117: Chapter 117 The show is about to begin

Ai-Khanoum is in northeastern Afghanistan, near the Tajikistan border.

Li Xin drove from the border crossing for an entire day to get there.

The road was terrible—beyond description; some sections weren't even roads, just dry riverbeds filled with rocks and potholes.

The speed dropped to twenty, the steering wheel shook in his hands, and several times he almost crashed into the cliff wall.

He didn't dare drive too fast, not because of the bad road, but because there were people on it.

It wasn't a Patrol Team, but locals—riding donkeys, herding sheep, and walking along the roadside.

When they saw his car pass, they all stopped to watch, their eyes devoid of malice but not friendly either.

By the time he reached the vicinity of Ai-Khanoum, it was almost dark.

He didn't go near the ruins but found a village 25.8 kilometers south of them, exactly within the range of his System Scan.

He had calculated this, comparing maps in the car for a long time before finding this location.

The village wasn't big—a dozen households, mud houses, mud walls, and dirt roads.

There was an old mulberry tree at the entrance, its trunk crooked, but its canopy was large, casting a wide patch of shade.

Li Xin parked the car under the mulberry tree, got out, and stretched his body; sitting for too long had made his waist ache.

An old man walked out from a nearby house, wearing a gray robe and a turban, his face covered in wrinkles.

He glanced at Li Xin and said something in Dari.

Li Xin switched to Dari and replied: "Hello, sir. I would like to stay in the village for two days, is that possible?"

The old man was stunned for a moment, likely not expecting this foreigner to speak their language.

"Young man, where are you from?"

"Sir, I am Chinese."

"Chinese?"

The old man's cloudy eyes locked onto Li Xin, his thin body slightly tense.

He looked him up and down with eyes full of unfamiliar wariness, and a low inquiry rolled from his throat: "Why have you come to this remote place?"

Li Xin remained calm and composed, smiling as he explained: "It's like this, sir. I'm doing geological sampling. I got separated from my team, so I'm collecting rock specimens and doing some basic geological records in this area."

"Geological sampling?" The old man's rough voice held a hint of suspicion. "Oh? What is that for?"

"Sir, simply put, I'm just picking up some stones from the mountains to take back for research. It counts as a survey of the local geology and landforms."

After speaking, he bent down, pulled a few stones from his backpack, and handed them to the old man, his tone casual.

"Look, it's just these stones. Don't let their ordinary appearance fool you; they have great research value."

The old man took the stones, turned them over in his hands for a while, but couldn't make heads or tails of them.

He assumed they were just trinkets for students from outside to study, so he didn't think much of it and handed the stones back, shaking his head.

"I can't read a word, I don't understand these things of yours."

Li Xin smiled and put the stones away, then brought up the matter of accommodation, his tone polite: "Oh, right, sir. It's getting late now, and I still need to sample here tomorrow. Would you mind letting me stay here for the night?"

"Alright then. It's quite dangerous for you to be out in the wild alone. If you don't mind, you can stay here for now," the old man said after hesitating for a moment.

"That's great, thank you! Sir, how much should I pay for staying one night?" Li Xin asked, excited.

The old man squinted and pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, stating the price: "Just pay whatever you like. 5 dollars a night is fine."

Li Xin thanked the old man repeatedly while pulling ten dollars from his pocket and handing it over.

The old man took it, tucked it into his robe, and turned to lead him into the courtyard.

The courtyard wasn't big, with only three mud houses; in the middle was the yard, covered in hay.

In the corner grew a pomegranate tree, which even had a few small fruits on it.

The old man pointed to the room on the left. "You stay in that room. It's a bit small, just make do with it."

"Thank you, sir. This is already very good. If it weren't for your hospitality, I would have had to sleep in the wild tonight." Li Xin thanked him full of joy.

He pushed the door open and took a look; the room was furnished very simply, with only a wooden bed, a table, and a chair.

There was a blanket on the bed; it looked old but was relatively clean.

The floor was dirt, swept, but still dusty; however, this was already very good.

He could have slept in the wild, but he decided it was better to find a place to stay—mainly to keep his activities hidden.

