Ch 120: The World’s Number One Resort

At 3 p.m. the next day, Liu Ke and his group arrived at the Hawaii airport and quickly boarded the cruise heading to the Great Tang Resort. They were on the Great Tang No. 1. Since the launch of Great Tang No. 2, these two ships have alternated routes.

The Great Tang No. 2 primarily caters to large groups of over a thousand people, while No. 1 handles smaller groups and independent travelers, making a round trip every five days. Liu Ke and his group were fortunate; they arrived at the port just as the Great Tang No. 1 was docking.

There were over 200 tourists on board this time, all of whom had come to Hawaii for sightseeing but were drawn to the allure of the Great Tang. Each tourist was charged $200 for accommodation and a simple meal, a relatively reasonable price.

Once on board, Liu Ke held a short, half-hour meeting with Wang Lu and the others, then headed to the deck for a smoke. The Great Tang No. 1 had already sailed out of Honolulu’s port, and the vast, tranquil ocean stretched out in all directions.

As the chief director of Treasure Travel, Liu Ke had visited many famous places worldwide over the years, and countless sea voyages had become routine. This time, he wasn’t focused on the scenery; instead, he was deep in thought about the planning for the third season of Treasure Travel. With the foundation of the first two seasons, he was genuinely concerned that the third might flop under his direction.

“We expect to arrive at the Great Tang Resort tomorrow afternoon, but there are no available treehouses…” A cautious English voice interrupted Liu Ke’s thoughts. Liu Ke had graduated from Luohai University, so he had no problem understanding English.

He turned around to see a large parasol on the south side of the deck, with three lounge chairs beneath it. A man in a beach shirt and black sunglasses was leisurely lying on one of the chairs. Three neatly dressed assistants stood by his side, while a blonde guide-like woman was the one who had just spoken.

After the woman finished, one of the assistants translated the words to the man in some unfamiliar language.

The man spoke in a language Liu Ke didn’t understand, but judging by the accent, it seemed to be from the Middle East. Coupled with the man’s demeanor and the aura of his assistants, Liu Ke speculated that he might be a Middle Eastern tycoon.

Liu Ke couldn’t help but take a few more glances.

“Sir, Mr. Nasser requires some peace,” the blonde woman walked up to Liu Ke after a brief moment.

Liu Ke: … He was standing over 20 meters away from the man in sunglasses, quietly having a smoke. How was that bothering him?

“I’ll leave now,” Liu Ke forced a smile, feeling a bit stifled. He was quite a prominent figure in Luohai, but now… better to avoid trouble.

He stubbed out his cigarette and turned to leave. However, he paused mid-step as he returned to the cabin. He noticed three bodyguards dressed in black standing at the corner of the deck and the second floor. They kept a constant eye on the man, while the blonde woman was gently peeling grapes for him like a docile servant.

The man’s demeanor screamed ‘VIP treatment.’

Liu Ke was intrigued. The types of tourists that Great Tang Resort attracted were indeed diverse and peculiar…

With this small distraction, Liu Ke gradually calmed down. Now that things had come this far, he could only take it one step at a time.

…

“A million dollars? Is that for real?”

“Oh my god, that car is just up ahead. I never thought we’d win…”

“I need to catch my breath. A million dollars, six million yuan… Will Great Tang really cash it out?”

While the Pacific Ocean remained calm and sunny, the Thrilling Racing track at Great Tang Resort was far from peaceful. Since the European Union tourists arrived, the resort had instantly come alive. It had now become a bona fide vacation island.

Tang Huai did some statistics and found that the most popular attractions were Sky Forest and Stroke of the Brush, followed by Snow Village. Thrilling Racing, due to its high-intensity thrills and short duration, ranked second to last in overall revenue.

The least profitable attraction was Blue Sea Forest.

Blue Sea Forest wasn’t unpopular, but besides underwater activities, it had no other paid features…

“Beep beep…”

“I’m on my way now.” Tang Huai was in the middle of updating the task progress when he received an internal call from the island. He responded briefly, put on his coat, and headed out.

The call came from an AI, and for a simple reason: someone had broken the 8-minute clearance record.

