182: Chapter 182 Exploring the Ancient City

Heading west from Cape Tolstoy, stopping and going, three days flew by.

The road seemed to widen all of a sudden.

The permafrost zone was finally behind them, and plains stretched out before their eyes. There was less snow, and the grayish-brown ground was completely exposed, with only the occasional patch of unmelted snow visible. On both sides of the road, farmlands and villages appeared in rows and clusters. The houses here had changed too; they were no longer those wooden structures, but had been replaced by brick-built ones, looking solid and secure.

There were more cars and more people on the road.

Victor drove the car at high speed.

He seemed to be in a good mood, humming a tune, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the steering wheel.

Li Xin leaned back in the passenger seat, closing his eyes to rest.

A lively Russian song was playing in the car.

It was a bit different from those... from before.

How should he put it?

It was just that feeling of suddenly being able to relax.

It wasn't until the afternoon of the third day that they arrived in Kazan.

This city wasn't large, but it was refreshing and clean everywhere. The streets were bright and open, with a mix of old and new buildings on both sides, old stone houses standing next to modern glass towers.

The streets were bustling with people and cars, very lively, a completely different scene from that place, Chukotka.

Cafes, shops, and bookstores lined the roadside, one after another, their display windows glowing with warm light. Some people were queuing to buy bread, some were walking their dogs slowly, and children were chasing pigeons.

Victor parked the car in front of the hotel. It was a brand-new building with an impressive marble facade and a revolving door at the main entrance.

"Li, get out, we've arrived. This is the city center. Do you plan to stay at this hotel?"

"Yeah, here will do. I've troubled you quite a bit along the way; thank you for your hard work these past few days."

Victor waved his hand and said with a smile, "It's nothing. Whenever you decide to leave, just contact me. I'll be staying in Kazan for the next while and won't be going anywhere."

"Alright, got it."

Li Xin pushed the door open, stepped out of the car, and walked into the hotel lobby.

The space here was exceptionally spacious, with an exquisite crystal chandelier hanging overhead, shining brightly, and spotless marble floors underfoot—clean and impressive.

A young girl stood at the reception desk, wearing a tidy uniform, her hair neatly swept up, looking capable and energetic.

"Hello, do you have any rooms available?"

"Hello, sir, we do. What kind of room would you like?"

"A Deluxe Business Room."

"Very well, sir, a Deluxe Business Room is six thousand rubles per night. Breakfast is included." The girl's voice was sweet.

"Alright, for three days."

After paying, he received his room card. His room on the sixth floor had a view directly overlooking the street scene. The shops he had passed along the way were all visible below, and pedestrians on the street were endless. An artist playing an accordion stood by the roadside, and the cheerful music drifted all around.

After a simple wash, he lay on the bed. The soft bed and thick quilt, paired with fluffy down pillows, felt quite comfortable. Recalling the accommodation in Chukotka, the difference was truly immense.

He picked up his phone and began to look up information about Kazan.

Kazan used to house the Tsarist treasury, and rumors had always circulated that an astonishing amount of gold was stockpiled inside. After the October Revolution, the treasury's assets were urgently transferred, and a portion of them went missing without a trace.

Rumors were varied and conflicting; some said the gold was buried beneath the Kremlin, while others speculated it was hidden in some old mansion in the old city district. Having scoured all the materials at hand, he still couldn't find an exact location; all that remained were various legends and conjectures.

He put his thoughts aside, turned off his phone, and lay quietly for a moment.

Early the next morning, Li Xin went out.

He walked north along the main street.

Both sides of the street were lined with old buildings, all built of stone, with exterior walls painted a soft beige. Many walls featured delicate carvings, and the snow-white window frames made the houses look exceptionally gentle. Shops crowded the roadside, selling souvenirs, baking bread, or setting up stalls to sell flowers—everything was there.

An Old Lady sat by the roadside, simply displaying a few bouquets of carnations in front of her, carefully wrapped in transparent plastic.

