Ch 156: The World’s Number One Resort

Tang Huai read the document carefully.

According to the friendly notice, the FillTech Company planned to send a fifty-member inspection team to visit Great Tang Resort. FillTech had its own professional travel team, so Great Tang only needed to arrange the airport pickup and accommodations.

“Is this a system AI or an alien team?”

Tang Huai finished reading the document and got straight to the crucial point. A system AI would be easier to handle, but if it involved an alien team, things could get complicated. Tang Huai had no intention of introducing foreign species to the island, and the system had promised in their agreement that no uncontrolled foreign entities would appear.

“System AI, generated by the logic chain of the world background,” FD730 replied earnestly. In short, it was a technology department created by the system specifically for Great Tang Resort, similar to how the Sora AI operated, except this department wasn’t located on Sora Island but in other parts of the world.

Tang Huai then glanced at the fax header.

The fax’s origin was listed as Togo, a small and relatively obscure country in South Africa.

“Is there any issue in terms of logic and security?” Tang Huai asked again. South Africa was often associated with conflict; he wasn’t sure if the system’s logic chain could handle the complex international relations there.

“No problem at all,” FD730 responded decisively.

Tang Huai relaxed; his 20 billion in island points had not been spent in vain.

The FillTech inspection team was scheduled to arrive on December 10th, just half a month away. After Tang Huai and Xie Yunshu discussed the matter briefly, Xie Yunshu returned to his desk to continue his work while Tang Huai got back to his tasks. However, just as he opened a document, a thought struck him.

“Can the FillTech Company appear in the world?” Tang Huai pondered aloud.

With Great Tang securing the right to host the global conference, several countries had started inquiring about the details of the FillTech Company. Great Tang had managed to respond simply so far. Due to global political balance, no country had taken extreme actions yet. But this wouldn’t last forever… Now that the FillTech Company had a fully formed logic chain, keeping it under wraps seemed illogical.

“It can certainly appear,” FD730 replied as Tang Huai mulled over various possibilities.

Tang Huai nodded. If the system was so confident, he had no reason to worry.

He opened the computer’s search engine and typed in “FillTech.”

“20XX.05.12: FillTech Company’s researchers applied to the World Patent Organization for virtual imaging technology. This is the seventh generation of virtual imaging and FillTech Company’s 10,687th global patent.”

“FillTech Company: Mysterious Background, Alleged Photo of FillTech Executive Leaked.”

“FillTech Technology: Pioneer of Scenic Simulation.”

…

Now, in addition to the familiar “1902, a century-old simulator, Indian Ocean,” news and rumors about FillTech started to appear. These reports were recent, much like celebrity gossip—appearing naturally, quietly, and seamlessly.

Tang Huai poured himself a cup of tea. Since FillTech was making such a grand visit to Great Tang, adequate preparations were necessary.

Tang Huai called the AI publicity team.

That night, an announcement titled “FillTech Company to Visit Great Tang Resort on December 10th” began rolling on Great Tang’s official website. It appeared rather ordinary to most visitors, who found it far less intriguing than news like “Great Tang Fruits Now Available” or “Tang Glasses Restocked.”

Regular tourists weren’t particularly concerned about the relationship between Great Tang and FillTech Company. However, for foreign affairs officials monitoring Great Tang, the news was far from ordinary.

FillTech?

The renowned, technologically advanced, and enigmatic FillTech Company.

Foreign affairs departments worldwide focused on the upcoming date of December 10th, a day that warranted some deep consideration.

…

While Tang Huai was contemplating Great Tang Resort’s future plans, Du Zhiguo and his family were forced out of the Sora office building’s vicinity in embarrassment.

“How is Du Chang’e’s death my fault? Blaming everything on me. Ungrateful brat!” Du Zhiguo complained as he walked along the road, his dissatisfaction evident. It was around 11 a.m.

Du Chang’e was his sister, who had passed away fifteen years ago. In those years, the neighbors hadn’t said anything openly but had certainly pointed fingers behind his back. Du Zhiguo felt wronged. He had borrowed those 5,000 yuan when he was young, which had been six or seven years before Du Chang’e’s death. How could that be blamed on him?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. However, as he continued walking, he sensed something was off. Turning around, he noticed Zhao Caixia was standing five meters away, and Du Yongzhao was trailing even farther behind.

“Why aren’t you moving?” Du Zhiguo asked, puzzled.

“Oh, so that vixen is really pretty, huh?”

