Ch 160: The World’s Number One Resort

“Thank you for the hospitality of Sora.”

“Until tomorrow…”

The party lasted until ten in the evening, and after three rounds of drinks, the ambassadors returned to their accommodations. The tumultuous events of the afternoon and the joint document had solidified their resolve to maintain a good relationship with FillTech.

Blue Sea Lake, Sky Forest, Underwater City…

Over the next three days, Chris accompanied the ambassadors in touring Sora Resort. FillTech mainly conducted evaluations on environmental simulation and regional performance. Their technicians inspected everything with meticulous detail and seriousness.

International media outlets captured these moments. Although they didn’t fully grasp the principles behind FillTech’s designs, the technicians’ expressions and procedures suggested a highly sophisticated level of evaluation.

“FillTech executives and ambassadors tour the underground city, discussing 10D virtual technology.”

“Sora Resort plans to build the world’s first underwater amusement park.”

“The owner of Sora engages in friendly discussions with international ambassadors.”

FillTech’s visit was public, and with the media following them around, news related to the “FillTech-Sora” partnership quickly spread across various official news websites globally. For that entire week, Sora Resort was the media’s absolute darling.

On the fifth day, the week-long visit came to an end.

“FillTech welcomes you all.”

At Sora Airport, Chris stood in the departure hall, bidding farewell to the ambassadors. With FillTech’s influence and the joint document from various countries, Chris had forged strong “friendships” with the ambassadors.

After three days of banquets and exchanges, Chris invited the engineers from various countries to visit the Togo headquarters.

“Haha, we’ll definitely be there!”

Hearing this, the ambassadors laughed and replied eagerly. The chance to visit the Togo headquarters was an unexpected bonus, and they had already communicated with their respective countries to arrange a unified visit in early January.

“Goodbye.” After some more pleasantries, Chris walked over to Tang Huai.

Chris was an advanced AI, different from others like Alang. He primarily existed to justify FillTech’s presence.

“Goodbye,” Tang Huai said, shaking hands with Chris. They had agreed to take a trip to Somalia someday to relax and soak up the sun.

Ten minutes later, the dark aircraft headed towards South Africa. After Chris’s departure, the ambassadors stayed for another two days before leaving one after another, each carrying a box of fruits as a souvenir.

The fruits were produced by the Fruit Kingdom.

Sora’s fruits were limited in supply and could only be truly enjoyed on the island. Now, as they left Sora, they knew they could only rely on the official website to try their luck at purchasing the fruits like any other tourist.

The ambassadors glanced toward the Fruit Kingdom with a sense of melancholy. Not just the fruits, but Sora’s unique scenery had captured their hearts, making it hard for them to leave.

Such a wistful farewell.

After the ambassadors reluctantly departed, Sora Resort returned to its usual tranquility.

…

“Boss Tang…” At nine in the morning on December 17th, Tang Huai arrived at the Sora office as usual. In the lobby, besides the working AIs, there stood a man in glasses, dressed in a suit.

Two guards accompanied the man.

“Ambassador Choi Young-seok.” The tall and slender man was none other than the Korean ambassador, Choi Young-seok.

Choi had been in Sora for eight days. Due to various official procedures, he hadn’t had the opportunity for a private meeting with Tang Huai. Today was a rare arrangement.

After some small talk, they proceeded to the office.

“Boss Tang, I am here on behalf of ACC to apologize. Korea is a sincere friend of Sora. The current restrictions on flights and trade are a loss to both our economies. We hope to eliminate these barriers. Korea will also offer trade incentives to Sora…”

The secretary served tea for both men. Choi took a small sip and got straight to the point.

The past three days had been anything but pleasant for Choi. With FillTech’s emergence, the future development of Sora and FillTech was becoming increasingly apparent. Compared to other countries, Koreans couldn’t enjoy the fruits, play with VR glasses, or even travel to Sora without multiple transfers… This greatly reduced the happiness of Korean tourists.

Choi had a video conference with the Korean Minister of Tourism. The message was simple: if Sora and FillTech couldn’t be countered, then they should cooperate as much as possible.

