53: Chapter 53 Where Did the Lao Gold Mine Escape To?

The next day, before dawn, Li Xin woke up from the cold.

The inner walls of the tent were covered in water droplets; a touch made him flinch from the chill. He crawled out of his sleeping bag, got dressed, and unzipped the tent. It was still dark outside. Song Pengfei's tent was closed, and snoring could be heard in bursts.

Li Xin didn't wake him. He groped in the dark to gather some dry firewood and piled it together. The lighter took three clicks before it lit; as the flame flared up, he leaned in to warm his hands.

He took a pot of water from the space and hung it over the fire. The bottom of the aluminum pot was blackened by the flames, emitting a sizzling sound. He tore open a packet of instant coffee and poured it into his thermos.

The water boiled, and steam rose from the spout. He lifted it to pour the coffee; as the hot water went in, the aroma spread. He took a sip, hissed from the heat, but felt refreshed all over.

He opened the system panel.

[Gold Search and Refining System 2.0]

[Host: Li Xin]

[Current Level: 10]

[Detection Range: 3990 meters]

[Cumulative Gold Extracted: 81.3327 tons]

[Gold Required for Next Upgrade: 50 tons]

81 tons. Over twenty billion. But it wasn't enough. One upgrade required 50 tons, and there wasn't much left.

The horizon began to pale. A golden line appeared on the mountaintop in the east, slowly widening. Birdsong emerged from the forest, first a few chirps, then more and more, chattering away.

Song Pengfei's tent stirred. With a loud zip, he crawled out, his hair messy, his eyes squinted into slits.

"Morning." He squatted by the fire, reaching out to warm his hands.

"Coffee." Li Xin handed him the thermos.

Song Pengfei took it and took a sip, frowning: "Instant?"

"Be glad you have something to drink."

"That's true." He took another sip and handed the cup back. "Today we head east, over that ridge. Probably three or four hours. Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

The two of them ate a little. Compressed biscuits broken into pieces, spread with peanut butter—dry and choking. Li Xin swallowed them with water, his jaw aching from chewing. Song Pengfei ate quickly, finishing three biscuits and a few gulps of water before wiping his mouth.

While packing up the tent, Li Xin took advantage of the moment Song Pengfei walked away to relieve himself. With a press of his hand on the ground, the tent was directly stored into the space. When Song Pengfei returned and glanced at his small backpack, he muttered: "Your bag is pretty spacious."

"Lightweight gear, doesn't take up much space."

Song Pengfei didn't ask further. He shouldered his own pack and picked up his machete: "Let's go."

The sun had just peeked out when they set off. The mist hadn't dissipated yet, drifting in wisps between the treetops like white gauze. Song Pengfei walked in front, swinging his machete gently from side to side. The branches blocking the way snapped with a crunch, and a path was cleared easily. Li Xin followed close behind Song Pengfei, continuing forward.

The path became increasingly difficult. The shrubbery grew denser, making it hard to even squeeze through, and in some places, they had to crawl under vines. Their clothes were scratched and torn with a rasping sound; a red mark appeared on Li Xin's arm. Looking down, he saw the cuffs were already frayed.

The ground was covered in a thick layer of rotting leaves, feeling soft and spongy underfoot, making it impossible to tell if there were rocks or mud pits underneath.

Suddenly, he stepped into thin air, his body tilted, and he hurriedly grabbed a small tree nearby. The bark was rough, hurting his palm.

"Watch it." Song Pengfei didn't even turn his head. "The path is like this here; if you fall, no one is going to carry you."

After walking for about an hour, they crossed a small ridge. Song Pengfei stopped and pointed ahead with his machete: "That ridge over there—once we cross it, we'll be at the old mine."

Li Xin looked over. In the distance was an even higher ridge, its top obscured by clouds, misty and hazy. The hillside was covered in trees, so dense that the ground was invisible, without even a proper path.

"Let's go."

They continued. The slope gradually steepened, and in some places, they had to use both hands and feet. Song Pengfei reached out to grab a tree root, climbed up easily, and then turned back to pull Li Xin up.

Li Xin's breathing grew heavy, panting hard, but he didn't stop. Sweat streamed down his forehead and into his eyes, stinging uncomfortably. He wiped it with his sleeve and kept climbing.

After walking for another hour or so, they stopped to rest. Li Xin was silently scanning the surroundings in his mind.

[Ding...]

[Weak gold reaction detected. Location is approximately 4.2 kilometers directly ahead. Gold content unknown, further scanning required.]

Li Xin's footsteps faltered. His heart rate accelerated sharply, thumping against his throat as if it wanted to jump out.

He stood up abruptly, signaled to Song Pengfei, and quickened his pace, heading forward. His face was stung painfully by branches, but he didn't care. Song Pengfei called out from behind, somewhat helplessly: "Slow down! If you fall, I can't carry you!"

Li Xin continued on his own way. Just like that, he pushed through patches of bushes, his face whipped by vines from time to time until it burned. Finally, he crested a small hill—

The view suddenly opened up.

A valley. Surrounded by mountains on three sides, with one opening. The valley floor was a dried-up riverbed, full of pebbles of all sizes, covered in moss and slippery. Wildflowers grew on the hillside, and colorful butterflies danced elegantly among the blossoms. A few large trees were sparsely scattered around, and sunlight leaked through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled light and shadow on the ground.

Quiet. Only the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves, rustling. It was truly a beautiful place.

The system showed the gold mine was right under his feet.

Li Xin stood in the middle of the valley and took a deep breath. His heart was beating too fast. He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, forcing himself to stay calm. "Don't rush, don't give yourself away."

"Song Pengfei, let's take a break."

Song Pengfei nodded, found some shade to sit down, took out his mineral water from his pack, and tilted his head back to take a big gulp. Sweat kept streaming down his forehead; he wiped it with the back of his hand and fanned himself.

