158: Chapter 158 Overwhelming Hatred

Outside the car window, the sky in Kagoshima was gray.

Li Xin leaned back in his chair, eyes closed. The Shinkansen jolted, and he opened his eyes to look outside. Farmland, hills, utility poles—just like when he arrived.

AI System rolled over on the panel.

"Zhuzi, where to next?"

"Let's keep looking around."

"Still looking? Haven't you noticed something's wrong?"

Li Xin didn't reply.

AI System popped up the Scan log.

"Sado 22.3 tons, Akagi Mountain 18.2 tons, Hishikari Gold Mine 20.4 tons. Total 60.9 tons. How many places have you been to this trip? Niigata, Gunma, Kagoshima—you've crossed most of the Japanese Military."

"So what?"

"So, have you thought about why it's so little?"

Li Xin watched the window. Fields blurred past; a farmer was squatting on a ridge smoking, face unclear.

"You tell me."

"Two possibilities. First, most of the hidden gold recorded in historical documents was long ago secretly excavated and moved by the Japanese Military authorities. Second, the signals detected by the system aren't just these, but you only scanned from Sado to Akagi Mountain, and Akagi Mountain to Hishikari Gold Mine. The span is too large; how much did you miss in between?"

Li Xin said nothing.

"Do you think the Japanese Military only has this much wealth? How much did they loot back then? Gold, silver, artifacts—it's uncountable. Where did all that stuff go?"

Li Xin tapped his fingers on the armrest.

"Keep scanning."

"Scan where?"

"The whole country. From north to south, leave no blind spots."

AI System was silent for a moment.

"A full-territory Scan takes time, and many areas exceed the single-Scan range. We'll have to do it in segments. Are you sure you've thought this through?"

"I've thought it through."

The Shinkansen entered a tunnel, and the view outside went black. The lights inside the carriage were on. He could see a middle-aged man in the opposite seat reading a book, his hair graying, wearing reading glasses.

Li Xin stared at the man for a few seconds. He recalled something. A few years ago, he saw on the news that a certain temple in the Japanese Military discovered an underground secret cache filled with ancient artifacts.

Another time, a construction site dug up a large amount of copper coins, reportedly buried during World War II.

How did the authorities handle those things? The report said they were handed over to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, but then? No follow-up.

The train exited the tunnel, the light blinding.

"Continue searching, full territory..."

Over the next five days, Li Xin didn't rest.

Scanning and searching from Kagoshima northward; Miyazaki, Kochi, Okayama, Tottori, Shimane—stopping for one day in each prefecture, finding a good spot, activating the system, waiting for results.

Miyazaki, nothing; Kochi, nothing.

Okayama, scanned a small cache, Edo-period copper coins, several thousand, worthless.

Tottori and Shimane were also empty.

When he reached Hiroshima, AI System picked up a signal.

"Fifteen meters underground, Shogunate-era hidden gold, 3.2 tons."

Li Xin stood on the roadside, checking his phone map. The signal point was in downtown Hiroshima, now a commercial street filled with shops and office buildings. He squatted down and pressed his hand on the sidewalk bricks.

"Extraction."

3.2 tons, less than ten minutes.

He clapped his hands and continued walking.

Osaka, found two small treasures: one in the north of the city, twenty meters underground, 2.8 tons; one in the east, thirty-five meters underground, 1.5 tons.

Kyoto, scanned for a whole day. Many historical sites, complex underground structures. AI System spent half a day filtering out invalid signals. Finally locked onto three spots, in a temple, an old house, and an old warehouse, totaling 6.4 tons.

Nagoya, found one spot: 4.1 tons.

Yokohama, two spots: 3.7 tons.

Chiba, one spot: 1.2 tons.

Ran for five days, scanned most of Honshu, total gold 22.9 tons.

Li Xin sat on a bench by Yokohama port, watching the sea. Cargo ships were coming and going, the foghorns muffled. Seagulls screeched overhead.

AI System reported the total.

"Adding the previous 60.9 tons, now 83.8 tons."

Li Xin lit a cigarette. The smoke dissipated in the sea breeze, gone quickly.

