Safe City Ch.192.2

Chapter 192.2: The Real [Ota] Still Exists

—BOOM!!

The chase up ahead finally came to an end.

The vehicle was violently flipped over, and the people inside were dragged out.

Since this area was so vast and sparsely populated, Lu Kan could still faintly hear the three important figures begging for mercy and screaming in agony, even though they had already traveled quite a distance.

“Let me go! Please, I’m begging you! I have—I have a lot of assets! I’ll give them all to you, every last bit! Just don’t kill me! I’ll lick your shoes! I can—I can work for you! Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it! Please, I’m begging you…”

The Safe City residents who had captured the executives pretended not to hear a word.

Before they set out, their City Lord had repeatedly warned them that once they captured the executives, they absolutely must not listen to any of their nonsense.

“They might have some assets, but everything they own belongs to Blue Sea now. [Ota] has made it perfectly clear that it wants every [Company] executive dead. It doesn’t matter if you fail to catch your targets, but if you’ve already got them in your hands and then let them go out of greed, and [Ota] finds out about it, our Safe City might not even survive.”

In the Safe City system, it was hardly unusual for someone to possess extraordinary abilities that allowed them to uncover all sorts of secret events.

Didn’t the lord of Greenroot have exactly that kind of ability?

And lately, Greenroot and Blue Sea had been getting along famously.

Their City Lord had issued an absolute order.

“No matter how convincing these executives make their promises sound, don’t listen to a word they say. Kill them and bring back their heads.”

The residents sent out to carry out the bounty missions had, of course, been carefully screened beforehand. They were completely unmoved by the [Company] executives’ desperate pleas for mercy. Without hesitation, they drew their blades.

The [Company] executives, who were kneeling helplessly on the ground, felt their hearts jolt at the sight. Overwhelming terror sent them into a frenzy of desperate struggling, but in the hands of several extraordinary ability users, they couldn’t move even an inch.

“No! No! Don’t kill me! Please, I’m begging you! I really can do anything! Please, don’t kill me! Don’t…”

Hadn’t everything they had done been for the sake of immortality, so they wouldn’t have to face death?

For the sake of eternal life, they had fled like rats, eaten rotten food that would never have been allowed anywhere near them in the past, and drunk filthy yellow and brown water. They had stumbled from place to place in desperate flight, betrayed by their subordinates, hunted by mutant beasts, and pursued by people determined to kill them. They had lived without the slightest shred of dignity, comforting themselves with the thought that everything would be fine once their Safe Cities arrived.

But now, death was right before their eyes.

The terror that nearly overwhelmed them completely left the [Company] executives weeping uncontrollably, tears and snot streaming down their faces. They desperately racked their brains, trying to come up with something valuable enough to trade for their lives.

Yet all they could do was watch in utter despair as the blade drew closer and closer.

“Please, don’t! Don’t—AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!”

…

Tagu was staring blankly out the window.

After informing [Ota] about the weapons depot at the Institute of Science and Technology, he had finally fulfilled his life’s mission.

Tagu didn’t know what [Ota] would do, or whether it would win. But he knew that he could now die in peace and go to see his mother without any regrets.

A knock sounded at the door.

Tagu continued gazing at the natural plants outside the window without turning his head. He simply said, “Come in.”

[Ota] had indeed treated him very well.

After giving them the coordinates of the weapons depot and the access codes, he had originally intended to wait quietly for death.

But [Ota] had provided him with plenty of good food and drink. Meals were delivered to him at regular times every day, and they had also brought him a large collection of audiovisual entertainment to pass the time. A doctor even came to examine his health daily.

Nevertheless, Tagu continued to waste away rapidly. It had nothing to do with his treatment. He was simply old, and having finally fulfilled his life’s mission, he had let go of the last thing keeping him going.

Besides, he no longer wanted to live.

He was afraid of hearing that [Ota] had failed. Rather than risk that, he would prefer to die while still holding on to hope.

“Tagu, I’m coming in.”

A familiar doctor in a white coat walked into the room. This time, however, she hadn’t brought any of the medical equipment used to check his vital signs.

Instead, she walked over and switched on the old-fashioned television in the room.

“The Three Major Companies have been eliminated. I thought you’d want to see this.”

Tagu, who had been sitting motionless by the window like a man already dead, suddenly lit up.

He whipped around. “W-What?”

“These are videos and photographs from the scene. Take a look.”

Tagu practically threw himself at the television, almost too impatient to wait another second.

He had never visited the territories of the Three Major Companies, but he recognized their insignias.

He watched the footage documenting the battles, saw the places where buildings that had once belonged to the companies now lay in ruins, and then watched as photographs of one company executive after another appeared on the screen, each labeled with a name. Beside each photograph was an image of their corpse, confirming their death.

These were the people who had caused his mother’s death, turning what should have been an apocalyptic plan to save the people of Moon Silk into a genuine apocalypse.

And now, every last one of them was dead!

Tagu gazed greedily and intently at the photographs, delightedly studying the lingering expressions of fear and agony on the [Company] executives’ faces.

He wanted to burst into hysterical laughter, yet he also wanted to break down sobbing.