Zhao Caixia gritted her teeth. The two had almost divorced over the dance hall incident back then. In those days, getting a divorce in the village was a disgrace. With the belief that “family scandals should not be exposed,” they continued their rocky marriage. The dance hall incident was like a ticking time bomb; over the years, Zhao Caixia and Du Zhiguo had argued countless times because of it.

Now, bringing up the past again, Zhao Caixia felt an overwhelming sense of grievance.

“What does this have to do with anything? That was ages ago,” Du Zhiguo frowned. They were talking about Tang Huai, so why was she bringing up the dance hall? He had felt guilty for a while when he was younger, but after hearing about it repeatedly, that guilt had vanished. Now, he believed Zhao Caixia was just making a fuss.

“Du Zhiguo, I’ve been with you for so many years. When have I ever been able to hold my head high when visiting my family? And now, I can’t even mention that vixen?” Seeing Du Zhiguo’s indifferent expression, Zhao Caixia exploded in anger. The dance hall incident was brought up once more.

The two were stubborn and wouldn’t back down. On top of the frustration from earlier, their argument only grew fiercer.

Now, under the scorching sun, they stood in the middle of Sora Island’s main street. Many international tourists walked by one after another. Although they didn’t gather to watch the fight, they couldn’t help but glance over in curiosity.

Watching his parents argue, Du Yongzhao felt a wave of irritation. It was embarrassing.

…

While chaos ensued on Du Zhiguo’s side, Sora Island remained as peaceful and serene as ever.

With the date for the FillTech inspection team’s visit set, the island’s daily progress increased little by little. After streamlining the tasks at Great Tang Resort, Tang Huai felt a sense of ease.

Work, eat, inspect different areas. For the next two days, Tang Huai’s life went smoothly.

“Manager Tang, there’s a problem over in Snow Village.” On the third morning, while Tang Huai was having breakfast at the Delicious Restaurant, an AI assistant hurried over and reported seriously.

Tang Huai put down his soy milk.

A problem?

…

“Oh, poor me! An old woman like me gets hurt traveling abroad!” Snow Village was indeed facing an issue. Half an hour later, led by the AI, Tang Huai arrived at Snow Village.

On an open space thirty meters from the Crystal Bridge, a middle-aged woman, around fifty years old, sat on the ground, pounding it and crying. A crowd of tourists from various countries, including China and Germany, surrounded her, all looking confusedly at the scene.

Tang Huai approached the crowd.

“What are you doing here?” Upon seeing the woman’s face, Tang Huai frowned. The woman had curly, dyed-yellow hair and wore a bright red sun-protective shirt. It was none other than Zhao Caixia, whom he had met just a few days ago.

“Snow Village is slippery, and safety measures are inadequate. You need to take responsibility!” Zhao Caixia shouted, as if she didn’t recognize Tang Huai. In no time, more tourists gathered around.

Seeing Zhao Caixia’s demeanor, Tang Huai had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Zhao Caixia seemed full of energy, touching her knee one moment and her ankle the next. Where exactly was she hurt? More importantly, with Sora Island’s high-tech safeguards, Snow Village’s snowfields were equipped with protective measures, making it nearly impossible to get injured.

“What exactly do you want?” Tang Huai didn’t have the patience to argue and got straight to the point.

“Pay me fifty thousand first,” Zhao Caixia demanded.

The past three days hadn’t been pleasant for Zhao Caixia and her family. They had exchanged 25,000 USD before coming. Projects at Great Tang Resort were expensive, but essentials like Sora supermarkets and accommodations were relatively cheap. As long as they didn’t indulge in luxuries, 3,000 USD was enough for one person to enjoy a trip around Great Tang.

But the problem arose when Zhao Caixia had an argument over the dance hall incident. Feeling increasingly aggrieved, she splurged on a wild racing experience. And once she started, she couldn’t stop.

Hot Air Balloons, Sky Forest… Zhao Caixia, at her age, had never played such exciting games!

Because of the card system, she felt like she wasn’t spending her own money.

For convenience, the entire twenty thousand dollars was on her card. This provided her with plenty of capital for her activities.

Zhao Caixia had been playing alone for the past two days, and it wasn’t until the third day, when she checked the account, that she realized the card had only three thousand dollars left. She had spent over ten thousand dollars in three days. The remaining money was spent at the Delicious Restaurant.

Swiping the card was fun, but paying it back would be a disaster.

Seeing the detailed statement on the card, Zhao Caixia panicked completely. She finally had to confess everything nervously to Du Zhiguo and Du Yongzhao.

