38: Chapter 38 The 2024 Club Opens

The most shocking sight was the massive tree in the tropical rainforest that would take three people to span. People of the Future World hadn't never seen large trees; in the current wild areas after the nuclear war, some places were barren wastelands, while plants in other regions grew wildly...

But those plants all carried lethal hazards...

Yet this tree was purely natural, a 'good tree' that hadn't suffered a trace of radiation!

Anything entering a human settlement had to pass through radiation detection systems, and cities also had radiation monitoring devices. Once excess radiation was detected somewhere, relevant personnel would immediately come to perform decontamination.

Therefore, people in this world rarely had the chance to see large plants...

Besides these plants, there was also a 'Sports Zone' where people could experience activities like walking dogs, hunting, horse riding, fishing, planting flowers, and gathering...

It was simply a paradise on earth...

Any single area here was beyond Wang Yifei Bingbing's imagination.

However, it was said that habitable greenhouses already existed at the Mars base! But building living quarters on Mars was incredibly expensive; most mining missions were handled by robots, and the few employee positions weren't something bottom-tier people could attain...

When Wang Yifei Bingbing worked as an interstellar guide before, she hadn't traveled far, mainly going to the Moon.

Lunar soil, like Earth's soil, was also full of radiation!

Martian soil was slightly better, but it still required complex processing to become soil suitable for planting.

Therefore, any bit of pure soil suitable for planting was precious.

Gao Yuan finished inspecting the entire 2024 Club...

"Not bad. Sister Shan, Bingbing, how is the distribution of the member invitations going?"

"Sir, because you said to include videos of our club in the invitations, we only started sending them today. We just finished sending the Diamond memberships; a total of 16 invitations were sent out. So far, only one person has replied—Liu Ziyu, the Director of the Human Federation Mineral Bureau! We're still waiting on the others!"

"Good. Hurry up with the Gold and Silver memberships as well. Remember, when sending to the Gold members, attach the list of Diamond members we've invited!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Right, one more thing... for Diamond and Gold members, as soon as they reply, arrange for someone to deliver their membership chips!"

Gao Yuan instructed.

"Understood, sir!"

Gao Yuan thought for a moment. "Send a Bronze membership chip to Li Qingmei, the owner of Jiayuan Antique Shop, and a merchant named Qin Mugutan as well. Waive their membership fees for one year!"

These two were the partners Gao Yuan had first encountered...

However, their status wasn't high, so waiving a year's fee was already giving them a lot of face.

Moreover, the more people had wealth but no power, the more they would scramble to join. Class stratification in the Future World was much more severe than in the real world; they had no channels to get close to these true top-tier people. But after joining the club, as long as a member's rank was higher than theirs, they were superiors...

Even a random member could potentially become a business partner...

2024 was not just a club; it was a high-society social venue.

Having arranged the tasks, Gao Yuan was preparing to head back when Wang Yifei Bingbing asked, "Boss, do we need to recruit service staff for the club?"

Gao Yuan thought about it. "Let's go with custom robots. Oh, and don't use fully intelligent robots; simple, low-level automated machinery will do!"

"But... wouldn't using robots seem disrespectful? And without intelligent robots, would just using low-level machinery be inconvenient?"

Gao Yuan looked at the long-legged beauty. "Bingbing, if we recruit human servers, they'll need training, and as long as they're human, they can make mistakes. Our club focuses on leisure, self-contentment, rarity, and raw ecology! Besides, these members are all big shots. If you were chatting, would you feel at ease with someone standing right next to you?"

Wang Yifei Bingbing shook her head...

"So, privacy is more important! Whether it's a real person or an intelligent robot, they aren't private enough; both could leak the remarks of these big shots! But low-level automated machinery won't... Understand? Of course, we still need some intelligent robots. For example, after the customers leave, the intelligent robots will be responsible for restoring the area to its original state..."

Gao Yuan finished speaking...

At this point, Huangfu Shan interjected from the side, "Sir's meaning is very clear: in 2024, try to do things yourself..."

"Exactly. If a guest requests it, they can even cook for themselves..."

Wang Yifei Bingbing suddenly understood...

Brilliant! These wealthy tycoons could enjoy meticulous service anywhere else, but here, there was only low-level machinery running on fixed programs... no AI, no other people!

