By the time she understood everything, dawn had already broken.
The door was pushed open without warning. A guard stood outside.
“The Emperor summons you.”
“Yes. Please inform the guards that I’ll be there immediately.”
She hurriedly dressed and rushed toward the “Imperial Palace.” Naturally, there was no time for breakfast. After staying awake all night, her stomach was already aching from hunger.
Even after reaching the “palace,” she still couldn’t enter right away. She had to wait outside, ready to answer the “Emperor’s” summons at any moment.
Cosmic had absolutely no awareness that a living person needed to eat.
In his original world, he had been a noble.
So in his mind, it was only natural for everyone else to exist in order to serve him.
The refined woman endured the pain in her stomach and stood there for the entire morning before she was finally allowed into his presence.
“You. Come here and take a look. Blue Sea is asking what changes after reaching Tier 3. How should I answer?”
For all his arrogance, he wasn’t completely devoid of caution.
“Just make something up. But don’t reveal anything about the energy shield you get after reaching Tier 3.”
The refined woman felt another sharp stab of pain in her stomach, but she still maintained a flattering smile.
“Your Majesty, your consideration is truly thorough. However… doesn’t Meow Meow Safe City always oppose you? She’s also Tier 3. If she interferes somehow…”
Cosmic immediately agreed.
“Right. That damn cat can’t stand seeing me do well. Damn it—if she weren’t so difficult to deal with, she’d be the first one I took down!”
“Your Majesty is wise. Taking down Meow Meow Safe City is only a matter of time. Now that you’ve gained Blue Sea’s trust, once you obtain another core, expand the city again, and recruit more Sl*ves from this world, won’t crushing that cat later be easy?”
Cosmic clearly enjoyed hearing that.
His expression softened again.
“Mm. That does make sense. Then I shouldn’t make anything up. I’ve finally managed to gain Blue Sea’s trust—I can’t ruin it now.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the refined woman quickly agreed.
“Not only should you avoid fabricating anything, you should tell her the truth and even volunteer information she didn’t ask for. That will show your sincerity and make her lower her guard completely.”
Cosmic was persuaded.
[Cosmic Lord Safe City]: After reaching Tier 3, the territory will still expand, but there’s an additional feature: Safe Cities gain a defensive shield. It can be activated for one hour per day and used for emergencies. For example, if the shield is active, a Safe City war cannot be initiated; likewise, once a war has already begun, the shield can no longer be activated.
[Blue Sea Safe City]: Wow! That’s such an amazing feature, I want it too =v=
[Cosmic Lord Safe City]: Keep killing zombies and collecting crystal cores. In this world, reaching Tier 3 might be a little unrealistic for you. Going from Tier 2 to Tier 3 requires 300,000 crystal cores. But if you save up, maybe you can do it in the next world!
[Blue Sea Safe City]: Mm-mm! Thank you! You’re so reliable for sharing such important information, big bro~
Cosmic nodded in satisfaction after reading the reply, when the refined woman suddenly spoke.
“Your Majesty, I suggest you tell her your coordinates…”
Cosmic’s face changed instantly.
He punched her, sending her flying more than a meter away.
“Are you stupid?! How can you reveal your coordinates to another City Lord?!”
The refined woman bit down on her tongue, swallowing the metallic taste of blood, and hurriedly put on a frightened, submissive expression.
“Your Majesty… please calm down. I—I mean… Blue Sea is an extremely cautious person. Unless she encounters some kind of crisis, she would never willingly reveal her coordinates to us.”
“But—but if you take the initiative and reveal your own coordinates, on one hand, it will demonstrate your sincerity and make her trust you even more. On the other hand, we can use cooperation as bait—for example, we could claim we’ve discovered a large factory here. Didn’t she say she’s been buying industrial equipment from other City Lords?”
“We give her information about Tier 3 to gain her trust, then reveal the coordinates. She’ll definitely believe you completely. After that, we lure her in with information. At that point, the plan will be foolproof, Your Majesty!”
Cosmic listened and found that it actually made a certain amount of sense.
“But what if she turns around and sells me out? What if she gives my information to Meow Meow Safe City?”
The refined woman immediately put on a confident expression.
“Your Majesty, Safe City wars can only be initiated within a five-kilometer range. You can simply give her coordinates shifted by ten kilometers.”
“If she really betrays you and another Safe City comes over, Your Majesty will already be prepared. You can activate the shield to prevent them from dragging you into a Safe City war, then spend 1,000 crystal cores to relocate. Wouldn’t that make everything foolproof?”
