243: Chapter 243 Bar

When they rushed back to the town of Kalgoorlie in the evening, the last trace of orange-red on the horizon was slowly sinking.

The streetlights along the road lit up one by one, casting a dim yellow glow over the pavement, hazy and soft, making the whole town seem exceptionally quiet.

Qiang Zi parked the car steadily in front of the hotel. Just as he was about to push the door open to get out, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a neon sign diagonally across the street.

"Golden Horseshoe."

The crooked English letters formed the outline of a horseshoe, with red and blue lights flashing alternately, making it particularly eye-catching in the deepening twilight.

"Brother Xin, look at that!" Qiang Zi raised his hand and pointed at the sign, his eyes full of interest. "That name sounds auspicious!"

Li Xin glanced in the direction of his gaze but didn't say anything.

Qiang Zi had already deftly unbuckled his seatbelt, turned his head, and smiled. "Shall we go in and have a drink? We've been driving on mountain roads for most of the day; I'm truly exhausted."

Li Xin pondered for a moment, then pushed the door open and got out.

The bar's facade was small, and the paint on the wooden door frame had peeled off in large areas, revealing the pale raw wood underneath.

As he reached out to push the door open, a warm scent mixed with tobacco and alcohol rushed towards him. The interior was cozy and warm, forming a stark contrast to the slightly cool night breeze outside.

The space inside was much more spacious than it looked from the outside.

A bar counter spanning an entire wall dominated the view. The shelves were filled with various bottles, many of the labels worn and faded, making the original text illegible.

There were seven or eight tables and chairs scattered around, with a few tables occupied by sparse groups of guests. Against the innermost wall stood a pool table where a bald man was bending over to aim, his cue stick moving slowly and deliberately.

Qiang Zi subconsciously paused his steps.

Three burly men sat at the bar, and there were two other occupied tables, totaling about five or six people.

The moment the two of them pushed the door open and walked in, several gazes swept over them in unison. They carried a hint of scrutiny that made one feel very uncomfortable.

Qiang Zi lowered his voice and leaned in close. "Brother Xin, the atmosphere here is a bit off."

"It's just to have a drink."

Li Xin said in a flat tone, walking straight toward the only empty table in the corner.

Qiang Zi was muttering to himself but had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow. Just as the two sat down, a burly bald man walked over from behind the bar.

He wore a black short-sleeved shirt, his arm muscles bulging, thick as small buckets. A thick gold chain hung around his neck with a circular coin as a pendant, giving him quite a bit of a Jianghu air.

"What will you two have?" the man asked, his tone neither cold nor warm, betraying no emotion.

Qiang Zi replied indifferently, "Give me a draft beer."

Li Xin followed up, "Give me a soda water."

The bald man nodded and turned back to the bar. While preparing the drinks, he glanced back at them again, his gaze lingering on each of their faces for a second before retracting to focus on his work.

It didn't take long before the two drinks were brought over.

The soda water in the glass fizzed continuously. The draft beer glass next to it was covered in water droplets, the chill seeping into his hand through the glass.

Qiang Zi took a sip of beer, his eyes unable to stop darting around, muttering in a low voice.

"Why do these people keep staring at us..."

"The town is remote and there are few tourists, so they might just be curious. Drink your beer and don't worry so much."

Qiang Zi nodded, but remained vigilant, his fingers gripping the side of the glass tightening unconsciously.

The gazes of the men at the bar were still falling in their direction from time to time. One of them, a man with a big beard, raised his glass and shook it, the corner of his mouth curling into a smile that was hard to interpret—it was unclear whether it was goodwill or a test.

Before long, a man in a black leather jacket walked straight over with a glass in his hand.

He wasn't tall, but his shoulders were broad and thick. He walked with a slight crouch, his body tense, looking like he was ready to cause trouble at any moment.

The gold chain around his neck was much thicker than the one the bald man at the bar wore, and it was particularly eye-catching. On his left forearm was a tattooed ink-blue hammer, the lines blurred from being an old tattoo from many years ago.

He pulled over a chair from the opposite side and sat down.

The wooden chair scraped against the floor with a harsh sound, breaking the oppressive silence of the bar.

"Are you two from out of town?"

Qiang Zi swallowed quietly and replied calmly, "Yes, here for tourism."

"Came specifically to see the open-pit mine?" The man in the leather jacket pulled at the corner of his mouth in a smile, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Yeah, we just went to visit that big pit today."

"The big pit is impressive, isn't it?" The man took a sip of his drink, his tone light. "It's fine to look at it from afar, but don't run around blindly. The area around the mine isn't somewhere outsiders can just wander into."

