Ch 57: The World’s Number One Resort

“Bang—”

“Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining the item card [Sora Highway – Basic].”

The second golden egg revealed a [Sora Highway], valued in the system at around 30,000 island points. It was a practical, albeit old, item.

[Sora Highway]: A basic highway with a total length of 20 kilometers.

After checking the attributes of the [Sora Highway], Tang Huai felt a bit disappointed… not much luck so far.

Putting the [Sora Highway] into his inventory, he turned his attention to the final golden egg. This egg was the brightest of the three, shining golden like a treasure in a drama. It was also the most expensive.

Given the less successful results of the first two eggs, Tang Huai felt a bit of tension rising. If this one didn’t turn out well, his investment of 1.7 million island points would be half wasted.

After hesitating for a moment, Tang Huai struck it gently.

“Crack—” The golden egg split into three fine cracks, followed by a crisp “crackling” sound, much clearer than before.

“Ding, congratulations to the host for obtaining a special character card [Sora Butler – Intermediate].” The system’s pleasant prompt sounded, and Tang Huai was taken aback. A character card?

The system mall did sell character cards, but most of them were non-intelligent AIs like Ali, Zhang Long, and Zhao Hu. Intelligent AIs were rare and mostly basic. Usually, obtaining an intelligent AI required completing system tasks or using the lucky spin. Tang Huai expected to draw a scenery or building card, not a rare character card.

He clicked on the details of the [Sora Butler] card.

[Sora Butler]: Xie Yunshu, intelligent AI, basic level, with exceptional management skills and an outstanding intellect attribute.

The card was palm-sized and depicted a cartoon image of a man dressed in a blue European-style suit, holding a book with a serious expression. Tang Huai examined the card and then activated it.

Three seconds later, the card in his hand gradually faded. A moment later, a blue figure slowly appeared before him.

“Host,” a pleasant voice sounded in Tang Huai’s ear.

He looked up to see a striking young man, around twenty years old, with gold-framed glasses. The man wore the same blue suit depicted on the card, had long hair reaching his waist, thin lips, and phoenix eyes—a look that perfectly matched the name “Xie Yunshu.”

Despite his long hair, Xie Yunshu didn’t appear feminine. Instead, he exuded a scholarly aura, reserved yet full of depth.

“Ahem, just call me Manager Tang from now on,” Tang Huai said, clearing his throat as he took in Xie Yunshu’s appearance. Besides Yu You, this was the most striking look he had ever seen.

This gave him a peculiar feeling. AI appearances were system-generated, and whether it was Alang or other non-intelligent AIs, they all had rough, rugged looks. He had thought that was the system’s typical aesthetic. Now, in comparison, it seemed the system knew how to “sculpt faces” quite well.

Such an outstanding appearance, being a mere butler for Sora Island seemed like a bit of a waste…

“Alright, Manager Tang. If there’s any work, please feel free to assign it to Yunshu,” replied Xie Yunshu smoothly. As an intermediate AI with the trait of “outstanding intellect,” his tone and demeanor gave off a refreshing and pleasant feeling.

If he had lived in ancient times, Xie Yunshu would certainly be regarded as an elegant and refined nobleman.

Tang Huai glanced at Xie Yunshu’s background.

Xie Yunshu had a Chinese appearance, and the system had arranged his origin as “Hangzhou, China,” a city known for its ancient charm. His initial loyalty was 85. Tang Huai checked it twice and breathed a sigh of relief; it was a reassuring number.

“You can stay at the treehouse for now. The office building and the island owner’s cottage will be built in the next couple of days. I’ll show you around tomorrow…” Tang Huai closed Xie Yunshu’s personal panel and thoughtfully made the suggestion.

Currently, there are three intelligent AIs on Sora Island. Besides Xie Yunshu, Alang spends most of his time on the sea, and Aunt Miley resides in the Delicious Restaurant. When building Sora Town, Tang Huai had constructed a cartoon-style communal dormitory where the other non-intelligent AIs live as a formality.

