Ch 157: The World’s Number One Resort

“FillTech? Why would such a high-tech company insist on collaborating with Great Tang?” While various countries were in contact with Great Tang, Jonathan, the governor of Hawaii, was flipping through documents in his office, feeling increasingly irritable.

These days, Jonathan hadn’t been having an easy time. After losing out on the global conference, Hawaii’s finances were tight, and political opponents were throwing dirt his way. Under pressure from all sides, now FillTech was visiting Great Tang.

The foreign ministry had sent word this morning that Foreign Minister Wilson would also be attending the visit. As the closest neighbor to Great Tang, Hawaii needed to make its stance clear.

The more Jonathan thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He threw the documents onto the floor.

“Governor Jonathan, the foreign ministry is awaiting a reply. Should Hawaii join in on the visit?” The atmosphere in the office was tense as the secretary nervously picked up the scattered papers.

The foreign ministry’s intention was simple: now that many countries were visiting Great Tang, Hawaii had a natural geographic advantage and should engage in some friendly exchanges.

“No!” Jonathan jumped to his feet as soon as the secretary finished speaking.

Currently, Hawaii was under a flight restriction to Great Tang. There was no direct flight to Great Tang; one could only travel by ship. If he had to take a ship, wouldn’t that be humiliating?

Jonathan was furious. This flight restriction affected Great Tang little, but Hawaii’s tourist numbers had already dropped by 16% compared to last month.

Great Tang was nothing but trouble!

Jonathan slumped back into his office chair, his face puffed up in anger. The secretary understood his sentiments and began crafting a polite rejection letter to the foreign ministry while slowly retreating toward the door.

“Come back,” Jonathan called out just as the secretary reached the door.

The secretary turned around.

“Get Dell over here.”

Jonathan was straightforward. Dell was the lieutenant governor of Hawaii. Although Jonathan didn’t want to go to Great Tang, his political instincts told him it was the right move. He couldn’t swallow his pride to go, so the face-saving job had to be handed over to the lieutenant governor.

The secretary complied with the order.

………

“When you get to Great Tang, make sure to establish good relations with FillTech. No, not just try; you must do it!”

“Yes.”

“Secure the opportunity to visit FillTech’s headquarters.”

“Understood.”

While Jonathan was filled with gloom, the rest of the world was experiencing a different scene.

After a series of official communications, two days later, Great Tang received fifty-two invitation letters. These came from relatively powerful countries like the U.S., Germany, China, and France. Other smaller and poorer countries wished to come as well, but their limited resources and complicated domestic processes meant they could only wait for the global conference to be held…

“Manager Tang, Sky Castle will be available from the 5th to the 15th.” While various nations prepared eagerly, at Great Tang Resort, Xie Yunshu organized the invitations. This time, a total of 1,200 government officials would attend.

Since these were political figures, arrangements for security and accommodation had to be handled carefully.

The conference room at Great Tang was relatively small. To ensure things went smoothly, Tang Huai planned to rent Sky Castle. Although Sky Castle belonged to Great Tang, the AI story chain was complete, and renting the castle required a considerable amount of island credits.

Sky Castle was an expensive option, but it offered integrated accommodation and conference facilities, which would avoid a lot of hassle.

“Thank you.”

Tang Huai finished reading the documents. With the rapid development of Sora Island, he had purchased quite a few secretary-type AIs. However, these AIs could only handle simple tasks; the more complex ones still required Tang Huai and Xie Yunshu to work together. Initially, Tang Huai was overwhelmed, but after more than a year, he was becoming increasingly proficient.

It was now 8 p.m. After discussing with Xie Yunshu, Tang Huai left the office.

Under the clear night sky and stars, Great Tang Resort had settled into its rhythm, running like a well-oiled engine.

It was December 1st, just nine days before FillTech’s visit.

Tang Huai walked around Sora Town for a bit before heading to Area 39.

Area 39 was located at the northernmost tip of Sora Island, adjacent to the Pacific Ocean. Covering only five square kilometers, it was about 20 kilometers from Sora Underground City. Tang Huai drove alone and arrived at Area 39 an hour later.

The terrain of Area 39 stretched along the northern edge of Sora Island. Numerous simple tents dotted the area, which in daylight looked like clusters of colorful mushrooms.

This was the construction zone for the Underwater Ancient City.

“Manager Tang.” As Tang Huai approached, several laborer AIs greeted him respectfully. The construction of the Underwater Ancient City had mobilized more than 20,000 laborer AIs.

Tang Huai greeted the workers and then followed the main path to the seaside. Sora’s laborers were efficient; in less than a week, they had already cleared the main road from the area’s entrance to the coast.

