Ch 39: The World’s Number One Resort

At this moment, the students from Ace High School stood by the shore, all wearing expressions of confusion. The scene before them was drastically different from what they had imagined, and they were still processing the shock.

“Mr. Alang, what is going on here?” Tolke, the lead teacher from Ace High School, asked in disbelief. Was this really the mysterious island Alang had boasted about?

The graduation trip for Ace High School was planned to last two weeks. The group had intended to stay in Hawaii for three days before flying to Japan, which was a perfect plan. However, due to issues with their contact in Japan, the graduation trip had to be cut short. Tolke could sense the disappointment in his students.

Just when Tolke was about to consult the school board about changing the destination, Alang appeared out of nowhere. Alang, a tall and imposing man from Outer Mongolia, captained a ship called “Great Tang No. 1.”

Alang had a lively personality and was quite persuasive in his discussions.

Though initially cautious of Alang, Tolke found the island he described incredibly enticing. The students became excited about this Pacific island named Sora. Tolke had even looked up information on the ship “Great Tang No. 1” and confirmed that it had been renamed two months ago, with all the paperwork in order.

According to Alang, Sora Island had even set up a booth in Mexico City’s Zócalo Square and had legitimate documentation from the Mexican authorities. Alang also carried promotional brochures that depicted the island as a lush, green paradise, like something out of a fantasy world.

Everything seemed perfectly legal and aboveboard, so after discussing with the students, Tolke gave the green light, and they decided to spend the remainder of their trip on Sora Island.

It took just two and a half days to travel from Hawaii to Sora Island, and the anticipation grew. Finally, they arrived at their destination. And then…

“Mr. Alang, we want to go back to Hawaii,” Tolke said, accusingly, as he looked at Alang. The place felt too unfamiliar and serious, and they didn’t want to stay even a moment longer.

“Boss Tang,” Alang shrugged toward Tang Huai. It was clear that the situation was now in Tang Huai’s hands.

“Hello, Mr. Tolke, I’m Tang Huai,” Tang Huai smiled, introducing himself.

“Mr. Tolke,” Tolke responded, still unhappy. At this point, he viewed Alang as a conman and Tang Huai as his accomplice.

“Sora Island is a newly developing vacation destination. The Blue Sea scenic area is located on the southern side of Sora Gorge, about two hours from here. The island is currently under full development. We’re building Sora Town, which won’t affect the island’s natural beauty at all.

You can take the students to Blue Sea Treehouses just ahead. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed by Sora Island. And if you’re still not satisfied, Alang will take everyone back tomorrow morning. Additionally, we’ll waive all your travel expenses as compensation,” Tang Huai explained calmly, outlining Sora Island’s advantages and the contingency plan.

Having run a fruit store for a year, Tang Huai had dealt with many different types of customers. To him, Tolke was just another difficult customer. The best approach was to solve the problem from the customer’s perspective.

“I’ll ask the students what they think,” Tolke said, considering Tang Huai’s polite demeanor. While his first impression of Sora Island wasn’t great, Tang Huai’s calm attitude made him reconsider.

After five minutes, Tolke returned, saying, “We’ll stay on Sora Island for a day. I hope the island isn’t as bad as it appears.” The students had been on the sea for two days, some were seasick, and they needed a break.

“Enjoy your stay,” Tang Huai replied with a smile, confident in the beauty of Sora Island.

Tolke only gave a small nod before heading back to the students. A couple of minutes later, he and the group returned to the boat to collect their belongings.

The students, feeling more relaxed, only grabbed a few essentials like toothbrushes and pajamas, leaving their suitcases behind. Since they were only staying for one night and planned to leave the next day, there was no need to pack heavily.

Tang Huai didn’t mind at all; with less luggage, it meant Ali didn’t have to make multiple trips back and forth for transportation.

“FillTech Company… does Sora Island have investments from FillTech Company?”

“Never heard of it, but judging by the scale, it seems pretty big.”

“Oh my God, are we really going to have to cross two mountains? This is turning into a terrible trip.”

…

The group nervously passed through the construction area.

There were thirty girls and twenty boys on this graduation trip, making for a large group.