This is the current accommodation arrangement on Sora Island, but for an intermediate AI like Xie Yunshu, living in the restaurant or communal dormitory seems inappropriate.

Tang Huai decided to purchase a few more residential small buildings and place them near the office building and the island owner’s courtyard, so the intelligent AIs would have suitable living quarters.

No time like the present; Tang Huai planned to arrange this tomorrow.

“Good night, Manager Tang.” Tang Huai and Xie Yunshu chatted for a while longer. At exactly eleven o’clock, Xie Yunshu tactfully stood up to take his leave, as it was already quite late. Any further matters could wait until the next day.

“Good night,” Tang Huai said with a smile, waving his hand.

As Xie Yunshu left, his long hair swaying in the breeze, Tang Huai felt a bit of admiration. During their half-hour conversation, Tang Huai was completely impressed by Xie Yunshu’s demeanor. While his appearance could charm both men and women, his personality was even more captivating than his looks.

Tang Huai couldn’t help but think that Xie Yunshu must have bribed the system when he was “generated.” Intelligence, eloquence, looks… he was undoubtedly the system’s favorite.

After Xie Yunshu left, Tang Huai purchased three [Town Villas], each costing 1 million island points, solely for residential purposes.

As he thought about this, Tang Huai felt a bit frustrated.

Sora Town had nearly a hundred disguised small buildings, but as the name implied, these were merely facades. To use them as actual residences, specific cards needed to be purchased. For instance, to open a clothing store, you needed a [Clothing Card], and to open a cake shop, a [Cake Card]. If the disguised buildings were likened to ready-made houses, the various cards would be equivalent to keys and property deeds—you could only reside in them if all the necessary documents were in place.

In short, everything had to be bought using island points.

Though Tang Huai had countless thoughts running through his mind, he didn’t hesitate in his actions. After these purchases, he had spent a total of 11.7 million island points, leaving him with a remaining balance of 1.35 million.

Tang Huai closed the system interface. By the time everything was settled, it was already midnight.

He glanced at the time, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.

…

The Next Morning.

The sky was clear and the air crisp. After freshening up and leaving his room, Tang Huai noticed that Xie Yunshu was nowhere to be seen.

After thinking for a moment, he decided to jog towards Sora Town. It was already late December, but possibly due to the island’s low latitude, the weather remained pleasantly mild. Except for specific scenic areas, there was hardly any noticeable change in temperature. It was as if spring and summer were the only seasons all year round.

Now that the road between the town and Blue Lake was open, the distance between the two had been reduced to just seven kilometers.

“Everyone, a one-hour interval between work shifts should be fine.” Half an hour later, Tang Huai arrived at the town. The Sora AIs had already begun their day’s work. Xie Yunshu had tied up his long hair and was earnestly explaining to five cleaners.

Tang Huai walked over.

“Manager Tang.”

“Manager Tang…”

The group turned around, and both Xie Yunshu and the AIs greeted Tang Huai. After yesterday’s island-wide meeting, everyone had switched from calling him “Host” to “Manager Tang.”

“Manager Tang, here is the plan I drafted last night. Please take a look,” Xie Yunshu said, instructing the AIs to resume their tasks before handing a document to Tang Huai.

After yesterday’s discussion, Xie Yunshu had officially assumed the role of ‘Deputy Manager’ of Sora Island.

Xie Yunshu was now the second-in-command on the island. Perhaps because they were all products of the system, the AIs accepted Xie Yunshu’s presence without question. It was an innate recognition.

“You don’t need to use formal speech with me in the future,” Tang Huai said as he took the plan from Xie Yunshu.

Tang Huai majored in communication engineering and had no management experience. Although he started a fruit shop after graduation, he never managed more than two employees. Taking charge of Sora Island was like being forced into a role he wasn’t ready for. He knew his limitations. The island was still in its early stages of development, which was manageable, but if it continued to grow, he would definitely struggle with the management.

Xie Yunshu’s arrival perfectly made up for Tang Huai’s shortcomings.

If Sora Island was likened to a small country, Xie Yunshu would be the capable chancellor managing everything efficiently, allowing Tang Huai to focus solely on the bigger picture.

