Ch 12: The World’s Number One Resort

Three minutes later, Tang Huai reached the door of the greenhouse. He didn’t turn on the lights but instead used his phone’s backlight.

He flashed the light inside; everything was quiet. The vines were still vines, the hanging plants were still hanging plants—everything appeared just as it had during the day.

Thud, thud, thud—Tang Huai knocked on the glass panel, but there was no response. He then tried pulling the glass door to the greenhouse, but it wouldn’t budge.

Turning off his phone’s flashlight, Tang Huai turned to leave. It was 3 AM, and the only sound outside was the creaking of the floorboards under his feet as he walked down the short corridor of the third floor. As he reached the corner, just before heading downstairs, he instinctively turned his head… and locked eyes with a pair of dark, curious yet panicked eyes. The owner of the eyes stared straight at him just as Tang Huai turned. They held each other’s gaze for three seconds before the figure quickly turned away. In the blink of an eye, the space behind the glass panel was empty.

Tang Huai had only caught a glimpse of a black silhouette… and a large fish tail? He wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him, but one thing was clear: the person’s movement had been anything but normal.

A car drove past outside, and Tang Huai stood in the hallway for five minutes. This time, there were no further sounds from the greenhouse. Checking the time and feeling certain the figure wouldn’t reappear, Tang Huai returned to his room.

As he lay on the soft latex mattress, he replayed the strange encounter in his mind. Apart from the possible fish tail and the odd movement, he recalled that the person who met his gaze seemed to be a man, with bright eyes and shoulder-length hair. But in the dim lighting and with the suddenness of the meeting, Tang Huai hadn’t been able to make out the man’s features. A slight sense of regret lingered.

After the commotion, it was already 3:30 AM. Tang Huai opened a bottle of mineral water, gulped it down, and lay back in bed, eventually falling asleep.

The villa complex was silent, and everything could wait until tomorrow.

…

Bang, bang, bang—the next morning, Tang Huai was woken up once again by a loud banging sound. This time, it came from downstairs.

It was 9:30 AM.

Tang Huai threw on a jacket and headed downstairs.

“Only you can give me happiness… ah.” In the living room, a woman in her fifties was humming a song while wiping down the sofa with a cloth. Hearing the noise from upstairs, she turned around and was startled by Tang Huai.

“Are you the housekeeper hired by Tang Wangchun?”

Half an hour later, the two sat on the sofa as Tang Huai looked the woman over. From their conversation, he learned that her name was Zheng Caie, and she had been living in Mexico for 20 years, mainly doing cleaning and housekeeping jobs. She had been working at the villa for six months, coming once a week to tidy the garden and clean the house.

“Yes, Mr. Tang. Mr. Tang Wangchun has already paid me a year’s wages in advance,” Zheng Caie replied quickly. She had seen the villa documents in Tang Huai’s hand and knew that he was now the new owner of the villa.

Tang Wangchun paid her well, and the work was easy, so Zheng Caie greatly valued this job. At the moment, she wasn’t aware that Tang Wangchun had passed away. She was anxious, fearing she might lose the job if she didn’t do well.

“No need to be nervous… What’s that?” Tang Huai noticed her tension and smiled reassuringly. He then stood up, but his gaze halted when it landed on the kitchen counter. There was a tray with two sandwiches, a plate of salad, and a glass of milk. Everything looked carefully prepared.

Tang Huai gave Zheng Caie a questioning look.

“That’s for Mr. Yu,” she answered, fidgeting with her clothes, clearly nervous again. Tang Huai, confused, followed her gaze toward the third floor. It dawned on him that the “Mr. Yu” she mentioned must be the strange person in the greenhouse.

“Do you deliver food once a week?” Tang Huai asked, piecing things together. Zheng Caie had mentioned earlier that she only came by once a week, but one meal couldn’t sustain someone for an entire week.

“Master Tang instructed it,” Zheng Caie quickly explained. She had also been puzzled about delivering food just once a week, but Tang Wangchun assured her that it was fine. At the time, Zheng Caie felt a bit afraid. She knew that wealthy people sometimes liked to engage in peculiar, even bizarre, confinement games, but Tang Wangchun was influential, and she didn’t dare say much.

