174: Chapter 174 Frozen Wasteland - Gale and Ice Storm

Flying from Irkutsk to Magadan, with a layover in Khabarovsk. It was a whole day of hassle.

When Li Xin arrived in Magadan, it was the next afternoon. Before the plane landed, looking down through the porthole, the land was gray, mountains stretched continuously, and snow covered everything. There was ice on the sea surface, gray-white, extending to the horizon.

The airport was very small, with only one runway. When the plane landed, one could feel the tires slamming heavily onto the ground.

Just stepping out of the airport.

A wave of cold hit his face.

Unlike the dry, biting cold of Siberia, this was a damp cold that drilled into the bones.

The sea breeze blew over, carrying the salty smell of seawater, drilling into the seams of his collar.

It made his whole body tense up with the cold.

A young man was standing at the entrance of the arrival hall, holding a piece of cardboard with his name written on it. He was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, thin, his face reddened by the wind, wearing an old down jacket.

"Are you Mr. Li?" Seeing Li Xin walking towards him, he immediately asked.

"Yes, hello." Li Xin said with a faint smile.

"Hello! My name is Victor, Chen asked me to come." He said with a smile.

Victor took his backpack and walked outside. A muddy old off-road vehicle was parked in the parking lot.

After getting in the car, Victor started the engine.

"I'll take you to the hotel first, and tomorrow, we'll head into the mountains."

Li Xin nodded and replied calmly, "Sure, I've been traveling all day, so it's good to rest for a night."

Victor nodded and started the car, driving away from the airport.

The road was narrow.

The buildings along the road were low, all made of raw concrete, glowing with a grayish-white hue.

The streets were desolate, with very few vehicles passing by. The distant mountains were covered in a gray mist, with residual snow on the peaks.

Victor drove very fast, not slowing down for curves. Li Xin gripped the handle without saying anything.

The car drove for nearly an hour before arriving at a small town.

It was a small place, with only a few dozen households, most of the houses were made of wood. Victor braked and stopped in front of a two-story wooden building.

"Li, stay at this hotel for tonight. The conditions aren't great, but it's clean." Victor said.

Li Xin smiled slightly. "It's fine, this is already very good. As long as I have a place to stay, thank you for your hard work."

"Don't mention it, let's go inside to avoid the cold wind outside."

Li Xin stepped out of the car and looked up at the wooden building. The outer wall was painted blue, peeling off in flakes, and a wooden sign hung by the door, full of Russian text.

Victor chatted casually with the landlady and got the room key.

The guest room was on the second floor, with a window facing the street. The white sheets were laid out neatly, looking quite clean.

"I'll come to pick you up at eight tomorrow morning to go into the mountains." Victor instructed.

"Okay, see you tomorrow." Li Xin replied faintly.

Li Xin dropped his backpack, scooped up some water to wash his face, and the coldness touched his cheeks.

He slumped onto the bed, took out his phone, and slowly started browsing information about Magadan.

Natalka Gold Mine.

North of Magadan, about four hundred kilometers away, buried deep in the continuous permafrost, with gold reserves of nearly a thousand tons, it is one of Russia's top large mines.

The mine is operating normally, fully guarded, with people patrolling around the clock.

The AI System's Scan radius is fifty kilometers. If he chooses a spot on the outskirts, the entire mining area can be covered.

The problem is that the area is a permafrost zone, and the temperature in winter can reach minus forty degrees. The road is not easy to travel, and in some places, there is no road at all.

Victor mentioned earlier that there is only one road into the mountains built by the mine, with checkpoints along the way and continuous patrols. All incoming vehicles are stopped and inspected, so he has to take another route.

The next morning, Victor arrived on time to pick him up.

"Today I will take you to the outskirts of the mining area, and you will have to walk the rest of the way yourself."

Li Xin nodded, "Okay, thank you for the trouble."

Then he opened the car door and sat inside; Victor turned the key, the car started, and drove north all the way.

Driving out of the town, the road gradually narrowed; in less than an hour, the asphalt road ended and was replaced by gravel.

After grinding for another half an hour, the gravel disappeared, leaving only dirt ground. Eventually, the dirt road also disappeared, leaving only two old tire tracks on the ground.

Victor parked the car in an open space.

"Li, we have arrived. From here on, you will have to proceed on foot."

Then Victor raised his hand to point forward and spoke again. "Walk north along here, cross that mountain ridge, and that is the direction of the mining area."

Li Xin looked in the direction he pointed, nodded, and replied: "Okay, thank you, I've noted it. I'll be off now."

Li Xin pushed the door open and stepped out. The mountain wind rushed in, making his clothes flap loudly.

Victor instructed again. "Li, I will come back to pick you up at four in the afternoon. Don't go too far."

Li Xin raised his hand to make an OK gesture, then replied.

"Okay, got it. I'll wait for you at four sharp; if I need to delay, I will notify you in advance."

Victor also gave an OK gesture, then turned the car around and drove away.

Watching Victor leave, Li Xin put on his backpack and turned to walk north.

This was a permafrost zone. The ground wasn't snow, it was ice. The surface of the permafrost thawed and froze, thawed and froze, forming a hard crust. Stepping on it made a crunching sound, but he didn't sink.

Li Xin walked for a while, stopped, and recited silently in his heart.

"AI System, Scan the Natalka mining area."

[AI System: Scanning... It will take a few minutes.]

The wind gradually picked up, drilling into the mountain pass, howling.

