Chapter 31: Tier 3
This was also the first time Cheng Qisheng had encountered a situation like this.
Although she had raised eight civilizations, they were all human civilizations, and in most cases they were quite similar, with only minor differences.
For example, the Seventh had a weaker body but was very intelligent.
The Eighth was not unintelligent either, but its overly strong body made it reluctant to think.
A civilization that could give birth on its own like this—this was the first time she had ever seen one.
“Aether, what’s going on? Didn’t you say the reproduction method of the Long-Tendril civilization was cross-body reproduction?”
The old Long-Tendril being had searched for its kind for over a thousand years without ever finding them—so how exactly was it producing offspring?
Aether was also confused. From what it had observed, although the Long-Tendril civilization had no concept of gender, it did indeed require cross-individual reproduction for new life to be born.
Because of this, the Long-Tendril civilization had concepts of marriage, partners, and family.
It was precisely because their family structure was similar to that of human civilization that the previous city lord of the Safe City had briefly come into contact with the Long-Tendril civilization.
Looking at Cheng Qisheng, who was waiting for its answer, Aether searched its database again without giving up, but still found no result.
“Aether has no records indicating that the Long-Tendril civilization possesses the ability of self-reproduction.”
Cheng Qisheng fell into deep thought.
Could it be reverse development?
But that didn’t seem right either—if it were reverse development, why would there still be corpses of old Long-Tendrils?
Moreover, the small Long-Tendril being occasionally opened its eyes, and in those eyes, there wasn’t the slightest trace of time.
Or could it be that after a long period of evolution, the Long-Tendril civilization gradually developed the ability to reproduce on its own?
If that were the case, then this kind of reproduction would definitely come at a cost—such as the death of the old Long-Tendril being.
If it wasn’t “old life ending, new life beginning,” then the old Long-Tendril being would have had no need to only do this at the end of its lifespan. It was visibly lonely and longing for its kind; if self-reproduction had no side effects, it would have already done it long ago.
“Looks like we’ll only be able to figure out what’s going on once this little Long-Tendril being is brought back.”
However, there was a high chance that even after it was brought back, the little Long-Tendril being still wouldn’t be able to explain how it was born.
—It was also a mystery how long it would take before it could communicate normally with the Blue Sea people.
But in any case, Cheng Qisheng had originally wanted a Long-Tendril being in the first place.
Whether because of the ancient Long-Tendril civilization, or because of the spaceship material that could be produced from that red fruit.
If the fruit really grew into a towering tree and its leaves truly became materials for spacecraft, then was it possible that ships made from such leaves could only be used by the Long-Tendril civilization?
Although Aether had calculated that this possibility was very small, Cheng Qisheng still felt it was safer to have a Long-Tendril being on hand.
After the old Long-Tendril being had rejected her, she still sent people to monitor it, intending to preserve its complete data—perhaps it would be useful someday.
Even Cheng Qisheng herself hadn’t expected that after being rejected by the old Long-Tendril being, she would soon be welcoming a Long-Tendril baby instead.
At the beginning, the old Long-Tendril being probably hadn’t planned this.
If it had already intended to give birth to a new life, it would not have left all the safe cities behind and built its nest alone in Mianyan City.
Had the Blue Sea team sent to monitor it changed its mind?
Apart from that old Long-Tendril being, probably no one could understand what it was thinking at the end of its life.
Cheng Qisheng withdrew from her deep thoughts and looked at the little Long-Tendril baby soaking in the water bucket.
Blue Sea already had many aliens—it wouldn’t matter if there was one more alien infant.
Mianyan City’s resources had basically been fully explored, and it had already been upgraded to tier three.
The next step was to go find the so-called world’s largest granary that Meow Meow had mentioned.
Cheng Qisheng closed her eyes and sent a message to the believers wandering outside, telling them to hurry back.
The Safe Cities might eventually return to Miang’an City or Qianli City, withdraw the troops stationed there, and continue pushing forward with the military to collect all kinds of resources gathered along the way. But this Mianyan City, already thoroughly searched and emptied, would definitely not be revisited.
So, it was absolutely necessary that not a single person be left behind.
Fortunately, Cheng Qisheng had long been prepared. From the very beginning, she had planned the range in advance, so her followers wouldn’t wander too far beyond the Safe City’s boundaries.