Thus began her anxious journey of delivering meals. Each week, she would slide the food through a small flap in the greenhouse door and retrieve the tray in the afternoon. The food was mostly eaten by then. After observing this for three weeks, Zheng Caie confirmed that the ‘Mr. Yu’ upstairs was still alive. For half a year, she continued delivering the food, assuming that there were some basic supplies like rice and a simple kitchen inside the greenhouse.

Though the quality of the food might not be great, her weekly deliveries helped improve his diet somewhat.

‘Mr. Yu’ was the name Tang Wangchun had used. Zheng Caie had never seen him, nor had she ever spoken to him. Following the principle of “the less said, the better,” she refrained from asking any questions. In this way, they coexisted peacefully.

“I’ll go with you,” Tang Huai said after some thought, standing up. Zheng Caie, of course, did not refuse. Holding the tray, she led the way upstairs with Tang Huai following closely behind.

The sound of their footsteps on the stairs was heavier, and three minutes later, they reached the greenhouse door. It was only then that Tang Huai noticed a small door, about thirty centimeters high, under the glass panel. Zheng Caie slid the tray inside, fitting perfectly.

“That’s it?” Tang Huai asked, curious about her familiar routine. The whole process felt eerily like something out of a prison visit.

“Mr. Yu will take care of his own food,” Zheng Caie replied with a smile.

Tang Huai glanced through the glass. The greenhouse seemed to be over 300 square meters, but apart from the plants, nothing else was visible. The strange man from last night was nowhere to be seen.

After watching for a moment, Tang Huai and Zheng Caie returned downstairs.

Zheng Caie continued cleaning while Tang Huai sat on the sofa, thinking about the situation upstairs. Based on what Zheng Caie said and what he had seen, the greenhouse housed a man. The man wasn’t making a fuss, so Tang Huai couldn’t tell if he was there willingly or not. If he was being held against his will, why would Tang Wangchun imprison someone and then leave the house to Tang Huai?

Tang Huai had thought this was just an ordinary house, but now it seemed far from it. He felt a headache coming on.

After some contemplation, Tang Huai decided to observe the man in the greenhouse for a few days to determine if he was friend or foe.

With this plan in mind, Tang Huai opened his task interface.

Sole Host: Tang Huai

Occupation: [Primary] Island Master of Sora Island; [Secondary] Great Tang Fruit Store Owner

Unlocked Area: Blue Sea Lake, 1/50

Current Task: Receive ten tourists within a month, 5/30 [Note: No induced cheating allowed].

Item Inventory: [Boatman A-Lang—Beginner]

Island Points: 1700

Five days of the task had already passed, but there was no progress. The inventory still held the [Boatman A-Lang] card, which Tang Huai planned to use once he returned to Sora Island. For now, the main priority was attracting tourists.

Checking the time, it was already 1 PM. Tang Huai decided to visit famous local spots like Constitution Square and the Mexico City Cathedral to see if he could attract some potential tourists.

The task was proving difficult.

“Mr. Tang, I’m heading out now,” Zheng Caie said as she came downstairs with the tray, interrupting Tang Huai’s thoughts as he stood up to head upstairs.

The tray was empty; the food had already been eaten.

“Take care on the way,” Tang Huai paused for a moment and then nodded. After Zheng Caie left, Tang Huai also changed into casual clothes and headed out.

“Tang,” Hank greeted with a relaxed smile, wearing a floral shirt, as Tang Huai stepped outside the gated villa.

“Thanks for the help,” Tang Huai said gratefully. Without Hank’s assistance, navigating a foreign city and even finding the villa would have been a hassle.

“The fishing boats aren’t going out right now, so I’ve got a few days off,” Hank shrugged. The weather at sea had been poor lately, so the fishing boats were taking a break.

Tang Huai sat in the passenger seat, and after some light conversation, the two of them headed toward the city center.

As Hank’s black Ford drove off, a figure stood on the third floor of the villa, watching curiously and enviously as the two drove away.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️