44: Chapter 44 Flying to Bangkok

At 7:00 AM on Monday, Li Xin stood at the entrance of the villa with an old backpack, waiting for a car.

The backpack was very light, containing only a few changes of clothes, a passport, a wallet, and a spare mobile phone. The real equipment—tents, sleeping bags, dry rations, engineer shovels, flashlights, first-aid kits, satellite phones, and GPS trackers—were all in the System Space, neatly stacked and ready to be retrieved at any time.

Passing through security? No need to worry at all. Nothing in the System Space could be detected by any instrument.

Chen Hu drove a black SUV to the entrance and got out to open the car door for him.

"Boss, the flight is booked. It leaves for Bangkok at 10:30 AM," Chen Hu said. "The arrival time is around 1:00 PM local time."

"What about the car rental?"

"It's already arranged at Bangkok airport. A Toyota SUV, rented for four days. Someone will deliver the keys when you arrive."

"Thanks for your hard work," Li Xin said as he sat in the car. "Just take me to the airport; you don't need to come with me."

"Understood."

The car drove out of the villa area and onto the highway. Outside the window, Shenzhen was slowly waking up in the morning light, the glass curtain walls of the skyscrapers reflecting the golden sunlight.

Li Xin leaned back against the seat, took out his phone, and sent a message to Luo Maifa: "I've set off. I'm going to Southeast Asia for an inspection, for about ten days."

Luo Maifa replied instantly: "Alright, where are you going this time?"

"Thailand and Laos."

"Stay safe. I heard it's quite chaotic over there."

"Don't worry."

He also sent a message to Yang Hong: "Keep an eye on the product matters. Contact me anytime if anything comes up."

Yang Hong replied with one word: "Okay."

He sent a message to Qiang Zi: "Help out with Tie Zhu's breakfast shop."

Qiang Zi replied: "Don't worry, I'll call you if anything happens."

He sent a message to Li Jiayi: "I'm leaving the company matters to you. You can decide on the ByteDance contract."

Li Jiayi replied: "Stay safe. Let me know when you arrive."

Li Xin set his phone to silent, leaned back against the seat, and closed his eyes.

He went over today's itinerary in his mind again: takeoff at 10:30 AM, arrive in Bangkok at 1:00 PM, pick up the car, and then drive north. It's about 450 kilometers from Bangkok to Tak, a five or six-hour drive. If things go smoothly, he should arrive in the evening. Once there, he'll find a place to stay first, and head to Mae Sot tomorrow morning.

He silently noted the key locations in his mind: Bangkok, Tak, Mae Sot, Mae Ramat Village, and the Mei River.

One step at a time, no rush.

The car arrived at the airport, and Chen Hu dropped Li Xin off at the departure hall.

"Boss, send me a message when you get to Bangkok," Chen Hu said.

"Alright."

Li Xin walked into the hall with his backpack, checked in to get his boarding pass, went through security, and found his boarding gate.

There were quite a few people in the waiting lounge, mostly Chinese tourists heading to Thailand. Middle-aged women were chattering away, young couples were taking selfies, and a few business people were on their phones.

Li Xin found a seat in a corner, took out his phone, opened the offline map, and reviewed the route along the Thai-Myanmar border again. It's about 450 kilometers from Bangkok to Tak, a five or six-hour drive. He would stay in Tak first, then head to Mae Sot the next morning to find a guide to go into the mountains.

He wrote down today's plan in his notes:

· 10:30 Take off from Shenzhen

· 13:00 Arrive in Bangkok (local time)

· 14:00 Pick up car, depart for Tak

· 19:00 Arrive in Tak and check into a hotel

The boarding announcement sounded. Li Xin stood up and followed the crowd into the boarding bridge.

The plane was an Airbus A320, economy class. His seat was by the window, and next to him sat a man in his forties wearing a floral shirt, who also looked like he was going to Thailand for a vacation.

"Brother, going to Thailand for a trip?" the man initiated the conversation.

"On a business trip," Li Xin smiled.

"What line of work are you in?"

"Trade. Going over there to check out the market."

The man nodded, didn't ask further, and took out his phone to watch videos.

After the plane took off, Li Xin leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes. He was calculating the next steps in his mind.

After arriving in Tak, he needed to find a place to stay first, then inquire about the situation—the situation in Mae Ramat Village, whether there were any Patrol Teams recently, and if the roads into the mountains were easy to traverse. It would be best to find a local to act as a guide. He wasn't familiar with that area, so having someone lead the way would be much more convenient.

But if he couldn't find one, he would just go by himself. Anyway, he had the system, satellite maps, and GPS; he wouldn't get lost.