He put down his backpack, took out some daily necessities from his space, then sat on the edge of the bed and checked the System.

Speaking of the System, sometimes Li Xin felt very frustrated; this damn System was truly unreliable.

It changed constantly, and every time he thought he knew how to upgrade it, it would throw something different at him.

When he first got it, the hint was that every 10kg of gold refined would increase the exploration range by 5 meters.

But not long after, it changed: every 5 tons consumed would only increase the detection range by 500 meters.

Later, it got worse and worse; he couldn't upgrade, and the Extraction wasn't as smooth as before.

After Extraction, it needed a cooling-off period, and it was always on the verge of collapse.

Every Extraction had to be done with extreme caution—this series of changes left Li Xin completely bewildered; he didn't know what the System would become next.

However, the only comforting thing was that no matter how it changed, the functions of refining gold and treasure hunting still barely worked.

Li Xin no longer demanded anything else; he just hoped it wouldn't crash and could still find gold and perform Extraction.

"Sigh..." Li Xin let out a soft sigh.

Watching the system panel pop up, a blue cursor blinked like a bomb counting down.

"Gold Search and Refining System 2.0 (Repairing)"

"Host: Li Xin"

"Level: 14 (Upgrading)"

"Detection Range: 27,990 meters"

"Current Cumulative Gold Refined: 2,773.8857 tons"

"Gold Required for Next Upgrade: ..."

"Intelligent Avatar: AI System"

"Repair Progress: 62%..."

(Note: System repair is difficult; repair progress is regressing. Currently, large-scale rapid Extraction is not possible; it can only be extracted bit by bit, and there is a time limit depending on the situation, with automatic cooling once the time is up.)

"Extraction Start Timer"

"Continuous Extraction Limit: 24 hours"

"Countdown: 23:59:59"

(Note: Exceeding the time will force a 12-hour cooling period, during which no Extraction can be performed.)

Staring at this line of text, Li Xin felt a mix of emotions: "Here we go again, AI System~"

"AI System: Zhuzi... Zhuzi, what's wrong with you again?"

"Why did the Extraction rules change again?" Li Xin asked, feeling very unhappy.

"AI System: You're asking me? The last few times you extracted gold, you were close to overloading each time. The System almost crashed several times. Do you know the consequences of a crash? You will die immediately."

"I know, but what does that have to do with anything? Didn't it turn out fine every time?"

"AI System: I'm speechless. You don't think you can land safely every single time, do you? Every time you've been teetering on the edge of life and death. Are you addicted to it or something?"

"Fine! I admit it. I have been blindly trusting that you wouldn't have any problems." Li Xin scratched his head, feeling a bit guilty.

"Yeah, he really thought that having a golden finger meant everything would be fine, not knowing that many people with golden fingers in the past had turned into dust."

"I'm sorry, I'll reflect on this. I will definitely be more careful in the future, I will definitely stop being arrogant and impetuous, and I will definitely complete the great cause of secretly hollowing out the world's gold mines and treasures."

"AI System: That's good. Not everyone gets a chance to start over. Cherish it. The current System adjustment is a safety protection mechanism. You don't need to worry about the System crashing due to overload anymore."

"Fine! Now that you put it that way, I understand. Every second is now as precious as a diamond." Li Xin took a deep breath and said with a smile.

"System, start Extraction of the treasure searched today."

[Extraction started. Target: Ai-Khanoum Greek ancient city treasury. Depth: 12-18 meters underground. Type: Finished gold, gems, antiques. Total estimated: 8.7 tons of gold, 3.2 tons of gems, various artifacts.]

[System load: 32%. Stable.]

Only Li Xin could see the pale blue light flowing out from the System, extending toward the Ai-Khanoum ruins.

The progress bar started to jump: zero percent, zero point five percent, one percent.

Very slow. Extremely slow. About a few kilograms per second. At this speed, it would take more than twenty hours to finish the Extraction.

Li Xin leaned against the bed, took a bottle of water from the space, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip. The water was cold; as it went down his throat, it jolted him into a bit more alertness.

