Ch 150: The World’s Number One Resort

“Liliya, the bread is baked. There’s foie gras in the cabinet…”

It was 7:10 a.m. in the Russian countryside near Moscow. A well-dressed Russian couple called out toward the second floor. They were both lawyers at the Vichy Law Firm, currently handling a divorce case, and needed to head to the office.

After speaking, the couple drove off.

“Thud, thud, thud…” Three seconds later, a slim girl with messy hair came downstairs. Her name was Liliya, a sophomore at Tomsk University. She usually stayed in the dorms, but she was home for a three-day holiday.

Liliya had planned to sleep in, but the noise from her parents waking up was too loud. Now, she couldn’t sleep even if she wanted to.

Liliya grabbed two slices of bread, turned on the TV, and lay on the sofa in one fluid motion. She flipped through a few channels, but it was too early, and there was nothing good on.

“So boring,” Liliya muttered as she munched on her bread. She hadn’t been up this early for anything other than classes in a long time, and now that she was, she felt at a bit of a loss.

She picked up her phone. With nothing else to do, it was time to scroll through Twitter for a while.

Liliya was an avid Twitter user, often sharing skincare videos and had quite a following.

“The 12th Global Environmental Conference: Venue Voting Underway!”

Liliya opened Twitter. She expected to see ads for watches or racing cars, but today was different. The homepage was simple and elegant. Aside from the words “Environmental Conference,” there was only a small window link.

“It’s starting this soon?” Liliya, majoring in International Relations, was well aware of the Environmental Conference, a significant international event.

After some thought, she clicked to enter.

Last year, the Global Environmental Conference was held in Iceland. She had been too busy with her studies to attend, but maybe this time…

While she was lost in thought, the page redirected to the voting homepage.

1. United States, Arizona Grand Canyon. 280,000+ votes
2. Australia, Rose Fragrance Happy Valley. 276,000+ votes
3. United States, Hawaiian Beach. 230,000+ votes
   …

Due to the time difference, voting had already been going on for two hours. The Arizona Grand Canyon in the United States was currently in the lead.

Liliya scanned through quickly. Besides the location names and vote counts, each voting entry also had a forum link where visitors could post pictures, videos, and opinions about the participating areas. Each visitor had only one voting opportunity, ensuring both public participation and fairness.

Liliya clicked on the forum link for Arizona.

“Arizona stretches 446 kilometers and is one of the seven natural wonders of the world. This is a wild, natural scenic area… [Photos] [Videos]”

The top post was an introduction to Arizona, accompanied by landscape photos and aerial videos. The images and videos were majestic and captivating, making one feel the urge to vote.

“This must be the official write-up,” Liliya thought as she exited the forum. While the global website prohibited vote manipulation and official review controls, based on the photos and text, it was likely that representatives had been sent by the official team to prepare this.

Liliya continued browsing through other locations.

It was just past seven in the morning, and the weather was clear and bright. So, Liliya enjoyed the scenery while listening to the TV in the background.

There were 154 regions officially registered: 132 countries and 22 private territories, most of which were noble lands or private islands.

Liliya watched for a while before continuing to scroll down.

According to the conference rules, each country could nominate three locations. It was more fitting to say there were 132 spots rather than 132 countries.

While searching, Liliya found Russia.

72. Russia, St. Petersburg. 60,000+ votes
    …

Russia’s entry was St. Petersburg. Liliya clicked into the forum, where the top post was about St. Petersburg Cathedral, the largest cathedral in the world and the most famous landmark in St. Petersburg.

She glanced at the comments; most of them were cheering posts, but the popularity wasn’t high.

Liliya sighed. The Global Environmental Conference focused on “nature,” “greenery,” and “environmental protection.” While St. Petersburg was renowned, it didn’t quite align with the conference’s theme.

Liliya looked at the current vote count. She wanted to cast her vote but felt conflicted; it was destined to be a fleeting decision…

“Great Tang Resort?” While she was mulling it over, Liliya casually glanced at the next location, her eyes lighting up.

