Stepping onto the tundra for the first time in a while, he was met with the familiar, vast expanse of white and desolation. Specks of snow drifted from the sky, and occasionally, he could spot a few hardy arctic plants.

Prince and Princess ran and frolicked happily on the white snow, completely oblivious to the vast, empty surroundings and the biting cold. They were simply reveling in the joy of their freedom on the tundra.

Free from the web of tedious, worldly affairs, an unprecedented sense of ease welled up in Feng Shan’s heart.

Here on the vast tundra, it felt as though his spirit had entered a whole new world.

The exhausting intrigues and the tangled mess of trivial matters all began to fade away.

Here and now, every breath of the chilly air felt like a deep cleanse for his body and soul.

The cold air, uniquely pure and free of impurities, filled his lungs, making him feel cleansed and clear from the inside out.

"Khilla, which way are we going?" Nash asked, pulling the sled.

"Let’s head to Kevik Camp. I heard Susan’s out of the hospital, so we can stop by and see her," Khilla said, pulling out a satellite phone.

He expertly navigated the phone, opening the GPS map and carefully searching for Kevik Camp’s coordinates among the dense cluster of points.

The straight-line distance from Crown Territory to Kevik Camp was over 300 kilometers.

If they traveled on foot, he calculated it would take them about a week to get there at a normal pace.

Nash didn’t object. He’d go wherever Khilla went.

The two of them trekked onward, struggling against the extreme cold of -30 degrees Celsius.

The biting wind howled past their ears like a knife, letting out a sharp shriek.

In the brutal cold, every breath they exhaled instantly condensed into a layer of frost before their eyes.

The frost grew thicker and thicker, blurring their vision.

They had no choice but to stop from time to time, using their thickly gloved hands to carefully wipe the frost from their goggles and clear their view of the path ahead.

The low temperature had made the snowpack unusually hard.

Khilla and Nash, wearing snowshoes, struggled across the hard-packed snow.

With every step forward, the moment their snowshoes met the snow, a loud, crisp CRUNCH would ring out.

On the vast tundra, the monotonous white stretched in every direction, with almost no landmarks as far as the eye could see.

Fortunately, Feng Shan had his satellite phone with its GPS function, allowing him to correct their course at any time using the precise coordinates on the screen.

WOOF WOOF WOOF!!

Prince suddenly began barking urgently.

Feng Shan wiped the frost from his goggles and saw a small herd of reindeer moving in the same direction as them. The reindeer had spotted them, too.

The two groups stared at each other from a few hundred meters away.

"Khilla," Nash said, taking out his rifle.

"Forget it. We can’t eat that much in one go, and carrying it would just waste energy. The sun’s about to set. Let’s find a place to camp," Feng Shan said with a wave of his hand, then trudged onward.

The sky gradually grew dark.

The already vast, white expanse of the tundra took on a hazy, mysterious quality as it fell under the shroud of twilight.

The cold wind continued to howl, and the temperature seemed to drop even lower as night fell. Each breath formed an even denser plume of white mist in the air.

Feng Shan carefully scanned the terrain and spotted a thicket of arctic willows on a snowy patch not far away.

"We’ll set up camp over there."

The two hurried over to the thicket, and as luck would have it, they came across a few arctic hares sheltering from the wind and snow among the bushes.

On this frozen tundra, the hares were undoubtedly a gift from nature.

Without a moment’s hesitation or politeness, Feng Shan readily accepted nature’s gift of dinner.

Once they found a suitable spot, Nash used a shovel to clear away the thick layer of snow on the ground. He then piled it up around the thicket, the mound growing higher and thicker until it formed a simple, temporary windbreak.

After Nash had finished preparing the campsite, Feng Shan took the tent from the sled and began to set it up with practiced ease.

On this empty tundra, the tent was their temporary shelter.

Once the tent was up, Feng Shan started gathering dried Arctic Willow Branches from the thicket to use as kindling for the stove. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

As the stove was lit, warmth began to spread through the tent.

The stove’s chimney poked through the top of the tent, emitting puffs of thick smoke that curled up into the cold air.

