Ch 38: The World’s Number One Resort

Sole Host: Tang Huai

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

Unlocked Areas: Blue Sea Lake, Snow Village. 2/50

Current Task: Cultivate ten acres of Sora spirit plants, raise 100+ spirit livestock. 30/30 completed.

Inventory: [Shop Card] x3, [Building Card] x2, [Game Project Card] x1, [Lucky Spin Wheel] x1, [Aunt Miley].

Island Points: 792,000

Reputation Points: 2,150,000+

With the cultivation and livestock tasks completed, six new cards appeared in Tang Huai’s inventory, which were randomly awarded by the system. He clicked to inspect them.

Shop Cards: [Candy House], [Delicious Restaurant], [Shoemaker Shop].

Building Cards: [Sora Cinema—Basic], [Ice and Snow Castle—Basic].

Game Project Card: [Swinging in the Wind].

(T/N: I translated Aunt Miley as Aunt Mei Li before but she’s British so, Miley is a better fit).

Except for the [Swinging in the Wind], all of the cards were related to buildings. Tang Huai picked up the [Delicious Restaurant], which depicted a traditional, antique-style Chinese inn. The name “Delicious Restaurant” was written in elegant, flowing calligraphy.

Delicious Restaurant: Intermediate-level restaurant, 30% boost to the taste of all dishes.

The restaurant didn’t generate food automatically; instead, it enhanced the flavor of the dishes prepared. Tang Huai checked the other two shop cards, [Candy House] and [Shoemaker Shop], which had similar properties, increasing happiness by 25% and improving shoe durability by 50%, respectively.

Tang Huai sighed—this system task felt more like a simulation game. Now that he had shop cards, he would still need matching character cards, like a candy master or a shoemaker. He did have one—[Aunt Miley]—but her specialty was as a chef, which would match the [Delicious Restaurant]. However, a British chef running a traditional Chinese inn? The thought seemed odd to Tang Huai.

After a bit of inner grumbling, he stored away the [Candy House] and [Shoemaker Shop], then opened the [Sora Cinema—Basic]. Unlike the shop cards, the cinema didn’t require an expert NPC to operate.

Sora Cinema: Basic-level cinema with immersive 10D sound experience.

Most modern theaters only offered 3D movies, with occasional 6D or 7D VR experiences in game centers. But the Sora Cinema was on a whole new level, pushing from 3D straight to 10D.

Satisfied with the cinema’s potential, Tang Huai set the card down and picked up the next one.

Ice and Snow Castle: Basic-level castle, upgradeable. Suggested location: Snow Village.

The Ice and Snow Castle was more of a scenic attraction card—finally, Snow Village had its first tourism feature!

The last card was [Swinging in the Wind], which simply had a picture of a swing with no further description. Tang Huai examined it briefly, deciding that the swing would be placed near the Ice and Snow Castle.

Out of the six cards, apart from the [Candy House] and [Shoemaker Shop], the rest could be used immediately, and Tang Huai felt quite pleased overall.

After reviewing all the cards, his attention shifted to the Lucky Spin Wheel.

This was Tang Huai’s third time using the spin wheel. The first time, he won the [Boatman Alang], and the second time, [Aunt Miley], both character cards. He wondered if he might get another character card this time.

The Lucky Spin Wheel was a large, three-meter-round wheel with fifty slots. As usual, Tang Huai refreshed the options three times, then pressed the red button in front of him.

“Ding! Congratulations to the host for winning the special card [Sora Town].”

Sora Town: Modify terrain to gain rural/town land and infrastructure. Applicable only to basic regions.

This time, the prize wasn’t a character card but a special card called [Sora Town]. Tang Huai read the detailed description, feeling somewhat confused.

“FD730, what does ‘modify terrain to gain land and infrastructure’ mean?” Not understanding it fully, Tang Huai decided to ask the system’s AI, FD730.

“[Sora Town] is a city-building card, allowing the host to develop a simulated town within a designated area. The system can provide blueprints based on the terrain, but the host will need to design and plan the town’s layout themselves,” FD730 explained in a precise manner.

