69: Chapter 69 A Net Worth of Hundreds of Billions

In the early morning, sunlight poured in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Standing by the window, Li Xin watched the distant Burj Khalifa gleaming gold in the morning light. A sense of peace filled his heart, completely replacing his past caution and sensitive inferiority. Now, an inexplicable confidence welled up inside him—perhaps 'unwarranted confidence' would be a more fitting description. It was likely because he had amassed an immense amount of wealth recently, elevating his state of mind and stabilizing his inner resolve. Li Xin couldn't help but shake his head, realizing his thoughts had wandered too far.

He had arrived in Dubai in the middle of the night and only slept for six hours, but he felt quite energetic now. He opened the system panel.

[Cumulative Refined Gold: 291.7057 tons.]

Including the cultural relics, the total value exceeded 130 billion RMB. However, this was merely a figure on paper. To turn these items into cash, he had to deal with them one by one. Fortunately, the system helped erase any traces of potential risks. Otherwise, such a massive amount of capital would surely alert state apparatuses.

The gold was easy to handle. The Gold Souk in Dubai, old channels, and old clients.

The cultural relics were more troublesome. There were 901 pieces, large and small, some highly valuable and some ordinary. They couldn't be sold all at once; they had to be categorized and liquidated through different channels.

He opened his computer and spent two hours drafting a liquidation plan.

Gold: 291 tons, divided into 4 batches, to be sold to 3 or 4 established gold merchants in the Gold Souk. Each would take 70 to 80 tons per transaction, with same-day settlement. At a 5% discount on the international gold price, this would yield about 74.6 billion RMB.

Small relics: Select 50 small antiques, jewelry, and ornaments from the 901 pieces and sell them to private antique shops in Old Dubai. These shops did not ask about the source, dealt in cash, and settled on the same day. Estimated value: 1.2 billion RMB.

High-value relics: The remaining 851 pieces would go through Swiss private auction houses. These items were highly valuable and of sensitive origin, so they had to go through the most discreet channels.

He sent the plan to Chen Hu: "Help me set up a meeting with Mr. Hassan this morning. Also, make appointments with those antique shops in Old Dubai for me."

Chen Hu replied instantly: "Mr. Hassan said ten o'clock this morning at the usual spot. As for the antique shops, is 2:00 PM alright?"

"Sure."

At ten in the morning, Li Xin arrived at the Gold Souk.

Mr. Hassan's shop was just as it had always been—a modest storefront with display windows filled with glittering gold jewelry. When Li Xin pushed the door open and walked in, Mr. Hassan was brewing tea. Seeing him enter, Mr. Hassan stood up, his smile even more radiant than last time.

"My friend! Long time no see!"

"Mr. Hassan, long time no see." Li Xin shook hands with him and sat down.

Mr. Hassan poured him a cup of tea and lowered his voice. "How much this time?"

"291 tons."

Mr. Hassan's hand holding the teapot paused. He looked up and stared at Li Xin for two seconds.

"How much?"

"291 tons." Li Xin took a sip from his teacup. "Divided into 4 batches, 70 to 80 tons each. How much can you take?"

Mr. Hassan set down the teapot, leaned back in his chair, and fell silent for a few seconds.

"You've made quite a haul this time." He smiled and shook his head. "291 tons is too much for me to swallow alone. But I can bring in three other merchants to take it together. When do you need it done?"

"Today. The sooner, the better."

Mr. Hassan pulled out his phone and made several calls. He spoke in rapid Arabic, but Li Xin could roughly understand—he was contacting a few established gold merchants, all of whom were major players who had been doing business in the Gold Souk for decades.

Hanging up, he nodded. "It's settled. Three merchants, each taking over 70 tons. We'll inspect the goods this afternoon and transfer the funds on the spot once they're verified."

"And the price?"

"A 5% discount on the international gold price. That's the rule, as you know."

Li Xin nodded. A 5% discount on 291 tons, calculated at the current gold price, was about 74.6 billion RMB. It was nearly 4 billion RMB less than market value, but it was safe and went through a discreet channel. The funds would arrive the same day, with no source checks or registration required.

"I'll arrange for a vehicle to pick up the goods from the hotel at 2:00 PM," Mr. Hassan said.

"No need for a pickup, I'll have them delivered. I've rented a warehouse nearby."

Mr. Hassan glanced at him but didn't pry. "Alright. At 2:00 PM, meet us at the back gate of the Gold Souk, and you can lead us to the warehouse."

At 2:00 PM sharp, Li Xin, Chen Hu, and the others arrived at the Gold Souk.

Li Xin had moved the gold to the warehouse beforehand. Each crate contained 10 tons, making 29 crates in total, all stacked neatly together.

Mr. Hassan was waiting at the back gate of the Gold Souk, flanked by three middle-aged men in white robes. Mr. Hassan introduced them—Abdullah, Majid, and Rashid, all established merchants who had been in the gold business in the Gold Souk for decades.

"The goods are in the warehouse." Li Xin jingled the warehouse keys. "Each crate is 10 tons, 29 in total. You may inspect them."

