88: Chapter 88 Opening

[Region-wide announcement: At 8:00 PM tonight, the foundation ceremony for "Sky City" will officially commence! All survivors are requested to proceed to Lianqiao Square to observe the ceremony. Rejoice, fellow citizens! The era that belongs to us has arrived!]

The extremely loud and stirring regional broadcast echoed in every corner of the ten-thousand-meter-high sky, while simultaneously initiating a live stream, transmitting the signal to the vehicles of almost every survivor.

"Did you hear that?! Sky City! A Sky City with a foundation! I finally don't have to sleep in that leaky, dilapidated metal shell that rattles every time it bumps, living in constant fear!"

A bearded man fiercely smashed the cheap liquor bottle in his hand onto the ground, his eyes bloodshot as he roared at the sky.

"Two months... two whole months of thunderstorms!"

Beside him, a young girl wearing tattered battle armor covered her face and collapsed onto the cold metal deck, sobbing uncontrollably.

"There were fifteen people in my squad, and I'm the only one left who made it to this day... If only they could have lived to see this city, how wonderful that would be..."

"Don't cry, sister! Why cry on such a joyous day? Once this city is built, we'll set up a small shop up there and live a peaceful life with our feet on solid ground!"

"Guild Master Zhao is awesome! Long live The Five Great Guilds! To hell with the monsters, to hell with the extreme weather!"

"Brothers, why are we still setting up stalls?! The broadcast said there's a carnival tonight! The Five Great Guilds are treating us; there's plenty of barbecue and strong liquor over at the square! Let's drink until we drop!"

Deafening cheers and screams erupted from the crowd.

Some embraced and wept, venting the fear and repression they had held for so long.

The despair buried deep in their hearts was transformed at this moment into extreme fanaticism for their new home.

...

Nightfall gradually enveloped the sky that had been repressed for so long, but the central sea area was brighter than day tonight.

Just past 7:00 PM, the neon lights stretching for kilometers along Lianqiao Square were turned on at full power. Countless vibrant colors intertwined in the surrounding clouds and mist, dreamlike and illusory, as if bringing the celestial realm down to the mortal world.

Although there was still some time before the official meeting, almost everyone had stopped their trading and work. Hundreds of thousands of people looked up in unison, their eyes gazing fervently toward Lianqiao Square and the towering central Inverted Mountain.

Everyone knew in their hearts that at 8:00 PM tonight, the history of this sky would be completely rewritten.

"Old Zhang, Muzi, Sister Qing, you three stay in the fortress for now."

Zhou An pressed his earpiece and instructed through the internal communication channel, "Luo Ning and I will go down first to secure a good viewing spot. It's packed with people down there right now, it's incredibly crowded. Once the meeting officially starts at eight and the crowd settles down, you can take the transport machine down."

"Received, Boss! Stay safe, and call us if anything happens!"

Li Muzi's crisp voice came through the earpiece.

After giving instructions, Zhou An took Luo Ning and, relying on his authority as a minister of [Sky Engine], boarded the VIP magnetic levitation transport pod reserved for high-level personnel.

Looking down from the transparent window of the pod in mid-air, Lianqiao Square was truly bustling.

Looking out, it was a dense mass of moving heads and reflective metal armor.

This crowded scene made one feel as if they had returned to a railway station during the Spring Festival travel rush back on Earth.

But the difference was that, at this moment, everyone's face below wore a mix of relief from surviving a disaster, anxiety about the unknown, and a hint of fanaticism.

The transport pod docked steadily, and Zhou An and Luo Ning arrived at the exclusive floating viewing platform located at the very front of the bridge, facing the central Inverted Mountain.

Not only did this place have an excellent view, avoiding the crowds below, but it also allowed them to see the majestic super-warships of The Five Great Guilds in the distance at eye level.

However, the two people on the viewing platform seemed distracted at this moment, and the atmosphere was filled with an indescribable subtlety.

Zhou An had his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, his fingertips subconsciously rubbing the edge of the gift box repeatedly.

"Should I just give it to her when the carnival atmosphere is at its peak later? Or should I wait until the meeting is over and give it to her when I take her to the top of the fortress to watch the stars in the night breeze?" The usually decisive man was, for the first time, struck by a sense of nervous apprehension.

Meanwhile, Luo Ning, who was sitting next to him, also seemed a bit unusual at this moment.

Although her big eyes were pretending to stare at the sea of clouds in the distance, her mind was filled with thoughts of that mutton-fat jade bracelet and her mother's words.

She would sneak a glance at Zhou An's profile from time to time. Whenever Zhou An seemed to notice and turned his head, she would quickly shift her gaze away like a startled rabbit, pretending to look at the sky or the ground.

In this eerie silence, Luo Ning's body suddenly stiffened.

"Hiss—"

She gasped, her previously flushed face instantly turning pale, and she subconsciously reached out to clutch her fair nape tightly.

"What's wrong?"

Zhou An instantly snapped out of his amorous thoughts, pulled his hands out of his pockets, grabbed her shoulders, and frowned deeply.

"It's... it's nothing."

Luo Ning gritted her teeth and shook her head, a trace of deep confusion flashing in her eyes.

Just a moment ago, she felt a sharp pain at the nerve endings on the back of her neck, but the pain was fleeting.

Luo Ning quickly pulled up her system status panel.

[HP: 100%]

[SAN: 100]

[Status: Healthy]

"That's strange..."

Luo Ning muttered, rubbing her fingers over the skin on the back of her neck repeatedly.

Her current physical body was a true Tier 4 life form; ordinary mosquito bites or even low-level hidden weapons couldn't break her defense, let alone cause this kind of sharp pain that felt like it could pierce the soul.

Then she subconsciously looked up, as if she had sensed something, and looked in the direction from which that inexplicable sensation came.

That was the deepest part of the central area, the back of the Inverted Mountain, and also the exclusive berth where the flagship of the [Blood Blade] guild was docked.

"Why do you keep staring over there? Did you find something?"

Zhou An followed her gaze, but only saw a quiet and ordinary sea of clouds.

"I don't know, I just feel like that direction... is a bit cold, cold enough to make one's hair stand on end."

Luo Ning shrank her neck.

After that eerie pain completely disappeared, it was replaced by an inexplicably restless feeling that was extremely unsettling.

However, she didn't want to distract or worry Zhou An at such a time, so she rolled her eyes and put on her usual mischievous, playful smile: "Oh, perhaps it's because the salary you pay is too low, Boss, that I can't even afford a piece of warm clothing, and I'm freezing!"

Zhou An looked at her carefree appearance, and his heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally settled down: "I'll buy you one when we go back, and don't you dare not wear it."

Just as the two were bantering.

"Snap!"

Without any warning, all the neon lights on the square, on the bridge, and even on the surrounding frigates were extinguished in an instant!

The whole world plunged into a brief darkness.

Immediately after, several brilliant golden beams of light, like pillars supporting the sky, were fired from the warships behind, intersecting perfectly at the top of the firmament ten thousand meters high, illuminating the entire Inverted Mountain like a divine miracle!

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

Three muffled, thunderous drumbeats resonated across the sky through the holographic amplification matrix.

The previously noisy and clamorous Lianqiao Square, which sounded like a vegetable market, fell silent in an instant. Tens of thousands of people held their breath in unison, looking up as one, watching the figure slowly revealed in the light in the distance.