The rooftop terrace.
After getting the call, Black Hide, Xiaohua, and Hu Zi dropped what they were doing and rushed over.
The three surrounded Lawyer Frank, glaring at him.
'A foreign relative?'
'How is that possible?'
'Are scammers so brazen these days that they're hiring foreigners to act for them?'
'Brother Shan grew up with us in an orphanage. We'd never heard him mention any foreign relatives.'
'If they're relatives, why didn't they come for Brother Shan sooner?'
Hu Zi's eyes widened. "Hey, foreign devil, what proof do you have that this Feng Kailu is Brother Shan's grand-uncle?"
"Fack! My name is Frank, not 'foreign devil'! In your country, that's as good as calling me a whore."
Lawyer Frank sternly corrected Hu Zi's choice of words, then pulled a tablet from his briefcase and pressed play.
The video showed a hospital room.
An emaciated old man was propped up in a hospital bed, a respirator over his mouth. His eyes were half-closed, and his cheeks had a reddish glow.
A man's voice, which sounded like Lawyer Frank's, spoke from off-screen.
"Feng, you can begin."
At the sound of the voice, the old man struggled to open his cloudy eyes. He shakily removed the respirator mask, looked toward the camera, and began to speak his last words.
"Shanzi… I'm sorry… I… Your… name… I… I was the one who picked it. When… you… see this video… it means… I'm already gone. In this… lifetime… I saved up some… la-… land. Leaving it… to you as something to remember me by. If you want to sell… just sell it!"
After he finished speaking in fits and starts, the old man's breathing grew more rapid. He seemed to want to say something else, but the various monitors by his bed suddenly began flashing and blaring alarms. Several nurses rushed into the room and began trying to save him.
Just then.
The old man used his last ounce of strength to shakily raise his right hand before it fell, lifeless.
The moment he saw that right hand, Feng Mountain was certain. This was his grand-uncle.
The old man's right hand had six fingers—an extra pinky. Feng Mountain's own right hand also had six fingers, with the same extra pinky.
Furthermore, the extra finger was perfectly formed and fully functional, just like a normal finger, not feeling cumbersome in the slightest.
Lawyer Frank stared at Feng Mountain's right hand.
"You and Feng have the same right hand. It moves so freely, it's quite enviable."
'But for Feng Mountain, the finger wasn't the important part. It was his grand-uncle's last words.'
"My grand-uncle said he left some land. What does that mean?"
"Here's the situation." Lawyer Frank produced another document and handed it to Feng Mountain. "Mr. Feng Kailu owned a tract of land in the Far North Tundra Region of Alaska. It includes mountains, lakes, rivers, and tundra, totaling 500,000 acres. According to Alaska's inheritance laws, you are the primary heir to this land."
'How much?'
'Five hundred... thousand acres of land!!'
Feng Mountain and his three friends stared blankly, their expressions a mixture of shock and bewilderment.
One of them had just done a seven-year stretch in prison, while the other three were just everyday people from the bottom rungs of society. A number that huge was completely beyond their grasp.
Hu Zi immediately whipped out his phone to do a search. When he saw the results, he was so stunned it was a long moment before he could even breathe.
"Brother Shan, 500,000 acres is 2,000 square kilometers! That's half the size of our Hai City!"
"Holy cow, that's a huge piece of land! You could make a fortune just planting potatoes! Brother, you're gonna be rich!" Black Hide said, smacking his lips.
"Please, everyone, calm down. There's something else I haven't mentioned."
Lawyer Frank pulled yet another document from his seemingly bottomless briefcase, his gaze fixed intently on Feng Mountain.
"This land is called the Crown Territory, located in the Far North Tundra Region of Alaska, within the Arctic Circle. The climate is extremely harsh, unsuitable for human habitation or for growing crops. We have conducted technical surveys of this land and have not found any valuable mineral resources."
"My personal advice is to sell the Crown Territory to the state government. To that end, the AK State Government is willing to buy it back at a price of 100 US Dollars per acre."
500,000 acres.
100 US Dollars per acre.
'Isn't that 50 million US Dollars?'
The four of them were once again left speechless.
Black Hide immediately started dancing with excitement, phone held high.
"Brother Shan, let's sell it! 50 million US Dollars! That's a huge pile of cash! You can pay off the restitution money, and didn't you want to open another restaurant? Even if you don't, you could just stick it in a bank and live off the interest!"
"We can't sell it! That's the land Brother Shan's grand-uncle left for him," Hu Zi immediately objected.
Xiaohua chimed in to support him, "I agree we shouldn't sell. If nothing else, you should go see it first. After all, that's where Brother Shan's grand-uncle lived."
His three friends each gave their opinion.
Feng Mountain found himself leaning toward Hu Zi and Xiaohua's suggestion. 'That land belonged to my grand-uncle, and his belongings might still be there. As his junior, I should at least go pay my respects.'
"I plan on making a trip there before deciding whether to sell. But I have a prison record... can I even leave the country?"
Lawyer Frank smiled. "As long as your country has no travel restrictions on you, with this certificate of inheritance from the AK State Government," he said, pointing to the document in Feng Mountain's hand, "of course you can leave the country."
"What about my cat? Can I take it too?"
"…Apologies. You'll have to pay to transport the cat yourself."
...
「A week later.」
Hai City, South District Cemetery.
Feng Mountain brought a bouquet of carnations to Ms.'s grave. He bent down to place the flowers, then reached out to gently caress the photo on the tombstone, his eyes filled with love and longing.
"Ms., I have to go now."
"I'm going to a very distant place, but you will always be here, in my heart."
Facing the photo of Ms. on the tombstone, her smile as warm as the sun, Feng Mountain's gaze grew hazy. It was as if he could see all the little moments he had spent with Ms., and those beautiful memories flooded his mind like a tide.
