176: The 17th armed group surrounded them.

Victor drove for almost two hours and arrived at an abandoned mine.

There were several dilapidated factory buildings with windows smashed to bits. Rusty machines were piled at the gate, half-buried in snow. The weeds in the yard grew tall and were frozen solid; you could probably hear them crunching if you stepped on them.

Li Xin got out of the car, looked left and right, and whispered in his heart.

"AI System, Scan."

[Scanning... Scan complete. One kilometer away, about 18 meters underground, gold mine residue found. The vein is 3 kilometers long east-west, 50 meters wide north-south, estimated gold reserves 22 tons. Full Extraction possible.]

"Great, start Extraction." Li Xin grinned slightly, not daring to laugh out loud, fearing Victor would notice something unusual.

[Extraction started, 22 tons, estimated time 26 minutes.]

The progress bar started jumping.

Li Xin turned to Victor and said, "Brother Victor, smoke a cigarette and rest for a while. I'll wander around here and be back in about half an hour."

Victor nodded and smiled in reply. "Li, go ahead. I'll smoke and wait here."

Then Victor stood by the car and began to smoke slowly. He didn't ask what Li Xin was doing, nor did he come over.

Li Xin wandered casually around the mining area, looking here and there. Time passed bit by bit.

Twenty-six minutes passed quickly, and the progress bar filled up.

[Ding... Extraction complete. Abandoned mine scattered gold, 22 tons. Cumulative gold: 4985.2057 tons.]

Li Xin snapped his fingers and whispered, "Hehe～ Done."

He turned back to the car. Victor skillfully turned the key, the engine let out a low roar, and the off-road vehicle crushed the frozen weeds, turned around, and drove back the way they came.

"Li, did you find anything here? I saw you just wandering around."

"Nothing much, just curious, so I came to take a look." Li Xin shrugged and smiled in response.

Victor didn't care about Li Xin's perfunctory reply and focused on driving.

The road was full of frozen wasteland, the world was gray, and sporadic trees were crooked, bent and swaying from the strong wind year-round.

"Victor, is there a place to eat nearby?" Li Xin thought for a moment and asked.

"Yes, there is a village ahead. We can go there to find food. It will take half an hour to drive forward," Victor smiled and said.

"Okay, let's go there and get something to eat."

Victor nodded.

Li Xin felt a bit helpless. There was still a lot of delicious food in his space, such as roast camel, roast lamb, lobster, and all kinds of snacks and fruits. It was just inconvenient to take them out because Victor was there, so he had to find a place to make do.

The car turned into a side road, and the road suddenly narrowed.

Low shrubs clustered on both sides, with branches collapsed under the weight of snow. After swaying slowly for nearly half an hour, a few lonely wooden houses appeared in front.

This was a small village with only seven or eight households. Victor stopped the car in front of a wooden house.

Victor turned his head to look at Li Xin and said with a smile, "This is the house of a hunter friend of mine. His wife cooks very well. We're in for a treat today."

"Really? That's great! Hahaha... Looks like I'm in for a treat too."

Li Xin smiled and got out of the car.

Looking up, there was a lot of firewood piled at the door of the wooden house, neatly stacked. The chimney was smoking, and there was a smell of burning wood in the air.

Victor knocked on the door, and an old man opened it, wearing a deerskin coat with gray hair and beard. He saw Victor and smiled.

"Long time no see, Victor. You haven't been here for a year, right?"

"Haha, long time no see, my old friend." He said, stepping forward to hug him, then smiled and spoke again.

"Oh, by the way, this is my friend from China, Li. I brought him here for a meal today."

The old man glanced at Li Xin and stepped aside.

"Hahaha... Welcome, welcome. Come in quickly. It's too cold outside. The stove is burning in the house! It's warmer."

Li Xin followed him in. It was quite warm inside. He took a casual look. The stove was burning vigorously, and the kettle on the iron stove lid was bubbling. Hunting rifles and animal skins were hanging on the wall, and animal traps were piled in the corner.

An Old Lady came out of the kitchen, wearing an old apron. She glanced at Li Xin, said nothing, and turned back in.

The old man sat down at the table and pointed to a chair.

"Please sit, please sit, don't stand."

Li Xin smiled and nodded, then sat down. Victor sat opposite him.

Before long, the Old Lady brought out the soup. Reindeer meat soup, fragrant, with potatoes and carrots inside, served with black bread. It looked quite good.

The old man gave her a look, and she went back to bring out a plate of pickled cucumbers and some smoked meat.

"Eat, don't be polite." The old man laughed.

Li Xin scooped a spoonful of soup; it was still a bit hot. He took a sip. It was slightly salty, but the meat was stewed until tender. It was quite good to drink slowly.