Tang Huai and Tolke led the way at the front, with fifty students following behind. Since this was a graduation trip, the students were dressed fashionably, wearing bright and vibrant colors. From the mountainside, they looked like colorful dots scattered across a yellow-brown canvas.

The group marched forward in a grand procession. Alang, uninterested in the Blue Sea Scenic Area, stayed behind on Great Tang No. 1.

“This graduation trip should have been an island survival adventure.”

“Take a photo of me! This place might be a bit plain, but the canyon is still pretty impressive…”

…

Half an hour later, on the yellow-brown canyon, many students were holding cameras, happily taking selfies. With the world being so connected, not just in their home country, but also abroad, platforms like Twitter were popular for social networking.

Many of them harbored ambitions of becoming social media influencers.

“Let’s take a ten-minute break,” Tolke said, seeing that the group was losing momentum. The students immediately relaxed, happily sitting down to rest.

“Mr. Tang, is there really an oasis up ahead?” Tolke twisted open a bottle of water and asked Tang Huai. Throughout the journey, Tang Huai had been calm and patient, answering every question. Even though Tolke had been frustrated at first, it was hard for him to stay mad at Tang Huai. Tolke didn’t show it outwardly, but he was starting to trust Tang Huai.

“Just over that hill,” Tang Huai said, pointing to the mountain ahead, offering a bit of encouragement.

Tolke exhaled in relief. At this point, they had no choice but to continue.

After a ten-minute rest, the journey resumed. With all the students being sixteen or seventeen years old, they were full of energy. Apart from Tolke, everyone was in high spirits.

Tolke, on the other hand, was struggling to keep up.

“Hang in there!” Tang Huai patted Tolke on the shoulder to encourage him. Tolke was fifty-three, a classic American dad type.

Tolke sighed. They had started hiking at 2 p.m., and two hours later, they reached the top of the second hill.

“Ahhh, it’s an oasis, a real blue lake!”

“Oh my God, this is unbelievable.”

“Yes! Finally, I can get my phone screen fixed!”

…

The moment they reached the top, the group first froze, then erupted in excited exclamations. It was exactly as Alang had promised!

Tang Huai smiled at the scene. After hosting previous few guests, he had become used to such reactions.

After calming down a bit, the group eagerly made their way toward the Blue Sea Forest. Now that they had a clear goal, everyone felt reinvigorated for the downhill trek.

Half an hour later, Tolke’s group arrived at the entrance to the Blue Sea Forest.

“A mysterious pathway, dark hedgerows… this is even more breathtaking than the movies.”

“Ahhh! Quick, take a picture of me. I can’t wait to post this on Twitter!”

“I can really feel the presence of nature…”

The group was filled with awe as they walked along the hedge-lined path. Perhaps due to cultural differences, their reactions were even more exaggerated than those of Xiao Suhao’s group.

Tang Huai felt an immense sense of satisfaction—this was Sora Island, and now it belonged to him.

“I want this treehouse, it’s so beautiful!”

“There’s a bathroom in the treehouse? Oh my god, it’s like a forest spa!”

“Thank the heavens, this is pure bliss.”

…

The students arrived at Blue Sea Lake, and after marveling at its clarity and mysterious beauty, they rushed toward the Blue Sea Treehouses. The young students were full of energy, and half the reason they had come to Sora Island was due to the enticing descriptions of the Blue Sea Treehouses.

There were fifty treehouses in the Blue Sea Forest. To save costs, most of them housed two girls per room and two boys per room. In any case, there were more than enough treehouses for everyone.

Once they settled into the treehouses, no one wanted to leave.

That evening, instead of eating fish, the high school students spread out picnic blankets near Blue Sea Lake to start a bonfire party.

Alang had a sharp business sense. Ever since he decided to earn island credits and fuel money on his own, he’d been constantly thinking of ways to make money. With the deal for this group of tourists from Ace High School secured, Alang had promptly purchased a large amount of beer, bread, and other supplies in Hawaii. He bought everything from large supermarkets at very affordable prices.

Alang had taken on a side job selling goods while navigating the seas. His target customers were the tourists on the cruise. After deducting the cost of the ship, Ace High School students had spent $20,000 on board, with a gross profit of over $10,000. This was his first batch of tourists, and they turned out to be big spenders.