As it turned out, Tang Huai’s assumption was correct.

Xie Yunshu’s plan consisted of five pages, highlighting the current shortcomings of Sora Island and suggesting future developments.

Additionally, the plan addressed some of Tang Huai’s management issues. For example, there were currently 50 Sora cleaners on the island—20 in Sora Town and 10 in each of the other scenic areas. Since there were no visitors yet and the island had a built-in purification system, the whole island was spotless. However, the cleaners kept cleaning over and over again, which seemed somewhat redundant.

Although AIs don’t get tired, they still need visible rest periods.

In the plan, Xie Yunshu meticulously arranged the work and rest schedules of the Sora AIs, making the overall operation more reasonable.

“Very impressive,” Tang Huai said, giving Xie Yunshu a thumbs-up as he finished going through the plan. The plan was well-organized and highly logical. Tang Huai felt like he had stumbled upon a treasure.

“Thank you for the compliment, Manager Tang,” Xie Yunshu replied with a smile, appreciating Tang Huai’s recognition of his abilities.

“You can handle these matters directly from now on,” Tang Huai said, giving Xie Yunshu full authority. With the real-time loyalty indicator at his disposal, Tang Huai wasn’t worried about any potential betrayal from Xie Yunshu.

Xie Yunshu did not refuse.

After a bit more discussion, Tang Huai headed to the southern side of Sora Town. This area was on the “outskirts” of the town, facing the surging sea with open space on all sides. After walking around Sora Town, Tang Huai took out the [Sora Office Building], [Island Owner’s Courtyard], and [Sora Villas] cards.

He clicked to use them. In the blink of an eye, a uniquely designed complex of Sora buildings slowly appeared.

The [Sora Office Building] was five stories high, primarily silver and white in color. The styles of the [Island Owner’s Courtyard], [Town Villas], and [Sora Office Building] were unified, which was something Tang Huai had chosen himself. The entire structure was grander and more solemn than the other buildings in Sora Town.

Tang Huai walked into the office building.

The office building was already furnished and equipped with various departments such as the security office, environmental protection office, and transportation department—over a dozen in total. Although small in size, it had everything it needed. This would be the primary workplace on Sora Island going forward.

After leaving the office building, Tang Huai also inspected the [Island Owner’s Courtyard] and the [Town Villas] nearby. These were typical residential areas, but thanks to the system’s buffs, ordinary people wouldn’t be able to enter.

Tang Huai planned to move in within the next couple of days.

At noon, he went to the Delicious Restaurant and had a bowl of tomato and egg noodles—the flour for which had been brought from Mexico, as the island didn’t yet have a flour mill.

“Manager Tang…” Aunt Miley hesitated as Tang Huai slurped his noodles.

It had been over half a month since Hank and the others had left. Now, aside from the scenery, the island was populated only by AIs.

Sora Island had over a hundred non-intelligent AIs, who didn’t need to eat. When there were no guests around, they didn’t even need to pretend.

Aunt Miley felt quite melancholic. She had all these cooking skills but nowhere to put them to use.

“There will be visitors soon, and their numbers will keep increasing,” Tang Huai said, understanding Aunt Miley’s concerns. He had joined a travel agency’s group chat, and many people were inquiring about group tours and costs. However, with each visitor having different requirements, visa processing, and group tour coordination, it was taking some time.

Since this was the first group tour to Sora Island for many of these agencies, they were being exceptionally cautious. As a result, the first wave of visitors wouldn’t arrive for another ten days at the earliest.

After finishing his noodles, Tang Huai decided to go out and shoot a panoramic video of Sora Town.

He edited the video and uploaded it to Douyin (TikTok).

“Ahhh, Great Tang finally posted on Douyin! I’m going to soak it all up!”

“It’s been half a month, finally an update! So excited!”

…

The popularity of @GreatTangOverseasResort wasn’t as high as before, but with 6 million followers, it was still a Douyin (TikTok) influencer. After Tang Huai posted the video, many followers of @GreatTangOverseasResort got excited. They were all potential customers for the resort.