The plane flew for over two hours and landed at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Li Xin followed the crowd out of the arrival hall, and a wave of heat hit him. June in Bangkok was even hotter than in Shenzhen; the air was humid and stuffy, like entering a sauna. Fortunately, the system had a temperature control function, so he always felt comfortable.

He took out his phone, swapped in a local Thai SIM card, then opened the map and found the car rental company's counter.

The paperwork was processed quickly. Ten minutes later, he received the car keys—a white Toyota Fortuner, which had good off-road capability and was suitable for mountain roads.

Li Xin threw his backpack into the back seat, sat in the driver's seat, and started the car.

The navigation showed about 450 kilometers to Tak, with an estimated driving time of five hours and forty minutes.

He stepped on the gas, drove out of the parking lot, and merged into the traffic in Bangkok.

Bangkok's traffic is notoriously congested. The car drove for nearly an hour in the city before getting on the highway. Once on the highway, the traffic condition improved significantly, and the speed picked up.

The scenery outside the window changed from city to farmland, and from farmland to hills. Northern Thailand is different from the central region; the central region is endless plains, while the north is continuous mountain ranges.

Li Xin kept an eye on the road conditions while driving. He hadn't traveled this road in his previous life, so he relied entirely on navigation.

After driving for over an hour, he felt a bit hungry. Seeing a gas station by the side of the road, he drove in, filled up the tank, and incidentally bought a sandwich and a bottle of water at the convenience store.

He stood by the gas station, eating the sandwich while looking at the map. The navigation showed that there were still over three hundred kilometers to Tak.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Chen Hu: "Landed in Bangkok, currently driving to Tak."

Chen Hu replied instantly: "Stay safe, boss."

He also sent a message to Luo Maifa: "Arrived in Bangkok, driving north."

Luo Maifa replied with an "OK" emoji.

Li Xin put his phone in his pocket, finished the sandwich, got in the car, and continued his journey.

The afternoon sun was intense, scorching the road surface. Even with the car's air conditioning turned to the maximum, he still felt hot. But Li Xin had the system's temperature control, so he always felt comfortable.

He turned on the music and tuned to a Thai radio station. Although he couldn't understand it, the rhythm was strong and refreshing.

The car traveled along mountain roads, flanked by lush forests. Occasionally, he could see a few villages, wooden houses, rice paddies, and water buffaloes—a pastoral scene.

After driving for over four hours, the sky gradually darkened.

The navigation showed that there was less than one hundred kilometers to Tak.

Li Xin slowed down, keeping an eye on the motels by the side of the road while driving. He didn't want to rush to Tak city center to find a place to stay; it was too late. It was better to find a motel by the road to stay for the night and leave early tomorrow morning.

After driving for about twenty minutes, a row of low houses appeared by the roadside with a sign that read "Inn." Li Xin drove in and parked in front of a small two-story building.

The receptionist was a Thai woman in her fifties with dark skin, who smiled very kindly.

"Need a room?" she asked in broken English.

"How much for one night?" Li Xin asked in Thai.

The woman was stunned for a moment, probably not expecting a Chinese person to speak Thai.

"Five hundred baht," she said.

"I'll take one."

Li Xin paid the money, took the key, went upstairs, and found the room.

The room wasn't big, with one bed, a fan, and a bathroom. The sheets were washed until they were faded but were still relatively clean. He didn't care; having slept in tents in the mountains of Yunnan, this was already considered luxurious.

He put down his backpack, washed his face, and went downstairs to find something to eat.

There was a small restaurant next to the inn, selling Pad Thai and Tom Yum Goong soup. Li Xin ordered a serving of Pad Thai, sat on a plastic chair at the entrance, and looked at his phone while eating.

Luo Maifa sent a message: "Have you arrived?"

Li Xin replied: "On the way to Tak, staying at a roadside inn tonight."

Yang Hong sent a message: "Product data is good, over eight thousand new users today."

Li Xin replied with "Good."

Li Jiayi sent a message: "Received the due diligence report for ByteDance, no issues. We can sign this week."

Li Xin replied: "You decide."

He put down his phone, finished the Pad Thai, paid, and returned to his room.

Lying on the bed, he opened the system panel and took a look at his data.

[Gold Search and Refining System 2.0]

[Host: Li Xin]

[Current Level: 10]

[Detection Range: 3990 meters]

[Cumulative Refined Gold: 19.9257 tons]

[Gold Required for Next Upgrade: 50 tons]

Tomorrow, he would go to Mae Ramat Village.

There was placer gold there.

He didn't know how much he could find, but even a few hundred kilograms would be good. Accumulating bit by bit, he would eventually gather the 30 tons needed for the upgrade.

Li Xin turned off the light and closed his eyes.

Outside the window, the Thai night sky was very clear, and he could see the stars.

He turned over and soon fell asleep.