Ch 149: The World’s Number One Resort

The full name of the Global Environmental Conference is the Global Economy and Environment Conference. It is a global public welfare meeting primarily focused on exploring the direction of the Earth’s greening and environmental protection development. Led by the United Nations, with cooperation from various countries, the participating nations form special promotional teams to attend the conference each year from March to May.

Each promotional team comprises 300 to 2,000 members. Apart from official representatives, the teams mainly consist of combinations such as “specialty cuisine” and “national arts.”

It’s somewhat like a township market fair in China, but it’s a global event comparable to the Olympics.

“The process for the Environmental Conference requires interested countries to submit applications by September 30th, followed by an official online vote by global netizens. The conference’s assessment team will combine public opinions with local customs and conditions to decide the host country in early November, after which the world is informed,” Tang Huai finished reading the information while Xie Yunshu added details on the side.

“Can Sora Island, as a neutral island, apply?” Tang Huai pondered, feeling somewhat uncertain. The Global Environmental Conference is a worldwide event, but the application conditions require participation in the capacity of a “country.” No matter how he looked at it, Great Tang seemed a bit lacking in qualifications.

“In addition to countries, private territories larger than 100,000 square meters can also apply. Great Tang meets the criteria,” Xie Yunshu understood what Tang Huai meant and took out another document.

This was the application requirement document for the Global Environmental Conference.

“Apply,” Tang Huai said decisively after flipping through the document. The Global Environmental Conference is a prestigious event that can boost honor. While hosting the conference, it would attract over a million visitors. The model is exactly like the Olympics, just that the competition events are replaced with exhibitions of national specialties.

After considering for a while, Tang Huai really found no reason to refuse.

Xie Yunshu nodded and then began drafting the application materials. According to the conference’s official website, 130 countries and 21 private territories had already applied. It would not be easy for Great Tang to stand out.

Tang Huai worked in the office for a while.

When everything was finally done, it was 2 p.m. Tang Huai took a short break before heading to the Sora Dungeon.

According to the secretary’s statistics, the dungeon’s revenue was $320,000. That was just the morning’s result. Although the income couldn’t compare to Bianjing Ancient City or Sky Forest, it had far exceeded Tang Huai’s expectations.

Tang Huai was very satisfied with the Sora Dungeon’s visitor flow. He didn’t have high demands, as long as it could maintain the current momentum.

…

“How many is this?”

“Twenty-seven.”

…

While Tang Huai was heading to the dungeon, Zhang Liang and Zhao Siyu were staring at the badges they had just bought, a bit dazed.

The badges depicted bamboo grove patterns with the Great Tang Resort logo in the background.

In addition to the badges, they also held a black-and-gold collection album.

They opened the album, which had fifty-five pages, each with a small paper slot for a badge. The slot was surrounded by a description of the corresponding scenery. Once the badge was placed, it blended seamlessly with the surrounding scene, creating a stunning effect.

This was the matching product for the badges.

They found the code for the bamboo grove, number “32.”

“Bamboo Grove” was their 27th badge purchase. According to the album’s description, they still had 28 left to collect.

The album was given for free, and visitors could pick it up at any badge sales point with a Sora Pass. The Great Tang album had a beautiful package and was exquisitely crafted. When they first received it, they were thrilled, but after walking around a bit, they sensed something was off.

It felt like collecting cards back in elementary school. After placing the first badge, they wanted to place the second, then the third… In just a short time, they had already placed 26 badges.

“It’s a trap, a trap! Great Tang’s trap runs way too deep.”

Zhang Liang placed the bamboo grove badge into the album, unable to hold back his complaints. Compared to the high entrance fee of Great Tang Resort, the $50 per badge was within an acceptable range. But that was for a single badge—completing all fifty-five slots would cost upwards of $2,700.

Oh my, what a deep trap!

“Should we buy more?” Zhao Siyu put away the album, asking somewhat uncertainly. Both of them were salaried workers, and this whole set, costing over 10,000 yuan, was quite expensive.

If they bought it, it was costly. If they didn’t, having half the album empty felt awkward. Zhao Siyu was deeply torn.

“Let’s buy them. If we don’t like them later, we can resell them online,” Zhang Liang hesitated before gritting his teeth and deciding. If they lose a thousand or two, so be it; right now, it’s hard to put a price on this joy.

With that, the two of them, hand in hand, headed toward the next scenic spot.

While Zhang Liang and Zhao Siyu wavered over collecting badges, there was no shortage of wealthy visitors at Great Tang Resort. Some would fill their albums right away and then offer $100 to buy badges from other tourists. The Great Tang album was just too exquisite; the craftsmanship alone was worth the purchase price!

The wealthy tourists were quick to act, but others weren’t fools either. The album was a symbol of the Great Tang Resort; even if they didn’t buy the badges, displaying it in their living room at home would be quite impressive. Thus, on its opening day, the Great Tang album became the most discussed product among the visitors.

At 3 p.m., Tang Huai arrived at Sora Dungeon. His expression froze momentarily at the sight of the massive black hole. But with Sky Forest already in place, adding a black hole didn’t seem impossible.

