100: Chapter 100 Extracting Almalek

1:00 AM. Tashkent.

When the alarm went off, Li Xin was dreaming. He dreamed he was eating hot pot on the balcony of One Shenzhen Bay, the pot boiling, tripe dipping in and out, and just as he was about to put it in his mouth—the alarm rang.

He reached out, found his phone, turned it off, and stared at the ceiling for a while.

The hot pot was gone.

"Damn it." He cursed, rolled over, and sat up.

After a quick wash, he pulled some lobster and abalone out of his space and devoured them. Belching and picking his teeth, he went to the back door of the hotel, started the black SUV that Chen Hu had driven over last night, and headed toward the spot he had scouted yesterday. It was about seventy kilometers from the abandoned farm on the outskirts of Almalyk, at least an hour and a half drive.

There was no need to hesitate. The car drove through the quiet streets. It was the middle of the night, and the streets were empty, with only the dim yellow streetlights illuminating the road ahead.

Soon, he left the city and reached the highway. Everything around was pitch black, with only the occasional pinprick of light visible from distant villages.

Li Xin was feeling a bit drowsy, so he thought for a moment and rolled down the car window, letting the cold wind blow in to wake himself up a bit.

"AI System, what is the status of the main system now?"

He waited for a dozen seconds.

[Repair progress: 67%. Stability: 38%. It is recommended to perform the Extraction in batches tonight.]

"In two batches?"

[Yes. 120 tons per batch. One-hour interval.]

"Will I get spotted during the Extraction like at Muruntau?"

[Uncertain. There are no watchtowers around Almalyk. However, there is a Patrol Team in the mining area, and their routes are uncertain.]

Li Xin frowned. "Uncertain, that's a bit troublesome, isn't it?"

[They patrol twenty-four hours a day. The routes are not fixed. It is recommended to remain vigilant during the Extraction.]

"Got it."

He rolled up the window and focused on driving.

2:10 AM. Dry riverbed.

The car turned onto a dirt road, and Li Xin turned off the headlights, driving forward in the dark.

Two kilometers. One kilometer. Five hundred meters.

He arrived.

He put the car into his space and then arrived at the spot he had scouted last night.

After observing for five or six minutes, he found nothing unusual—no sounds, no lights, and no people.

He took a deep breath; the smell of dirt and dry grass was comforting. He found a hidden spot and sat down.

"System, Scan."

[Scanning... Ore vein located. Almalyk Gold Mine, total reserves 400 tons, 240 tons available for Extraction this time.]

"Split it into batches. Extract 120 tons first."

[Extraction in progress.]

A pale blue light, visible only to Li Xin, surged out and extended toward the mining area ten kilometers away. It was more stable than before and didn't flicker as much.

Li Xin stood up, leaned against the riverbank, and pulled an apple out of his space. He took a crunchy bite; it was simply wonderful. It was a pity he had to drive, otherwise a glass of red wine or Maotai would have been even better.

"AI System, this Extraction should be fine, right? Why do I feel a bit nervous?"

[I think there shouldn't be any problems this time.]

"Where do you get your confidence from?"

[The main system's repair progress is higher than before. The stability is also higher.]

"You call 38% high?"

[It is two points higher than the 36% during the last time at Muruntau.]

Li Xin didn't reply. He took another bite of the apple. The progress bar was moving. 2%, 4%, 6%—

He stared at the interface, his mind turning to another matter. Almalyk was an underground mine, not an open-pit mine. The ore vein was 800 to 1,200 meters underground, accessed via a decline ramp. The surrounding rock layers had been mined, and the structure was unstable.

"AI System, will Extraction from an underground mine cause a collapse?"

[Previously, it wouldn't, but now... it's hard to say. However, the probability of it happening is not high; since we are only extracting gold, it basically doesn't destroy the rock layer structure.]

"But what if it does?"

[Then we will split it into even smaller batches. We will lower the energy output each time to reduce fluctuations.]

"Then let's wait and see."

[The risk is already very low.]

Li Xin didn't ask again. He continued to stare at the progress bar.

2:40 AM. The progress was only at 22%.

The sound of an engine came from the distance.

