A winter night on the Tundra.

The cold was like sharp icicles, mercilessly piercing every inch of the air.

Darkness shrouded the land like a thick, black velvet blanket, enveloping everything within.

At the edge of the Moonlight Forest.

Seven or eight tents were arranged in a circle around a roaring bonfire.

The townspeople from Kivalina had spread reindeer hides directly on the snow, sitting in a large circle around the fire.

A whole reindeer was spitted over the flames, sizzling as fat dripped down, kicking up bursts of sparks.

The rich aroma of roasted meat filled the air, enough to make one’s mouth water.

The townspeople sang traditional songs in loud, coarse, and unrestrained voices that echoed at the edge of the Moonlight Forest.

Joyful smiles graced every face as they passed around a green bottle. The label read "Red Star Erguotou." Each sip was so strong it made them grimace, yet they couldn’t resist taking another.

"Feng, what kind of liquor is this? I feel like my whole body is on fire after drinking it!" Old Swan asked, his face flushed red as he pointed at the bottle.

Feng Mountain used his knife to slice off a piece of roasted reindeer, dipped it in salt, and popped it into his mouth.

The Inuit didn’t use any seasonings or marinades for their barbecue. They just roasted the meat directly over the fire.

How did it taste?

The skin was charred and fragrant. With a light bite, it made a satisfying CRUNCH. The taste was decent enough.

But the meat under the skin was a different story. It wasn’t even fully cooked, yet these Inuit townspeople were taking turns carving off slices and tossing them into their mouths.

They were used to this diet—eating it raw, or half-cooked. The main principle was to be close to nature.

Feng Mountain only dared to eat the fully cooked outer layer. "It’s a special spirit from China. Paired with roasted reindeer, the taste is just magnificent!"

"That’s right! The magical East, and delicious reindeer meat." Old Swan also pulled out his Hunting Knife, stood up, and carved a bloody piece of meat from the roast. He put it in his mouth and chewed, blood trickling down the corner of his lips.

The sight made Feng Mountain shudder involuntarily.

After swallowing the reindeer meat, Old Swan smacked his lips. "I don’t know why, but the reindeer meat from the Crown Territory is especially delicious."

"Is it? Aren’t all reindeer like this?" Feng Mountain had never eaten reindeer from outside the Crown Territory, so he didn’t know just how delicious Old Swan meant.

Old Swan shook his head.

"No. The reindeer meat we usually eat has a faint gamy taste, but yours doesn’t. It has an indescribable grassy fragrance. It’s very good."

After speaking, to prove he wasn’t wrong, he raised his hand and slapped his grandson on the back of the head.

"Little Swan, isn’t Feng’s reindeer meat special?"

The slap nearly knocked the reindeer meat out of Little Swan’s mouth. He shot his grandfather an annoyed glare and nodded.

"Yes, it’s especially delicious. Now stop hitting me on the head."

Feng Mountain chuckled, amused. He carved off a large piece of reindeer meat with his knife and offered it to Old Swan.

"If you like it, eat more. Here, there’s plenty of liquor and plenty of reindeer."

Hearing this, the Inuit townspeople present cheered excitedly.

Once winter arrived, there wasn’t much to do in Kivalina besides fishing and hunting.

But now, going out to sea to fish was just a waste of fuel with no catch to show for it. And as for hunting, the appearance of the Super Wolf Pack had disrupted the reindeer migration routes this year.

Even though Feng Mountain had eliminated the Wolf Pack, the prime time for the reindeer migration had already passed. To hunt reindeer now, they’d have to travel much farther, with no guarantee of success.

Unable to fish and unable to hunt, their only option was to lie at home and wait for food aid from the state government.

But now, things were different.

They had come with Old Swan to the Crown Territory to log trees. Although the work was to pay back Feng Mountain for helping them fish, he hadn’t skimped on the food at all.

A whole reindeer a day, with plenty of strong liquor.

And the reindeer from the Crown Territory was a hundred times more delicious than the ones from Kivalina.

’This trip was totally worth it!’

Just as the group was gathered around the bonfire—eating, drinking, and singing—in a lively atmosphere...

Suddenly, the sound of a propeller echoed through the night sky.

The crowd’s cheerful noise came to an abrupt halt as everyone looked up at the sky.

The propeller sound grew from a distant hum to a loud roar, and everyone’s eyes filled with confusion.

"In the middle of the night? What idiot would fly to the Crown Territory at night?" Old Swan mumbled through a drunken hiccup.

’They actually came?’

Feng Mountain, of course, knew who this uninvited guest was. He’d thought the person on the phone was just bluffing, never expecting them to actually dare to fly to the Tundra at night.

’So bold!’

"I think they’re probably here for me. You all keep eating. I’m going to the runway to guide the plane in for a landing. There are no signal lights on the strip."

With that, without waiting for Old Swan to reply, Feng Mountain pulled a burning log from the bonfire and headed toward the runway.

He’d told them not to help, but of course, they couldn’t really do nothing.

Old Swan, who understood a thing or two about social obligations, turned and slapped his grandson on the head.

"You take a torch and go with him. Feng is by himself."

"Old man, I told you not to hit my head."

Little Swan grumbled, rubbing his smarting head as he grabbed a torch and left.

"We’ll go help too."

Four or five townspeople stood up from the crowd, each pulling a piece of burning firewood from the bonfire and following after Little Swan.

When they reached the runway, the propeller was still circling overhead, which meant the pilot couldn’t find a place to land.

This was an extremely dangerous situation. If the plane didn’t have enough fuel, the result would be a SPLAT!

Feng Mountain quickly stuck his torch in the ground. At the same time, he dug up some dry branches of Arctic Willow from under the snow, lit them with the torch, and placed them along both sides of the runway.

