8: Chapter 8: Making a Ring to Pass Down Through Generations

Early the next morning, the sunlight in Dubai was already bright. Li Xin had a simple breakfast at a small restaurant downstairs from his hotel: a glass of juice, some fried eggs, a few slices of toast, and some fruit, just like any ordinary tourist.

He finished slowly, but when he went to pay, it cost 55 Dirhams, equivalent to about 100 RMB. He clicked his tongue in surprise; the place was nice, but breakfast was so expensive that it made his heart ache for a while.

After paying, he walked a few steps along the street and, confirming there was nothing unusual around him, Li Xin took out his phone to call the Indian boss.

"Mr. Hassan, this is the Chinese person from yesterday. I have brought the gold."

"Alright, come to the shop."

He hailed a taxi and arrived at the Gold Souk ten minutes later.

Mr. Hassan's shop was in the middle section of the street. The storefront wasn't large, but it was exquisitely decorated. The display window was filled with all kinds of gold jewelry, from rings and necklaces to bracelets and earrings; it had everything.

Li Xin pushed the door open and walked in; Mr. Hassan was brewing tea behind the counter.

"You're here? Please, sit."

Li Xin sat down, took a 1-kilogram gold bar from his backpack, and placed it on the counter.

Mr. Hassan picked it up, examined it over and over, and then carefully inspected the surface with a magnifying glass.

"The purity is excellent, truly 99.99%." He nodded and asked, "How much more do you have?"

Li Xin replied, "There are 8 more kilograms."

Mr. Hassan smiled and said, "Bring them all out."

Li Xin took the remaining 8 gold bars out of his backpack and laid them neatly on the counter.

Mr. Hassan checked them one by one, inspecting each one carefully.

"A total of 9 kilograms. According to today's international gold price, it's 56 dollars per gram. 9 kilograms comes to 504,000 dollars."

He took out a calculator and pressed a few buttons: "After deducting the service fee, I will give you 500,000 dollars. Is that acceptable?"

Li Xin nodded: "That's acceptable."

"Do you want cash or a bank transfer?"

"A transfer. Send it to my account in Switzerland."

Mr. Hassan glanced at him without asking any more questions: "Alright, give me the account number."

Li Xin wrote the account number on a piece of paper and handed it to him.

Mr. Hassan made a call. A few minutes later, Li Xin's phone received a bank text message.

[Your account has received: 500,000 dollars]

500,000 dollars. At the exchange rate at the time, that was about over three million RMB. In his previous life, he had never earned that much money in his entire life. And now, he had done it in less than a week.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Mr. Hassan extended his hand.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Li Xin shook his hand.

Walking out of the gold shop, Li Xin stood on the Gold Souk, watching the crowds coming and going, and took a deep breath. 500,000 dollars. This was just the beginning.

He still had 0.2 kg of gold in his Gold Search and Refining System 2.0, but he didn't intend to sell it now. He wanted to keep it and sell it when he had a larger amount. Next, he needed to acquire more gold.

Returning to the hotel, he opened the map on his phone to check the terrain around Dubai.

Dubai is located in the northern part of the Arabian Peninsula, surrounded by vast deserts and mountains. The Gold Search and Refining System 2.0 showed that there were several small gold mines in the mountains to the southeast of Dubai, and he decided to go there tomorrow to take a look. But before that, he needed to make some preparations.

He went to a local supermarket and bought a pile of snacks, bottled water, some dry rations, and so on. In total, he spent less than a thousand dollars.

Back at the hotel, he put all these things into his Gold Search and Refining System 2.0. Time in the space was frozen, so the food and water wouldn't spoil; it was very convenient. Lying on the bed, he suddenly remembered something.

A space ring. In the past, when he read about all those great figures having space rings, it was so damn cool; he wanted one too. The space the Gold Search and Refining System 2.0 gave him was controlled by thought and didn't require a physical ring. But he could make a ring for himself; that would make it feel right.

He also bought a travel backpack so that in the future, when taking things out of the space, he could pretend they were coming from the backpack, which wouldn't arouse suspicion. So, he decided to go to the Gold Souk to buy a ring and then buy a backpack.

Early the next morning, as the sky over Dubai was just beginning to brighten, the heatwave had already quietly crept in. In the early morning of May or June, the air carried a scorching temperature; the sunlight hadn't fully spread out yet, but it already exuded a dry heat. He ate a simple breakfast, avoided the most vicious sun of noon, and set off early for the bustling Gold Souk.

The gold and silver jewelry shops on both sides of the street were already open for business, their display windows gleaming with a cold light in the morning sun, and the air was filled with a unique scent of spices mixed with metal. He walked into an unassuming little shop, without lingering on the dazzling gold jewelry, his gaze falling directly on a silver ring with a minimalist design. There were no extra patterns, no exaggerated shapes; it was clean and neat, very much to his liking.

This silver ring cost only twenty dollars. He walked out of the shop, raised his hand, and gently placed the ring on the ring finger of his left hand. The cool silver surface pressed against his skin, slightly dispelling some of Dubai's dry heat. He looked down at the low-key silver light on his fingertip.

Li Xin sighed slowly and said, "It's too hot in Dubai. I always feel stuffy wearing it. It would be great if it could automatically regulate the temperature."

Suddenly, Li Xin seemed to remember something, and he thought silently, "Gold Search and Refining System 2.0, are you there?"

[Gold Search and Refining System 2.0: "Even if you were gone, I would always be here."]

Li Xin scratched his hair awkwardly and said, "Gold Search and Refining System 2.0, do you think you could make this ring... set to a state where it can regulate warmth in winter and coolness in summer for me?"

"Not just for my finger, it needs to be able to regulate the temperature of my whole body."

[Gold Search and Refining System 2.0 Notification: Possible. Host instruction detected. Analyzing ring material and environmental parameters...]

[Gold Search and Refining System 2.0: Instruction confirmed. Activating ring body temperature regulation mode. Current environment: High temperature and dry, automatically adjusting to a slightly cool body sensation; in winter, it will automatically warm up to maintain a comfortable temperature.]

He was slightly stunned, then immediately felt a refreshing sensation at his fingertips, just right. His body no longer felt the dry heat of Dubai; he felt fresh and cool.

"Thanks, Gold Search and Refining System 2.0. This feature... is really thoughtful."

In the scorching air, he felt an inexplicable sense of stability and certainty. He then turned around and continued to walk into the city's blazing morning light. From now on, this ring was his "space ring." Of course, he wouldn't show this ability in front of others.