Safe City Ch.180

Chapter 180: The Charm of Blue Sea Residents

Cheng Qisheng swept her gaze around and, through the believers’ perspective, discovered that quite a few Blue Sea residents really had made friends from other Safe Cities.

And judging from their expressions and body language, it was obvious that these people valued their Blue Sea friends very much.

Most of them had infiltrated [Ota] and taken up some kind of position, such as working as guards. After spending every day alongside their Blue Sea coworkers, they had gradually developed genuine feelings for them.

After news broke that [Ota] was about to go to war, some people tried to persuade these Blue Sea residents not to sign up.

—Naturally, they failed.

Others, like Yu Bo and Bo Huan, went to find out whether they could be assigned to the same unit, clearly having developed an overwhelming urge to protect their Blue Sea friends.

—Cheng Qisheng would bet anything that these two were definitely thinking about taking their friends back to their own Safe Cities once all this was over.

“I really didn’t see this coming.”

Blue Sea had, of course, made arrangements to try to keep these ability users around.

Anyone identified as a resident sent by another Safe City would be marked in the artificial intelligence system.

After they joined the [Company], they would go through a specially designed process intended to show them just how comfortable working for [Ota] could be.

Drinking water, food, clothing, various employee benefits, and so on would all be presented to them one by one.

They would also be shown the entire promotion pathway for their position, which could spark their imagination.

Look—right now, they were only low-level employees, yet they already enjoyed pretty decent treatment. Once they got promoted, their lives would only get even better.

To make sure these people had an even clearer understanding of what they could gain by staying here, Blue Sea had even divided the all-in-one card into several separate cards.

The effect was roughly equivalent to a company handing out a 10,000-yuan bonus by depositing it directly into an employee’s account. When the employees received their pay, they would be incredibly excited.

But if the [Company] suddenly handed every employee 10,000 yuan in cash one day, and they could actually hold a thick stack of one hundred crisp hundred-yuan bills in their hands, it would feel completely different.

Of course, Cheng Qisheng had never expected employee benefits alone to make a group of ability users from other Safe Cities willingly stay in [Ota].

The Blue Sea government was merely laying the groundwork. They couldn’t possibly keep pretending to be [Ota] forever. Once the [Company] was dealt with, [Ota] would become Blue Sea Safe City.

At that point, it would be up to these ability users from other Safe Cities to make their choice.

Because of Blue Sea’s special nature, Cheng Qisheng cared very much about whether new residents willingly chose to join Blue Sea when they became part of the city.

To make sure these ability users would voluntarily join Blue Sea once the truth came to light, all the various departments of the Blue Sea government had been busy preparing for quite some time.

In the end, though, what actually produced the effect of making them “willing to stay” turned out to be the many Blue Sea residents who were simply going about their everyday lives.

Aether looked up at her.

“City Lord, does this count as good news?”

“It does.”

Cheng Qisheng raised an eyebrow.

“I just realized that I underestimated how much people crave emotional connection in an apocalyptic environment.”

After thinking for a moment, she added,

“And I also underestimated the charm of our Blue Sea residents.”

When Blue Sea Safe City had first been established, Cheng Qisheng had still taken the psychological state of the Blue Sea residents into consideration.

But one of the defining characteristics of the Blue Sea residents was that, although they might have all kinds of emotions just like other human civilizations—they could get angry, become irritated, and even develop hatred—after the apocalypse, not a single one of them lacked love.

The frequent appearances of the Great Creator God since the apocalypse had tightly bound the Blue Sea residents together as fellow believers.

The God’s watchful care allowed them to trust any Blue Sea resident.

And Cheng Qisheng herself hardly ever felt anything resembling loneliness or isolation.

After all, she could casually grab any Blue Sea resident and pat them on the head, and immediately feel the vigorous love they had for her, as if it were so abundant that it might overflow at any moment.

Because she was surrounded by it herself, she had never really thought there was anything particularly remarkable about it.

