80: Chapter 80 Invitation

Over the next few days, the violent thunderstorm showed no signs of stopping; instead, it raged even more fiercely, like a doomsday punishment.

During this time, Cloud Top Fortress encountered another polluted and dilapidated fleet within the thick thunderclouds.

With the experience from last time, Zhou An and Luo Ning didn't even get close this time.

From a safe distance of over ten kilometers, the fortress's main cannon, combined with a swarm of [Lava Burst Mines] filling the sky, blasted the group of monsters—who had undergone physical mutations along with their vehicles—into dust within the thunderclouds, leaving not even a scrap behind.

Meanwhile, discussions in the regional chat channel about "tentacle monsters" and "ghost ships" had reached a fever pitch.

More and more survivors who ventured out or had weak defenses were being attacked by abyss creatures.

A few small guilds even lost contact overnight due to improper nighttime defenses, becoming disgusting breeding grounds for the abyss.

Panic reached its peak across the entire region.

Consequently, the [wind spirit spirit-stabilizing special drink] listed in Zhou An's shop was snapped up regardless of cost by major factions and survivors who valued their lives as soon as it hit the shelves every day.

...

Until the morning of the eighth day.

The thick, lead-grey clouds that had been oppressive for two and a half months finally thinned out just a little, visible to the naked eye.

Although the cold, continuous rain was still falling, the sound of thunder was gradually fading away.

Everyone knew that this man-eating rainy season was finally coming to an end.

Early in the morning, the regional channel was already completely boiling over.

No one was talking about those disgusting abyss monsters anymore; everyone's attention was highly focused on the major event coming at midnight tonight.

"Brothers! At twelve o'clock tonight, the third regional survival settlement is coming!"

"Finally survived this damn rainy season! I'm about to mold over! Who knows what kind of insane rewards the system will give for this settlement!"

"Don't even think about it. The top ten will definitely be swept up by those six major guilds again; we won't even get to drink the broth. But it's really hard to say who will be number one in the region between [God's Domain] and [Sky Engine] this time."

"I bet on [Sky Engine]! City Lord Zhao Tianyu is the best in the world! [Sky Engine]'s foundation is invincible!"

Just as everyone in the channel was arguing endlessly over the top spot, with messages refreshing at a rate of thousands per second...

Suddenly, the frantically scrolling public chat interface froze for a moment. Immediately after, an extremely shocking, or perhaps even overbearing, scene appeared.

Tens of thousands of identical ID prefixes instantly completed a "screen clear" of the entire Region 997 public channel!

[Sky Engine Imperial Guard Commander]: "Full channel silence! Welcome the City Lord for his speech!"

[Sky Engine First Legion Commander]: "Full channel silence! Welcome the City Lord for his speech!"

[Sky Engine Logistics Department Chief]: "Full channel silence! Welcome the City Lord for his speech!"

For three full minutes, no messages from any solo players or other guild members could be sent. The screen was densely packed and uniform, entirely flooded by the spamming of [Sky Engine] executives and core members.

Immediately after, a long letter slowly appeared in the chat channel.

Sender: [Sky Engine] Guild Leader, City Lord Zhao Tianyu.

"To all survivors of Region 997: An invitation letter from the firmament"

Fellow survivors who share this calamitous sky, I am City Lord Zhao Tianyu.

The long rainy season is about to end. We have survived for another sixty days, clinging to life in this rootless sky.

Yes, clinging to life.

Think back on these past few months since we descended into this world.

We fight desperately every day for a few units of fuel, and we tremble in fear to avoid a thunderstorm. We pilot cold iron shells, wandering at ten thousand meters in the air like lonely ghosts. We dare not fall asleep because we are afraid that when we wake up, the engines will have stalled, and we will fall into an abyss from which there is no return.

I want to ask everyone: Don't you want to experience the feeling of having your feet planted on solid ground once again?

Don't you want to say goodbye to this life of drifting without support, where you could be swallowed by thunderstorms and abyss monsters at any moment, and once again possess a home that can shelter you from the wind and rain, where you can thrive and multiply?!

Today, I, City Lord Zhao Tianyu, stand here to give everyone an answer.

The [Sky Engine] guild has already established the prototype of a landmass.

I hereby formally issue the highest invitation to [God's Domain], [Hongyan Pavilion], [Blood Blade], [Four Seas Chamber of Commerce], and other top guilds, as well as all solo experts in the region who possess vehicles of Level 4 or above:

Bring your resources, bring your vehicles, and assemble at my coordinates!

Abandon your prejudices and internal strife. We will build an eternal, never-falling [Sky City] at this altitude of fifteen thousand meters!

There will be real land, bustling streets, sunlight uncorrupted by acid rain, and the most indestructible, absolute defensive array!

Those willing to join [Sky City] will enjoy the right of protection forever. I will not force those who do not wish to come. But isolated islands are destined to be submerged by the waves of the era.

When the settlement occurs at midnight tonight, that will be the moment the foundation of [Sky City] is laid.

I am at the central coordinates, awaiting you all.

Once this thousand-word open letter was released, the chat channel for the entire Region 997 experienced a fleeting moment of deathly silence, followed by an instant explosion, like a pot of boiling oil with water poured into it!

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!!! What did I just see?! Build a city?! Build a city in the sky at tens of thousands of meters?!"

"Is City Lord Zhao Tianyu crazy, or has he already become a god?!"

"[Sky City]... If there really is a place to land, where I don't have to float in the sky every day, living in fear, I'd be willing to empty out my life savings! Count me in!"

In the channel, tens of thousands of [Sky Engine] members began to create a frenzy: "Sky Engine is immortal! City Lord Zhao Tianyu is invincible! Build our very own [Sky City]!"

But amidst this wave of fanaticism, there were also many calm, or even hostile and vigilant, voices that emerged.

"Don't be stupid! This is equivalent to voluntarily giving up your own mobile fortress and control, putting your life and livelihood entirely into the hands of City Lord Zhao Tianyu!"

"Exactly! What 'building a human home together'? This is clearly just him wanting to swallow the material foundations of the other five major guilds and top experts in the region in one gulp, using a utopian lie! City Lord Zhao Tianyu's ambition is too great!"

"Brothers, absolutely do not go! This is a complete and utter Hongmen Banquet!"

Inside [Cloud Top Fortress].

Unlike the noise and fanaticism of the outside world, the living area on the second floor remained quiet and comfortable.

Zhou An leaned back comfortably on the soft leather sofa, holding a glass of freshly squeezed juice in his hand. He watched the open letter from City Lord Zhao Tianyu on the holographic screen, his fingertips rhythmically tapping against the side of the glass.

He did not participate in the meaningless arguments in the public channel, only letting out an extremely faint murmur:

"No wonder..."

He finally understood why City Lord Zhao Tianyu didn't care at all about the transaction fees, having him spend days and nights forcibly exchanging those 1.2 billion units of low-tier Level 1, 2, and 3 materials for high-strength Level 4 materials.

Because to build a magnificent city capable of housing hundreds of thousands of people, the high-tier materials required for its foundation anchor points and city skeleton were absolutely an astronomical figure that ordinary people could not even imagine!

Only that massive batch of Level 4 materials could support City Lord Zhao Tianyu's soaring ambition!

"No wonder he was so confident; it turns out he wants to be an emperor in this sky."

However, among those six major guilds, not one of them was a pushover. Which one of them wasn't a warlord who had killed their way out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood? This [Sky City] wouldn't be so easy to build.

Zhou An looked up and checked the time.

There was less than three hours left until midnight.