Choi Young-seok bore the heavy responsibility of breaking the ice.

“Is this the official stance of Korea?” Tang Huai listened to Choi’s words without pretending to be confused. At their level, there was no need for pretense.

Both parties knew why Sora was bypassing Korea.

“Yes, Boss Tang. The Korean Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Transportation will personally visit…” Choi put down his teacup. In his view, this was a perfect solution.

“Mr. Choi Young-seok, lifting the flight restrictions is simple. I need ACC to issue a public apology, and in addition, ‘Sookhyun midnight Show’ must air a special apology episode.”

While Choi was pondering, he suddenly heard Tang Huai speak.

“Boss Tang, we need to consider the long term,” Choi replied, slightly displeased. He was representing Korea’s interests, and asking ACC to apologize publicly was akin to a slap in Korea’s face. Both parties were well aware that letting time pass would be the best way to handle this matter.

“Boss Tang, ‘Sookhyun midnight’ may have spoken out of line, but it didn’t significantly affect Sora,” Choi said, no longer finding joy in drinking his tea. He felt Sora was being a bit too aggressive.

“Those are Sora’s terms.” Tang Huai was slightly amused. Whether the impact was significant or not should be for Sora to decide, shouldn’t it?

Even if ‘Sookhyun midnight’ didn’t greatly affect Sora, there had been plenty of mockery from the show and various Korean forums at that time. Should they just brush it off with a simple apology?

Tang Huai wasn’t one to be lenient. Since the problem originated from ‘Sookhyun midnight,’ it should also conclude with an apology from them. This was a reasonable request.

After Tang Huai finished speaking, the atmosphere in the office grew tense.

Choi hadn’t expected to hit such a wall. ‘Sookhyun midnight’ was ACC’s flagship program. If Kim Sook-hyun apologized on the show, it would undoubtedly provoke backlash from extremists, and Korea’s honor wouldn’t allow for an apology.

“Boss Tang, we should rationally discuss cooperation and the future,” Choi changed his posture, attempting to steer the conversation.

Handling matters with emotion was not the mark of a qualified diplomat.

“Sora is being very rational.”

Tang Huai was not a politician, and this was Sora’s stance on the matter. Seeing that they couldn’t come to an agreement, Choi left Sora’s office half an hour later.

“Choi Young-seok?” Watching him leave hurriedly, Wilson and Dell exchanged glances outside the office.

“It’s probably about the flight restrictions,” they both concluded.

The Korean and U.S. ambassadors had stayed behind to discuss the transportation issues with Sora. The flight ban in Hawaii was Jonathan’s doing. Now that Hawaii had failed to secure the global conference, even the number of tourists had dropped by about 20% compared to the same period last year…

It was certain that Jonathan wouldn’t be re-elected as governor next year.

Wilson didn’t want to get involved in Korea’s mess. However, Hawaii served as America’s gateway, and with Sora’s steady rise—products like Sora’s fruits and VR glasses being of top-notch quality—maintaining the flight ban in Hawaii would inevitably impact normal trade in the U.S. mainland…

In fact, it was already having an impact. Previously, Sora’s fruits were transshipped through Hawaii, allowing buyers to receive goods within a day. Now, there wasn’t even an option to ship to Hawaii!

Jonathan’s office building had been pelted with rotten eggs more than once lately.

“Let’s go in.”

As Choi left by car, Wilson thought for a moment before signaling Dell to follow him into the Sora office building. Tang Huai, who had just opened his computer, found himself welcoming more guests.

“Tax exemption for five years on Sora’s products, a 50% discount on docking fees, and the establishment of a Sora Resort consultation center… Are these Sora’s conditions?” Wilson began, laying out terms similar to Choi’s. Tang Huai immediately responded with his three requests.

“These are just minor requests from Sora, Ambassador Wilson. Sora has always adhered to Hawaii’s regulations. But as you know, it was Hawaii that first broke our friendly relations,” Tang Huai sighed.