"Where did you come from this time?" The old man asked with a smile, watching them eat with relish.

"From Magadan," Victor replied casually.

The old man nodded thoughtfully and lit a cigarette.

"Hmm~ It hasn't been peaceful there lately. I heard there was trouble in the mining area a few days ago."

"Oh? What happened there?" Li Xin asked curiously.

"It is said that two groups of people were fighting over a mine, and there was friction, and several people died."

The old man flicked the ash. "The military police went there and caught a few people, but they didn't catch everyone. I heard many ran away, running north."

Victor frowned. "North? That means here?"

"That's what they say, but who knows? No one has seen them."

The old man took a puff of his cigarette. "Anyway, it's not peaceful these days. Be careful on the road."

Li Xin took a sip of soup. "Are there any checkpoints on the road?"

"No checkpoints, but there are people setting up roadblocks," the old man lowered his voice. "A truck driver told me yesterday that on the way north, someone is setting up roadblocks. Not military police, but they have guns."

Victor looked at Li Xin.

Li Xin didn't answer and scooped another spoonful of soup.

"You wouldn't be here looking for gold too, would you?" The old man asked mysteriously.

"No, I'm just here for tourism." Li Xin shook his head.

The old man smiled. "Tourism? You're fooling me, old man. What is there to visit in this place? It's freezing, and there isn't even a decent road."

"I just like this kind of place, going to different places and seeing different customs." Li Xin said with a calm expression.

The old man shook his head and didn't ask any more.

After finishing the soup, Li Xin took some cash out of his pocket and placed it on the table.

"No, no, we are all friends." The old man waved his hand.

"Take it, it's only right. Being able to eat such delicious reindeer meat, the trip was worth it." Li Xin persuaded with a smile.

The old man looked at him, then at Victor, and seeing Victor nod to accept it, he didn't refuse again.

When they left the wooden house, it was getting dark. The wind was stronger, blowing people until they couldn't stand steady.

Victor started the engine.

"Li, are we going back to town now?"

"No, let's go further north."

Victor looked at him.

"There is no road there, and as the old man said just now, there are people setting up roadblocks. It might be dangerous to go over."

"Hmm~ Then drive until we can't drive anymore."

Victor was silent for a few seconds, then stepped on the gas.

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

The car ran on the snow, and it was completely dark. Only the headlights illuminated a small section of the road ahead. The road became narrower and bumpier.

After driving for nearly an hour, they arrived at an open area. Victor stopped the car.

"Li, there is a permafrost zone ahead. The car can't get through."

Li Xin got out of the car. The wind was strong, blowing his clothes with a flapping sound.

"Find a place to rest and wait for me. I'll be back soon."

Victor looked at him.

"You're going alone? There might be danger over there."

"It's okay, just wait here."

"What if you don't come back?"

Li Xin paused, then smiled. "Hahaha～ Then call the police. Let the police come to save me."

Victor shook his head and said nothing more.

"Be careful."

Li Xin put on his backpack and walked north.

After walking for nearly half an hour, there was a dry riverbed ahead, with steep slopes on both sides of the riverbed. He walked up along the riverbed.

After walking a distance, lights appeared in front. Not headlights, but the light of several flashlights, swaying in the snow.

Li Xin squatted down quietly, hiding behind a rock.

People were talking. The voice was not loud, but it was clear in the night.

"Hurry up, load the stuff into the car, don't drag it out."

"This box is too heavy. What's in it? Gold?"

"Stop talking nonsense, just move it."

"How much do you think this thing is worth?"

"How much it is worth has nothing to do with you. Just get paid after moving it."

The flashlight beams swayed on the snow, and several figures were busy next to the car. Li Xin counted at least six people and two cars.

He retreated quietly, sticking to the ground, backing up bit by bit.

After retreating for a few dozen meters, he came to a bend in the riverbed.

He stood up and bypassed the other side of the riverbed.

After walking for nearly an hour, he arrived near the gold mine point. It was a gentle slope with low shrubs growing on it.

He squatted down and whispered in his heart.

"AI System, Scan this fifty-kilometer radius."

[Scanning... Scan complete. 9 kilometers away, about 22 meters underground, scattered waste gold mine found. Gold reserves estimated at 18 tons. Full Extraction possible.]

"Okay, start Extraction."

[Extraction started, 18 tons, estimated time 22 minutes.]

The progress bar started jumping.

The sound of engines came from afar, several of them, coming from the south.

The headlights lit up in the snow screen, three, no, four. Off-road vehicles, driving very fast.

He lay down, burying his face in the snow.

The cars drove past under the slope without stopping. The headlights swept across the snow, getting further and further away.

Someone shouted something in Russian. It was far away, so it was unclear. Then the engine sound faded away.

