Landlord in the Arctic

AWOO!

The tigers let out a collective low growl, their powerful voices echoing through the air.

CAW CAW!

CHIRP CHIRP!

Not to be outdone, the parrots answered with a flurry of sharp calls, with Tu’Er’s being the loudest of all.

"Let’s go."

After getting their response, Feng Shan gave the order and twisted the throttle hard.

In an instant, the snowmobile shot forward like an arrow from a bow, speeding toward the camp with a WHOOSH.

The speed ignited the tigers’ chase instinct. They let out a wild, collective roar and fell in close behind the snowmobile, their agile bodies carving graceful arcs across the mossy ground.

The crowd waiting by the camp’s wooden bridge suddenly spotted two faint lights in the distance. Like a pair of meteors streaking through the darkness, they rushed toward the camp.

"They’re here! They’re back!" someone in the crowd shouted first. In that instant, it was as if a bomb had been dropped—the scene erupted into chaos.

Cheers and chatter mingled as everyone eagerly awaited the sight of the returning Feng Shan.

But as the two lights drew closer, the looks on everyone’s faces began to change.

The two snowmobiles up front were unmistakable, but what on earth was following them?

Black and yellow stripes, enormous and powerful bodies...

No matter how you looked at it, they looked like... tigers!

In an instant, everyone lost their composure. Their jaws dropped in shock, mouths agape wide enough to fit an egg.

The scene before them looked for all the world like someone fleeing for their life, desperately trying to escape a pack of pursuing tigers.

Everyone wondered if their eyes were playing tricks on them.

After all, how could there be tigers here in Alaska’s Far North Tundra?

"Quick, find weapons! Save Feng!" someone in the stunned crowd yelled in a panic.

That shout shattered the brief silence, and the atmosphere instantly grew tense.

The veterans in charge of security realized something was wrong and, without hesitation, drew their weapons and moved toward the snowmobiles.

At the same time, the others who had been gathered by the bridge turned and scrambled back into the camp, searching for anything they could use as a weapon.

Their faces were etched with tension, their steps hurried and chaotic.

The color drained from Jenny and Xiaohua’s faces, leaving them as pale as paper.

They clenched their fists so tightly the veins stood out on the backs of their hands.

Their eyes were fixed on the approaching tigers and snowmobiles. As the distance between them shrank, their hearts leaped into their throats, feeling as if they might burst out at any second.

Meanwhile, Feng Shan was completely unaware that the camp had descended into utter chaos.

He was still cheerfully shouting to Tyson behind him.

"Tyson, pick up the pace!"

AWOO!!

Tyson was always unfailingly obedient to his master’s commands. Hearing Feng Shan’s shout, he immediately let out a mighty roar.

His powerful limbs pumped, and his body shot forward like an arrow. In the blink of an eye, he was running parallel with the snowmobile.

But in the eyes of the people at the camp, this scene looked like a disaster about to happen.

They watched helplessly as the tiger caught up to Feng Shan. In their minds, a single pounce was all it would take for Feng Shan to be devoured.

Some of the more timid women were already covering their eyes, unable to watch the terrifying scene, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Paine and the other veterans raised their weapons with grim expressions, trying to aim at the running tiger.

Their fingers were tight on the triggers. At the slightest hostile move from the tiger, they would fire without hesitation to save Feng Shan.

Just as the situation reached a breaking point, Feng Shan instinctively glanced toward the camp.

The sight nearly made him flip the snowmobile.

’What’s going on?’

’Is this how you welcome me back?’

’A few fireworks to celebrate would have been nice. But what’s the deal with aiming guns at me?’

’Are you planning a mutiny?’

Feng Shan had never expected such a reception upon his return. For a moment, he was completely bewildered.

AWOO!

Seeing that he had successfully caught up with his master, Tyson let out another triumphant roar, as if showing off.

The tiger’s roar echoed in the cold night, making the very air around them tremble.

Hearing the roar, Feng Shan instantly understood the crowd’s misunderstanding.

