Ch 4: The World’s Number One Resort

If Tang Huai’s world were a novel, the title would probably be something like “The King of Soldiers in 1970,” “South American Palm Oil Tycoon,” or “My Black Tech Chip.” In such a story, Tang Wangchun would undoubtedly be the main protagonist.

The novel would follow a classic upgrade plot: Tang Wangchun joined the Vietnam War at age 15, starting as a low-ranking soldier and rising to the rank of platoon leader within ten years. Tang Wangchun was ambitious and hardworking, and once the war ended, his career would have marked a significant turning point.

He had already mapped out his future. However, just before the end of the war, Tang Wangchun and his 12th platoon were ambushed near Cambodia in a brutal battle. In his final moments, Tang Wangchun discovered a black chip—a chip containing the spirit of the Grand Island Owner system. The chip offered to save his life in exchange for one condition: Tang Wangchun would have to develop Sora Island to its full potential.

Tang Wangchun agreed.

After narrowly escaping death, Tang Wangchun left China and set off for the Pacific. Never one to be content, Tang Wangchun’s ambitions grew as he learned more about the chip’s abilities. Exploiting loopholes in the system, he built a thriving palm oil business.

In a typical story, by the end, Tang Wangchun would have wealth, many romantic interests, and would reach the pinnacle of life.

But this wasn’t a novel, and the system wasn’t that easy to outwit. After fifty years of prosperity, the backlash came. First, his business began encountering frequent setbacks. His close companions left him one by one, and, most terrifyingly, he suffered daily from the system’s backlash—unable to live fully, but unable to die either.

At 76, having lived a colorful life, Tang Wangchun feared dying in such a pitiful state. He remembered the chip and the system. After fifty years of exploiting the system and breaking his promise to complete the Grand Island Owner tasks, he had cut off contact with the system for decades.

But the system wasn’t something to be used at will. It had given him fifty years, but Tang Wangchun had entirely broken his end of the bargain.

Not only did he face physical suffering, but the system’s punishment for breaking trust was far worse. The current backlash was only the tip of the iceberg.

A tug-of-war ensued between Tang Wangchun and the system. Due to their accidental binding fifty years ago, the system could only serve those with the bloodline of the Tang family. Now, Tang Huai was the only remaining heir, and after a series of events, this is how things had reached their current situation.

“…What happened to Tang Wangchun?” After listening to FD730, Tang Huai frowned and asked. It was clear that FD730 was the spirit of the system from all those years ago.

“He passed away last month from illness.”

“The system’s power was withdrawn, and he died a natural death,” FD730 explained, adding, “Tang Wangchun was 76 years old, which is a natural end according to Chinese traditions.”

Tang Huai fell silent.

“This has nothing to do with me. I have no reason to clean up Tang Wangchun’s mess,” Tang Huai said, after a moment of thought, casting a complicated glance at the statue of Tang Wangchun.

Setting aside the talk of “Tang family bloodline” and other dramatic conditions, Tang Wangchun had died naturally, and now Tang Huai had been brought to Sora Island because of him… It was clear that his presence here was tied to Tang Wangchun. In a way, Tang Huai had become a scapegoat for his granduncle’s deeds.

“The host has the right to refuse. The shipwreck event was not caused by the system. If the host declines, the timeline will rewind fifteen hours,” FD730 stated methodically.

Tang Huai: …

Fifteen hours earlier… that would mean he’d be back drifting in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Now, two paths lay before Tang Huai: First, he could cooperate with the system, knowing that failure to complete tasks could lead to his death. Second, he could refuse the system and die immediately.

Tang Huai didn’t regret his trip to Mexico. With Tang Wangchun’s abilities, even if he hadn’t come willingly, his granduncle would have found other ways, like hiring mercenaries to drag him here.

The thought amused Tang Huai. Mercenaries… he really was imagining a scene straight out of “The Soldier King in 1970.”

“What’s the purpose of the Grand Island Owner mission?” After a brief silence, Tang Huai continued.

Ten minutes later, Tang Huai had a grasp of the whole situation. The Grand Island Owner system originated from a distant planet called Felstar, a product of advanced civilization and technology. FD730 was the spirit of the chip, an intelligent AI. After millions of years of interstellar travel, it eventually arrived on ancient Earth. FD730 had explored much of the universe, and the completion of the Grand Island Owner mission would allow it to return to Felstar.

Fifty years ago, after a careful selection process, FD730 chose Tang Wangchun as its host.

Tang Wangchun, a soldier by training, was mentally resilient and physically fit—a perfect candidate. The two entered into a contract, and FD730 thought it would complete the mission within ten years. However, it never expected Tang Wangchun to break his promise and use the pretext of building the island to trick the system into giving him two advanced technological products.

Using those high-tech devices, Tang Wangchun became a famous palm oil tycoon in South America. The system could only issue tasks, not enforce punishments arbitrarily. Due to atmospheric damage to the chip, a bug extended the first mission’s time limit to a maximum of fifty years.

Although FD730 was frustrated by Tang Wangchun’s betrayal, there was nothing it could do…

“Rest assured, host, the system can sign a trust agreement with you. As long as the Grand Island Owner mission is completed, the system will automatically disappear. During the mission, the host will also receive rewards from higher planes of existence…” FD730 added after explaining.