"Just this much?"

"That's all for now."

"The Japanese Military only has this much family wealth?"

"There might be more, but not within the scanning range. Some places exceed the fifty-kilometer radius; you need to go there in person."

"Where?"

"Hokkaido, and Shikoku. You haven't set foot in these two places yet."

Li Xin was silent. Hakodate, Sapporo, Asahikawa in Hokkaido; Takamatsu, Matsuyama, Tokushima in Shikoku—these areas had historically yielded gold mines, but reserves were limited, and they were marked as exhausted mines by the authorities years ago.

But with the system, maybe there could be gains.

"Fine, then let's go to Hokkaido." Li Xin steadied himself.

Immediately, Li Xin booked a flight for the next morning. From Haneda to Sapporo, a little over an hour.

After arriving in Sapporo, Li Xin took out the vehicle and started a full-area Scan. The whole city yielded nothing, so he drove north.

Reaching Asahikawa, the detection signal was still blank; then to Wakkanai, still nothing. Until arriving at Abashiri, the instrument finally captured a faint signal. The vein was eight meters underground, estimated at 2.1 tons.

Li Xin stood by Lake Abashiri, looking at the mountains in the distance. The snow hadn't melted yet, the peaks white.

The harvest in Shikoku was even slimmer. Scanned all the way, no trace of gold mines in the entire region. Nothing in Matsuyama. By the time he reached Tokushima, the detector finally reacted.

Digging up the soil, it turned out to be several hundred Edo-era silver coins. A decent amount, but not worth much.

Li Xin sat on the pier at Tokushima Port, staring blankly at the sea.

"Zhuzi, you've run this whole trip, scanned most of the Japanese Military, plus the previous, it's only 85.9 tons. It really is too little. I have a guess..."

"Speak."

Li Xin didn't speak.

"Two possibilities. First, most were transported back after the Japanese Military, melted into gold bars, and stored in the national treasury. Second, secretly transferred, not in public records."

"National treasury?"

"The official gold reserves of the Japanese Military are over eight hundred tons. But that's not hidden gold; that's the national reserve on the books. If you try to touch that, it's equivalent to declaring war on the Japanese Military. Besides, most of it is kept in the US."

Li Xin was silent for a long time.

"Keep looking."

"Still looking? How many places have you been? Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu—you've almost turned the Japanese Military upside down. What can be found is basically found; the rest is either in the official vaults or in the hands of private collectors."

"So we stop looking?"

"That's not what I mean. I'm saying, you have 85.9 tons of gold in your hands now, plus the nearly two thousand tons from before, are you still short of this bit?"

Li Xin didn't answer. He stood up, walked to the pier, and looked at the distant sea. A fishing boat was entering the port. An old man stood at the bow, wearing a raincoat, reeling in nets.

"AI System."

"Hmm?"

"I hate this place."

AI System didn't reply.

"Hate it to the bone."

The sea breeze blew over, carrying a fishy smell. The fishing boat docked. The old man threw the cable onto the pier, his movements very slow; it was clear he'd been doing this for half his life.

"Those things, the things they looted. Gold, artifacts, ancient books—what could be returned was returned; what couldn't be returned was hidden. Hidden in their museums, warehouses, private collections. Why do you think they dare not open a comprehensive cultural relic census? Afraid of being discovered."

"So what do you plan to do?"

Li Xin crushed the cigarette butt into the trash can and walked straight back to the car.

"Keep looking, until I find it all."

"And after you find it?"

"We'll see."

The car drove out of the pier toward the city. The sky was dark, streetlights were on, and the signs on the street were colorful—izakayas, ramen shops, convenience stores.

Li Xin parked the car in front of the hotel without getting out. He sat in the driver's seat, staring at the windshield.

"AI System."

"Hmm?"

"Tell me, if I had the ability to make the entire island nation sink completely, should I really do it?"

AI System was silent for a long time.

"Screw them!"

Li Xin's mouth twitched; he didn't know if it was a smile or something else.

"You're right, screw them!"

He got out of the car and walked into the hotel.

