Chapter 207: Copying Blue Sea
Cheng Qisheng also saw the scene Gong Cheng had foreseen.
In reality, the prophetic vision was very small and lasted only a brief moment.
But what mattered most was who was watching it.
While Gong Cheng’s first reaction had been, Could it be that you lucky bastard’s apartment got expanded?, Cheng Qisheng immediately thought of something else. Something must have happened to increase Blue Sea Safe City’s area, which had then caused Xie Wuke’s apartment to expand along with it.
The apartment Xie Wuke had purchased was Blue Sea’s “Extra-Small Single-Occupancy Unit,” with a total area of just thirty square meters, excluding shared spaces.
There was no helping it. Blue Sea Safe City now had over 500 million residents. Even with high-rise buildings constructed everywhere, there still wasn’t enough space.
Xie Wuke might eventually earn enough points to exchange for a larger apartment, but there was absolutely no way he could double the size of his existing one.
The only person capable of doing that was Cheng Qisheng.
And she would only do so after the Safe City advanced to the next tier.
Relying on her ultra-high-definition perspective, Cheng Qisheng examined Gong Cheng’s prophetic vision over and over again, scrutinizing every detail.
In the trash can inside Xie Wuke’s apartment, she spotted the wrappers from the frozen ice pops the two of them had eaten that day.
She then used the believer link to examine Xie Wuke’s recent, hazy memories.
Ever since getting a little home of his own, Xie Wuke had treasured it dearly. Given his habits, if he were going on a long trip, he would definitely clean out all the trash in the entire apartment before leaving.
And he had already signed up to participate in the world mission on Fallen Heaven Star. At the latest, he should be called up within the next three days or so.
That meant the scene in the prophecy would probably occur around that time as well.
Cheng Qisheng had always been keeping an eye on the progress of the Inner City residents’ faith power. They had only recently arrived on Fallen Heaven Star, so it was unlikely that any residents would be returning to Blue Sea with additional land.
And then there was the sense of being watched that she had detected earlier…
In such a short period, there was only one way for Blue Sea Safe City to suddenly amass a huge amount of land and expand the living space of its residents: victory in a Safe City war.
Cheng Qisheng’s body was immobile, but that did nothing to stop her from once again issuing a divine oracle to the believers remaining behind in the Safe City.
The previous order had been a precaution.
This time, war might genuinely be on the horizon.
Cheng Qisheng couldn’t quite shake off the feeling of being watched.
Although she had promptly driven away that probing gaze with her mental power, and her mental power also had a mechanism for reflecting damage back at its source, the other party probably hadn’t seen much.
Still, she had a hunch that the gaze was most likely connected to whatever Blue Sea would encounter over the next three days.
The first time Wang Moning used [Perception] and caught a glimpse of Cheng Qisheng, she had understood that perhaps one day, people with similar abilities in other Safe Cities would also be able to [Perceive] her.
But there was a world of difference between one of her own believers taking a peek at her and an unfamiliar outsider glimpsing the secrets of Blue Sea Safe City. Cheng Qisheng’s tolerance for the two was entirely different.
Why were they spying on her?
What did they know?
Had they realized that Blue Sea was a special existence among all the Safe Cities?
This kind of surveillance could only come from a supernatural ability, and supernatural abilities could advance to higher tiers.
Today, that person could see her for half a second.
Next year, they might be able to see her for a full second.
And in another few decades, or even a century, if they encountered each other again, would that person be able to glimpse the greatest secret she and Blue Sea Safe City shared?
If the other Safe Cities learned that Blue Sea’s City Lord did not exist in the same space-time as they did, what would happen to Blue Sea?
This “person” must not be allowed to live.
Cheng Qisheng lay calmly in bed. If she were to fold her hands over her chest as well, she would look downright peaceful in death.
Yet the divine oracle she transmitted through her mental power was positively murderous.
“Make all the necessary preparations. If a war breaks out during this period…”
“I want to make sure the other side doesn’t even get the chance to surrender territory and flee.”
—
Blue Sea Safe City
President Qin Zhi was sitting in the presidential palace, remotely watching as the [Heaven’s Punishment] was brought out. Marshal Alice had just finished training at military headquarters, while Pope Tianxing was hovering above the Temple with his eyes closed, honing his supernatural ability by listening to every sound around him.
