"What did you say?"
Eyer's words made Rocky furrow his brows in an instant, even doubting if he had heard wrong.
"It's true! My lord, I really did discover a research institute from the Land Era, a Lost Research Institute—we were attacked by demons at that time!"
Fearing that Rocky wouldn't believe him, Eyer very affirmatively repeated his statement; he truly had found a Lost Research Institute on the land!
A hundred years ago, demons invaded from Different Dimension and drove all races on the continent up into the sky, seizing the land in one fell swoop.
During that time, people tried to resist, but the strength of the demons far exceeded their imaginations. Hence, although the resistance war was brutally fought, it only lasted a few years before ending in failure, forcing humans to flee into the sky.
However, although the resistance failed, the war spurred Magic Technology to advance by leaps and bounds. This led to the birth of countless new technologies and equipment, and ultimately the invention of Sky City, the ultimate creation.
The birth of Sky City undoubtedly saved everyone, but in actuality, other Magic Technology was being developed at the same time. These technologies were also revolutionary inventions of their age. It's regrettable that...
Regrettably, by the end of the resistance war, large areas of land had fallen, and as people hurried to fly to the sky in Sky Cities, a great escape that involved everyone ensued. Those equally great inventions were either discontinued or abandoned in the process, and even some completed ones never had the chance to be revealed to the world.
And these unfinished yet equally great inventions mostly lay forgotten in research institutes across the land!
In order to resist the demon invasion, during the resistance war, numerous countries established many labs to develop new weapons and equipment. But as the great escape began, due to the urgency, many research institutes were closed in haste, leaving their contents behind without a chance to be moved!
These unemptied research institutes, possibly hiding great inventions, were then known as—Lost Research Institutes!
Eyer's words made Rocky furrow his brows tightly. Could it be that right beneath Thunderhawk City lay a Lost Research Institute?
Such an outcome was far beyond his expectations, and it even made it hard for him to breathe steadily. For if it were true, it would be a major discovery, perhaps even more significant than finding a new vein of ore!
But... could it be possible? Could Eyer be so lucky?
At this thought, Rocky steadied his breathing and asked with a still icy face, "Eyer, if you think you can save your life with such a lie, you're very foolish."
"No! My lord, I'm not lying to you! I truly found a Lost Research Institute, I swear!"
Eyer bit his lip, as if making a grave decision, before speaking, "My lord, actually, the demon attack only killed about a dozen people. But I feared this secret might be leaked. So, I killed those I couldn't trust, leaving only a few confidants..."
Desperate to make Rocky believe him, Eyer had told the ultimate truth.
Eyer was indeed ruthless! On the one hand, he used the Guard Corps as his support, but on the other, when faced with truly valuable interests, he did not hesitate to get rid of these same guards!
However, by saying so, he indeed added some credence to his previous words.
The value of the Lost Research Institute was exceptionally great; after all, it might contain high-end Magic Technology. What was a few lives in the face of such immense interest?
"Rocky, what do you plan..."
Unconsciously, Liliya had stopped calling Rocky "city lord." At this moment, she looked up at Rocky, wanting to know his next move.
Eyer had spilled everything he knew. Now, the next course of action was up to Rocky, the city lord.
At this moment, Rocky was already deep in thought.
If there truly was a Lost Research Institute beneath Thunderhawk City, as the city lord, he faced two choices: either sell the location of the institute or personally investigate it.
Since the Lost Research Institute could potentially contain high-end Magic Technology, many people—especially the city lords of many large Sky Cities—would be willing to pay a hefty sum for the coordinates of the institute, even if such a venture might yield nothing.
But it was like gambling on stones, even if a hundred stones were useless, as long as one stone contained a beautiful jade, the previous investments were all worth it. And even if a hundred research institutes yielded nothing, finding advanced magic technology within one institute would likewise make it all worthwhile.
Therefore, if Rocky sold the coordinates of the Lost Research Institute, he was sure to fetch a good price, and this money would significantly benefit Thunderhawk City, enough for the city to operate for a very long time.
The other option was to personally visit the institute to see for himself. If he really found something inside the institute... his good days would be coming!
However, this approach involved huge risks. Eyer had mentioned before, there were demons near the institute.
There were only two hundred men in the entire Thunderhawk City Guard Corps, and they could barely manage to deal with two or three demons; facing a large horde of demons... haha, there wouldn't be enough of them even to stick between a demon's teeth.
Moreover, even if we set aside the demons, what if Rocky located the institute, successfully got inside, and found nothing?
If he entered the institute only to discover it was empty, then the institute would be a waste, of no value to Thunderhawk City, and even the coordinates wouldn't sell.
Those big shots who spent money on coordinates didn't want second-hand goods, and besides, these people were the true predators of the sky, not easily fooled. Otherwise, they could easily dispatch a force of Void Magic Armor troops larger than the population of Thunderhawk City and wipe Rocky out with a flick of their wrist!
To sell the coordinates for a sure sum of money or to take the risk? The choice was up to Rocky to make.
"You keep an eye on him; I'm going to change into my armor,"
After careful consideration for a moment, Rocky told Liliya, already determined in his heart!
He was going to take the risk!
In just a short time, Rocky thought about a lot. He was well aware that Eyer had likely intended to secretly sell the coordinates to walk away with a huge sum of money, but he couldn't do that.
Because Eyer was someone who was satisfied as long as he himself was full, not caring about others. But Rocky was different; he had to think about Thunderhawk City.
In this world, the importance of a Sky City was beyond words, with countless people dreaming their whole lives of owning one. Luckily, Rocky, who had crossed over, immediately became the lord of a city, a chance given by fate!
He couldn't let this opportunity slip away, no matter who he was in his past life or what he had done. What was important now was to develop and strengthen Thunderhawk City. Only by doing so could he survive in this unfamiliar world.
So he decided to take the risk, planning to use the Void Magic Armor to personally visit the research institute!
He demonstrated remarkable decisiveness on this matter, driven as well by necessity. After observing for nearly a month, he deeply comprehended the weakness of Thunderhawk City.
Thunderhawk City was already a struggling small city on the verge of a crisis. Now, with him as the new city lord, many others began to harbor ulterior motives, with Eyer being a prime example.
Didn't Eyer know that trafficking people was destroying Thunderhawk City?
Of course, he knew, but he did it anyway, clearly hoping to make a fortune and then take off, abandoning Thunderhawk City altogether. And there were definitely more than one person in the city with the same thought.
This was the situation that Rocky faced, fraught with internal strife and external threats, leaving him with no choice but to take a gamble.
While Liliya watched over Eyer in the hall, Rocky quickly returned to his own bedroom.
Although he was the lord of Thunderhawk City, his bedroom was not luxurious. This wasn't because he preferred simplicity, but rather because he had no means for luxury.
Once inside the bedroom, Rocky closed the door behind him and then pulled out a large leather trunk from under the bed.
This large leather trunk had been sitting under the bed for a long time, covered in dust, but no one could imagine that such an inconspicuous trunk contained the most valuable thing in Thunderhawk City: Void Magic Armor!
Gently dusting off the trunk, Rocky felt a surge of excitement. Though he knew from memories that he owned a set of Void Magic Armor, he had never seen it or worn it before, so at this moment, he was filled with anticipation!