Ch 105: The World’s Number One Resort

Tang Huai glanced at the system interface and then opened his personal panel.

Host Name: Tang Huai
Scenic Areas: [Blue Sea Lake], [Snow Village], [Bianjing Ancient City]…
Current Task: Host tourists from ten countries within one month, with a minimum of 1,000 visitors from each country.
Task Progress: 10%
Island Value: 1.06 million+
Reputation Value: 52 million+

Tang Huai casually opened the panel, but when he saw the reputation value, he was somewhat surprised. If he remembered correctly, three days ago, it was around 20 million. Now, it had jumped by 30 million!

It was 10 AM, and the sun was quite glaring. Tang Huai returned to the Island Master’s Courtyard and casually opened Weibo.

“Three counterfeit Great Tang Fruit outlets were seized in Guang City, making this the thirty-second such case so far.”
“A blood petition of ten thousand people, Great Tang Fruit’s popularity reaches a new high.”
“Several beauty bloggers recommend Great Tang Fruit for its powerful repair effects on collagen damage.”

Tang Huai searched the “Great Tang Fruit” topic. Unlike yesterday’s tide of doubts, the evaluation of Great Tang Fruit was now trending positively, and the counterfeit outlets labeled as “Great Tang Authentic Fruit Reseller” and “Great Tang Pineapple Reseller” were being successively busted.

In fact, after Tang Huai’s clarification on Weibo, most discerning tourists had figured out the truth: if the official Great Tang store couldn’t even meet demand, how could there be excess stock for resellers?

Moreover, the claims of de-labeled products and internal employee smuggling were laughable. They were all transported on the same ships—did they think Great Tang’s monitoring was a joke? In short, such counterfeit rhetoric held no ground.

Traditionally, Huaxia’s authorities had turned a blind eye to counterfeit products, but greed knows no bounds. The counterfeit Great Tang Fruits were being sold too aggressively. After a flood of buyer reports, a large-scale official crackdown ensued.

The crackdown yielded positive results. Not only did it boost the popularity of Great Tang Fruit, but it also significantly enhanced the credibility of the official regulatory departments.

Tang Huai browsed through the trending topics. The most shared post was from Li Yuan’s Weibo. With support from his loyal fans, the “One Person’s Blood Petition” thread had now grown to “37.29 million people’s blood petition.” While the actual number wasn’t that high, it reflected the level of attention Great Tang Resort was receiving.

Great Tang Resort: “Received. [Soldier] [Soldier]”

Tang Huai reposted Li Yuan’s Weibo. Including the previous fruit launch incident, Li Yuan had now taken a stand for Great Tang twice. Tang Huai made a mental note of this friendship.

“Big hug to Great Tang. Not only counterfeited, but also blamed by @Yangxiezi. Poor thing.”
“Ahhh, increase the stock!”
“Crying, can Great Tang offer air shipping? Global express delivery, please.”
“Same here, the domestic stock is too little. Even international air shipping is fine; we’re really not short on cash!”

Now, @GreatTangResort had over 50 million followers, making it a significant influencer on Weibo. As soon as Tang Huai posted, tourists flooded the comments. Apart from expressing sympathy for Great Tang, they vented their frustration about the limited stock. Their demands had already been lowered again and again; now they weren’t asking for expanded stock but simply for air shipping.

Tang Huai skimmed through the tourists’ comments and touched his nose thoughtfully.

Air express… Hmm, once Great Tang’s airport is officially operational, perhaps they could start an air shipping service.

Tang Huai noted the increased attention on Great Tang Fruit compared to before. He had initially planned to write a long post addressing the “Great Tang Anti-Counterfeit” issue, but now it seemed unnecessary.

Tang Huai stretched his muscles. With the CC contract signed and the Great Tang stores officially opened, the next focus was the system’s task.

Hosting tourists from ten countries within a month… Attracting tourists wasn’t difficult, but having them come from ten specific countries posed a challenge.

Tang Huai pondered for a moment. What if they opened travel branches abroad?

Over the next two days, Tang Huai planned the best way to attract visitors. Meanwhile, after the opening of the Great Tang branches, Han Tao and others gradually packed their luggage and prepared to return home. They wished they could stay longer in Great Tang, but their work back in the country didn’t allow it.

The feeling… was a bit bittersweet.

As Han Tao and the others left, the second group of Great Tang tourists also began their return journey. However, just as they were leaving, the third group of tourists arrived. Like a continuous circle, Great Tang Resort remained bustling with activity.

