Lord of the Sky City

Chapter 766: Chapter 728: Developing a New City

Calculating the time, it had been over a year since Rocky had taken back Carltos City from the Mairente Family, but during this time, Rocky had largely neglected this Sky City, except for appointing Voss as the Governor, who conducted a thorough purge of the city’s administration, after which he mostly left it unattended.

Only recently had the residents of Carltos City been allowed to enlist in the Guard Corps, signaling that Rocky was starting to pay more attention to Carltos City.

Indeed, it was the case that Rocky could not afford to neglect a medium-sized Sky City like Carltos City forever. After all, whether it was potential for development or actual strength, Carltos City possessed substantial resources. If well-developed, it could certainly become a significant asset to Rocky.

Thus, after more than a year had passed and Carltos City had gradually emerged from the shadow of the Mairente Family under Voss’s administration, Rocky finally planned to develop the city.

“Senior Voss, have the city’s industries recovered?”

Sitting in the City Lord’s Mansion of Carltos City, Rocky looked at Voss, who was sitting opposite him.

As the former finance officer of Thunderhawk City and the current Governor of Carltos City, as well as Aileen’s grandfather, Rocky held a great deal of respect for Voss. Indeed, Voss had the remarkable ability to command respect; his series of policies as Governor had immediate impact, swiftly eradicating the remnants of the Mairente Family’s forces within the city and quashing several significant disruptions to order. Rocky was quite satisfied with these accomplishments.

In response to Rocky’s question, Voss, although sitting across from him, still maintained a respectful demeanor typical when addressing a superior and said, “Sir, all existing industries have returned to normal operation. However, due to the closure of many factories and shops, unemployment is still a major problem in the city. Additionally, there is the issue of supplies; the population of Carltos City is large, but there are too few Ruby Chamber of Commerce shops here, resulting in a constant shortage of materials.”

Looking at Rocky, Voss quickly summarized the current state of the city’s development, then waited for Rocky’s further comments.

Indeed, from his words, it was clear that the development of Carltos City was not going smoothly. Although the turmoil caused by the large purging had settled, the issues it created had not been resolved. For instance, the closing of many factories previously owned by the Mairente Family inevitably led to a significant rise in unemployment. While Voss had continued to issue subsidies in the name of the City Lord’s Mansion, this was not a sustainable solution. More critically, if too much time passed, these already disgruntled unemployed people would certainly become destabilizing factors. In fact, lingering forces from the Mairente Family had planned to use these people to incite riots in the city, but fortunately, Voss discovered and eradicated this threat in time, preventing potential chaos.

Furthermore, the supply situation in Carltos City was indeed tight. When the city was under the Mairente Family, all the chambers of commerce in the city were linked to the family. Thus, when Carltos City returned to Rocky’s control, Voss expelled the original chambers and invited the Ruby Chamber of Commerce to take their place.

However, because Rocky had not explicitly given the nod, the number of Ruby Chamber of Commerce shops established in Carltos City was very limited, roughly equal to those in Thunderhawk City.

It should be noted that the population of Thunderhawk City was only about five thousand, and even if the recently joined Fireteng Tribe from Backhill Village was included, it totaled just over six thousand. However, Carltos City had a population of over thirty thousand, but only a few dozen shops, naturally leading to a scarcity of resources.

Voss, as the experienced Governor, was keenly aware of these issues, yet he had never reported them to Rocky. This was exactly where Voss’s depth of experience showed. He knew that, with Rocky’s administrative experience, Rocky could not possibly be unaware of these issues, yet he had never mentioned them. Undoubtedly, this meant Rocky was not unaware; he simply chose not to intervene.

Thus, Voss had not spoken to Rocky about the difficulties Carltos City faced, focusing instead on ensuring the city remained stable. He believed that when Rocky felt the time was right, he would take action, and all problems would be resolved swiftly.

Now, Rocky’s rare visit to Carltos City was a clear signal to Voss, prompting him to lay out these matters.

Sure enough, after Voss had spoken, Rocky thought for a moment and then asked, “I plan to build a shipyard in the city in collaboration with the Apple Tree Corporation.”

“I haven’t discussed this with Archimonde yet, but it shouldn’t be a big issue, so we’ll need a lot of workers soon; you can start preparing now.”

“Very well.”

“Also, I will mention to the Ruby Chamber of Commerce that Amanred should open new shops in the city as soon as possible.”

“Is there anything else?”

After making these arrangements, Rocky looked over at Ozz, but noticed that Voss’s expression seemed a bit off. “What’s the matter?”

“Oh, it’s nothing…”

Asked by Rocky, Voss simply chuckled and shook his head slightly. In fact, he had just been lost in thought because strictly speaking, apart from Liliya, Voss was one of the oldest veterans beside Rocky. He had been with Rocky even longer than his own granddaughter Aileen had, though he was still the finance officer of Thunderhawk City.

This experience was why, in Voss’s view, Rocky’s transformation was simply astounding. When Rocky first arrived in Thunderhawk City, not only could he not command his own officials, including the corrupt and incompetent administrative officers and captain of the Guard, but he was also occasionally subjected to being effectively held hostage by them. Yet, in just three or four years, Rocky had grown into his current role.

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Now, with just one word, he could determine the fate of a city like Carltos City. Just as he could bring about radical change with a single sentence, he also held the power to completely destroy such a city of thirty thousand people. Such was the supreme authority of the City Lord, and now, Rocky possessed that authority.

“City Lord, there is another matter that needs attention…”

Regaining his focus, Voss quickly added, “Carltos City’s food processing and manufacturing industries are very well-developed and have always been the backbone of the city’s economy, but they have faced many difficulties recently. Could you perhaps contact some chambers of commerce…”

“Oh?”

Hearing this, Rocky turned to look at Voss, his face showing an intrigued expression, “Go on.”