Early the next morning, he checked out and drove to Sapporo Airport. On the way, AI System popped up a list. From Sado to Hokkaido, all extracted locations, times, and quantities were clearly recorded.

Li Xin glanced at it, didn't look closely. 85.9 tons. Busy for half a month, just this much.

"Zhuzi, where do you plan to go next?"

"Back home."

"Stopping here and not looking anymore?"

"Keep looking, just put it on hold for now."

He found a deserted tunnel to put the car into his space, grabbed his bag, and went into the terminal. After finishing the procedures and passing security, he found a seat in the waiting area. A couple of compatriots were next to him, one scrolling on a phone, the other reading a newspaper.

"I heard there have been many earthquakes in the Japanese Military recently." The woman said casually while flipping through her phone.

"Small quakes, it's fine." The man didn't even lift his head, still staring at the newspaper.

"It hit 4.4 magnitude in Gunma a couple of days ago, and the focus was quite deep. Didn't you see the news?" She raised her eyes, her tone carrying a bit of light worry.

"I saw it. No one died, so what's there to worry about?"

The woman didn't respond, lowering her head to continue scrolling.

Li Xin leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest. Gunma, Akagi Mountain—he had extracted eighteen tons of gold there. He knew clearly that the system's material Extraction would never induce earthquakes.

It was just that this land had always been plagued by earthquakes.

The broadcast sounded: boarding. Li Xin stood up and followed the crowd. When the plane took off, he looked down through the porthole. The land of Hokkaido spread out beneath his feet, gray, with snow on the mountains, and cities like patches stuck onto the land.

The plane passed through the clouds, and the ground was no longer visible.

"Zhuzi."

"Yeah."

"You said earlier that you hate this place."

"That's right."

"If—I mean if—the system could help you do something, how would you want to do it?"

Li Xin opened his eyes and looked outside. The clouds were thick, white, and he couldn't see below.

"What could you do?"

"I don't know either, just asking."

Li Xin fell silent and didn't reply.

The plane flew above the clouds, the sun dazzling.

Back in Tokyo, it was already dark.

Li Xin didn't go back to Moto-Azabu; he went straight to Akasaka. The restaurant was still there, the lanterns at the door were lit, and the noren was swayed by the wind. He pushed the door open and went in. The proprietress greeted him in the entryway.

"Mr. Li, welcome back."

It was the same woman in a kimono, speaking in a soft, gentle voice with a faint smile on her face. She didn't ask where he had been or what he had been doing; she neither asked nor pried.

"The same private room as last time?"

"Fine."

He followed her through the corridor, the floorboards creaking underfoot. The stone lanterns in the courtyard were lit, casting the shadows of the bamboo fence onto the paper doors. It was the same private room, with the small courtyard outside the window; the lights shone on the stones, casting long, stretched shadows.

"The usual?"

"As always, and make the sake warm."

"Understood."

Li Xin sat down and poured a cup of tea. It was sencha—bitter, astringent, and scalding hot. He held the cup, looking out at the courtyard, where the bamboo rustled in the wind. His phone lay on the table; the screen lit up and then went dark. No one was looking for him.

After about twenty minutes, the dishes began to arrive one by one: sakizuke, mukozuke, wanmono, and yakimono. Everything was exquisite, beautifully plated, and tasted fine. He poured a cup of sake and drank it slowly.

Halfway through the meal, his phone vibrated. A message from Yamashita Kyoko: "Mr. Li, will you need a car tomorrow?"

Li Xin thought for a moment and replied: "No. I'll be resting at home tomorrow."

"Understood."

He placed the phone facedown on the table and continued eating. The wagyu was grilled to perfection, melting in his mouth. He took a sip of sake and picked up a piece of sashimi.

AI System popped up on the panel.

[Zhuzi, something is on your mind.]

Li Xin ignored it.

[You've been like this since you returned from Hokkaido; you talk less, drink more, and hardly eat anything.]

"I ate."

[Two bites count as eating?]

Li Xin put down his chopsticks and poured a cup of sake.

"AI System."

[Hmm?]

"Tell me, what happens if a person hates something to the bone?"