The size of Area 39 referred only to its land area. Since the recent zone update, Area 39 was now connected to the underwater region. According to the system’s information, the entire sea area covered approximately 80 square kilometers, about half the size of Sora Island.

Tang Huai reached the shore, where a glass tube, ten meters in diameter, extended into the ocean. Several AIs, dressed in waterproof suits, were busy hammering and setting up equipment.

The tube connected to the ocean depths, and according to the construction timeline of the ancient city, the entire tube could reach down to a depth of one thousand meters, immune to pressure. This was to be one of the main passages from the surface to the underwater city.

The Underwater Ancient City was an advanced item card, with Area 39 serving as its main entrance. Additionally, coastal areas like Sora Town and the Fruit Kingdom could also build glass tunnels. The Underwater Ancient City was the only regional card that could span the entire island.

“Is the underwater construction underway?” Tang Huai lingered on the shore for a while. While the Underwater Ancient City had a construction blueprint, it contained nearly ten thousand drawings. Aside from the simple ones like entrances and exits, Tang Huai couldn’t make sense of it all.

Tang Huai had the Transparent Shark ability and could dive to the ocean floor. However, that would ruin the mystery of the Underwater Ancient City. Tang Huai wanted to save the anticipation for its completion.

“The geological survey is complete. Large-scale equipment has already dived into the ocean and is under construction,” the AI laborer replied earnestly. They were merely providing camouflage. With the system’s advanced technology, safety and project completion were not concerns.

Tang Huai nodded and walked around the coastline, preparing to leave.

“We’re just passing through; we mean no harm.”

“Friend, you can put down the iron hoe first…”

Ten minutes later, Tang Huai returned to the parking area, ready to start the car and leave. From the south, he heard an argument.

Tang Huai glanced in the direction of the sound and saw bright lights shining over the tents to the south. Several muscular AI laborers had gathered around, with two men who looked like tourists standing in the middle.

Tang Huai closed the car door.

“We’re really just passing through…”

The two men, dressed casually in their thirties, appeared American and were trying to defend themselves.

“Manager Tang!” One of the men spotted Tang Huai out of the corner of his eye and quickly raised his hand.

Tang Huai walked over to them.

“Manager Tang, my name is Gino, and this is Charles. We got lost…” The man quickly explained, gesturing dramatically as he spoke.

According to his description, he and his friend were merely lost and mistaken for industrial spies by the workers. It was a simple misunderstanding!

“Manager Tang, here are our identity cards.”

“Thud—”

As the man finished speaking, he pulled out his Sora card from his backpack. However, the bag was so cluttered that along with the card, a palm-sized camera fell out. Additionally, there was a small pinhole camera.

The atmosphere immediately fell silent.

Tang Huai picked up the camera and found some undeleted photos inside, all of which were secretly taken shots of Area 39 and the AI tents.

“Mr. Gino, care to explain this?” Tang Huai asked calmly.

“Manager Tang, we’re not spies…” Gino instantly looked as deflated as a withered eggplant.

Five minutes later, Tang Huai understood the identities of the two men. Gino and Charles were not spies; they were senior journalists for the Ring America Daily. This newspaper was known for its humorous takes on political gossip. Though it didn’t have the circulation of Global Daily, it had a considerable readership and frequently ranked among North America’s top five newspapers.

Currently, Great Tang Resort is booming, with countless newspapers worldwide eager to interview them. However, except for a few travel magazines, Great Tang rarely accepts interviews. On one hand, there is enormous market demand; on the other, the allure of the mysterious Great Tang… This eventually led Gino and Charles to cross the ocean to visit.

Since official interviews weren’t accepted, they decided to find a way to conduct their own.

Initially, they planned to gather some tourism-related material. But upon arrival, they realized that while Great Tang didn’t entertain official interviews, it didn’t outright reject media attempts to dig up stories through normal channels. Thus, their peers from The Sun, Global Daily, North American Gossip, and other outlets had already been around for some time.

After reviewing their notes, they felt they lacked anything particularly compelling.

After some discussion, they decided to target Great Tang’s construction zones. Since the resort’s opening over a year ago, every new development had been shrouded in secrecy. If they could snap some pictures of an under-construction area, they were bound to land a headline!

With this idea in mind, they set their sights on Area 39. The Underwater Ancient City had more than 20,000 AI laborers, and for the sake of realism, these laborers occasionally wandered into the main urban area. After some investigation, the two journalists successfully pinpointed the location of Area 39.