Apart from the sea, Alang discovered that he enjoyed the thrill of making money. Of course, his initial capital came from Tang Huai. When Alang disembarked, he explained the whole story to Tang Huai—not that he had a choice, with a group as large as Tolke’s, there was no hiding anything.

Tang Huai was impressed by Alang’s entrepreneurial mindset. After a brief discussion, they reached an agreement: Tang Huai would provide Alang with ongoing initial capital, but the profits would be split fifty-fifty.

Alang was a bit reluctant at first, but considering Great Tang No. 1 was provided by Tang Huai and that he didn’t need to put up any of his own capital for a fifty-percent share of the profits, he eventually agreed. Thus, their partnership was sealed.

From that point on, Great Tang No. 1 would not only transport tourists but also run a side business selling beverages. The cruise ship’s core function was still to provide a luxurious journey, but in the future, as more passengers came, there would be additional attractions like cinemas and restaurants onboard.

Tolke and the students, having packed lightly, made their way to Blue Sea Lake. Since they didn’t bring much luggage and were now preparing for a bonfire, food was a necessity. While Tang Huai had some beer and bread, it wasn’t nearly enough to feed over fifty people.

After some thought, Tolke called Alang to order more beer, sandwiches, steaks, and other food items. Alang accepted the order and agreed to deliver it, though the price would be double.

Tolke discussed it with the students. Since the overall cost of the trip to Sora Island was much cheaper than their planned trip to Japan, and they had saved a good amount of money, they figured it wouldn’t hurt to splurge a little. In the end, Ace High School went all out, buying beer, steaks, and everything else.

With that, Alang had his crew load up the beer, and Ali helped out too. An hour later, fifteen cases of beer and countless steaks and bread were carried over the mountains and delivered to the bonfire site.

“Mr. Tang, we’ll be staying on Sora Island for three days. At least three days,” Tolke said with a slur, having had a bit too much to drink. He threw his arm around Tang Huai and added with difficulty, “Maybe longer.”

Ace High School still had eight days left of their vacation. Subtracting three days for the return trip, they had five days to spend freely. Tolke had been completely captivated by the Blue Sea Forest. He planned to take the students to the Snow Village the next day. With the Blue Sea Forest setting the bar so high, everyone was excited to see what the Snow Village had to offer.

If the attractions on Sora Island met their expectations, they wouldn’t mind staying a few extra days.

“You’re very welcome to stay,” Tang Huai responded with a smile. His goal was to make Sora Island the number one resort destination in the world, so the more visitors, the better.

The bonfire party lasted from 8 p.m. until midnight, and the students had an absolute blast. By the end, they were even splashing water from Blue Sea Lake in excitement.

After the students had eaten and cleaned up, they returned to their treehouses. The exterior of the treehouses was exquisite, and the wooden beds and pillows inside were unique features of Blue Sea Forest. After a quick wash, they relaxed comfortably on the wooden beds. With moonlight streaming in, the natural, cool sensation was simply amazing.

The fresh air of Blue Sea Forest, combined with the moonlight, lulled everyone to sleep almost instantly.

…

At 2 a.m., while everyone was sleeping, Tang Huai was pedaling a bicycle along the Blue Sea–Snow Village road, heading towards the Snow Village. With plenty of island credits in his pocket and the cards for the Ice Snow Castle and Swaying Swing in hand, he was prepared to enhance the Snow Village area for the unexpected visitors like Tolke’s group, ensuring they had the perfect Sora Island experience.

After two hours, Tang Huai arrived in the 15th zone. He parked his bike and approached the Crystal Bridge. The night was deep, and the snow’s brightness gave the entire snowy landscape a serene, silvery glow.

Tang Huai was briefly captivated by the beauty before steadying himself and walking onto the Crystal Bridge. Compared to the snowy landscape’s serene blanket of white, walking on the transparent Crystal Bridge felt like stepping into mid-air. In the quiet night, its impact was both more breathtaking and terrifying, easily two levels higher than during the day.

Though Tang Huai was bold, walking across the bridge still made his heart race—it could surely be a Guinness World Record contender for the most exhilarating bridge!

