105: Chapter 105 Almaty Crisis

Li Xin did not return to downtown Almaty until late at night.

The rain had eased up significantly, falling in a fine, dense drizzle that made a soft, rustling sound against the car windows.

He parked the car in front of a hotel and booked a high-floor luxury king room, with windows facing the city center.

After washing up, he collapsed onto the bed. He was exhausted, mostly because his nerves had been stretched too thin. The current AI System was too devious; it would crash due to overloading at the slightest provocation, leaving him constantly on edge.

Today in the Ili Valley, the load hit 99.5% in the blink of an eye, almost costing him his life. And before that, in Astana, lightning struck just a hundred meters away from him. It struck twice in a row, followed by a massive fire. Every time, it felt like it was out to get him. It was truly exhausting.

He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"AI System, how much longer does the system need to cool down?"

[Thirty-six hours remaining.]

"Are there any unextracted mines left in Kazakhstan?"

[Scanning nationwide data... Found scattered small veins and residual gold in tailings, totaling approximately 8 tons. They are distributed within a 28-kilometer radius of downtown Almaty and its suburbs.]

Li Xin frowned. "8 tons... not much, but as a dedicated and excellent King of Gold Theft, cleaning up and finishing the job is a necessary professional trait."

At the thought of this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up.

[Cleanup plan, recommended to be carried out after cooling is complete. Estimated duration: 1.5 hours. Estimated load: 70%-80%.]

"Alright~ we'll talk about it then."

He turned over, overcome by sleepiness, and quickly drifted off.

Two days later. 10:00 PM. A hotel in downtown Almaty.

The system had finished cooling and was ready.

[System status: Repair progress 61%. Stability 35%. Load limit 100%. Currently available for Extraction.]

Li Xin drew the curtains, turned off the extra lights in the room, and left only a small desk lamp on. He sat by the tea table, took a bottle of top-tier red wine from his spatial storage, opened it, and poured a glass.

He then took out a piece of top-grade Wagyu steak. Bringing it close to his nose, the rich, mellow, natural milky aroma mixed with the charred scent of charcoal grilling wafted out unrestrainedly. He cut off a small piece and put it in his mouth; it melted upon the slightest bite. The fat was refreshing and not greasy. Every bite was an ultimate treat for his taste buds. Taking another sip of red wine, it was indescribably wonderful, and he felt all the exhaustion from this period instantly vanish.

"AI System, Scan for the distribution of mineral veins."

[Received~ Scanning... Scan complete. Within a 28-kilometer radius of downtown Almaty and its suburbs, there are 11 scattered small mineral veins and 23 locations of residual gold in tailings. Totaling 8 tons, all of which can be extracted.]

"Start. Go slowly, no rush, we have plenty of time now."

[Extracting. Computational load gradually rising... 42%, 58%, 71%.]

A pale blue light surged from Li Xin's palm, extending in all directions.

Progress: 6%. Load: 74%.

At this moment, Li Xin was leisurely lying on his chair, enjoying his delicious dinner. Watching the hustle and bustle of the street outside and listening to the slight footsteps of guests occasionally passing in the hotel corridor, everything was so wonderful.

Progress: 18%. Load: 78%.

Li Xin leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed. The system was steadily extracting gold at a stable pace, and he felt extremely comfortable.

11:00 PM. Progress: 32%. Load: 81%.

Suddenly, a flash of white light appeared outside the window.

That wasn't headlights; it was lightning. Immediately after, thunder exploded, "Boom...", and the window glass rattled from the vibration.

Li Xin opened his eyes abruptly.

[Strong thunderstorm warning! Lightning strikes are causing geomagnetic distortion, and the system load is rising rapidly!]

As soon as the words fell, the load numbers began to jump.

81%, 87%, 94%, 98%——

"Slow down! Slow down!" Li Xin didn't care about savoring his food anymore and hurriedly shouted.

[Slowing down... Current load: 99%!]

Li Xin stared at the panel; 99% was the red line, and if it went any higher, it would be over.

Outside the window, another bolt of lightning struck with a "crackle...", brighter and faster than before, instantly illuminating the entire room. Immediately following was another "boom..." of thunder, making his head spin.

"Buzz..." The lights went out.

The room plunged into darkness.

Li Xin's heart tightened abruptly. He stared intently at the system panel.

[Alert...! Lightning strikes have caused the system load to rise sharply! Current load: 108%! Exceeded safety limit! The system will crash in 3 minutes!]

"Slow down! Slow down... first, lower the speed of the placer gold Extraction to the minimum! Keep only the main vein!"

[Emergency slowing down... The Extraction speed for placer gold has been reduced to the minimum. The main vein Extraction is slowing down. Current load: 105%... 104%... 103%...]

The numbers were still above 100%. Li Xin's tense heart didn't relax at all.

He could only pray continuously: "Buddha bless! All deities bless! God bless!"

102%, 101%, 100%...

[Current load: 99.5%; still above the safety line.]

"Lower it again!"

[Already at the minimum rate for a single vein. Cannot lower it further. Can only wait for it to drop naturally.]

The thunderstorm outside continued unabated, with endless lightning and thunder. "Crackle... boom... crackle... boom... crackle... boom..."

Lightning struck one after another, and the thunder was sometimes loud, sometimes soft. When it was loud, the entire hotel vibrated slightly. He didn't know if some deity was undergoing a heavenly tribulation, or if that big brother had broken a vow again...

Li Xin could only sit in the darkness, staring fixedly at the system panel. The load number jumped back and forth between 97% and 99%, like a waveform on an EKG, fluctuating up and down, making his heart fluctuate along with it.