It was as though something had filled his heart to the brim, only for it to become utterly hollow in the very next instant.

His entire life had been leading to this moment. Everything he had done had been for this very day!

Ota had done it!

This force that had disguised itself as a [Company] had actually done it!!

Tagu laughed maniacally, tears streaming down his face. He laughed until every last bit of strength had drained from his body, then leaned against the table and gazed up at the ceiling.

“Mom… I did it. I avenged you. I avenged all of us…”

“I can… I can finally die in peace…”

The Blue Sea cleric had refrained from disturbing Tagu, allowing him to release all the emotions he had kept bottled up inside.

But when she heard those words, she still spoke up.

“Actually, you don’t have to die.”

“We have anti-aging medication that can extend your lifespan. Although your situation is rather unusual, and the deterioration of your body differs from that of an ordinary person, a researcher named Jin Yin has still managed to develop a medication specifically tailored to your body.”

The cleric, whose actual age was eighty-two but who looked no older than an ordinary middle-aged person thanks to the anti-aging medication, slowly approached. She gently patted Tagu on the head as he lay sprawled on the floor, staring up at her in bewilderment after suddenly hearing that his life could be extended.

“Tagu.”

She slowly crouched down, meeting the gaze of the deeply wrinkled old man.

His eyes still held the look of that same young child who had lost his mother in the midst of terror and fear.

Tagu listened as the other woman spoke softly.

“How about we give you the injection today?”

“You’ve completed your revenge. You did it.”

“Now, you can begin a brand-new life.”

“One lived for yourself alone. For Tagu.”

Tagu looked at her with bloodshot eyes. After a long moment, he finally nodded hard. “Okay.”

His lips trembled as tears rolled down his face one drop at a time. He wept like a child, nodding as he cried.

“Okay.”

…

Cheng Qisheng wasn’t surprised in the slightest to discover that Tagu had become her believer.

Or, to put it more accurately, Tagu had first become a believer in Blue Sea. Then, once he understood the concept of Blue Sea’s Creator God, he had seamlessly become a believer in the Creator God in the span of a single second.

He might need some time to recover, but with the Creator God’s blessings and Old Eighth’s care, Tagu would be able to welcome a new life.

Cheng Qisheng was also living a brand-new life of her own.

Blue Sea had truly struck it rich this time, and the profits were still rolling in.

She was currently planning to upgrade the Safe City to the next tier.

After all, they needed to accommodate the people of Moon Silk while also storing the enormous quantity of supplies and energy resources they had collected from the planet. Blue Sea simply didn’t have enough space anymore.

Ah! What a wonderful problem to have~

The higher a Safe City’s tier, the more nuclear crystals it needed, with the cost doubling at each successive upgrade.

The cost of upgrading from Tier 6 to Tier 7 had shot straight up to fifty million nuclear crystals.

Cheng Qisheng: No problem. We’ve got money! Upgrade!

At this point, she was practically rolling in wealth. The nuclear crystals Blue Sea had earned from the Truth Stone alone were more than enough to fuel a series of rapid tier upgrades.

Moreover, the situation on Moon Silk had made Cheng Qisheng realize something.

The Tier 5 and 6 City Lords had all been willing to pay 1.88 million nuclear crystals just to ask a single question.

In theory, the higher a City Lord’s tier, the more worlds they had experienced, and the wealthier they were as a result—with the exception of the Octopus City Lord.

Once she reached Tier Seven, wouldn’t she be able to take the Truth Stone to other worlds and earn nuclear crystals from Tier 7 City Lords, too?

Cheng Qisheng eagerly began planning with Aether how to make use of the additional space Blue Sea would gain after its upgrade.

She was happily admiring the plans when several private messages suddenly popped up.

[Coriander Safe City: Boss! Guess what! My residents found a new mine, and while digging, they struck treasure!]

[Coriander Safe City: Boss! It’s a weapons depot, hehe! There’s so much stuff! My residents are still cracking the access codes. Once we get it open, let’s split the loot, okay?]

[Coriander Safe City: Wait, I found treasure? Doesn’t that mean I’ve triggered the Fortune Comes from Taking Risks?]

[Coriander Safe City: …Boss! There really is a huge underground shelter even deeper down! It hasn’t been opened, and I saw the insignia of the real Ota!]

Cheng Qisheng: Here it comes.

Blue Sea had previously speculated that there was a good chance the real [Ota] still existed. After all, given the way the real [Ota] operated, it was unlikely to have been outmaneuvered by the Three Major Companies. If anything, it was far more likely to have outmaneuvered them instead.

Besides, the Three Major Companies had believed that the real [Ota] possessed a [Heaven’s Punishment] weapon.

If the real [Ota] had appeared earlier, then even without a [Heaven’s Punishment], its recorded strength would have left Blue Sea with no choice but to retreat, however reluctantly.

But the real [Ota] was appearing now.

The Three Major Companies had been wiped out, and the world-mission rewards had already been distributed.

Blue Sea now possessed three [Heaven’s Punishment] weapons.

So, tell me: who’s the real [Ota] now?

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