Li Xin walked to the middle of the valley, raised his camera, and took a few shots of the surroundings—the mountain ridge, the riverbed, the wildflowers, the butterflies. Click, click. The shutter sound echoed in the valley.

He secretly squatted down, feeling a bit nervous. While pretending to check the camera, one hand stealthily pressed against the ground.

"System, precise Scan."

[Scanning... Scan complete.]

[Ding... Large gold mine discovered. Location is approximately 22-35 meters directly below. Vein width is 12.2 meters, extending for 1600 meters.]

[Estimated gold content: 41.5 tons.]

[Note: No ownership, 100% Extraction possible.]

41.5 tons. 11.2 billion.

Li Xin was ecstatic, almost bursting into laughter. Considering Song Pengfei was there, he forced it back, feeling incredibly uncomfortable; his face almost lost control for a moment. He calmed himself down for a good while.

He stood up leisurely and glanced quietly at Song Pengfei not far away—Song Pengfei was looking up, fanning himself with his hat, eyes fixed on the distant ridge, not looking this way.

His heart finally settled, and he slowly squatted down again, pressing his hand to the ground.

"System, extract."

[Extracting...]

The ground began to vibrate slightly. It was very light, something an ordinary person wouldn't feel. It felt like something was flowing underground, as if something were being drawn away, though only Li Xin could feel it.

Suddenly... a few loose stones rolled down from the small hillside, making a clattering sound, just happening to roll into the dried-up riverbed.

Song Pengfei turned his head and frowned: "What was that?"

Li Xin's heart contracted involuntarily. He looked up and saw that the place they had just stepped on had loosened, causing some rubble to collapse. He relaxed slightly and replied casually:

"Nothing, just some loose stones rolling down from where we stepped earlier."

[Ding... Extraction complete. A total of approximately 1,000 tons of gold ore extracted, with a gold content of approximately 41.5 tons. Extract gold?]

"Extract."

[Extracting... Extraction complete. Obtained gold: 41.5 tons.]

[Cumulative gold extracted: 122.8327 tons.]

Li Xin stood up and brushed the dirt off his hands. His fingers were still trembling, so he put his hands into his pockets. After calming down for a few minutes, he turned and walked back to Song Pengfei.

"Rested enough?" Song Pengfei asked.

"Yes."

"Still want to go? There's an old mine ahead; we can get there in another two hours."

Li Xin thought about it, smiled bitterly, and shook his head: "Not anymore. My legs are about to break; I'm afraid I won't make it out if I keep walking."

Song Pengfei laughed, stood up, and tucked his machete into his waistband: "Then let's head back. We should be able to reach the village before dark."

The two of them walked back along the original path. Going down the mountain was faster than going up. Li Xin walked behind, his mind racing. 122.8 tons. 33.1 billion. But that was just a number. The real value was in how to use this money and gold.

A few hours later, they returned to the village. Song Pengfei's motorcycle was still parked at the village entrance, and a few children were jumping on the seat, bending the rearview mirror. Song Pengfei waved his hand, and the children ran away giggling, looking back at him even from a distance.

Song Pengfei straightened the rearview mirror, checked the tires, and started the engine. The motorcycle began to sputter.

Li Xin sat on the back seat, gripping the iron frame. The dirt road made his butt ache; the wheels rolled over stones, bouncing up and down. He held on with one hand, while the other held his backpack.

Two hours later, they arrived in Luang Prabang.

It was dark. Streetlights lit up the streets, casting a dim, yellowish glow. Li Xin found a guesthouse and checked in. The room wasn't big, but it had a water heater, and the sheets looked clean enough.

He took a shower. The water poured down from above, washing away two days of mud and sweat, leaving a puddle of yellowish water on the floor. After washing, he felt refreshed.

Lying on the bed, he took out his phone.

Full signal.

WeChat messages were exploding.

Luo Maifa: "Did you arrive?" "Are you okay?" "What on earth are you doing?" "Reply to my message, brother."

The last one was: "There are wild elephants in Laos, don't get stepped on."

Yang Hong: "Product data is good, new users broke 100,000." "When are you coming back?"

Qiang Zi: "Tiezhu's second branch is under renovation, waiting for you to come back and see it."

Li Jiayi: "ByteDance and Didi Chuxing are both signed. Due diligence for Parody and DJI is also done, just waiting for your signature."

Li Xin replied one by one. To Luo Maifa: "Alive, didn't get stepped on."

To Yang Hong: "A few more days, watch the data."

To Qiang Zi: "Good."

To Li Jiayi: "I'll come back to the company to sign in a few days."

Then he sent a message to Chen Hu: "Help me book a flight to Vietnam for tomorrow. By the way, help me check Vietnam as well; see if there's a guide in Nghe An Province."

Chen Hu replied instantly: "Ticket booked, flying from Vientiane to Vietnam in the afternoon. I'm checking on Vietnam right now."

"Good."

Li Xin threw his phone on the headboard and turned off the light.

The room went dark. There were dogs barking outside the window, and the sound of temple bells from afar drifted over, one toll after another, muffled.

He turned over, his mind thinking about the next steps.

Vietnam. Nghe An Province. I heard there are abandoned gold mines in the mountains there too. Found them in Thailand and Laos; shouldn't return empty-handed from Vietnam.

He closed his eyes.

The phone vibrated again. He picked it up and looked: it was from Chen Hu: "Boss, I've contacted a guide in Nghe An, Vietnam, named A-Jun. He's a local and knows the mountainous area very well. We'll discuss the details when you return."

Li Xin replied with a "Good" and pressed the phone against his chest.

The moonlight outside the window spilled through the curtains, casting a patch of white on the floor.

He turned over and quickly fell asleep.