Tang Huai pondered for a moment and understood the concept. Sora Town would be a modernized town for tourists to relax, entertain, and connect with the outside world. Scenic spots like Blue Sea Lake and Snowy Village Wonderland were purely aesthetic and building a commercial center in those areas would definitely affect the overall environment and structure of the attractions.

Therefore, it was essential to construct a commercialized, modernized area for interaction without impacting the beauty of Sora Island.

Sora Town fell under this category of modern commercial development.

Tang Huai opened the island’s sand table model. The island was depicted as an irregular circle, with Area 1, where Blue Sea Lake was located, and Area 15, home to Snow Village, in high definition, while the other areas were still shrouded in gray mist.

Tang Huai surveyed the entire island. Since Sora Town was a basic-level card, it could only be applied in the basic areas. After some thought, Tang Huai focused on Area 2 and Area 3.

Area 2 was located south of Blue Sea Lake, adjacent to where they used to herd sheep. Area 3 was where Tang Huai was currently standing. From Sora Port to South Sea Lake, there were two mountain ridges to cross, and the space in between was Area 3. Although smaller than Snow Village, Area 3 was about the size of an average Chinese rural town.

Since Sora Town was a necessary addition, Tang Huai considered it carefully and then placed the Sora Town card in Area 3.

Area 3 was a gateway to Sora Island, making it a prime location for building a port town.

“Ding! [Sora Town] is about to be used. Confirm?”

“Confirm.”

“Construction method: 1. Instant use. 2. Purchase simulated labor, with estimated construction completion in three months. Special newbie price: 1 million island points.”

Upon confirmation, the system presented two options. Sora Town was a major project, and Tang Huai could either make it appear instantly or use simulated labor without any attribute boosts.

The disguised construction option cost 1 million points, a discounted price for beginners. Tang Huai chose the second option. With the heated legal battle between Xiao Shengguo and Aierjian, Sora Island’s partial exposure on the internet through Xianyu had already brought the island into the public eye.

Area 3 was at the island’s outer edge and had been crossed several times by Xiao Shengguo and Li Suhao. Its position was more open than Snow Village, mainly consisting of two hundred-meter-high yellow-brown gorges. If the gorge suddenly disappeared, it would seem quite illogical.

Tang Huai currently had over 2 million reputation points and could afford the expense for now.

Tang Huai clicked the second option.

“Ding! Simulated labor successfully activated. [Sora Town] construction begins…”

As the system’s notification sounded, nearly a hundred AI workers, dressed in construction uniforms, appeared before Tang Huai. Their skin tones varied from yellow to black to white, giving them an international feel. Along with their appearance, cement trucks, cranes, and wheelbarrows seemed to materialize out of thin air.

Once all the equipment was in place, the men and women began their tasks. Within five minutes, the sounds of machinery, hammering, and vehicles rolling over gravel filled the air, and the Sora Port area quickly transformed into a bustling construction site.

These workers and tools were limited to the building of Sora Town, and Tang Huai had no authority over their management. They acted more like background props in a grand movie scene.

Tang Huai opened the [Sora Town] blueprint. It was a three-inch-thick professional-looking design plan. Despite its small-town label, things like supermarkets, hospitals, and commercial centers would still require Tang Huai to purchase specialized cards…

In short, although the laborers were technically building the town, they were merely preparing the land in Area 3.

The only two buildings in the entire town were the [Sora Cinema] and the [Delicious Restaurant]. Labor costs for building these structures still required island points, with prices ranging from 100,000 to 1 million depending on the size. After purchasing the labor for both the [Sora Cinema] and the [Delicious Restaurant], Tang Huai thought for a moment and also decided to buy labor for the [Candy House] and [Shoemaker Shop].

Even though the [Candy House] and [Shoemaker Shop] weren’t necessary at the moment, they might be useful later. Since the land was being cleared anyway, it made sense to construct everything at once.

These laborers were the lowest level of non-intelligent laborers, registered under FillTech Company. Each laborer had a legal ID, and the logical chain of their existence was handled perfectly by FillTech Company.

