104: Chapter 104 Ili River Valley - Flash Flood

It was the afternoon of the third day when Li Xin finally arrived in Almaty.

System cooling complete.

[main system status: Repair progress 70%. Stability 34%. Load limit 100%. Currently available for Extraction.]

The city wasn't large, but it was very clean. The streets were lined with trees, and the snow-capped mountains in the distance shimmered white in the sunlight. The Ili River flowed through the city; it was wide with a swift current.

He didn't enter the city. Instead, he drove northwest along the riverside road, looking for the viewing platform.

The location sent by Chen Hu was in the suburbs, about thirty kilometers from the city center. The road conditions were good; it was an asphalt road flanked by farmland and orchards.

After driving for forty minutes, he arrived.

The viewing platform was on high ground along the riverbank, a concrete platform surrounded by iron railings. It wasn't large, enough for a dozen people to stand. Below was the Ili River, its water murky and fast-flowing, with pebbles visible on the riverbank.

Two cars were parked near the viewing platform, and a few tourists were taking photos. They were chatting and laughing, seemingly a family.

Li Xin also parked his car nearby.

He then walked to the railing and began taking continuous photos of the riverside scenery with his camera.

"AI System, main system status."

[Repair progress 70%. Stability 34%. Available for Extraction. Load limit 100%. This Extraction involves multiple ore veins, and the load is expected to be relatively high; continuous monitoring is advised. Please remember, because the system functions are somewhat incomplete and unstable, once Extraction begins, it cannot be stopped.]

"How many can be extracted this time?"

[Akbak 25 tons, Gagarin 12 tons, Mugodzhar 10 tons, Ili River placer gold 25 tons. Total 72 tons. This time 60% can be extracted: 43.2 tons. Akbak, Gagarin, and Mugodzhar are ore veins with owners. The Ili River placer gold is ownerless.]

"Start it. Go slowly and control the load."

[Extraction in progress. Computing load rising gradually... Currently 35%, 52%, 68%.]

Li Xin found a shady spot and sat down.

Progress 11%. Load 71%.

Those tourists finished taking photos and drove away. Now, he was the only one left there.

The fierce afternoon sun was baking the earth relentlessly, and the river surface was still shimmering. But Li Xin couldn't feel the heat; the system had adjusted the temperature just right.

Progress 23%. Load 74%.

The sound of an engine came from afar. A minibus drove up, and seven or eight people got out. They were carrying cameras and jabbering away in Russian. It was a tour group.

They came to the viewing platform, walking around and posing in various ways for photos. Li Xin felt a bit awkward and somewhat helpless.

He had no choice but to move to the side and continue staring at the system panel.

Load 76%. Progress 31%.

The system began to fluctuate slightly.

[Detected dispersed placer gold Extraction, computing power distribution uneven. Load on some ore veins is too high. Current load 84%.]

"Readjust it!"

[Redistributing computing power. Current load 86%.]

Li Xin stared at the numbers, his fingers resting on the virtual panel. 84%, 86%, 89%—it was still rising.

"Lower the Extraction speed."

[Understood, slowing down...]

89%, 86%, 82%.

[Current load 81%. Stable. Extraction time extended by 1 hour.]

5:00 PM. Progress 42%. Load 84%.

Time slipped away quietly. The surrounding grass and trees were bowing and swaying; the wind had picked up.

It was no longer the dry, sultry desert breeze, but a cold, damp wind blowing from the river. Dark clouds gradually piled up on the horizon, layer upon layer, reaching up to the sky.

"Looks like it's going to rain. AI System, does heavy rain have a big impact on the Extraction?" Li Xin muttered to himself.

[AI System: Turbulence in the water flow will affect the stability of the placer gold Extraction, and there is a risk of the load rising. According to the weather forecast, there is heavy rainfall upstream, and the water level of the Ili River may rise. It is recommended to monitor the river channel changes.]

"Okay..."

Progress 48%. Load 86%.

"Drip... drop... drip-drop..." The rain began to fall, fine and dense, feeling cool on his face.