Outside the window, the sky had turned completely black. The village was very quiet, with only the occasional sound of a dog barking, leaving nothing but the wind. The wind poured down from the mountains, howling, which was rather eerie.

Progress at 6%. System load at 35%.

Li Xin stared at the system panel, not daring to blink.

Late at night. Progress at 18%. Load at 38%.

He had been staring at the screen for nearly four hours, and his eyes were aching terribly. He rubbed his eyes and continued staring.

Progress at 23%. Load at 41%.

Two in the morning. Progress at 31%. Load at 43%.

He started to feel sleepy. It wasn't physical exhaustion, but mental strain from being on edge for too long. He took a can of Red Bull from the space, cracked it open, and took a big gulp. It was sweet and cloying, but he had to drink it.

Progress at 38%. Load at 46%.

Four in the morning. Progress at 46%. Load at 49%.

Dawn was approaching. A grayish-white light appeared on the eastern horizon, outlining the silhouette of the mountains. The village began to stir—chickens crowing, dogs barking, and the sound of people talking.

Li Xin pulled the curtains shut and lowered the brightness of the computer screen.

Progress at 52%. Load at 52%.

Nine in the morning. Progress at 63%. Load at 56%.

He had been sitting for nearly ten hours, and his lower back was aching severely. He stood up to stretch and walked a few steps around the room. His legs were numb, and stepping on the ground felt like walking on cotton.

Suddenly, the sound of an engine came from afar.

Li Xin stopped abruptly, walked to the window, and pulled the curtain open just a crack to look outside.

A pickup truck drove in from the village entrance; it was green and had no license plate. Five men sat in the truck bed, all wearing military uniforms and carrying guns. The truck stopped under a mulberry tree, and several men jumped out, looking around.

A treasure hunting team from a local warlord.

Li Xin's heart suddenly leaped into his throat. He took a step back, moving away from the window.

"AI System, who are they?"

[Unable to identify precisely. Suspected to be a treasure hunting team belonging to a warlord, frequently active around Ai-Khanoum.]

"Are they here for me?"

[Uncertain. But they are searching the village. They are going door to door asking questions.]

Li Xin glanced at the progress bar. 68%. Load at 58%. Eight hours left.

"Damn."

He took the stones, computer, magnifying glass, and notebook out of the space and set them on the table. He then packed away the sleeping bag and messed up the blankets.

The door was kicked open.

The leader was a man with a fleshy, mean-looking face, wearing a dirty military uniform with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing two thick arms. He held an AK-47 in his hand, the muzzle pointed at Li Xin.

"Who are you?" he asked in Dari, his voice loud, as if he were shouting.

Li Xin raised his hands, a look of fear on his face. "I... I am doing geological research."

"Geological research?" The man walked over, snatched the stones and magnifying glass from the table, took a look, and threw them back onto the table. "What do you mainly do?"

"Surveying and studying rocks." Li Xin pointed to the notebook on the table. "I have been keeping research records."

The man picked up the notebook and flipped through it; it was full of Li Xin's handwriting—coordinates, altitude, rock types, all densely written. He had started keeping these records when he was in Kyrgyzstan, specifically to handle situations like this.

The man threw the notebook back onto the table and stared at Li Xin.

"We are looking for lost gold and cultural relics. Have you seen any?"

"No. I've just been digging for rocks in the nearby mountains; I haven't seen any cultural relics."

The man turned his head and said a few words to his subordinates. Those men started rummaging through the room. Under the bed, in the corners, the ceiling—they searched everywhere they could.

Li Xin stood by the table, his hands still raised. His hands were shaking; it wasn't an act, they were truly shaking.

Progress at 71%. Load at 58%.

Those men searched for over ten minutes and found nothing. The man frowned and walked up to Li Xin.

"Your vehicle. We need to inspect it."

Li Xin took the car keys out of his pocket and handed them over.

The man took the keys and walked out of the room. The men followed behind, their footsteps heavy, thumping on the ground.

Li Xin followed them out and stood at the doorway.

