Chapter 333: Plans and Plots in Mingsha City

Indeed! The City Master’s plans are always so comprehensive!

Upon hearing this,

Canghai’s puzzled expression immediately cleared up considerably.

“The City Master has his own agenda. When something happens, we’ll lend a hand. The real question is how to handle it. Several visitors mentioned that after entering Wuzhuang Temple, they felt something straight out of a book—the only thing missing was its charm!”

Daoist Master Cangshan waved his hand, signaling Canghai not to dwell further on the matter concerning Dino Park.

“Him? Senior, what if we do this: tomorrow, we contact President Luo again and ask them to help us find a large pear tree, hollow it out, and fit it around him.”

Shifting to business,

Canghai thought for a moment and said,

He knew exactly what the visitors expected. It was nearly impossible for ‘it’ to grow within such a short time. The only solution was to temporarily substitute other trees to mimic the desired visual effect.

Apple and peach trees were too small; only an older pear tree could convey the right feel.

“Hollow out a large pear tree?”

Daoist Master Cangshan stroked his chin.

“Senior, with him present, even a hollowed-out pear tree can thrive—and it will be perfectly concealed.”

Canghai added,

“This…”

After pacing for a moment, Cangshan still hesitated a bit.

“Senior, I think this method is the most direct and effective. At the appropriate time, we can hang some fake plastic fruits on the tree and decorate it with lights. Visitors are after the feel—it wouldn’t be taken literally as a genuine ginseng fruit tree.”

Canghai continued,

“The idea is good, but I worry that once the pear tree comes to life, the fruits it bears might radiate that ‘human vibe’. You know what it’s capable of.”

Unable to help himself, Cangshan knelt down to get a closer look at the small sapling.

“Senior, that’s simple. When the pear tree flowers and fruits, we’ll remove its buds in advance so that no fruit develops.”

“That’s true!”

Cangshan’s eyes brightened.

“Then…”

“It’s settled then! By the way, when we meet President Luo tomorrow, ask about the animals. He should be able to handle that.”

“No problem!”

Meanwhile, a few crafty ideas were brewing at Wuzhuang Temple, and Mingsha Fudi wasn’t idle either.

“Master, it’s all set!”

In the back hall, Wu Ming arrived at You Gong’s side, eyeing the surroundings warily before whispering,

“All set?”

You Gong rubbed his dark circles and his expression changed.

Those dark circles were left over from today’s friendly exchange between Cangshan and Canghai.

“Yes!”

“Alright, once the second entertainment project opens, we’ll begin. The more ‘celestial’ Mingsha Fudi appears, the more attractive it becomes. Already, some visitors at Wuzhuang Temple have offered incense.”

You Gong nodded in agreement.

“Master, I have one worry: won’t our plans interfere with the Technology Expo?”

After a brief pause, Wu Ming continued,

“Not at all! You underestimate the City Master. His project is the real big event.”

You Gong shook his head with absolute certainty.

While others had no idea what Xu Hao planned to cultivate this time, he knew every detail.

“That’s a relief!”

“Also, let’s figure out something for the lake! That’s our advantage at Mingsha Fudi—Wuzhuang Temple doesn’t even have a lake.”

After a moment of thought, You Gong glanced back toward Mingsha Ge.

“The lake? Master, isn’t there a Blood Lake beside Wuzhuang Temple?”

“That’s different! Blood Lake doesn’t belong to Wuzhuang Temple.”

“Oh!”

“Master, I’ll get to work.”

Having settled the matters at hand, Wu Ming turned to leave. Yet, hesitating for a moment, he added,

“Master, could you handle this? It looks rather clumsy.”

As he spoke, Wu Ming pointed to You Gong’s two dark circles.

“Clumsy? What do you know? This is karma! My actions are all deliberate—Cangshan and Canghai are also resolving their karma. Understand? From now on, Biyou Palace and Wuzhuang Temple can coexist equally in Mingsha City.”

Upon hearing this, You Gong glared in disbelief.

“Uh…”

Little did they know, while everyone in Mingsha City was busy with their own schemes, online forums were buzzing nonstop.

On one forum: “Weren’t those the ones accusing Mingsha City of discriminating against foreign visitors? Why are they silent now?”

“Exactly! Karma hit hard, didn’t it? They act all high and mighty, but now their faces are about to get slapped red.”

“All that flattery just got them a cold shoulder.”

“I heard top influencer Gao Nan isn’t buying it either. He just posted a new tweet!”

“Ha! What’s there not to like? He and his fans were the most enthusiastic on the dance floor back then.”

