Chapter 340: Progress With Stark City
In a different part of the city...
The black vintage sedan gradually slowed as it approached a colossal defensive wall that stretched across the horizon.
The walls scaled up by dozens of meters, with massive watchtowers positioned at intervals along their length, each one tall enough to overlook the surrounding landscape for miles.
There were broad battlements between the towers, where armed personnel were stationed at strategic points.
"We’re here, Princess," Valerie said from behind the steering wheel.
The words caused Isabella to slowly sit upright from where she had been lying with the passenger seat fully reclined.
She stretched both arms before letting out a long groan. "Finally..."
Valerie couldn’t help chuckling. Isabella absolutely hated the three-hour journey to this place.
They had waited only a few more seconds before the enormous gates slowly began to open inward, allowing the sedan to continue.
From atop one of the watchtowers, Joe had already spotted the approaching vehicle before it reached the outer walls, relaying word ahead that they were arriving.
It was one of the responsibilities Ethan had assigned him over the last several months.
Joe’s role was to identify potential threats and eliminate them before they ever came close enough to endanger anyone inside.
The sedan rolled through the gates and continued into the road networks of the place.
After a short silence, Isabella suddenly spoke. "You know, it’s been three months already."
She looked toward Valerie. "When do you think everyone in the house is finally going to start calling me by my name... Isabella."
Valerie glanced at her briefly before returning her attention to the road. "I believe the alternatives are Madam Isabella... or My Lady."
Isabella immediately made a face. "Okay... that somehow sounds even worse."
Valerie laughed softly. "Your father rules this kingdom, and my livelihood depends entirely on your husband, Master Ethan."
"There simply isn’t a version of reality where I address you with any less respect."
Isabella released a defeated sigh. "Okay."
She turned toward Valerie again. "But just today, let’s try it.. Hm?"
Valerie stole another glance toward her before smiling. "Alright then...Isa—"
The word stopped awkwardly halfway out.
She frowned playfully before shaking her head. "Yeah, that feels incredibly strange."
Isabella laughed a little and shook her head.
And they continued driving farther into the expanse.
There were already several surrounding structures standing as they continued farther inside, though much of the land still remained under development.
Unlike before, however, the road network had already been completed. Wide, paved roads branched neatly throughout the district, connecting one section of the developing area to another.
After driving a little farther, the sedan eventually entered an area surrounded almost entirely by completed buildings.
Valerie guided the vehicle into a corner of the road, slow parking before switching off the engine.
The two ladies stepped out together and immediately spotted Mr. Chang waiting nearby with several foremen standing respectfully behind him.
The elderly architect smiled before inclining his head. "Mrs. Stark."
His attention shifted slightly. "Ms. Valerie."
Both women returned the greeting before walking over.
For nearly two months now, this had become the routine.
At the end of every week, Isabella and Valerie would come here to personally inspect the progress of the new Stark Industries development.
Mr. Chang naturally accompanied them every single time.
Just as Mr. Chang had promised a few months ago, the original blueprint for the primary industrial zone had now been completed almost in its entirety.
The manufacturing complex, the newly constructed aircraft hangars, the airship docks; virtually every major industrial facility outlined in their initial proposal had now become a reality.
Only one significant portion remained unfinished.
That was the enormous residential district intended to accommodate the nearly ten thousand workers Stark Industries hoped to employ in the coming years.
It was still under construction.
And naturally, that was where their inspection began; the residential district designated for the future factory workforce.
From Bella’s point of view, the residential district had been neatly divided into two sections by a broad, paved avenue.
To the left, rows upon rows of completed homes were erected in perfect order. Every one of them looked identical, each bearing the same white exterior paint.
To the right, were rows of unfinished houses currently under construction.
Overall, the residential designs differed considerably from those found throughout the rest of Gritnia. That had been entirely Ethan’s doing, as he had personally revised the architectural designs several times before approving the final version.
Thankfully, progress had accelerated tremendously because of Mr. Chang’s two-thousand-person workforce.
It was a well-balanced mix of casters capable of using various spells to raise foundations and structures, magi-engineers working alongside them to introduce machinery and engineering solutions that made construction even faster, while ordinary laborers also found work throughout the project.
As a result, housing capable of accommodating between four and five thousand workers had already been completed, while several thousand additional residences were still under construction.
Mr. Chang smiled proudly as he observed Isabella taking everything in.
Then he raised a hand, pointing toward different sections of the neighborhood while calmly explaining the purpose behind several of the new additions as the three of them continued walking through the rapidly expanding city.
Eventually, he looked toward the two ladies. "Perhaps I should show you both the latest progress on the city itself. It isn’t completely finished yet, but we’ve made excellent progress."
He gestured toward the road ahead. "If you’ll follow me."
Valerie looked toward Isabella before nodding. "We’ll use our own car."
"Very well." Mr. Chang replied.
The three briefly separated.
Mr. Chang climbed into a red colored vehicle, while Valerie and Isabella returned to their sedan a few moments later.
Soon afterward, both vehicles departed once again, with Valerie following directly behind him.
They drove for several more minutes before another entrance gradually came into view. Unlike the heavily fortified outer walls, this gateway possessed no visible guards.
Without stopping, both vehicles passed the entrance and continued further into the city.
The farther they drove, the more obvious it became that this area had been planned very differently from the industrial zone.
The road curved gently around one final rise, and Isabella instinctively leaned forward, her eyes widening.
Before her lay an enormous city district under construction.
In fact, this city was the very reason Mr. Chang had never stopped recruiting more workers, bringing in hundreds of additional laborers every passing week from across Gritnia, making it the largest employment initiative in the kingdom’s history.
At its very center was a colossal skyscraper, elegantly spiraling upward, its structure resembling the overlapping petals of a flower.
Surrounding it were dozens of additional towers. Some had only just begun rising from their foundations, while others already stretched hundreds of meters into the sky, each differing slightly in height and architectural design while maintaining the same modern aesthetic.