It was only after residents from other Safe Cities were drawn in by this kind of emotional connection that the Great Blue Sea Creator God realized that Blue Sea possessed a “weapon” far more powerful than employee benefits or a system of rules.

—Old Eighth could easily draw people to his side.

Previously, most of the residents from other civilizations whom the Blue Sea residents had encountered had been rescued by Blue Sea Safe City.

In an apocalyptic world, the native inhabitants of those worlds were helpless and unable to see any path forward. It was only natural for them to develop feelings toward the Old Eighths who had saved them.

But this time, the situation was different.

These residents from other Safe Cities regarded the Blue Sea people as natives of Moon Silk.

In their eyes, [Ota] was destined to perish along with Moon Silk.

Psychologically speaking, they should have looked down on the natives from a position of superiority.

And yet, under those circumstances, the Old Eighths had still—actually—managed to make these people develop genuine feelings for them.

Was this a case of accidentally planting a willow and ending up with a shady grove?

Cheng Qisheng only needed to look at their expressions to guess that once Blue Sea Safe City’s identity was exposed, there was a very good chance these ability users from other Safe Cities would choose to stay.

After all, among the ability users who had entered the Broken River Wasteland, a full eighty percent had chosen to go to war.

—

Qi Yi and Qi Er had once again left the Broken River Wasteland.

Lu Song watched them leave, his state of mind remarkably calm.

What was that saying again?

If the jar is already broken, you might as well smash it completely.

That was pretty much his attitude now.

Since the prophet had already foretold that he would one day become a believer of Our God, then so be it.

He would just wait for that day to come.

Although it sounded as though that earth-shattering day would never come, Lu Song had always been good at adjusting his own mindset.

That prophecy sounded incredibly distant. Looking at it from another angle, that was actually a good thing!

It meant he would live long enough.

Very, very long.

Lu Song watched Qi Yi and the others drive out through the city gates, which Blue Sea had decorated in a pure white color scheme. He silently turned around, intending to find something useful to do and relieve some stress.

Perhaps he could go work part-time as a preschool teacher at the Blue Sea kindergarten or something.

…

Inside the vehicle that had driven out through Blue Sea’s white city gates, Qi Er opened the map with a serious expression.

The map was extremely detailed. Some locations were marked with red dots, others with green dots, and there were handwritten notes in small characters scattered across it.

Qi Er said, “Let me plan our itinerary for the rest of the trip.”

Qi Yi said, “Sure. I’ll listen to you.”

As Qi Er’s finger darted back and forth along the routes on the map, he clearly laid out their travel plans.

“First, we’ll drive to Sausage Town No. 3 and get some grilled sausages. It’s the closest to our route. Then, in the afternoon, we’ll drive to Supply Town and have some roasted mutant rabbit. In the evening, we’ll rest in Get-Together Town. There’s a pretty good Winter Night Inn there, and its signature dish, deep-fried tree roots, is one of the forum’s Top Ten Famous Dishes. Then, first thing the next morning, we’ll set off and head straight for the border town. We can try another one of the Top Ten Famous Dishes there: braised smoke…”

Qi Yi interrupted, “Wait. Braised smoke? We’re supposed to eat smoke?”

Qi Er carefully examined the notes on the map.

“It’s not actually smoke. That’s just what it’s called. There’s a mutant beast called the Mist Monster that looks like a wisp of smoke. Apparently, it tastes sweet and sour and is pretty good, but you can’t eat too much of it. Too much will poison you.”

“Oh! Then no problem!”

Qi Er put the map away.

He was rather particular about food and drink, unlike Qi Yi, who was much more rough-and-ready. So between the two brothers, he had always been the one who researched things and made plans before they went out.

But Qi Yi was the older brother, after all, so when it came to important decisions, Qi Yi was generally the one who made the final call.

“Brother, where are we going this time after leaving Broken River?”