“Saying Mingsha City misled the public and that he’d soon get a lawyer involved.”

“Suing Mingsha City? I must admit, I’m looking forward to it! I really want to see Mingsha City put those so-called pundit influencers in their place!”

“Agreed! I definitely want to watch that lawsuit unfold.”

“Absolutely.”

Just a few minutes earlier,

Statements were being posted one after another by several foreign Foreign Affairs Offices. They claimed that Mingsha City’s commercial practices might jeopardize their national information security. As a result, they disallowed Mingsha City’s professional team from collecting data and advised their tourists to choose other attractions.

With such criticisms, the chatter wasn’t going to die down any time soon.

After all the debates, many visitors shifted their gaze to Mingsha City’s second entertainment project.

“Ha! Although attracting foreign tourists boosts the economy, I believe Mingsha City’s ‘Dreaming of the Past’ project really gives our Long Kingdom some face. It’s probably the only project in Long Kingdom where foreigners aren’t allowed.”

“That’s why I’ll definitely visit Mingsha City in three days.”

“In three days? To experience Dreaming of the Past or to challenge Lanruo Temple?”

“What! I’m going for Mingsha City’s new project.”

“As expected, this new project should be fun too, though it might restrict foreigners just like Dreaming of the Past.”

“Not sure! Mingsha City didn’t provide many details.”

“That’s normal for Mingsha City. They never explain anything in detail. If they did, it would be off-brand. Either way, I’m definitely going.”

“Same here!”

Yan City, a hotel in the Third Ring

Li Yan, Chairman of Bai Fu Technology, leaned back in his chair as he eyed his computer screen, letting out a barely perceptible sigh of relief. Sitting opposite him was a middle-aged man in a suit, who remarked, “Mingsha City really knows how to generate buzz! They not only grabbed a wave of attention but also promoted their entertainment project in the process!”

After a while,

Li Yan turned to the man opposite him and said,

“Honestly, I think it’s a good thing. The more effort Mingsha City puts into their entertainment project, the less spotlight they steal from the Technology Expo! I heard that to compete with Dino Park, Mingsha City is planning to launch two new entertainment projects next.”

“I just can’t believe that after these projects launch, Mingsha City will even have time for the Technology Expo!”

The man, named Ma Wenchun, lifted his tea cup and took a sip.

Ma Wenchun, the President of Long Kingdom Wenteng Technology, was also a participant in the Technology Expo. Their tech products mainly focused on robotics.

“I think so too! Honestly, we really owe a debt of gratitude to Dino Park. If it weren’t for Dino Park drawing all that attention, we might have had to join forces to boycott Mingsha City.”

Li Yan nodded in strong agreement.

That was exactly why he felt relieved after reading the posts.

“But we must remain cautious! Mingsha City’s Dreaming of the Past already scared off several VR tech companies. Who knows what mischief their upcoming project might stir up.”

After setting his tea cup down, Ma Wenchun added,

“It shouldn’t be a problem. Mingsha City’s project is designed to rival that of Dino Park’s. Besides, Dino Park doesn’t have much high-tech involvement anymore—except for Future City! Mingsha City, on the other hand, sticks to our traditional Long Kingdom style.”

Li Yan paused for a moment.

“Forget it. We’re all just speculating now. We’ll know everything in due time!”

“Agreed!”

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

At 8 AM,

The north side of Mingsha Fudi was already packed with people—all eager to be the first to experience Mingsha City’s second entertainment project.

Judging by the crowd, there were even more visitors than when Dreaming of the Past first opened.

Moreover, to better serve the visitors, Xu Hao had constructed another avenue on the west side of Mingsha Fudi, north of Qixia Town. Named Xuanwu Avenue, it stretched northward past Taiyi Hospital and led directly to the second entertainment project’s entrance, which was located right beside the avenue.

“As expected, Mingsha City’s entertainment projects all have the same distinct style,”

once the visitors had a clear view of the entire Second Entertainment City, many couldn’t help but comment.

They noted that the second project’s style was very similar to that of the First Entertainment City—a square ancient city. The only difference was that this ancient city seemed to have an additional ancient architectural cover above it.

Moreover, instead of one city gate on the main wall, there were two!

Prominently displayed were the words ‘Entrance’ and ‘Exit.’

Besides the ticket inspection channel, both the entrance and the exit featured something resembling old iron rails. On these rails were several ancient sedan chairs connected with chains, albeit styled very differently from the typical ones seen by visitors.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the entertainment project launched by Mingsha City this time is…”

Just as the visitors began to shout and make wild guesses, a staff member dressed in ancient costume arrived at the ticket booth.