113: Chapter 113 Six Hours in the Canyon

September 15th, the mountainous region south of Issyk-Kul Lake.

Li Xin had been wandering in the mountains for two days.

It wasn't that he was lost; he was looking for a specific location. He had scoured all the information on the Kumtor Gold Mine—public geological reports stated reserves of 316 tons, mining news mentioned an annual output of over ten tons, and satellite maps showed a vast expanse of grayish-white mining pits and tailings ponds. However, satellite imagery couldn't reveal elevation, terrain, which roads were accessible, or which roads had checkpoints.

On the first day, he drove south along the ring road around the lake, passed a small town, and turned onto a side road. The signpost read "Kumtor Mining Area, 40 km." After driving less than ten kilometers, a checkpoint appeared ahead. There was a barrier, a guard booth, and two people in uniform. Before his car had even come to a complete stop, one of them waved at him, signaling him to turn around and go back.

Li Xin rolled down the window and said in Kyrgyz, "Hello, I'm going into the mountains ahead to take some photos."

The man shook his head, walked over, and peered into the car.

"That's the mining area ahead; entry is prohibited. For tourism, take that road." He pointed to another side road behind him. "Go around that way."

"Does that road go up to the ridge?"

"It can get you up there, but it's a bit far. What do you want to do on the ridge?"

"I want to go up and take some pictures of the lake. Issyk-Kul Lake should look great from a high vantage point."

The man glanced at him, said nothing more, and waved for him to leave.

Li Xin had no choice but to turn around and take the detour. After driving for nearly an hour, the road became narrower and bumpier. On both sides were grayish-brown mountains with sparse vegetation, occasionally dotted with a few clumps of withered shrubs. When he reached the foot of the mountain, the road ended.

He parked the car by a dry riverbed, got out, and surveyed the terrain. Before him was a steep slope; he had to climb it to reach the ridge. According to the satellite map, once over this ridge, the other side would be the direction of the Kumtor Gold Mine.

"AI System, perform a Scan."

[AI System: The current elevation is quite low, and the mountain obstructs the view significantly. It is recommended to climb to the ridge; once the altitude is increased, the Scan radius will cover the area more effectively.]

"It feels a bit far. How long will it take to climb up there?"

[AI System: The elevation difference is only about 400 meters, and the distance is about two kilometers. At your speed, it will take about an hour.]

Li Xin looked up at the slope. The path was winding and tortuous, overgrown with shrubs and weeds—it looked exhausting just to look at, but what other choice did he have?

"Let's go~" Li Xin shook his head and then nodded in a roguish manner.

He shouldered his worn-out backpack and began to inch his way up the winding, desolate slope. His feet were tripped by weeds and blocked by shrubs, and he climbed upward, stumbling along the way.

[AI System: Zhu... Zhuzi, there might be aerial patrols in the mining area. You need to watch out for helicopters.]

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" Li Xin stopped in his tracks, his face full of resentment.

[Whether I say it or not, you still have to climb up. Don't nag; just pay more attention.]

"...Fine, you're an unreliable guy too."

[AI System: You... do you believe I'll go on strike right now? Have I been too lenient with you?]

"...I was wrong, okay?" Li Xin put on a pitiful expression.

[AI System: Can't be bothered with you. Just keep climbing your slope.]

Li Xin, being quite the rascal, continued to climb. After stopping and starting for about forty minutes, he finally reached the ridge.

The ridge was very narrow with steep slopes on both sides. The wind here was so strong that it made him a bit unsteady.

Finally, he reached a large rock, crouched behind it, and poked his head out to look down.

On the other side of the ridge was a deep canyon. At the bottom of the valley, a dry riverbed snaked its way toward the distant mountains. Across from him was an even higher ridge; the grayish-white mining pits and tailings ponds were behind that ridge, and he could vaguely see a little bit of them.

"AI System, start the Scan."

[Scanning. The current location is approximately 14,900 meters from the mining area. Please wait a few minutes.]

Li Xin took some water out of his space, unscrewed the cap, and took a big gulp. The water was cold, and drinking it made him feel a bit more refreshed. He then took out a bunch of grapes and, eating them without spitting out the skins, waited for the Scan results.

[Ding... Scan complete. This is the Kumtor Gold Mine, a super-large open-pit mine currently in operation. Reserves are approximately 316 tons. It is an owned mine; you can perform an Extraction of 60%, which is 189.6 tons. The Extraction duration is about 6 hours, with an estimated system panel load of 85% - 95%, which may approach the limit. It is recommended to perform it in batches or continuously reduce the speed.]

"Six hours, that's fine, but the load is a bit high; it's too dangerous." Li Xin muttered. "For safety's sake, should I just perform the Extraction in batches?"