Qiang Zi nodded indifferently and didn't say anything more.

The man put down his glass and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, instantly creating a sense of oppression.

"My name is Iron Hammer. Where are you staying?"

"That small hotel at the entrance of the town," Qiang Zi said truthfully.

"How long do you plan to stay?"

"Probably... just a day or two before we leave."

"What kind of car are you driving?"

Just as Qiang Zi was about to open his mouth, Li Xin tapped his knee gently under the table.

He immediately shut his mouth and turned to look at Li Xin.

Li Xin took over the conversation, his tone steady and calm. "We're leaving tomorrow. We're just passing through."

Iron Hammer stared at him, fixedly watching for several seconds.

That gaze didn't seem like a simple test; it was more like he was verifying or confirming something.

A moment later, he took out his phone from his pocket, casually swiped the screen, and turned it toward the two of them.

On the screen was a photo.

The location was the mine viewing platform from earlier that day. In the picture were him and Qiang Zi, and Qiang Zi was even making a peace sign at the camera.

The shooting angle was very high; it was a long-distance telephoto shot.

In other words, from the moment they arrived at the mine, someone had been watching their every move from afar.

Qiang Zi's expression sank instantly. His lips moved, but he couldn't make a sound, and a chill surged through his heart.

Iron Hammer turned the phone face down on the table, his thumb rubbing against the edge of the phone case, his tone nonchalant. "Let me give you a reminder: the no-man's land to the north of the mine is my territory. No outsiders are allowed to wander in."

"We didn't go north today," Li Xin said, his speed of speech steady, neither humble nor pushy.

"I know you didn't."

Iron Hammer put his phone away back into his pocket, his tone carrying a hint of aggression. "But I am a cautious person. In my territory, I don't like strangers wandering around."

He paused, took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, and hung it from his lips without lighting it, just holding it there.

"When you're out and about, you make friends. Our rules here—people from out of town all know what to do."

Qiang Zi gripped the beer glass tightly with his five fingers, his knuckles turning white, feeling both angry and panicked.

"How much?" Li Xin asked directly.

Iron Hammer took the cigarette out of his mouth, smiled, and nonchalantly stated the number. "Five thousand Australian dollars. It's not much, just a gesture for meeting."

Qiang Zi's eyes widened instantly, and he was about to retort immediately.

Under the table, Li Xin tapped him again, stopping his movement.

Subsequently, Li Xin reached out and pulled out an old black wallet from his inner pocket, the corners of which were already worn smooth.

He opened the wallet, which contained a fair amount of cash. His fingertips deftly counted out five thousand Australian dollars—a stack of brand-new banknotes, neatly arranged—and placed them gently on the table.

Iron Hammer stared at the cash on the table, reached out and pressed his hand on it, didn't even count it, and shoved it directly into the inner pocket of his leather jacket.

"Smart guy."

He raised his hand and patted Li Xin's shoulder with heavy force, carrying undisguised intimidation.

Having said that, he got up, picked up his glass, turned around, and walked back to the bar.

Not until the other person had walked away did Qiang Zi let out a long breath, his voice slightly unsteady as he lowered it and urged, "You actually gave it to him? Five thousand Australian dollars! Just like that, given away for nothing?"

Li Xin picked up the soda water on the table, took a shallow sip, the rim of the glass lightly touching his lips, paused for a moment, and then slowly put the glass down.

"To make him think that we are just ordinary tourists who are easy to handle."

"But there was no need to actually give him the money! Isn't this just getting ripped off?"

"Because the place we are going to tomorrow happens to be within his territory."

Li Xin put away his wallet, his tone still calm. "A little money today to keep him satisfied, so we won't be bothered tomorrow. If we don't spend the money, we'll be targeted tonight and won't be able to leave the town at all."

Qiang Zi was instantly speechless.

He lowered his eyes, staring at the beer glass in front of him, the water droplets on the glass wall sliding down continuously, creating a faint ring of water marks on the wooden table.

The two didn't sit for another moment.

Li Xin finished the last drop of soda water in his glass, stood up, and prepared to leave.

The moment they walked out the door, a burst of laughter suddenly erupted from the bar area; it was unknown what that group of people was discussing.

Iron Hammer was leaning against the bar, whispering to the bearded man, not looking at them again the whole time.

Qiang Zi pushed the door open and walked out of the bar. The cold night wind rushed into his face, and he couldn't help but shiver.

The heavy wooden door closed behind him, completely cutting off the noise inside.

