Chen Jianhai didn't believe it, so he walked along the coastline.
After walking a full circle, he finally found a green trash can at a certain distance from the beach.
"This..."
Chen Jianhai looked at the island with a headache.
Usually, trash cans on beaches are placed along the seaside promenades, allowing tourists to dispose of trash while walking.
But this island's beach was so large, and without a seaside promenade to avoid spoiling the overall scenery, there really were no trash cans here.
Typically, the island's residents first manually pick up the trash and clean up the area. Afterward, they drag it to the nearest trash can for centralized disposal.
By the time they were done, it was already 4 PM.
Chen Jianhai and a group of island residents sat under the shade of a tree, exhausted.
"Young man, are you new here? I haven't seen you before," an auntie curiously asked Chen Jianhai.
"I'm not an islander. I'm here on vacation," Chen Jianhai replied with a smile.
"Vacation?" The surrounding people looked at him curiously.
"He's a tourist here with a travel agency. Knowing today is the island's Love Island Day, he came to help voluntarily," explained Han Shan Da Ye, who was wearing a small handkerchief on his head and looking flushed from the heat while fanning himself.
Hearing this, the island residents looked at Chen Jianhai with friendly and kind eyes.
What a good young man!
Although there are many tourists on the island daily, they usually focus on having fun. It's already great if they maintain cleanliness and don't litter, let alone voluntarily help clean up the island.
"Here, have some water," an auntie took out a bottle of water from her backpack and handed it to Chen Jianhai.
"Thank you, auntie."
Chen Jianhai, truly parched, gulped down the entire bottle in a few swigs. Just after he finished, he heard an islander beside him sigh anxiously:
"Sigh! I wonder what the northern part of the island looks like now."
As soon as these words were spoken, Chen Jianhai's ears perked up.
"Yeah, since last night, I haven't heard any construction noises from the north."
"I wonder if they're done building."
"How about... we go take a look?"
An islander tentatively suggested.
After speaking, all the islanders looked at Chen Jianhai. In an instant, Boss Chen's back went numb with fear. The water bottle in his hand crinkled as he nervously squeezed it.
"What is this..."
"Are they trying to trick me, or are they just asking casually?!"
"What should I say?!"
Countless critical questions swarmed his mind.
Having heard Lao Yan's stories about the fierce nature of these islanders, and seeing them all holding brooms and having sacks nearby, Chen Jianhai knew if things turned violent, he stood no chance against them.
But on the other hand, the northern island had been thoroughly cleaned by the system and restored to its original, pristine state. Even if the islanders didn't mention it, Chen Jianhai wanted to find an opportunity to show them the north side to improve relations with the islanders.
Just as Chen Jianhai was pondering how to respond, a voice next to him spoke up:
"Alright, let's go see what's going on."
"Not only are you concerned, but I'm also curious about the situation there."
As soon as these words were spoken, a sturdy figure stood up next to him. Chen Jianhai was stunned to see Han Shan Da Ye, with his flower handkerchief on his head and his hands behind his back, rising.
Immediately, the other islanders stood up, following him closely, exuding a sense of determination.
"Is this old man really that tough?!"
Chen Jianhai was stunned.
...
Four minutes later,
Chen Jianhai, huddled among the islanders, held a broom in his left hand and a sack in his right, blending in without daring to breathe loudly.
Looking at the imposing demeanor of the islanders, no one would believe this was a cleanup crew. It looked more like a gang ready to claim territory or cause trouble!
Luckily, he had inspected the site first thing in the morning. Had he been lazy and gone in the afternoon, he would have been caught red-handed, possibly not even knowing how he met his end.
"Huh?"
"When I passed by this morning, there were still barriers here. How did they disappear so quickly?"
"Right, I saw them too when I left this morning."
"Could it be that they've finished construction? This is too fast!"
The islanders voiced their doubts as they walked, each looking increasingly puzzled.
While they were questioning aloud, a voice suddenly said:
"Do you think... the Boss Gou is just like the previous bastards, stopping halfway and running off?!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the scene went silent.
