The two of them quickly recovered from their shock.

Tom pointed a trembling finger at the Wolf Fur Coat and looked at the man with the ponytail, stammering.

"Fa... F-Fack!!!" 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Daisen, what the hell did you make?!"

"This... this is insane!" Tom’s voice grew shrill with excitement. "This isn’t just an ordinary coat, it’s a..."

His finger remained pointing in mid-air, forgotten in his astonishment, and his limited vocabulary failed to describe the Wolf Fur Coat.

The man with the ponytail frowned, looking at Tom in confusion. "What’s wrong? Isn’t this the primitive, wild, tribal-style, one-of-a-kind Wolf Fur Coat you asked for?"

Tom took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "It is, but this is way beyond my imagination! A Black Wolf Head Hood... putting it on makes you look like a Werewolf. How did you even come up with this? It’s so cool!"

"Holy shit, this is the coolest Wolf Fur Coat I’ve ever seen. Feng, what do you think?"

Feng Mountain opened his mouth. Although he was tempted, he still shook his head slightly. "It’s definitely cool, but I don’t think I can pull off this style."

"No!" Tom immediately shot down Feng Mountain’s modesty. "Only you are worthy of wearing it, Carnation Knight, Fenrir Terminator! Quick, try it on."

’Try it on?’

Feng Mountain’s expression was hesitant and conflicted, his eyes flickering. On one hand, he was truly drawn to the Wolf Fur Coat; on the other, he was worried it would be too ostentatious.

Tom couldn’t be bothered with all that. He rushed forward, took the Wolf Fur Coat off the rack, and without a word, forcibly pulled the fur coat off Feng Mountain’s back.

Then, he draped the Wolf Fur Coat over Feng Mountain, muttering constantly, "Buddy, this was practically tailor-made for you. I’m so jealous!"

The moment he put on the Wolf Fur Coat, Feng Mountain’s entire demeanor underwent a dramatic change.

His original air of calm and restraint vanished, replaced by a chilling fierceness and wildness.

When Tom pulled the Black Wolf Head Hood over his head, Feng Mountain seemed to merge with the darkness, transforming into an upright Werewolf.

The Black Wolf Head Hood concealed Feng Mountain’s head, revealing a pair of wolf eyes, sharp as blades, that glinted with a cold light that seemed to pierce one’s very soul.

Yet Feng Mountain didn’t feel his vision was obstructed. As he turned his head from side to side, Tom felt as if he were watching a werewolf searching for prey. His heart clenched, and his breathing grew ragged.

"Cool, so damn cool!"

"Buddy, if you go out wearing this Wolf Fur Coat, everyone will be kneeling at your feet."

"As God is my witness, shit, why doesn’t it belong to me?"

Tom watched Feng Mountain with envy, his gaze roaming over the Wolf Fur Coat.

"I’m done trying it on, give me my coat back." Feng Mountain, embarrassed by the praise, prepared to take off the awesome Wolf Fur Coat. But to his surprise, Tom picked up his old animal-hide coat and tossed it directly into a pile of pelts.

"Sorry, your coat seems to have gone missing!"

"You!" Feng Mountain was speechless at Tom’s shameless antics.

Putting aside the Wolf Fur Coat’s appearance, the material and craftsmanship were much more comfortable than his original coat.

The soft leather lining in particular meant it wasn’t the least bit coarse or stiff, and it provided just the right amount of stretch and support as he moved.

"Don’t ’you you you’ me, it’s settled!"

Tom had long since noticed Feng’s modesty; it seemed that all the Chinese people he’d met were like this.

In his eyes, it was obvious that Feng was very pleased with the Wolf Fur Coat, but he just wouldn’t show it.

Thinking back on the Chinese people he’d met before, most of them were the same way—emotionally reserved, not good at directly expressing their thoughts and feelings, always humble and implicit. Even when they liked something, they wouldn’t easily say it.

"The coat suits you well, buddy!" the man with the ponytail added his own opinion.

’Since they’re both saying so...’

Feng Mountain feigned reluctance as he accepted their opinions and wore the Wolf Fur Coat, turning to the man with the ponytail.

"How much is the labor for this coat? I’ll pay you. It’s worth a good price."

The man with the ponytail was about to speak when Tom stopped him. "Buddy, there’s no charge for this Wolf Fur Coat. Consider it a gift from me."

"???" Feng Mountain didn’t understand.

He had provided the materials, but the value of pure craftsmanship was considerable. Every single stitch was infused with the artisan’s effort and skill.

"Daisen’s daughter has severe depression. I lent him a lot of money for her treatment, so the labor fee for the Wolf Fur Coat will just be deducted from his debt," Tom explained in a low voice.

’Depression?’

Feng Mountain nodded. Since it involved a debt between the two of them, it wasn’t his place to interfere. However, as he was about to leave, he still said to the man with the ponytail.

"Daisen, the environment in my territory is quite nice. It should be helpful for treating depression. You can bring your daughter over to visit when you have time."

Someone who didn’t know the situation might have thought this was just a polite courtesy.

But in Tom’s eyes, it meant something else entirely.

Feng was a mysterious Shaman Wizard, and Tom had personally experienced his abilities. For Feng to make such an offer meant he had a way to treat Daisen’s daughter’s illness.

"Daisen, hurry and thank Feng! There’s hope for Lotti’s illness now."

The man with the ponytail looked at Tom in a daze.

The doctors had already given their diagnosis. Although severe depression could be treated, the relapse rate was very high, and it required long-term use of antidepressants to control the symptoms. Recently, Lotti had developed a resistance to the medication, had several emotional breakdowns, and was showing suicidal tendencies.