…

“Guerrero, Port Three… this should be the place.” While Tang Huai was pondering the best way to complete the system’s task, at Guerrero Port in Mexico City, a man over 1.8 meters tall, dressed in a black leather jacket and wearing a black hat, was looking at a map and curiously surveying his surroundings.

The man dragged a silver suitcase behind him. Judging by his build, he seemed to be in his early twenties.

It was now 10 AM, and a gentle breeze blew past, causing the man to adjust his hat. A black mask covered most of his face, but a blue mark was visible on his right cheek, giving the impression of a trendy tattoo.

His all-black attire made him appear low-key and mysterious.

“I wonder if the Storm has set sail yet…”

He glanced around, then shifted his focus back to the map in his hands.

This man was Yu You. After three months of intense training, he was now able to walk steadily for twelve hours. With spring in full bloom, Yu You set his sights on Sora Island and decided to visit.

There lay Blue Ocean Lake, Bianjing Ancient City, and the fluffy white downy sheep… and Tang Huai. For some time, Yu You had been preparing for his journey to Sora Island. Besides simple clothing, he also packed a dahlia specimen. He had picked it from the garden of the villa in the ring city, thinking Tang Huai might like dahlias.

Yu You had previously sent Tang Huai pictures of the dahlias, but he felt that the photos didn’t capture their true beauty as the specimen did. With this thought, he glanced at his silver suitcase and continued walking toward Port Three.

Yu You had researched the routes to Great Tang Vacation. Aside from private boat rentals, there were two official routes: Great Tang No. 1 and the Storm. Great Tang No. 1 primarily sailed from Hawaii to Sora Island, while the Storm, operated by Captain Reno, primarily ran from Mexico to Sora Island.

Naturally, Yu You focused on the Storm.

He had planned to call Tang Huai before leaving, but he decided against it. He knew Tang Huai’s personality; if he called, Tang Huai would probably drop everything to help him make arrangements.

Yu You didn’t like to trouble others, especially Tang Huai. After careful consideration, he decided to make the trip alone, hoping to surprise Tang Huai.

So, he packed his luggage, hailed a cab, and arrived at the port. The outside world was fascinating, but Yu You had a clear goal and didn’t linger.

Lost in his thoughts, Yu You eventually reached Port Three.

Port Three was the Storm’s designated port, with sailings to Sora Island on the 8th, 18th, and 28th of each month. Today was the 28th.

However…

As Yu You stood on the pier, he noticed that most of the boats around him were small, worn-out fishing vessels, not capable of making it to Sora Island — they couldn’t even leave the Mexican port.

He paused, a hint of confusion crossing his face.

“Damn, the Storm is under maintenance today and won’t sail until the 8th of next month.”

“Are we supposed to stay in Mexico for ten days?”

“Transfer through Hawaii? That would be an unplanned expense…”

While Yu You was lost in thought, he heard a few annoyed voices beside him. Turning around, he saw three men and one woman. Judging by their skin tone, they appeared to be native Mexicans, and given their fluent Spanish, they were also likely headed to Sora Island…

Since partnering with Great Tang Resort, Reno hadn’t simply waited at the port for passengers. Instead, he had made arrangements with nearby travel agencies, distributing promotional flyers for Great Tang Resort along with the Storm’s sailing schedule.

Reno provided a commission to the travel agencies, and through their promotional efforts, the Storm had consistently managed to transport ten to twenty tourists each time.

The Storm primarily dealt with Hawaii’s fishing business, transporting goods in batches of ten to twenty each time, which provided a considerable side income. However, the mast of the Storm had suffered some damage, forcing it to pause its operations temporarily.

The Storm had communicated this with the travel agencies, but the three men and one woman here were referred by friends and hadn’t checked for updates on the ship’s schedule. Now, upon confirming that the Storm would not be setting sail, they were all filled with regret.

Yu You listened to their conversation and gathered most of the details. Though he had the appearance of someone from China, he had no trouble communicating in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.

After finishing their discussion, the four seemed uncertain about what to do next.

Yu You was also feeling a bit disappointed. He didn’t have a passport and couldn’t go to Hawaii. The only way for him to get to Sora Island was to wait another ten days…

“Heading to Sora Island?” Just as Yu You was about to leave, a rough male voice called out from not far away.

