83: Chapter 83 Songbawa: Rules of the Mining Area

Flying from Ternate to Sumbawa with a transfer in Makassar was an exhausting day. When I arrived at Sumbawa, it was already evening.

Leaving the airport, a wave of hot air hit me. In the distance, the volcano was emitting white smoke, dyed orange-red by the setting sun. Li Xin hailed a minivan by the roadside; five people were already sitting inside, all wearing dirty work uniforms.

"Batu Hijau?" the driver asked, poking his head out.

"Yes."

"Get in."

Li Xin squeezed in, and the car door slammed shut. There was no air conditioning in the car, and the windows were all open, the wind messing up his hair. A man in his forties sat next to him, his face covered in dust, with deep dark circles under his eyes. He glanced at Li Xin and asked in Indonesian, "New here?"

"Yes."

"Where are you from?"

"China."

"Oh." The man nodded, asked no more, and leaned back to close his eyes and sleep.

The car drove for over two hours before arriving at a small coastal town. The town wasn't big—one main street, two rows of low houses. The streetlights were dim, and a few wild dogs were digging through trash near the bins.

Li Xin got out of the car and found a hotel to stay in. It was called a hotel, but it was actually just a two-story residential building with a faded sign hanging at the entrance. The receptionist was an Old Lady who was watching TV.

"Staying the night?"

"Yes. Two days."

"150,000 per night."

Li Xin paid the money, took the key, and went upstairs. He put down his backpack, washed his face, and lay on the bed.

He opened his phone to check information about Batu Hijau. Proven gold reserves were approximately 280 tons, an open-pit mine, with a pit diameter of 1.6 kilometers and a depth of 400 meters. Security was strict, with a Patrol Team, surveillance, and barbed wire.

But he didn't need to go inside. The Gold Search and Refining System 2.0 Scan range was 28 kilometers.

At four o'clock the next morning, Li Xin was woken up by the sound of prayers outside the window. He turned over and covered his ears with a pillow, but he couldn't get back to sleep.

At 5:30, just as dawn broke, he got up. He bought two steamed buns at a stall downstairs and ate while walking.

Leaving the town, there was a dirt road. On both sides were cornfields and banana plantations; the morning breeze blew over, carrying the scent of soil. After walking for about an hour, the cornfields turned into bushes, and the road became narrower and steeper.

The sun rose, scorching his back. His T-shirt was soaked through, sticking to his body. He stopped to take a drink of water.

[Ding... System prompt: Current location is about 8 kilometers from the center of the Batu Hijau pit, entry into detection range complete.]

He continued walking forward.

After walking for another hour, a fork in the road appeared ahead. To the left was a narrower path leading into a dense forest. To the right was an uphill path, barren and full of gravel.

He looked at the map and turned right.

The road became steeper and steeper. The gravel slid under his feet, and he almost fell several times. When he climbed to the mountainside, voices suddenly came from ahead.

He stopped and hid behind a large rock.

Two men in uniforms walked down from above, holding walkie-talkies. One was tall and thin, the other short and fat. They weren't walking fast, chatting as they went.

"Where did you send that guy caught yesterday?" the short, fat one asked.

"Police station. Mining thief, he's locked up." The tall, thin one smiled. "Heard he's going to be fined 50 million."

"Serves him right. Is the stuff here that easy to take?"

The two walked past the rock where Li Xin was hiding without seeing him.

Li Xin crouched behind the rock, waited for a long time, and only stood up after confirming they had gone far away.

He continued to climb up.

Reaching the summit, the view suddenly opened up. The huge mine pit was right before his eyes, like a giant eye embedded in the earth. The rock walls were yellowish-brown, layered downwards like terraced fields. There was water at the bottom of the pit, shimmering green in the sunlight. Trucks crawled on the mountain roads like small beetles.

Li Xin stood there, raised his camera, and took a few shots.

[Ding... System prompt: Current location is about 3.5 kilometers from the center of the Batu Hijau pit, entry into optimal Scan range complete.]

He put down the camera and looked around. No one was there.

"System, Scan the entire Batu Hijau copper-gold mine area."

[Scanning... Scan complete. Batu Hijau copper-gold mine: Proven gold reserves approximately 280 tons, distribution depth: 50-400 meters.]

[Note: This mine is owned, the host can Extraction 60%, which is 168 tons of gold.]

[Extraction...]

Li Xin stood there, continuously snapping photos of the distant volcano. The shutter clicked continuously.

Suddenly, a voice came from behind him.

"Hey."

He turned his head abruptly.

A sturdy man in uniform stood behind him, swinging a wooden stick up and down in his hand.

On the man's belt hung a walkie-talkie and next to the walkie-talkie—a handgun.

Li Xin's heart jumped to his throat.

"What are you doing here?" the man asked in Indonesian.

"I think the volcano over there is nice, so I'm taking pictures here."

"Taking pictures?" The man walked over, looked him up and down, "Are you a reporter?"

"No."

"Then who are you?"

"I'm just a tourist."

"Tourist?" The man laughed. "There are no tourists here."

He pointed at the mine in the distance. "This is a mining area, not a tourist area. Where are you from?"

"The town."

"The town?" The man frowned. "Who brought you here?"

"I walked here myself."

The man stared at him for a few seconds, then picked up the walkie-talkie and pressed a button. "Someone is on the north ridge. Come over."

A rustling sound came from the walkie-talkie, then a voice replied: "Received."

Li Xin's palms were full of sweat.

"Sit down." The man pointed to the ground.

Li Xin didn't move.

