power highly active. Suddenly, she sat bolt upright.

She had felt it.

Two new links had appeared in the faith network.

And they had come from Fallen Heaven Star.

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