Turning around, Yu You saw a Caucasian man standing about 1.9 meters tall, his body packed with muscles. He wore a dark blue short-sleeve shirt, and his thick eyebrows and large eyes gave him a strong and energetic appearance.

The man was addressing Yu You and the others.

“Yes.” The three men and one woman exchanged glances and nodded. They were freshmen at the state university, and some of their classmates had visited Sora Island during their high school graduation trips. From their classmates’ Twitter posts, Blue Sea Lake and the Ice Snow Castle perfectly matched their fantasies of fairy tales and adventures.

The four had planned this trip to Sora Island during their break, but to their dismay, they arrived only to find that the ship wouldn’t be sailing…

“And you?” The man turned to Yu You with a smile. Based on their attire, it was obvious that Yu You and the other group were not from the same circle.

“Yes,” Yu You replied hesitantly, just as he was preparing to leave.

“The Tequila is heading to Singapore and will pass by Sora Island. One thousand dollars per person. Interested?” The man grinned and pointed to the south side of the port. The group turned and saw a large ship that had just docked. The ship was painted in black and blue, with many workers on the deck carrying burlap sacks.

“What do you do?” the young woman asked cautiously.

“We produce low-cost children’s clothing and will be passing by Sora Island. We can drop you off,” the man explained with a smile.

The three men and the woman hesitated.

“Will you drop us off at Sora Port?” one of the men asked. They had done their research and knew that Sora Port was the largest port on Sora Island.

“We’ll get you there within five days. Here’s the ship’s registration number; you can verify it on the international shipping website. It’s perfectly legitimate. Our boss covers the fuel costs, and we workers are just looking to make some extra cash,” the man answered seriously.

The four exchanged a glance, and after confirming that the ship was legitimate, they pulled out 4,000 dollars. The Storm also charged 1,000 dollars per person, so since the Storm wasn’t an option, paying the fare for the Tequila seemed reasonable.

The man counted the money and arranged for the four to board the ship.

“Are you coming? There’s a marine storm next week, so the next trip won’t be until after the 10th,” the man said, turning his gaze back to Yu You.

Yu You was about to refuse but hesitated upon hearing about the marine storm.

He checked his phone and saw that the weather forecast for the next week was indeed unfavorable.

“Making money isn’t easy. If you come aboard, we’ll throw in three days’ breakfast for free. How about that?” the man said in a seemingly hearty manner, sensing Yu You’s hesitation.

Yu You glanced at the port, where the wind was starting to pick up, and then looked at the backs of the four individuals. Slowly, he nodded.

Thus, at the man’s invitation, Yu You headed toward the Tequila. Through some conversation, he learned that the man’s name was Aubrey, the manager of the Tequila, but that was about all he found out.

“You deal in children’s clothing?” Yu You asked as he followed Aubrey onto the ship. Seeing the numerous brown burlap sacks, he frowned slightly. The sacks looked dirty and dark, each one bulging. No matter how he looked at them, they didn’t seem like they were filled with children’s clothes…

“Just some old clothes. You know, many people in Africa like these,” Aubrey waved his hand dismissively. As Yu You boarded the ship, several crew members grinned at him in greeting.

Although still a bit suspicious, Yu You knew that the Tequila had all the necessary paperwork. After some consideration, he decided to continue onto the ship.

The air inside the Tequila‘s cabin was not great. Yu You’s room was A-12, a two-person cabin. Aside from him, there was a young man with a buzz cut—the one from the group of three men and one woman.

When Yu You entered, the young man had already chosen a bed and was humming an English song with his headphones on.

The young man noticed Yu You but didn’t speak. Instead, he moved his shoes to make room for a narrow passage. Yu You didn’t mind; he wasn’t keen on communicating with others except for Tang Huai.

After settling his belongings, Yu You opened the small window, gazing outside curiously. Beyond the ship was an endless expanse of deep blue sea, with the occasional seagull flying overhead.

The sea, the ship, the seagulls… as Yu You took in the surroundings, he felt a sense of familiarity.

Perhaps, he had stayed in a ship’s cabin before?

Yu You looked down at his hands. His memories before the greenhouse were vague. He vaguely recalled a thin, elderly man finding him. The man had said, “I’ll take you somewhere.”

Yu You had an impression of the old man; it was Tang Wangchun. However, from their first meeting to their last, he had only seen him three times. After that, it was Tang Huai who entered his life.

Thinking of Tang Huai, Yu You’s lips curved into a slight smile.

Just five more days, and he would see Tang Huai.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️