Landlord in the Arctic

Little Tom was utterly bewildered.

’Even the most advanced plastic surgery...’

’...couldn’t possibly achieve such a miraculous result!’

Hearing Little Tom’s cry of astonishment,

a happy smile slowly bloomed on Jenny’s once-haggard face.

She tilted her head slightly,

and shot Feng Mountain a loving glance.

Then she turned back to Little Tom and explained tactfully,

"I met an incredibly skilled plastic surgeon in Alaska. He performed a procedure to repair my scar."

As she spoke,

a subtle hint of happiness glinted in her eyes.

When Little Tom heard this,

his eyes lit up like lightbulbs. His face was a mixture of surprise and hopeful anticipation as he asked,

"He’s that good? Do you think he could fix the scar from my appendectomy? That bastard Dr. Conrad made the incision twice as long as necessary on purpose."

’Serves you right!’

’Probably because you’re twice as long-winded as everyone else!’

Feng Mountain was holding Tammy.

He couldn’t stand another second of Little Tom’s endless chatter.

Given how much this guy loved to talk,

he could probably go from dawn till dusk and still not be done.

At that thought,

he quickly cut in, raising his voice.

"Hey, let’s get out of here!"

Just as Feng Mountain suggested they leave,

Yves and the veterans emerged from the cabin, shoving five kidnappers before them. The men were covered in welts from rubber bullets.

The five stumbled along, their bodies covered in red, swollen lumps of various sizes. They were a pathetic sight.

"Andy, Bobby, Alik, Harold, Gaston... It really is you guys."

Little Tom called out their names instinctively.

Not only did everyone know these five men, but they often drank together at the Blue Cloud House. He never would have imagined that these familiar faces were capable of kidnapping.

"Man, help me! I don’t want to go to Alaska!" The long-haired man saw Little Tom and started struggling desperately, as if clutching at his last straw.

However, no matter how much his scrawny frame thrashed about, he couldn’t break free from the veterans’ iron-like grip.

Seeing this, the other four

also started crying out for help.

They knew full well

that in this situation, Little Tom was their only chance of survival.

"Little Tom, man, call your uncle, Sheriff Sean! I want to turn myself in! I’ll confess everything I did to the judge, just save me!"

Gaston looked as if he’d seen his savior.

He screamed for help, his voice raw, his eyes filled with terror and pleading.

His earlier arrogance was long gone, replaced by pure, abject despair.

Bat gripped the stock of his rifle.

He brought it down hard on Gaston’s cheek.

"Shut up!" With a low snarl, the stock connected with a sickening thud.

SPIT!

Gaston coughed up a mouthful of blood.

It splattered across the white snow,

spreading rapidly into an alarming stain.

Mixed in with it were several dislodged teeth.

Seeing this,

although Little Tom had no love for Gaston,

the raw display of violence right in front of him

reignited the flicker of righteousness in his heart.

He scrambled to grab Feng Mountain’s arm, his voice urgent.

"This is wrong! You can’t use violence on suspects before they’ve had a trial! Hand them over to me. I’ll make sure they face the full penalty of the law!"

"Boss!" Yves had long since had enough of the chattering little deputy and his overblown sense of justice.

His expression darkened, and his hand drifted unconsciously to the pistol at his hip, a ruthless glint in his eye.

Seeing this, the other veterans raised their weapons as well.

Cold muzzles swiveled in unison to point at Little Tom.

If Feng Mountain so much as nodded,

they wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate the loudmouth, find a random spot, dig a hole, and bury him.

The atmosphere instantly grew taut to the breaking point.

Feng Mountain waved his hand,

signaling for Yves and the veterans to stand down.

Then he turned to Little Tom, his gaze stern. "And what happens if I hand them over to you? Should I read them their Miranda rights? Inform them they have the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney?"

"So you can take them back, book them, take their fingerprints and photos, record their information, and then launch an investigation to collect evidence and question witnesses?" Feng Mountain sneered. "Then you let these suspects appear in court, enter a plea, and post bail so they can just waltz out of the courthouse? What about the trauma they inflicted on Jenny and the others?"

Little Tom’s face flushed red at the barrage of questions. His lips trembled, and for a moment, he was at a complete loss for words.

After a long moment,

he finally managed to squeeze out a few words, his voice a mixture of resignation and resolve.

"Look, man, that is the established procedure. I completely understand how you feel right now. But as a peace officer, I have a duty to uphold the law. I have to follow procedure."

"To hell with your procedure," Feng Mountain suddenly swore, his eyes blazing with fury. He jabbed a thumb at his own chest. "I am an Indigenous person from Alaska, and a member of Free Alaska. Federal laws don’t apply to me. I’ll punish these bastards the Alaskan way. If you want to stop me, you can try, but I can’t guarantee your safety."

CLICK-CLACK!!

The sound of rifle bolts being racked rose up from all around.

The sharp, metallic sound was deafening in the still air.

Little Tom finally snapped out of his trance, as if waking from a dream.

He glanced around frantically,

and saw everyone around him staring at him with cold, indifferent eyes.

Their gazes were icy, chilling him to the bone, as if they were looking at... a dead man.

Fear washed over him in an instant, a suffocating tide.

He couldn’t help but start to tremble.

"Little Tom, this has nothing to do with you. Come with me."

Jenny hurried over to Little Tom’s side.

She took his arm gently and led him away from the suffocatingly tense atmosphere.

"Boss!"

Yves shot his boss another look.

This time, it was filled with naked killing intent.

His eyes were fixed on Little Tom.

If the boss just nodded, he would eliminate the nuisance without a second thought.

"Forget it. He’s still just a kid. His heart’s in the right place, even if his head isn’t."

Feng Mountain sighed softly and waved his hand.

After all, Little Tom had gone to school with Jenny, and he had helped out during the rescue. Feng Mountain couldn’t bring himself to deal with him harshly over a momentary conflict.

Then,

Feng Mountain turned to Yves, his expression serious as he asked, "I’ll leave two vehicles for you. I’m taking Jenny and the others back now. You’ll take these men to Lengwan. Do you need any help?"

"It’s probably going to cost a lot of money," Yves said, his voice low.

After all, transporting five grown men from Montana to Lengwan, Alaska,

was no simple task.

Flying was out of the question.

For one, they’d be too conspicuous and easily exposed. For another, the paperwork would be impossible.

And since Montana is landlocked, transport by sea was also impossible.

The only option was to go by land.

The journey was thousands of miles long. They’d have to guarantee their safety and avoid all sorts of trouble along the way.

Securing a safe and reliable route meant spending a great deal of money.

"Don’t worry about the money. If money can solve it, it’s not a problem. I don’t care how you do it, just get them to Lengwan!"

Feng Mountain couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Yves’s list of difficulties.

In his mind, any problem money could solve wasn’t a real problem.

After giving a few brief instructions, Feng Mountain turned and called for the women to get into the vehicles.

The women quickly complied, hurrying to the vehicles and climbing inside.

With a roar of engines,

two vehicles slowly pulled out of the ski resort, kicking up a trail of snow as they headed back the way they came.

「An hour later.」

The SUV followed the winding, snow-covered road back to Melon Ranch.

Bat was driving, his sharp eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.

As they were about to turn into the ranch’s main gate,

Bat suddenly slammed on the brake. The vehicle lurched to a halt.

He then snatched the AR-15 leaning against the door.

His expression instantly turned alert as he said in a low voice,

"Boss, something’s not right!"

...