After improving its size, Night God lay down on the beach chair.

She stretched her arms lazily: "I'm exhausted. Atmospheric transformation is truly a strenuous task, although it's mostly done by the Supervisor, I still have to keep an eye on those employees inside. Especially that new employee Basil..."

Night God suddenly changed the subject: "Join me for a drink, something stronger, with a pleasant aroma."

Zhou Yi poured a glass of white liquor and took a sip.

Night God's nose twitched, showing a comfortable expression.

Zhou Yi hardly drinks white liquor usually, finding it too spicy, and when drinking, his brain automatically conjures up the meme "bitter drink enters the throat, heart feels pain."

Yet to satisfy this friend's quirky taste, he's trying to adapt.

"What's up with Basil?"

Night God explained: "He wants to apply to enter the New World. They are essentially convicts serving their sentence, unable to leave the Gemstone Transformer, outdoor activities are not permissible, so this is the only option worth considering."

Zhou Yi asked sideways: "What's your decision?"

"I think it's doable."

Night God, with eyes closed, spoke gently: "Being too closed-off isn't beneficial for their work either. The New World has unique mechanisms, with Lil' Chongqing as the world administrator, Mechanical Life operating and correcting behind the scenes, allowing them to go in for vacation and relaxation, start another kind of life, offers them relaxation and hope."

"What do you think?"

Zhou Yi said: "No objections from me."

"Then it shall be decided."

Night God smiled: "Our company will officially establish a five-work-two-rest schedule, which is worth celebrating. During non-work hours, they can go there for vacation."

"Don't stop, keep drinking, keep going."

She ran her fingers along her nose and said: "The pleasant smell is fading away."

Thus, Zhou Yi could only chug down two more gulps.

The long night stretches on.

The two chatted about everything and nothing.

Everyone enjoyed the rare midsummer night vacation, losing themselves in the alcohol and sound of waves, temporarily forgetting their individual missions and responsibilities, like two ordinary people soaking in this fine night.

Until the Sun rose from the horizon.

Night God had already vanished, like the moon and night.

Zhou Yi, on the other hand, felt a bit dizzy from the drink.

This sensation reminded him of his distant college days.

Yuan Xiao thoughtfully handed over a cup of warm honey water.

Zhou Yi gulped down two big sips.

"I'm heading back."

"Alright."

...

In the ninth summer, coastal cities became the undisputed winners.

After the fear shrouded by the Dead Sea faded, the natural affinity towards the water environment was no longer suppressed.

Changes are happening rapidly across both Eastern and Western Continents in recent years. New productivity and living environments continuously evolve, offering rulers everywhere the benefits of rapid development, and residents' incomes rise accordingly, providing conditions for consumption.

Take Shell City for example.

The tourism, real estate, and dining industries saw a surge in the summer.

Based on quarterly data provided by Duke Beidu.

Shell City sold over 40,000 properties during the five months of summer, over 94% of which were purchased by outsiders, with even 61% being from the Western Continent.

In terms of tourism, the total number of tourists reached 4,141,000 visits, an impressive figure considering the world's population is just about 300 million nowadays.

Tourism revenue hit 62,200 Light Seeds, although it can't compare to the lucrative Mars mining industry, considering a small city's annual income barely reaches 5,000-8,000 Light Seeds, this revenue is quite good. More importantly, it fuels many related industries, solving a lot of employment and work issues.

Dining saw a daily increase of 323% in guest flow, with barbecue, beer, seafood, and pastries being the main categories sold, and average consumption for meals rose by 15.7%, while snacks and fast food rose by 11.2% year-on-year.

People, with money in their pockets, enjoyed themselves freely, eating and drinking generously.

The main reason is the rapid economic growth, coupled with the environment becoming safer and more convenient, and as infrastructure develops, the per capita cost decreases.

Only a few years ago, locals were still mostly consuming mushroom soup, and seafood and tourism were things of dreams.

But new problems arise.

Some people seized opportunities and began bending the rules.

First, classic tourist-gouging merchants, store owners frequently sold overpriced food through boasting, confusing, and fraudulent means, causing quite a few out-of-town tourists to suffer.

Some small workshops also started selling substandard food, beverages, tea, liquor, and cigarettes. People in this era have decent awareness but haven't seen high-quality fakes, coupled with a desire for bargains, they often get swindled.

Furthermore, tourism scalpers emerged. These scalpers peddled airship tickets and ferry tickets everywhere, intentionally hoarding a large number of tickets, preventing genuine tourists from buying or boarding.

They turned around and sold them at high prices, profiting greatly.

Even though Duke Beidu has quickly responded, dispatching security departments for thorough investigation and crackdown, directly imprisoning a group of people, due to vested interests, this issue seems likely to exist long-term, just evolving in form.

Zhou Yi didn't seem too concerned about this.

Problems arise only when life improves.

Just find a way to solve issues.

...

As summer turned to autumn, Mushroom Forest Primary School reached graduation season again.

Zhou Yi attended the ceremony in its entirety this time.

The ceremony has now been officially handled by the Entertainment Department, with Qian Su dispatching a competent aide, Little Tao, to specifically plan the entire event.

The graduates, one by one in blue and white bachelor's robes, arrived on the red carpet, with Light Imprint cameras capturing the whole process, live broadcast via projection walls.