He sat down, leaning against the tombstone.
Feng Mountain softly spoke the words he never had the chance to say, talking about his past dreams, talking about his hopes for the future.
Even though she would not be there to share that future with him.
The wind blew quietly, brushing across his face, as if to soothe his sorrow.
A white butterfly fluttered over and gently landed on Feng Mountain's shoulder.
Feng Mountain was slightly startled. He turned his gaze to the white butterfly, and a small smile touched his lips. "Ms., is that you?"
The white butterfly seemed to understand his words. It lingered on his shoulder for a moment, circled him a few times, then flew away lightly, toward the sun.
Feng Mountain watched the butterfly until it was a distant speck, unable to pull himself away for a long time.
Finally, he stood, took one last, long look at the tombstone, and turned away. His heart full of longing, he slowly walked out of the cemetery and toward the unknown distance.
...
Hai City International Airport.
Lawyer Frank paced anxiously at the boarding gate, looking up at the departure time now and then, then glancing towards the security checkpoint in the waiting hall.
A taxi sped up and stopped at the airport entrance.
A tall man carrying a backpack got out of the passenger seat. A man and a woman followed him out of the car, and the three of them embraced.
"Brother Shan, take care!"
"If you're not happy there, just come back."
"Brother, TV says things are a mess overseas. You have to be safe, you hear?"
Feng Mountain opened his arms, pulling the three people who were closer to him than any real siblings into a tight embrace.
"Don't worry. I'll go scout it out first. If it doesn't work out, we'll just sell the land. If it does, I'll bring you guys over."
...
The security checkpoint.
When Lawyer Frank saw Feng Mountain appear, he quickly handed over the plane ticket, boarding pass, and passport. "Quick, the plane is about to take off."
But he didn't notice that Feng Mountain's clothes were wet.
The young woman at the security checkpoint gave Feng Mountain a sweet smile after checking all his documents.
"Sir, please board as soon as possible. The plane is about to take off."
"Thank you!"
Feng Mountain picked up his backpack, followed Lawyer Frank through the security gate, and boarded the flight to the United States.
With a roar.
The plane lifted from the runway, soared into the sky, and vanished among the clouds.
「Half an hour later.」
An urgent news bulletin from Hai City interrupted the advertisements on the TV screens in the airport's waiting hall.
[A man took advantage of the high tide to swim to a scenic lighthouse in our city's tourist area and painted the searchlight fixture pink. We strongly condemn this immoral and malicious act and order the man to turn himself in as soon as possible.]
The young woman at the airport check-in counter subconsciously looked up at the TV. The screen was looping a picture of the man who had vandalized the lighthouse, and she found his face very familiar, as if she'd seen him somewhere before.
Since there were no direct flights from Hai City to Alaska, their journey was a long one.
They flew from Hai City to Beijing, transferred to a flight leaving from Black Province, crossed into Mao Country for another connection, and after a total of 20 hours, finally arrived in the skies over that forgotten corner of the world: Alaska.
Through the cabin window.
Beneath a heavy, lead-gray cloud cover lay a continent of pure white snow. Snowflakes even swirled outside the plane window.
Lawyer Frank in the next seat heard the broadcast, took off his eye mask, and seeing Feng Mountain's dumbfounded expression, he laughed.
"Welcome to Fairbanks."
"Today is September 10th. In another month, Alaska will enter its winter season. The temperature will drop to minus 15 degrees Celsius. Within the Arctic Circle in the Far North Tundra Region, the environment will be even harsher, with extreme temperatures reaching minus 60 degrees Celsius. The winter won't end until next April."
"Unfortunately, it looks like we've flown right into some sleet."
On the plane, Lawyer Frank gave him a brief rundown on Alaska.
This is Alaska.
'Minus 15 degrees... minus 60 degrees...'
'Would your piss freeze mid-stream?'
Feng Mountain had always lived in Hai City, where it felt like spring year-round. He felt cold when a typhoon rolled in and cooled things down, let alone when it snowed. And now he was in Alaska, where the cold could kill a man.
The plane reached Fairbanks International Airport and slowly landed amid the sleet.
Stepping out of the cabin door.
The cold gave Feng Mountain a brutal welcome; gusts of wind cut at his face like knives.
A sturdy flight attendant pushed him out with a smile. There was no choice; he had been blocking the exit for several minutes, seriously disrupting the deplaning process.
The wind HOWLED.
Sleet pelted his face.
Cold!
So cold!
Even bundled up in layers—thermal underwear, a cashmere sweater, and a down jacket—he couldn't fend off the bone-chilling cold.
It was as if his blood had frozen in that moment.
"Nice weather today. Let's go. We still have to take a small plane for a four-hour transfer to reach the Crown Territory." At his side, Lawyer Frank adjusted his thin suit, completely used to this kind of weather, and nonchalantly walked down the plane steps with his luggage.
'You call this nice weather?'
Feng Mountain pulled his clothes tighter around himself, completely speechless.
First, at the airport's baggage claim, they picked up their luggage and Coca-Cola.
It was also Coca-Cola's first time seeing snow. It was shivering from the cold, hiding in Feng Mountain's arms with a dazed look, poking its head out to look at the strange surroundings.
They bought new tickets, transferred to a bush plane, and bounced their way north.
The further north they went, the colder it got.
Looking through the window, at first he could see some scattered green trees, but later it was just an endless continent of white snow.
Snowflakes danced in the wind, brushing past the windowpane. They leaped like elves, sparkling with a crystalline light.
As the plane flew onward, the snowy landscape below constantly changed. Sometimes it was rolling, snow-covered mountains; other times, flat, snowy plains. Every view exuded a kind of beauty Feng Mountain had never seen before.
...