「Three days later.」

Zhang Kai and his group returned to Hai City. Through Feng Yang’s connections, they bought two three-bedroom apartments across the hall from each other. The building was just a street away from Hai City’s best school, Renmin Road Primary School.

Not only that, but Feng Yang also sold a commercial storefront of over a hundred square meters to Feng Shan at a low price.

’I owe him big time for this!’

After hanging up, Feng Shan sighed quietly. He then gathered Xiaohua, Black Hide, and Hu Zi to tell them about the apartments and the storefront.

When Xiaohua and the other two heard the news, their expressions immediately grew complicated.

They immediately and firmly refused.

Brother Shan had already given them so much money last time, and now he was giving them apartments and a storefront.

The trio felt that Feng Shan was giving them far too much, to the point that they felt they couldn’t accept it.

After all, this was Taishan Mansion, the finest residential complex in Hai City, where prices were as high as 20,000 per square meter.

Thanks to its proximity to Renmin Road Primary School, apartments there were in incredibly high demand, to say nothing of the commercial storefront.

Feng Shan brushed their concerns aside and gave his younger siblings two choices.

Either return to China and accept the properties, or stay in Crown Territory with him.

However, Xiaohua, Black Hide, and Hu Zi chose to return to China and accept the properties rather than stay in Crown Territory, causing a pang of disappointment to wash over Feng Shan.

Still, Feng Shan respected their choice and personally flew the trio to Fairbanks International Airport.

On the way to the airport, the roar of the plane’s engine filled the cabin, but even that couldn’t break the heavy, oppressive silence.

Before she boarded, Xiaohua hugged Feng Shan tightly, her eyes blurry with tears as she choked out her words.

"Brother, thank you... and I’m sorry."

Black Hide and Hu Zi stood to the side, their eyes also red.

They knew in their hearts that Brother Shan had done so much for them, yet they were choosing to leave.

Feng Shan gently patted Xiaohua’s back, trying his best to keep his voice calm.

"Silly girl, what’s there to cry about? This is a good thing. Go back and live a good life. You can open a supermarket in the storefront; that’ll be simple and low-stress."

He then turned to look at Hu Zi and Black Hide.

"You two, take good care of Xiaohua. Let me know her due date in advance. I want to be there personally when my nephew is born."

His words were filled with brotherly care and affection. Despite the disappointment in his heart, he wanted the trio to leave without any worries.

"Brother, I’m hoping for a girl!" Hu Zi protested sheepishly.

But no matter how reluctant they were to part, the time always comes.

The boarding announcement echoed through the terminal. Xiaohua slowly let go of Feng Shan, wiped away her tears, and walked toward the gate, looking back every few steps.

Black Hide and Hu Zi waved to Feng Shan before following Xiaohua onto the plane.

Feng Shan stood frozen, watching the plane take off and gradually disappear over the horizon. His eyes were filled with a storm of emotions—blessings for his siblings, and the loneliness of facing Crown Territory by himself.

After seeing the trio off, he returned to Crown Territory without a moment’s rest.

The moment he got off the plane, David and Old Swan came to find him.

"What? You’re telling me you dug up a mammoth skeleton while digging the water channel?" Feng Shan’s eyes widened in astonishment.

David nodded eagerly, his eyes shining with excitement. "Yes, Khilla! While we were digging the channel, we suddenly hit something strange. We’ve confirmed it’s a mammoth skeleton."

Old Swan added, "That’s right, Feng. There are lots of these bone fragments under the Tundra’s permafrost. Every spring and summer, we often go to the Colville River to search for Mammoth Ivory. It’s just that we’ve never found any as large or as complete as this one."

"Let’s go take a look!" Feng Shan said, hopping impatiently onto a snowmobile.

They arrived at the construction site for the hydroelectric turbine.

Three deep trenches had been dug into the riverbank. Baima Wangmu and the local townsfolk were standing at the edge of one, pointing and murmuring about what was inside.

Feng Shan jumped off his snowmobile, squeezed through the crowd, and made his way to the edge of the pit.

In the pit, over two meters deep, a townsman was carefully shoveling away dirt. Next to him lay a curved, black object, twisting from a thick base to a narrow point.

’This is the mammoth?’

Just as Feng Shan was wondering, Baima Wangmu came to his side, his face a mask of envy. "My friend, this place of yours is a veritable treasure trove! You dig a random hole and find mammoth bones. I’ve never seen a tusk this thick in all my time in Alaska."

"Is it very valuable?" Feng Shan didn’t know the value of mammoth remains, especially a tusk as perfectly preserved as this one.

"Valuable? You can’t just call this valuable—it’s incredibly rare!" Baima Wangmu gesticulated wildly with excitement. "My friend, to know its real worth, we have to dig the whole thing out. From what I know, a complete mammoth skeleton can sell for over a million US dollars."

’I knew ivory was expensive, but is Mammoth Ivory this valuable too?’

Feng Shan was only momentarily stunned by the value; he was far more curious about what the mammoth actually looked like.

"Alright, let’s dig this big guy out! Five hundred bucks for everyone who helps with the excavation!"

Hearing there was a bonus, the townsfolk were instantly filled with energy.

Several more people jumped into the pit, and someone even fired up a small excavator to start working near the mammoth skeleton.

The Crown Territory employees heard the news and came over, gathering around the excavation pit with curious eyes.

Soon,

the mammoth’s skull was unearthed. Two tusks, curled into spirals, protruded from the enormous cranium. They were measured to have a diameter of 26 centimeters and a length of 3.8 meters, and were in remarkably complete condition.