[AI System: Batches are fine! Then let's divide...]

'zzzt, zzzt...' A sound rang out. It was intermittent, just like when a radio has a bad signal.

[AI System: Zhu... Zhuzi... due to interference from some unstable factors, you only have one chance to perform the Extraction for this mine; otherwise, an accident will occur.]

Li Xin became conflicted and weighed it repeatedly in his heart: "So much gold, and only one chance. If I extract in batches, I'll lose tens of tons of gold—that's a pity. But if I extract it all at once, the load is too high, which is a bit dangerous."

He paced back and forth, hesitant. After a long time, greed finally conquered everything.

"AI System, just extract it all at once. There's only one chance; I can't miss it."

[The risk is relatively high. If interference such as earthquakes or lightning occurs during the process, the load may exceed 100%.]

"You said the risk was high last time, and didn't you pull through?"

[That was just luck last time. You won't necessarily have such good luck every time.]

"Whatever, I'll take the gamble. You monitor the Extraction situation at all times and remind me in time if the load gets too high. By the way, AI System, can't you just control it directly? For example, when the load reaches 98%, can't you just lower the speed yourself?"

[AI System: No, I can only remind you; these things must be operated by the host. If the system could do everything, what would I need you for?]

"Fine, fine... I was being naive." Li Xin said, somewhat dejected.

"Start the Extraction."

[Extracting... System load is gradually rising... 58%, 72%, 84%.]

Gradually, the progress jumped to 3%. The load was at 86%.

Li Xin leaned against the rock wall and took out a small bottle of milk from his space, drinking it slowly.

At this moment, the surroundings were very quiet, with only the sound of the wind and his own breathing. From his position, he couldn't see the mining area; he could only see the ridge opposite him and the gray, hazy sky in the distance.

He checked the time: 2:00 PM. It would take until 8:00 PM.

"AI System, can I stop in the middle of these six hours?"

[You can pause, but after pausing, this mine will be locked, and you won't be able to extract from it again. Unless it's an emergency, pausing is not recommended.]

"Got it."

3:00 PM. Progress 18%. Load 88%.

Just as Li Xin was feeling bored, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shook.

It wasn't an illusion; it was a real tremor coming from deep underground, as if something had pushed up from below. Li Xin stood up abruptly, and the milk in his hand dropped to the ground.

"What's happening?"

Suddenly, a second tremor came, stronger than the first. Loose rocks rolled down from the side of the rock wall, clattering as they crashed into the canyon.

[AI System: Earthquake! A magnitude 4.1 earthquake has occurred in the surrounding area! Please watch out for falling rocks!]

"Damn it!" Li Xin hugged his head and crouched against the rock wall. The tremors lasted for about ten seconds. The mountain was shaking, and rubble was falling from all directions—some as big as fists, making dull thuds as they hit the ground. He huddled in a depression in the rock wall, waiting for it to stop.

It stopped.

His ears were ringing. He raised his head and glanced at the system panel—the load had jumped to 93%, and the progress was at 21%, having stopped and not moving forward.

"AI System? AI System!"

[...Recovering... Lagging...]

"Don't crash!"

He waited for a dozen seconds.

[Recovered. Current load 89%, progress 22%. It is recommended to reduce the speed to 70% to cope with possible aftershocks.]

"Okay, then lower the Extraction speed."

[Speed reduced. Extraction time extended by 30 minutes. Current progress 23%.]

He crouched under the rock wall, motionless.

"AI System, does this Kumtor area often have earthquakes?"

[AI System: This area is located in the Tianshan seismic belt, and small to medium earthquakes occur from time to time. It's just that anything above magnitude 4 is uncommon.]

"Then I'm really lucky to have run into this."

[Indeed. You're not getting struck by lightning anymore; it's just a small earthquake, nothing to be afraid of.]

"...Shut up. You only know how to insult me."

4:00 PM. Progress 35%.

A "da-da-da-da..." roaring sound came from the distance, traveling from over the ridge and getting closer and closer.

"AI System! Can you check what's going on?"

[AI System: Zhuzi, a patrol helicopter from the mining area is flying over! Stay hidden.]

He looked up and saw a gray helicopter flying from the direction of the mining area, the sound of its rotors echoing throughout the valley.

Li Xin hid behind the rock wall, motionless. The helicopter flew over a few hundred meters above his head and headed east. The mining area's logo on the helicopter was clearly visible.

"AI System, do you think we'll be discovered?"

[You are shielded by the rocks here; unless they use thermal imaging, they won't be able to spot you.]

"Do the mining area patrol helicopters have thermal imaging?"