All three immediately rose to their feet respectfully.
They bowed toward the divine statue, their eyes filled with the exact same fervor.
The great Creator God of Blue Sea rarely issued divine oracles of this kind.
But once their God gave the order, it meant that every citizen of Blue Sea would charge toward whatever direction their God pointed her sword.
“Yes, my God!”
The three spoke in unison, their voices firm and resolute.
“Whoever stands against Blue Sea shall be consigned to annihilation without exception!”
—
Outside Daluo Village.
The giant tiger cautiously poked its head out from behind a large tree.
Two pythons, each carrying a bundle on its back, slithered along behind it.
“Great King, are you really going? Didn’t you say that Broom God was really good at fighting? What if it kills you?”
The giant tiger turned and glared at them.
“I’ve told you already! It’s not Broom God, it’s Sweep Lord—the Nine Heavens Commander of Fate and Guardian of the Home, who, by the laws of the Heavenly Court, oversees the peace and well-being of households and sweeps away evil spirits throughout the world!”
The two pythons hurriedly retreated a little. One of them whispered, “But, Great King, gods and demons are on different paths. Even deities have to wear clothes. That second-rate City God only refrained from attacking you because he couldn’t beat you. But this Broom—no, this Sweep Lord—sounds so powerful! What if it takes a fancy to your beautiful tiger hide and kills you to skin you for it?”
The other python chimed in.
“Exactly, Great King! Your tiger hide is so magnificent and beautiful. I mean, I’m not human, but if I were, I’d want to skin you and make clothes out of it too.”
The Mountain Lord let out a low growl at the two pythons.
“Get lost! You two ignorant fools! What do you know?!”
The python with the slightly paler markings muttered in protest, “Great King, I grew up in a hole in the wall of the village schoolhouse. I learned to read. I’m very knowledgeable.”
“GROOOAR—!”
The Mountain Lord, who had grown up in the mountains and forests and never learned to read, was furious.
“Hand over the stuff! You two, get lost!”
The two pythons jumped in fright and hurriedly wriggled around, letting the bundles on their backs drop to the ground.
The python with the lighter markings turned around and was about to slither away when the darker-patterned python suddenly spoke in a clear voice.
“Great King, I’m not leaving! I’ll stay here to support you. If that Sweep Lord tries to kill you, I can at least lend you a hand!”
The darker-patterned python froze. It first stared in disbelief at its companion, who had taken the initiative to pledge its loyalty, then hurriedly turned back with equal alacrity.
“That’s right, that’s right, Great King! How could we possibly abandon you and leave on our own? Go ahead, Great King. We’ll keep watch for you!”
The Mountain Lord had been somewhat annoyed, but seeing how loyal these two subordinates were, its anger subsided a little.
“Fine. I’ll give you two credit for your loyalty. Wait here. If I really manage to become a god, I’ll grant you positions as divine officials or divine generals too, so you can follow me and have someone powerful backing you up.”
After speaking, the Mountain Lord swiftly picked up all three bundles from the ground in its jaws.
“Just wait! There’s a treasure in here. Once the Sweep Lord sees it, it’ll surely be willing to put in a good word for me and let me join the Heavenly Court too.”
As it spoke, it sprang lightly out from behind the tree. Its massive body landed heavily on the ground, making the earth beneath it tremble slightly.
…
The Mountain Lord paid no attention to this and charged straight toward the village. Before long, distant screams from the villagers could be heard. Apparently, the Mountain Lord had entered the village at astonishing speed.
The two pythons climbed a tree and gazed into the distance at the chaos unfolding in Daluo Village, where chickens and dogs were flying about in panic.
“The Heavenly Court…”
“It really does sound impressive. I hope the Great King makes it.”
…
While the giant tiger Mountain Lord was delivering its gifts, quite a few City Lords outside Fallen Heaven Star were growing puzzled.
“What do you mean, Fallen Heaven Star has gained an additional divine pantheon?”
Safe Cities of the sixth and seventh tiers all had more than a few tricks up their sleeves.
Although this planet had a conversion field that prevented anything other than intelligent life from being brought inside in physical form, making positioning devices unusable, did anyone really think the City Lords would send their residents out and then simply turn themselves into deaf and blind fools, completely oblivious to what was happening?
