Ch 91: The World’s Number One Resort

Sora Office Building – Tang Huai and Xie Yunshu discussed matters until nine o’clock before going their separate ways. Meanwhile, in the Snow Village Scenic Area’s Ice Castle, Luo Liang chose a large ice suite, unpacked his luggage, and retrieved his editor’s phone number.

“Sister Li…” As soon as the call connected, Luo Liang got straight to the point. His editor, Li Yue, was a capable middle-aged woman.

“Blue Sky Publishing’s contact info? You know that Blue Sky only collaborates with a few anime publishers like Qisheng, and we don’t exactly get along with Qisheng… It’s better if Great Tang Resort handles this matter directly,” Li Yue replied, slightly exasperated after hearing Luo Liang’s request.

Putting aside why Luo Liang was on Sora Island in the first place, negotiating with Blue Sky Publishing was clearly not his responsibility. Since “Stroke of the Brush” was a project under Great Tang Resort, they should be the ones to handle this matter.

“Did you get confused while abroad?” Li Yue teased, knowing she had a good relationship with Luo Liang.

“Just send me Blue Sky’s contact info first. I’ll talk to Great Tang’s manager tomorrow. I heard he’s Chinese…” Luo Liang was at a loss for words. How could he have missed such an important detail? Strictly speaking, it was indeed more appropriate for Great Tang to handle this.

After hanging up, Luo Liang saved Blue Sky’s contact information, washed up, and then looked out the window.

There were many tourists on Sora Island now, and Blue Sea Lake was already full. Only Snow Village Scenic Area and Bianjing Ancient City had available rooms. Bianjing Ancient City featured shared sleeping arrangements, while Luo Liang preferred solitude. After researching the island’s options, he chose Snow Village Scenic Area as his residence.

Snow Village offered two types of accommodations: snow cottages at $100 per night and the Ice Castle at $800 per night. The Ice Castle had ten rooms, each covering about 60 square meters. All the furniture, including chairs and sofas, was made of ice. The castle had a stable temperature control system, maintaining an average temperature of around ten degrees Celsius. Despite its icy appearance, it provided a relatively comfortable living environment.

The Ice Castle was also the most expensive accommodation on Sora Island.

Its windows were made of ice, allowing a view of the continuous snow-covered mountains outside. Staring out, Luo Liang felt a surge of inspiration. He pulled out his sketchpad and began drawing a figure of Karoshu standing amidst the snow.

Karoshu!

…

On the morning of March 11th, at 8 a.m., the sky was clear. Tang Huai went out for his morning exercise. During his run, he encountered an unexpected figure.

Standing in front of the traditional-looking Delicious Restaurant was a muscular, burly man in his forties. He was dressed in a blue suit over a white shirt and was holding a bouquet of bright red roses, creating a stark contrast between his attire and appearance.

“Captain Reno?” Tang Huai stopped in his tracks. The man in front of him was none other than Reno, with whom he had previously collaborated several times. When did Captain Reno arrive?

“Mr. Tang? Ahem.” Reno, who had been nervously watching the restaurant, coughed awkwardly when he noticed Tang Huai. Tang Huai followed his gaze and saw that, though it was still early, Delicious Restaurant was already bustling. Aunt Miley, wearing an orange apron, was giving instructions to the AI waitstaff – a practice she had picked up from a live-streaming platform.

Tang Huai withdrew his gaze.

“Isn’t she beautiful? Miley is like a fluttering butterfly that has burst into my heart, making my world leap with joy,” Reno said. Though he was usually straightforward, his voice turned syrupy as he gazed at Aunt Miley.

Tang Huai felt goosebumps rise on his skin, but he quickly grasped Reno’s intentions… It seemed he had fallen for Aunt Miley.

Inside Delicious Restaurant, Aunt Miley finished the morning briefing and began busying herself in the main hall. Tang Huai thought that Reno would go up and confess his feelings, but he watched as Reno sighed, reluctantly retracting his captivated gaze.

“Manager Tang, does Great Tang need a business partner?” Captain Reno turned to Tang Huai.

Tang Huai: ?

Ten minutes later, Tang Huai finally understood what Reno meant. Captain Reno’s idea was straightforward: the Storm would help Sora Island attract and transport tourists, and Great Tang would just need to pay him the corresponding service fees.

The fees would range from five hundred to a thousand dollars, depending on the tourists’ length of stay and the region they visited on Sora Island.

“Manager Tang, the Storm regularly travels between Hawaii and Mexico. Stopping by Sora Island only takes a day… This is a mutually beneficial business,” Reno added.

Reno had spent two days on Sora Island, familiarizing himself with the prices. Although five hundred or a thousand dollars sounded like a lot, the round-trip transportation and customer acquisition wouldn’t require Great Tang’s involvement. Compared to those costs, this deal was quite favorable for Great Tang.

“Is the Storm looking to enter the tourism business?” Tang Huai asked after regaining his composure.

Though the Storm appeared old and worn out, its engines were the latest models, and Captain Reno had rich sailing experience. If they collaborated and included Sora’s travel insurance, safety wouldn’t be a concern. However, Tang Huai was surprised because the Storm already made a good profit, so it didn’t seem necessary for it to pivot to tourism…

“I need a reason to keep coming here,” Reno replied, gazing wistfully in the direction of Aunt Miley. Despite his usually carefree demeanor, in the presence of his goddess, he turned into a bashful old boy. His suit and the roses he held were meticulously prepared the night before, but now… he hesitated to approach her.

