Ch 33: The World’s Number One Resort

Qianwei Beer: $80/can
Rock Sugar Snowballs: $50/bag
Dream Silk Quilt: $100/piece
Feed: $150/bag
Compensation for Chicken Stress: $100

…

Half an hour later, Tang Huai and the six people, including Li Suhao, gathered by Blue Sea Lake. Tang Huai took out a pen and paper from a treehouse, and after some quick calculations, presented them with an A4-sized bill. This outlined the compensation for everything from their arrival up until now, totaling $8,200.

“Mr. Tang, aren’t the prices on this list a bit unreasonable?” Li Suhao, Zhao Kuan, and the others looked over the list and frowned.

After introducing themselves, they learned the young man in front of them was surnamed Tang and that he was of Chinese descent. Beyond that, they knew nothing else.

The prices on Tang Huai’s list weren’t outrageous, but compared to normal prices—except for more abstract items like compensation for the chickens—they were 10 to 20 times higher than usual. Still, $8,000 wasn’t much. While they frowned, internally, they were somewhat relieved.

“The same product costs differently in a supermarket than it does in a hotel,” Tang Huai chuckled, as both sides seemed to be playing a game of wits.

They were on a Pacific island, and these goods had to be transported from Mexico. Given the circumstances, even if the prices were 200 times higher, someone would still buy them. But these items didn’t count toward his island points—Tang Huai’s goal wasn’t to make money in dollars.

“Alright, the compensation issue is settled. Now, let’s get to the main point—this is the cost for staying at the resort.” Just as Li Suhao thought they were done, Tang Huai pulled out another list.

Island entry fee: $500/day
Blue Sea Fish: $1,000/fish
Blue Sea Treehouse: $1,000/night
Sheep feeding: Three times a day
Cleaning Sora Island: Three times a day

…

This second list was the real deal.

“Mr. Tang, didn’t we just settle the food costs? What is this?” Li Suhao was dumbfounded. Based on this new rate, each person’s daily survival cost was $3,000, meaning they would spend $18,000 a day, or over 120,000 yuan. They had money, but this was too much.

The six of them felt like Tang Huai was extorting them.

Tang Huai was indeed taking advantage. After all, he almost failed his task. Did they think $8,000 could cover his losses?

There are two ways to accumulate island points: task completion and island profits. Island points and dollars have a 1:1 ratio, but only profits generated directly by Sora Island count. Items like beer and feed from Mexico don’t contribute to the island’s earnings.

The system had provided a minimum price reference for the island’s projects: for example, $600 per night for a Blue Sea Treehouse, or $200 per fish. Before, Tang Huai charged these minimum rates to complete his tasks. But this unexpected group of people, combined with their unpleasant behavior, gave Tang Huai no hesitation in raising the prices.

“Mr. Tang, is this the island’s standard rate, or just for us?” Li Suhao asked bluntly.

“The Great Tang Resort is not officially open yet, so special times call for special rates,” Tang Huai said matter-of-factly.

The group: … They realized this was their “exclusive” price.

“Aren’t you ashamed to treat fellow Chinese like this?” Sun Lei tightened his silk quilt and complained, feeling like Tang Huai was a heartless businessman.

“You can refuse. Since we’re all compatriots, I’ll help you make a rescue call.” Tang Huai glanced at Sun Lei, his voice calm. He might be a businessman, but at least he was transparent.

Sun Lei’s expression became conflicted. While his family wasn’t as wealthy as Li Suhao’s, they were worth seven or eight billion yuan. These fees were pocket change to him, but being blatantly ripped off was hard to swallow.

Kyle had just estimated that if they called for a rescue now, the team would arrive in about three days.

“Thump, thump, thump.” The awkward silence was broken as Ali returned, passing by the group with nine bicycles on his shoulders, without a glance back.

The group: …

“I agree, but can we pay the fee once we return to China?” Li Suhao came to his senses and asked. He had $200,000 on him but preferred to hold onto his cash in case of emergencies.

“No,” Tang Huai smiled and rejected him flatly. He had noticed from their reactions earlier that they clearly had cash on hand.

Finally, Kyle pulled out $50,000 in cash from his backpack. With the deal settled, any remaining balance would be adjusted later.

Tang Huai opened the system interface.

Sole Owner: Tang Huai
Primary Mission: Plant ten acres of Sora spiritual crops, raise 100 Sora spiritual livestock. Progress: 15/30
Owner Balance: 50,000 [Provisional]

The mission interface updated. The provisional points functioned like a credit card; once the guests left, the system would update again. If the guests truly spent $3,000 but Tang Huai had already spent 5,000 points, he would need to repay the 2,000-point difference within a month. Otherwise, he would be guilty of island points fraud…

“Welcome to the Great Tang Overseas Resort,” Tang Huai said, feeling more relaxed after completing the transaction. At least his balance was no longer zero, and that lifted his mood slightly.

Tang Huai then called the Mexican Embassy. Due to wind conditions, the rescue team would arrive in five days, two days later than expected. The group accepted their fate of staying on the island for five days. What surprised Tang Huai was that, while the others debated whether to stay, the young man named Sun Lei seemed to have an argument with the group and then left, wrapped in his silk quilt—he bought a lot of compressed biscuits and fresh water and decided to survive alone on the small boat.

Tang Huai didn’t interfere. He had offered to have Alang ferry the group back, but they had politely declined, preferring to trust the Chinese Embassy over Tang Huai’s boat.

Tang Huai didn’t mind. After all, they were just strangers.

With the breeze blowing and the tense negotiations over, it was already 11 p.m. The group was exhausted after surviving a shipwreck and hiking for three hours. After a brief rest, they returned to their respective treehouses—mostly the ones where they had taken the silk quilts earlier.