Where there were policies, there were always countermeasures. To keep track of the situation inside Fallen Heaven Star, the various City Lords had come up with all sorts of ingenious methods.
Some relied on supernatural abilities their residents possessed that allowed them to communicate conveniently.
Others used special items from the mall or mysterious objects they had stumbled upon by chance in the past as relay stations for communication.
Still others resorted to the most labor-intensive method of all: personally descending onto Fallen Heaven Star. The moment they established a divine kingdom, they would return as quickly as possible, carrying information back by hand.
As for the emergence of a new “Blue Sea Great Luo Heavenly Court” on Fallen Heaven Star, it had taken almost no time at all for the City Lords, who were monitoring the planet around the clock, to receive the news.
“The Heavenly Court…”
The moment these City Lords learned its name and how it operated, they had practically guessed where it had come from.
“It must be the work of a Safe City.”
“Reforge the Heavenly Dao… and have the Great Luo Heavenly Court confer divine titles upon the gods. What a clever approach!”
Although the various City Lords had declared that reforging the Heavenly Dao was impossible, they had simply treated this planet as a “great place” to acquire vast amounts of land.
But completing a world mission meant obtaining World Rules. Which Safe City wouldn’t want those?
If one Safe City could take an indirect route and attempt to replace the Heavenly Dao with a system like this, why couldn’t the others do the same?
“Blue Sea… Isn’t that the Safe City to the left?”
The Safe Cities spoke different languages and used different writing systems. But once a city had reached the sixth or seventh tier, surely its lord would possess a small translator and a high-tier telescope or two.
Even without group chats between Safe Cities, the City Lords could still observe which Safe Cities were located around Fallen Heaven Star and check whether they had heard any rumors about them before.
The lord of this particular Tier 7 Safe City quickly realized that the “Heavenly Court” was a solution devised by Blue Sea Safe City.
“Since Blue Sea can establish a Great Luo Heavenly Court, that proves the method works. Why don’t we build our own Heavenly Court modeled after theirs?”
The City Lord’s family member thought it over.
“That’ll be difficult, won’t it? Just gathering all our residents together would be a huge challenge. And wouldn’t we be stealing Blue Sea’s idea? Could that cause trouble for us?”
The City Lord shook his head with a smile.
“It’s the apocalypse. Who cares about intellectual property anymore?”
“Fallen Heaven Star is enormous, with so many countries and regions. Even if we use Blue Sea’s idea, we can simply avoid competing with them for territory. When it comes to completing the World Mission, what matters isn’t who came up with the idea, but who has the greatest strength. It’s just fair competition.”
“Want to bet that we won’t be the only ones doing this? Once the other Safe Cities hear about the [Heavenly Court], they’ll definitely follow suit.”
As he spoke, the City Lord began issuing orders one after another. There was no harm in trying, so they might as well get started.
He spent most of the day giving instructions, then another large chunk of time holding meetings with the senior leadership to work out a plan.
Their Safe City was still busy figuring out how to gather its own residents together on Fallen Heaven Star when alarm bells suddenly rang throughout the entire city.
The AI assistant floated over as well.
“Lord City Lord, another Safe City has crossed the minimum safe distance between Safe Cities.”
“External visuals have been projected for you.”
The footage immediately appeared before the City Lord and the senior leadership.
There, in the vast expanse of the universe, a ridiculously enormous Tier 7 Safe City was hurtling forward at high speed. One glance was enough to tell that it had devoured quite a few other Safe Cities.
Its immense bulk merely passing by their own Safe City was enough to fill the City Lord with an overwhelming sense of danger.
Fortunately, it was only passing through.
After watching it rush by, everyone let out a deep sigh of relief.
Their residents were all on Fallen Heaven Star right now. They couldn’t afford to fight a Safe City war at the moment.
One senior executive stared at the footage.
“Perhaps… it’s just passing through?”
Another executive’s voice suddenly grew tense.
“Wait. It’s stopped.”
The City Lord immediately gave an order. “AI, expand the field of view.”
“Understood, Lord City Lord.”
The image expanded once more.
Everyone could now see it clearly.
That ridiculously enormous Safe City had entered Blue Sea Safe City’s safety perimeter.