They searched the car thoroughly. The trunk, the cab, under the seats, under the spare tire, they even opened the hood.

They found nothing.

The man threw the car keys to Li Xin and stared at him for a few seconds.

"How long have you been here?"

"I just arrived yesterday."

"When are you leaving?"

"In another day or two. Once I finish collecting samples."

The man snorted. "You cannot go to the Ai-Khanoum side. That area is our territory. If a foreigner goes there and gets caught, we are not responsible."

"I am not going there. Just in the mountains to the north."

The man stared at him for a few more seconds, then turned and left. The men got into the truck, and the pickup turned around and drove away.

Li Xin stood at the doorway, watching the pickup disappear at the village entrance.

His legs went weak.

He returned to the room, closed the door, and sat on the bed.

His palms were covered in sweat, and his heart was beating so fast it felt like it was about to jump out of his throat.

Progress at 73%. Load at 57%. Seven hours left.

He stared at the system panel again.

Noon. Progress at 79%. Load at 59%.

3:00 PM. Progress at 86%. Load at 61%.

5:00 PM. Progress at 92%. Load at 63%.

Countdown: 03:42:17.

He stared fixedly at the screen without blinking. The progress jumped, and with every 1% increase, his heart skipped a beat.

Countdown: 02:18:05. Progress at 96%.

Countdown: 01:07:31. Progress at 98%.

Countdown: 00:35:42. Progress at 99%.

Li Xin's fingers gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white.

Countdown: 00:17:08.

The progress bar jumped to 99.5%. 99.8%. 100%.

[Ding — Ai-Khanoum Treasury Extraction Complete.]

[This Extraction: 8.7 tons of pure gold, 3.2 tons of gemstones, and several cultural relics.]

[Obtained top-tier cultural relics: 37,000 Greco-Bactrian gold coins, one set of golden armor from the era of Alexander the Great's eastern expedition, a batch of Persian Empire court jewelry, and several Indian ivory carvings.]

[Total value of this haul: 4.2 billion USD.]

[Current cumulative gold: 2,782.5857 tons.]

The countdown jumped to 00:00:00.

The system popped up red text right on time.

[24 hours of continuous Extraction; mandatory 12-hour cooldown. No Extractions possible during this period.]

Li Xin slumped in his chair.

He let out a long sigh, his hands still shaking from excitement, unable to stop. He stared at that line, "mandatory 12-hour cooldown," with only one thought in his mind.

If that group of warlords had stayed for another forty minutes.

If the Extraction speed had been any slower.

If...

He didn't want to think about it.

He took a bottle of water from the space, unscrewed the cap, and chugged more than half of it. Water flowed from the corner of his mouth, trickling down his chin and onto his clothes.

Outside the window, it was almost dark. The village had gone quiet again; the chickens had returned to their coops, the dogs had stopped barking, and the wind had died down.

He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. There were cracks on it, stretching from one end to the other, like an expressionless mouth.

"AI System."

[Yes.]

"Next stop. Bamiyan."

[11 hours and 32 minutes until cooldown ends.]

"I know. It will be just right by the time I get there."

He began to pack up his things. He stuffed the stones, magnifying glass, and notebook into his backpack, rolled up the sleeping bag, and put it into the space.

Walking to the door, he stopped and looked back at the room.

Mud walls, dirt floors, mouse holes.

4.2 billion USD, hidden right here.

The corners of his mouth curled up, and he pushed the door open to leave.

The old man was still sitting in the courtyard; seeing him come out, he looked up.

"Leaving?"

"Yes, old man. Thank you for your hospitality."

"You're welcome. It's not easy traveling far from home, and I didn't really help much."

The old man smiled and nodded.

After some thanks and small talk, Li Xin got in the car and left.

The pickup drove out of the village and onto the dirt road. In the rearview mirror, the old mulberry tree grew smaller and smaller, finally becoming a dot that disappeared into the dust.

He glanced at the system panel.

Cooldown time: 11 hours and 08 minutes.

Bamiyan, 230 kilometers.

It will be just right by the time I drive there.

He stepped on the gas, and the car accelerated toward the distance.