179: 17th Second Inspection

The next morning, Li Xin woke up early.

Li Xin opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. The wood grain was visible, strip by strip, glowing with a dull yellow hue in the grayish-white light. The curtains weren't drawn tight, and light leaked in through the gap.

He lay there for a while, then sat up. His head felt heavy; he had slept too long, and it was a bit painful.

He picked up his phone; it was already nine in the morning.

He got out of bed and washed his face. The cold water shocked him, and he felt much more awake instantly.

Going downstairs, the landlady was busy in the kitchen. Seeing him, she pointed to the stove.

"The handsome guy is awake. There's porridge and bread over there, help yourself."

"Okay, thank you. I really am a bit hungry, this porridge looks delicious." Li Xin replied with a smile.

Then he ladled himself a bowl of porridge, grabbed two pieces of black bread, and sat by the window to eat slowly. The oatmeal was thick and cooked without any sugar, retaining its original flavor, and paired with the bread, it had a unique taste.

Halfway through his meal, Victor pushed the door open and came in.

"Li, where are we going today?"

"Hmm, back to the same place as yesterday, and then a bit further north."

Victor frowned. "Further north? That area belongs to the no-man's-land; there aren't even roads there."

"Yeah, I know. We'll drive until we can't drive anymore."

Victor glanced at him but didn't say anything else.

After eating, they got into the car. Victor started the engine and headed north.

Two hours later, they arrived at the spot where they had parked yesterday, and Victor stopped the car.

"Should I wait here? Do you need me to go with you?"

"No need, just wait here for me. I'll be back early today." Li Xin shook his head.

"OK, come back early."

Li Xin immediately got out of the car, shouldered his pack, and started walking north.

Today's route was further than yesterday's, the snow was deeper, and the wind was stronger. After walking for an hour, he finally reached the first ridge.

Standing on the ridge, he looked north. The vast snowfield was gray and hazy, making it impossible to distinguish the sky from the ground. In the distance, there were a few mountains, their peaks hidden by clouds.

He scanned the surroundings; everything was normal. He silently chanted in his mind.

"AI System, confirm the small gold mine discovered earlier again."

[Scan complete. 5 kilometers away, approximately 40-52 meters underground, there is scattered gold ore. Estimated gold reserves: 12 tons, fully extractable.]

"Good, start the Extraction."

[Extraction initiated, 15 tons, estimated time 18 minutes.]

The progress bar began to jump.

He squatted in the snow, staring at the system panel.

The wind grew stronger, whipping up snow that hit his face, stinging painfully.

The progress jumped to 60%.

A muffled sound came from the distance. Li Xin looked up and couldn't help but exclaim,

"Damn... an avalanche."

He squinted and saw that on the eastern ridge, the entire snow slope was sliding down. It wasn't sliding slowly; it was collapsing, like someone pouring a basin of white flour from the top of a mountain. The snow waves, carrying crushed rocks and broken trees, rumbled downwards.

Li Xin stood up and ran west.

After a few steps, the snow wave had already reached the foot of the mountain. The sound made his ears buzz, and the ground was shaking.

He threw himself onto the ground and covered his head with his hands.

The snow fell from the sky, hitting his back and burying him halfway.

He lay there for a dozen seconds until the noise subsided. He crawled up and shook the snow off his body.

He looked back. A large chunk of the eastern hillside had collapsed, revealing the black rock underneath. The snow wave had rushed down from the hillside and stopped not far from where he had been standing.

"AI System, is the Extraction complete?"

[Extraction complete. 15 tons, cumulative gold: 5330.2057 tons.]

"Good."

He stood up and patted the snow off his body.

Just as he was preparing to head back, a crisp sound came from under his feet.

Crack.

He looked down; the ice surface under his feet had cracked. It wasn't a lake surface, but the ice crust on the permafrost. The crack extended forward from his feet, getting wider and wider.

Before he could react, the ice crust collapsed.

Half of his body fell downwards.

Instinctively, he spread his arms and braced them against the ice surface. His fingers dug into the ice, his nails split, and the pain was piercing.

He looked down. The crevice was pitch black, and he couldn't see the bottom. Cold wind blew up from below, carrying a damp, musty smell.

An ice crevice. At least a dozen meters deep.

He didn't move. He lay on the ice, his fingers gripping the edge of the ice tightly.

"AI System, what should I do?"

[Ice layer thickness is about thirty centimeters, load-bearing capacity is limited. It is recommended to move slowly and distribute body weight.]

He slowly pulled one leg out of the crevice. The edge of the ice cracked again, and broken ice fell down, clanging against the ice wall below.

He stopped and took a few breaths.