...

The technological level of the Future World far surpassed the real world, but with the advancement of information technology, the internet had actually segmented humanity into small, isolated islands...

Even the modern world was seeing such a trend.

In the past, people could know what was happening globally, but now, when you open any software, everything pushed to you is based on your interests.

For instance, if a gentleman opens a short video app, all he sees are sexy beauties... online 456!

In the Future World, this situation was even more severe.

Although Wang Yifei Bingbing and Huangfu Shan had sent out many videos about 2021 on various platforms...

The only ones who actually saw them were the very few people who followed high-end information.

These people were mainly from the top tier and the middle class...

Of course, Gao Yuan didn't need the attention of the bottom-tier people anyway!

Time passed quickly...

Today was the opening day of the 2024 Club!

However, not many people came...

Including Qin Gang, a total of 13 Diamond membership invitations were sent, but only six people came!

60 invitations were sent for Gold memberships, and 40 people came!

300 invitations were sent for Silver memberships, and 260 people came!

Added together, it was only a little over three hundred people.

But Gao Yuan was already very satisfied.

He didn't even make an appearance; Wang Yifei Bingbing and some intelligent robots were responsible for the reception! Gao Yuan wanted to maintain an air of mystery...

Qin Gang had actually been unable to contain himself for several days. As a floral fanatic, he loved all plants...

Seeing that the videos sent to him later were filled with plants as far as the eye could see, he was nearly going crazy.

As an expert, he could naturally tell that these plants were real, purely natural, and free of radiation. What was even rarer was that there were so many trees...

So when he arrived today, he didn't care at all that the boss hadn't shown his face. He followed the guide map and headed straight for the Botanical Scene Restaurant above.

There were no service staff at all inside these scenes...

When a member walked to the entrance, the smart device at the door would detect their chip. If their rank was high enough, the door would open automatically...

Liu Ziyu had initially walked in below and felt some dissatisfaction when he saw the boss hadn't come out to welcome them...

But seeing Qin Gang ahead, he wanted to catch up and say a few words.

After all, Qin Gang's son was the Secretary-General, essentially his superior...

However, before he could catch up, he saw Old Master Qin running incredibly fast. Just then, someone behind called out to him.

He turned to see it was Niu Lanshan, the Chairman of the Earth Regional Council, so he stopped to greet him. "Chairman Niu, you came too?"

"Yes, work is heavy, and seeing that there's fishing here, it's really... plus Old Master Qin is here, so I came to join the fun!"

Both of them were also Diamond members...

Accompanying each other, they knew Qin Gang would definitely go to the Botanical Zone, but there were many botanical areas, and they didn't know which one he went to...

So they browsed through them one by one...

Since the bottom five floors were office areas and not open to the public, the tour started from the sixth floor...

The moment they walked in...

Liu Ziyu was stunned...

"What area is this?"

"Gathering Zone One, Peach Blossom Garden!"

Niu Lanshan said, looking at the sign by the door!

At this time, it was exactly when the honey peaches were ripening. Pink peaches hung from the branches, and there was a notice at the entrance.

"This hall receives Diamond, Gold, Silver, and Bronze members!"

"Members entering can enjoy the joy of picking to their heart's content. The plants in this hall are purely natural, radiation-free, and pesticide-free! Fruits and vegetables can be eaten directly, or eaten after washing with mountain spring water!"

"Notice: Fee standards for this hall: Diamond (Free), Gold (500k), Silver (800k), Bronze (1M)"

Liu Ziyu and Niu Lanshan looked at each other. Although they were among humanity's top-tier people and had eaten fresh peaches and seen peach trees before, seeing such a large expanse of vibrant peach trees was very rare...

Moreover, as they walked further in, they realized they were wrong again. The peaches outside were nearly ripe, but those further in were just starting to bear fruit. Walking even further, they were just blooming, and the peach trees at the very back were just sprouting!

This was something Gao Yuan had specially transplanted directly from the fruit and vegetable greenhouses outside.

This ensured that whenever members came in, they could see peach blossoms and eat peaches at any time...

Liu Ziyu was dazed for a long while. "Do you know who the owner of this club is?"