[Sora Town] was the sixth video Tang Huai posted. Like the previous five, it mainly featured scenic views.

After claiming the top spots in the comments, the followers began watching the video earnestly.

[Country Road] is a countryside ballad from the 1980s that had a brief period of popularity with its light and graceful melody. Accompanied by [Country Road], the colorful town buildings, the characteristic orange buses, and the diligent blue-uniformed workers flashed across the screen, creating a tranquil fairytale-like town atmosphere for the viewers.

“Is this Sora Town? It looked like it was still under construction before, but I didn’t expect the final result to be this beautiful…”

“The background music is [Country Road]? Tang finally changed the music; I’m tearing up with joy.”

“So peaceful… Is this effect actually filmed? Ahhh, whatever, does anyone know how to get to Sora Island? I need to take a vacation.”

“The big windmill at the entrance is so cool. I wonder if people can sit on it.”

…

The 15-second video passed in a flash, leaving viewers momentarily stunned before they excitedly responded. Compared to the hustle and bustle of city life, Sora Island appeared as a serene paradise, much like the peaceful towns often depicted in Western films.

Distance creates allure, and along with the sense of mystery from the previous videos, Sora Island’s status in the minds of viewers soared.

Tang Huai had chosen the music exceptionally well. Under the backdrop of [Country Road], a delicate rural town scene seemed to unfold before everyone’s eyes.

The viewers were somewhat captivated. @GreatTangOverseasResort’s videos were elegant and understated, making it a unique presence on Douyin.

An hour later, the [Sora Town] video had 30,000 likes and 1,000 comments, surpassing the initial numbers of the previous five videos.

However…

Tang Huai opened his personal dashboard.

• Island Value: 90,000
• Reputation Value: 1,357,000

Compared to last night, the reputation value had only increased by a little over 7,000. This aligned with Tang Huai’s expectations. After multiple videos, the speed at which reputation points could be gained through scenic videos had slowed down. To gain more, he would need to explore new methods.

Tang Huai pondered this.

After staying in the Delicious Restaurant for a while, he made his way to the [Sora Passage]. Outside the passage, the [Windmill] was spinning tirelessly. Standing over 30 meters tall, the windmill was built with red bricks, and its colorful blades gave it a delicate and beautiful appearance from afar.

This was the first item Tang Huai got from cracking open a “lucky egg.” He had initially planned to place the [Windmill] on [Ice Castle], but since the castle already had the [Swing with the Wind], it seemed unnecessary.

After some thought, he placed it at the entrance of the Sora port so that visitors would immediately see the colorful windmill as soon as they got off the boat.

The [Windmill] and Sora Town, both vibrant and colorful, matched perfectly in style.

In the following two days, Tang Huai moved his residence to the Island Owner’s Courtyard, and his reputation value steadily climbed to 2,000,000.

Without hesitating, he spent it all at once, buying an additional 10 acres of land, along with various seeds like dragon fruit, lychee, and cherries.

[Sora Fields]: 100,000 per acre.

[Dragon Fruit]: 50,000 per acre.

[Lychee]: 100,000 per acre.

Fruits can grow repeatedly, so for now, Tang Huai decided to purchase two acres of each.

After this series of miscellaneous purchases, Sora Island now boasted a total of ten types of fruits and vegetables. Meanwhile, Tang Huai’s reputation value had nearly dwindled to zero…

During this period, while developing the Sora fields, Tang Huai had also privately messaged some A-list brands on Weibo.

Tang Huai had already made plans: if the brands didn’t respond, he would return to China or visit the nearest brand headquarters in person. One way or another, the system task had to be completed.

…

“Hello, could you tell me which boat goes to Sora Island?”

“Uh, Sora Island is in the Pacific Ocean… Never heard of it, sorry.”

“The island seems kind of obscure. Should we call the Great Tang Resort? I saved their number…”

While Tang Huai was busy contemplating the task, a group of ten people with varying skin tones was inquiring with port staff near the Guerrero Port in Mexico. They had met on an international travel forum and were gathering for the first time today.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️