86: Chapter 86 Old Friends of Golden Street

In the early morning of Dubai, sunlight spilled through the porthole, stinging Li Xin's eyes as he squinted.

The plane was descending.

He looked out through the window; Palm Jumeirah, Burj Al Arab, and Burj Khalifa emerged one by one from the clouds.

This was his fourth visit to this city of gold in the desert.

The first time, he carried 9 kilograms of gold, flew economy class, stayed in a small hotel, and felt as nervous as a thief.

The second time, he brought 10 tons and began to feel confident.

The third time, 291 tons shocked the entire Gold Souk.

This time, he was offloading 100 tons first. It wasn't that he didn't have more, but there was no need to bring it all out at once. Slow and steady.

The plane came to a complete stop, and he unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up. A middle-aged man in a gray suit sitting next to him had been secretly sizing him up.

"Are you in the gold business?" the man asked in English.

"Why do you ask?" Li Xin smiled.

"I've been sitting next to you, and I saw you looking at gold trend charts the entire time." The man handed over a business card. "I'm a jeweler from London, here in Dubai to purchase stock."

Li Xin took the business card, glanced at it, and tucked it into his pocket. "I'm just a tourist."

The man smiled and didn't press further.

Exiting the airport, a wave of heat hit him. A black Maybach was already waiting on the side of the road; Chen Hu stood by the car and opened the rear door.

"Boss, the villas are ready. Two of them, both on Palm Jumeirah. One is for transactions, and one is for you to live in."

"Good work."

The car drove out of the airport and onto the highway. Li Xin leaned back in his seat, took out his phone, and scrolled to Muhammad's number. He was his first client in the Gold Souk and his longest-standing partner. Since the first time, the Al Hassan Family had purchased over 400 tons of gold from him.

He dialed the number.

It was answered after one ring.

"Mr. Li! Hello!" Muhammad's excited voice came from the other end of the line, carrying a thick Arabic accent. "Have you graced Dubai with your presence again?"

"Yes, I just got off the plane."

"That's wonderful! When shall we meet?"

"Let's meet at the usual place today."

"I'll arrange it immediately! How much did you bring this time?"

Li Xin smiled. "We'll talk when we meet."

Hanging up the phone, he looked out the window. The car was passing over Dubai Creek, toward the Gold Souk in the Deira district on the opposite bank. The golden signs shimmered in the sunlight, stretching as far as the eye could see.

He remembered his first visit. Back then, he had just been reborn, didn't have much money in his pocket, the system was only level 1, and the detection range was only 50 meters. He had crouched in an alley in the Gold Souk, hands pressed to the ground, secretly collecting scattered gold, his heart pounding like a drum.

Back then, he had to be extremely cautious even when selling 9 kilograms of gold.

Now, 100 tons was easy to handle.

The car stopped in front of a villa on Palm Jumeirah. The villa was large, three stories high, with a private pool and garden. Chen Hu had hired people to clean it in advance, and the living room was stocked with fruits and tea.

Li Xin changed into clean clothes and had Chen Hu drive him to the Gold Souk.

The car stopped at the entrance of the Gold Souk. Li Xin got out and took a deep breath; the air was filled with the scent of spices—a familiar smell.

He had only taken a few steps when he saw two familiar figures standing at the entrance of the street.

Muhammad, over sixty, wore a snow-white robe, his beard neatly trimmed. Standing beside him was his nephew, Khalil, in his early thirties, wearing a well-tailored dark gray suit.

Unlike the previous three times, this time, the two of them were standing there waiting for him.

They weren't waiting in the shop; they were waiting at the entrance of the street.

Seeing him, Muhammad hurried over and grasped his hands with both of his. "Mr. Li! Welcome! Welcome!"

"Mr. Hassan, long time no see." Li Xin smiled and patted his shoulder.

"You've lost weight," Muhammad said, looking him up and down.

"I'm fine. Just did a lot of hiking in the mountains."

Khalil stepped forward, bowed slightly, and folded his hands in front of him. "Mr. Li, welcome."

Li Xin glanced at him. The first time he visited, this kid had his nose in the air and wouldn't even look him in the eye when speaking. The second time was a bit better, but he was still testing him. The third time, he started to be respectful. This time, he bowed even lower than before.

"Khalil, you're looking handsome again," Li Xin patted his shoulder.

Khalil smiled, revealing a row of white teeth. "Mr. Li, please don't tease me."

The three of them walked side by side deep into the Gold Souk. Shop owners on both sides, seeing Muhammad personally receiving someone, cast curious glances. Some recognized Li Xin and whispered to each other.

"It's that Chinese man."

"The one who sold 291 tons last time?"