At most, within about ten more days, the scattered followers would all be back in place.
…
After receiving the divine oracle from the great deity, the observation team rushed back even more desperately.
Along the way, they encountered many Blue Sea people also heading back.
A dispatched military unit, civilians traveling freely, crystal hunters scattered across various areas, and even small vendors selling food and weapons along already-cleared roads.
“Excuse me, do you know where the nearest clean water source is?”
The captain handed the swaddled infant to a teammate and went to ask a vendor who was packing up.
The vendor laughed. “Nearest clean water source? I’ve got some for sale!”
She opened the lower compartment of her cart, revealing a barrel of water.
“Just so you know, it’s expensive.”
“If you don’t want to spend points, you can also walk straight down that road for about 10 kilometers, then take a left at the fork, go another kilometer, and there’ll be a small path. Follow it for 5 kilometers and you’ll reach a village. In that village there’s a house marked by the Blue Sea military. Go under that house and follow the path below it—there’s a pond there.”
That pond sounded fairly close.
If it were before, the observation team would definitely have gone to that pond.
But now…
The captain glanced back at the swaddled infant.
The sudden death of the old Long-Tendril being had left them deeply shaken.
He was genuinely afraid that if they didn’t hurry, the little Long-Tendril baby might also suddenly die before they even reached the temple.
He gritted his teeth. “I’ll take a bucket!”
He could only hope the military would reimburse them when they got back.
“Got it!”
The vendor happily handed a bucket of water to the captain. Not easy—this last bucket of water had finally been sold!
And she could also obey the divine oracle and head home as soon as possible.
After putting away her stall, the vendor curiously glanced at the tightly wrapped swaddling cloth.
“Is this a local child you picked up?”
She couldn’t see its face, but from the shape of the bundle, the child looked… oddly round.
Almost like they were holding a bucket.
The captain replied, “No. It’s for a mission.”
He spoke so briefly not because it was classified—his superiors had already said this wasn’t a secret mission.
He simply… didn’t know how to describe the situation.
The vendor immediately shut her mouth.
She didn’t want to get flagged by the military intelligence system after accidentally getting involved in a “classified operation.”
If that happened, her habit of shortchanging customers when selling flatbread would definitely be exposed.
A self-aware “shady merchant” who knew she couldn’t withstand scrutiny, she smoothly changed the topic.
“You guys look so dirty—you haven’t been back to the temple for at least ten days, right?”
“You don’t know, but the temple has completely changed!”
—At first, the captain didn’t take those words seriously.
When hadn’t the temple “completely changed”?
Ever since the entire Blue Sea population moved in, it changed every single day.
Busy workers labored day and night, and construction machines never stopped.
Roads, repaired high-rise buildings, and new factories designed to take up minimal land were constantly being built every day.
As the captain of the observation team, his judgment was well-honed. One look at the vendor’s guilty expression told him she was just trying to change the subject.
Probably because she was selling underweight goods and afraid of being caught.
But that was the job of the market regulation bureau. Right now, their mission was to hurry back with the little Long-Tendril baby.
But soon, the entire observation team realized that as they got closer to the temple, the statements from the roadside vendors became increasingly consistent.
“The temple is different now. It’s not just a lot bigger—the roads have also been rebuilt.”
“Anyway, it’s really different. I’m not good at studying, so I can’t really describe it properly. You’ll understand once you get there yourselves.”
“The temple is much larger now. The President said in an interview that, according to the will of our god, the temple will continue to expand in the future. Someday it will be as large as Dark Star—maybe even larger.”
Had the great Creator God expanded the temple once again?
The members of the observation team felt a surge of excitement—both for the expanded space available to Blue Sea civilization, and for the benevolence of their deity.
When they ate meals, they prayed devoutly, expressing gratitude for the great god’s favor toward Blue Sea.
At the same time, the little Long-Tendril baby soaking in the water bucket curiously stared at them with wide eyes.
“O great Creator God, we thank you…”
In essence, the little Long-Tendril baby was still just a baby. It needed care, and along the way, the observation team had indeed been paying close attention to it.
It had already developed a vague sense of understanding and had come to believe that the members of this team were its own blood relatives.
Otherwise, why would they be taking care of it?