Next, the two of them started boiling water and dressing the hares they’d caught.

The entrails were tossed to Prince and Princess, while the rest of the meat was skewered on branches and set over the stove to roast.

In a spare moment, Feng Shan laid out the fur blankets inside. The heat from the stove was now filling the tent.

Nash walked into the tent, his body steaming in the warm air. "Khilla, the windbreak is finished."

"Take a break. Have some willow branch tea." Feng Shan picked up the kettle and poured Nash a cup of greenish liquid.

Willow branches were a common medicinal ingredient for the Tundra People, used to relieve pain, reduce swelling, and fight bacteria. When they felt unwell during the winter and couldn’t seek medical care, they would gather some Arctic Willow Branches to boil into a tea.

With the tent set up, the sky outside turned completely black, and with the darkness came the brilliant ribbons of an aurora.

Feng Shan propped open the tent flap so he could watch the aurora from his spot by the stove.

The aurora danced across the night sky like colorful ribbons. Unlike the purely green auroras he saw over Crown Territory, this one shimmered with green, blue, and purple all at once.

The three colors intertwined, merged, and danced across the night sky.

The green light stretched out like vines, twining around the blue. The blue light, in turn, flowed like ripples of water, creating new hues where it met the green.

The purple aurora fluttered between the green and blue like a nimble butterfly, its presence making the entire display even more dazzling.

Feng Shan was completely captivated by the magnificent sight, his eyes following the aurora’s every move.

As he took in the breathtaking display, all his worries and fatigue were swept away, leaving only a profound sense of awe for the magic of the natural world.

"Khilla, the rabbit’s ready!" Nash said, turning the roasting meat.

Feng Shan snapped out of his reverie. He looked at the golden-brown roasted hares, then tossed two of them out onto the snow. Prince and Princess shot out like arrows, each snatching a hare before going their separate ways.

’Ha!’

’So much for their undying love. Food always reveals their true nature.’

Feng Shan chuckled to himself, then took out some seasoning powder and sprinkled it evenly over the remaining hares.

He had just taken his first bite when the satellite phone rang. Seeing the call was from Crown Territory, he had no choice but to put down his food and answer.

"What is it?"

"Khilla, do you have any specific requests for the tavern’s decor?" Demi’s voice came through the phone.

’For this?’

Feng Shan replied irritably, "No. You figure it out."

He hung up without another thought and went back to his roasted hare.

Less than ten minutes later, the satellite phone rang again. It was another call from Crown Territory.

It was David. He was asking if the base station should be built on the mountaintop, since the AT&T Communications Company crew had started construction.

’What a stupid question. If not on the mountaintop, where else would it go? Next to the cabins? We decided this ages ago.’

"When you and Manager Suos pick the spot, just try to stay clear of Beheading Cliff. The old lady is still living at the bus camp."

Not ten minutes later, the satellite phone rang again.

Feng Shan snapped. ’Will these people ever quit? I can’t even eat a meal in peace!’

Without even looking at the number, he hit the speakerphone button and let them have it.

"What is wrong with you people today? One call after another! Don’t you have anything to do?"

After his tirade, there was silence from the other end. A moment later, Alvin’s timid voice came through.

"Boss? It’s me. Is this a bad time?"

Hearing it was Alvin, Feng Shan sighed in resignation, dropped his roasted hare, and picked up the phone. "It’s nothing. Just a few little rascals messing with me. Have the snow crabs all been sold?"

"They’re sold. In total, we had 490 tons of regular snow crab—that’s 1,080,265 pounds—which sold for $17.20 a pound, bringing in $18.58 million. The 108 tons of oversized live crab—238,099 pounds—sold for $28 a pound, for a total of $6.666 million. I rounded it down for Mr. Guo."

"Boss, this trip’s revenue came to $25.246 million. After paying each crew member a $400,000 bonus, we had $13.246 million. Subtracting the *River Beach*’s operating costs and the quota fees leaves $12.6 million. After taking out my 10% commission and paying the 30% fishing tax and 10% snow crab tax to the Fish and Game Department, your total profit comes to $6,804,000."

