These aren’t furballs.

They’re clearly two little polar bear cubs.

"Where did you two steal these from?" Feng Shan quickly shouted.

He couldn’t figure out why Prince and Princess would show up at the bar with two polar bear cubs. ’Doesn’t their mother know?’

Everyone turned to look at the same time.

Prince and Princess immediately hid the two little furballs behind them, baring their teeth at everyone.

Feng Shan stood up, walked over in a few steps, and squatted down. He picked up one of the polar bear cubs and held it up to his face.

Its small, dark eyes, full of naive innocence, darted around. Specks of sand and dirt were visible in its snow-white fur.

The little cub wasn’t afraid of Feng Shan. Instead, it let out a small yelp.

Seeing the cub taken, Prince quickly pawed at Feng Shan’s pant leg, letting out a pleading whimper. Princess, meanwhile, picked up the other cub in her mouth and ran off.

Annoyed, Feng Shan tossed the cub back to Prince. "Where did you two steal this from? Hurry up and take it back. Its mother must be worried sick."

AHEM! AHEM!

Bruce, sitting to the side, cleared his throat twice. "Feng, I think I might know where they came from."

Feng Shan turned to look at him.

"They showed up on Kaktovik Beach last week. But the mother bear died from poisoning. These two cubs were following other adult polar bears. It’s possible your dogs found them after they got stranded on the beach."

’The mother bear was poisoned and died!’

Feng Shan repeated the sentence in surprise, a wave of pity washing over him.

Without their mother’s protection in this harsh Arctic environment, the cubs probably wouldn’t survive for long.

"You don’t have any animal protection organizations here?"

Bruce first nodded, then shook his head. "We do, but they only track and study the polar bears’ survival. They don’t provide any direct help."

’What a bullshit country!’

’Trying to have its cake and eat it too.’

On one hand, they sign treaties to protect polar bears; on the other, they sell hunting permits for them at exorbitant prices.

Feng Shan cursed under his breath and turned to Mayor Robert. "Are there any restrictions if I want to adopt these two polar bears?"

Mayor Robert immediately shook his head.

’Sir!!’

’Forget adopting polar bears, I could get you a whale if you wanted one.’

The Indigenous People were easygoing; they could raise whatever they wanted. Besides, this was a reservation, and the Fish and Game Department’s reach wasn’t that long.

Bruce, unaware of Feng Shan’s status, offered a well-intentioned reminder. "The process for adopting polar bears is very complicated. You have to report it to the Fish and Game Department first, then apply for special permits and go through a qualification review."

"I know!" Feng Shan nodded. ’This is a small matter. I’ll just have Frank handle it.’

He then snatched the polar bear cub from Prince’s grasp and started playing with it in his arms.

Just then, Nash came over with a satellite phone.

"Khilla, Yves will be at Kaktovik Airport in half an hour."

Hearing that Feng Shan was about to leave, an urgent and reluctant expression appeared on Mayor Robert’s face.

"Sir, are you leaving already? We were preparing to hold a grand welcoming ceremony for you."

"There’s still a lot to do back in the Crown Territory. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Feng Shan waved his hand dismissively while holding the little polar bear cub. He hated ceremonies—a huge, noisy crowd of people making a fuss.

"By the way, for future tourism matters, you can consult Bruce. I think he’s pretty good."

"Pretty good."

To Bruce, it sounded like a simple, everyday compliment, like someone telling you you’re handsome or that you did a great job. He just took it as an offhand, harmless comment from Feng Shan.

However, to Mayor Robert’s ears...

...the meaning of that sentence was anything but ordinary.

It was as if Feng Shan, the man they regarded as the Spirit of All Things, had given Bruce his official approval, thereby establishing Bruce’s special status.

In Mayor Robert’s mind, Bruce had now become the one chosen by the Spirit of All Things, endowed with a special, almost mystical status and mission.

"Understood!" Mayor Robert nodded, turned to whisper something to an old man, and the old man quickly left the bar.

For the remaining time, everyone sat in the bar, talking and laughing.

Soon, the satellite phone rang again. It was Yves, calling to say the plane had landed at the airport.

Feng Shan stood up and walked out of the bar, surrounded by the crowd.

A pickup truck was parked on the side of the road, the sled already loaded into its bed. Mayor Robert rushed ahead to pull open the door.

"Khilla, the village is still some distance from the airport. Please take the truck!"

Feng Shan smiled at Mayor Robert’s subtle change of address, shook hands with Bruce, and climbed into the truck.

「Five minutes later.」

They arrived at Kaktovik Airport. His P-750 was parked on the runway, and some of the tribe’s residents were stuffing things into the cabin.

He got out of the truck.

Having not seen him for a week, Yves was a little excited. "Khilla, how was the trip?"

"It was alright!" Feng Shan said, holding the cub and looking at the tribespeople loading things into the plane. "What’s this?"

"Not sure. I had just parked the plane when they showed up, saying they were bringing you gifts," Yves said with a shrug.

Feng Shan turned to Mayor Robert, who smiled reservedly. "They’re just some local specialties from the Kaktovik Tribe. Some reindeer hides, seal oil, and handicrafts."

"Don’t do this next time!" Feng Shan said, but he didn’t refuse.

’I gave them the Land of the Falling Whale for free. It’s only fair I accept a few things in return.’

"Khilla, what are these two?" Yves asked, spotting the two fluffy white balls in Feng Shan’s arms.

