101: Chapter 101 Wildfire Cannot Burn Out

Kazakhstan, Astana.

Li Xin flew in from Tashkent and didn't land until the afternoon.

The airport was small, and he waited in line for half an hour for a visa on arrival.

The customs officer flipped through his passport back and forth, checked it repeatedly, and finally stamped it to let him enter the country.

Walking out of the airport, he spotted Chen Hu at a glance; Chen Hu was already waiting at the exit. This time, he had switched to a gray Toyota SUV with Kazakhstan license plates.

"Boss, the hotel is booked. It's in downtown Astana, about twenty kilometers from the viewing platform you want to visit."

"Good. What about the car?"

"I rented two. You can drive this one, and there is another one on standby at the hotel."

Li Xin nodded and got into the car.

Astana is a young city, and everything looks brand new.

Wide streets and ubiquitous glass-curtain high-rises make it a completely different world from Uzbekistan.

At this moment, Li Xin had no mind to look at the scenery; he opened the map on his phone and reviewed the locations of several gold mines in the north once more.

Vasilkovsky, Bestobe, Akbakai, and Zholymbet—the four mines were all distributed within a radius of twenty kilometers, and all were within the System's 27,990-meter Scan range.

In other words, he only needed to stand at one spot to wipe out all four mines at once.

"AI System, main system status."

[Repair progress: 68%. Stability: 36%. Extraction in batches is recommended.]

"If I extract from all four mines simultaneously, will it overload?"

[Yes~ And be aware that once Extraction begins, it cannot be stopped; you can only reduce the Extraction speed. It is recommended to reduce the Extraction rate and extend the Extraction time.]

"Extend it by how much?"

[Normally four hours. It is recommended to extend it to seven hours.]

Li Xin frowned and said nothing.

Two o'clock the next morning, in the suburbs of Astana.

The viewing platform was on a small hill north of the city; the altitude wasn't high, but the view was expansive.

Li Xin parked his car in the parking lot halfway up the mountain and hiked up.

The grasslands in the early morning were very quiet, and the wind blowing over carried the scent of dry grass and soil.

There was a small wooden viewing platform at the top of the mountain, capable of holding about ten people.

There was no one there when Li Xin arrived. He sat down on a bench, took a phone stand out from his space, mounted it on the railing, and turned on the time-lapse photography.

—Tourist disguise.

Then he found a place to sit down.

"System, Scan the Vasilkovsky, Bestobe, Akbakai, and Zholymbet gold mines."

[Scanning... Scan complete. Total reserves of the four gold mines: 558 tons. 60% can be extracted this time: 334.8 tons.]

"Start synchronous Extraction of the four gold mines."

A pale blue light, visible only to Li Xin, surged out and extended deep into the grasslands.

Li Xin could feel the system running crazily, and the computing power load soared from 0%—15%, 30%, 60%, 78%...

[Synchronous Extraction of multiple mines, system operating load increasing too quickly. Current load 78%, please prepare for buffering...]

Li Xin leaned back on the chair and stared at the system panel.

The progress bar was jumping, but it was jumping very slowly; he had to wait nearly two minutes for every percentage point.

He gritted his teeth. "I'll wait, then."

Three o'clock in the morning, one hour of Extraction completed. Progress: 24%.

The sound of an engine came from afar. Li Xin looked up; a white pickup truck was driving up from the foot of the mountain with yellow lights flashing on its roof.

—Forestry patrol vehicle.

The pickup parked below the viewing platform, and two men in uniforms got out. One lit a cigarette, and the other kicked a stone into the grass.

They didn't come up but stood by the car chatting. They were speaking Kazakh, which Li Xin couldn't hear clearly, but judging by their tone, they were just making small talk.

He didn't move, continuing to stare at the system panel.

The pickup stayed for ten minutes and then drove away.

Four o'clock in the morning. Progress: 38%.

The system panel suddenly flashed red.

[Warning: Computing power is about to overload! Current load 95%! Automatically reducing speed by 50%, Extraction time will double. Do not force operation!]

Li Xin felt somewhat helpless. "Reduce speed now? How long will it take to finish then?"

[At the current Extraction rate, it is estimated that another six hours are needed.]

"Six hours? It will be daylight by then!" Li Xin was a bit annoyed.

[AI System: If the system load exceeds 100%, given the current state of this system, the chance of a crash is as high as 98%! If you want to be wiped out of existence, feel free to force the overload Extraction.]

Li Xin's face was downcast, and he was choked into silence.

Six hours it is. His life was more important.

He then patted his pocket, took out a cigarette, and lit one.

Five o'clock in the morning. Progress: 52%. The sky was beginning to brighten.