Only when its “relatives” performed strange actions and spoke in strange, incomprehensible language would their attention briefly drift away from it.
This made the little Long-Tendril baby instinctively try to make noise, to draw their attention back.
It swayed its whiskers, trying to reach the nearest team member, but couldn’t quite make it. So instead, its whiskers tentatively opened and closed, producing soft popping sounds.
The observation team was still praying; since they had learned that the Safe City had expanded, today’s prayer session was longer than usual.
“Bo-bo!”
The little Long-Tendril baby “bo-bo-ed” several times, but its “relatives” still didn’t look over. It didn’t get angry. Instead, it lay on the rim of the bucket for a few seconds, then carefully brought its whiskers together and pressed them against its round little body.
It was imitating the posture its “relatives” used during prayer—hands pressed tightly against the chest.
The observation team: “We thank You for nourishing our bodies…”
Little Long-Tendril: “Bo-bo, bo-bo…”
The observation team: “We thank You for extending our lives…”
Little Long-Tendril: “Bo-bo, bo-bo…”
After finishing their prayers, the observation team looked at the little Long-Tendril baby, who was seriously imitating them, and their expressions softened.
The captain gently stroked its whiskers and sincerely offered a blessing:
“May our God protect you.”
The little Long-Tendril baby couldn’t understand, but it was happy at the touch. It happily swished part of its whiskers in the water bucket.
“Bo-bo!”
—A local person who had just been rescued from a rural basement by a crystal hunter team happened to pass by and saw this scene, feeling completely dazed.
“…Wh-what is this? Are these aliens?”
After being rescued, a translator in the hunter team had told him that these people were aliens, that they had a movable alien city, and that other alien species lived there too—and that they were willing to take in Velvet Star people.
He had thought they were just some kind of post-apocalyptic cult.
After all, these people calling themselves Blue Sea humans looked exactly like Velvet Star humans, aside from being a bit taller and stronger.
But fine—even if it was a cult, it was the apocalypse. Having somewhere to live was enough; he wouldn’t be picky.
He had even mentally prepared himself to join the cult… and now there really were aliens?!
The crystal hunter team that rescued him was also there, and they too were a bit confused.
They had never seen aliens with this appearance in the outer city before.
But since they were also praying to the great Creator God, then they must be aliens from Blue Sea.
Even the local translator nodded very confidently:
“We already told you we weren’t lying. Look—Blue Sea people are very inclusive. They’re willing to accept aliens who look different from them. So of course they’ll accept us Velvet Star people.”
The survivor was still dazed:
“Th-then what about what you told me… about a city that can move around, leave this world, and is extremely huge—bigger than any city… is that also real?”
The local translator replied, “Yes!”
The survivor still looked completely lost.
He truly found it hard to imagine that such a miraculous city could exist in the world.
Until the group arrived at the Safe City that afternoon.
The city was so massive that its true scale couldn’t even be seen.
Standing beneath the walls, people looked as small as ants. The gates stood wide open, and people came and went in streams, lining up in long queues outside.
And from the queue, one could clearly see through the open gates: winding roads floating in midair.
The local survivor rubbed his eyes. He hadn’t mistaken it—the roads really were suspended in the air.
Layers upon layers of roads stacked upward, rising tier after tier. Towering buildings stood beside or behind them. If one stood at a window on the 40th floor, they could see vehicles and pedestrians passing directly in front of them.
Drones controlling traffic were everywhere, and every road was lined with a translucent protective barrier emitting a faint white glow.
At first glance, it looked like a floating city.
The local survivor stood frozen for a moment, then, because of everything he had already imagined about alien cities on the way, quickly recovered:
“…Oh my god. Now I believe you’re really from outer space.”
This was pretty much what he had expected.
The local survivor exclaimed in admiration:
“No wonder you were so proud when you talked about it. It really is unbelievable—even for me, an alien.”
The Blue Sea locals who had brought him back wore expressions just as blank as his, and some even recovered more slowly than he did.
Behind them, the observation team—still holding the swaddled infant and standing in line—were also equally stunned.
If you had to hear the truth, it would be this: we’re actually just as shocked.
Those roads floating in midair… those clearly abundant high-rise buildings…
—When we left last time, it didn’t look like this at all.
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