“What happens if I refuse? Will you be stuck here forever?” Tang Huai asked instead of responding directly.

“Yes.” FD730 fell silent before responding with difficulty. According to the Grand Island Owner system’s rules, in a small plane like Earth, it could only choose one host or someone with the host’s bloodline.

Tang Huai was the last descendant of the Tang family. If he didn’t agree, FD730 would be trapped on ancient Earth forever. Without a host, the chip would be nothing more than a piece of scrap metal.

Tang Huai needed the system, but the system also needed Tang Huai.

“I accept,” Tang Huai said casually, just as FD730 thought he might refuse.

Tang Huai felt resigned. Faced with immediate death, he figured he might as well try to save himself.

“Ding, system re-integration… Integration successful.

Sole Host: Tang Huai Occupation: [Primary] Island Owner of Sora Island, [Secondary] Owner of Great Tang Fruits. Unlocked Area: Blue Sea Lake, 1/50 Current Task: Live alone on Sora Island for ten days to familiarize yourself with its culture. Inventory: 0 Island Value: 1000 [Initial Reward]”

After accepting the task, the system prompt rang out again, and “host” was replaced by “sole host.”

In front of Tang Huai appeared a cyan-blue 3D interface. Besides the personal panel he had seen earlier, there were various odd icons like “System Store,” “Inventory,” and “My Islanders.” At the center was a large island icon.

Tang Huai clicked on it, and the 3D interface gradually faded, transforming into a large island model. The island was irregularly divided into fifty areas. Aside from Blue Sea Lake, all the other areas were covered in a grey mist. Compared to the rest of the island, Blue Sea Lake was tiny, making up only about 1% of the entire map.

The first task was to live on Sora Island for ten days. On the surface, it didn’t seem too difficult. Tang Huai had already asked: if the task couldn’t be completed for any reason, the host would face punishments ranging from level one to ten.

A level one punishment was something mild, like numbness or temporary silence. The severity would increase with each level, and at level ten, the host would face the punishment for breaking the system’s trust.

The difficulty of the task and the rewards are proportional.

Tang Huai studied the system interface for a while before closing it.

Blue Sea Lake wasn’t very large, probably covering an area of a little over a thousand square meters. Tang Huai looked around and then moved forward. When he saw Tang Wangchun’s statue, his expression turned complicated. He had never met this granduncle, so he had no deep emotional connection. After the recent system binding, whatever lingering respect he had for his elder had completely vanished.

In fact, the only reason he hadn’t kicked the statue was because he was exercising remarkable restraint.

He had already made up his mind: once other visitors arrived on Sora Island, he would hire someone to throw Tang Wangchun’s statue into the Pacific Ocean!

Out of sight, out of mind. After passing by the statue, Tang Huai began contemplating the rules of the Grand Island Owner system.

The system’s tasks mainly relied on upgrading with “Island Cards.” These cards were categorized into Scenery Cards, City Building Cards, Plant Cards, Island Resident Cards, Special Island Resident Cards, and over a hundred other types.

Island cards could be obtained through mission rewards, lucky draws, or direct purchases—similar to a city-building simulation game.

Blue Sea Lake was part of the beginner’s reward. Once Tang Huai acquired more island cards, he could allocate and combine them however he liked.

Tang Huai circled around Blue Sea Lake once, then walked toward the Angel Oak by the lake. There was a wooden house built into the tree, part of the perks that came with Blue Sea Lake.

Tang Huai climbed up the tree trunk. The trunk of the Angel Oak was about as wide as eight people holding hands, with lush, expansive branches that looked like something straight out of a fantasy movie—only even more verdant and magnificent than those in Western fantasy films.

The wooden house wasn’t large, roughly 30 square meters. Inside was a wooden bed, a stone table, and next to the stone table were a stone pot and bowls.

According to FD730, Tang Wangchun had stayed on Sora Island for three days. However, because Tang Wangchun had faced the system’s level ten punishment, his energy was so drained that he couldn’t complete the task. On the third night, his private boat arrived, and he left the island in regret.

In the month following his departure, Tang Wangchun passed away. His wealth and status had been granted by the system, and to mitigate the punishment for breaking his promise, Tang Wangchun had no choice but to donate everything as he approached death. All that was left for Tang Huai was this small island.

Tang Huai walked around the wooden house. Whether it was a trick of the mind or not, he felt as if the air here was several times fresher than outside. After resting for a bit, he decided to go catch a couple of fish by the lake. Now that the system’s timer had started, he needed to live on Sora Island for ten days…

“Huh?” As Tang Huai stepped outside the wooden house, about to climb down, he felt something strange as his right hand brushed against the tree trunk—an empty spot inside.

He knocked twice and confirmed that the inside was indeed hollow.

Tang Huai pulled out an outer piece of wood, revealing a small black metal box hidden within the trunk. He struggled a bit but eventually managed to pull it out. The box was quite new, meaning it had likely been placed there recently.

Tang Huai opened the metal box, finding a piece of brown parchment on top.

“Sorry—”

The parchment was unfolded, and as soon as Tang Huai saw the word “Sorry,” he knew this box had been left by his granduncle.

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