“Aunt Miley might not need a boyfriend…” Tang Huai could see that Reno’s true intention wasn’t just business. After some thought, he felt obliged to point out, “She is an AI, and while she can interact like a regular person, she doesn’t have the capacity for deep emotional recognition.”

Captain Reno’s crush was destined to be fruitless.

“You’re not Miley,” Reno grumbled. He was so focused on winning Aunt Miley’s heart that he dismissed any concerns.

Tang Huai was speechless. Reno’s determination was evident, and there was little he could do to dissuade him.

Although Aunt Miley was an intelligent AI with a relatively independent personality, Tang Huai wasn’t in a position to make decisions for her. Ultimately, it would be up to Aunt Miley to address Reno’s feelings.

The two of them continued discussing business matters before heading to Sora’s office building together. With a preliminary partnership established, all that remained was finalizing the contract.

…

“Hahaha, this is hilarious! Qiuyue turns into a frog monster? Zhao Qingshan would jump out of his grave if he knew!”

“It’s incredible. I watched it, and the ghost’s expressions and movements are so lifelike. You can’t even tell it’s an AI.”

“Ahhh, I want Karoshu too! Begging with all my heart for Karoshu to come to life!”

…

While Tang Huai and Reno discussed the contract details, the short video of “Drinking Alone under the moon “ began trending on Chinese social media.

At 10 p.m. in China, the hashtag “Stroke of the Brush – Karoshu” climbed to the top of Weibo’s trending list, with over ten million shares.

Great Tang Resort was already a frequent name on Weibo’s hot topics. When Stroke of the Brush first launched, it garnered moderate attention for a few hours. However, scenes like Bicycle and My Dressing Table were too mundane, attracting only passing interest from a niche audience.

Now, after seeing Karoshu and the Drinking Alone under the moon video, tourists were ecstatic. Unlike the earlier fleeting interest, the real-life avatars from Stroke of the Brush felt like a revolutionary technology!

…

“Characters coming to life… Su, get in touch with Great Tang Resort for me. Also, see if there are any artists skilled in character design…” While tourists buzzed with excitement, a stunning woman with an alluring figure sat in the office of Luohai’s Yuntian Building. She immediately perked up after seeing the “Stroke of the Brush – Karoshu” topic.

“What’s going on?” A man who appeared to be a manager was seated in the office opposite the woman and asked curiously after hearing her.

The woman’s name was Tao Ke, a currently popular Chinese actress. She gained massive fame a few years ago through a fantasy drama and a modern romance series, and later married another celebrity in the industry. Initially, their marriage was the envy of many, but the honeymoon phase was too short. Three months after their wedding, both were caught cheating…

Cheating on both sides might not have been a big deal—they could have just gotten divorced. However, Tao Ke had a strong personality, and her ex-husband wasn’t an easy character either. Their divorce turned into an ugly public fight, which played out as a “battle of the century” on Weibo.

Though the drama had ended, Tao Ke’s personal image suffered a great blow. Simply put, she had fallen from grace.

She went from being a top A-list star to somewhere outside the top three tiers, and after two years, she still hadn’t bounced back. As someone who had once been incredibly famous, Tao Ke maintained a calm appearance, but deep down, she was far from willing to accept this downfall.

It was in this state of discontent that she stumbled upon the latest trending topic about Great Tang Resort. The topic about Stroke of the Brush had just started gaining traction, and not many celebrities had likely noticed it yet…

With this thought, Tao Ke looked up, “I want to be in the spotlight again.”

When she first debuted, Tao Ke had been known as the ‘Queen of Hype,’ adept at leveraging publicity stunts to perfection. After speaking, she handed her phone over.

“I’ll get in touch on Weibo first,” her manager, Su Ge, said half an hour later. Having worked together for years, he immediately understood what Tao Ke meant.

There are various ways for a celebrity to clean up their image: appearing on variety shows, doing charity work, or acting in heartwarming youth dramas… Tao Ke had tried all these methods in recent years, but the evidence of her cheating was too solid. Efforts to rehabilitate her reputation had only marginal effects. If possible, Su Ge preferred to revive Tao Ke’s career since her acting skills were still top-notch.

With this in mind, Su Ge sent a private message to Great Tang Resort’s official Weibo account. Despite the company’s popularity, they had only provided a contact number for the resort office. Getting in touch with Tang Huai directly would likely be more challenging.

…

“Pleasure doing business.” While Tao Ke and her team actively sought contact with Great Tang Resort, in the resort’s office, Tang Huai and Reno had just finalized their contract after a full afternoon of discussing details. The contract, drafted by Xie Yunshu, adhered to international standards.

“I’m getting hungry; I’m going to grab something to eat first,” Reno said, heading toward the Delicious Restaurant with a familiar stride. After a whole afternoon of thinking, he decided to take things slowly, starting with getting Aunt Miley to recognize him before he gave her the roses.

Reno left in high spirits while Xie Yunshu went off to inspect various attractions. Tang Huai stayed in the office for a while before returning to the island master’s villa.

Under the starry sky, Tang Huai freshened up and opened the task interface.

Host Name: Tang Huai
Current Task: None
Island Value: 89,000+
Fame Value: 1,205,000,000+
Inventory: [Solara Highway] x3, [Windmill] x2

The task interface was as clean and straightforward as always. Tang Huai glanced at the fame value with immense satisfaction. After nearly a month of accumulation, the system’s fame value had finally surpassed a billion.

One billion two hundred million… That was a considerable amount. Tang Huai decided to start spending it tonight. In addition, there were still three chances to try his luck by throwing gold coins…

In any case, spending fame points was the most enjoyable part!

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️