[Earth Era, December 12, 2010] [Western Calendar, Sunday] [Xia Calendar, gengyin year, seventh day of the eleventh month; auspicious for sculpting and painting, fasting and rituals, travel, dismantling, and removing restrictions]
Area No. 7 had already come alive.
The scents of expensive perfumes mingled in the air along the streets, and cigar smoke was everywhere. The broad streets, already bustling on ordinary days, were now packed with traffic. Luxury sedans that flaunted their owners' status, stretch limousines, and all manner of bizarre modified vehicles streamed endlessly along the roads.
On both sides of the streets, every polished-looking hotel, luxurious or otherwise, had the same illuminated sign beneath its name: [No vacancies].
Some sunny-looking students from ordinary families at Nanrong University chose to work part-time as hotel doormen outside class. Over the past few days, they had been worked to the bone, dealing every day with agitated, distinguished guests unhappy with either their reserved rooms or the lack of parking spaces. It was exhausting work, both mentally and physically.
Of course, their efforts had not been in vain. The tips from these few days matched what they would have earned in an entire year.
Area No. 7 had begun to flourish at the start of the month. After building for nearly half a month, that prosperity had turned the area into a spectacle unprecedented anywhere in the Safe Zone.
There was only one reason-tomorrow marked the official opening of the eagerly anticipated [Vine Heart Trade Fair]!
Jointly organized by the Three Major Merchants' Associations, this trade fair was an event on a scale unseen since the Safe Zone's establishment.
It was no longer an exclusive gathering reserved for the biggest power players. Instead, it opened its doors to every faction within the Safe Zone.
Whether a regional heavyweight or