Every time it jumped to 99%, his breathing stopped for a moment.

Only when it dropped to 97% did he dare to exhale.

This repeated a dozen times.

[Current load: 95%. Slowly decreasing. Progress: 51%.]

Li Xin let out a long breath.

Only then did he realize his back was completely soaked.

12:00 AM. Progress: 63%. Load: 89%.

The thunderstorm gradually moved away. Lightning was still flashing, but it was no longer visible, only occasionally lighting up the horizon. The thunder also became dull, like the roar of distant mountains.

Footsteps suddenly came from the corridor.

The footsteps were chaotic and messy; there must have been many people walking. Urgent and dense, the dull sound of leather shoes stepping on the carpet went "tap, tap, tap..."

Li Xin pricked up his ears.

Someone was knocking on the door across the hall, still several rooms away from Li Xin.

He heard a deep voice say in Russian: "Open the door. National Security Committee."

Li Xin's blood instantly ran cold.

"National Security? Why a surprise inspection late at night?" Despite his confusion, he hurriedly put the food he had just been eating into his spatial storage.

"AI System, how much longer until Extraction is complete?"

[Progress: 67%. Load: 86%. Estimated time remaining: 1 hour and 20 minutes.]

One hour and twenty minutes. The footsteps in the corridor went from far to near, then gradually faded away.

[AI System: Zhu... Zhuzi! Official personnel are checking rooms! They are only 5 rooms away from here, get ready quickly!]

Li Xin quickly scanned the room and cleared away any suspicious items. He found nothing suspicious; the things he carried with him were just his passport, wallet, mobile phone, and camera.

They were standard tourist gear.

The knocking sound grew closer, and soon,

Someone knocked on his door.

"Open the door. National Security Committee."

Li Xin took a deep breath and stood up. He walked to the door and looked through the peephole—two men were standing in the corridor, wearing dark uniforms and peaked caps. Their expressions were stern, and they were holding a folder.

He opened the door.

"Passport." The leading man said in Russian, his tone brooking no argument.

Li Xin handed over the passport. The man flipped through it and glanced at him a few times, comparing him to the photo.

"When did you arrive in Kazakhstan?"

"Five days ago."

"What are you here for?"

"Tourism. Photography."

The man looked at the room behind him. The curtains were drawn, a small lamp was on by the bed, a backpack was tossed on the bed, and a camera was on the table. A typical tourist setup.

"Alone?"

"Yes."

"Why did you choose this hotel?"

"Booked it online. High rating."

The man stared at him for a few seconds and returned the passport.

"Is there anyone else in your room?"

"No."

The man took a look and nodded.

"Which city did you enter from?"

"Astana."

"What places have you been to?"

"Astana, Karaganda, Ust-Kamenogorsk, and then I arrived here."

The man recorded this information in the folder and closed it.

"That's all. Sorry to disturb you."

Li Xin nodded. "It's fine."

The two men turned and left, knocking on the door of the next room.

Li Xin closed the door and locked it.

Leaning against the door, he only then realized his hands were shaking. Not because of fear, but because the system was still running in the background. Progress: 79%. Load: 83%.

He walked to the window, drew the curtains again, and sat on the bed.

"AI System, have they left?"

[The corridor inspection is still ongoing. Currently about 8 rooms away from this one. Extraction progress: 83%. Load: 79%.]

1:00 AM. Progress: 91%. Load: 76%.

The footsteps in the corridor gradually faded away. The inspection was over.

Li Xin leaned against the headboard, staring at the system interface. The thunderstorm outside had completely stopped, and the sound of rain had also lessened.

Progress: 95%. 97%. 98%.

[Ding—Extraction of scattered mineral veins across Kazakhstan complete. Total: 8 tons. Current load: 68%.]

Li Xin 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: 2,069.1057 tons.]

[main system Status: Repairing (71%). Stability 33%. Needs 48 hours of cooling.]

2,069 tons. Worth approximately 579.3 billion RMB.

Li Xin stared at this number, feeling extremely excited.

Now, he held over two thousand tons of gold, worth approximately 579.3 billion. What a massive fortune this was. It took a long time for him to calm down.

"AI System, let's head to the next target!"

[AI System: Understood. We can go to Kyrgyzstan. According to investigations, this is a world-class, super-large gold mine complex. The reserves are about twice that of all of Kazakhstan. 90% of it is ownerless and unexplored, and can be fully extracted.]

Li Xin laughed loudly: "Hahaha... That's great! But let's treasure hunt in Almaty first. It's said that there are Soviet secret treasures, Golden Man royal vaults, etc., here. It's worth our time to look for them, and finally, we'll go to Kyrgyzstan."

Li Xin closed the system panel, walked to the window, and drew the curtains.

The horizon was already starting to turn white, and the city outline of Almaty was gradually becoming clear in the morning light.

He glanced downstairs—the National Security cars from last night had already left, the streets were empty, and only a few sanitation workers were sweeping the road.

"AI System, what was that inspection last night about?"

[Not sure. But it was most likely a routine check. During multinational joint counter-terrorism exercises, such surprise inspections are very common in Almaty.]

"You scared me to death."

[To escape unscathed under the double pressure of a 99.5% load and a National Security inspection, you are already very strong.]

The corners of Li Xin's mouth curled up.

He picked up his phone and sent a message to Chen Hu: "Help me book a flight to Bishkek, three days from now."

Chen Hu replied instantly: "Understood. Boss, do you need a guide in Kyrgyzstan?"

"Yes. Find the most reliable local one."

"Good."

Li Xin threw his phone on the bed and lay down.

Muttering to himself, "Kyrgyzstan"

He slowly drifted into dreamland.