Qi Yi kept his eyes on the road ahead. “Didn’t I tell you?”

He freed one hand and patted his back. The replication mask, worth one hundred million nuclear crystals and capable of reproducing anyone’s appearance, was resting quietly there.

“Blue Sea is about to go to war with [Zephyr]. [Zipa] will be our ally. This is a battle we’ll win with or without us.”

Qi Er thought for a few seconds, then a smile slowly spread across his face.

“You mean…?”

Qi Yi turned sideways to glance at him.

“Little brother, do you want to earn another great merit and receive a reward from Our God?”

Qi Er thought back to how many researchers they had brought back to Blue Sea, and how blissful they had felt when Our God had bestowed such an abundance of comforting blessings upon them.

Without the slightest hesitation, he said, “I do!!”

In truth, the physical and mental comfort brought by the blessings was secondary.

What mattered most was that what they had done had made Our God happy.

That was what made every Blue Sea resident feel the deepest happiness.

Qi Yi accelerated the vehicle, speeding along the winding road Blue Sea had built. As the wind rushed past them, the smile on his face grew wider.

He had already advanced to become a Tier 4 ability user, and the [Replica Mask] could finally display even more of its potential in his hands.

“Our God above! What Our God desires, we shall offer to Our God!”

“We’re going to Ragam, [Norn Company]!”

—

“War is coming. A lot of the young men in town have gone to sign up.”

In Deer River Town, Rui En brought some food she had made herself to visit Old Tagu.

When [Ota] first appeared, she had been the first person to witness it.

Later, Rui En had also personally witnessed the drastic changes that [Ota] had brought to the Broken River Wasteland.

[Ota] had not been like Old Tagu had said.

It had not brought greater suffering, nor had it harmed the people of Broken River.

Quite the opposite. After becoming [Ota]’s assets, every Broken River resident’s life underwent earth-shaking positive changes.

Many young people became miners.

Hunters heading out no longer had to worry about sudden Eternal Nights descending upon them, or the danger of being unable to get proper rest while outside.

People who had been injured or lacked physical strength, as well as children, could now take on small odd jobs and earn money thanks to the rise of commerce.

Even the elderly in Ota could pick up little jobs polishing leather, take the work home, and do it at their own pace in exchange for clean food and water.

For young people like Rui En, the income was even better. She had recently been working in the neighboring town, but today she quit her job specifically to come back and visit Old Tagu.

And, while she was at it, she wanted to tell the stubborn old man—who refused to interact with anyone else—the latest news from Broken River.

“I want to sign up as a soldier too. Mom and Dad won’t let me go, but they’re going themselves, so I secretly went to sign up. Then they told me I’m not allowed because I’m not sixteen yet.”

Rui En was a little dejected. She didn’t dare tell her parents, so she could only confide in Old Tagu.

Old Tagu’s eyelashes trembled.

“[Company] actually doesn’t allow anyone under sixteen to sign up for the war?”

“Yeah. Ah, even though I’m already an adult.”

Old Tagu shook his head. “No, you’re not. The Old Humans from back then could live for two hundred years. Someone like you is still just a little kid.”

Rui En efficiently lowered the heavy pot she was carrying.

“Grandpa Tagu, you’re talking about Old Humans. I’m a New Human. We New Humans can only live into our thirties at most.”

“But that’s not necessarily true.” She thought for a moment. “Ever since I successfully became a [Company] asset, I’ve been able to eat my fill every day, and I’m in a good mood too. Maybe I’ll even make it into my forties!”

Old Tagu was silent for a while before suddenly asking,

“Do you know who [Ota] is going to war with?”

“I don’t know. There are rumors that it’s a war against the other [Companies]. A lot of our allies have also come to Broken River, and everyone is really excited. Almost every household has someone who went to the soldiers’ passage to sign up.

“But the battlefield is outside, so everyone may have to travel a long way. I just hope we won’t lose too many people along the way.”