"The money has already been wired to the company account."

After hearing Alvin’s report, Feng Shan felt a sharp pain in his chest. Only now did he truly appreciate how precious Crown Territory’s independence was. No wonder that IRS agent, Philip Jason, had hated Crown Territory to his very bones.

’A gross income of $25.246 million, and in the end, I only see $6.804 million.’

’If this were in Crown Territory, not a single cent would go to the Internal Revenue Service.’

’Too bad Crown Territory is landlocked.’

’Good thing I kept the tour group fees back home in China. If that money were in the United States, half of it would have vanished in an instant.’

Hearing no response, Alvin quickly added,

"Boss, is there a problem with the numbers? I swear I didn’t touch a thing. If you don’t trust them, you can send an accountant to audit the books."

Feng Shan held the phone. "It’s fine. I was just thinking... the Emperor Crab season is about to start, isn’t it?"

"Yes, the Emperor Crab season officially opens in ten days. I’m already preparing to buy a 1,000-ton quota." Alvin then remembered something. "Oh, and Boss, those five bastards from the *Pirate* and its fleet took a huge loss this time!"

Thinking of those five unlucky bastards, Feng Shan couldn’t help but smirk. "What happened to them?"

"The *Pirate* went bankrupt and had to be sold. The other four boats borrowed a chunk of money from the crab buyers, hoping to make it all back during the Emperor Crab season."

There was an unmistakable satisfaction in Alvin’s voice.

’Years ago, when his own ship, the *Yekaterina II*, sank in a storm, the *Pirate* had been partly to blame. They had shared a "secret" Emperor Crab route, but it led straight into an unforecasted storm. The storm had sunk his beloved ship, left him with a limp, and forced him to sell what was left of his vessel.’

"Are you planning to buy the *Pirate*?" Feng Shan asked, frowning slightly.

’To be honest, none of the crabbing boats on Saint Paul Island were up to his standards.’

’They were all rust buckets, not even fit to be compared to the *River Beach*’s paint job.’

’If he was going to buy another boat, it would be a big one like the *River Beach*.’

"Of course not, the *Pirate* is too old," Alvin explained quickly. "Actually, Mr. Guo has already put in a pre-order for the *River Beach*’s Emperor Crab catch. He’s willing to pay thirty percent above market price."

’Feng Shan had a good impression of the young man from Singapore. The guy had guts, daring to raise his offer without knowing the details and coming up with over twenty million dollars just like that. He must have a powerful background.’

"Then agree to his offer. When I’m done with things here, I’ll make a trip to Saint Paul Island for the start of the Emperor Crab season."

"That’s great! The guys on the boat all think you’re their lucky star."

Alvin hung up, sounding delighted.

Feng Shan turned to Nash, who was devouring his food. "Hey buddy, I just made another six million plus. How’s that for awesome?"

Nash just grunted an "oh" and went back to his roasted hare.

’It seemed money would never be more important than meat to him.’

"Being with you cuts my sense of accomplishment in half," Feng Shan said, shaking his head. He put the phone down and picked up his own food.

「Back at River Beach Camp in Crown Territory.」

In one of the cabins, the skeleton crew left behind had gathered in the living room, their eyes fixed on the satellite phone in Erica’s hand.

"Did you get through?"

"No, the line’s busy. You think he knows it’s me and isn’t picking up?" Erica said, shaking her head in frustration.

David suggested guiltily, "No way. Maybe Maria should try? Just say the tomatoes are ready for picking and ask him what to do with them."

Maria, looking like a startled bunny, shook her head frantically. "No way! Feng will kill me."

Erica leaped to her feet and tossed the phone aside. "Oh, so you’re scared of getting yelled at, but you’ll let me take the heat? Demi, hold her down!"

The next moment, the sound of playful fighting filled the living room.

Jenny rolled her eyes at them.

’So much for being "worried about Feng’s safety." They were just harassing him on purpose. Just wait until he gets back. We’ll see how they act then.’

Yves wanted no part in this mess. He just took Wawa and headed out to patrol the camp.

...