"Sit down!" The man's voice grew louder, his hand resting on the gun.

Li Xin slowly squatted down and sat on the ground.

The man stood in front of him, the wooden stick resting on the ground, his eyes fixed on him.

After about five minutes, the sound of an engine came from afar. A white pickup truck drove up from the foot of the mountain, with a yellow light flashing on the roof. The pickup stopped, and three people in uniforms got out. One of them, who looked like the leader, was in his forties with a scar on his face.

"What's going on?" the Scar-faced man walked over.

"Found him up here. Says he's a tourist." The man with the wooden stick said.

The Scar-faced man squatted down and looked at Li Xin. "Are you Chinese?"

"Yes."

"What are you doing here?"

"Traveling."

"Traveling." The Scar-faced man repeated, then laughed. "Do you know what place this is?"

"A mining area."

"A mining area. Then do you know that outsiders are not allowed in the mining area?"

"I don't know."

"Don't know?" The Scar-faced man stood up. "You know now."

He took a notebook out of his pocket, opened it, and wrote a few words with a pen. "Name."

"Li Xin."

"Nationality."

"China."

"What are you doing in Indonesia?"

"Traveling."

"Traveling." The Scar-faced man laughed again. "You're traveling, and you ran up to a mine?"

"I like hiking."

The Scar-faced man stared at him for a few seconds, then closed the notebook. "Fine. Five million."

Li Xin was stunned. "How much?"

"Five million Indonesian Rupiah." The Scar-faced man said. "Pay up and leave. If not, you're going to the police station."

Li Xin was silent for a few seconds. Five million Indonesian Rupiah was less than 2,500 RMB. It wasn't much, but he didn't have that much cash on him.

"I don't have that much money."

"Then we're going to the police station."

The Scar-faced man waved his hand. Two security guards walked over and grabbed Li Xin's arms, one on each side.

"Wait." Li Xin said. "I'll have someone send it over."

"Call then." The Scar-faced man handed him his phone.

Li Xin took the phone and flipped through his contacts. Who could he call? Chen Hu was in Jakarta; it would take a day to get here. The Old Lady at the hotel? He didn't even know her name.

He raised his head. "I only have two million."

The Scar-faced man looked at him without speaking.

"Two million. Cash. I'll give it to you right now."

The Scar-faced man was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "Hand it over."

Li Xin took his wallet out of his backpack, which contained two million Indonesian Rupiah. He handed the money over. The Scar-faced man counted it and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Go. Don't come back."

[Extraction progress: 67%... 82%... 94%...]

[Extraction complete. Obtained 168 tons of gold. Cumulative refined gold: 417.5057 tons.]

Li Xin stood up, patted the dust off his pant legs, and turned to walk down.

After a few steps, the Scar-faced man's voice came from behind.

"Wait a second."

He stopped and turned around.

The Scar-faced man raised his phone and took a photo of him.

"Keep a record." He said. "Next time I see you, you're going straight to the police station."

Li Xin nodded and turned to walk down.

His legs felt a bit weak.

He walked very fast, the gravel rattling under his feet. His mind kept thinking about that gun—if it hadn't been for the gun, he might not have backed down so quickly.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, he stopped and looked back at the summit. The security guards were already gone, and the summit was empty.

He took a deep breath and continued to walk back.

After walking for about half an hour, a village appeared ahead. The village wasn't big, with a dozen households, all stilt wooden houses. A few women were drying clothes in front of the houses, and when they saw him, they smiled.

"Tired? Come in for a drink of water."

"Thank you." Li Xin walked over and sat down at the doorway.

A woman brought over a bowl of water; it was cold and had a muddy taste. He took it and drank it in one breath.

"Are you Chinese?" the woman asked.

"Yes."

"What are you doing here?"

"Traveling."

The woman looked at him, hesitant to speak.

"What's wrong?" Li Xin asked.

The woman lowered her voice. "There are no tourists here. Coming here is very dangerous."

"Why?"

"The people at the mine." The woman pointed to the distant mountain. "When they see strangers, they catch them. Last month, someone was caught by them in the mountains. Sent to the police station and locked up for half a month."

"What did that person do?"

"Sold fruit. Passing by here, took the wrong road." The woman shook her head. "When he came out, he had lost a lot of weight."

Li Xin didn't speak.

"You should leave quickly." The woman stood up. "Don't stay here."

"Thank you."

Li Xin stood up and continued to walk back.

It was already afternoon when he reached the small town. He ate a bowl of noodles at a small restaurant by the roadside, then returned to the hotel to take a shower and lay on the bed.

He opened the system panel.

[Cumulative refined gold: 417.5057 tons.]

[Gold required for next upgrade: 1000 tons.]

Still short 582.5 tons.

He turned off the panel and stared at the ceiling.

His phone vibrated. Chen Hu sent a message: "Boss, there is a Grasberg gold mine in Papua, it is one of the largest gold mines in the world. Proven gold reserves exceed 2000 tons. But the environment there is very harsh, the mining area is over 4,000 meters above sea level, and there are local armed forces. Should we go take a look?"

Li Xin stared at this message for a long time.

2000 tons. 60% would be 1200 tons. Adding the current 417 tons, it would directly exceed 1600 tons.

He replied with two words: "Book tickets."

Then he turned off his phone and closed his eyes.

His mind was thinking about the Scar-faced man's face—he had taken a photo. For the record.

He had said, "Next time I see you, you're going straight to the police station."

Li Xin turned over and pulled the quilt over his head.

The sound of prayers from the mosque drifted in from outside the window, long and desolate.

He fell asleep very quickly.