[I don't know about that, but even if they do, it's generally only used during night patrols; it wouldn't be used during the day.]

The helicopter flew into the distance, and the sound gradually faded but didn't completely disappear. It turned back in the distant valley, circled around, and flew back again.

It circled three times and then headed south.

Li Xin waited until the sound had completely disappeared before slowly raising his head.

"Damn, it's finally flown away."

5:00 PM. Progress 52%.

The system panel suddenly flashed red.

[System load is increasing too quickly; current load 94%! It is recommended to reduce speed to 40%!]

"Reduce! Reduce it quickly!" Li Xin replied hurriedly.

[Speed reduced. Extraction time extended to 7 hours. Current progress 53%.]

The progress bar jumped even more slowly. For every 1% increase, he had to wait nearly two minutes. Li Xin stared at the panel, prepared to make manual adjustments at any time.

"AI System, can it hold up at this speed?"

[Current load 86%. It's within the safe range. But if there is any more interference—such as an earthquake or a helicopter approaching—the load will rise again.]

"Will the helicopter come back?"

[Not sure. The patrol frequency in this area is high; there might be a second shift.]

Li Xin gritted his teeth. Seven hours it is; it's better than crashing halfway through.

6:00 PM. Progress 62%. Load 85%.

The sky began to darken, thick clouds blocking the sunset. The canyon gradually became dim, and the wind on the ridge kept blowing endlessly.

Looking down, car headlights appeared on the dirt road at the foot of the mountain.

Several cars were slowly driving along the mountain road, heading toward the mining area.

"AI System! Check what those cars are doing!"

[AI System: Understood. This convoy should be the mining area's security patrol vehicles!! They are about 1.5 kilometers away from here.]

Li Xin crouched down and looked down through a crevice in the rock wall. Four white pickup trucks, with yellow lights flashing on their roofs, were driving slowly in a line on the dirt road. The headlights swept across the hillside, across the bushes, and swept past the bottom of the rock wall where he was hiding.

He held his breath, motionless.

[AI System: The headlights can't shine on you. The light is blocked by the protruding rock wall below; no need to worry too much.]

"Are you sure?"

[AI System: Is your brain not working? Can't you see such a simple thing yourself? Just don't make any noise or large movements, sigh... This batch of hosts is hard to manage.] As an avatar, it was truly speechless.

The convoy's speed was very slow, and Li Xin remained motionless.

After the convoy continued driving forward and rounded a bend, it was no longer visible. The lights flickered in the canyon a few times and then disappeared behind the mountain.

He let out a long breath; he had been a bit nervous just now.

"Do they patrol every night like this?"

[Based on today's observation, I infer that there is one patrol in the evening and one at night. The evening one has passed; the next one might be in the early morning.]

"Once those seven hours are up, it'll be 9:00 PM. I'll have run off long before the early morning one."

[I hope so.]

7:00 PM. Progress 89%. Load 88%.

It was completely dark. There was no moon, no stars, and clouds covered the entire sky. The canyon was left in pitch blackness.

He sat on the ground, leaning against the rock wall, and took some waxberries out of his space, popping them into his mouth one by one. They were sweet and sour, very appetizing.

"AI System, how much longer until it's finished?"

[About 45 minutes more. Current progress 92%.]

"Alright..."

Li Xin looked boredly toward the distant mining area. At this moment, the lights there were twinkling like stars, resembling fireflies dancing. He just didn't know if they were patrol cars or the mining area's work lights.

Progress 97%.

He stared at the progress bar, counting second by second.

98%.

[Ding... Extraction complete. Obtained 189.6 tons of gold.]

[Accumulated gold extracted: 2,621.3257 tons.]

Li Xin slumped under the rock wall, his back against the cold stone, motionless.

Earthquake, helicopter, patrol convoy.

They had all passed.

"AI System, what's the system status?"

[Load 76%. Requires 48 hours of cooling. Stability decreased to 32%.]

"As long as it can still hold up, that's fine."

He stood up, his legs a bit weak. He moved around a little, shouldered his worn-out backpack, and walked back along the path he had come. He descended the ridge in the dark.

Reaching the foot of the mountain, he took his car out of his space, got in, drove a distance, and only turned on the headlights once he reached the main road.

In the rearview mirror, the mountain was still the same mountain. Kumtor was still there, but its most valuable part had already been quietly taken away by Li Xin.

"AI System, are there any other gold mines around here?"

[According to the investigative data, there might be an undiscovered gold mine in the uninhabited mountainous area 85 kilometers to the southeast. The reserves should be quite good; you can go there and search.]

Li Xin stared at the screen, the corners of his mouth curling up.

"There's more..."

"Continue tomorrow."