Landlord in the Arctic

To protect Natasha, he would make an enemy of anyone.

....

Palm-sized snowflakes fell like an out-of-control torrent, cascading from the depths of the sky. With overwhelming force, they sealed the vast world shut, like a dense, airtight white curtain descending from on high.

Everything within sight was a chaotic, hazy expanse.

The entire river valley had become a vast labyrinth of snow.

The once-familiar log cabins, stone paths, and lamps in the camp were all mercilessly buried by the heavy snow.

Only a few blurry outlines poked through, proof that they had once existed.

Feng Mountain, Ma Wei, and a few old veterans, clad in heavy winter gear, trudged laboriously through the knee-deep snow.

Each step seemed to drain all their strength, and the snow made a muffled CRUNCH beneath their feet.

Fortunately, the tigers were there to help.

Relying on their superb adaptation to the snow, they dragged the men slowly forward.

The hundred-meter distance from the cabins to the fire pit usually took only a few minutes to walk.

But today, Feng Mountain felt like the walk to the fire pit had taken half an hour.

The fire pit was like a warm island in a sea of snow. A circle of stones formed a natural boundary, miraculously keeping the wind and snow at bay. Not a single snowflake found its way inside.

However, lacking a continuous supply of Soul Power, the tribe’s Fire Seed was burning weakly. The red flame was faint and flickering, looking as if the bitter cold could extinguish it at any moment.

Feng Mountain squatted and leaned closer to the Fire Seed, staring at the weak flame without blinking. His brow was furrowed, his heart filled with anxiety.

’Alvin, you damn cripple, you’d better have understood me.’

’Start the fishing operation just like the text message said. Don’t you dare do anything on your own.’

’I’ll give you a huge reward when I get back.’

After a brief rest, Feng Mountain and his men fought back their exhaustion and set out once more on the treacherous rescue journey.

The howling north wind, like a frenzied beast, grew even more savage. It shrieked in their ears, a sound so piercing it made their eardrums ache.

Every step forward felt like a life-or-death struggle against an invisible force.

To avoid being swept away, they had to lean their bodies at an almost unbelievable seventy-degree angle, straining with all their might to inch forward against the gale.

The gale was like a pair of rough hands, shoving violently at their bodies.

If not for the powerful tigers pulling with all their might from the front, dragging the men along with their brute strength, every step forward would have been met with a gust that blew them several steps back. It was like trying to row a boat against a strong current.

As time passed, the chill in the air grew even more bone-piercingly cold, like sharp daggers of ice stabbing into their bodies.

The moment the heat from their bodies met the frigid air, it was mercilessly frozen into tiny ice crystals that drifted to the ground.

These crystals then quickly coated the surface of their hide parkas, layer upon layer.

Before long, each of them looked as if they were wearing a shell forged from ice.

Their movements grew more restricted, and their bodies grew ever colder.

Feng Mountain managed to free one trembling hand and fumbled inside his coat for a portable thermometer.

Even through his gloves, his fingers were stiff and numb with cold. It took a great deal of effort just to hold the thermometer steady.

The moment his gaze fell upon the thermometer, his heart sank. The reading was still -55.1 degrees.

This was perilously close to the lowest recorded temperature in Alaska: -62.2 degrees.

It also meant that the conditions in the Crown Territory were becoming even more severe, even more lethal.

Just as the men were struggling through the blizzard, utterly exhausted by the harsh environment, Tyson and the other tigers suddenly stopped dead in their tracks.

They raised their heads, their gazes sharp as they stared intently into the distance. A low, wary growl rumbled in their throats.

The sound was faint amidst the howling wind, part threat and part warning.

’Is something there?’

Noticing the tigers’ unusual behavior, Feng Mountain and Ma Wei tensed up.

Almost subconsciously, they drew their pistols from their parkas. Fingers tight on the triggers, they leaned forward slightly, eyes vigilantly scanning their surroundings for any potential threat.