They fell asleep as soon as they hit the bed. After over forty days at sea, they had forgotten how comforting a bed could be. Moonlight streamed through the windows, and the tranquility of the night helped calm their nerves.

While the others slept peacefully, Sun Lei, carrying his food and wrapped in a silk quilt, wandered aimlessly along the mountainside of the Yellow Soil Gorge.

He had known Li Suhao for five years, always tagging along like a little follower. When the group was discussing whether to stay, Sun Lei had casually suggested haggling with Tang Huai a bit more. But Li Suhao had snapped at him, telling him to get lost.

Li Suhao blamed him for the chicken incident—the “chicken stress compensation” was still boldly written on the A4 paper, with the same price as the silk quilt. And from the look on Tang Huai’s face, he clearly cared about that chick.

After knowing him for so long, Li Suhao had scolded him over a chicken? Sun Lei felt upset. He had pretended to leave, hoping that Li Suhao or his girlfriend, Xin Xin, would stop him, but no one did. So now, Sun Lei was heading back to the small boat, feeling stuck and dejected.

Standing on the mountainside, Sun Lei looked back at the serene night scene of Blue Sea Forest. He felt a deep sense of melancholy…

“Is it really 7 o’clock already? Do we really have to go feed the chickens?”

“Ugh, all I did was scare them a little. Can’t we skip it?”

“Stop complaining. If we want to stay on the island, we have to do the work.”

…

The next morning, the group pushed open the doors of the Blue Sea treehouse, feeling the fresh, invigorating air. It had been a long time since they had slept so well. They wanted to sleep in a bit longer, but the A4 paper clearly stated that they had to herd the sheep and feed the chickens three times a day.

“Huh, there’s someone by the lake. Is that Mr. Tang?” They exchanged glances and started walking toward the lake.

As they reached the shore, they saw a slender figure by the clear blue lake, rolling up his pant legs and filling a large blue water barrel, about 20 liters in size. The figure scooped water with ease and then lifted the full barrel effortlessly with one hand.

The five of them were speechless…

They knew the big guy was strong, but they didn’t expect the young man surnamed Tang to be this strong too. They were relieved they hadn’t gotten into a physical confrontation the night before.

“Each sheep needs about two pounds of feed. The chicks need two ounces each. The sheep feed is in the blue woven bags, and the chicken feed is in the yellow ones. Da Huang will supervise to make sure you don’t mix them up,” Tang Huai instructed naturally after setting down the water barrel.

Unlike the spiritual field tasks, the Sora spiritual livestock mission could be assisted by visitors. AI could not help during these tasks.

“We’ll…get on it now.” Li Suhao forced a smile, feeling like everything he wanted to say was stuck in his throat. He had hoped to negotiate with Tang Huai, maybe pay in dollars to avoid the physical work. Herding sheep and feeding chickens just didn’t suit their usual lifestyle.

But seeing how naturally Tang Huai spoke, Li Suhao realized there was no point in trying to talk his way out. They had agreed to this arrangement yesterday, so they had to stick to it.

The group had bought five bags of bread, each costing $50, the most expensive bread they’d ever eaten. As they ate their bread, they noticed Tang Huai casually fishing by the lake.

The Blue Sea fish were beneficial for digestion and lung health, packed with nutrients thirty times higher than regular fish. Tang Huai loved eating fish, and it had become his go-to meal three times a day.

Ten minutes later, the group was still chewing on their bland bread as the fragrant aroma of Tang Huai’s grilled fish reached their noses.

That smell…it was so tempting.

“Growl…” Li Suhao’s stomach betrayed him with a loud growl. It wasn’t just him—Lulu, Xinxin, and the others were also eyeing Tang Huai’s grilled fish with envy.

The whole grain bread tasted bland compared to the rich aroma of the Blue Sea fish. The contrast was so stark it was unbearable.

“Want a couple of fish?” Tang Huai asked casually as he glanced at the group.

“No, thanks,” Li Suhao responded reluctantly, shaking his head. A single fish cost $1,000, about 6,000 yuan. This wasn’t some novel where they could spend money recklessly. No matter how rich he was, spending that much on a fish was too much. He figured they’d just try to catch some fish at the beach later.

Tang Huai shrugged, a little disappointed, but continued eating his fish in small bites. Half an hour later, he grabbed his water bucket and went to irrigate the spiritual field. The group, having packed enough dry food, headed toward the coast. They had to feed the sheep three times a day, and the herd was two mountain peaks away from Blue Sea Lake. To avoid making multiple trips, they planned to return only after dark.

As they trekked over the mountains, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of frustration. What had they gotten themselves into?

“Is Sun Lei okay?” Lulu asked hesitantly as she glanced toward the distant sea. Sun Lei was technically her boyfriend, and she felt guilty for not checking on him.

“Forget about him. He has no sense of timing,” Li Suhao grumbled. Yesterday’s negotiations had clearly favored Tang Huai, yet Sun Lei had still tried to haggle at the worst moment. Did they really care about saving a few thousand dollars?

Li Suhao vented, annoyed that Sun Lei had decided to isolate himself. If Sun Lei hadn’t tried to catch that chicken yesterday, things wouldn’t have gotten so tense. Coupled with the fact that Li Suhao felt he’d lost face during the negotiations with Tang Huai, some of his anger was being directed at Sun Lei.

After his comment, no one dared say anything more.

Li Suhao glanced toward the boat and felt even more irritated.

Meanwhile, back on the Greedy Wolf, Sun Lei was wrapped in his silk quilt, sneezing repeatedly. It had taken him four hours last night to return to the boat.

As he gazed at the distant sheep, Sun Lei regretted his decision. Why had he acted so recklessly and chosen to isolate himself like that?

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