Niu Lanshan shook his head. "I checked; the name is Gao Yuanyuan Gao, but that's definitely a pseudonym! A person with a four-character name couldn't possibly have the ability to find so many peach trees. These trees must have grown in private courtyards within the city!"

Liu Ziyu nodded. "It's not the peach trees, it's the soil... have you noticed? The soil here, such a large expanse of soil—how much soil is needed? On the market, a pound of planting soil costs fifty thousand. How many tons are here? A thousand tons? That would require a hundred billion! And this is just the most basic hall..."

Both saw the shock in each other's eyes...

Who was the boss here? Niu Lanshan mused that if he exerted all his effort, he could also find this much planting soil! But he would absolutely never use it just to create a peach forest...

Liu Ziyu looked around. "Old Master Qin isn't here... let's go up!"

The 7th floor was also a gathering zone: Gathering Zone Two—Desert!

What met the eye here was all desert, with massive cacti appearing from time to time, topped with prickly pear fruit! Then in the middle, there were also oleaster trees, sand leeks, and sand onions.

There were detailed introductions next to each type of plant.

But that wasn't the most shocking part. Gathering these was certainly possible, but because it was a desert, the quantities weren't large.

Liu Ziyu was initially a bit confused...

But when he walked further in and saw a miniature lake in the middle of the desert with fish inside...

Liu Ziyu was full of admiration. The person who set up this scene was definitely a master. There were fewer things here than in Gathering Zone One, but it was much more interesting!

He also saw fishing rods, nets, and even harpoons, shovels, and bamboo poles at the entrance. These tools were clearly for gathering...

There were no service staff in the entire scene.

Liu Ziyu and Niu Lanshan went up to the eighth floor...

This was a restaurant!

It was no longer a gathering zone, but this restaurant was also filled with luxury and interest.

This was a snow mountain scene, and there were cotton-padded coats and down jackets at the entrance to change into...

Liu Ziyu felt shocked. They actually didn't use Constant Temperature Clothing here, but antique cotton coats instead. One had to know that a single gram of cotton could buy a set of Constant Temperature Clothing... Cotton was one thing, but down was even rarer.

More crucially were the plants inside this restaurant; there were numerous cedars, plum blossoms, and several orchids in the corners.

Liu Ziyu even saw snow lotuses here...

Every single plant here was top-grade. Setting aside the cedars, digging up a single orchid or snow lotus and taking it out could even be traded for a small factory! What exactly was the background of this owner... to be so formidable.

Moreover, Liu Ziyu and Niu Lanshan saw Qin Gang here.

Qin Gang was squatting in front of a snow lotus, his face full of excitement.

"It's a real snow lotus..."

"Truly, so rare!"

Liu Ziyu and Niu Lanshan walked over. "Old Master Qin?"

Qin Gang turned his head. "Oh, it's you two... you ran up here pretty fast! Didn't stay below to eat peaches?"

"Old Master Qin, it's said that you were the first to join this club?"

"Mm..." Qin Gang grunted in response.

Normally, he would definitely look down on such a social invitation, but when Wang Yifei Bingbing visited with three pots of flowers, he had spotted that Guest-Greeting Pine bonsai at a single glance...

It was too precious. Qin Gang was moved at the time; in this world, a Guest-Greeting Pine bonsai was far too unique.

Qin Gang felt that as long as he could get that bonsai, he would agree to any condition, let alone just attending a club's opening ceremony...

But after coming today, Qin Gang realized that the Guest-Greeting Pine he got was nothing. Not only were there real cedars here, there were even snow lotuses...

Qin Gang felt that he would likely be a permanent resident here in the future...

No place in this world was as attractive as this.

"Old Master Qin, do you know who the boss behind this is?"

Liu Ziyu and Niu Lanshan were now completely numb. They had only seen three floors, and these were floors any member could visit. They really didn't know what kind of scenes were on the later floors from 18 to 25...

Those scenes were only open to Diamond and Gold members...

Qin Gang waved his hand impatiently. "How would I know? Besides, does it matter who the boss is? By the way, tell those brats outside that if anyone dares to damage the things in here, don't blame me for being unfriendly... The things in here might be the last of their kind that can be seen in this world..."

"Yes, yes..."