"Feng, we’re here to help!" Little Swan and his group appeared, holding torches.

Soon, a row of bright flames lit up both sides of the runway, illuminating the otherwise dim strip.

The flames danced in the cold wind, guiding the plane toward a safe landing path.

In the night sky, the pilot kept the plane circling, his head beaded with cold sweat as he searched for a suitable landing spot. Meanwhile, in his head, he was on his fifth round of cursing the female passenger in the co-pilot’s seat to her eighteenth generation of ancestors.

’Flying a plane to the Tundra at night to find someone.’

’Even a crazy God wouldn’t do something like this.’

’If it weren’t for the huge amount of money she’s paying...’

’I’d really love to kick you right out of this plane.’

"Look! There are lights down there," the woman in the co-pilot’s seat, dressed in a cold-proof suit, shouted as she pressed against the window.

The pilot quickly craned his neck to look.

Sure enough, two rows of flickering bright spots had appeared on the ground, forming a straight path. A look of delighted surprise instantly appeared on his face.

"It must be a signal to land!"

The pilot excitedly gripped the control stick, adjusting the plane’s attitude and speed as he cautiously approached the space between the two rows of lights.

At the same time, his eyes were glued to the instrument panel, monitoring his position and altitude.

Feng Mountain could now see the entire aircraft. It was a CubCrafters bush plane, wobbling as it descended toward the runway.

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind hit the torches on either side of the runway, causing all the flames to bend sharply to the left.

The descending Cub was also drifting to the left.

’Not good, he’s hit a crosswind.’

’In this situation, he has to adjust his flight attitude. If the strong wind causes a stall, a crash is inevitable.’

’Shitty pilot.’

Feng Mountain’s heart skipped a beat. He quickly grabbed two torches, ran to the middle of the runway, and moved them left and right to signal the direction the pilot needed to correct.

The plane seemed to have received his signal and began to slowly adjust to the right.

At that moment, everyone beside the runway held their breath, their hearts in their throats, their eyes glued to the plane’s movement.

Finally, the plane’s landing gear slowly lowered and touched the ground, kicking up a spray of snow. It skidded for a distance along the runway before coming to a safe stop.

Everyone cheered.

Feng Mountain let out a long sigh of relief, but the next moment, anger surged through him, and he ran toward the plane.

’The passenger might be clueless, but doesn’t the pilot know any better?’

’Daring to fly a bush plane to the Tundra at night.’

He walked up to the plane, looked at the pilot and passenger in the cockpit, and roared. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"What the hell is wrong with you two? You got a death wish? Shit, if you want to die, go to the Ice Sea! Don’t come here and cause trouble for me."

The cockpit door opened, and the pilot stepped out with a guilty look on his face. "Sorry, buddy."

Feng Mountain glared at him. "Is ’sorry’ supposed to fix everything? Do you have any idea how much effort it took to get you down safely?!"

The surrounding townspeople quickly gathered around to mediate. "Come on, it’s fine as long as everyone’s okay."

The woman from the co-pilot’s seat stepped out. She was wearing a winter hat and struggling to drag a suitcase. "Excuse me, who is Mr. Feng? I’m Jennifer, the sales manager for the Wind-Rolling Grass House Company. We had an appointment to meet tonight."

"You..."

Facing this bold woman, Feng Mountain was completely in awe of her work ethic. To be so focused on her job even in such a dangerous situation...

But risking her life for work just wasn’t worth it.

"Ms. Jennifer, I have to admire your courage and professionalism," Feng Mountain said, extending a hand, his tone laced with a hint of resignation.

Jennifer smiled and shook his hand. "Mr. Feng, the situation was unexpected, but an appointment is an appointment."

After they shook hands, Feng Mountain shrugged. "I think you should have a drink to calm your nerves and then get a good night’s sleep."

"Mr. Feng, I’d like to get to work now. I have to fly back to Fairbanks early tomorrow morning to catch a connecting flight to Juno," Jennifer said, her expression serious as she declined his suggestion to rest.

"You came from Juno!" Feng Mountain stared in astonishment at the energetic woman before him.

Juno is the capital of Alaska. The distance from Juno to the Crown Territory is at least 1,500 kilometers.

’Did this woman set out for the Crown Territory the moment she hung up the phone?’

’She’s a lunatic!’

"Let’s go, miss. We can talk in detail somewhere warmer." Feng Mountain turned to look at the reckless young pilot and sneered.

"Buddy, I don’t know you, but there’s someone at my place you definitely know. I think he’ll be ’thrilled’ to hear about what you’ve done."

"Someone I know? Who?" The young pilot, having recovered from his earlier panic, now asked with a dismissive smile.

"You’ll find out soon enough!" Feng Mountain couldn’t be bothered to waste his breath on a young man with no concept of safety. After saying a few words to Little Swan and the others, he took Jennifer’s suitcase and walked toward the camp.

They had just reached the antler fence gate when a large group of people carrying kerosene lamps came walking out. The moment the two groups saw each other, the young pilot’s face paled, and he turned to run.

"Andy, you little bastard! What are you doing here? Was that you flying that plane just now? You run and I’ll shoot you dead!"

With the CLICK of a gun’s action being cycled, Tom raised his pistol, his face ashen with fury.

The young pilot froze. He turned around slowly, and facing the crowd, he forced an awkward smile and raised his hands.

"Hey, Uncle Tom!"

THUD!!

Tom punched the young pilot in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. He then started kicking him furiously with his boots, as if he’d run into his father’s murderer.

"That’s enough, buddy!" Feng Mountain stepped forward and held Tom back. He could tell that Tom had a close relationship with the young man. Despite all the commotion, he wasn’t actually using much force.

After taking the beating, the young pilot wasn’t angry either. He just sat on the snow, smiling wryly.

...