The town streets were quiet, and the streetlights stretched their shadows long and thin, laying them all the way across the empty road.

Back in the hotel room, Qiang Zi finally blurted out what he had been holding back the whole way.

"These people are definitely not decent people, being so arrogant. And 'Iron Hammer'? That nickname is so cringey."

Li Xin closed the door casually, bent down to drag a black backpack from under the bed, and unzipped it.

Inside lay a foldable drone, matte black all over, without any markings, with a compact body and neatly folded rotors.

Qiang Zi immediately leaned in, his eyes full of curiosity: "How far can this thing fly? Is the signal stable?"

"It's enough."

Li Xin took the drone and walked to the window, pushing it open.

Outside the window, the night was thick and pitch black, with only the neon lights of a distant bar flickering in the darkness.

He placed the drone gently on the windowsill and pressed the remote control; the fuselage emitted a very faint hum, almost imperceptible.

"Are you going to fly it over there to film them?" Qiang Zi lowered his voice, afraid of being overheard by the neighbors.

"I'm going to see where their hideout is."

The drone took off silently, slipping through the window into the deep night, and vanished in the blink of an eye.

On the remote control screen, a green-grey night vision image appeared, clearly illuminating the contours of the ground.

Qiang Zi stood by the window keeping watch, his nerves taut, palms sweating slightly. He turned to look at Li Xin beside him, who was staring down at the screen with an impassive face, looking unbelievably calm.

A dozen minutes later, the outline of a makeshift camp appeared on the screen.

Three pickup trucks were parked in the clearing, with several tents pitched nearby. At the edge of the camp stood a yellow excavator, its mechanical arm raised high like a motionless steel beast.

"Is someone actually secretly mining for gold?" Qiang Zi's heart rate suddenly accelerated as he asked in a hushed voice.

Li Xin didn't answer; his full attention was on the screen.

The location of this illegal mining camp was right on the north side of the gold Extraction point he had selected during the day, less than two kilometers away.

This distance was too close.

As long as they were still active in this area, his Extraction operation tomorrow would likely be discovered.

He turned off the drone directly and placed the remote control on the table.

Qiang Zi remained peering out the window, repeatedly confirming that no one was around, and his suspended heart finally settled slightly.

"So what now? Do we need to change the plan?"

"We'll change the route tomorrow."

"Where are we going instead?"

"We'll go around from the east side. There are no ready-made roads there, it's desolate, and they won't be guarding it."

Qiang Zi took out his phone and glanced at it; the corner of the screen still showed no service, the entire uninhabited area was completely disconnected from the network. He helplessly threw the phone on his pillow and sighed: "There's no internet, so I can't even look up the background of these people."

Li Xin sat down by the bed, his tone calm: "No need to check their background, we just need to figure out their weak spots."

"What are they afraid of?"

"As thieves, what do you think they're afraid of? It's nothing more than inspections and being reported."

Li Xin explained softly: "Mining gangs are most afraid of official investigations. As long as we don't get caught in the act or expose our tracks, we won't have any trouble."

Qiang Zi was silent for a long time, then turned over with his back to him.

After a few seconds, he tossed and turned back, looking a bit uneasy: "Brother Xin, are we going to get into big trouble this time?"

Li Xin raised his hand and turned off the room light.

In the darkness, the old fan turned slowly, emitting a faint creaking sound.

"Isn't coming out here to explore all about seeking thrills? Otherwise, you'd be living comfortably doing security work back home! We have our gear, what's there to fear? It's just that we still need to play around here for now, so there's no need to cause trouble. Sleep; we have to hit the road tomorrow."

Qiang Zi didn't ask any further.

But he tossed and turned until the middle of the night, before his breathing finally steadied and light snoring began.

In the darkness, Li Xin felt no sleepiness.

Following the newly planned route, the next morning he detoured from the dry riverbed on the east side, avoiding the camp of the Iron Hammer, and arrived safely within the work area.

The next morning.

When Li Xin woke up, the bed next to him was already empty.

He went downstairs and outside, only to see Qiang Zi standing by the car with the trunk open, stuffing a baseball bat inside.

"Why are you bringing that?"

Qiang Zi straightened up, dusted off his hands, and looked cautious: "For self-defense! In case we run into that Iron Hammer again, at least we'll have something to rely on. We can't just use guns, right?"

Li Xin looked at him: "Put it back, we won't need it."

Qiang Zi looked reluctant, but he took the baseball bat out and secretly hid it under the back seat.