Walking further ahead, he arrived at the Kremlin.

Red walls stood tall, with white towers and clear blue domes, looking exceptionally solemn. The guards at the gate stood tall and straight at their posts. There weren't many tourists, just a few scattered here and there, holding their phones and quietly taking pictures.

Li Xin paused at the gate for a moment, but ultimately didn't go in, continuing to walk north.

Turning into an old street, both sides were lined with old wooden houses, their exterior walls painted in bright colors—red, yellow, and blue intermingled. Cafes were open along the street, and a rich aroma drifted everywhere. Several young people sat on chairs outside, drinking coffee and chatting and laughing.

Li Xin chose a cafe and sat down. The iron chairs came with soft cushions. A pot of artificial flowers sat on the table.

"A cup of coffee, and a piece of cake."

The owner was a middle-aged woman with short hair and a round face, wearing an apron around her waist. She poured the coffee and brought the cake, placing it in front of him. The cake was dusted with powdered sugar, and a small spoon was placed on the side.

"Looking at your features, you must be from Huaguo, right?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, you have a sharp eye."

"Haha, quite a few friends from Huaguo come to my shop. Are you here for tourism too?"

"Yeah, just walking around."

"That's great. I wish you a pleasant trip."

She nodded and turned to serve other customers.

Li Xin tasted the coffee; it was hot and bitter. The honey cake was cloyingly sweet, but paired with the coffee, the flavor balanced out. He ate it bit by bit.

After finishing, he walked out of the cafe and continued north along the road.

He reached the riverbank and stopped. The river surface was frozen, grayish-white, and there were factories on the opposite bank with chimneys emitting white smoke. There was a bridge over the river, built of iron frames with peeling paint. There were pedestrians, cars, and vendors selling goods on the bridge.

He stopped walking and muttered to himself.

"AI System, Scan the surroundings."

[Scanning... This will take a few minutes.]

He stood there, waiting. The wind blowing across the river felt a bit cold. He pulled his collar up.

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

[Discovered a large amount of gold approximately twenty-five meters underground, 9.6 kilometers away. Estimated at 800 tons. Type: gold bricks, gold bars, gold coins. Confirmed to be ownerless, full Extraction possible. The signal is concentrated, covering an area of about three hundred square meters, suspected to be the location of the treasury storage.]

Li Xin stood up. 800 tons, and it could be fully extracted—he was exceptionally pleasantly surprised.

"How long will the Extraction take?"

[800 tons, 50 tons per hour, estimated 16 hours. It needs to be extracted in two batches. 8 hours each, with a 12-hour cooldown in between. It is recommended to start the first Extraction tonight.]

"Alright. Start tonight."

He turned and walked back.

Walking to the city center, a sound came from ahead. It wasn't a normal sound—it was gunfire.

Bang, bang, bang.

Several consecutive shots, very loud. People on the street started running. Some screamed, some ducked down. A woman pushing a baby carriage ran from the opposite side, but the wheel got stuck in a crack in the stone pavement, and she couldn't push it. She was crying in anxiety, pushing hard, but the wheel was stuck tight.

Li Xin ran over, lifted the baby carriage, and moved it to the roadside.

The woman didn't say anything and ran off pushing the carriage. The baby was crying in the carriage, with a shrill sound.

The gunfire was getting closer and closer, and someone was shouting in Russian, but it was unclear. Bullets hit the brick wall, sending stone chips flying. A fragment hit his face, stinging with pain. He touched it with his hand; there was blood on his finger, but it wasn't deep—just a superficial wound.

Li Xin crouched down and hid behind the corner of a wall. The corner was built of stone, thick and solid, capable of blocking bullets.

He poked his head out from the corner to look at the street. Two groups of people were exchanging fire across the street. One group was wearing black clothes, and the other was wearing camouflage. There were handguns, rifles, and even shotguns. The group in black was larger, with seven or eight people. The group in camouflage was smaller, with four or five, but they were better equipped, all with automatic rifles.

