Ch 85: The World’s Number One Resort

“Welcome to the 【Stroke of the Brush】 simulation cabin. Scene: Bicycle. Artist: ‘Why Bother with Bicycles?’. Game duration: fifteen minutes. This is a fully immersive simulation. Enjoy your game.”

As Lao San clicked to confirm, the scene before her shifted once again. In an instant, she found herself on a wide asphalt road. The road was smooth, with a row of dark sycamore trees lining the left side and a nearly ten-meter-high red wall on the right, stretching endlessly into the distance. The setting sun cast a warm, tranquil light over the entire road.

Lao San stood there, a bit stunned. The scene was exactly like the one depicted in the balding man’s painting. She jumped twice experimentally—the ground felt solid.

She stretched out her right hand, feeling the breeze pass through her fingers, with a sensation so real it was uncanny. If not for the red wall, the entire scene would resemble a quiet woodland path by the river.

Was this like traveling directly from the real world into a two-dimensional painting?

“Zzz, zzz—” Lao San took a few steps forward when a heavy, buzzing sound came from her right.

“Zzz, zzz—” The sound grew louder, like the friction of wheels against the ground.

Wheels?

Lao San looked up.

Three bicycles slowly appeared, floating above the red wall and parallel to the ground. Their wheels spun noisily in place, defying the laws of gravity.

The sight startled her. In just five minutes, had 【Stroke of the Brush】 truly managed to replicate the bicycles exactly as depicted?

“Beep, detecting the main object: Bicycle. Players may freely explore.”

“Ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling…”

Lao San walked around the asphalt road, noticing that no matter how she moved, the three bicycles always floated to her right.

The bicycles hovered three meters above the ground, parallel to the road. As the system’s prompt sounded, the bicycles’ bells jingled twice.

The scene before her resembled a silent horror film—eerily suspenseful. Lao San, brave as she was, stood right in front of the red wall. The bicycles floated parallel above her head.

She stepped onto the wall, and strangely, her right leg stood firmly on it. After a moment’s thought, she lifted her other leg, placing it on the wall as well.

Her body wobbled for a second. After five seconds, she looked back to find that she was now parallel to the asphalt road! Apart from a brief sense of weightlessness, she felt no discomfort. It was as if the wall was the ground, while the asphalt road had become the ceiling.

“Ding-a-ling—” The bicycle bell continued to ring. Without hesitation, she hopped onto the bike.

After all, this was just a virtual simulation, and everything would end in fifteen minutes… She kept reassuring herself, feeling more and more at ease.

The warm breeze brushed past her ears as she cycled down the endless red wall. After half a minute of adjusting, she thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of riding on the wall.

This was a scenario she had often fantasized about in her life.

While Lao San was having a blast in the game, back by the game cabin on the second floor, Sun Xiang was watching the scene within the painting, nervously sweating on Lao San’s behalf.

Lao San had chosen the full simulation mode, allowing Sun Xiang to witness every one of her movements since she entered.

At that moment, Lao San’s body was lying inside the game cabin while her consciousness was present within the painting… Sun Xiang focused intently, realizing that Lao San was essentially using her consciousness to create a live-action film.

……

“Is this the latest generation of full immersion technology? Reminds me of those holographic online games from school days…”

“The tech nowadays is unreal… Lao Li, is that the bicycle you just drew? I can’t believe it’s become a real-life movie scene.”

“Let me post this on Douyin… This is incredible.”

Sun Xiang held Lao San’s small bag as more and more tourists arrived at 【Stroke of the Brush】. The number of onlookers on the second floor increased, and, after a moment of surprise, they began recording short videos with their phones.

The frame in front of them resembled a TV screen, with Lao San acting like a character in a film, vividly cycling within it.

“The new generation of holographic projection technology! Hats off to Great Tang! Immersive holographic fantasy gaming is no longer a dream!”

“Take a look, everyone. The player is lying in the simulation cabin, but their consciousness is synced inside the painting frame…”

“Check out 【Stroke of the Brush】 at Great Tang Resort! Watch my previous video for a surprise!”

“Truly breaking the dimensional barrier, welcome to the grand crossing scene of 【Stroke of the Brush】!”

Most tourists were in their twenties or thirties. After recording, several impatient ones immediately posted their clips on Douyin, adding captions that were increasingly enticing.

…

As Lao San cycled around, in a residential building at the Luohai Happiness Community, Luo Liang woke up, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

It was now 5 PM on Sora Island, while in China, it was just the early morning, and the sky had not fully brightened.

Luo Liang was a professional illustrator who made illustrations for magazines, newspapers, and books. He loved drawing two-dimensional characters and had over 500,000 followers on Weibo. In addition to occasionally sharing some two-dimensional characters, he also took on small advertising commissions, leading a carefree life with a relatively laid-back job.

Like many young people, Luo Liang enjoyed idly browsing social media platforms like Douyin and Zhihu.

“Great Tang has launched a new project?” Luo Liang said in surprise after stretching and opening Douyin, just as he did every morning.

Great Tang Resort had become a sensation some time ago, and Luo Liang had followed the trend as well. He even planned to visit there at some point.

