Ch 46: The World’s Number One Resort

Sun Xiang was a sophomore at Donghua University. With a relaxed class schedule, she enjoyed spending her free time scrolling through Douyin, watching short videos.

After over a year of careful content creation, Sun Xiang had 56 posts, 851 accounts followed, but only 21 followers. The discrepancy between her follow count and her own followers was painfully apparent. She once dreamed of overnight fame, but after receiving countless single-digit likes, she had gradually adopted a more Zen-like attitude. If she couldn’t become popular, she might as well just be a quiet viewer on Douyin.

It was 3 PM in the afternoon, and with no classes that day, Sun Xiang lay in bed, playing on her phone as usual. The 502 dorm room she stayed in housed four people. The eldest and second roommates had gone to class, while the third, a top student, was diligently studying at the desk.

Sun Xiang opened Douyin.

“Like a little tree, a little tree…” She’d heard that background music so many times it grated on her ears. Swipe.

“I’ve been on Douyin for a year now, and I only have 26 likes. I’m thinking of giving up…” Ha, she’d made three videos like that herself, none of which had even broken ten likes. Swipe.

“I’m about to smash a stone with my chest! Double-tap to follow! Whether the stone breaks or not, find out in the next video.” Clickbait for follows. Swipe.

…

Sun Xiang continued scrolling through the trending videos. Most were old clichés, and apart from a few that elicited a chuckle from adorable kids, there wasn’t much that interested her.

She felt like a seasoned veteran of Douyin—there were hardly any videos that could stir her jaded heart.

“Blossoms like frost, the ancient city, a lone traveler with a sword wanders the world—” Just as Sun Xiang was about to close Douyin and switch to working on some calculus problems, a grand, majestic background music caught her attention.

The song was “Holding a Sword in the World.”

“Holding a Sword in the World” was the theme song of Heroes of the Desert, a show that had gained brief popularity two decades ago and remained an enduring classic.

Sun Xiang perked up. The majority of Douyin videos nowadays had a soft, romantic aesthetic, so she hadn’t expected anyone to use such an old song as background music.

The video’s publisher was @GreatTangOverseasResort, and from the cover image, it looked like a grand ancient city.

With the quality of TV dramas nowadays generally being quite low, many people would edit scenes from older shows, tweak the colors a bit, and add some motivational quotes about “hot-blooded dreams,” easily amassing thousands of likes. As Sun Xiang tapped the play button, she guessed that this video probably featured a classic scene from Heroes of the Desert.

She watched that show during her childhood, so she was ready to revisit some nostalgia.

“What… is this?” Sun Xiang opened the video, and the first glance left her completely stunned.

The Douyin clip was filmed from a high wooden window. The night was veiled in mist, and below the window was a long, arched bridge. The bridge was bustling with ‘pedestrians,’ and on both sides of the bridge were many people standing around, chatting and welcoming passersby.

Moonlight bathed the arch bridge, and the scene on its surface was clearly visible. If one ignored the fact that all these ancient figures were frozen in place and appeared to be over ten meters tall, it truly looked like a serene “Night Market under the Moon.”

Sun Xiang followed the camera angle downwards. It seemed as if there was a height of at least thirty floors between the ground and the person filming…

The video lasted ten seconds, focusing mainly on the arched bridge and the marketplace. In the stillness of the night, it carried an eerie, almost supernatural atmosphere.

“With a jug of wine and a wooden sword, I wish to wander the world alone.” The video concluded with the climax of Holding a Sword in the World.

Sun Xiang was in a daze. The video had left such a profound impact—it was both terrifying and awe-inspiring, far surpassing the effects seen in most Chinese films today.

After a brief moment of bewilderment, she clicked on @GreatTangOverseasResort’s profile.

Video Details: Posted at 15:02
Total Posts: 1
Likes: 265
Followers: 25
Comments: 56
Shares: 198

The video had been posted just half an hour ago, yet it already had more comments than followers. After skimming through the basic information, Sun Xiang clicked on the comments.