By now, the tourists on the viewing platform had left one after another. In the end, only Li Xin was left all alone.

He stood up, walked to the railing, and looked down.

The river level had clearly risen. It was much higher than in the afternoon, and the water had become murky. Mud and branches were churning in the current, rushing downstream in a hurry.

[AI System: Zhuzi, the Ili River water level is surging! It is rising very quickly and is likely to overflow the riverbank within two hours! The placer gold ore veins will be disturbed by the water flow, and the system Extraction will become unstable!]

As soon as the words fell, the load shot up sharply.

86%, 91%, 95%, 98%—

"Steady!" Li Xin shouted.

[Current load 99%! Extremely dangerous...! Shall I slow down now?]

"Slow down..." Li Xin confirmed hurriedly.

The load slowly fell back.

99%, 98%, 96%, 93%.

[Current load 91%. Placer gold Extraction has been reduced to the minimum rate. Main ore vein Extraction is normal.]

Li Xin let out a long sigh of relief.

The rain fell harder and harder. The wind over the river carried raindrops, pouring them onto the viewing platform. He retreated to the corner of the platform and stood against the wall.

Progress 58%. Load 89%.

Suddenly, the river water washed away a section of the riverbank. A large patch of soil slid into the water with a dull thud.

The load jumped up again.

89%, 94%, 97%, 99%—

[Emergency warning! Current load 99.5%! Exceeds safety limit by 0.5 percentage points! The system will crash in 5 minutes! Consequences: Entity acceptance passed, please prepare... No, that's wrong. Consequences: Host will be obliterated, space gold will be reset to zero!]

"Shut up! I know!" Li Xin gritted his teeth and reduced the Extraction rate of all ore veins to the minimum simultaneously.

The load stayed at 99.5% for five seconds. Five seconds felt like five years.

Then it began to fall back. 99.3%, 98%, 96%, 92%.

[Current load 88%. Safe. Extraction link has stabilized.]

Progress 63%.

Li Xin leaned against the wall, his legs feeling a bit weak.

7:00 PM. Progress 71%. Load 86%.

The rain had lessened. The river was still rising, but the speed had slowed down.

Siren sounds came from downstream.

"AI System, can you find out what happened?"

[Not entirely clear. Military and police vehicles are gathering on the roads near the mining area. It might be related to the strike.]

Li Xin didn't pay it much mind. He continued to stare at the system.

Two ordinary sedans drove onto the road on the opposite bank of the river. The cars stopped at the foot of the hill, and five or six young men got out. They were wearing sportswear and leather jackets, walking unhurriedly toward Li Xin, looking around as they came.

One of them saw Li Xin and walked straight toward him.

He was in his early twenties, with dyed yellow hair, walking with a swagger, and asked nonchalantly, "Who are you?"

Li Xin replied in Kazakh, "A tourist here. Do you need something?"

The yellow-haired man frowned and looked him up and down. Then he asked, "Just you alone?"

"Yes!" Li Xin immediately became vigilant and said calmly.

The other few men also surrounded him. They spread out, blocking the exit. The yellow-haired man stood in front, two others to his left and right, and two more behind him.

Li Xin's heart tightened.

Progress 78%. Load 83%.

"How long have you been here?" the yellow-haired man asked.

"I came here this afternoon to take photos."

"Heh heh~ Taking photos?" The yellow-haired man sneered and pointed at the overcast sky. "What kind of photos do you take in this weather?"

Li Xin didn't reply.

The yellow-haired man took a step forward. "Which car is yours?"

Li Xin pointed to his car.

"ID."

Li Xin took out his passport and handed it over. The yellow-haired man flipped through it but didn't return it.

"You, all alone, running to a place like this and staying for an entire afternoon. What exactly are you doing?"

"Sightseeing, taking photos, leisure and entertainment." Li Xin repeated.

"What kind of photos? Hand over the camera and let me see."

"Who are you? The police?" Li Xin didn't move.