Lost in thought, Luo Liang casually opened a video tagged with “#Great Tang Resort 【Stroke of the Brush】.”

“Incredible, truly incredible. This new technology is amazing.”

The video had no background music, only background noise and the host’s exclamations.

The video appeared to be shot in a “technology museum” dominated by a silver-gray color scheme. Luo Liang couldn’t pinpoint the exact location, but he found the rows of futuristic simulation cabins quite impressive.

His interest piqued.

The video showed a 3×5 meter painting frame hanging on a white wall. Inside the frame was an LCD screen, displaying a short-haired girl riding a bicycle in a strange manner. Aside from being parallel at 180 degrees, Luo Liang didn’t see anything particularly noteworthy.

What was so astonishing about this?

“This is the earlier drawing of the 【Bicycle】. In less than half an hour, it transformed into a three-dimensional video where players can interact through consciousness,” the video host explained towards the end, seemingly addressing the viewers’ confusion.

The host’s explanation was somewhat haphazard. Luo Liang pieced it together, concluding that it was roughly a case of a “bicycle” turning into a video?

Luo Liang couldn’t make sense of it, so he visited the video host’s profile page.

Five minutes later, Luo Liang had grasped the gist of the video. A tourist had drawn a 【Bicycle】 on the first floor, and by the time they reached the second floor, the 【Bicycle】 had transformed from a two-dimensional drawing into a short video.

Luo Liang found it hard to believe—this was simply impossible!

He quickly typed “Great Tang Stroke of the Brush” into Douyin’s search bar.

At the moment, there weren’t many videos related to 【Stroke of the Brush】—just four or five, all posted within the last five minutes. Judging from the tourists’ comments, it seemed… real?

Luo Liang was skeptical, yet a voice inside him insisted it was true.

Excited, he turned to look at the balcony.

On the balcony stood an easel, displaying a drawing of a black-haired, sharp-eared, handsome character with two black wings—Karosu, the main antagonist from Vampire Servant, and Luo Liang’s favorite anime character.

If the effects of 【Stroke of the Brush】 were real, would Karosu come to life as a real-world version of himself?

The more Luo Liang thought about it, the more excited he became. He paced around the balcony twice before grabbing his phone to book a tour…

He had just dialed two numbers but stopped while searching for a travel agency’s contact. Based on the agency’s efficiency, it would take at least a week for the tour to depart. Considering this, Luo Liang checked his recent work schedule and immediately switched to the flight booking page on his phone.

For Karosu, he didn’t want to wait even a moment longer.

…

“Lao San, were you really riding a bike in mid-air? Did you feel dizzy or anything?”

Ten minutes later, Lao San emerged from the simulation cabin. Sun Xiang approached her, curious about the experience, while the other tourists listened in. The holographic simulation cabin was a new concept, and everyone was intrigued. They wanted to hear others’ feedback before trying it themselves.

“No, it felt just like real-life exploration in the simulation cabin. Haha, it really felt like time travel. The cabin was so comfortable that I didn’t even want to get out…” Lao San felt a bit shy being in the spotlight, but she patted her chest and explained.

The cabin was more comfortable than any bed she had ever slept on. She truly didn’t feel like leaving.

“Was it worth the 300 bucks?” Some of the tourists, though now more at ease with Lao San’s feedback, were still hesitant about the price. They weren’t short on money but didn’t want to spend it frivolously.

“It’s a gaming experience, so it depends on how you feel… It’s a completely new experience, and personally, I don’t regret it,” Lao San answered thoughtfully, not making an absolute statement.

The tourists exchanged glances. With Lao San’s feedback in mind, they were getting more and more eager to give it a try.

“Sixty-five dollars? Hahaha, you can actually make money with 【Stroke of the Brush】? Thanks for the support, everyone!” A hearty laugh interrupted as the tourists prepared to swipe their Sora Pass cards. The voice came from a middle-aged man in his forties, balding but sporting a large “LH” belt, indicating he wasn’t short on cash. This was the creator of 【Bicycle】.

The man was known as Brother Li in the business world and dealt in second-hand cars, making quite a fortune over the years. He was a straightforward guy, not particularly educated, but whenever his son had art homework in kindergarten, he would try his hand at drawing.

Brother Li had casually doodled earlier and unexpectedly scored 61 points, landing his work on the Top 100 Exhibition. Shortly after, five tourists chose to experience 【Bicycle】, earning him 65 dollars in tips. This accomplishment felt even more satisfying than selling ten second-hand cars.

Brother Li now had the illusion that he was some sort of art master.

“You can earn tips with 【Stroke of the Brush】?”

“There was an introduction on the Top 100 Exhibition earlier. It looks like it’s true…” The tourists were surprised to hear Brother Li’s shout, and soon they were even more excited. It wasn’t about the money—it was a sense of achievement.

If this middle-aged man could make money with a casual doodle, why couldn’t they?

Invest 50 dollars? Let’s do it!

And so, after a small group of people had tried out the simulation cabin, even more tourists flocked back to the first-floor hall.

On the first day of their seven-day tour, 【Stroke of the Brush】 was bustling with business.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️