Landlord in the Arctic-Chapter 98: Requesting Aid

Listening to Old Swan’s nearly delirious, crazed ranting.

Feng Shan really wanted to follow the Inuit custom and shove the old coot into the Ice Sea. ’So old, yet still so damn loud. My ears are killing me.’

Once the net was hauled in, the boat’s hold was filled with struggling, plump whitefish.

Old Swan was grinning from ear to ear. He picked up a short club and went around bonking each of the live fish on the head.

The rest of the work didn’t require Feng Shan’s involvement. He just had to wait quietly for the Witchcraft Bone Ring to gather Soul Power.

Ever since his body had been enhanced to its limit by Soul Power, Feng Shan had been controlling the Witchcraft Artifact to stop channeling any more into him. He was saving it all up to take home and feed the Fire Seed.

The sky gradually darkened.

The waves on the sea grew larger.

Feng Shan stopped Old Swan from casting the net again.

’We’ve hunted a seal and the hold is full of fish, but he still wants to cast the net again. Talk about biting off more than you can chew. If the boat capsizes, we’ll lose everything. Worse, the whole village might end up feasting at our funeral.’

「Back at the dock.」

Having heard the news, the townsfolk gathered on the shore.

It was the familiar scene of dividing the fish, with every resident receiving a share of whitefish.

The last time Feng Shan had seen this, he thought it was a good thing. Sharing food helped foster unity. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

But ever since what happened with Maria, this so-called unity didn’t seem so wonderful anymore.

’I help them fish, they pay for it with their labor, and I get Soul Power.’

’It’s a fair trade. No one owes anyone anything.’

Feeling listless, Feng Shan said a quick word to Old Swan, then took a few whitefish and went to see Maria.

The girl had been terrified and brutally beaten. She was still resting after his Witchcraft treatment. After giving the whitefish to Maria’s grandmother, he headed to the hotel alone.

The mayor’s office was right next to the hotel. To be blunt, it was just two shipping containers—one used as an office, the other as a hotel.

It was the very definition of shabby, not even as nice as a village chief’s office back in China.

Just as Feng Shan passed the office, Louise spotted him and invited him in for coffee.

"Don’t worry, it’s coffee, not moss tea!" Louise opened a packet of instant coffee in front of Feng Shan, poured it into a mug, added hot water, and set it down before him.

’To be honest,’ Feng Shan thought, ’I don’t even like coffee.’

’For one, it’s bitter. For two, it’s a hassle. And for three, it keeps me from sleeping.’

He picked up the mug and took a polite sip, then looked at Louise. ’She definitely didn’t call me over to flirt.’

A bitter smile touched Louise’s lips. "Feng, I want to hire you as Kivalina’s safety officer."

"I’m sorry. As you know, I also have to manage the Crown Territory. I really can’t spare the time," Feng Shan refused outright.

Louise quickly waved her hands.

"No, no, no, you wouldn’t need to be on patrol. I just need you to be able to get here when a crime occurs in Kivalina."

"Does that include neighborly disputes? Madam Mayor, you have to understand, it’s over 400 kilometers from the Crown Territory to Kivalina. Flying takes three hours at the very least. Just to handle some petty squabbles?"

Feng Shan paused for a moment, then continued to shake his head.

’I’m not taking this thankless job. Arresting people is one thing, but flying for three hours just because some neighbors are fighting? That’s like using a cannon to kill a fly—complete overkill.’

"That’s not it. I’ll handle the normal problems. I’m talking about serious criminal cases, like what happened to Maria."

"Besides, three hours is still faster than the State Troopers. It takes them 24 hours to get here." As Louise mentioned this, her expression was a mixture of anger and helplessness.

"Aren’t there any police stations in the nearby towns?" Feng Shan asked curiously.

Louise had briefly mentioned public safety issues in the Far North Region that morning, but Feng Shan still couldn’t wrap his head around it. The Far North Region was a major administrative area, after all. How could it possibly lack basic law enforcement agencies?