When Thrilling Racing first opened, Tang Huai had organized a Thrilling Racing competition with a grand prize of one million USD. There was no time limit. Over the past six months, many tourists had attempted the challenge, but the best record so far was 9 minutes and 37 seconds, still far from winning the million-dollar prize. Gradually, visitors began treating the prize like a lottery—something to casually try for fun without any real hope of winning.

Since the arrival of the EU tourists, Thrilling Racing had seen an uptick in activity, with around 700 visitors daily. Most tourists played casually, so when the electronic screen suddenly changed, it came as a total surprise.

Just like that, the million-dollar winner was born without warning.

“A lucky charm! Can I take a picture with you?”

“Gotta rub off some of that good luck…”

“Wait, why does this guy look familiar?”

…

Tang Huai arrived at the racing track to find a black-and-red sports car surrounded by a crowd. Many tourists, regardless of their skin color or nationality, were snapping pictures with their phones.

A million dollars is a significant amount, even in the EU.

“Excuse me, please.”

The AI maintained some order as Tang Huai approached.

“Manager Tang…” The door of the black-and-red car opened, and a young man stepped out. Upon seeing Tang Huai, he looked a bit dazed, his steps still unsteady, completely unprepared for actually winning the race.

“Mr. He?” Tang Huai was surprised when the young man spoke. The person before him was He Kun from ST Supercar.

He had thought all the ST members had left, not expecting He Kun to still be here.

He Kun didn’t notice Tang Huai’s expression; he was too bewildered as he glanced around, still lost in thought.

Sixty-three days.

Since the misunderstanding from two months ago, He Kun and his follower had been staying at the Great Tang Resort for 63 days. In all this time, He Kun had not visited the Fruit Kingdom, the Snow Village, or even learned about the new Sky Forest opening.

He had devoted all his energy to Thrilling Racing. Despite his brash exterior, He Kun was competitive. He had embarrassed himself in front of the whole internet! While netizens might be like goldfish, forgetting what happened on the Luohai live stream two months ago, He Kun’s pride couldn’t let it go.

To prevent addiction, Thrilling Racing had a daily limit of three attempts.

He Kun used up his daily attempts every day, spending the rest of his time studying the terrain along the track’s edge. During those 63 days, he had walked the circuit countless times, transforming from a pale couch potato to a man with a faint six-pack.

Despite all that effort, He Kun hadn’t discovered any secret strategies. During this time, he received multiple calls from China, which he brushed off casually. Eventually, his family even cut off his credit card.

He had been using his follower’s card.

Outwardly, He Kun appeared fine, but inwardly, he began to question the point of his stubbornness. Today, as usual, he got into the car and shifted gears.

Iron tracks, abandoned factories, sky-high broken bridges… He Kun drove mechanically. Through repeated practice, while he hadn’t yet broken the 10-minute barrier, he had managed to complete the track several times.

He Kun thought today’s best outcome would be to finish the track. But unexpectedly, in a daze, he not only completed the track but also broke the 8-minute mark…

He glanced at the screen: 7 minutes and 52 seconds, matching the time on his car’s record display.

“He ge!” Amidst his daze, a young man in a short-sleeved shirt squeezed through the crowd. He Kun looked up. The young man held two pieces of bread in his hands—it was his follower.

“Manager Tang, did I really win the million?” He Kun snapped back to reality upon seeing his follower, turning to Tang Huai to ask uncertainly.

“Mr. He, congratulations. The prize will be transferred to your account within three business days,” Tang Huai replied with a smile after checking the system records. He had set up the million-dollar prize back then, so he wasn’t worried about someone actually claiming it.

“Haha, I won! Damn it, I finally won!” He Kun, upon receiving a definitive answer from Tang Huai, couldn’t stop laughing. Yet, amidst the laughter, a wave of bitterness welled up inside him.

He had been battling with himself for sixty-three days, and it had been exhausting!

“He ge, let’s have lunch first.” His follower handed him the bread. With He Kun’s credit card cut off, their pocket money was tight. After accounting for daily room fees, life had been tough for the two of them.

Of course, their version of ‘tough’ meant not being able to dine three times a day at fancy restaurants…

“To hell with that, we’re having a feast!” He Kun waved his hand grandly. After eating bread for five days straight, he couldn’t stomach it anymore.