“Double-tapped for likes. This is stunning, definitely the work of a technical genius.”

“Is the publisher a film special effects artist? The compositing is incredible.”

“This is going to go viral. This kind of skill is leagues above domestic productions. Haha, give some face to Chinese films!”

“Great Tang Overseas Resort? The name sounds familiar.”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a sincere video. Followed. Looking forward to more!”

…

The comments section was filled with praise. The thoughts of many viewers aligned with Sun Xiang’s. Douyin was filled with handsome men and beautiful women, but most of their videos were just showing off their looks or wealth—beautiful, yes, but lacking in skill.

In this age of widespread internet access, people were no longer simple-mindedly fawning over rich or pretty faces. Compared to these repetitive displays of wealth and beauty, viewers would rather watch celebrities stroll around with gold bars.

People use Douyin as a pastime. Coming across a good video was like finding a hidden gem. The video from @GreatTangOverseasResort didn’t feature any faces, nor did it have any dialogue. However, with its blend of nostalgic vibes from Holding a Sword in the World and suspenseful, high-end special effects, it brought viewers great joy.

“Double-tap, follow, perfect.” In the dorm building of Donghua University, Sun Xiang watched the video from Great Tang over and over again. The grand and eerie atmosphere matched her gothic, brooding heart perfectly.

She was Sun Xiang, a unique spark.

“Knock, knock—”

“What are you doing? Laughing non-stop like that.”

…

Sun Xiang’s laughter was so exaggerated that it disturbed the third roommate, a top student engrossed in her studies. After holding back for a while, she finally couldn’t resist knocking on the bed frame.

Sun Xiang had been rolling on her bed in excitement for five minutes.

“Third, don’t you study post-production editing? Take a look at this video—it’s fantastic!” Sun Xiang climbed down from her top bunk, eager to share this spooky short video.

She held the phone out to her third roommate.

The third roommate pushed up her glasses suspiciously, then played the video. Douyin was extremely popular, but as a top student, she didn’t want to waste time on what she considered mindless distractions.

“Blossoms like frost, the ancient city—” The short video began, accompanied by the intense music of Holding a Sword in the World. The third roommate focused on the special effects.

The seemingly bottomless ground, the eerie statues frozen in place… From the very first glance, she was captivated.

“Top-tier special effects. This must have been produced by a professional team,” she commented earnestly after watching the entire video.

Although the video was filmed at night, the statues below looked incredibly realistic in both distance and detail, rivaling the best special effects in domestic blockbuster films. If this video hadn’t been on Douyin, she might have believed it was a preview for an upcoming movie…

“Are there any other videos?” she asked, uncharacteristically curious. Being a post-production major, the video had sparked several ideas.

“No, the Great Tang account is newly registered…” Sun Xiang replied regretfully. It wasn’t just the third roommate; she also wished there were more videos to enjoy.

The Douyin video was just a brief interlude. After it ended, the studious third roommate returned to her books. Sun Xiang browsed a bit more on Douyin, got bored, and then put on makeup and grabbed her purse to head out.

With the sunshine beaming outside, she decided it was the perfect day for a shopping spree.

After Sun Xiang left, the dorm room was quiet, leaving the third roommate alone. Half an hour later, after finishing a set of practice exams, she decided to take a short break.

She placed her glasses on the desk and suddenly recalled the short video. The intense background music of Holding a Sword in the World and the mystical statues lingered in her mind… The special effects were simply amazing!

The third roommate opened up Baidu and searched for “Great Tang Overseas Resort”—she had memorized the name of the account earlier.

However, to her disappointment, Baidu only showed a few vacation resort advertisements with no detailed information.

The third roommate rubbed her eyes and, after some thought, took out her phone.

She downloaded Douyin, registered an account, searched for @GreatTangOverseasResort, and followed it…

She completed this entire sequence of actions smoothly.

Though she didn’t usually use Douyin, she wasn’t a tech novice. Hearing her roommates talk about it daily, she knew the basic steps.