[They lose control.]

"Anything else?"

[They want to destroy it.]

Li Xin picked up his cup and downed it in one go. The sake was spicy, making him cough.

"And what if they have the ability to destroy it?"

AI System was silent for a long time.

[What do you want to destroy?]

Li Xin didn't answer. He poured another cup of sake and took a sip.

"Do you know how I've felt seeing those things these days while I've been in the Japanese Military?"

[How did you feel?]

"Suffocated."

He put down his glass and looked at the courtyard outside. The bamboo was still swaying, its shadow dancing on the ground.

"In their museums, they display the stolen artifacts; in their vaults, they store the stolen gold. They won't return them, nor will they admit it; they just leave them there, as if they were always theirs."

[So you want to take them back?]

"I can't take them back."

Li Xin's voice was flat, without inflection.

AI System was silent for a long time.

[Zhuzi, you are in a dangerous state.]

"I know."

[You might lose control.]

"I know."

Li Xin poured a cup of sake and held it up, looking at the liquid.

"But I can't control it."

He drank the sake and put the cup down.

"AI System, can you help me sink this country?"

AI System did not answer.

The wind picked up outside, and the bamboo rattled. The stone lanterns in the courtyard brightened, the light flickering on the paper doors. Li Xin leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

The next day, he didn't go out.

He stayed in the mansion in Moto-Azabu all day, lying on the living room sofa, staring blankly at the courtyard. Yamashita Kyoko brought lunch over; he ate a few bites and put down his chopsticks. In the evening, she brought dinner over again; he drank a bowl of miso soup and didn't touch anything else.

At night, he sat in the study, looking at the night view outside the window. Tokyo Tower was lit up, its red and white colors conspicuous in the distance. His phone lay on the table, silent. No one was looking for him, and he didn't want to look for anyone.

AI System flashed on the panel.

[Zhuzi, you haven't said a word all day.]

"Nothing worth saying."

[What are you thinking about?]

Li Xin didn't answer.

[Are you thinking about how to make this country pay the price?]

Li Xin lit a cigarette, took a drag, and exhaled slowly.

"You guessed right."

[What do you want to do?]

"I don't know."

He flicked the ash.

"I've thought of many methods. Economic sanctions? I don't have the capability for that. Political intervention? Even less likely. Military strikes? That's a joke."

[So you can only think about it.]

"Yes, only think about it."

He took a drag of the cigarette, the smoke dispersing in the light.

"But once a person thinks too much, they easily fall into paranoia."

[You are already paranoid now.]

"I know."

He stubbed out the cigarette and leaned back in his chair, his tone deepening. "AI System, is there any way..."

"To make this country pay the price, no matter the means—earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, anything will do."

AI System remained silent for a long time.

[Zhuzi, you are talking nonsense.]

"I know."

[Calm down.]

"I am perfectly clear-headed right now."

He stood up and walked to the window, the entire night view of Tokyo spread out before him. The lights of ten thousand homes stretched out in a sea, traffic flowed like water, and the city was dazzlingly prosperous, but as it entered his eyes, he only felt deeply disgusted.

"AI System, I hate this place from the bottom of my heart."

[I understand.]

"I want to destroy all of this."

The system fell into silence.

"I know I can't do it, but this thought, I can't suppress it."

He stood quietly by the window, his gaze falling on the distant Tokyo Tower.

"Even if it's just a dream."

AI System was silent for a long time, then the panel suddenly flashed.

[Well, they publicly claim gold reserves of 847 tons, but the majority of this is stolen loot from the past. Piece after piece of gold is remelted, erasing the traces of the past, and safely deposited into the national treasury, becoming their foundation...]

Li Xin didn't speak.

[Look at the various museums; the hidden plundered artifacts inside are countless. Many are brazenly displayed under the title of "Important Cultural Property," and a large number of treasures are sealed deep in storage, never seeing the light of day.]

Li Xin turned around and looked at the panel.

"What are you trying to say?"

[I'm thinking, if you had the ability to take all those things away, without anyone knowing. They wouldn't be able to investigate, wouldn't be able to find them, and would just have to accept their loss.]