While Zhao Caixia had enjoyed herself, Du Zhiguo and Du Yongzhao were completely losing it!

Twenty thousand dollars, equivalent to 120,000 yuan, all squandered just like that?!

Amidst the chaos, Du Zhiguo considered asking Tang Huai for a refund. However, they were stopped by the burly guards before even reaching the office building. The service center they visited was staffed by foreign AI workers who didn’t seem easy to deal with.

After some discussion, the three decided to take a different approach. Since Tang Huai wasn’t going to acknowledge their relationship, they had nothing to lose.

What could a large resort like this fear? Negative publicity! By making a scene, they could not only give Tang Huai a headache but also potentially earn some travel money.

And so, Zhao Caixia, bearing the responsibility of causing trouble, staged a fall in Snow Village.

“A resort this big wouldn’t refuse to compensate for an injury, would it?” Zhao Caixia, thinking that Tang Huai had concerns, continued to speak loudly.

Tang Huai looked around and saw that Du Zhiguo and Du Yongzhao were sneaking peeks from the crowd.

“Ali,” Tang Huai called out, unwilling to waste time. As soon as he spoke, a 1.9-meter-tall man of Mongolian descent approached Zhao Caixia.

Ali was the first AI at Great Tang Resort and one of Tang Huai’s most trusted.

Ali lifted Zhao Caixia off the ground.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Violence at Great Tang! Is there no law here?”

Zhao Caixia screamed in fear. At that moment, Du Zhiguo and Du Yongzhao squeezed through the crowd, shouting accusations. Many tourists watched Tang Huai’s actions, whispering among themselves.

If Zhao Caixia had truly fallen, Great Tang’s way of handling it didn’t seem appropriate…

“Manager Tang, the surveillance footage,” said the AI assistant, carrying a projection device over.

Tang Huai nodded for the AI to display it.

The projector turned on, and the AI made some adjustments.

Suddenly, a 3×5 virtual display appeared, almost like a 3D hologram.

The scene showed an open space in Snow Village, with tourists passing by. A middle-aged woman in a red sun-protection shirt appeared. She first turned in place twice, then crouched down to touch the snow. After that, she stood up and dramatically lay down on the ground…

The woman was none other than Zhao Caixia. The whole scam was now crystal clear. This was the quickest resolution of a fraudulent injury case at Great Tang, and incidentally, it was the first of its kind.

“360-degree surveillance cameras.”

Tang Huai ignored Zhao Caixia’s embarrassed expression and pointed toward the sky above the scenic area. Three mini-drones hovered there, serving as Great Tang’s surveillance system.

The tourists understood. Compared to street cameras in other countries, the mini-drones of Great Tang were undoubtedly more high-tech.

With everything now clear, the crowd turned their curious eyes toward Zhao Caixia.

They had heard of scams like this but were now witnessing one for the first time.

Zhao Caixia was now too embarrassed to speak. She stared at her toes while occasionally glancing at Tang Huai with resentment. She had even studied the surroundings beforehand but hadn’t anticipated that Great Tang had cameras in the sky.

“Tang Huai, this is a family matter. Let’s talk in the office,” Du Zhiguo interjected.

Zhao Caixia realized she had been too careless. Du Zhiguo pulled her behind him. No matter how much they had quarreled over the past two days, in the face of their common enemy, Tang Huai, they were on the same side.

“Settle Mr. Du’s family’s card account and ban them from entering Great Tang permanently,” Tang Huai ordered the AI behind him, ignoring Du Zhiguo.

The ban meant that the Du family could only stay in the airport hall or buy tickets to leave. They would no longer have access to any of the regular areas of Great Tang.

“You’re violating consumer protection laws!” Du Yongzhao shouted, furious. They had only been there for five days and still had a lot they wanted to do!

“Great Tang doesn’t welcome consumers like you. Besides, Sora Island belongs to Great Tang; we make the rules here,” Tang Huai replied, amused by Du Yongzhao’s attitude.

With that, Tang Huai left.

Situations like this usually didn’t require Tang Huai’s direct intervention, but since he had some free time, he decided to handle it personally today.

As Tang Huai walked away, the onlooking tourists whispered about Zhao Caixia’s family while dispersing.

Three minutes later, only the Du family remained in the open space at Snow Village.

The three were about to start blaming each other when five brawny men approached. The efficiency of Sora’s AI was top-notch. That very night, the three were forced to buy tickets and returned to China in disgrace.

On the plane, they planned to expose everything to the media upon their return. Little did they know that, at the same time, three trending topics appeared on China’s major news portals.