Li Xin looked up. The sound came from the direction of the mining area, getting closer and closer. Judging by the sound, it should be several vehicles coming this way.

Without too much hesitation, he walked quickly to the corner of the riverbank, squatted down, and hid behind it.

The high beams of the cars swept over the top of the riverbed.

He lowered his head.

The lights quickly moved away, and the engine sounds gradually faded.

"AI System, can you tell where these vehicles are from?"

[These should be vehicles from the mining area; all four vehicles have the mining area logo. They were only eight hundred meters away from here, but they are now heading to the north of the mining area.]

"So, these are the Patrol Team vehicles from the mining area?"

[Uncertain, it might be a shift change. There are a large number of heat sources moving in the dormitory area within the mining zone.]

Li Xin waited for a few seconds, confirmed there was no sound, and then stood up.

He sat back down by the riverbed.

Progress was at 31%.

3:00 AM. Progress was at 43%.

The main system interface suddenly flashed rapidly.

Li Xin tightened his fingers. "What's going on?"

[The system was unstable and stuttered for a moment, but it has recovered now.]

"Are you sure?"

[Yes. The current Extraction rate is stable.]

3:20 AM. Progress was at 56%.

A sound came from the distance again. It wasn't the sound of a vehicle; this time, it was people.

Li Xin held his breath and retreated to the corner of the riverbank.

At the entrance of the riverbed, two people were talking. It was Uzbek, spoken quickly with a local accent.

"...Have you checked this side?"

"No. That place is too remote; it doesn't matter if we don't come. Just wander around a bit, go through the motions—why be so serious?"

"But the captain said there have been suspicious vehicles recently and told us to be careful."

"Suspicious vehicles? Where? How come I don't know about it? The captain is just too serious. We are just small fry, why bother with so much? Learn from this, rookie!"

"Alright... I got it, boss. Anyway, he told us to patrol more."

The footsteps stopped at the entrance.

Li Xin pressed his hand against the folding knife at his waist.

"Why don't we go over there and take a look?" one of them said.

"Go? Why go? It's so dark there. What if there are snakes? Wouldn't that be very dangerous?"

"Tch~ You're just lazy."

"If you're so diligent, you go. I'll wait here for you."

They were silent for a few seconds.

"Hehe~ I was just saying it casually. Let's go, it's time to go back and report. It's almost dawn."

The footsteps faded away.

Li Xin waited until it was completely quiet before letting out a breath.

His palms were full of sweat.

He wiped them and squatted back down.

Progress was at 62%.

Time passed bit by bit.

"AI System, how much longer until the first batch is finished?"

[Eleven minutes remaining for the first batch.]

4:31 AM.

[Ding—First batch Extraction complete. Obtained 120 tons of gold. Purity: 99.99%.]

Li Xin let out a long breath, a surge of joy welling up in his heart.

Sitting on the riverbank, he took out a roasted lamb leg. With a sizzle, he tore off a piece. The lingering fragrance filled his mouth, and he chewed slowly, feeling incredibly comfortable.

"Continue. Second batch."

[Second batch Extraction. Target: 120 tons. Estimated time: one hour.]

"AI System, why is it much faster this time?"

[During the first Extraction, the system had already consumed energy to build the Extraction channel. It will be easier to extract now.]

"Alright!" Li Xin didn't speak, watching the progress bar start jumping again.

0%, 1%, 2%—

4:50 AM. Progress was at 18%.

The sputtering sound of a motorcycle came from outside the riverbed.

Li Xin squatted behind the riverbank, motionless.

Soon, the sound gradually faded away.

"AI System, does the Patrol Team have motorcycles?"

[Of course they do. There are motorcycle patrols on the periphery of the mining area, mainly traveling on small roads and around the villages.]

"Does this riverbed count as a small road?"

[It does. But the one just now didn't come in; it just passed by.]

5:00 AM. Progress was at 35%.

The horizon had slowly begun to turn from black to bright; it would be dawn in an hour.

"AI System, can the second batch be completed within an hour?"

[Yes. The current rate is stable; it is expected to be completed at 5:30.]

"That's good."

5:20 AM. Progress was at 58%.

