10: Chapter 10 Unexpected Encounter

It was already evening by the time he returned to downtown Dubai.

Li Xin returned the off-road vehicle, went back to his hotel, took a shower, and changed into clean clothes.

He decided to go out for a bite to eat.

There was a food street near the hotel with restaurants of all kinds of flavors.

He found an Arabian restaurant and ordered a mixed grill platter and hummus.

Halfway through his meal, a sudden commotion broke out outside.

He turned to look and saw several people pushing and shoving on the street, their voices growing louder.

He originally didn't want to get involved, but he heard a familiar sound.

Chinese.

"What are you doing? Let go of me!" It was a woman's voice, laced with tears, her eyes full of helplessness.

He put down his fork, stood up, and walked out.

On the street, three somewhat disheveled men were surrounding a Chinese woman, tugging at her bag.

The woman struggled desperately, but she was too weak to break free.

"Let her go." Li Xin walked over, his voice not loud, but very cold.

The men turned their heads sharply and glared at him. One of them cursed in Arabic, which meant "Get lost."

Li Xin did not move. He stood there, looking at them with calm eyes.

"I said, let her go."

The man who had cursed let go of the woman's bag and walked toward him. This man was at least 1.9 meters tall and very sturdy; he looked like someone not to be trifled with. Li Xin, however, was only 1.78 meters tall and looked like a polite, weak scholar at first glance.

The man didn't take Li Xin seriously at all and reached out to shove him.

Li Xin dodged to the side, seized the man's wrist, pulled, pushed, and then twisted.

With a "crack," the man's wrist dislocated, and he immediately let out a shrill "Ah!"

Then, Li Xin followed through with a fierce kick to the man's stomach. The man immediately crumpled like a stepped-on sack, curling into a ball. He let out a muffled groan, bent over, and squeezed a pained sound from his throat, curling up on the ground and unable to straighten his back for a long time.

The other two men were stunned, then charged forward simultaneously.

Li Xin advanced instead of retreating, punching one man in the temple, knocking him unconscious instantly.

Then, with a sweep of his leg, he tripped the third man and pinned him down with his knee on his chest, leaving him unable to move.

The entire process took less than ten seconds. The onlookers were stunned, and someone could be heard whispering in amazement, "Chinese Kung Fu."

Li Xin stood up, clapped his hands, and walked over to the woman, saying, "Are you alright?"

The woman looked up, revealing a delicate face. Her eyes were red, but her gaze was stubborn.

"I'm fine... Thank you!"

"Why are you here alone?" Li Xin asked again.

The girl said, "I got separated from my tour group. My phone ran out of battery, and I couldn't find my way back."

Li Xin sighed softly and asked, "Then which hotel are you staying at?"

"Jumeirah Beach Hotel!" She nodded slightly, a faint blush appearing on her face, though it was unclear if she hadn't fully recovered from the incident or for some other reason.

"Let's go, I'll take you back." Li Xin noticed nothing and just calmly hailed a taxi, got in with her, and they sat together.

In the car, the girl asked with a slightly shy smile, "Thank you so much for just now. My name is Li Jiayi. What should I call you?"

"Li Xin," he said slowly, his face devoid of emotion.

Li Jiayi spoke again, "I came to Dubai from China for a trip. I went out shopping alone today, got lost, my phone ran out of battery, and then I was targeted by those people."

"Thank you. If it weren't for you, I really don't know what would have happened!" Li Jiayi looked at him, her eyes full of gratitude.

"It's nothing. Be more careful when you're out alone in the future."

"Are you Chinese?"

"Yes."

"Are you also traveling in Dubai?"

"You could say that." Then, the two of them chatted intermittently.

Li Jiayi glanced at him, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating. When the car arrived at the hotel entrance, Li Jiayi got out, turned to him, and said, "Could I have your contact information? I'd like to treat you to a meal to thank you."

"No need."

"Then... can we add each other on WeChat?" Li Jiayi's expression dimmed slightly.

Li Xin hesitated for a moment, but eventually took out his phone and added her on WeChat.

"Thank you, Li Xin." Li Jiayi smiled and turned to walk into the hotel. He watched her back, and suddenly, he remembered something.

Li Jiayi! In his previous life, he seemed to have heard this name somewhere, but he couldn't recall it. He shook his head, got back into the taxi, and returned to the hotel.

Back at the hotel, Li Xin lay on the bed, opened WeChat, and saw a message from Li Jiayi.

"Thank you so much for today. Are you free tomorrow? I'd like to treat you to a meal."

He thought for a moment and replied, "I'm heading back to China tomorrow. Maybe next time."

"Ah, so sudden? Well, have a safe trip!" Li Jiayi replied.

"Thanks!" He replied, then put down his phone and closed his eyes.

Today's events made him realize that the Martial Arts Mastery skill was more useful than he had imagined. Although the system had given him this skill, he hadn't really used it much.

After trying it out today, he found that his body's reaction speed, strength, and coordination far exceeded those of ordinary people. He had dealt with those three men in just a few seconds. Furthermore, he felt that he had only used thirty percent of his strength. If he had gone all out, the consequences would have been much more severe. But he didn't want to cause trouble. Keeping a low profile was the best policy. He opened the system panel to check his data.

[Gold Search and Refining System]

[Host: Li Xin]

[Level: 2]

[Current Detection Range: 55 meters]

(Note: Every 10kg of gold refined adds 5 meters to the detection range)

[Accumulated Gold Refined: 0.2 kg]

[Gold Required for Next Level: 20kg]

(Tip: 19.8 kg of gold is still needed to level up)

[Armed Squad: Not Summoned]

[...]

Now, there was only 0.2 kg of gold left.

However, he had sold 9kg of gold in Dubai, exchanging it for 500,000 USD. Adding the 20 small gold bars he sold previously in Shenzhen, his total assets were roughly—500,000 USD, plus the two hundred thousand plus RMB from the Shenzhen sale, and the 0.2 kg of gold remaining in the system space. In total, that was about over three million RMB.

Over three million! In his previous life, he wouldn't have even dared to imagine this amount of money. But now, this was just the beginning. He closed the system panel, turned over, and quickly fell asleep.

Tomorrow, he would be returning to China. After returning, he still had many things to do. Find more gold, upgrade the system, build his own business empire, and protect his brothers. In this life, he would never let anyone trample him underfoot again.