Someone shouted, "They are behind that car!" Bullets hit the car, and the glass shattered with a crash.

"Shoot! Don't let them get away!"

The group in camouflage fired while retreating. The group in black pursued.

Li Xin retreated. He turned from the corner into another street, bent over, and walked quickly. After a few steps, there were people ahead again. They also had guns. They weren't from the two groups exchanging fire; they were a third party. Three people in leather jackets, holding handguns, were running from the opposite side.

He turned into an alley. The alley was narrow, with brick walls on both sides covered in graffiti. After running for a few dozen meters, he reached another street.

There were police sirens on the street. Several police cars drove over, blue lights flashing, red lights flashing too. The police got out of the cars, hid behind the doors, and raised their guns.

"Everyone, drop your weapons! Repeat, everyone, drop your weapons!" The voice from the megaphone was very loud, echoing through the street.

The gunfire gradually thinned out. Some people were running, some were shouting, and some were crying.

Li Xin blended into the crowd and walked along the side of the street. He kept his head down and walked very quickly.

He returned to the hotel, went upstairs, and lay on the bed. His heart was beating fast, and his breathing hadn't settled yet.

He opened the system panel. There were still two hours of cooldown left.

"AI System, action tonight. Extract in batches. Extract 400 tons first."

[Recommended midnight. 400 tons, estimated eight hours. It will end at 8:00 AM the next day. Current weather: clear, northwest wind level 3, temperature minus eighteen degrees. No snow on the ground.]

"Alright. Start tonight."

At midnight, he went out.

Following the route he took during the day, he arrived at the riverbank. The river surface was frozen, grayish-white. He stepped onto the ice and walked to the middle of the river. It was very quiet all around, no wind, no sound. Only the sound of water under the ice, gurgling.

He crouched down and pressed his hand on the ice surface.

"AI System, confirm the location."

[Location locked. Twenty-five meters underground, Tsarist treasury. Extractable amount 800 tons. Extract in two batches. First batch 400 tons.]

"Start."

[Extraction started. Countdown: 7:59:59.]

The progress bar started to jump.

He crouched on the ice, staring at the panel. The ice was cold, and he could feel it through his pants.

There was a sound in the distance. Not the sound of wind, but the sound of cars. Several of them were driving over from the city center. Headlights lit up at the street corner—three, no, four. Off-road vehicles, driving slowly.

The cars stopped by the river. The doors opened, and a dozen people got out. They were wearing camouflage and carrying guns.

Someone was talking. Russian, not loud, but clear in the night.

"This way, search. The superiors said there was an abnormal signal, right in this area."

The light of flashlights swayed wildly across the river surface.

Li Xin lay on the ice, motionless.

The beam of light swept over him.

"Are there any footprints here?"

"No. The ice surface is flat."

"Let's go, check over there."

The footsteps faded away.

He waited until the sound was gone before exhaling.

The progress jumped to twenty-three percent.

The sky began to brighten. Grayish-white light shone on the river surface.

He took a sip of water. The water was icy.

The progress jumped to fifty-eight percent.

A sound came from the distance again. This time it was footsteps. Several people were walking over from the shore.

The flashlight beams swept back and forth across the ice.

He lay on the ice, motionless.

The light beam swept over him and paused for a moment.

"Is there anything here?"

"No, let's go."

The footsteps faded away.

The progress jumped to eighty-nine percent.

He stared at the progress bar, counting second by second.

Ninety-two percent... ninety-five... ninety-eight.

[Ding... First batch Extraction complete. Four hundred tons, cumulative gold: 6230.2057 tons.]

[System entering cooldown state. Countdown: 11:59:59.]

He turned off the panel and didn't move.

He lay on the ice, waiting for nearly an hour.

The sky was completely bright.

He stood up and cleared away the traces on the ground.

Then he walked back from the river surface.

He returned to the hotel, went upstairs, and lay on the bed.

He opened the system panel.

6230 tons.

He stared at that number for a few seconds.

Tomorrow, the second batch.