On the eastern horizon, layers of drifting clouds were gradually dyed orange-red. The mist on the grasslands slowly rose and dissipated, and the sounds of cattle and sheep could be heard from time to time in the distance. The sunrise on the grasslands was as beautiful as a painting.

Li Xin stood up to stretch his body. He had been sitting for too long, and his backside was really uncomfortable.

He walked to the railing and enjoyed the beautiful scenery before him.

Five-forty in the morning. Progress: 68%.

At this moment, the wind and clouds in the sky suddenly changed drastically. The orange-red clouds from just a moment ago disappeared, replaced by overwhelming black clouds rapidly pressing in. Those black clouds looked like a tall, towering city wall, or like thousands of troops and horses galloping forward, poised to destroy all obstacles.

"Damn..." Li Xin cursed under his breath.

The sky darkened rapidly. The dark, oppressive cloud layer piled up from the ground to the sky and was getting closer and closer. The bottom of the clouds was churning violently, and lightning flashed wildly within them.

The gale arrived first.

The sunshade on the viewing platform was blown about with a rattling sound, Li Xin's hair danced wildly in the wind, and he squinted his eyes.

Then, raindrops fell like pebbles, hitting his face with stinging pain.

Li Xin hurriedly pulled up the hood of his jacket and hid to the side.

Suddenly, with a "crack," a bolt of lightning tore through the clouds and struck less than two hundred meters in front of the viewing platform. White light exploded, followed immediately by a deafening "boom" that made Li Xin's ears buzz, and the ground trembled.

Li Xin's hair stood on end instantly; his heart felt like it was being gripped by something, he even forgot to breathe, and he was exceptionally terrified.

Before he could recover, another bolt of white light tore through the clouds, "Crack... boom... rumble..." striking even closer, estimated at less than one hundred meters away.

Li Xin was numb by this point. He felt like kneeling down and singing "Conquer," then reflecting on whether he was deeply sinful.

He remembered that he often did good deeds and accumulated merit. For example, last time, he saw an eighty or ninety-year-old man hesitating on a crosswalk, afraid to cross the street. Without a word, he ran over and thoughtfully helped the stranger cross the street, supporting his trembling frame.

In the end, he faintly heard the old man thanking him. "What 'thank you,' young man? I was just taking a walk on this side; it was you... who helped me across." He had been in a hurry then and hadn't heard clearly. He had done countless such good deeds.

"Crack... rumble..." The lightning and thunder pulled Li Xin back to reality. He hurriedly muttered, "Bless me, all kinds of deities... Buddha bless me... God bless me..."

While he was muttering incessantly, he suddenly paused. He seemed to have seen something. He steadied himself, rubbed his eyes, and looked carefully. In the distance, there was a small flame in a patch of dry grass.

The strong wind blew, and the small flame licked the withered grass. Taking advantage of the wind, it instantly burned into a patch.

The fire line spread toward the viewing platform at a speed visible to the naked eye. Thick smoke rose instantly, and as the strong wind blew, it charged straight at Li Xin, choking him into coughing.

[System Emergency Warning: Intense geomagnetic disturbance! Extraction is being interfered with! Current load 99%! System is about to crash!]

"Hold steady!" Li Xin yelled, gritting his teeth.

[Crash Consequences: All extracted gold will be returned, mine veins permanently locked! Host will depart to eternal bliss!]

Li Xin's brain buzzed. "Returned? Locked? And a funeral feast? Good heavens... this is going to cost me my life."

He couldn't care about anything else and quickly called out: "System, reduce speed, reduce it further! Distribute the computing power across the four mines; reduce whichever mine has the high load."

A few minutes later, the system load dropped. Li Xin plopped onto the ground and let out a long sigh of relief.

"Hmm? I... holy sh*t..."

He saw the fire on the opposite side getting closer and closer. Thick smoke billowed, obscuring half the sky.

Bursts of sirens came from the foot of the mountain. He saw many Ministry of Internal Affairs patrol cars and fire trucks speeding over.

The fire triggered an emergency response, alerting the entire grassland.

Li Xin saw two patrol cars drive up from the foot of the mountain and head straight to the top.

Their lights flashed, the doors opened, and four uniformed police officers got out. They checked the vehicles and people on the mountain one by one.

Li Xin was the only one on the mountaintop.

He took a deep breath, took his phone off the stand, opened the camera, and took a few pictures in the direction of the fire.

His face showed the expression a tourist should have: shock and nervousness.

A police officer walked over.

He was around forty, sturdy, with a sun-reddened face, wearing a dark blue uniform.

He walked up to Li Xin, looked him up and down, and said in Kazakh: "It's dangerous here; everyone must evacuate immediately."