5:35 AM. Progress was at 79%.

"AI System, will the Almalyk mine suffer a large-scale collapse because of our Extraction?"

[No. After the system extracts the gold, the rock layers will rearrange themselves. Minor movements are normal. Unless the rock layer structure of the mining area itself is already extremely unstable—]

"What happens if it's extremely unstable?"

[Then a collapse is only a matter of time. It has nothing to do with our Extraction.]

Li Xin didn't ask again.

5:48 AM. Progress was at 91%.

A chorus of dog barking came from outside the riverbed, rising and falling as if they had been startled by something.

"AI System, what's going on?"

[It's possible someone passed by the distant village and startled the dogs.]

"Patrol Team?"

[Uncertain. No vehicle engine sound was detected. It might be pedestrians.]

The dog barking continued for a while and then gradually stopped.

5:55 AM. Progress was at 97%. 98%. 99%.

[Ding—Second batch Extraction complete. Obtained 120 tons of gold. Purity: 99.99%.]

[Almalyk Gold Mine cumulative Extraction: 240 tons. 60% of the extractable quota for this mining area has been used up.]

[Cumulative gold refined: 1260.5057 tons.]

Li Xin stared at this number for three seconds.

1,260 tons of gold, currently worth 352.8 billion RMB.

He stood up; his legs were a bit numb, so he stomped his feet.

He walked to the hidden spot, took out the car, and drove away without looking back. He left in such a dashing and elegant manner. This act of showing off was a perfect ten out of ten, but unfortunately, no one knew—no one knew that a guy had secretly extracted 240 tons of gold here in one night.

He didn't return the way he came; he drove in another direction, took a detour, and then got back on the highway.

The deep gray of the sky turned to light gray, and the light gray turned into a fish-belly white.

After driving for about fifteen minutes, a village appeared ahead.

This should be the village where the old man from yesterday lived.

Li Xin slowed down and drove through the middle of the village.

He didn't run into the old man, and he didn't know where his house was, but all of that was irrelevant now.

He stepped on the gas and accelerated out of the village.

Soon, he was on the highway. It was already bright out.

The sun emerged from the ridge line in the east, shining on the windshield, dazzling.

Li Xin lowered the sun visor and rolled down the window. The morning wind was a bit chilly, carrying the scent of dew from the fields.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Chen Hu.

"The matter in Uzbekistan is finished. Help me book a flight to Kazakhstan."

Chen Hu replied instantly: "Okay, boss. When should I book the flight for?"

"Book it for the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll book it right now."

Li Xin put his phone in his pocket and leaned back in the chair.

He opened the system panel.

[Gold Search and Refining System 2.0] (Repairing) [Host: Li Xin] [Current Level: 14] [Detection Range: 27,990 meters] [Cumulative Gold Refined: 1260.5057 tons.] [Gold required for next upgrade: ...] (Note: main system status: Repairing (67%). Stability: 36%. Requires 48 hours of cooling.) [AI System avatar: Online.]

"AI System, what does the data say about the gold mines in Kazakhstan?"

[The gold resources are rich, with proven reserves of approximately 2,500 tons. Most are independent gold mines + copper-gold associated mines, with associated mines contributing over 60% of the output.]

"Associated mines. What a pity, the system can only refine gold. Other minerals cannot be refined."

"With the current scanning range, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"

[No problem. The current scanning range is 27,990 meters. The mining area is about fifteen square kilometers; we can extract from the periphery without needing to enter the mining area.]

"That's good."

Li Xin closed the panel and stepped on the gas. The car sped along the highway. The fields on both sides flew backward.

He squinted his eyes, looking at the road ahead.

Next stop: Astana, Kazakhstan.

Wait for me.

Suddenly, Li Jiayi sent a message.

"The additional investment in stocks has been completed this week. A cumulative total of 25 billion has been bought."

Li Xin replied with a "Good" and threw his phone onto the passenger seat.

It was completely bright out, and the newly risen sun shone on his face, warm and cozy.

He couldn't help but yawn; after refining gold all night, he was now drowsy.

However, it would still take two hours to get to Tashkent.

He had no choice but to turn on the stereo and hum along while driving on the highway.