Feng Shan opened his arms, revealing two sleeping polar bear cubs. "Prince and Princess found them. I plan to take them back to the camp and raise them."

’Well, alright then!’

’Khilla is Khilla. Even the animals he raises are out of the ordinary.’ 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

’Other people raise dogs; Khilla raises wolves and polar bears.’

After the plane was checked, Feng Shan said his goodbyes to the group and climbed into the cabin.

They watched the P-750 ascend into the sky.

Mayor Robert looked at the plane disappearing into the clouds. "Send out the word. Khilla is the Honorary Great Elder of the Kaktovik Tribe. Anyone who dares to harm him is declaring war on the Inupiats, a war to the death."

...

It had taken six days to walk from the Crown Territory to Kevik Camp, and another day to reach Kaktovik. The entire journey on foot was nearly 500 kilometers.

But by plane, it only took two hours.

He had to admit, the power of technology made life feel a bit bland.

The fatigue from the journey washed over him like a tide, and Feng Shan soon fell asleep in his airplane seat.

A jolt from the fuselage woke Feng Shan from his slumber. He knew the plane had returned to the Crown Territory.

He slowly opened his eyes and gazed out the window.

The familiar scenery came into view, filling him with a sense of intimacy, like reuniting with an old friend after a long time apart.

He stepped out of the cabin.

He took a deep breath of the exceptionally fresh air of the Crown Territory and instantly felt refreshed and much more comfortable.

"Nash, it’s good to be home, isn’t it!"

"Mhm," Nash replied curtly, then opened the cargo door and started taking out the gifts from Kaktovik one by one.

Meanwhile, Prince and Princess, each carrying a polar bear cub in their mouth, eagerly ran toward the camp, as if wanting to show off their new companions.

Feng Shan shoved his hands into his pockets and sauntered off.

He chose to ignore the luggage. In his mind, as long as he pretended not to see it, it might as well not exist.

Nash and Yves looked at the cargo hold stuffed with goods and then at each other helplessly.

’Khilla seems to be getting lazier and lazier.’

The dirt path that originally led from the airfield to the camp was now covered with a layer of gravel.

This had significantly improved the road’s condition.

The gravel made the road surface much flatter and more solid, making it smoother for walking or driving.

It seemed Old Swan had been busy while he was away.

As he entered the area with the moss vegetation, he could clearly see that its coverage area had expanded quite a bit.

With the tribe’s Fire Seed Soul Power being so abundant, the moss was constantly propagating and expanding its territory, day and night.

’It feels like something is missing, though.’

Feng Shan observed for a moment but couldn’t put his finger on what it was. He continued walking until he reached the pit where the Mammoth Ivory had been discovered.

At the bottom of the pit, three strangers who looked like Indigenous People were excavating a Mammoth skeleton.

They moved with extreme care, as if handling a priceless treasure. Every dig was done with focus and diligence, as though they were trying to restore the Mammoth to its former state.

When he left, there had only been a Mammoth skull here, but now, almost half of the Mammoth’s body had been unearthed.

Just as Feng Shan was squatting on the edge of the pit, watching the excavation process with great interest...

"Who are you?" a voice with a heavy Russian accent asked from behind him.

Hearing the voice, Feng Shan stood up and turned to see where it came from.

He saw an indigenous-looking man, with features similar to those excavating the Mammoth skeleton in the pit, watching him warily.

"I, uh, should be the owner of the Crown Territory," Feng Shan said, rubbing his nose.

"Feng Shan!" The man before him looked Feng Shan up and down for a moment, as if confirming his identity.

Feng Shan nodded. "That’s right."

"Boss, I am Mikhail Milyutin, from Far East Russia. You hired us to excavate the Mammoth."

The wary expression on the man’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a smile.

However, the smile looked a bit stiff, almost uglier than a crying face.

After speaking, he shouted loudly toward the excavation pit.

"Brothers, the boss is here!"

The three men working at the bottom of the pit then climbed out one by one and stood in a line.

"This is Nikolai Yuritnov, Ruslan Galibov, and Peter Vaining."

As each name was called, the corresponding man would step forward and nod at Feng Shan with a deadpan expression.

Unlike the relatively laid-back nature of Americans, these men from the Far East seemed much more formal in their conduct.

From their unsmiling faces, he could see their serious attitude toward the excavation work.

This sudden formality made Feng Shan feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Sorry to interrupt your work. How’s the excavation progressing?"

"We’re a little less than halfway done with the excavation. We suspect this might have been a small Mammoth herd. This one was the herd’s leader, and there are other herd members beneath the soil."

’What!’

’I just wanted to dig up one Mammoth to put next to the tribe’s Fire Seed, and now I’ve ended up with a whole herd.’

"Then how long will it take to confirm that?"

"One week, and we can confirm the size of the herd," Mikhail Milyutin replied in his Russian-accented English.

"Alright, fellas, I won’t disturb your work. If you need anything, you can come find me!" Feng Shan nodded. He glanced around but didn’t see the foundation pit for the hydroelectric generator and asked curiously, "Do you know where the generator was installed? I remember it was supposed to be around here."

"Because of the Mammoth excavation, Mr. David moved the hydro-turbine generator to the back of the camp." Mikhail Milyutin pointed in the direction of the camp.

"Thanks!"

Feng Shan said his thanks and headed toward the camp’s wooden bridge.

...