Just then, the faint sound of howling wolves drifted from the distance.

The sound was long and piercing, echoing across the frozen landscape.

Mixed in with the howls were a few barks. The sound was faint, but clearly audible.

Upon hearing the familiar sounds, Feng Mountain’s tense nerves immediately relaxed.

He narrowed his eyes, pinpointing the source of the sound, then raised a hand and waved to signal that everything was fine.

A moment later, a dozen white figures shot out from the vast whiteness of the snow, moving like phantoms.

Their movements were nimble and swift, and in the blink of an eye, they were right in front of Feng Mountain.

Leading the pack were none other than Feng Mountain’s dear "son," Prince, and "daughter," Princess.

A relieved smile touched Feng Mountain’s face when he saw they were safe and sound.

At the Christmas Eve party two days ago, the camp had been bustling with excitement as everyone reveled in the holiday cheer.

However, after the party, a jealous Prince had led the Wolf Pack back to Moonlight Forest early to prevent Tyson from getting any ideas about his beloved Princess.

There, in the quiet of the forest, they had enjoyed a peaceful life of their own, far from the clamor of the camp.

But who could have predicted today’s sudden turn in the weather? An extreme cold front and blizzard had swept in like a savage beast, instantly turning the world into a frozen wasteland.

Prince and Princess, worried about their "dad," grew concerned for his safety.

And so, they had gathered the Wolf Pack and, despite the terrible weather, braved the biting wind and endless snow to rush back toward the camp.

Seeing that their "dad" was unharmed, Prince and Princess could finally relax, the worry in their eyes slowly fading.

But who would have guessed that the moment Princess saw the majestic Tyson, she would completely forget about Prince? She trotted over excitedly, her eyes full of curiosity and delight.

Prince, being the jealous wolf he was, couldn’t stand the sight of this and immediately lost it.

He immediately abandoned his "dad" and scrambled to force his way between Princess and Tyson, yelping nonstop at the tiger.

It was a jealous declaration of his sovereignty.

Tyson, faced with this display, looked completely helpless. His eyes held a trace of innocence, as if to say, *I didn’t do anything.*

"Alright, this is no time to be jealous," Feng Mountain said. He had no patience for their drama, his mind consumed with worry for Nash and the Bear Tribe. "Are you going back to the cabins, or are you coming with me to find Nash?"

BARK! BARK!

Prince barked twice without hesitation, showing Feng Mountain his resolve. He was determined to go with them to find Nash.

And just like that, a pack of white wolves joined the team on its way to rescue the Bear Tribe.

These Taiga Wolves were agile and graceful. On the vast expanse of snow, their white fur blended seamlessly with the landscape, making them look like a band of Elves from a world of ice.

The Taiga Wolves paid no mind to the extreme cold.

While running through the deep snow wasn’t as effortless as on flat ground, slightly hindering their movements, the bitter cold otherwise had almost no effect on them.

After all, they were hunters who had lived in the frigid Far North Tundra for tens of thousands of years.

Through long ages of evolution, their very genes had developed a powerful resistance to the cold.

The rescue party pushed on through the blizzard, slowly making their way toward the restaurant and tavern.

When they finally neared the restaurant and tavern, the sight that greeted them made everyone’s heart sink.

The once-familiar restaurant and tavern were gone, completely buried beneath a thick blanket of snow.

Only by the vague shapes outlined in the snow could they barely make out where the two buildings had once stood.

Looking over at the Melting Ice River, they saw it had returned to its original frozen state, no longer under the protection of the tribe’s Fire Seed.

The river’s surface was covered in a layer of hard ice, smooth as a mirror, reflecting the dim light of the sky.

It was a shame about the fish they had stocked in the river a few days prior.

In this extreme cold, they had likely been frozen solid long ago, becoming one with the Ice River—a silent tragedy in this frozen world.

The group didn’t linger and carefully crossed the Melting Ice River.

The ice let out a CREAKING sound under their feet, a testament to the power of the cold snap.

....