Compared to when Sun Xiang first viewed the video, @GreatTangOverseasResort’s likes had risen to 1,086, and its shares had reached 362. In just ten minutes, the numbers had skyrocketed like a rocket.

…

Ding, ding— On Sora Island, in the ancient city of Bianjing, Tang Huai was woken up by a melodious alarm.

Tang Huai crawled out from under the giant silk quilt and checked the time. It was 9 a.m. in New York time, and the weather outside seemed perfect.

Looking at the room, enlarged twenty times, he felt a bit dazed. Then he remembered—he was currently in Bianjing City.

Ding, ding— Still a bit groggy, Tang Huai heard the alarm ring again.

He unlocked his phone, turned off the alarm, and was about to explore the rest of the ancient city when he noticed a flood of notifications. They were from Douyin?

Tang Huai clicked to view them.

Likes: 102K
Followers: 3,608
Comments: 2,505

In nine hours, his likes had soared past 100,000, and his followers had grown to over 3,000.

Tang Huai opened the comments section.

“Top-notch special effects. Here’s why learning a valuable skill is important.”

“I’m the manager of Tianxia Post-Production Company, and I would like to invite the creator to join us. Fellow Douyin users, please upvote this comment.”

“They made Bianjing’s market streets look like a horror movie scene. Take my knees!”

…

Tang Huai skimmed through the top comments, chuckling. People mistook him for a special effects master?

He climbed down from the bed, then ascended the wooden window frame again. The Jixiang Ruyi inn was a traditional structure. Every piece of furniture, whether it was the bed, table, or chairs, was carved with intricate designs. Because everything was enlarged in proportion, climbing up and down wasn’t too difficult.

Once he reached the top, Tang Huai pushed open the window.

Outside, it was a sea of motionless statues. Unlike the night before, the bright daylight now gave the entire Bianjing City a less eerie feeling. The city’s scale was twenty times the size of a normal one, making each ‘person’ about as tall as a 12-story building. Tang Huai glanced down—it made him feel a bit dizzy.

The second floor of the Jixiang Ruyi inn was equivalent to standing on the 30th floor of a building. Tang Huai took a few photos with his phone. Just as he was about to climb back down, he noticed something different.

There, to the left of the window frame, was a two-meter-square mechanical door that resembled a treasure entrance. Tang Huai thought for a moment, then approached it. The door looked like a cellar door, with a red and green button on its side.

The buttons were regular-sized, like specks of dust on the window frame.

Tang Huai pressed the green button, and the ‘cellar door’ slowly opened, revealing a hidden passage.

What he saw inside left him speechless…

Inside the passage was a deep bronze-colored elevator. The elevator led directly to the lower floor of the inn. Tang Huai stepped inside.

In front of the elevator was a rolling shutter-like switch. As it opened, the ‘wall panel’ slowly receded, becoming transparent.

From a distance, the transparency looked like a small mark at the bottom of the window frame. Though it wasn’t obvious in proportion to the rest of Bianjing City, standing inside the elevator made it feel like a glass elevator.

Tang Huai pressed the button to descend. The elevator swiftly dropped, and in the blink of an eye, he went from the second-floor window to the ground floor.

Exiting the elevator, Tang Huai found himself in the corner of the Jixiang Ruyi inn. As he stepped out, the elevator automatically closed, and the transparent rolling shutter gradually shut, seamlessly blending back into the wall.

This ancient, quaint Bianjing City, now with an elevator, had an unexpected touch of futuristic elements. Contemplating this, Tang Huai approached the nearest ‘ancient person.’

Tang Huai discovered that at the hem of the ‘ancient figure’s’ robe, there was an identical mechanism, but inside was a roller coaster-like amusement ride.

The roller coaster didn’t just go straight; it wound from the hem up to the waistline, circled around the waist, and then moved toward the elbow.

The entire ‘ancient figure’ had effectively become a unique roller coaster ride.

Tang Huai glanced at the other figures, noticing that each had a similar mechanism located in different positions: some at the foot, others on the heel. Even the large camel nearby featured the same mechanism.

Without exception, every figure or object could transform into a distinctive amusement facility.