Now, a strange man had suddenly appeared, claiming he could cure Lotti.

’Is he just like all those other scammers?’

"Forget it, I’ll talk to him later. The poor guy’s been scammed too many times." Tom shook his head and explained apologetically to Feng Mountain.

The opportunity had been given to him.

Whether he accepted it or not was his own decision.

Feng Mountain wasn’t the type to force his help on others. He nodded to the man with the ponytail and left the workshop with Tom.

When they appeared on the street,

the ultra-cool Wolf Fur Coat naturally became the center of attention for passersby.

Plus, Feng Mountain wasn’t bad-looking, and after his body had been enhanced by Soul Power, he exuded an air of the Tundra Wilderness, which, combined with the Wolf Fur Coat, gave him a unique charm.

The locals were direct and uninhibited.

Women on the street cast fiery glances his way, and even some men passed him slips of paper.

Unable to stand so many eyes on him, Feng Mountain quickly ducked into the Pickup Truck.

"Buddy, interested in a job as a stripper? Within a year, you’d definitely be famous all over Alaska. They’d make you into a poster to hang on walls, a fantasy object for women." Tom grinned as he took a note that was shoved through the crack in the window.

Feng Mountain pointed at the windshield. "Drive. Or I’ll revoke your status as a primary hauler for the Crown Territory."

"YES, SIR!"

He had been sucking up for so long just for those words.

Feng was rich and willing to spend. Tom had made a lot of money off him recently.

Hearing the promise, Tom’s face immediately broke into a grin as wide as a sunflower. He started the Pickup Truck, slammed on the gas, and shot out into the street.

...

Following Richardson Highway 4, the Pickup Truck sped into Fairbanks City.

The bustling city blocks outside the window gave Feng Mountain a strange sense of alienation.

The noise and excitement seemed like a scene from another world, and he felt like an outsider, unable to fit in.

Banners were hung from the lampposts on both sides of the street at regular intervals. Many of them had various animal patterns on them.

He hadn’t seen them the last time he was here.

"What are those banners for?" Feng Mountain asked curiously.

Tom glanced up and said nonchalantly, "They’re the flags of the Indigenous Tribes. There are 567 tribes in the whole US, and Alaska has 229 of them. The Indigenous People are a huge voting bloc in Alaska, so every year during the conventions, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party come to kiss their asses."

"It’d be better to use that money to donate some toilets to the Indigenous People. My tax money is all being wasted by these idiots."

Feng Mountain didn’t know anything about the Alaska Government, nor did he want to.

Just look at the situation in Kivalina to know how chaotic it was. You had to wait a whole day just for the police to respond to a call.

Before he knew it, the Pickup Truck had bypassed the bustling district and turned onto a remote street. Compared to the recent noise and excitement, this place seemed more like a slum.

The walls of the roadside houses were mottled and dilapidated, with peeling paint revealing rotting wood underneath.

The street was narrow and muddy. Potholes were filled with frozen sewage that gave off a foul smell, and piles of uncollected trash were stacked along the roadside.

Occasionally, a few people could be seen walking on the roadside. When the Pickup Truck approached, they would warily face the vehicle with their backs against the wall.

Their eyes were full of vigilance and unease, their bodies tense. Their hands were tucked inside their clothes, as if ready to deal with any potential danger at a moment’s notice.

"Where are we?" Feng Mountain asked, confused.

"A forgotten corner of Fairbanks. You have to be careful, because you never know when some asshole who’s high out of his mind will pop out and start shooting at us with a shotgun."

Tom explained in a low voice, his tone laced with a certain apprehension for this place.

The atmosphere inside the truck instantly became oppressive.

’Is it really that dangerous?’

Influenced by his surroundings, Feng Mountain slipped his hand inside his Wolf Fur Coat, subconsciously raising his guard.

BANG!!

Suddenly, Tom made a gunshot sound with his mouth.

The abrupt noise was particularly jarring in the quiet truck.

In an instant, Feng Mountain drew his pistol and aimed in the direction of the sound, his movements swift and agile as he entered a state of high alert.

"Haha, just kidding, buddy!!" Having played his prank, Tom saw Feng Mountain’s tense expression and burst out laughing, leaning against the steering wheel.

"....." Feng Mountain was speechless. He waggled the pistol and said grimly, "You know I almost pulled the trigger on your head just now."

"Relax, you wouldn’t do that." Tom obviously didn’t believe Feng Mountain would actually shoot. "This is a slum. It’s full of Indigenous People, homeless people, alcoholics, drug addicts, homosexuals, prostitutes... all kinds of trash live here."

Then he pointed smugly at a Wild Ox head sticker on the windshield.

"With this here, no one will touch this truck."

Feng Mountain wasn’t the same newbie he was when he first arrived; he understood a thing or two about Alaska now.

Thanks to its complex ethnic structure and extremely high crime rate, Alaska had three things in abundance: tribes, cults, and gangs.

Especially gangs. There were more than ten large-scale gangs among the Indigenous People alone.

The main ones were composed of the Assabasca people, Eyak People, Haida People, Chinook People, Tlingit People, Uangus People, Supiak People, Yupik People, Qupik People, and Inupiak People.

These Indigenous People took advantage of the protection of their reservations to open casinos everywhere.

There were also gangs from other minority groups, like Russians, Europeans, Asians, Black people, Mexicans, and so on.

The Wolf Gang he’d run into at the restaurant, the ones smuggling abalone, was one of those Black gangs.

In remote communities and towns, gangs were sometimes more useful than the police.

And the Wild Ox head sticker on the windshield was definitely from some gang.

...