114: Chapter 114 Suspicion

In another part of the airspace, outside Sky City, warships came and went. On the once crude Inverted Mountain, port after port had now been established.

On this vast, flat cross-section, tens of thousands of humans, like worker ants, had built a bustling metropolis.

This was the absolute heart of the current human forces—[Sky City].

The towering crystalline glass towers refracted soft and holy light under the sun.

Silver rail trains shuttled silently in mid-air, weaving into a futuristic three-dimensional transport network.

Around the perimeter of the entire city, a layer of transparent energy barrier vibrated slightly, blocking the gale. When the wind entered Sky City, it transformed into a comfortable breeze.

And on the top floor of the tallest and most core building in the city, known as the "Sky-Lift Tower."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu was dressed in a well-tailored, pure white suit with gold trim, holding a glass of warm-colored crimson wine, standing quietly in front of the huge panoramic floor-to-ceiling window.

He stood tall and straight, the sunlight spilling onto his shoulders, stretching his shadow long.

"Truly a perfect work of art, isn't it?"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu gently swirled the wine glass in his hand.

He looked down at the bustling, orderly, and vibrant city beneath his feet.

In this broken and filthy world, everyone knew how difficult it was to build such a city.

"Hum—"

In the spacious office behind him, in the shadow of a corner that had previously been empty, Shadow appeared out of thin air.

"Guild Master."

"Is the perimeter reclamation going smoothly?"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu did not turn around, maintaining his elegant posture of viewing the scenery, not even changing the frequency of his swirling wine glass.

"Reporting to Master, the front line is advancing steadily. Several small orc tribes on the periphery have been completely annihilated."

Shadow stood up and stepped forward, respectfully handing over a glowing miniature holographic tactical board with both hands.

"But... in the past two months, the intelligence department has monitored an abnormal market fluctuation across the entire airspace. This subordinate believes it must be reported to you immediately."

"Oh?"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu tilted his head slightly, a careless smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Fluctuations that you find abnormal are rare."

He took the tactical board with one hand and glanced casually at the screen.

His originally leisurely expression froze slightly.

"The exchange ratio for [Level 5 Ultra-Strong Tungsten Steel] to Level 4 raw ore... has fallen below 2.1 to 1?!"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu's narrow eyes narrowed slightly. He knew too well how absurd the purification loss for strategic materials like Level 5 Tungsten Steel was. Even for the current Tianqing Guild, they could only barely push the physical loss rate to the limit of 4 to 1!

"Yes. The total amount of finished Level 5 Tungsten Steel on the market seems to have increased by tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions of units, out of thin air in just the past month and a half."

Shadow added the shocking data calmly from the side.

"Someone is using an unknown method to frantically sell off items in the trading hall. Currently, the mining alliances of various mixed races have been forced into bankruptcy by this unreasonable sell-off, and the material economy of the entire region is being forcibly restructured."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu turned around, walked slowly to the large leather office chair and sat down, his slender fingers tapping lightly on the expensive mahogany desk, making crisp "tap, tap" sounds.

"Such heaven-defying ability..."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu murmured, and a name flashed through his mind like lightning.

"Zhou An?"

He blurted it out subconsciously.

But the very next second, he laughed, shook his head self-deprecatingly, and wiped this absurd thought from his mind.

"Impossible. That level of contamination, even I could barely withstand it; how could anyone survive?"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu picked up his wine glass and took a small sip, the last image transmitted remotely from back then appearing in his mind.

"Luo Ning could survive by luck. But Zhou An... he absolutely could not have survived."

The last trace of doubt in his eyes dissipated completely.

"This airspace has a huge surviving biological base of over three million."

"With such a terrifying base number, it is statistically very normal for a lucky person to appear who just happened to awaken a high-level talent like 'Lossless Synthesis' or 'Equivalent Exchange'."

"Pass on my order, tell the Logistics Department to buy as much as possible while the price of Level 5 Tungsten Steel has fallen below the bottom line."

"So that when the second batch of ship captains breaks through to LV5, we won't be held back by others, and besides, there is consumption in daily combat."

"Yes, Guild Master!"

Shadow knelt on one knee, bowing her head deeply.

Subsequently, her figure merged silently into the shadows like ripples in water, as if she had never appeared in this office.

Inside the office, just as the shadow ripples left by Shadow's departure smoothed out, two knocks, with precisely judged timing and force, came from outside the heavy mahogany door.

"Enter."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu did not turn around.

The door lock made a slight mechanical clicking sound, and the Guild Vice Master, Minister Su Hongye, pushed the door open and entered.

With her entry, a faint, expensive, yet deliberately suppressed scent of perfume filled the office.

She was wearing a standard executive business outfit.

A well-tailored, pure black, waist-cinching suit jacket paired with a knee-length, tight-fitting skirt, with high-density black stockings wrapping her shapely, slender legs flawlessly. The black stiletto heels on her feet clicked crisply and rhythmically on the polished marble floor.

"Guild Master."

Minister Su Hongye walked to the large desk and bowed slightly.

She held an encrypted tablet with both hands and respectfully handed it over. As she moved, her neckline opened slightly, revealing just the right amount of fair skin, yet she dared not overstep in the slightest.

City Lord Zhao Tianyu then slowly turned around, his expression indifferent. He took the tablet, his slender fingers sliding unhurriedly across the screen, his gaze as calm as water, not even lifting his eyelids: "What is it?"

"It is the highest-level communication sent from the Winged Race."

Minister Su Hongye's voice was very soft, deliberately carrying a hint of ingratiating, sweet, and sticky tone.