Then, like a match thrown into a powder keg, it exploded instantly.
"It must be! How else could they quiet down in just a few days!?"
"Initially, I hoped for a good person to come and help develop the island,"
"But it's just the same!!"
"I knew it, these people are no good!"
"They ruined our island before; who knows what they've done to our land now!"
"Stop talking, let's go check it out!"
The more they talked, the angrier they got. The group, looking as if they'd been injected with adrenaline, cursed and shouted while clutching their brooms tightly, charging northward.
...
Ten minutes later,
Everyone hurried along the island's path to the northern shore, and they were all stunned by the sight before them...
The azure sea lay peacefully under the blue sky. The once desolate and dilapidated ruins and concrete buildings had disappeared without a trace. All the industrial debris, cement bags, and ground stakes were cleaned up completely.
The sand was smooth and fine, without a single mark of human trampling.
A few small crabs scuttled along the edge of the waves before burying themselves in the sand, forming tiny sandballs as they did.
Tall, sturdy coconut trees spread their lush, thick leaves, casting a patch of cool shade on the ground.
The gentle sea breeze carried a moist, warm, and pleasant scent.
"Keep cursing! Why aren't you cursing now?!"
"Why aren't you saying anything..."
Chen Jianhai observed the stunned expressions of the crowd, a smug look appearing on his face.
If he weren't worried about exposing his identity and causing unnecessary trouble, he would have loved to shout to the world:
This island was restored by me, using the power of the system!
...
"Did they... clean it up this thoroughly?"
After a long while, a voice in the crowd murmured.
Soon after, a middle-aged man in his 30s stepped forward, squatted down on the beach, and started digging.
"What is he digging for?"
Chen Jianhai looked puzzled.
Is there treasure here?!
Not just him, but everyone else also watched the man's actions in confusion.
As he dug, the man suddenly turned around, pointing to the spot he was digging, with an expression that was neither crying nor laughing:
"I remember there used to be a cement stake driven into the ground here!"
He pointed at the sandpit beneath him, his voice choked with emotion.
"Such a beautiful beach, ruined by a cement stake..."
"Every time I saw that stake, I wanted to strangle that Boss Gou."
"Now that stake is finally gone!"
By the end, the man had red eyes and was almost crying.
"I grew up here, and I thought I'd never see the island's beauty from my childhood again."
"I really thought I'd never see it again..."
"Thank you to those who cleaned it."
The man started laughing through his tears, looking like a child who had regained a beloved toy.
"I remember this tree!"
A middle-aged woman stepped out from the crowd.
She walked hesitantly to a coconut tree.
"When I was a child, my dad made a hammock for me here,"
"It was cut down before... How did it come back?"
"How did they do it?"
Gradually, people in the crowd walked around in disbelief.
Though they were now established adults, their faces showed the joy of regaining something precious from their childhood.
Chen Jianhai quietly stood among the crowd, watching their happiness. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.
At that moment, he heard a "ding" sound.
The system's voice rang in his mind.
Then, a large system panel popped up in front of him.
A small envelope with a red dot appeared in the lower right corner of the panel. He opened it to check.
A small red heart with wings flew out of the envelope and disappeared into the "Island Hotel" section.
Chen Jianhai opened the system to the Island Hotel.
Beneath the hotel building option he had previously selected, one of the three gray hearts had indeed lit up.
Just two more hearts to go, and he could redeem the Island Hotel!
In a flash, Chen Jianhai's eyes sparkled!
This was a stroke of luck!
Initially, he cleaned the area because he didn't have enough satisfaction points to redeem the hotel. Unexpectedly, he earned satisfaction points in the process.
"Strange, weren't they here to build a hotel?"
"Where are all the construction workers and vehicles?"
Suddenly, an islander spoke up in curiosity.
Once this was said, the other islanders also looked around curiously.
From the beginning, they felt something was off here but couldn't pinpoint it.
Now, hearing their companion, they immediately realized what was wrong.
Except for themselves, the entire beach was empty. There were no construction workers or vehicles, not even building materials.
"Weren't they going to build a hotel?"
"Could it be they gave up?!