CHAPTER 431: CHAPTER 402: SUMMER IN ALASKA

Mountain Eagle took five days to settle matters in Anchorage...

On the sixth day, under Old Qiao’s guidance, Mountain Eagle headed to a small airport and boarded a small Cessna seaplane.

The orange plane was very old, and the seats inside were worn out.

Old Qiao seemed to sense Mountain Eagle’s dissatisfaction and said with a smile, "If you don’t want to fly to Marshall and then take a day-long boat ride, this is your best option."

Mountain Eagle sat on the dilapidated seat, which had lost its elasticity and the sponge was protruding, and said with resignation, "I fail to see what’s good about this..."

Contrary to Mountain Eagle’s dissatisfaction, Butcher and Daria seemed quite at ease...

After Butcher stowed the luggage, he fastened his seatbelt and said to the somewhat disgruntled Mountain Eagle, "Boss, when you’re in a strange place, it’s best to trust the local’s choice!"

Old Qiao placed a gun case underneath the seat, gave Butcher a thumbs up, then said with a laugh, "This Russian guy knows what he’s talking about!"

As Old Qiao forcefully closed the cabin door, he patted the back of the cockpit seat and called out, "All aboard, we’re ready for takeoff..."

Mountain Eagle noticed the pilot in the cockpit waving at him, and that’s when he realized that the guy was Old Ruby’s son, Little Ruby, the former owner of the camp.

When Mountain Eagle had signed the contract, he promised to continue employing this father and son duo at the camp and to allow Old Ruby to be buried near the camp after his death.

He didn’t expect the seemingly simple and somewhat foolish Little Ruby to also be a pilot.

Subconsciously, Mountain Eagle gave Little Ruby a thumbs up. As the plane began to taxi, he buckled his seatbelt tightly and said to Old Qiao, "Everything’s okay, right? That guy looks, you know, a bit..."

Hearing this, Old Qiao laughed and said, "Old Ruby was a crafty fox in the Yukon River area. As punishment, God gave him an idiot son..."

Seeing Mountain Eagle tensing up at the word ’idiot,’ Old Qiao continued with a smile, "Don’t be afraid, Little Ruby is not the sharpest, but in Alaska, he’s amongst the finest men!

Since he was a child, he helped Old Ruby build the camp, the one he and his father spent nearly thirty years constructing.

Little Ruby is a great carpenter, a decent fisherman, an adequate hunter, and even a competent mechanic and electrician.

Apart from Old Ruby’s cunning mind, Little Ruby has inherited everything from his father!"

Then, Old Qiao, seeing Mountain Eagle relax a little, continued with a smile, "You were right to hire Little Ruby. He might act like a simpleton with $300,000 in his pocket, but he can’t stand to be in the city even for a day."

Mountain Eagle felt the plane stabilizing as it soared into the sky, then slowly began to climb...

Feeling the stability of the aircraft at takeoff, Mountain Eagle let out a sigh of relief and said, "Now, I think he might actually be a decent pilot!"

"Decent?"

Old Qiao scoffed, "Little Ruby may not handle complex aircraft, but he’s still a top-notch mountain pilot.

In the whole of Alaska, there are few pilots who can take off in nasty weather, and Little Ruby is one of them.

For the past ten years, every winter, Little Ruby has used this aircraft to help transport injured and pregnant locals to nearby towns.

The locals call him ’Damaiya’, meaning ’Sky Warrior!’"

Mountain Eagle felt the plane level off, and with a smile, he said, "So he’s basically just fearless, right? But does that mean I’ve made a good deal?"

Old Qiao, noncommittally shaking his head, replied, "If you’re talking about that camp, then you definitely took a loss!

It’s impossible to earn back your money by running that camp!"

As Old Qiao saw Mountain Eagle’s indifferent expression, he shook his head and said, "I don’t understand the thoughts of you rich folks, but as long as you keep that camp going, the natives will like you!"

Mountain Eagle cheerfully said, "I think so too...

When I was young, I dreamed of someday owning a piece of land that was all mine, where I could freely fish and hunt.

Alaska fits all of my fantasies!"

Old Qiao, seeing Mountain Eagle’s attention had shifted away from their conversation, chuckles to himself and said, "Then your expectations really aren’t high; I just hope you won’t regret it later.

Alaska isn’t for everyone!"

At that moment, Mountain Eagle wasn’t listening to what Old Qiao was saying; his attention was captured by the scenery outside the window.

It was summer in Alaska, not the grandiose frozen miles of ice and drifting snow, but greenery as far as the eye could see...

The melting snow atop the mountains, the streams formed by the abundant water, nourished vast expanses of tundra like arteries.

The afternoon sun shone on the majestic mountain ranges, reflecting dazzling golden light, and the verdant tundra was dotted with wildflowers. Flocks of migratory birds continuously took off and landed as if the Earth itself had a pulse.

Mountain Eagle spotted several enormous moose wandering on the tundra marshes; even from the sky, their magnificence was palpable.

The summer in Alaska was like a painting full of vitality...

