86: Chapter 86 Floating Stone Manufacturing

After the welcome party ended, the crowd in the hall gradually dispersed.

City Lord Zhao Tianyu walked over to Zhou An and patted him on the shoulder with a hint of undisguised apology: "Zhou An, you and Luo Ning should go take a walk around the Shenguo Ship. I've already instructed the logistics department to arrange the highest-spec viewing cabin for you to rest in. I really can't get away, as I still have to meet with those old foxes to finalize the details for 'Sky City'. Please excuse me."

"Go ahead and do what you need to do, don't worry about us."

Zhou An nodded understandingly.

He knew all too well that trying to bring together hundreds of thousands of unruly survivors from across the district, who had all scraped by on the edge of life and death, to build a city, would be an absolute nightmare of conflicting interests and undercurrents.

He would much rather stay out of it and not get involved in this mess.

Watching Zhou An and Luo Ning leave under the respectful guidance of a guide, the gentle smile on City Lord Zhao Tianyu's face gradually faded.

He straightened his tie and turned to walk toward the conference room deep inside the warship.

...

Inside the conference room, there were no decorations, only cold metal walls, and the atmosphere was so heavy it felt like it could drip water.

Five people were already seated around a huge circular alloy table.

Guild Leader Lin Xiaotian of the Divine Domain Guild sat with his arms crossed, eyes closed in rest, like a cold, hard statue without any emotional fluctuations.

Guild Leader Qian Wanguan of the Four Seas Chamber of Commerce was playing with a gold coin in his hand, his face plastered with a fake, friendly smile of someone who values wealth above all else.

Although Alliance Leader Wu Feng of the Lone Wolves Alliance represented the massive force of independent survivors and had finally squeezed into this circle of supreme power, his posture still betrayed a hint of insecurity and guardedness.

However, the most unsettling person was the one sitting in the corner: the Blood Blade Guild Leader, Scar.

He was wrapped entirely in a large, heavy black cloak, revealing only a pair of bloodshot, crimson eyes.

Even from a distance, everyone could clearly smell the nauseating, fishy stench faintly emanating from him.

But his terrifying title of "Number One in the District" from the third settlement made everyone present fear him to the extreme; no one dared to underestimate his existence.

"Creeeeeak—"

The heavy airtight door was pushed open, and City Lord Zhao Tianyu strode in, sitting down in the head seat without ceremony.

"Congratulations, City Lord Zhao."

Before City Lord Zhao Tianyu could speak, Minister Su Hongye of the Hongyan Pavilion leaned lazily against the back of her chair.

She waved an exquisite metal folding fan in her hand and giggled, her breath sweet as orchids: "It's only been a few days since the settlement, and you've already successfully recruited Zhou An, the powerhouse with the highest individual combat power in the entire district, and even promised him the position of Vice City Lord. Such skill in winning people over really makes the rest of us envious."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu's expression didn't change, and his eyes didn't even flicker; he just glanced at her indifferently: "I had barely finished my internal welcome party, and Minister Su already received accurate news. It seems you really have quite a few spies planted in various departments of my Sky Engine."

Being called out to her face, Minister Su Hongye didn't feel the slightest bit embarrassed.

Instead, she covered her red lips with her fan, putting on a pitiful expression: "What are you saying, City Lord Zhao? I'm just a weak woman trying to make a living in this man-eating sky with a group of helpless sisters. If I didn't use these underhanded little tricks, I'm afraid we would have already been chewed up, bones and all, by you wolves."

"Enough, don't be sarcastic here. If Minister Su wants to find a man, go back to your den of tenderness and take your time picking one."

Guild Leader Lin Xiaotian suddenly opened his eyes, extremely coldly interrupting this exchange of veiled barbs. He looked straight at City Lord Zhao Tianyu and said in a deep voice: "Since everyone is here, let's get down to business. How exactly do you plan to implement your grand vision of building a city? This isn't as simple as playing with building blocks."

"It's very simple. Just as previously planned, at 8:00 PM tonight, we will gather everyone together at Lianqiao Square in the central sea area."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu clasped his hands on the table, his gaze sweeping over the five people present like a hawk: "The six of us will step forward to launch the district-wide mobilization speech and officially announce the construction plan for 'Sky City' and the initial zoning to everyone."

"To support the weight of hundreds of thousands of people, and even lay thick soil on top, build defensive arrays, and living quarters, no current level of engine could possibly hold it."

Guild Leader Qian Wanguan stopped playing with the gold coin in his hand: "Although I don't know how you built that inverted Floating Island outside... but City Lord Zhao, you have to give us some assurance, right? Otherwise, why should everyone in the district bet their lives on you?"

Hearing this, except for Scar, who remained like a dead person, the others all looked at City Lord Zhao Tianyu.

The reason they were willing to sit here and have a calm meeting today was precisely because of the trump card in City Lord Zhao Tianyu's hand that gave him the confidence to shout the slogan of "building a city."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu looked at the inquiring and greedy eyes of the group and suddenly chuckled.

"To show my sincerity, I might as well reveal the bottom line to everyone."

He slowly opened his right hand. In the palm of his hand, a golden light that faintly distorted the surrounding space began to gather.

As the light dissipated, a stone, only the size of a fist and translucent grayish-white all over, floated quietly above his palm.

This stone looked ordinary, but it emitted an absolute repulsive field that ignored gravity.

City Lord Zhao Tianyu looked at the stone in his palm: "This is the Divine Authority granted to me during my first large-scale settlement—[Floating Foundation Stone Manufacturing]. Although manufacturing it requires consuming an extremely vast amount of resources, its effect is absolutely worth it."

He flicked his finger gently against the stone.

[Curio: Floating Stone]

Characteristics: Can provide a terrifyingly powerful absolute upward repulsive force and a spatial stabilization field; it is the perfect foundation for building an airborne continent that will never fall.

"As long as I am here, and as long as there are enough resources, Floating Stones can be produced infinitely!"

City Lord Zhao Tianyu looked around at everyone, speaking word by word, his voice ringing with conviction.

"This is the biggest reason I said we could build a city! With my Floating Stones as the foundation, and you providing massive amounts of Tier 4 materials as the framework, a real city can rise from this sea of clouds!"

Looking at the stone floating quietly, the conference room fell into a brief and eerie silence.

Alliance Leader Wu Feng couldn't help but swallow, a flash of undisguised shock passing through his eyes.

However, the other guild leaders were surprisingly calm.

Guild Leader Lin Xiaotian just nodded slightly, his gaze deep. Minister Su Hongye closed her folding fan, the smile at the corner of her mouth becoming somewhat meaningful.

They just nodded, without saying a word of exclamation or praise.

Because everyone present was a seasoned veteran; they knew better than anyone: for City Lord Zhao Tianyu to dare to reveal such a god-level trump card, it meant he had absolute self-confidence and control.

This Floating Stone was indeed the foundation of hope for Sky City, but at the same time, it was also an invisible and deadly collar that City Lord Zhao Tianyu had placed around everyone's necks. Whoever controlled the foundation controlled the power of life and death over this city.

"Since City Lord Zhao has such a divine object..."

Alliance Leader Wu Feng was, after all, the one with the shallowest foundation; he was the first to break the silence, taking a deep breath to state his position, "Then my Lone Wolves Alliance will definitely cooperate with the mobilization on time tonight."

"Then it's settled. 8:00 PM tonight, district-wide broadcast. Meeting adjourned."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu put away the Floating Stone, stood up, and declared the end of this high-level meeting.