Baima Wangmu’s envy was practically spilling off his face. "My friend, you’re going to be rich! Just these two Mammoth Ivory tusks alone will fetch no less than 2,000 US dollars per kilogram."

The price made the surrounding crowd gasp, and all eyes turned to the pair of Mammoth Ivory tusks that had just been unearthed.

The pair of Mammoth Ivory tusks was estimated to weigh at least 200 kilograms.

At 2,000 US dollars per kilogram, that amounted to 400,000 US dollars.

So far, only the skull had been excavated; most of the skeleton remained buried. The mixture of mud, rocks, and bone made the excavation incredibly difficult, and the townsfolk felt it was beyond their abilities.

Brute-force excavation would be much easier—they could just jump in with shovels and pickaxes and start hacking away—but that would damage the skeleton. For the kind of delicate, precise excavation required, the townsfolk simply didn’t have the skills.

After careful consideration, Feng Shan decided to halt the excavation.

Baima Wangmu whispered, "Feng, I know some Corpse Diggers. They’re extremely skilled. We could hire them to excavate this mammoth."

’Corpse Diggers?’

’Why such a creepy name?’

Feng Shan frowned. "That doesn’t sound appropriate."

Seeing the apprehensive look on Feng Shan’s face, Baima Wangmu burst out laughing.

"My friend, you’ve got the wrong idea. Corpse Diggers are also known as Mammoth Ivory Hunters. They mostly operate in the Siberia region of Russia, digging up mammoth remains from the permafrost—especially Mammoth Ivory. As you know, Mammoth Ivory is extremely popular among collectors."

"They usually work during the spring and summer, when the permafrost begins to melt. Since it’s winter now, they should have some free time."

’Mammoth Ivory Hunters are Mammoth Ivory Hunters. Why give them a creepy name like Corpse Digger?’

Feng Shan shot Baima Wangmu an annoyed look. "Is it legal?"

Baima Wangmu laughed and shook his head. "This industry has never been entirely legal. But they’re extremely professional. Not only can they perfectly excavate buried animal skeletons, but they can also piece the bones together just as they were. Even biologists hire them for help sometimes."

"Alright then. Please contact those Corpse Diggers for me. Thanks!" Feng Shan nodded, accepting Baima Wangmu’s suggestion.

Afterward, he returned to the camp.

He gathered all the Crown Territory employees in the main log cabin for a meeting to announce his plans.

Everyone sat together in the living room, their eyes all fixed on Feng Shan.

"I’m planning to take some time off. I’m going to hike out and explore the Tundra, spend a while out there."

As soon as the words left his mouth, surprised expressions appeared on everyone’s faces, and they immediately tried to talk him out of it.

The Tundra environment was extremely harsh in winter. Exploring on foot meant facing freezing temperatures, unpredictable weather, and potential encounters with wild beasts.

"Khilla, going into the Tundra now is too dangerous!"

"What about the camp? Why not wait until spring?"

"It’s too dangerous at this time of year!"

"Khilla, the winter Tundra is incredibly dangerous. I’ll go with you."

Faced with their concern, Feng Shan just smiled and waved a dismissive hand. "What’s there to be afraid of? I lived here all by myself before you all came to Crown Territory. Besides, Nash is going with me."

"But..." Jenny started to say.

But Feng Shan’s mind was made up; he needed to get away and clear his head. "That’s final. While I’m gone, Yves is in charge of camp security—Wawa, you’ll assist him. David, you’re in charge of camp planning. Jenny will handle internal affairs. Dismissed."

With that, Feng Shan stood up and headed for the second floor.

Seeing this, everyone knew there was no changing his mind.

"Feng, when are you leaving?" Jenny asked on behalf of the group.

Feng Shan glanced at the clock on the wall. It was still four hours until dark. "In one hour."

One hour.

’So soon?’

The group immediately burst into a flurry of activity, scrambling to prepare supplies for Feng Shan.

First, the sled. Then a tent, reindeer-hide blankets, sleeping bags, food, a small stove, and more.

When Feng Shan and Nash walked out of the log cabin, they both froze on the spot. In front of the door was a sled piled over two meters high with supplies.

Feng Shan pointed at the sled and looked at the others.

"Are you all confused? I’m hiking across the Tundra, not setting up a mobile shop."

He immediately began to lighten the load.

’Two reindeer-hide blankets are enough. Who packed four?’

’And over twenty pounds of jerky and cured meat... this has to be Jenny’s doing.’ 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

’One stove is enough. Who put in two?’

Speechless, Feng Shan pulled a small stuffed bear from the sled. "Whose is this?"

"Ah! Vini, how did you get in there? I’ve been looking for you everywhere!" Tammy exclaimed, rushing forward to snatch the stuffed animal from Feng Shan’s hands and hugging it tightly.

After a final round of sorting, only a few essential items remained on the sled: hide blankets, a tent, a stove, and some spare food. Nash took the initiative and picked up the sled’s tow rope.

Feng Shan looked at his three animals lying by the door. "You three want to come with me?"

Prince and Princess eagerly trotted to his side, but Coca-Cola just stretched and stayed put. The Tundra was far too cold for him; it was much more comfortable by the fireplace.

"Alright then, I’m off. Call me if anything comes up."

Feng Shan waved to the group and started walking out of the camp, with the others following to see him off.

When Old Swan and the townsfolk learned that Feng Shan was going to hike across the Tundra, none of them could understand why.

’The weather is freezing. What could possibly be fun about that?’

’Rich people just have too much time on their hands.’

...