Perhaps because of the eight months of harsh winter, the remaining four months encapsulated all the essence associated with Alaska’s vitality, generously displaying it to everyone.

Mountain Eagle loved such a place from the core of his being!

Anyone who wished not to be troubled by worldly affairs, who longed for a life of freedom and wished to cope with the risks while possessing adequate capability, could take a tent, an axe, and a hunting rifle deep into Alaska and find what they were looking for.

Mountain Eagle, by a stroke of fate, purchased a camp which he hoped to turn into a retreat for himself and his family.

He was chasing after a childhood dream that arrived late, but he wanted his kids to experience...

Leaving the city to learn how to start fires, hunt, fish, climb trees, chop wood, and cook...

To live out physically, to savor the simple joys!

Once people indulge, time flies by incredibly fast...

About three hours later, Mountain Eagle felt the plane begin to descend, and then he saw a magnificent river...

The summer melt had raised the water level of the Yukon River significantly, with the turbulent meltwater carrying loads of deadwood downstream.

This time of the year, the Yukon River was wild!

But it was precisely because of its wildness that the once-dry and narrow channels around it were replenished with water, and the vast tundra swamps could revive.

Alerted by Old Qiao’s loud reminder, Mountain Eagle looked down...

Upstream, the Yukon River suddenly turned south at one point, then described a massive U-turn before resuming its original direction.

The camp was located at the base of the U-shaped bend!

Mountain Eagle saw several boats docked outside the camp, and beside them on a patch of yellow sandy ground, an old Cessna C49 transport plane used for fuel transportation was parked...

Mountain Eagle was not in a hurry to enter the camp at the moment, so he unbuckled his seat belt, walked to the back of the cockpit, patted Little Ruby on the shoulder, and called out, "Take a detour northward..."

Little Ruby turned his head and gave Mountain Eagle a naive smile, saying, "Boss, we don’t have enough fuel, I can only detour a little bit..."

Mountain Eagle nodded slightly and shouted, "It doesn’t matter, just fly as far as we can..."

After Little Ruby heard this, he pushed the throttle forward and climbed a bit higher, taking Mountain Eagle northward for a few dozen kilometers, then circled back, returning toward the camp along the upstream Yukon River.

Gazing down from above, Mountain Eagle had a clear view of the situation to the north of the camp...

Inside the massive U-shaped meander lived the native indigenous people; Mountain Eagle did not know how many, but the seven or eight Indian villages and their colorful roof tiles revealed their existence to Mountain Eagle in the sky.

Further north beyond the river bend was a meandering range of mountains—the land purchased by Dimension Card Company.

Those northern mountains were an important trapping ground for the natives during winter; without the winter trapping harvest from the northern woods, many natives would have a very tough winter, and winters in Alaska are exceptionally long!

The plane flew over a small town called Russian Mission upstream...

Little Ruby informed Mountain Eagle that the town’s residents had been relocated, and Dimension Card Company’s people had moved in.

Mountain Eagle saw the rundown town...

There were many boats docked at the town’s pier, but there were not many people inside the town itself; most of the activity was taking place around a newly-built cluster of white buildings to the north of the town.

Upon hearing the plane overhead, the people around those white buildings looked up, and then several who were clearly security guards began releasing signal flares into the sky to chase away Mountain Eagle and his companions.

Little Ruby angrily cursed a few times, then circled around and headed downstream.

But Mountain Eagle had spotted a faint trail leading from the north side of Russian Mission, extending into the woods to the north.

As Little Ruby was turning back, Mountain Eagle sat back in his seat and buckled up his seat belt...

Those white buildings didn’t look like the usual civilian company style; first, their scale was enormous, and beyond that, their tidy division of areas and the movement patterns of people all bore a strong military character.

But which regular army would station troops in the inland of Alaska, where temperatures drop below minus ten degrees for eight months of the year?

Is there too much money with nowhere to spend it?

Mountain Eagle felt that if the ones moving about inside were indeed soldiers, they could only be mercenaries, and these people must be protecting something of great value; otherwise, there was no explaining their presence!

Mountain Eagle looked towards the distant mountains as the plane turned...

"What’s out there?"

After about fifteen minutes, the plane slowly landed on the bumpy sand and gravel runway...

Old Qiao looked at Mountain Eagle and smiled, saying, "Boss, what do you want to eat tonight?

Or do you want to take advantage of the good weather and catch some salmon yourself..."

Mountain Eagle reminisced the rather exhilarating landing process for a moment, then smiled and said, "Why can’t it be hunting for a reindeer?

When we were landing, I saw reindeer moving around the swamp across the river.

I’ve heard that reindeer meat tastes quite good..."

Old Qiao shook his head and said, "Alaskan law stipulates that you can’t fly and hunt on the same day."

Upon hearing this, Mountain Eagle instantly grasped the intention behind the law, then laughed and said, "Let’s go check out the camp first...

I’ve always had high expectations for that place; I hope it can bring me some surprises."

Old Qiao opened the plane’s cabin door, and after a meaningful smile, he said, "Let’s hope so!"