With Sora Town developing at a steady pace, Tang Huai was content to wait three months to see the results of the project.

After organizing the task rewards, Tang Huai checked the time—it was already nearing 7 p.m., and the sun was setting. Deciding to rest for the night, he headed back to the Blue Sea Treehouse. He planned to contact Alang the next day to return to Mexico.

After a simple wash, Tang Huai lay down and slept soundly, enjoying sweet dreams.

……

The next morning, as Tang Huai walked to Sora Port after checking on the construction progress, he heard a deep horn sound growing louder and closer. It was the whistle of a cruise ship.

Looking up, Tang Huai saw a silver and white ship slowly approaching about 500 meters off the coast of Sora Port, gliding across the Pacific. The ship was 50 meters long, 10 meters wide, and had three levels. Its bow, previously gray and white, had been freshly painted silver last month, with four large black characters on its hull that read: “Great Tang No. 1.”

Tang Huai recognized the “Great Tang No. 1” immediately. What surprised him, however, wasn’t the ship itself, but what was happening on the deck. Thanks to his enhanced vision from his fitness upgrades, Tang Huai could clearly see a group of teenagers—mostly blonde-haired, blue-eyed Westerners—standing on the deck. These teens, dressed in fashionable outfits, looked about 16 or 17 years old and gave the impression of high school students.

Meanwhile, Alang, dressed in a black captain’s uniform, was holding a beer bottle, enthusiastically gesturing and chatting with the group.

Realizing that the man holding the beer bottle was indeed Alang, Tang Huai felt a bit disoriented—since when had Alang become so trendy?

“Boss Tang, these are the tourists I brought.” Five minutes later, as the “Great Tang No. 1” docked at Sora Port, Alang was the first to jump down from the gangway. Spotting Tang Huai, he tilted his chin in greeting.

Alang was restricted to staying within a 3,000-nautical-mile radius of Sora Island. This limit acted like a tight restriction, but the range was still quite vast. From Sora Island, the distance to Mexico was 2,200 nautical miles, and to Hawaii, it was 1,500 nautical miles. Alang had plenty of space to roam freely in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Since the last time Tang Huai had mocked him, Alang had been holding a grudge. He wanted to prove his worth by earning island points and fuel costs through his own efforts, and he had been steadily working toward that goal.

Alang had been sailing the ocean for over half a month when he encountered the graduating students from Ace High School.

Ace High School was an ordinary school in Massachusetts, and over 50 students were participating in this graduation trip. After spending three days in Hawaii, they were supposed to fly to Japan. However, there were issues with the handover team in Japan, causing a two-day delay in Hawaii, and the problem still wasn’t resolved.

Alang, being a goal-oriented and proactive AI, recognized the tourism needs of the Ace group and spent three days negotiating with the teachers in charge. His persuasive communication style eventually convinced the entire group to take a trip to Sora Island, leading to the current situation.

After explaining the backstory, Alang looked at Tang Huai with a sense of pride, feeling that he had redeemed himself.

Tang Huai gave him a thumbs up. He had to admit, Alang’s efficiency in handling the situation was impressive.

“This is Sora Island? Oh my god, it’s still under construction—how are we supposed to have fun here?”

“Where’s Blue Sea Lake and the treehouses? Why are there so many huge cranes? This is not enchanting at all.”

“I feel kind of disappointed. We could have gone to Seoul instead of Tokyo…”

…

As Tang Huai and Alang were talking, the Ace High School tour group disembarked from the ship. Throughout the journey, they had built up high expectations of Sora Island.

They had envisioned a mysterious and serene Blue Sea Forest, crystal-clear lakes, and the snowy wonders hidden on the island—a magical and alluring destination. But what did they actually see? A mix of yellow and brown canyons, muscular men busy chiseling rocks, and all kinds of modern machinery. The workers’ faces were stern, and, to add to the oddness, there were several lambs wandering at the foot of the mountain.

It was a disappointing scene. They felt like they had been misled. Perhaps they should have rejected the idea of coming as soon as they heard about “Snowy Wonderland.” How could there be snow in the middle of the Pacific Ocean?

They felt utterly deceived.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️