Chapter 694: Opportunity (2)

Chapter 694 -443: Opportunity (2)

Erica and Demi were huddled together, their faces pale. They clearly hadn’t recovered from the scare.

“I’m sorry, it was my fault!” Old Tom continued to apologize.

“Forget it. I’ll drive. You take the passenger seat.”

Feng Shan waved his hand, his heart still pounding from the incident.

After that terrifying moment, he really didn’t dare let Old Tom drive again.

It was much safer to have his own hands on the steering wheel.

He then waved for everyone to get back in the car.

The car started up again and drove smoothly toward the flight school.

The atmosphere in the car was a bit somber on the way there. It seemed no one had quite recovered from the earlier shock.

Soon, the flight school came into view.

Ten brand-new Piper Cubs, painted a brilliant yellow, were parked neatly on the runway.

Among them, his own P-750 stood quietly, looking particularly conspicuous.

Beside the runway, several new container buildings had been added.

These new containers were arranged in a staggered but orderly fashion. Compared to before, the entire flight school looked brand new.

‘Looks like that one-million-dollar loan… Old Tom really gave the flight school a complete overhaul.’

“Feng, after I got your call, I had all the planes inspected. I even filled up the fuel tanks.” As soon as he got out of the car, Old Tom trotted over to Feng Shan, his face plastered with a fawning smile.

Feng Shan sighed silently, a mix of complex emotions welling up inside him.

To be honest, he had known Old Tom for a long time, and the man had indeed helped him a lot.

Whether it was his dedication when transporting supplies or his enthusiastic help with trivial matters, Feng Shan was grateful for it all.

Now, Old Tom was in a tough spot because of the road construction in Crown Territory.

He couldn’t just let a man his age go bankrupt and end up on the streets. He just didn’t have the heart to do it.

After a moment of thought, Feng Shan spoke.

“How about this: I’ll rent you the runway in Crown Territory, and you can open a flight experience company at the camp. I’ll even promote you in the brochures. If any tourists want to fly a plane, they can come to you. How does that sound?”

“Yes, no problem!!”

Old Tom’s eyes lit up at the suggestion, and a happy expression immediately spread across his face.

He knew that the tourists who visited Crown Territory were all from China.

And the Chinese were famous in the tourism market for being wealthy and generous.

‘If I can really open a flight experience company in Crown Territory… Just thinking about the potential customer base and profits… it would be far more lucrative than just transporting supplies.’

Seeing Old Tom beaming, his old face practically blooming like a flower, Feng Shan couldn’t resist throwing some cold water on him. “Don’t get too excited. I’ll rent you the runway, but if it needs to be expanded, I won’t pay one cent.”

“Don’t worry, I understand!”

Old Tom nodded eagerly.

Just getting the chance for Feng to rent him the runway and open a flight experience company was a blessing amid his misfortune.

How could he dare ask for more?

If business was good enough to require expanding the runway, he would absolutely pay for it himself.

After all, once the road was finished, construction crews could drive directly into Crown Territory, and the cost of expanding the runway wouldn’t be that high.

“Yves will be back in a few days. Remember to fly them back to Crown Territory!”

Feng Shan didn’t have time to linger in Fairbanks; a pile of matters was waiting for him back at Crown Camp.

So, after giving a few simple instructions, he called for everyone to board the plane and head home.

Following behind the group, Gruus’s eyes were immediately drawn to a large white airplane on the runway painted with the words “Crown Colony.”

He couldn’t help but lightly tug on Jenny’s sleeve and ask in a surprised tone, “Jenny, is that plane a charter flight for the airport? It looks so impressive, and it even says ‘Crown Colony’ on it.”

“That’s Feng’s private plane. The plane for Crown Territory.”

Jenny lifted her chin slightly, her eyes filled with pride as she made the introduction.

‘A private plane?’

Gruus wondered to himself.

‘I flew to Alaska on a private plane, and now I’m getting on another one?’

‘Just how rich is this Feng guy?’

Full of curiosity, Gruus’s gaze involuntarily drifted toward Feng Shan, who was just ducking through the cabin door, his eyes filled with awe.