Li Xin didn't say anything more, opened the car door, and sat in the driver's seat.

The car drove out of the east side of the town, moving forward along an old slag road that had been abandoned for years.

The road surface was covered with fine Ore, and as the wheels rolled over, it creaked, occasionally slipping slightly.

Qiang Zi gripped his seatbelt, his whole body shaking with the jolts of the car, muttering constantly: "This road is too terrible, it's impossible to drive on..."

"Haha... Just endure it. If you can't even handle a little hardship like this, that won't do."

Qiang Zi made a bitter face and muttered softly.

"Alright, I've boarded your pirate ship; I thought I was coming for a comfortable vacation, but I didn't expect it to be an adventure."

Li Xin was speechless and couldn't be bothered to respond.

The bumpy ride lasted for nearly two hours.

The slag on the road completely disappeared, leaving only exposed, rough red soil.

The car rounded a low ridge, and the view suddenly opened up.

A wide, dry riverbed lay across the horizon.

The banks of the river were crimson sandstone cliffs, eroded by wind, sand, and water over the years, with mottled and uneven patterns on the rock walls. The riverbed was covered with pebbles of various sizes, baked scorching hot by the blazing sun.

Qiang Zi pushed the door open and jumped out, stepping on the pebbles, which emitted a crisp friction sound.

He looked around, took out his phone to take a panoramic shot, and couldn't help but sigh: "This scene, you could film a Western movie right here without even needing a set!"

Li Xin followed him out of the car but didn't walk away immediately.

He stood by the riverbed, silently scanning the surroundings, confirming there were no people or vehicles in the entire area, before slowly walking along the edge of the riverbed.

Qiang Zi followed behind, kicking the stones under his feet as he walked, and asked casually: "Brother Xin, what are you looking for?"

"Looking at the geological rock strata."

"You know about this too?"

"I read a little about it before, just a superficial understanding."

Qiang Zi was half-skeptical but didn't press for more, raising his camera to take close-ups of the sandstone cliffs on both sides. The layered patterns on the rock walls were like tree rings carved by nature, rugged and magnificent.

When they reached the middle of the riverbed, Li Xin stopped. He let the System Scan it.

The current coordinates were eight kilometers away from the target Ore vein, perfectly falling within the ten-kilometer Extraction range.

The location was suitable, and it was safe; he thought to himself.

"AI System, start Extraction."

[ AI System: Extraction started... The gold mine is estimated to yield 460 tons of gold, with an Extraction speed of 50 tons/hour, requiring 9.2 hours. ]

Li Xin smiled involuntarily.

After taking the photos, Qiang Zi came over and squatted beside him: "See anything? Is there really Ore?"

"The rock formation trend is good; there's a high probability of an Ore vein in this area."

"Really? Then aren't we going to get rich!" Qiang Zi's eyes lit up instantly.

Li Xin dusted off his palms.

"What are you thinking? This isn't our territory, and we don't have an Extraction Aptitude, so it's just for fun; if there's a chance to sell this information for some pocket money, that would be fine, but it's not really necessary."

Although Qiang Zi was a bit disappointed, he quickly regained his interest: "Alright, you study it slowly, I'm going to go deeper to shoot some more material!"

After saying that, he raised his camera and ran into the depths of the riverbed, hopping on the pebbles like a playful child.

Li Xin found a cool spot by the rock wall and sat down, starting to calculate in his mind.

He looked at the time; it was ten in the morning.

With 9.2 hours of continuous Extraction, by nightfall, he would be able to finish extracting these 460 tons of gold.

Qiang Zi wandered around shooting for nearly half an hour before running back with a light sweat, plopping down on a stone next to Li Xin.

He took two cans of ice-cold beer from the small refrigerator he brought and handed one over.

Li Xin took it, pulled the tab, and took a small sip.

"Do you think there was really a big river here before?" Qiang Zi looked at the wide riverbed, full of emotion, "With a riverbed this wide, the water flow must have been huge back then."

"It should be."

"Then a long time ago, people must have lived here."

"Perhaps; wherever there is water, there is always a gathering of people."

Qiang Zi tilted his head back and gulped down a large mouthful of beer, staring at the endless rolling red hills in the distance, lost in thought.

"This place looks desolate, but it's strangely comfortable to stay here, quiet."

Li Xin didn't respond.

The gold in the underground rock strata was gathering silently, continuously flowing into the System space, unknown to anyone.

The wind blew from the end of the riverbed, kicking up fine red soil dust, which landed gently on the paper like a thin layer of gold dust, quiet and secretive.