’They must think I’m being chased by tigers.’

Realizing this, he quickly slowed the snowmobile, released his grip on the handlebars, and straightened up.

He swiftly made a standard tactical hand signal for "no danger, cease fire."

At that critical moment, Paine and the other veterans’ fingers were already pressing down on the triggers. The slightest pressure would have sent bullets flying toward Tyson.

Fortunately, their years of military training kicked in.

They recognized their boss’s hand signal at a glance.

Almost instinctively, they released the triggers and quickly lowered their weapons, averting a potential friendly fire incident.

Seeing Paine lower his gun, Feng Shan confirmed the immediate crisis was over.

Feng Shan’s taut nerves finally relaxed. In his relief, he swayed and nearly flipped the vehicle again.

He quickly steadied himself and turned to Tyson, who was still running alongside him.

"Go back to the Tiger Pack for now. Stay put."

Although Tyson didn’t understand why his master was sending him away, his instinct to obey Feng Shan took over. He obediently slowed his pace and turned back toward the Tiger Pack behind him.

As Tyson rejoined his companions, the distance between the snowmobile and the Tiger Pack gradually widened.

Before long, Feng Shan drove up to the open area in front of the camp’s wooden bridge and came to a slow stop.

He hadn’t even had a chance to get off when Jenny, her face filled with terror, burst from the crowd like a frightened deer.

She grabbed Feng Shan’s arm, forcibly pulled him off the snowmobile, and started dragging him toward the camp, muttering nonstop.

"It’s too dangerous! Get inside, quick!"

At the same time, the others swarmed forward, each person holding some kind of strange weapon.

Some held wooden sticks, others brandished tables and chairs, and Old Zhang was the most direct of all, tightly gripping a kitchen knife.

"Hey, hey, what are you all doing?" Feng Shan snapped out of it, dug in his heels, and pulled back, inadvertently yanking Jenny into his arms.

"Feng, there are tigers!" Jenny cried, her face a mask of terror. Her voice trembled as she frantically pointed toward the tigers.

Xiaohua stared in shock, her mouth wide open. "So many tigers! Brother Shan, did you go and poke a tiger’s den?"

"Stop talking! Someone call Animal Control, quick! There’s a huge number of tigers on the Tundra!"

"My God! So many tigers... some bastard must have abandoned them."

Everyone started talking at once, arguing back and forth. The scene descended into noisy chaos.

The noise was making Feng Shan’s head split. He didn’t even notice Jenny was now hugging him back tightly as he raised his voice and yelled.

"Everybody shut up!"

Instantly, the clamor died down. Everyone was stunned into silence by his shout.

"What’s with all the noise? It’s chaos." Seeing that everyone had finally quieted down, Feng Shan turned and waved to the tigers sitting on the mossy ground in the distance.

The Tiger Pack received the command, rose slowly to their feet, and began walking toward the crowd at a leisurely pace.

The crowd, which had just barely fallen silent, erupted into another panic upon seeing the tigers actually walking toward them.

Terrified gasps and screams rose one after another, as if it were the end of the world.

Feng Shan raised his hands and pressed them down, gesturing for everyone to calm down. He then began to explain where the tigers came from.

"These are all tigers I adopted from Anchorage. They’ve been raised by humans since they were cubs. They have gentle temperaments and won’t hurt anyone, so don’t be afraid. Just think of them like regular house cats. You can even pet them, no problem."

After speaking, he pointed to the large and small shadows circling in the night sky and waved.

"It’s not just tigers. There are quite a few parrots, too. From now on, they’ll all be staying here in the Crown Territory to keep us company."

As if hearing Feng Shan’s call, the parrots in the night sky began to flap their wings, descending like a multicolored cloud to land gently on the grass.

They obediently stood together with the tigers.

Everyone had been terrified of the tigers just moments before.

But when they saw the parrots casually land right next to the big cats without a single issue, their hearts, which had been stuck in their throats, finally began to settle back down.

...