616 Its Time! (1/2)

Penglai City continued to spark attention on international media and social media platforms, and the most direct impact to Xin was the exponentially increasing amount of tourism. The number rose from 200,000 at the beginning of the month to 410,000 by June of that year, equating to an increase of 205%.

It was certainly heavenly news for Future Tourism's CEO, Wei Yun. Following the increase in tourism, Heart of the Sea's financial report could easily break the 200 million USD promised to Jiang Chen with ease.

The remaining 200,000 square meters of leasing space was fought over by major international retailers. Clients who were already settled in were secretly glad they made the decision early to ”buy at the dip” when Coro Island's traffic was low. Otherwise, they would be fighting like their colleagues over a few square meters of retail space.

An enormous amount of pedestrian traffic packed the luxurious landmark building, but despite the crowdedness, people were still eager to visit this symbol of luxury and comfort. This wasn't only the case for Heart of the Sea - people were also eager to explore the beaches of Coro Island, the narrow sandy islands, and the complex sea maze.

The tourists all uploaded their vacation photos onto their social media accounts and expressed their fascination with the area.

For example, they posted onto their Moments page on WeChat.

”This place is no different than my hometown. The air is just fresher, the environment is more beautiful, the roads are wider, the internet speed is faster, the housing prices are unbelievable… The official language of this place is the same as my hometown, I feel like I'm in the Hawaii of the East.”

For example, on Twitter.

”This place has permanently free Wi-Fi that covers the entire country! Oh God, this is heaven for us. Our president should really learn from Jiang Chen; our state should have permanently free Wi-Fi inside our borders! Does she not know we'll die if we don't have Wi-Fi!”

For example, on Facebook.

”This is so hot - so much hotter than Moscow. I have to drink champagne all day just to cool off. *Burp* I swear, I'm only drinking so I can cool off. I'm not drunk at all! Are you not going to try? I heard their champagne is made with tropical fruits; this is so addicting…”

Of course, people were most interested in the rumored Penglai City!

Was the city currently under construction really as magical as Future Group described it to be?

Smart travel agencies who smelled business opportunities from the public's curiosity introduced scuba diving activities near the west Pacific Ocean.

The theme of these scuba diving tours was to explore the mysterious Penglai City.

Because it was a military zone, personnel not associated with the area weren't permitted to approach the construction sites, but Celestial Trade didn't evict the civilian ships outside the territory.

This was Jiang Chen's decision.

People were filled with curiosity or suspicion about the mysterious Penglai City. If they managed to satisfy the curiosity of tourists and resolve their suspicions that Future Group was hyping up something fake, they would definitely pass the information back to their own countries and become firm supporters of the tale of Penglai.

If Celestial Trade hindered tourists from coming, it could kill off their interest toward the country.

And Xin needs tourists!

Especially since normal scuba diving equipment couldn't submerge to a depth of 500 meters, there was no concern that tourists could interfere with the construction. However, if they approached the material drop off zones or went directly above the construction sites, Celestial Trade's submerge devices would evict them.

Under the guise of safety concerns.

But because there were too many tourists, soldiers couldn't keep up with the traffic, so Ivan had to report the status to Jiang Chen.

It was fine.

Jiang Chen immediately gathered all travel agencies with business in Xin and held a brief meeting.

It was concluded that it was okay to tour Penglai, but viewings were only permitted to occur in the outer radius of the construction. Once any travel agencies were caught taking tourists inside the military zone, the tourists wouldn't be punished, but the guilty travel agency would be documented. After three occurrences, the travel agency would be on Future Tourism's blacklist.

Being on the blacklist meant there would be no way for them to continue to conduct travel business in Xin.

After the meeting, the bosses of the travel agencies immediately called for internal meetings back at their own companies. From today onward, all scuba diving equipment touring ships visiting Penglai City would be connected with a rope. While the rope was heavily criticized by scuba diving enthusiasts, it was a rule strictly enforced by all travel agencies.