With the help of the marine creatures, a journey that would have taken a full day was completed in just half a day.
As everyone on the ice floe caught sight of the Greenland coast, also covered in ice and snow, a wave of excitement swept through them.
"We've finally arrived!"
Taking a deep breath, Yang Lin was the first to help his father up.
Ten minutes later, they had successfully set foot on the frozen soil of Greenland.
It was at this very moment that the Inuit shaman, who had been muttering throughout their journey, approached them with a look of reverence.
"Divine emissary, our tribe is not far from here. On behalf of my entire tribe, I sincerely invite you to be our guest."
Hearing the shaman's invitation, Yang Lin's initial reaction was to refuse. His immediate priority was to get his father to a proper hospital for treatment.
However, when he considered that the nearest city to the port was still hundreds of kilometers away, he began to waver.
Before accepting, he decided to ask a few crucial questions.
"Do you have a hospital there? Do you have running hot water and electricity?"
The shaman looked surprised at Yang Lin's questions, then chuckled.
"Of course. Our village got electricity ten years ago. In fact, we not only have electricity, but also a signal tower built by your Dragon Country people."
"We don't have a hospital yet, but we do have a clinic."
"You must think we're still living in igloos, leading the most primitive life."
"Ah? You've developed so quickly?"
In Yang Lin's impression, the Inuit people should still be living in primitive conditions, where transportation was by foot and communication was by shouting.
As he stood there, bewildered, his father spoke up.
"Going there is probably our best option right now."
"I've been there before. To be honest, it's even a little better than some of the more backward villages in our country."
Since his father said so, Yang Lin had no choice but to believe him, even if he was skeptical.
"Alright then, I'll go with you."
"Excellent, Divine Emissary." Seeing Yang Lin accept his invitation, the shaman's wrinkled face broke into a wide smile.
Under their guidance, they walked for only about half an hour before a village appeared before Yang Lin.
Looking at the modern village, composed of prefabricated and tiled houses, Yang Lin found it difficult to associate them with the Inuit people he had imagined, clad in animal skins.
Even more unbelievable to him was the sight of snowmobiles parked everywhere in the village, and wooden electricity poles standing tall.
As they entered the village, he even saw a young boy wearing a knitted hat from a certain internationally renowned brand.
Judging solely by his attire, this boy looked no different from children of the same age in his own country.
He couldn't help but recall a joke about someone who, using a drone, pretended to be a god in the Amazon rainforest, only for the indigenous people to pull out smartphones in response.
"It seems I need to get out more."
As Yang Lin mused, a group of Inuit people, dressed in slightly less primitive attire, emerged from the village.
After a flurry of their language, a grand welcoming banquet commenced.
Yang Lin and his parents were treated to the highest honor of the Inuit people: a marinated auk dinner.
When the marinated auks, emitting a strong pungent odor, were served, Yang Lin nearly vomited.
This was especially true when the shaman demonstrated how to eat it, by sucking vigorously on the auk's posterior.
"While I deeply respect your dietary habits, ugh... this is really not necessary."
With a polite smile, Yang Lin shook his head.
Fortunately, they seemed to understand that outsiders couldn't stomach their tribal delicacy.
After Yang Lin and his parents declined, the highest-ranking shamans happily devoured the marinated auks on their plates.
Finally, as the banquet drew to a close, Yang Lin suddenly remembered that there was likely internet access here.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot to let them know we're safe."
He then took out his phone, which he hadn't used in a long time.
Thankfully, it had been kept in a waterproof bag, so it still worked after he turned it on.
The first thing he did after booting up was to make a video call to Teacher Xiao Liang.
Within two seconds, the call was connected, and the faces of Teacher Xiao Liang and everyone at the research station filled the screen.
"Whoa, you're finally in contact! If you hadn't sent a message, we were already preparing a memorial service for you."
"How was it? Did you reach the North Pole? Did you find any clues about your parents?"
It was clear that after Yang Lin had been out of contact for several days, the people at the research station were growing anxious.
Faced with their concern, Yang Lin felt a warmth spread through his heart.
"I apologize. I've had no signal for the past few days, so I couldn't report our situation."
"I reached the North Pole several days ago and have now returned to Greenland."
"As for whether I found my parents, Mom and Dad, come say hello to them."
As soon as Yang Lin finished speaking, his parents leaned into the camera.
When the people at the research station saw them, while genuinely happy for Yang Lin, they couldn't help but voice a question.
"Director Yang, how did you manage to be so fast? In just about a week, you've made a round trip from Yellow River Station, to the North Pole, and back to Greenland."
"Yes, Uncle and Auntie, where did you meet him?"
"Your luck is perhaps a bit too good."
Yang Lin had anticipated these questions.
However, he didn't want to go into too much detail at the moment. After some thought, he continued:
"Actually, a lot has happened in the past week, and it's difficult to explain everything right now."
"After I get some rest tonight, I'll do a live broadcast tomorrow and tell you all about it. I'm sure there are many people, not just you all, but also those fans, who are following this matter."
As soon as he finished speaking, the people on the other end of the camera inexplicably burst into laughter.
Watching them laugh unrestrainedly, Yang Lin felt utterly confused.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Hahaha, do you know you've gone viral again? Your photos are all over the internet now."
"Yes, the whole of Dragon Country knows you've been on an adventure in the Arctic. You really need to tell them properly."
"Your selfies have already been turned into reaction memes."
Upon hearing this, Yang Lin finally realized something.
When he opened Douyin, he discovered that he had been trending for several consecutive days in the past few days.
The trending topics were precisely the photos and short videos he had taken along the way.
"What the heck, when did these get posted!"