She painted an even brighter picture for him.
“But if Blue Sea doesn’t betray you and comes over herself, you can immediately spend 1,000 crystal cores to move your Safe City next to hers, then start the war. At that point, she’ll only have a Tier 2 Safe City—no shield, nowhere to run. Wouldn’t she be completely in your grasp?”
“Hiss…”
That…
Actually sounded right.
“But… before we even fight, we’ll already have lost 1,000 crystal cores…”
Even though Blue Sea Safe City looked wealthy and conquering it would probably be extremely profitable, the thought still hurt.
The refined woman immediately corrected herself.
“Yes. That was my mistake. Someone as lowly as me can only come up with a plan like this. I’m sorry, Your Majesty. I’m incompetent.”
Cosmic looked at her with disgust and waved a hand.
“Forget it. There’s no better way anyway. We’ll do it like this.”
The refined woman bowed respectfully and left, lowering her eyes to conceal the cold glint within them.
If you won’t even let me eat…
Then go to hell.
***
Cheng Qisheng soon received another message from Cosmic, along with a set of coordinates and an overly enthusiastic explanation.
[Cosmic Lord Safe City]: Since you already called me big bro, I’ll recognize you as my little sister. I trust you. These are my coordinates. Big bro doesn’t need yours either, and don’t send yours to any other Safe Cities. Coordinates are extremely important. I’m only willing to share mine because I’m strong enough. If you ever run into trouble, just call me—big bro will handle it for you.
[Blue Sea Safe City]: You actually sent me the coordinates… Big bro, you’re really this 👍. Meow Meow really misunderstood you. Thank you, big bro! I don’t really have anything to repay you with, but my residents just collected a batch of fabric—it’s good-quality cotton cloth, so I’ll send it to you!
—Blue Sea Safe City has transmitted three crates of white cotton cloth to Cosmic Lord Safe City—
Cheng Qisheng put down the dumbbells in her hands.
The information about Tier 3 Safe Cities matched what Meow Meow had told her.
As for the coordinates…
They still needed to be verified, but there was an eighty-to-ninety-percent chance they were real.
That “mouthpiece resident” had switched sides this quickly?
Faster than Cheng Qisheng had expected.
According to her original plan, it should have taken at least half a month for that resident to gradually turn against Cosmic.
She had even prepared ways to guide the conversation and promises she could make in order to slowly win over the mouthpiece.
Apparently, none of that was necessary now.
Something must have happened inside Cosmic Lord Safe City.
Cheng Qisheng sat down, hooked her feet around the dumbbells, slowly lifted them, held the position for ten seconds, then lowered them again.
This had recently become one of her hobbies.
Rehabilitating her body while watching frontline operations, following the daily lives of the crystal core hunters, checking the construction work in the rear, and occasionally chatting with the other City Lords.
It was fulfilling.
And enjoyable.
While doing another set of rehabilitation exercises, she forwarded the newly obtained coordinates to Blue Sea Civilization.
She usually sent them to President Qin Zhi.
Qin Zhi would then quickly assign the task according to the “Creator God’s” decree, no matter what it was.
Soon, Blue Sea Civilization’s most elite surveying engineering team had calculated the offset and the distance between the two Safe Cities.
By the time Cheng Qisheng finished her set, the direction and straight-line distance between the two coordinates had already been placed before her.
“A straight-line distance of 1,057 kilometers? That’s not too far.”
In that case, the “very long-distance plan” could be put on hold for now.
The surveying engineers also provided an estimate of the actual travel route.
“According to the world maps we’ve obtained, we’re currently located in a city called Mian’gan City, while the coordinates provided point to another city called Qianli City.”
After capturing a small town, Blue Sea Civilization had immediately brought back everything that could provide information about this world.
The city maps and various world maps alone numbered in the hundreds.
They first confirmed with the locals which city Blue Sea Safe City was currently in, then matched it against the coordinates.
Naturally, the name of the other city was identified as well.
“Given the current situation, we’ll likely need to avoid formerly prosperous urban areas and instead choose routes with lower zombie density or travel through the wilderness. In practice, getting from here to Qianli City may require a journey of around 1,800 kilometers.”
The surveying experts were visibly excited.
“Is the military planning to advance toward Qianli City? Do we need to remap the route?”
If they really needed to remap it, that would be their chance to go out into the field.
Every one of them was eager.
An official sent by Qin Zhi said solemnly,
“You were assigned your surveying duties by the divine decree of the Great Creator. Do not attempt to speculate beyond your role.”