"Their high-altitude territory recently encountered a rare, extreme cold natural disaster, causing a large-scale collapse of their already fragile internal ecological cycle system. They urgently need to requisition a batch of cold-resistant, high-calorie food from us, as well as thirty LV4 or higher defense core arrays. In exchange, they are willing to provide their race's unique specialty—[Wind Prayer Spirit Feathers]."

"[Wind Prayer Spirit Feathers]?"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu's gaze finally shifted away from the tablet, a faint trace of mockery and contempt flashing in his eyes.

"These bird people, who style themselves as the aristocracy of the sky, usually have their eyes above their heads. Relying on their air superiority, they can't even be bothered to answer our diplomatic communications. Now that the weather has turned cold, their wings are frozen stiff, and they can't fly, aren't they still obediently bowing their heads to ask us for food?"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu snorted coldly and tossed the tablet casually onto the smooth desktop, the movement so gentle that it didn't even make a sound of impact. He shook his head, his tone full of sarcasm:

"What's even more ridiculous is that these winged creatures have brains stuffed with muscle and so-called 'honor,' with no concept of 'logistics' at all. Believe me, even if we finalize the deal now, with their material planning capabilities being a hundred times worse than Goblins, it will probably take them a good while to complete the pickup. Truly a group of uncivilized, barbaric creatures; apart from their skin, they have no value."

"Reply to them."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu's eyes were cold.

"We have plenty of supplies. However, increase the price by forty percent over the original exchange ratio they proposed, and tell them to have the goods ready before they come to talk."

"Forty percent?!"

Minister Su Hongye was stunned, her lips painted with exquisite lipstick slightly parted. She reminded him with slight hesitation: "Guild Master, the Winged King is extremely arrogant and irritable. If we raise the price so much at this critical, life-saving juncture, they might think we are humiliating them and, in their anger, tear up the agreement..."

"They won't."

"Arrogance is worthless in the face of survival. They have a small population and rely entirely on looting; they simply do not have the ability to mass-produce basic supplies. The Orcs won't provide for them, as their relationship with the several Orc guilds is not good. The Elf Race is even more mysterious and rarely communicates with other races. As for the chaotic races like Goblins, Dwarves, and Gnomes, I doubt they can even find a leader."

"I understand, I will arrange for the Business Department to handle the connection immediately."

Minister Su Hongye nodded submissively.

The official business report was finished; logically, she should have withdrawn. But the spacious office did not return to calm.

Minister Su Hongye did not turn and leave as usual.

She stood where she was, staring intently at City Lord Zhao Tianyu sitting in the leather chair, her eyes gradually turning into a pool of spring water about to overflow.

She stepped in her high heels, slowly walked around the large desk, and came to City Lord Zhao Tianyu's side.

"Guild Master..."

Minister Su Hongye's voice softened completely, carrying a hint of sweet, nasal tone that made one's bones go numb.

She did not stand straight as usual, but her knees softened, and she knelt down between City Lord Zhao Tianyu's legs, extremely naturally, even with a hint of practiced ease.

She tilted her head up slightly, her exquisite and beautiful face wearing an almost pathological attachment and absolute submission.

She reached out her hands and placed them extremely gently on City Lord Zhao Tianyu's knees.

City Lord Zhao Tianyu did not speak, nor did he push her away; he just looked down at her from a high position, his eyes still too deep for anyone to see any emotion.

Minister Su Hongye extended her soft fingers, carefully smoothing out a non-existent, tiny wrinkle on the hem of his trench coat, then pressed her burning cheek against his thigh, rubbing gently like a precious ragdoll cat begging for its master's affection.

"Now that Sky City is completely stable, other humans are also gradually gathering here..."

Minister Su Hongye raised her watery eyes, her gaze full of undisguised obsession.

"You are already the true king of this city. Since you are the king, you should have your own bloodline inheritance..."

She bit her red lips hard, her voice dropping very low, revealing a trace of humble pleading: "Guild Master, I want... I want to have a child for you. A child that belongs entirely to us and inherits all your talents, okay?"

Hearing this, a subtle change finally appeared on City Lord Zhao Tianyu's handsome, indifferent face.

He slowly reached out his hand. His long, cold fingertips passed through Minister Su Hongye's meticulously groomed long hair, gently stroking her scalp, feeling the warmth coming from her hair.

Minister Su Hongye thought he had finally been moved. She followed his movements, pressing her body closer, and let out a sweet, soft moan in her throat.

However, the next second.

City Lord Zhao Tianyu's fingers, which had been interlaced in her hair, tightened abruptly. He had no intention of being gentle, and with a suffocating, terrifying sense of oppression, he grabbed her by the throat.

"Ugh...!"

Minister Su Hongye let out a muffled groan, caught off guard.

"Inheritance? Bloodline?"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu's other hand rested casually on the armrest of the seat, his index finger tapping lightly on the leather surface, making a cold "tap, tap" sound.

He looked at Minister Su Hongye, who was trembling like a pet at his feet, struggling slightly due to lack of oxygen, yet not daring to resist in the slightest, a mocking arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

He abruptly released his hand that was gripping the back of Minister Su Hongye's head. Minister Su Hongye gasped for air, physiological tears in the corners of her eyes, yet she still looked up at him in terror.

City Lord Zhao Tianyu took the opportunity to pat her burning cheek with the back of his cold fingers, his movements gentle.

He looked at Minister Su Hongye's pale, beautiful face and chuckled: "As for the child... we'll see. That depends on whether your performance from now on can satisfy me."