Tang Huai glanced at the dungeon guide before joining the visitors in sliding down the rope.

The lively atmosphere of the visitors rubbed off on him, and Tang Huai thoroughly enjoyed himself.

It was an eye-opening experience.

…

“Oh my God! Great Tang Resort’s technology is so advanced. This is a perfect virtual simulation! I wonder if this technology can be popularized.”

“This is the volcanic rock badge. It’s so cool! I can’t wait for Great Tang’s next scenic spot.”

“I’m a projection equipment developer. The dungeon probably combines ASF projection and HZ technology. Hmm, I have a theoretical understanding, but it’s hard to achieve in practice. I wonder how Great Tang did it…”

“I can’t stand it; I want to go. I’m booking a ticket to Great Tang! The flight connection is just too amazing.”

“Haha, I’m already on my way to the airport…”

…

In today’s information age, with the support of Great Tang’s fruits and glasses, Great Tang Resort was no longer an obscure name.

People were closely following Great Tang. “Cloud tourism” had become a daily check-in activity for tourists.

Now that the dungeon was unveiled, visitors couldn’t help but discuss it. However, unlike before, this time, besides the project itself, they were also keenly interested in the company behind Great Tang—FillTech.

“FillTech” and “Great Tang” often appeared together. Yet, online searches yielded little more than a string of patents and historical achievements. It seemed that FillTech Company remained as mysterious as ever.

As the conversation veered off course, visitors were left scratching their heads. Following Great Tang, the search volume for “FillTech Company” continued to climb.

…

“Mr. Steven, here is the conference application. There are a total of 132 countries and 21 private territories.” A week later, in a solemn and imposing office in Los Angeles, a young man who looked like a secretary was reporting earnestly. Sitting behind the desk was a thin, slightly gray-haired old man.

The old man’s name was Steven Lyle. He had been a war correspondent for the Global News Journal in his early years, and later devoted himself to global greening and environmental protection. Steven had a resolute character and was serious in his work. Five years ago, he was officially appointed as the permanent chairman of the Global Conference Assessment Team.

The assessment team consisted of seventy-two members, all of whom had made outstanding contributions to global environmental protection. The team members, adhering to fairness and justice, had been committed to the selection work of the global conference.

The public voting had not yet begun, and Steven was currently preparing for it. Today was September 30th, and the public voting interface would officially update at midnight.

“Is this all the information?” As the secretary finished speaking, Steven put down his work. Compared to last year, the number of applicant countries had increased by sixteen this year.

“Yes, it’s all here.”

“Enter it in.”

Steven waved his hand. At midnight, applications for the Global Environmental Conference would officially close.

“Understood.” The secretary responded. The environmental website had been updating in real-time during this period; today, they just needed to input the remaining two applications.

After a brief discussion, the secretary was about to leave the room.

“Knock, knock—”

“Mr. Lyle…”

Just as the secretary opened the office door, a young man in a blue shirt pushed his way in. The young man was an intern from the University of Washington, known for his slightly rash personality.

“What’s the matter?” The secretary frowned.

“Mr. Lyle, we found an application that hadn’t been registered yet. It was discovered in the mailbox while verifying the applications…” The young man hurriedly explained. The application process for each country involved two steps: first, submitting an electronic application via email. Once reviewed and approved, a receipt would be sent back. Second, the applicant country would mail the necessary documents to the assessment team at the address provided.

The document in the young man’s hand had been mailed the previous week, but there had been a significant mix-up in the processing team. It wasn’t discovered until now. Fortunately, today was the final day for submissions. If this had been missed at the midnight update, it would have been a major blunder.

“Such an important matter!” The secretary realized the gravity of the situation. Taking the application, he quickly handed it over to Steven.

“This is a serious work mistake.” Steven frowned. This was an unnecessary error that, if mishandled, could easily escalate into a diplomatic issue.

The secretary held his breath. While Steven was usually a kind elderly gentleman, he was extremely strict and decisive when it came to work. Especially with such a serious oversight…

The atmosphere in the office grew tense. Amidst the pressure, Steven took the application.

He opened the document.

“Great Tang Resort?” Steven was momentarily stunned upon seeing the applicant’s name.

Applicant: Sora Island, Great Tang Resort.

Type: Private Island.

Area: 1,292.83 square kilometers.

Steven had not been involved in the review process and had been busy with other work, so this was the first time he had heard of “Great Tang Resort.”

Thinking it over, Steven assumed it was probably some Western aristocrat’s private land.

“Proceed with normal entry.” Steven confirmed there were no issues and handed the application back to the secretary. It was now 2 p.m., so there was plenty of time to input the information.

The secretary took the application. Unlike Steven, he felt he had heard this name before… and not just once, but frequently!

However, in his current state of nervousness, he couldn’t quite recall where.

Amid this confusion, Steven completed the entry process as usual.

The environmental website had partnered with Twitter, setting the opening screen link to the conference’s official website throughout October. To ensure fairness and justice, the website implemented a real-name voting system combined with technical monitoring, fundamentally preventing vote manipulation.

In the midst of all this activity, at midnight on October 1st, the environmental website updated.

Visitors could now officially cast their votes.

This was a global event.

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