Li Xin raised his hand, pulled his windproof mask, wrapping most of his face tightly.

A few minutes later, the AI System reported the results.

[Natalka mining area, the underground ore vein runs north-south, the main ore body depth is 100 to 400 meters, total reserves are about 998 tons. 60% can be extracted, i.e., 598.8 tons.]

Li Xin patted the water stains on his hands.

Just as he was about to set off, the roar of engines drifted from afar.

Not just one, but several vehicles, rushing over from the mining area, speeding fast.

He crouched down, hiding behind a large rock.

Three armed pickup trucks drove over from the dirt road, with machine guns mounted on the roof, standing high. The bodies were grayish-green, without any markings.

Figures stood in the cargo bed, in camouflage, with guns slung over their shoulders.

The cars stopped at the edge of the valley, and seven or eight people got out, some smoking, others constantly searching the surroundings.

Someone shouted in Russian: "Over there, go check over there."

Two people walked towards the direction where Li Xin was hiding, holding walkie-talkies, talking as they walked.

Li Xin shrank behind the rock, motionless.

The footsteps got closer and closer.

"Are there any footprints over there?"

"None here, the snow surface is flat."

"Let's go, check over there."

The footsteps faded away.

Li Xin waited until the sound completely disappeared before standing up, feeling relieved and also feeling quite lucky. Fortunately, the system had been erasing the traces of his actions, otherwise, it would have been quite troublesome.

Then he changed to another direction, bypassed the valley, and went down the mountain from the other side of the ridge.

Nearly an hour passed, and he reached the foot of the mountain. There was a dry riverbed here, with steep cliffs on both sides of the riverbed, densely covered with bushes.

Li Xin stepped on the rocks at the bottom of the river and walked south; after walking for another distance, a small village appeared ahead.

There were only a few courtyards, houses built of wood and stone, with thick snow on the roofs. A few reindeer were tied to wooden posts at the entrance of the village, heads buried, slowly gnawing on grass.

He looked at the grazing reindeer with interest. At this moment, an old man walked out of the house, wearing a deerskin coat and a fur hat. His face was deeply wrinkled, and his skin was reddened by the wind.

He glanced at Li Xin and said something in Russian with a heavy accent, "Young man, do you need anything?"

Li Xin replied in Russian: "Hello, nothing, I'm just passing through."

The old man stared at him for a few seconds, then turned and walked into the house. After two steps, he stopped, turned back, and smiled.

"Come in and warm up by the fire, it's too cold outside."

Li Xin nodded and followed him into the house.

The room was warm, the stove was burning, and a kettle was sitting on the iron stove lid. Animal skins and hunting rifles were hanging on the wall. Hay was piled in the corner, and a few small reindeer were lying on the hay.

The old man poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to him. The tea was brick tea, thick and bitter. Li Xin took it and took a sip.

"What does the young man do?" The old man asked.

Li Xin replied with a smile.

"Old man, I'm just a traveler here for fun."

The old man nodded, took a plate of dried meat from the shelf, and placed it on the table. The dried meat was sliced thin, dark red, with a circle of white fat on the edge.

"Try it, this is reindeer meat, I made it myself."

Li Xin took a piece and took a bite. The meat was a bit hard and a bit salty, but very fragrant. He chewed it slowly.

"There are gold mines in the mountains here." Seeing Li Xin eating with relish, the old man suddenly said, "Many people come to look for gold."

Li Xin was obviously stunned for a moment, feeling a bit shocked in his heart, secretly thinking. "Could it be that he found out I'm here to look for gold mines?"

However, on the surface, he still appeared interested and asked curiously.

"Oh? Did they find it?"

"Sigh, who knows! Some found it, some didn't." The old man took a sip of tea and said slowly.

"Those who found it left; those who didn't, also left. Those who are still staying here now are all those who don't want to leave."

Li Xin just listened silently, without answering.

The old man poured another cup of tea.

"You want to go into the mountains, right?"

"Maybe." Li Xin didn't know how to explain.

The old man continued. "If you want to go there, you have to be careful. There is a Patrol Team there, and people who steal gold, none of them are good people."

"Understood, I will be careful."

After sitting for a while, Li Xin stood up.

"Thank you, old man, I'll leave now. I wish you good health."

The old man nodded and didn't speak.

Li Xin left the house and walked back along the riverbed.

At four in the afternoon, Victor came to pick him up.

"How was it?" Victor asked.

"Not bad."

Getting into the car, they drove back. Li Xin leaned against the back of the chair, eyes closed.

Natalka, 598 tons, this is a considerable number.

But he needs to find a safe place to Extraction.

"Victor, is there a hotel nearby? A quieter one."

"Yes, there is one by the lake."

"Let's go there."

Victor looked at him without asking.

The car drove for nearly two hours and arrived at the lake.

The hotel wasn't big, a few wooden houses scattered on the slope. The lake was frozen solid, with a grayish-white ice surface extending to the distant horizon, and the lake wind blew over, bone-chillingly cold.

Victor dropped him off and left again.

Li Xin walked into the wooden house, and the landlady was wiping the table. She glanced at him and handed him a key.

Li Xin went upstairs and lay on the bed.

Opened the system panel. Two hours left on the cooldown.

"AI System, confirm the Natalka Extraction point."

[Point locked, about 11 kilometers from current location, suggest acting at midnight.]

"Okay."

He turned over and looked at the lake outside the window.

The wind was roaring, the ice was cracking.

598 tons.

Tomorrow, act.