A look of resignation appeared in Louise’s eyes, as if she were long accustomed to it.

"The larger towns and cities have them. Barrow has a police department, but they don’t dispatch officers to other areas. For small communities like Kivalina, when a crime occurs, we can only request support from the State Troopers. As of last year, the state government employed only 333 troopers."

"Three hundred and thirty-three troopers. That’s not even as many people as live in Kivalina, and they have to be spread across all of Alaska to handle crimes in Indigenous People communities. Our only other option is to recruit our own VPSO—a Village Public Safety Officer—but our municipal insurance doesn’t have the funds to cover the employment costs."

"So, please, be Kivalina’s safety officer. We can offer a wage of 15 US Dollars an hour. I know it’s not much, but it’s the highest we can offer."

When she finished, Louise looked at Feng Shan expectantly, hoping to hear him agree.

Feng Shan hesitated for a moment. "I’m sorry, I need to think about it."

"Okay!" Louise nodded in disappointment, but she had no other options.

An hourly wage of 15 US Dollars was indeed paltry; it wouldn’t even cover his fuel costs. Moreover, Kivalina couldn’t provide any protective gear—Feng Shan would have to supply all of that himself.

Just as Feng Shan was about to find an excuse to leave...

BANG!!

A heavy impact sound came from the shipping container’s wall.

Feng Shan looked at Louise quizzically. She shrugged. "Morris is awake. He wants to sue us for illegal confinement and personal injury."

Hah!

"It seems my latest treatment plan wasn’t effective. I’ll go have a look!"

He had just been looking for an excuse to leave, and Morris had kindly provided one. Feng Shan eagerly left the office, went to the room where Morris was being held, and slid the door open to go inside.

Hearing the muffled screams coming from the room, Louise’s gloomy mood inexplicably lifted.

’Go on, beat him!’

’Sue us if he wants. I don’t care.’

’Kivalina has no money anyway. At worst, we’ll just have all the townsfolk go protest in Juno.’

’It wouldn’t be the first time.’

’As long as Feng agrees to become Kivalina’s safety officer, tossing Morris into the Ice Sea to freeze to death isn’t out of the question either.’

「Night fell.」

A howling, cold wind swept in from the Ice Sea, surging into Kivalina.

The streets were empty, save for the flickering streetlights.

The townsfolk were holed up in their homes, warming themselves by their fires. They could occasionally hear the gale-force winds battering their windows. Children sat around the stoves, eyes shining with curiosity, listening to the elders tell stories of the Inuit.

Feng Shan lay in bed, unable to fall asleep.

He thought back on the day’s events. ’I really went a bit too far. First, I fired a gun to catch him, then I beat Morris senseless. Satisfying as it was, I wonder if it’ll cause trouble for me down the line.’

At that thought, he pulled out his satellite phone and called Frank directly.

The phone rang a few times before the call connected.

"Man, do you have any idea what time it is? You’re interrupting my rest. Watch it, or I’ll sue you!"

"Interrupting your ’battle’ with a lady?"

"What the hell are you talking about? God is my witness, I haven’t touched a woman since I got back from the Crown Territory. I’m more pious than a saint."

"Cut the crap. I need to ask you something. What do I do if I beat someone up?"

"Beat someone up? Who’d you hit? Where? Did you silence them?"

"A sex offender. Here’s what happened..."

Over the phone, Feng Shan recounted the day’s events from start to finish, with Frank occasionally interjecting to ask for specific details.

"The way you were talking, I thought you’d beaten up God himself. Turns out it was just some piece of trash who abuses women." After hearing the whole story, Frank’s tone became relaxed. "Say, I heard there have been poachers illegally hunting reindeer in the Crown Territory recently?"

"Illegally hunting reindeer? No!" Feng Shan was completely baffled. ’We were talking about Morris, what does this have to do with poaching?’

...