Then he pulled the other leg out. He lay flat on the ice, limbs spread out, like a gecko.

He crawled forward slowly, and after five or six meters, he reached a thicker part of the ice.

He stood up, his legs feeling a bit weak.

He looked back; the crevice was nearly two meters long and half a meter wide. It was pitch black below, and he couldn't see anything.

"Damn."

He turned around and continued walking back, not moving fast, making sure each step was solid before taking the next.

After walking for nearly an hour, he reached the foot of the mountain.

Several people appeared in front of him, wearing camouflage uniforms and carrying guns—a border Patrol Team.

Four people walked over from the east, bumping into him head-on.

Li Xin stopped, and those people stopped too.

The leader, a man in his thirties with a face frozen bright red, wearing sunglasses, looked Li Xin up and down.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Li Xin replied in Russian: "A tourist hiking here."

"A tourist?" The leader walked over. "Take out your documents and let me see."

Li Xin took his passport out of his pocket and handed it over. The leader flipped through it for a while.

"You are Chinese?"

"Yes." Li Xin nodded.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just here for sightseeing."

The leader stared at him for a few seconds, then handed the passport to the person next to him.

"Check it."

The person next to him took out a phone, took a picture, and fiddled with it for a while.

"There are no abnormal records in the system."

The leader nodded and returned the passport to him.

"Where did you come from?"

"From the south, from the town."

"Do you have a car?"

"Yes, at the foot of the mountain."

"Alone?"

"Yes."

The leader was silent for a while.

"How long have you been in Chukotka?"

"A week."

"Where are you staying?"

"At a hotel in town."

The leader stared at him again for a few seconds.

"Do you know this is a mining area?"

"I've heard of it, but I didn't enter the mining area. I'm just sightseeing here. This shouldn't be part of the mining area, right?"

"What equipment do you have?"

Li Xin opened his backpack. Tent, sleeping bag, moisture-proof mat, water, dry food, first-aid kit, compass.

The leader rummaged through it and found no issues.

"Are you into geology?"

"No, I just like hiking."

"The route you're taking isn't a hiking route; there are no roads here."

"I know. That's what makes this route more interesting, isn't it? Besides, I have all the equipment, so it's fine."

The leader was silent for a while.

"You'd better leave as soon as possible; it's not very safe here. Bears often appear, avalanches happen frequently, and you might encounter gold thieves."

"Okay, I know. Thank you!"

The leader waved his hand, and the four people continued walking east.

Li Xin waited until they were far away before turning around.

He continued his walk back.

After walking for nearly an hour, he reached the place where the car was parked. Victor was listening to music in the car. Seeing him, he turned the music off.

"Why so long? Did you run into someone?"

"A border Patrol Team. They questioned me for a while."

Victor frowned. "What did they ask you?"

"Checked my passport, asked what I was doing, and looked at my equipment."

"Did they give you a hard time?"

"No, they saw I was Chinese and didn't give me any trouble, just told me to leave as soon as possible."

Victor started the engine.

"Alright, let's go then. We can't stay in this place anymore."

Li Xin nodded and got into the car, and Victor turned around.

"Going back to town now?"

"Yes, rest for another day, then go south."

Victor glanced at him through the rearview mirror.

"South? Where to?"

"Cape Tolstoy."

Victor was stunned for a moment. "That place is very remote; there's nothing there."

"The scenery is enough." Li Xin smiled.

Victor shook his head and didn't ask again.

The car drove on the snow. The wilderness outside the window was gray and hazy.

Li Xin leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

15 tons. Obtained.

Cumulative 5330 tons.

"Victor, is there a place to stay near Cape Tolstoy?"

"There's a small village with a dozen households."

"Can one stay there?"

"Yes, an old man runs a hotel, but the conditions aren't good. It's barely habitable. Are you sure you want to go there?"

"Yeah, let's go there."

Victor nodded.

Arriving at the town, Li Xin got out of the car.

Victor spoke again. "We leave tomorrow morning?"

"Yes, start early, it's a long way." Li Xin replied indifferently.

Victor nodded. "Okay!"

Li Xin walked into the hotel and went upstairs.

He lay on the bed.

He opened the system panel.

5330 tons.

He stared at the number for a few seconds.

He closed the panel.

His phone vibrated. Li Jiayi sent a message: "The registration documents for the family office are all ready, waiting for you to come back and sign."

He replied: "Okay."

Luo Maifa posted a photo in the group chat—a wedding photo. He was wearing a suit, and standing next to him was a woman in a white wedding dress. He was smiling so hard his eyes were squinting into slits.

Li Xin watched it for a few seconds.

He put his phone on the nightstand.

He closed his eyes.

He fell asleep quickly.