The progress jumped to 58 percent.

He raised his head and looked in that direction. The headlights were no longer visible.

Twenty-two minutes, the progress bar filled up.

[Extraction complete. Permafrost scattered gold, 18 tons. Cumulative gold: 5003.2057 tons.]

He stood up.

5003 tons.

He stared at the number for a few seconds.

Then he closed the panel and turned back.

Back at the parking spot, Victor was leaning against the car door, smoking. Seeing him, he put out the cigarette.

"How is it? You didn't run into any danger, did you?"

"Haha～ No, let's go."

Victor opened the car door and got in.

"Did you see any lights when you went over there just now?"

"I did, two cars, five or six people."

Victor frowned. "Could those be the people the old man was talking about?"

"Maybe. We didn't meet, just stay away from them."

Victor started the engine.

"Then we have to leave quickly. If they come this way, it will be troublesome."

After getting in the car, Victor turned around.

"Are you going to the airport? Or where do you want to go?"

"No, keep going north, to Chukotka."

Victor looked at him through the rearview mirror.

"It's extremely cold there, minus forty or fifty degrees. Are you sure you want to go?"

"I know."

"Are you sure you can take it?"

"I can take it."

Victor was silent for a while.

"Fine, but we have to go to town to refuel first. There's not enough gas."

"Okay."

The car ran on the snow. The sky began to brighten, gray and dim.

After driving for less than half an hour, a roadblock appeared ahead.

It wasn't a formal checkpoint. It was a few wooden logs across the middle of the road, with two broken cars parked on the side. Several people were standing next to the roadblock, holding guns. Some were wearing camouflage uniforms, and some were wearing leather jackets.

Seeing the car coming, a person walked to the middle of the road and raised his hand.

"Stop! Stop for inspection!"

Victor was about to slow down.

"Don't stop, it will be dangerous if we stop," Li Xin said immediately.

Victor looked at him.

"Rush through." Seeing that he didn't react, Li Xin continued to urge.

"There are people in front."

"Rush."

Victor didn't speak and stepped on the gas.

The car accelerated, the man dodged to the side and cursed.

The roadblock got closer. The logs were across the middle of the road, the thick one as thick as a bowl.

"Sit tight," Victor said.

"Bang."

The log broke, bounced up and hit the hood, then bounced to the side, and the car rushed through.

Gunshots came from behind, bullets hit the car body, clanging. The rear window glass shattered, and fragments flew into the car.

Li Xin lowered his head, and Victor also lowered his head, his hands not letting go of the steering wheel.

"Are you okay?" Victor shouted.

"I'm fine, are you?"

"I'm fine, the glass is broken."

"As long as you're okay, I'll pay for the car later, don't worry." Li Xin comforted.

Victor nodded and said nothing.

The car skidded on the snow but didn't stop. After driving for more than ten minutes, the gunfire faded away.

Victor straightened up and looked in the rearview mirror.

"We shook them off."

"Hmm."

Victor parked the car on the side of the road and got out. He walked to the front of the car and squatted down to look.

The hood was dented, the paint was chipped. The bumper was cracked. The rear window glass was shattered, leaving only a frame.

He stood up and patted the dust off his hands.

"It can still drive, but it's cold."

He got into the car and continued driving. The cold wind poured in from the rear window, making people shiver.

Li Xin took a thermal blanket out of his backpack and handed it to Victor.

"Put it on."

Victor took it and wrapped it around his shoulders.

"Thank you."

"How much further to town?"

"One hour."

Li Xin didn't ask again.

The car ran on the snow, shaking violently.

Victor looked at him through the rearview mirror.

"Why did you want to go north just now? There is nothing there."

"I have things I need to do this way."

Victor was stunned for a moment. "What do you have to do to take such a big risk to come here?"

"Confidential."

Victor was silent for a while.

"What kind of person are you, anyway? Not an ordinary tourist, right?"

Li Xin didn't answer.

Victor didn't ask again either.

After driving for an hour, they arrived in town.

Victor stopped the car in front of a wooden house.

"Stay here tonight, I'll take you to the airport tomorrow."

"Okay."

Li Xin got out of the car and walked into the wooden house. The landlady was sitting by the stove, and seeing him enter, she stood up.

"Eating?"

"Yes."

She brought out the soup. It was thick and salty reindeer meat soup again, served with black bread.

He ate two bowls in one go. After finishing the soup, he felt comfortable.

He went upstairs and lay on the bed.

His phone vibrated, and Chen Hu sent a message: "Boss, the guide in Chukotka has been contacted. He will pick you up when you arrive in Anadyr."

Li Xin replied with one word: "Okay."

He put the phone on the bedside table.

The wind outside the window was roaring.

He turned over and closed his eyes.