The experts immediately became even more excited.
They all turned toward the enormous statue of the Creator God in the temple district and bowed.
“To be able to offer even the smallest contribution to our deity is our honor. We are grateful, O Creator God!”
Cheng Qisheng had already grown used to all of Blue Sea Civilization behaving like fanatical believers.
She directly sent word to Qin Zhi, telling her to reward the surveying experts with extra points or some similar incentive.
Even though the Creator God couldn’t grant blessings or miracles…
The Creator God could give them a raise.
After confirming the city names and obtaining the map, Cheng Qisheng closed her eyes and immediately began searching for the crystal core hunters closest to Qianli City.
These crystal core hunters really knew how to run.
Barely more than ten days had passed, yet the group that had traveled the farthest was already more than 2,500 kilometers away from Mian’gan City.
She recalled which team it was.
No wonder they were so fast.
Other hunter teams killed zombies along the way, recorded useful resources in the cities they passed, uploaded intelligence to the Information Exchange system, or even rescued local survivors.
This team, however, was pure speedrunning.
They recorded nothing.
They barely bothered collecting crystal cores.
They didn’t approach survivors at all.
They had started out on motorcycles, then switched to an off-road vehicle and tried surviving in the wilderness. When they ran out of fuel, they walked. If they found bicycles, they rode those. Then motorcycles again, then trucks, and even scooters whenever they came across them.
Five people in total.
They slept in shifts and traveled day and night without stopping.
Under such harsh conditions, they had somehow covered more than 2,500 kilometers in just fifteen days.
Unfortunately, they were heading in the exact opposite direction from Qianli City.
Cheng Qisheng looked at the group—three women and two men—who were currently trapped in a tree surrounded by zombies, fighting them off with makeshift bows.
She couldn’t help projecting her consciousness down and asking them a question.
“Where are you going?”
The five-person team froze for a moment.
Then they erupted in joy.
“Great Creator!”
“The Great Creator has spoken to us!”
Everyone began talking over one another in excitement.
“Oh Great Creator! We heard there’s an ocean in this world—we want to see it! We want to see how it differs from the sea on Dark Star!”
“Oh Great Creator! We want to watch the sunset over the sea! And the sunrise over the ocean!”
“Oh Great Creator! I want to try fishing in this world’s waters!”
One of them even tried to show her the bag on his back.
“Great Creator! Look! I brought a fishing rod!”
Cheng Qisheng: “……”
She couldn’t see a fishing rod.
What she could see was that their food supplies were nearly gone.
She searched through the mental map in her mind and recalled that earlier that morning, the five of them had passed a small red house, glanced at it, then simply walked away.
She had clearly seen food inside.
Yet those young people had acted as though they were blind.
Forget it.
They were her people, after all.
She might as well remind them.
“There was enough food in the red house you passed this morning.”
The young people immediately erupted in cheers.
“Thank you, Great Creator!”
“The Great Creator has acknowledged our bravery!”
“Thank you for granting us food! You are so merciful!”
“Oh, Great Creator, you are truly omnipotent. Even though we have left our homeland and come to this forsaken land, your light still shines upon your people!”
Cheng Qisheng: “……”
She ignored their middle-schooler-level enthusiasm and shifted her attention toward the other crystal core hunter teams.
Hm?
There was a team quite close to Qianli City.
What were they called again?
Ah, right.
Explorer Squad.
This hunter team was relatively normal.
After leaving the “fence,” they had simply chosen a direction and kept moving forward.
They drew maps by hand along the way, avoided large concentrations of zombies, searched for factories and supermarkets with usable supplies, and uploaded intelligence to the “Information Exchange” system.
Compared to other teams that had suffered casualties, this squad was both strong enough and cautious enough when entering cities.
Including their local interpreter, all eight members were still alive.
When Cheng Qisheng shifted her attention over, the Explorer Squad was preparing lunch.
“This canned meat is pretty good. Let’s eat a little more today—we’ll set out tomorrow.”
Song Xi distributed canned food to the team members.
The interpreter, Wang Moning, not only received canned food, but also a large braised pork knuckle.
Song Xi patted Wang Moning’s shoulder approvingly.
“We almost got wiped out today. We were surrounded by zombies, and it was all thanks to Ningning that we found a way out!”
“What did I tell you? I said from the beginning that she was smart! When you’re out here, you need a local guide. See? This is exactly why!”
After fifteen days together, Wang Moning already understood what her role in the team was.
Translator.