73. Sora Island, Great Tang Resort. 55,000+ votes

Adjacent to Russia was Great Tang Resort. Liliya often heard her classmates mention Great Tang.

After some thought, she clicked on it.

“Sky Forest! The most suitable venue for the Global Conference, hands down.”

“Ahhh, I strongly request that the venue be set at Great Tang Resort. Blue Sea Lake is simply breathtaking!”

“Looks like there’s a visa waiver during the conference period. I want to visit!”

Though Great Tang had fewer votes, the number of posts about it far exceeded those for other locations. Excitement filled every word from the visitors.

Liliya clicked on the highest-voted post.

A mysterious island suspended in mid-air, lush with angel oaks. A stunning lake perfectly integrated with nature… From the likes and comments of the visitors, it was clear that these weren’t edited images but the real deal.

“This is unbelievable,” Liliya muttered, feeling dazed. At that moment, she finally understood why her classmates praised Great Tang so much. This wasn’t a scene from the mortal world!

Liliya opened the editor, writing and deleting her post several times before finally submitting: “Is the scenery of Great Tang Resort real?”

An island growing in the sky… It seemed too unbelievable.

“Haha, the tenth post like this today. Hasn’t the poster been following the latest news? Great Tang’s glasses are a hot topic.”

“It’s definitely real. Just search ‘Great Tang Resort’ on Twitter. By the way, Great Tang’s scenery is stunning, so why are its votes so low?”

“Probably because it’s a private island…”

…

Liliya had just posted and received several replies from visitors. The IDs had region markers, indicating they were from China, Japan, Italy—truly a global representation.

The replies were varied. Liliya read through them for a while, then searched for “Great Tang Resort.”

Ten minutes later, Liliya was completely captivated by Great Tang. She felt as if spring had bloomed within her heart.

Switching back to the voting interface, Liliya hesitated. Everyone had only one voting opportunity. She had originally planned to vote for Russia. Now, glancing at both St. Petersburg and Great Tang Resort, she decisively cast her vote for Great Tang.

It wasn’t that she was unpatriotic; it was simply that Great Tang Resort better fit the Global Conference’s theme. As for the others…

Liliya scanned through the other scenic locations. They were beautiful, yes, but somehow they all seemed to lack a certain something.

It was probably the allure of something new.

Liliya closed the voting page and continued browsing Twitter. As she scrolled, she couldn’t help but keep an eye on the conference’s progress…

On the first day of voting, the Arizona Grand Canyon in the United States was far ahead, with Rose Fragrance Valley in second place and Hawaii in third.

The top three remained unchanged. Meanwhile, Great Tang moved up three spots from 73rd to 70th place, with 180,000 votes.

It was only the first day of voting on the global website, and most visitors were still unfamiliar with the process.

At this point, not only Great Tang but other participating countries were not feeling too anxious.

The real showdown would take place in the latter half of the month.

Thus, the global voting continued with great enthusiasm. Half a month later, Great Tang Resort stabilized at 36th place. With over 500 million participants, Great Tang had garnered a total of 2.15 million votes.

Great Tang’s ranking was above average, but not outstanding.

This wasn’t because visitors didn’t want to vote, but rather because Great Tang was popular online. However, due to the limited availability of fruits and glasses, few had actually experienced it firsthand. Coupled with a natural inclination towards the familiar, the number of votes from dedicated Great Tang fans wasn’t as high as expected.

The Global Conference doesn’t allow vote manipulation, and having 500 million participants indicates that it’s truly a public event.

After half a month of competition, the current top spot is held by Rose Fragrance Happy Valley. Hawaii is in second, and the Grand Canyon has dropped to third. The top three places remain the same, but the order has completely reversed.

Tourists speculate that this year’s hosting venue will likely be one of these three.