Tang Huai took a roller coaster ride up to the rooftop of the Jixiang Ruyi inn. From there, he could see the entire scenic beauty of Bianjing laid out before him. To Tang Huai, this was no longer just a representation of the Along the River During the Qingming Festival painting, but rather a massive amusement park inspired by it.

The roller coaster passed through the ‘bodies of ancient figures,’ and there were also corresponding underground tunnels connecting the arch bridge to the city gates. Tang Huai tried the underground tunnel once; it featured a transportation device similar to a small subway. The subway had no windows on either side, and opening the blinds revealed only the ground of Bianjing. During the 15-minute ride, he mostly saw large shoe soles around five meters in length.

The roller coaster’s movement and stopping points were controllable. After an hour of fun, Tang Huai set his sights on the Bianjing Imperial Palace.

The transportation system in Bianjing City was well-developed. As a young person with a sense of adventure, Tang Huai naturally wanted to visit the imperial palace.

The underground tunnel system had various landmarks, such as Jixiang Ruyi inn, Zhou’s Rice Shop, and Su’s Pawn Shop. Tang Huai first took the ride from the city gate to Zhou’s Rice Shop, then to the pawn shop…

An hour later, Tang Huai finally arrived at the entrance of the imperial city. He walked around, found the switch to open the city wall, and pressed the green button.

Nothing happened. Tang Huai tried a few more times before noticing a bulletin board as tall as a person nearby. On it were the words: “Imperial Palace under Maintenance, Temporarily Closed” in bold characters.

Tang Huai: This entire bulletin board perfectly captured the vibe of a typical Chinese tourist site.

“FD730, what’s going on here?” Tang Huai asked, steadying himself. A sign reading “Imperial Palace under Maintenance” seemed too bizarre.

“[Bianjing Charm] is an upgradable card. Once the card is upgraded to the advanced level, the palace access will be unlocked,” FD730 explained rationally. Tang Huai felt a bit disappointed—it seemed he wouldn’t be visiting the palace anytime soon.

After a brief moment of regret, Tang Huai perked up again. From his exploration, he understood that Bianjing City’s key feature was its various modes of transportation, all inspired by Along the River During the Qingming Festival.

This was also his first time experiencing the differences between a mid-level and an entry-level card. Aside from the massive scale of construction, the convenience of transportation alone was a significant improvement.

Finally, he wouldn’t have to purchase additional transportation tools.

Tang Huai wandered around the imperial city walls and then found a giant locust tree, towering nearly a hundred meters tall. At the base of the locust tree, there was also an elevator.

Tang Huai rode the elevator to the top of the locust tree. Looking out, he saw a majestic city faintly visible across the moat. Because of its immense size, the city appeared like a looming beast shrouded in mist.

He felt his own insignificance.

Tang Huai stood there in a daze for a moment, then opened Douyin and started recording a short video.

“This is not a special effect.”

He gave a distant shot of the city, adding a voiceover. Three seconds later, Tang Huai sat in the elevator, opened the blinds, and began to descend slowly with the elevator.

The scenery before him rapidly rose. Thirty seconds later, Tang Huai stepped out and approached the nearest soldier statue.

“This really isn’t a special effect,” Tang Huai said earnestly, giving the soldier a low-angle shot to emphasize his point.

After recording the short video, Tang Huai edited and trimmed it. He used the time-lapse mode, and when everything was ready, he added the background music from yesterday, “Journey with the Sword.”

Tang Huai was quite satisfied with his video editing skills.

…

“Ahhh!” At 7 a.m. in Jiangnan Province, China, at Donghua University, Sun Xiang was startled awake by a series of excited shouts.

“Old Three? We don’t have morning classes. What’s got you so worked up this early?” Sun Xiang muttered groggily, recognizing that the source of the noise was their studious roommate, Old Three.

Yesterday, Sun Xiang had spent half the day shopping with friends and then went to a karaoke bar in the evening, returning late. She was seriously sleep-deprived. Seven in the morning… this was supposed to be her beauty sleep time!

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