Li Xin stared at the panel, something moving in his eyes.

"Can you do it?"

[Not at the moment!]

Li Xin didn't speak; he stood by the window, watching the night view of Tokyo. The lights were bright, and traffic flowed like a loom. The city was beautiful, but as he watched it, the hatred in his heart surged like a tide.

It wasn't a slow rise; it was a sudden rush from his chest to his throat, making him cough.

He gripped the window frame, lowering his head, and took a few breaths. His hands were shaking—not from fear, but from having suppressed it for too long. From Sado to Hokkaido, from Akagi Mountain to Hishikari Gold Mine, he had run around for half a month, and the little bit he had found wasn't even a fraction of his bank account balance.

It wasn't that there wasn't enough gold.

It was that the resentment in his heart hadn't been released.

AI System didn't speak again.

Li Xin stood by the window, looking at the night outside.

The hatred in his heart was like a tide that wouldn't recede.

"AI System, I beg you to help me, any method will do. As long as I can hit them hard, I'm willing to pay any price. Even if it means starting over and becoming a pauper, it's fine."

AI System was silent for a long time.

[Zhuzi.]

"..."

[Are you sure?]

"Sure."

[No regrets?]

"No regrets."

AI System was silent for a while longer. The panel began to flash—not the usual kind, but a golden light, rippling outward like water waves. Li Xin stared at the panel, his eyes stinging from the light.

[Ding... Host's emotional fluctuation has reached critical value; hatred has reached its peak. Special item trigger conditions met.]

Li Xin was stunned.

[Item Name: Transfer Card. Validity: 7 days. Rules: As long as the host is within the borders of the Japanese Military, they can ignore space, security, and monitoring to exchange target gold and artifacts with high-fidelity replicas of equal weight. The exchanged items are transferred across space to a designated location. The entire process has no energy fluctuations, leaves no traces, and no equipment can detect any anomalies. After the exchange, the appearance, material, and basic test data of the replicas are exactly the same as the originals.]

Li Xin stared at the line of text, his pupils contracting sharply. Intense emotions churned in the depths of his eyes, which had previously been filled with hatred, and the usual calm on his face faded, replaced by a flush of blood.

"What did you say?"

[Transfer Card, activated. Validity: 7 days. The host can be within Japan to exchange gold and artifacts in official vaults and museums with replicas. The genuine items will be transferred to the location designated by the host, leaving no traces.]

Li Xin didn't speak; his hands were still shaking, but not from hate—it was something else.

"Everything?"

[Everything, including gold, artifacts, and any target you specify.]

"Including the official gold reserves of the Japanese Military far away in the United States?"

[Including that.]

"Including those artifacts in the museums that were stolen from various places?"

[Including those.]

Li Xin took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His heart was beating fast, thumping against his chest.

"What about the transfer location?"

[Designate a place within China. Where do you want to hide them?]

Li Xin thought for a moment, and a place flashed through his mind: Western China, deep in the Qilian Mountains. He had been there before—an uninhabited area, a wilderness with a hidden karst cave. The entrance was sealed by a landslide and couldn't be seen from the outside. He had discovered it during a road trip several years ago and hadn't paid much attention to it then, but now that he thought about it, it was the perfect place to hide things.

"Qilian Mountains, northern foothills, a certain karst cave."

[Recorded. Designation complete.]

Li Xin opened his eyes and stared at the panel. The golden light was still flashing in ripples.

"7 days?"

[7 days. Counting down from this moment. Countdown: 167 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds.]

Li Xin looked at the numbers, and his heartbeat slowly calmed down.

"AI System."

[Hmm.]

"Thank you."

AI System didn't speak.

Li Xin turned and walked back to the desk, sitting down. He opened the drawer and took out paper and a pen. He wrote down a few names.

The gold reserve vaults of various banks of the Japanese Military, the Tokyo National Museum, the Kyoto National Museum, the Nara National Museum, and the Imperial Household Agency.

He stared at the names and put down the pen.

Outside the window, Tokyo Tower was still lit.