Wilson was an old fox, so Tang Huai decided to be direct. Unlike the situation with Korea, Sora and Hawaii didn’t have any emotional disputes; everything between them revolved around interests.

When it came to interests, Tang Huai was undoubtedly a competent businessman.

“Reducing fees and setting up a consultation center is doable. However, isn’t a five-year tax exemption somewhat unreasonable?” Wilson pondered Tang Huai’s words carefully.

According to U.S. customs policy, a Sora product priced at $100 would incur a customs fee of $3 to $8. This amount wasn’t large individually, but collectively, it added up to a significant revenue. Now, Sora was asking not only for a tax exemption but also for it to apply nationwide, effectively exempting all Sora products from customs fees.

That was quite a bold ask.

“Boss Tang, this is a matter concerning the Hawaii flight route,” Wilson said, implying that a tax exemption was an overly ambitious request.

“Sora has no necessity to operate through Hawaii,” Tang Huai stated pointedly. With Sora’s advanced air and sea transport, tourists could easily travel through the Mexico route. While the Hawaii route did impact Sora, it was no longer essential.

Wilson was momentarily at a loss for words. Sora indeed didn’t need Hawaii anymore…

Both sides wanted to cooperate, but they couldn’t come to an agreement on the financial terms. Thus, negotiations between Sora and the U.S. turned into a tug-of-war.

It was a lengthy bargaining process.

Five days later, an agreement was reached.

Hawaii would reduce Sora’s docking fees by 50% and set up a consultation center. Additionally, they would grant Sora a three-year customs fee exemption.

After careful calculations, the U.S. Department of Commerce realized that Sora’s main products, Sora Fruit and Sora Glasses, were high-priced but had limited production. The customs fees for three years were insignificant compared to the economic benefits of reopening the Hawaii flight route.

It was a profitable deal—though one that shouldn’t have been necessary in the first place.

It was all due to Hawaii’s own reckless actions!

“Boss Tang, here’s to a successful partnership,” said Wilson, as the U.S. sent a special negotiation team to finalize the contract. With everything settled, Wilson shook hands with Tang Huai.

“To a successful partnership,” Tang Huai responded with a smile.

The official media took photos of the handshake, marking the moment as a mutually satisfying agreement for both parties.

…

After Wilson’s departure, Sora finally returned to its peaceful state. However, following the visit from FillTech, Sora had once again made a strong impression worldwide. Now, the daily influx of visitors to Sora had reached 200,000 people.

These tourists came from all over the world, and efficient tourism management and health safety measures were of utmost importance.

In this regard, Sora’s AI performed exceptionally well.

Tang Huai had spent half a month negotiating with Wilson. During this time, aside from the global Christmas festivities, the news was abuzz with reports of various countries’ researchers visiting FillTech’s Togo base.

“This place feels like a meticulously crafted dream factory. I thought it would be solemn and cold, but upon arrival, I realized how wrong I was. The engineers here are lively, and only in this kind of atmosphere could something like Sky Castle be designed.”

“This is where the world’s top talent works. Being able to work at FillTech is the honor of every technician in the world!”

“Only after coming to FillTech did I realize how limited my knowledge truly is…”

…

After a three-day factory tour, researchers from various countries gave interviews to the media.

These were top experts in their fields, yet after the visit, they recognized how much they still had to learn. They humbly studied the principles behind FillTech’s technology. The basic programming was similar to what they had learned, but the overall integration left them bewildered.

It was like being back in school, where an average student only partially understood the math homework, but when it came to actually solving the problems, they were completely in the dark.

FillTech sparked a strong desire for knowledge among these researchers.

In addition to the researchers’ interviews, the FillTech factory was revealed to the public for the first time. Unlike the tech factories depicted in sci-fi films, the FillTech base was surrounded by greenery. The workers inside wore bright smiles, and the overall atmosphere was relaxed.

It was a dream workplace.

“Three billion island credits well spent…” Tang Huai mused as he looked at the FillTech factory brochure. He rubbed his nose, satisfied.

FillTech’s logic chain was flawless.

☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️