Since there was no road access to Area 39, they rented hoverboards to get there!

“Manager Tang, we really didn’t mean any harm,” Gino said anxiously after explaining the entire situation. The workers here were all well-built and intimidating.

“What does it say up there?” Tang Huai asked, pointing at the entrance.

At the entrance hung a large sign with night-illuminating features, displaying the words: “No Entry for Non-Staff.”

“Sorry,” Gino scratched his head. The sign was 5 by 8 meters, and of course, they had seen it on their way in. However, if they were to shoot openly, it wouldn’t count as a scoop.

“Manager Tang, would you be open to an interview?” Seeing the somewhat relaxed atmosphere, Gino cautiously asked. Tang Huai seemed friendly; if they could squeeze in an interview, this trip would be well worth it.

The sudden change in topic amused Tang Huai.

“Hand them over to Albert. Settle their cards and ban them for life.” While Gino was busy calculating his next move, Tang Huai took out the memory card and instructed the AI beside him.

Albert was the head of security on Sora Island.

“Manager Tang…” Gino was stunned; this was not going as he had hoped.

“Sorry, that’s the rule here at Great Tang.” Tang Huai shrugged. Without rules, there would be chaos. If he accepted an interview from Ring America Daily today, then tomorrow or the day after, more ‘Ring America Dailies’ would follow.

With that, Tang Huai broke the memory card in half. It was now 1 a.m., the night air was chilly, and he had no reason to stay any longer.

As for Gino and Charles, they would have to remain in Area 39 for the time being.

A chilly breeze blew past as Gino looked at the memory card fragments on the ground, feeling utterly miserable. Now, not only had they failed to get any pictures of the new construction area, but even the work they had done in the past few days had been wiped out.

Gino squatted down, intending to pick up the pieces of the memory card.

“Please.” A brawny man stepped in before him, scooping up the pieces and tossing them into the sea.

Gino: …

He was completely at a loss for words. Strictly speaking, they had broken the rules, and this was the result of their own actions.

Gino and Charles headed towards the tent provided by Great Tang.

“Is he really only twenty-one?” Charles asked Gino along the way. Charles was thirty-two years old and felt that his demeanor and way of handling situations were not as refined as that of this young man in his twenties.

“That’s the nature of capitalists.” Gino looked up at the sky and sighed.

Now banned from entering Great Tang, he feared he would never again see such a beautiful starry sky… Suddenly, Gino felt a pang of regret. Why hadn’t he just conducted a proper interview?

Gazing at the sky with tears in his eyes.

The next morning, Gino and Charles were sent back to their country. Meanwhile, Tang Huai started contemplating the Underwater Ancient City.

The incident with Gino and Charles had served as a reminder to Tang Huai. With the emergence of FillTech Corporation, Great Tang no longer needed to keep things under wraps as they had in the past.

“Public Relations…” Tang Huai reviewed his tasks, then called the PR AI.

“New development area under construction at Great Tang, see you on May 1st! [Image][Image].”

That afternoon, Great Tang’s official website updated with a new announcement. Aside from the short introduction, it included pictures of the island’s tents and the glass corridor under construction. Against the warm ocean sun, the entire construction site looked lively and bustling.

While Great Tang could not disclose the blueprints and core technologies, with the growing fame of “FillTech X Great Tang,” sharing some harmless construction images was now feasible. Of course, the Underwater Ancient City remained strictly “off-limits to unauthorized personnel.”

It wasn’t that Tang Huai was worried about leaking secrets, but with so many tourists at Great Tang, allowing visits would significantly delay the project’s timeline. Even if visitors were allowed in March, it might not be completed by October.

Such interruptions would severely affect construction progress.

After updating the announcement, Tang Huai turned his attention back to the FillTech visit.

With the Sky Castle now ready, all that was left was to wait for the arrival of various foreign dignitaries.

…

On December 5th, a black airplane landed at Great Tang. As the plane came to a stop, a refined-looking man in his forties with gold-rimmed glasses disembarked.

The man had a distinctly Chinese appearance and a scholarly demeanor, followed by five bodyguards dressed in black.

“A year and a half… What rapid development,” the man remarked as he descended the plane.

The man’s name was Liu Qian, an officer at the Mexican Embassy. He had visited Great Tang last year when Li Suhao and others went missing. In his memory, Great Tang was just a barren island with some sheep and a few chickens. He hadn’t expected that, in just over a year, it would transform into such a vibrant place.

Author’s note:

Li Suhao: I’m just the little side character who was stranded on the island last year and wanted to eat chicken. Remember me? ︿(￣︶￣)︿

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️