15: Chapter 15 Setting Off Again

Over the next few days, Li Xin arranged everything.

First, he signed the investment agreement with Uncle Luo. Uncle Luo called him into the office, brewed a pot of tea, and placed two contracts on the table.

"Kid, take a look." Uncle Luo pushed the contracts over. "I had a lawyer draft these; everything that needs to be written is clearly stated."

Li Xin read it carefully. Xinfa Logistics had a registered capital of 2.5 million. Li Xin invested 1 million for a 40% stake. Uncle Luo used his original assets, valued at 1.5 million, for a 60% stake. Profits would be distributed quarterly, and major issues required mutual agreement.

"No problem." Li Xin browsed through it casually and picked up a pen to sign.

Uncle Luo stopped him: "Don't you want to think about it? One million is not a small sum."

"I've thought it through." Li Xin said, "Uncle Luo, I don't understand logistics, but I know you do. I'm just the money provider; you make the calls on operations."

Uncle Luo stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed: "You kid, you've got guts. Aren't you afraid I'll lose your money?"

"Even if you lose it, it's fine." Li Xin smiled, "But I believe Uncle Luo won't let that happen."

Uncle Luo was amused by his words and patted him on the shoulder: "Hahaha, don't worry, I won't let your money go down the drain."

That afternoon, Li Xin and Qiang Zi went to find Zhao Tiezhu.

They had already found the storefront and were in the middle of renovations. The breakfast shop wasn't big, but the location was good. As soon as Li Xin entered and sat down, he saw Zhao Tiezhu solemnly pull a handwritten agreement from his chest pocket.

"Brother Li, I asked my cousin to help write this. See if it works." Zhao Tiezhu scratched his head, "He went to college, he knows more about this than I do."

Li Xin took it to look. The handwriting was crooked, but the content was crystal clear—Li Xin invested 200,000 for a 30% stake, while Zhao Tiezhu and his wife contributed technology and an additional 50,000 for a 70% stake. Below, it was written in crooked letters: "Profits distributed by shares, losses are on me."

"Who added that last sentence?" Li Xin pointed at the line and asked.

"I added it." Zhao Tiezhu said seriously, "Brother Li, your money didn't come from the wind. If I mess up, I'll sell my house to pay you back."

Li Xin shook his head and crossed out the line.

"Tiezhu, in a partnership, we share profits and shoulder losses together. If you keep that line, I won't sign."

Zhao Tiezhu was stunned. He opened his mouth, and it took a while before he could squeeze out a sentence: "Brother Li, you are..."

"That's it. Wait a moment, I'll go to the print shop and get the agreement printed properly." Li Xin waved his hand with a smile.

Soon after signing, Zhao Tiezhu insisted on treating him to a meal. The three of them sat on plastic stools at the breakfast shop, eating a plate of peanuts and a plate of cucumber salad, drinking a few bottles of beer. Zhao Tiezhu got drunk and pounded the table, saying he wanted to expand the breakfast shop city-wide and turn it into a chain. Li Xin smiled and listened to him brag without interrupting.

Next was discussing the startup with Yang Hong. Talking with Yang Hong wasn't quite as smooth.

Yang Hong was a tech fanatic who spoke quickly, his sentences always revolving around code and architecture. They met at a cafe near the school. Li Xin ordered an Americano, took a sip, and started talking.

"Yang Hong, regarding the location-based information service you mentioned last night, what's the specific direction?"

"I've thought about it carefully." Yang Hong looked serious. "The general idea is—users can use this APP to find nearby services, merchants, or interact with people nearby."

Li Xin frowned: "This track is crowded. There are already several companies doing similar things. Can we do it well?"

"I've researched this before. They just started, and they aren't doing it well." Li Xin said, "Either it's too messy or too chaotic. The user experience is poor, they haven't found the real customer needs, and they've been losing money. I heard the boss plans to give up this project. This is our chance."

"Then what's our entry point?"

Li Xin thought for a moment: "Start with campuses. University towns are good. It's a relatively closed environment, high user density, concentrated needs, and students are very willing to accept new things. We'll eat this market first, then expand."

Yang Hong fell silent for a moment, then nodded: "Makes sense. Build the product, run a model, then replicate it to other areas."

"Okay, I'll finish the work on this project. About two weeks, I can free up my hands, then I'll sort out the business plan in detail." Yang Hong nodded.

"No rush." Li Xin said, "Think about it slowly, start when you're clear."

"I've thought it through." Yang Hong pushed up his glasses, his eyes shining. "I've thought about this countless times, just lacked the funds to start. Once I finish my current orders, I'll go register the company, pull in those classmates of mine who are great at computer tech, and we'll go big."

Then he discussed it with Yang Hong for several hours, leaving only when it got dark.

With everything arranged, Li Xin started thinking about his own business. He needed more gold.