The group exchanged glances. Another man wearing a leather jacket took a phone out of his pocket and waved it, though it was unclear what was on the screen. "We aren't the police. But we run this place."

Progress 83%. Load 85%.

Li Xin stared at them. Five young men, in their early twenties, with malicious looks in their eyes. Xenophobic local youths who specifically targeted lone foreign tourists for trouble.

"I'm leaving." Li Xin walked toward his car.

The leather-jacketed man blocked his path. "Did we say you could leave?"

Li Xin stopped in his tracks.

"Please move." His voice was calm, but his palms were full of sweat.

The system was still running in the background. Load 85%. Progress 86%. 14 percentage points left.

The yellow-haired man walked over and patted Li Xin on the chest. "Can't you understand human language, you motherfucker?"

Li Xin just looked at him calmly, saying nothing.

The group took a step forward, closing in.

"Hand over the money," the leather-jacketed man said.

Progress 89%. Load 86%.

Li Xin took his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out a few banknotes—about 10,000 tenge, equivalent to over a hundred yuan. He handed it over.

The yellow-haired man took it, counted it, and frowned. "Just this much?"

"That's all I have."

The leather-jacketed man scoffed and reached for the car door. The door was locked.

"Open it," he said.

Li Xin didn't move.

Progress 93%. Load 84%.

The leather-jacketed man's face darkened. He took a step forward, almost pressing against Li Xin. He smelled of smoke and alcohol.

"I'll say it again, open it."

Li Xin looked at him. Their faces were less than twenty centimeters apart.

"AI System, how much longer?" he asked in his mind.

[Estimated six minutes.]

Six minutes. He needed to stall for six minutes.

"That car isn't mine," Li Xin said.

The leather-jacketed man was stunned. "What?"

"The car is a rental. The rental agency has GPS tracking. If you touch the car, they'll report it to the police immediately."

The yellow-haired man and the leather-jacketed man exchanged glances. Progress 95%.

"Quit trying to scare us, you fucker," the leather-jacketed man said, though his tone wasn't as hard as before.

Li Xin didn't speak. He just stood there, looking at them.

Progress 97%. Load 82%.

The yellow-haired man hesitated for a moment and turned to look at his companions. One of them, who was slightly older, shook his head and whispered in Kazakh, "Forget it, let's go. This guy is a bit off."

As for what was off, he couldn't say. But Li Xin's indifferent gaze made him feel a bit unsettled.

The yellow-haired man was somewhat reluctant, but in the end, he stuffed the money into his pocket and turned to leave.

The leather-jacketed man glared at Li Xin a few times before following.

The group got into their cars and left.

[Ding... Extraction complete. Total 62 tons. Current load 76%.]

Li Xin plopped down onto the chair.

He let out a long breath. At this moment, he felt his palms were covered in sweat. Just now, he had wanted to pull out his 40-meter blade and hack at them several times. But thinking about it, he decided to endure it; failing to exercise small patience leads to ruining great plans. Obviously, the result was quite gratifying.

He opened the system panel.

[Accumulated Gold refined: 2,061.1057 tons.]

[main system status: Repairing (70%), stability 32%, requires 48 hours of cooling, load limit 100%.]

62 tons. Plus the previous 1,999 tons. 2,061 tons. Valued at approximately 577 billion.

"AI System, that legendary ancient vault discovered during the Soviet Union era but never registered. Where do you think it might be?"

[AI System: I don't know, go find it yourself...]

"Alright, alright~" Li Xin shrugged and nodded helplessly.

[AI System: However, there is a high probability it's in downtown Almaty. This requires you to Scan and search for it yourself, but you'll have to wait until the system cooling is finished before you can conduct a precise search.]

"Fine, then I'll rest for a bit first." Li Xin was silent for a moment.

"Once the cooling is done, I'll conduct the search."

"Vroom... vroom..." The car drove toward Almaty in the rainy night.

The floodwaters continued to rush down.

The lights of the viewing platform grew more and more distant, finally disappearing into the curtain of rain.