Abdullah waved his hand, and several workers came over, using electric forklifts to lower the crates onto the ground. The inspection process was tedious—opening crates, spot-checking, weighing, and testing purity.

Mr. Hassan personally conducted the spot checks. He randomly selected a few gold bars from each crate and tested them with a portable gold detector. Every single bar was 99.99% pure gold.

"The quality is excellent," Mr. Hassan nodded.

The three gold merchants huddled together to calculate for a moment before Abdullah spoke first. "Total weight is 291 tons. Based on today's international gold price of $41 per gram, a 5% discount makes it $38.95 per gram. The total price is approximately $11.34 billion, which is equivalent to about 78 billion RMB."

The four of them signed the contract. Mr. Hassan put the contract away and made a quick phone call. A few minutes later, Li Xin's phone received a bank SMS notification.

[Your account has received: $11,340,000,000 USD.]

11.34 billion USD. Equivalent to approximately 77.8 billion RMB.

Looking at the numbers, the corners of Li Xin's mouth curled up slightly.

Adding the $3 billion already in his Dubai account, he now had $14.34 billion USD in his Dubai account, equivalent to approximately 98.4 billion RMB.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Mr. Hassan said, reaching out his hand.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

At 4:00 PM, Li Xin arrived in Old Dubai.

Unlike the Gold Souk, this place had narrow streets and old buildings, with the scent of spices lingering in the air. A few antique shops lined the street, their display windows showcasing various old items—bronze, silverware, porcelain, and jewelry.

Chen Hu was already waiting at the intersection. Standing beside him was a man in his fifties, wearing a gray robe and gold-rimmed glasses.

"Boss, this is Mr. Said, the largest antique dealer in the Old City," Chen Hu introduced.

Said extended his hand, his smile highly professional. "Mr. Li, Mr. Chen mentioned to me that you have some family heirloom antiques you'd like to sell?"

"Yes, Mr. Said." Li Xin took a small cloth pouch out of his backpack and handed it over. "Take a look first."

Said opened the pouch. Inside were a few small antiques—a jade bracelet, a gold coin, a small bronze Buddha, and a gemstone necklace. He took them out one by one, examining them closely with a magnifying glass.

"These are indeed fine pieces," he nodded. "Excellent quality and genuine age. How many more treasures like these do you have?"

"Fifty pieces. All of this caliber."

Said fell silent for a few seconds. "May I see them all?"

"No problem, please follow me," Li Xin said with a smile.

Li Xin led him to a pickup truck and opened the back. Inside were several cardboard boxes packed with foam and bubble wrap, with each antique wrapped individually.

Said inspected them one by one, moving very slowly. He examined each item carefully with his magnifying glass, occasionally picking one up to gauge its weight, or tapping it gently near his ear to listen to the sound.

After nearly an hour, he finally finished his inspection.

"These fifty pieces are all genuine. Fifteen of them are high-end items, the kind that could easily go to auction." He looked up. "Name your price."

"Two hundred million USD."

Said frowned. "That's too high. 130 million USD."

"180 million USD."

"150 million USD."

"160 million USD." Li Xin looked at him. "That's my bottom line. If we can do it, great; if not, I'll find someone else."

Said fell silent for a few seconds, then smiled. "You're a straightforward man. Alright, 160 million USD it is. I'll take them."

He pulled out his phone and made a call. A few minutes later, Li Xin's phone received a bank SMS.

[Your account has received: $160,000,000 USD.]

160 million USD, equivalent to approximately 1.1 billion RMB.

Li Xin smiled, nodded, and shook hands with Said. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"Haha, Mr. Li, pleasure doing business with you." Said laughed, pulled a business card from his pocket, and handed it over. "If you have more good items in the future, remember to come to me. We can always negotiate a good price."

"Haha, definitely." Li Xin took the card and laughed heartily.

He then got into the vehicle. Chen Hu started the engine and drove out of the Old City.

"Boss, heading back to the hotel now?" Chen Hu asked.

"Yes." Li Xin leaned back in his seat, pulled out his phone, and glanced at his account balance. His thoughts drifted. He had wired 1 billion USD back home to buy more stocks, and he wondered how that was going. As of now, his known assets were:

Dubai Account: 14.5 billion USD.

Domestic Account: 25 million RMB.

Stock Account: 205 million USD.

Unicorn Investment: 80 million USD.

System Space: 0 tons of gold (all sold), 851 cultural relics (estimated at 6.8 billion RMB), and a pile of silver, jewelry, and diamonds (estimated at 6.44 billion USD).

Total Assets: Approximately 115 billion RMB.

He took a deep breath.

From his rebirth until now, it had been less than a year.

But this was still not enough.

There were still 851 high-value cultural relics to deal with. This batch couldn't go through Dubai; they had to go through Switzerland.

"Chen Hu," he said, "book me a flight to Geneva for tomorrow."

"Understood."

Li Xin looked out at the Dubai nightscape, calculating in his mind.

The Geneva Free Port in Switzerland.

That would be the real battlefield.

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