…

“Governor Jonathan, the coastal advertising campaign is ready. With half a month left until the end of the vote, Rose Fragrance is showing signs of slowing down. It shouldn’t be a problem to overtake them in the end.” At this moment, while the Global Conference was under worldwide attention, a man who appeared to be an assistant spoke earnestly to Jonathan, who was sitting on the sofa in the Hawaii office.

The Global Conference not only brings worldwide focus but also attracts a considerable influx of visitors. It draws global tourists, who in turn boost local spending—great achievements for any administration.

Jonathan’s goal is to run for governor next year, and he desperately needs this kind of recognition.

“What’s Hawaii’s current vote count?” Jonathan asked after listening to the assistant’s analysis, which he was quite satisfied with.

“Eighty-two million nine hundred and thirty thousand. Rose Fragrance has ninety-one million,” the assistant reported diligently.

Jonathan smiled in satisfaction. To gain votes, Hawaii had already started advertising on the beaches and the official Hawaii website. Once the ads were released, the voting should see a surge.

“Is Great Tang Resort participating in the vote as well?” After a while, Jonathan suddenly brought up the topic. He had previously seen the list of competitors, where “Great Tang Resort” was mentioned.

Speaking of Great Tang Resort made Jonathan grind his teeth. He thought of that young man with black hair… The proposed Hawaii-Great Tang cooperation would have been a win-win situation. He simply couldn’t understand why Great Tang Resort rejected Hawaii’s proposal.

Jonathan kept a close eye on Great Tang.

Although Great Tang Resort had its own airport, flight route limitations meant that Hawaii tourists could only reach Great Tang via connecting flights, which restricted flexibility. To avoid the hassle, many tourists would abandon the idea.

The market loss for Great Tang was more significant than just ten dollars.

“They’re participating and currently ranked 36th, with two million votes,” the assistant replied while Jonathan was still lost in thought.

The gap between the two was over thirty spots, with their vote counts worlds apart.

“Great Tang, rising too fast, overly ambitious,” Jonathan nodded.

The more Great Tang stumbled, the better he felt.

“Let’s get to work.” After their discussion, Jonathan made himself a cup of coffee. Great Tang’s votes weren’t even half of Hawaii’s; the two weren’t on the same level.

After finishing his coffee, Jonathan shifted his focus to other competitors.

The next half month would involve a tough battle.

…

“Manager Tang, the vote count is not looking good.” On October 17th, at Great Tang Resort, Tang Huai was reviewing the latest financial reports when Xie Yunshu handed him the Global Conference’s growth comparison chart with a hint of helplessness.

Ranked 36th wasn’t low, but it fell far short of their expectations.

“It’s not bad; we went up one rank compared to the day before,” Tang Huai replied, teasingly taking the comparison chart.

“Should we do some promotion?”

Xie Yunshu sighed. After more than a year of working together, they had become more casual with each other. In their original plan, the Global Conference was a serious global environmental event. Based on past conferences, participants just needed to register and wait for the results.

However, the voting rules changed this year. While participants couldn’t manipulate votes, they were still allowed to do necessary promotions. Now, visa waivers, product discounts, souvenir giveaways… Various promotional methods had appeared from other countries.

Even the best wine fears an alley too deep; Great Tang couldn’t just sit idle.

“This is the plan I came up with.” Tang Huai joked, then pulled out a stack of documents. He had been planning the promotions for the past few days. Currently, Great Tang had over two million votes, while Rose Fragrance had over ninety million.

Two million and ninety million might sound like a lot, but compared to the world’s six billion population, it’s not that significant. Many tourists are holding onto their votes, waiting to cast them at the last moment.

That’s why Tang Huai wasn’t anxious in the first half of the month.

“An official video?” Xie Yunshu looked surprised when he saw the term on the document. Tang Huai’s promotional strategy was straightforward. Besides using platforms like Weibo and Douyin, he planned to shoot a short official promotional video.

“Is this a video campaign for votes?”

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