“@China Daily: [Discussing National Character] With the improvement of economic development…”

“Great Tang Resort exposed a low-level scam. According to on-site tourists, the scammer is none other than the family of Du XX (who was arrested for counterfeiting Great Tang fruit in March), Tang Huai’s uncle.”

“Sympathizing with Great Tang, resisting malicious scams.”

…

With global communication so advanced and Great Tang’s status as an internet sensation, the incident from earlier that day inevitably spread back to China. After understanding the backstory, netizens felt a mix of disbelief and sympathy.

“Oh my, to have such a distant relative… That’s just unlucky!”

Once their sympathy was spent, netizens quickly flooded the internet with praise. Apart from the pixelated images of the Du family, there was also a full video of Tang Huai rejecting them.

Tang Huai’s line, “Sora Island belongs to Great Tang,” was even turned into a meme.

In the meme, Tang Huai’s expression was calm, and his voice was steady and powerful. He looked… incredibly cool!

Overnight, the topic “Great Tang’s Style” rose to the top 5 trending topics. It became quite the entertaining gossip.

…

“Editor-in-Chief Yang, Du Zhiguo will land tomorrow at 5 p.m. Should we interview him?”

In the headquarters of China’s “Orange Gossip,” a young man looked excitedly at the chief editor sitting in the main seat. Currently, “Great Tang’s Style” was still trending. Although Du Zhiguo’s story wasn’t particularly flattering, an interview with him could still draw significant traffic.

“You fool! Not only are we not interviewing him, but anything related to him cannot be published!” Editor-in-Chief Yang knocked the young man on the head with a newspaper.

The young man rubbed his head, confused.

“Who posted on Weibo first? China Daily! It was marked as a negative example by the higher-ups. You want to turn a negative example into a celebrity? And where did the incident happen? Great Tang!

The global event is about to start, and so many prominent figures are involved in the voting. Do you want to offend all these people just for a bit of traffic? Forget about now; don’t even think about an interview in the future.” Editor-in-Chief Yang laid out the stakes involved.

The young man listened, a bit dazed. He hadn’t realized there were so many twists and turns behind this.

“Making a fool of ourselves abroad—what’s there to interview?” Editor-in-Chief Yang sipped his coffee and gestured for the young man to leave.

After the young man left, Editor-in-Chief Yang added another sugar cube to his cup.

There was another point he didn’t mention: Great Tang Resort was voted into its current position by Chinese netizens. Although the result was only advisory, it indicated that China and Great Tang had a good relationship. Furthermore, with Tang Huai holding Chinese nationality and FillTech Corporation’s global standing, Great Tang and China were truly great partners.

“Orange Gossip” would never offend Great Tang over a bit of traffic.

“The charm of technology,” Editor-in-Chief Yang mused as he finished his coffee. Suddenly, he had a strong urge to visit Great Tang himself.

As Editor-in-Chief Yang had predicted, not only “Orange Gossip” but other media outlets as well simply reposted @China Daily’s [Discussing National Character]. They refrained from conducting any in-depth interviews.

Du Yongzhao and the other two returned to China and reached out to local media outlets, only to be met with rejection after rejection.

After being turned down by the county’s daily news, Du Yongzhao stood outside the county’s television building, feeling utterly bewildered.

‘Become famous – become an internet celebrity – make a lot of money’ had been the life plan he had meticulously laid out. In this era of explosive internet traffic, even negative news could generate flow. However, things were not going according to his plan.

A cool breeze blew past, rustling his hair and leaving Du Yongzhao standing there, lost and confused.

…

“Hello, I’m from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To foster deeper friendship and development, we are planning to send diplomatic personnel to Great Tang.”

“The scenery of Great Tang is absolutely amazing! The British Ministry of Foreign Affairs has decided to organize a diplomatic tourism group to visit Great Tang…”

“Tang, this is Forda from the Mexican office. I handled the certification for Sora Island earlier.”

…

While Du Yongzhao was left in disarray, phone calls kept coming into the Sora office at Great Tang Resort. These were from various foreign ministries, all with a single purpose: to send diplomatic personnel to Great Tang. Coincidentally, they were all planning to arrive between December 5th and 9th.

FillTech Company was scheduled to visit Great Tang on December 10th.

Author’s Note: (:з」∠) It seems like I got the title wrong. Du Zhiguo is Tang Tang’s grandmother’s younger brother, so Tang Tang should actually call Du Yongzhao ‘uncle’? ~Crying, I’ll go back to fix this mistake later~

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️