Li Xin understood. He glanced at the system panel—progress 95%. Almost there; he just needed to hold on for a few more minutes.

"I want to help put out the fire," he said in Kazakh.

The police officer was stunned for a moment, probably not expecting this foreigner to speak Kazakh.

But he quickly shook his head: "Not necessary. The fire brigade has arrived. You must leave quickly; it's too dangerous here."

"My car is below; I can help transport water..."

"Not necessary." The police officer interrupted him, his tone brooking no argument. "You are not a professional; it's not safe here. You must leave immediately."

Progress 98%.

Li Xin opened his mouth, wanting to say something more. The police officer had already grabbed his arm: "Let's go!"

At that very moment...

[Ding... Extraction of the northern mining area complete. Vasilkovsky 214.8 tons, Bestobe 45 tons, Akbakai 57 tons, Zholymbet 18 tons. Total: 334.8 tons.]

Li Xin did not hesitate any further: "Alright, I'm leaving now."

The two of them turned and walked down the mountain.

They had only walked a dozen steps when a roar suddenly came from behind them, like something exploding. They turned back at the same time.

They saw a gust of wind sweeping over the grasslands, and the fire suddenly shot up several meters high.

Tongues of fire lunged forward, aided by the wind, at an incredible speed. The fire line, which had been a hundred meters away, closed in by half in the blink of an eye.

"Holy sh*t... run!" the police officer shouted.

Li Xin accelerated abruptly, and the two of them rushed down the viewing platform steps. Behind them, heat waves rolled, and the firelight illuminated the entire hillside in a deep red.

Gravel rolled down under their feet with a clattering sound. Li Xin stumbled and almost fell, but the police officer grabbed him by the back of his collar and pulled him up.

"Don't look back! Run!"

They ran past the first section of the boardwalk; the wooden planks behind them had already started smoking. Tongues of fire licked the wood, making a crackling sound.

The second section of the boardwalk. Li Xin's lungs felt like they were about to explode, but he didn't dare stop.

A loud cracking sound came from behind—the railing of the viewing platform collapsed, and flames shot into the sky.

The police officer running in front of him suddenly stopped. The boardwalk ahead was half-blocked by falling burning planks, with flames shooting out from the gaps.

"Jump over!" the police officer shouted.

Li Xin took a deep breath, took a few running steps, and leaped over.

He twisted his ankle when he landed, but he gritted his teeth and kept running.

They reached the parking lot at the foot of the mountain.

Li Xin turned to look; the entire mountaintop was now a sea of fire. The wooden structure of the viewing platform collapsed into the flames, and sparks were blown into the air by the wind, looking like fireworks.

Li Xin leaned back on the seat, panting heavily. His throat felt like it had been scrubbed with sandpaper; it was dry and painful.

The police officer glanced at him and said nothing.

His face was covered in ash, and it looked like half of his eyebrows had been burned off.

"You almost died back there," he said.

"I know. Thank you," Li Xin said, bowing slightly, thanking him sincerely.

"You wanted to help put out the fire just now." The police officer stared at him, somewhat speechless. "You have no fire extinguisher, no protective gear, not even gloves. How were you going to help?"

Li Xin was silent; he couldn't explain the real reason.

"I saw the fire, was a bit stunned, and didn't think that much."

The police officer stared at him for a few seconds and shook his head.

"Next time you encounter a situation like this, evacuate quickly. A fire like this is very dangerous."

Li Xin nodded.

The police officer left in a hurry, presumably to assist with the rescue.

Li Xin watched the fire in the distance with lingering fear, then got into his car.

He glanced at the system panel.

[Cumulative gold extracted: 1595.3057 tons.]

[main system status: Repairing (68%). Stability: 34%. Requires 72 hours of cooling.]

[AI System clone: Online.]

334.8 tons. Plus the previous 1260 tons. 1595 tons. Value: approximately 446.6 billion.

Li Xin took out a bottle of water and took a big gulp.

Just then, his phone vibrated. A message from Chen Hu: "Boss, there's a situation in East Kazakhstan. Kazzinc workers are on strike, and the area around the mining site is under martial law."

Li Xin frowned. "Is it serious?"

"The miners blocked the road, and the military and police have already entered. It is recommended to postpone going there for a few days."

"Alright, I'll go over in two days to take a look."

"Boss..."

"Enter from the periphery; don't go into the mining area. You find a path first."

Chen Hu was silent for a few seconds. "There is one. There's an old exploration road behind the mountain; it's abandoned but passable. I'll send you the location."

"Good."

Li Xin threw his phone onto the passenger seat and stepped on the gas.

East Kazakhstan. Heavy rain. Rockfalls. Martial law. Strikes. One after another.

He gritted his teeth and accelerated forward.