He quickly snapped out of it and followed the others onto the plane.

Sitting down in the pilot’s seat, Feng Shan put on his headset, blocking out the ambient noise so he could focus on operating the aircraft.

His hands moved skillfully across the instrument panel, flipping various switches.

His eyes quickly scanned the instrument readings, carefully checking the plane’s status.

His extensive flying experience made these operations second nature; every movement was smooth and precise.

After confirming that everything was normal, he slid open the cockpit window, stuck his hand out, and gave Old Tom a thumbs-up.

Old Tom smiled and waved back.

Feng Shan slowly pushed the throttle forward.

The engine let out a low rumble, and the propeller began to spin rapidly, creating a deafening ROAR.

Propelled by this immense power, the P-750 began to move slowly down the runway.

As its speed increased, wind howled around the fuselage. The aircraft trembled slightly, like a great eagle about to spread its wings and take flight.

At the end of the runway, Feng Shan decisively pulled back on the control stick.

In an instant, the entire plane seemed to break free from the bonds of the earth, leaping up and soaring into the vast sky.

The scenery on the ground rapidly shrank and receded as the plane climbed steadily into the sky, beginning its journey back to Crown Territory.

…

The P-750 flew like a nimble bird, skimming lightly over the edge of the Yukon Plateau.

At some point, a faint layer of condensation had formed on the cabin windows, a thin veil created by the meeting of warm interior air and the cold outside.

The silhouette of the Brooks Range was slowly emerging from the lead-gray clouds.

At first, it was just a faint, dark shadow, but it grew clearer as the plane drew closer.

By January of the new year, the polar night that had shrouded the Far North Tundra was beginning its grand, final performance before gradually exiting the stage.

The footsteps of daylight were arriving quietly.

Daylight hours would now run from 10:00 AM until 1:00 PM.

And as the days passed, the length of the day would continue to increase until it reached the peak of the polar day.

When Feng Shan’s group had landed in Fairbanks, they had caught the rare period of daylight.

The long-absent sunlight, like golden threads, flowed slowly along the jagged mountain ridges, draping the range in a brilliant radiance.

In the interplay of light and shadow, the rolling, snow-covered mountains looked like a magnificent painting, stretching and undulating endlessly.

Icicles hanging from the snowy eaves refracted the sunlight into seven-colored halos.

Red like fire, orange like the sunset glow, yellow like gold, green like jade, blue like a dream, and purple like smoke.

They intertwined together,

creating a dreamlike vista so beautiful it was breathtaking.

Gruus and Diego pressed themselves against the windows, staring unblinkingly at the world outside, their eyes filled with wonder and amazement.

The night before they came, the two of them had frantically searched online for all kinds of information about Alaska.

Most of the descriptions online claimed that this was a land forgotten by God, full of desolation and cold, with the only positive note being that the scenery was decent.

However, now that they were witnessing this land with their own eyes, the two couldn’t help but feel that the information online was far too one-sided and failed to capture the true face of Alaska.

It was beyond desolate!

Take Fairbanks, for example.

As Alaska’s second-largest city, it had a smaller population than a random county in Montana.

And everywhere you looked, all you could see was a vast expanse of white.

Either rolling, snow-covered mountains or endless, sprawling snowfields.

To see large-scale forests like in Montana was simply a pipe dream.

Gruus couldn’t help but frown. He said to Diego, “Living in this kind of environment in the future… wouldn’t it drive a person crazy from boredom?”

Diego nodded in deep agreement. “Yeah, it’s so different from what I imagined.”

The two exchanged their feelings about this desolate land in low voices as they looked out the window.

Their hearts were filled with anxiety about the unknown life ahead.

While Gruus and Diego were stewing in their apprehension, the roar of the plane’s engine was constant, carrying everyone steadily forward.

After crossing the majestic Brooks Range, the plane imperceptibly arrived over Crown Territory. It was now 3:00 PM.

The polar night, like a huge, heavy black curtain,

once again quietly descended upon the land.