“Bro, thank you.” He took a step forward, then turned back to face his follower with a serious expression. Without his follower’s support, he really couldn’t have made it through this period alone.

“No problem, He ge.” The follower’s eyes glistened with emotion; all his time and effort had finally paid off.

“The winner of the six-million-yuan Thrilling Racing grand prize has been revealed!”

“ST’s He Kun wins the one-million-dollar grand prize!”

“A man of his word, the generous Great Tang!”

…

After Tang Huai and He Kun left, the Thrilling Racing track was still buzzing with chatter about the grand prize. It wasn’t that they hadn’t seen tourists win prizes before, but those were mostly things like phones, laptops, or even cars like a Porsche. Aside from lotteries, those prizes usually capped at around seven or eight hundred thousand yuan. A straightforward payout of six million yuan was exceptionally rare.

The tourists, eager for some excitement, had recorded the scene on video and quickly uploaded it to social media. Although Great Tang’s presence on Weibo and other platforms like Douyin had waned a bit, it remained one of the top scenic spots travelers loved to showcase.

“Manager Tang, did I really win?”

“Mr. He, congratulations…”

The most shared video was “He Kun Confirms.” In the video, He Kun hesitantly asks, and Tang Huai replies seriously. The surrounding tourists held their breath, listening intently… The atmosphere couldn’t have been tenser.

“Damn, did someone actually win? Does Great Tang have more events like this? I need to go!”

“Staged, maybe? We’re talking about a million dollars here. Sounds like a publicity stunt…”

“Publicity stunt? Does ST’s He Kun need publicity? The full video is already out. This isn’t something just anyone can pull off.”

“One million? Who knows, maybe the higher-ups at Great Tang will backtrack after some discussion.”

On Sora Island, it was 8 PM, while in China, it was the start of the workday. Netizens scrolling through Douyin saw the mention of “one million dollars” and started discussing it with curiosity.

Aside from the discussion, many couldn’t help but feel a tinge of envy. While they were busy scrambling for fruits, Great Tang was casually throwing around a million dollars…

The disparity… it was maddening.

Amidst this debate, conspiracy theories began to brew. Questions arose about how He Kun won and whether there was foul play during the race. As people dug deeper, unearthing racing videos and He Kun’s background, all the speculation came to a halt.

He Kun genuinely won the prize through sheer skill… which somehow made the situation even harder to swallow.

How lucky could one person get? It was frustrating.

@STHeKun: “Shoutout to Great Tang for their efficiency. The million-dollar prize is in my account. Haha, all that time spent training was worth it! @GreatTangResort. [Picture]”

@GreatTangResort: “Congratulations to @STHeKun. Thrilling Racing is a thrilling and adventurous activity. To enhance the gaming experience, we will now offer a two-million-dollar grand prize to the first player who breaks the seven-minute mark.”

At 10 PM on Sora Island, the funds were already in He Kun’s account. Unable to contain his excitement, He Kun took to Weibo to share his transaction receipt and express his joy.

Within half an hour, @GreatTangResort also updated their Weibo, playfully interacting and highlighting the new rules.

Tourists who read the words “seven minutes” and “two million dollars” were immediately fired up.

Previously, the Thrilling Racing challenge was to beat “eight minutes” for “one million dollars.” But it always felt out of reach, like clouds in the sky—visible but unattainable. Now, with He Kun leading the way, tourists couldn’t sit still.

If He Kun, an amateur racer, could win, why couldn’t they?

This was two million dollars, double the previous prize!

The more they thought about it, the more exhilarated they became!

“Ding! Congratulations to the host for achieving the ‘Ten Million Followers’ milestone. You have been awarded one ‘Advanced Grand Prize Draw.’”

While tourists geared up for the challenge, at Great Tang Resort, Tang Huai, having just posted on Weibo and preparing to sleep, suddenly heard the long-awaited system prompt.

Tang Huai: What? An ‘Advanced Grand Prize Draw?’ This was a significant upgrade from the previous ‘Lucky Draw,’ with two extra ‘Advanced’ prefixes.

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