As Rui En spoke, she sighed again.

For the people of Moon Silk, traveling far from home was practically a gamble, because when the Eternal Night descended, the night beasts would begin closing in.

Only that repellent called [Green Grass Juice] could keep the night beasts away.

And Green Grass Juice was expensive.

That was why the people of Broken River rarely left the area. But this time was different. This time, [Company] was mobilizing soldiers, and the Company would spray Green Grass Juice along the way. All everyone had to do was stay together.

So some people were joining the army not only because they wanted to fight for [Ota], but also because they had never left Broken River in their entire lives. Now that they had been given an opportunity like this, naturally, they wanted to seize it.

Rui En had never left Broken River either. She really wanted to go to war.

She had been eating very well lately, and had grown considerably taller. She was stronger too, and felt that she could actually be useful.

But unfortunately, she wasn’t sixteen yet!

Ugh!

Old Tagu asked again, “Rui En, have you ever seen any of [Ota]’s researchers?”

“Researchers? You mean people who do research?”

Rui En had, in fact, seen quite a few.

“I have. There are a lot of them. They go around collecting rocks, and they even collect dust. They’ve eaten at our restaurant too.”

Old Tagu’s lips trembled slightly.

“They… How were they? What kind of condition were they in?”

“Their condition…?”

Rui En thought back to those researchers who looked refined and scholarly, yet ate as though they were starving to death—somehow even more ravenous than she was.

The one she remembered most vividly was a middle-aged man who didn’t look particularly old, but whose entire bearing was remarkably frail.

For Rui En, who had often gone out in the past to hunt weaker prey, that middle-aged man stood out like a sore thumb. Whenever she brought food to the table, she couldn’t help glancing at him.

“I just remember there was one person who was especially weak. Everyone else would protect him. Ah! I remember now. The researchers would call him Professor Zhang.”

Old Tagu said, “No, that’s not what I’m asking. I’m asking about their outward condition. Did they look like they were getting enough to eat? Did they seem to be in a good mood?”

Rui En tried hard to remember.

“They seemed pretty good to me. They all ate really well. Those dishes were expensive, and their complexions all looked pretty good too. You could tell at a glance that they were high-ranking employees with very high levels of clearance.”

Old Tagu didn’t ask any more questions. He merely muttered to himself,

“Very high clearance… Good complexions…”

This was different from what his mother had taught him.

His mother had clearly told him that [Company] would ruthlessly exploit its researchers, so researchers were generally vacant-eyed and expressionless.

But his mother had also said that [Company]’s researchers basically never had time to eat. Yet [Ota]’s researchers not only ate at restaurants, they even ordered excellent dishes.

His mother would never lie to him.

But the [Ota] he had witnessed with his own eyes was also undeniably different from the [Company] his mother had described.

Last month, the town mayor had even personally brought some food to visit him, saying that old assets of [Ota] received certain benefits.

Those benefits were the food.

There wasn’t much of it, but it had been given to him for free.

And the only reason he’d received it was because he was old.

Old Tagu sat there in a daze.

“Grandpa Tagu, Grandpa Tagu, what’s wrong?”

Rui En called to him worriedly.

Old Tagu came back to himself.

“Nothing. I just remembered my mother.”

He turned to look at Rui En.

“Rui En, do you know how I can get in touch with an employee of [Company]?”

Rui En was puzzled.

“I do.”

“Just go to the bank in town. All the employees at the bank came from [Company].”

—

Cheng Qisheng was checking the travel routes when she suddenly blinked.

A sliver of mental power she had placed on one of her believers had sensed something unusual.

She redirected more of her mental power over there.

She found herself looking into an Ota bank in a small town.

An elderly man, an extremely rare sight on Moon Silk, was speaking to several bank employees.

He said that he knew the recipe for Green Vegetable Juice, the substance that could conceal a person’s scent from the night beasts.

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