He had to go mine that vein in the Dubai desert. Last time he just went to scout it. The reserves were impressive—the system told him it was a medium-sized vein with high gold content.

This time, he needed a team. Reliable people, fighters, people who could survive in the desert.

He decided to summon the Armed Squad.

Two days before departure, he booked a flight to Dubai online, economy class, 3,200 yuan. After booking, he checked his account balance—after two investments and the ticket, he had over 1.6 million left. Enough, but not wealthy.

The night before he left, he walked up the small hill behind the school. The night wind was cold, and the campus at the foot of the hill glowed with scattered lights. He confirmed no one was around, took a deep breath, and whispered in his heart:

"System, summon Armed Squad."

A "ding" sounded in his head, as if something had settled.

[Armed Squad summoning... Summoning complete. Current team size: 5 members. Members will arrive at the host's designated location within 24 hours.]

"How will they appear?"

[The system has arranged reasonable identities and backgrounds for each member, including passports, visas, work experience, etc. Members will arrive under reasonable pretenses. Additionally—anyone drafted into the squad, once they leave the host, all memories related to the host will be wiped instantly, leaving no trace. But as long as the host gives an order, everyone will obey unconditionally, no need to worry about exposure.]

Li Xin nodded. The system's arrangements were always foolproof; he didn't need to worry about it.

The next morning, before dawn, Li Xin left with his backpack. The bag was light, containing only a few changes of clothes, his ID, and his passport. He told no one, just hailed a taxi to the airport and set off for Dubai.

Arriving in Dubai, he found a hotel to stay in. He put his things down, took a shower, and waited for the Armed Squad to arrive.

Around 3 PM, his phone rang.

"Boss, we've arrived." A deep voice came from the other end, slightly hoarse, like a throat rubbed by sand.

"Where are you?"

"The cafe across from your hotel, second floor."

Li Xin left the hotel, crossed the road, and pushed open the cafe door. He took the elevator to the second floor, and as the door opened, he saw the five men instantly.

It wasn't because they were dressed uniformly or behaving conspicuously—quite the opposite; they looked as ordinary as could be. Some were flipping through magazines, some were looking at phones, some were staring out the window, no different from other guests in the cafe. But Li Xin noticed that from the moment the elevator door opened, five pairs of eyes scanned over almost simultaneously.

The leader was in his forties, wearing a grey jacket, his hair slightly grey. He stood up from the sofa, his movements light, yet crisp like a blade unsheathed. Once standing, his feet were naturally apart, his center of gravity slightly forward, and there was no unnecessary swaying in his entire body.

"Hello, Boss. My name is Chen Hu." He reached out, his palm rough, his knuckles thick, his grip strong, but the force was controlled just right—not making one feel tested, nor appearing perfunctory.

The other four men also stood up one after another.

Zhang Long, in his early thirties, lean, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looked like an office engineer. He nodded to Li Xin without saying much.

Li Bao, twenty-seven years old, 1.85 meters tall, his shoulders as wide as a wall. He said only two words: "Li Bao." Then he stayed silent. But his eyes were cold, like winter lake water, making one's back feel cold.

Wang Jun, twenty-five or twenty-six, round face, eyes squinted into slits when he smiled. He took the initiative to reach out and shake Li Xin's hand, casually cracking a joke: "Boss, I heard the sun in Dubai is quite strong, I brought three bottles of sunscreen."

The last one to come over was Zhao Shan, around thirty, medium build, with a face so ordinary that one couldn't remember it after a glance. He stood quietly to the side, like a stone on the roadside, low-key and steady.

Five people, five different appearances. But they had one thing in common—there was a strange certainty in their eyes when they looked at Li Xin, as if they had made up their minds about something and didn't need to ask another word.

"Do you know what you're here for this time?" Li Xin probed.

Chen Hu answered quickly and simply: "The boss has a mine to exploit in the Dubai desert. We don't need to know anything else, and we won't ask. Whatever you tell us to do, we'll do."

"Not asking how dangerous it is?"

"No need." Chen Hu's tone was flat, as if he were talking about the weather, "We are only responsible for the work."

Li Xin looked at him, then looked at the other four. Zhang Long pushed up his glasses, expressionless. Li Bao still had that cold look. Wang Jun smiled and scratched his head. Zhao Shan stood there quietly.

"Good." Li Xin said, "Come with me first."

He took the five men straight to a car rental agency. Li Xin chose two off-road vehicles; they needed to be durable for the desert. When handling the paperwork, the clerk spoke a lot of English about precautions, but Chen Hu settled it with the other party in a few words.

Outside, Chen Hu took a key, opened the car door, and looked back at Li Xin.

"Boss, where to?"

Li Xin sat in the passenger seat and pointed to the endless yellow-brown expanse ahead.

"Desert."