Taking a deep breath, he carefully crossed the Crystal Bridge.

Once across, Tang Huai pulled out the Ice Snow Castle card.

Ice Snow Castle: A basic castle, upgradable. Suggested location: Snow Village.

The card was primarily white, with a grand, translucent castle sketched on the front. The back was pure white with no additional details about the castle’s size. Given that the system classified it as a “basic” castle, Tang Huai figured it would be roughly the size of a standard castle.

He flipped the card over, then pocketed it again. Snow Village was vast, and he could use the card anywhere. In countless fairy tales, castles were always linked to mystery and grandeur—Tang Huai wanted to fulfill his fairy tale dream. He aimed to find a vast, mystical snow-covered mountain, perfect for building the castle.

Building a castle atop a snow-covered peak? That would certainly enhance its prestige…

With that in mind, Tang Huai began exploring the sprawling snow-capped mountains.

The Snow Village mountains were majestic and grand. Tang Huai’s goal was to find a suitable spot for the castle, and luck seemed to be on his side.

After just ten minutes of searching, he stumbled upon a prime location.

Starting from the Crystal Bridge entrance, this was the sixth mountain. Standing at around 100 meters tall, it was surrounded by larger mountains over 200 meters high. Though not the tallest, it was vast and expansive. From a distance, it appeared nestled within the other peaks, giving it a secluded, mysterious aura.

Tang Huai calculated that the distance from the Crystal Bridge to the sixth mountain was roughly 2,000 meters—neither too far nor too close, a ten-minute walk. After exploring the nearby area, Tang Huai decided this would be the perfect spot for the Ice Snow Castle.

He retrieved the Ice Snow Castle card once more and selected the use option on the back.

“Choose the location: base of the mountain, middle of the mountain, or top of the mountain,” the system prompted.

“Ice Snow Castle, mountaintop,” Tang Huai didn’t hesitate. In countless fairy tales, castles always stood majestically atop the highest peaks.

“Successfully used.”

The system notification chimed. The card in his hand disappeared, and the entire sixth snow mountain began to emit a soft glow, as if touched by magic. Three seconds later, the light faded.

Tang Huai looked up. At the very top of the mountain, he could barely make out a faintly blue castle.

Tang Huai: …

It was too high—he couldn’t see clearly.

“You can purchase transportation facilities in the system store,” FD730, the system AI, suggested.

Tang Huai realized this made sense. If the system could provide a mountain road from Blue Sea Lake to Snow Village, there were probably options for getting up a snow-covered mountain as well.

Tang Huai opened the system store.

• Ice Snow Gondola: 100,000 credits each, capacity for three passengers at a time.
• Ice Snow Walkway: 500,000 credits.
• Ice Snow Elevator: 300,000 credits each, capacity for eight passengers at a time.

…

The store offered a range of items. Tang Huai searched using the keyword Ice Snow Castle, and after filtering through the results, he found the gondolas, walkways, and elevators to be the most suitable options.

He checked the images provided. The most attractive option was the gondola—it looked like an oversized flower basket, beautifully designed and perfect for a whimsical aesthetic. However, its small capacity of three passengers per trip made it impractical. With a sigh, Tang Huai reluctantly passed on it. The elevator, while functional, could only hold five more people than the gondola, which didn’t seem like a good investment either, so he passed on that as well.

Ultimately, Tang Huai decided to go with the Ice Snow Walkway.

Earlier in the day, his island credit and reputation balance had totaled around 3.05 million. After spending 1 million on the disguised laborers, he had 2.05 million remaining.

He thought for a moment and, in addition to purchasing the Ice Snow Walkway, he also bought ten Snow Huts, ten Snowmobiles, 100 pairs of Ice Lake Skates, and one Snow Village Manager. These were all system-recommended items for the Snow Village area.

Tang Huai made sure to complete all his purchases in one go.

After the purchases, his balance was down to 200,000 reputation points—not exactly rich, but still reasonably well-off.

With everything set up, Tang Huai ascended the Ice Snow Walkway. Now that the path was clear, the next thing to do was to visit the Ice Snow Castle.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️