During those fifteen days, she had lost count of how many times they had encountered life-threatening danger.
But it was true that surviving danger together caused bonds to form quickly.
She had been rescued countless times.
They ate, drank, and slept together every day.
The seven Blue Sea members treated her quite well, and she had gradually developed a sense of camaraderie with them.
By now, she could even communicate with them through gestures.
When Song Xi called her “smart,” Wang Moning understood the word.
But she felt guilty.
She wasn’t smart at all.
The only reason she knew about the back roads was because this place happened to be her hometown.
She waved her hands awkwardly, but the Blue Sea people interpreted it as modesty and immediately showered her with even more gratitude and praise.
Then it was time to eat.
All the Blue Sea people placed their right hands over their chests, closed their eyes, and prayed reverently.
“Great Creator, thank you for granting us this food, nourishing our bodies and extending our lives.”
“May the God above us bless Blue Sea forever.”
Wang Moning sat quietly to the side, holding her braised pork knuckle.
After half a month together, she had already gotten used to this.
She still couldn’t fully understand what the Blue Sea people were saying, but through gestures she had grasped the general idea.
These people believed that their world had been created by a Creator God.
An actual deity.
One who watched over them.
They prayed like this before every meal.
They also prayed every time they survived a dangerous situation.
Whenever they had to make an important decision, they prayed again.
—These aliens were pretty superstitious.
Wang Moning didn’t say anything.
If they wanted to be superstitious, then so be it.
Besides, these people treated her well.
They gave her food and water, protected her, and cared about her.
When her period came, they had even stopped to boil hot water for her and found painkillers.
If it weren’t for the language barrier—and the fact that she still had no idea whether outsiders were allowed to believe in their “Creator God”—she might have considered joining them herself.
It felt as though doing so would earn her even more of their trust.
So she simply sat there holding her braised pork knuckle, waiting for Song Xi and the others to finish praying so they could eat together.
But the moment the prayer ended—
Before anyone had even taken their first bite of canned meat—
All seven of them suddenly stood up at the same time.
Wang Moning: “???”
She stared at her seven companions in shock.
All seven had lowered their heads respectfully, as if they were listening to something invisible.
Wait—
Don’t scare me like that!
There are only eight of us here!
Song Xi suddenly pulled out a map, pointed to a spot on it, and nodded solemnly.
Then all seven of them raised their heads again at the same time.
The captain suddenly became extremely excited, gesturing wildly as she spoke.
Wang Moning could only catch a few words.
“Great Creator.”
“Glory.”
“This is great.”
And then bursts of laughter.
Everyone looked incredibly happy—
But nothing had actually happened!
What the hell?
Collective hysteria?
Wang Moning cautiously asked what was going on.
Through gestures, Song Xi and the others explained.
The Great Creator had delivered a divine revelation.
They were to head toward a city called Qianli City and investigate a Safe City there.
And the Creator would personally guide them along the way.
All seven of them were ecstatic, saying it was both a great honor and a joy to carry out work for the Great Creator.
Wang Moning: “???”
Was this…
For real?
For the entire journey, Wang Moning remained half-convinced and half-doubtful.
She knew of Qianli City.
It seemed to be somewhere near her hometown.
But she had no idea how to get there.
Before this, it had only been a vague name in her memory.
She had never planned to visit and had never even paid attention to which direction it was in.
If even she didn’t know the way, then Song Xi and the others certainly couldn’t know either.
And yet the group set off anyway.
All seven of them moved with absolute certainty, as though they really could hear some invisible command.
Whenever they encountered a blocked route, they would stop briefly, then immediately change direction and continue onward.
Along the way, they faced every kind of hardship and repeatedly came close to death.
It was extremely dangerous.
And yet, somehow, their luck remained strangely good.
People were injured, but no one died.
The seven Blue Sea members firmly believed that the reason they were still alive was because the Creator God was protecting them.
Wang Moning thought they had all gone insane.
But then, on what seemed like a completely ordinary day, she happened to look up—
And saw a road sign pointing toward Qianli City.
Wang Moning: “???”
Then Song Xi continued leading them onward.
Without any communication equipment—
No phones.
No radios.
Not even carrier pigeons.
They somehow managed to rendezvous with three other teams who had all been “guided by the Creator God.”
Wang Moning: “???”
All three teams proudly declared that they too had received divine revelation in nearby cities.
And under the guidance of the Great Creator, they had arrived at Qianli City.
Wang Moning: “???”
No, sisters.
You’re telling me…
You actually have a Creator God?!