At least a minute passed after Lin Chu sent the message, but no one in the group had replied.

Only the group’s "little secretary" replied: "@Lin Chu, please take a look at the group rules first. This chat is pretty quiet most of the time. After all, many of the Island Lords are overseas and prefer seclusion. They don’t like to be disturbed, and there are also practical issues like poor reception."

’Huh.’

Lin Chu could only give a wry smile.

’That does make sense.’

’What kind of person chooses to become an Island Lord, anyway?’

’The majority probably aren’t the ambitious, highly-driven types looking to build an empire. They’re more likely introverts who just want to find a quiet place to be by themselves, or with their families.’

"Oho, a new member! Welcome! Where’d you buy your island?"

A man with the screen name "Linhai Immortal" replied, saving the dead chat from complete embarrassment.

Lin Chu quickly replied: "Daber Island, Philippines, Palawan Province."

Linhai Immortal: "Well, what do you know! We’re neighbors! I’m in Malaysia."

Just then, another message popped up in the chat: "That’s a bit of a long-distance neighbor... (snickering emoji)"

Linhai Immortal: "That’s plenty close! Beggars can’t be choosers! You folks from South America can keep out of this."

Watching the conversation unfold, Lin Chu couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of wonder. It was as if the Earth had shrunk to a palm-sized globe, giving it a strong "global village" vibe.

"@Lin Chu, what’d you buy the island for?"

Linhai Immortal was pretty friendly toward his new "neighbor" and took the initiative to start a conversation.

Lin Chu: "Just for fun. I stumbled upon it, thought it seemed interesting, and decided to buy one to mess around with."

That much was true.

"Heh, you’d better head over to the ’for sale’ section and get your post ready. I have a feeling you won’t last long. A young guy like you won’t be able to stand a place like that. Half a year, tops, and you’ll be dazed and dumb, devolved into a wild man."

The words weren’t exactly pleasant, but Lin Chu could sense the good intentions behind them. ’This guy’s pretty blunt,’ he thought.

"So what did you buy your island for?"

Lin Chu asked in return.

Linhai Immortal: "To cultivate immortality and seek the Dao! To gather the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and absorb the essence of the sun and moon! My Thunder Skill and Sword Control Technique have improved by leaps and bounds in recent years."

Lin Chu: ?

’Well said!’

’You know, I know a pretty good psychiatrist...’

’Has this guy been on his island so long he’s gone stir-crazy?’

Just then, another message popped up in the chat.

Li Dong: "Ah Hai, if you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll use my Sword-Controlling Immortal technique to slay your Primordial Spirit from a thousand li away. Stop messing around. Welcome, @Lin Chu. Ah Hai’s just like that, you’ll get used to him."

"Daber Island is a nice place. I’ve been there twice. Back then, I felt it had high development potential and could become the next big tourist destination. However, the capital required would be in the high nine figures, at least. Plus, islands in Southeast Asia carry a potential risk of conflict, so I passed on it."

As the group owner, he spoke in a measured and impartial tone, offering his perspective from a business angle.

After all, buying the island was less than twenty million.

Spending several times that amount on development really wasn’t a good deal. There are countless other islands around the world with better infrastructure.

"Are you in China right now? Or somewhere else?"

Li Dong asked in another message.

Lin Chu: "In Yang City."

Li Dong: "@Pei Ming, little Mingming, time to welcome our guest! You two should meet up. Since you’re both in the country, it’s easy. Grab a meal, have some drinks, build up some trust. I’m on the Scandinavian Peninsula right now, otherwise I’d head back myself. It’s been three years. I’ve waited three years! We finally have a new member."

’I don’t know how old he is, but he’s definitely much older than me—maybe even old enough to be my uncle,’ Lin Chu thought. ’But he has a fun way of talking.’

Lin Chu couldn’t help but laugh. "Sounds good."

’They vet your documents online, so the offline meeting must be to vet your character, or maybe your career,’ he mused. ’Actually, "vet" isn’t quite the right word. It’s more about just getting a feel for the person. After all, we’ll be hanging out together in the future, and being an Island Lord is a rather unique identity.’

Lin Chu could understand all of that.

Pei Ming. That name had been in the documents he’d seen earlier. He was one of the Three Island Masters. They all seemed to know each other well.

’A circle like this is actually pretty interesting.’

Soon, Pei Ming also spoke up: "Sounds good. I’m in a meeting right now. Give me a bit, I’ll contact you later."

Just then, Lin Chu saw a little red dot appear on his contact list—a friend request from Pei Ming.

Without hesitation, Lin Chu accepted it.

Since the man was in a meeting, Lin Chu didn’t start a conversation.

’A meeting?’

’An office worker? Or a boss?’

’Most likely the latter.’

Linhai Immortal: "@Lin Chu, hurry up and develop your island. Once you’re done, you and I can sit and discourse on the Dao while drinking Deep Sea Jade Dew brewed from nuclear wastewater."

Lin Chu: ...

’I’ll fucking thank you for that!’

’But that’s a hard pass for me!’

...

After adding Pei Ming, Lin Chu glanced at his profile. His location was listed as Panyu, Yang City. He started scrolling down his feed.

’What the hell?’

Seeing a post about his life, Lin Chu was suddenly taken aback. ’He bought an island in Yang City!’

’There are islands in Yang City?’

Lin Chu quickly searched for public information.

His "island" in Yang City was named Guanlong Island and was located right in Panyu. He had leased a twenty-mu plot of land for twenty years. It was a case of being a great hermit hidden in the city.

’This was probably the only way to do it in China.’

As he kept scrolling, Lin Chu dug up more information.

Pei Ming, born in the ’70s, was involved in both Sinology and Buddhist studies, while also running a clothing business. He was a long-time backpacker who had traveled the world and currently owned one ocean island and one lake island.

His feed also had photos of him working on a type of fabric—Xiangyun Sha.

*Hiss...*

Lin Chu suddenly felt a strange sense of serendipity, and his scalp tingled.

’Then again,’ he immediately thought, ’Pei Ming is a Sinology enthusiast, so he must be interested in traditional culture. And since he runs a clothing company, it’s actually quite likely that he’d start researching this kind of fabric. It’s a perfect combination of his interests and his profession.’

Xiangyun Sha is a precious textile, the only silk fabric dyed with purely plant-based dyes. Known as the "soft Gold" of the textile world, it is extremely expensive and originated in the Chan City area of Yang City.

’Interesting.’

"Sorry about that, just had to meet with the workers. It’s about to pour, so we had to get the materials packed up. Mr. Lin, where are you at? When should we meet up? This weather is actually perfect for hot pot, you know. Want to grab some?"

He seemed to be the impatient, fiery type, not letting even this weather get in the way of arranging a meal.

Lin Chu was in the middle of looking at his feed, getting a peek into the man’s life, when the message from Pei Ming arrived. A thought struck him. "Sounds great. You handle the hot pot, I’ll bring the drinks for us to share. Send me the address."

"Hahaha, deal! I’ll be waiting. How about six o’clock tonight?"

He sent over an address. It wasn’t for Guanlong Island, but for a restaurant in Panyu called Wumizhou Hot Pot.

"Perfect."

Lin Chu agreed instantly.

Going to meet up with someone you’ve just met, in this windy and rainy weather...

The thought of it, Lin Chu felt, was even a little romantic.

...

...