"Yes. The big client of the Al Hassan Family."

Li Xin heard them but showed no expression on his face. He was long accustomed to such gazes.

The headquarters of the Al Hassan Family was located in the deepest part of the Gold Souk—a small three-story building that looked inconspicuous on the outside but was quite impressive on the inside. The first floor was a gold shop, the second floor was the office area, and the third floor was the VIP reception room.

Li Xin was invited to the third floor. The reception room was large, covered with handmade Persian rugs, and decorated with several pieces of Arabic calligraphy on the walls. The floor-to-ceiling windows faced the Gold Souk, offering a view of the bustling crowds below.

A servant in a white robe brought Arabic coffee and dates. Muhammad personally poured a cup and handed it to Li Xin.

"Mr. Li, how much are you planning to sell this time?"

Li Xin picked up the coffee and took a sip. The taste was the same as always—bitter yet sweet, with a hint of cardamom.

"100 tons."

Muhammad nodded, his face showing no shock. He was already used to it.

"Very well. And the same old rules—settlement based on the international gold price?"

"Yes, but I'm not sure if you can handle all 100 tons?" Li Xin put down the cup and asked with a smile.

Muhammad glanced at Khalil. Khalil leaned forward.

"Mr. Li, last time we took 100 tons, and the rest went to other families. This time, we would like to take all 100 tons ourselves." Khalil's tone was very careful, as if he were discussing a business deal that could not be botched.

"That's fine," Li Xin leaned back on the sofa. "As long as the price is fair."

Muhammad was silent for a few seconds, then said, "You are an old friend. I will give you a 1% discount. This is the best price I can offer."

Li Xin didn't answer immediately. He did the math in his head. International gold price is $40 per gram, 1% discount, 100 tons equals $3.96 billion, which is approximately 27.2 billion RMB.

He extended his hand. "Deal."

Muhammad shook his hand vigorously. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Khalil stood up. "I'll go arrange the inspection."

"No rush," Li Xin took a key from his pocket and placed it on the table. "The goods are in the villa on Palm Jumeirah. Just send someone to pick them up."

Muhammad took the key and handed it to Khalil. "You go yourself. Take the best gold assayers."

Khalil nodded and walked quickly out of the reception room.

Li Xin leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs. Muhammad refilled his coffee.

"Mr. Li, in the past two years, you have sold us over 400 tons of gold in total," Muhammad picked up his own cup and blew on it gently. "Do you know that you hold two of the top five single-transaction records in the Dubai Gold Souk?"

"Is that so?"

"The first place is 291 tons, the second is 100 tons, the third is 50 tons, and the fourth is also yours." Muhammad smiled. "You alone have supported half a year's trading volume of the Gold Souk."

Li Xin also smiled. "Then after this time, the top five will have to be rearranged."

The two chatted for a while. Muhammad talked about the gold market trends, and Li Xin listened, occasionally interjecting. He didn't understand technical analysis, but he knew one thing—gold is always valuable.

An hour later, Khalil called. The goods were inspected—100 tons, all 99.99% pure gold, no issues.

Muhammad hung up the phone and looked at Li Xin. "Mr. Li, how shall we transfer the funds?"

"As usual."

Muhammad nodded, picked up his phone, dialed a number, and spoke a string of Arabic. A few minutes later, Li Xin's phone vibrated.

He picked it up and looked.

[Your account has received: $3,960,000,000.]

$3.96 billion.

He put his phone back in his pocket and took a sip of coffee. The coffee had gone cold, but he didn't care.

"Mr. Li, you just said you still have 577 tons?" Muhammad's eyes lit up.

"Yes. But this time I don't want to sell it all at once." Li Xin put down the cup. "I want to do something big."

"What big move?"

"Unite The Five Major Families of the Gold Souk and have them take it together."

Muhammad was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "You're planning to bring the entire Gold Souk into this."

"The market is big enough; everyone can make a profit."

Muhammad was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "I understand. Rest assured, I will contact the other families. I will control the price and quality."

"Good."

Li Xin stood up. Muhammad and Khalil escorted him downstairs.

When they reached the entrance of the Gold Souk, Muhammad held his hand. "Mr. Li, there is something I have always wanted to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"Where exactly does your gold come from?"

Li Xin looked at him and smiled. "Mr. Hassan, didn't you say you wouldn't ask about the source?"

Muhammad also laughed. "Hahaha... Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't be so curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat," Li Xin patted his shoulder. "Farewell, see you next time."

He turned, got into the car, and headed back to the villa.

Returning to the villa, it was already evening. Li Xin took a shower and stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. Outside, the shimmering Burj Khalifa in the night sky and the Arabian Gulf reflecting the city lights came into view—what a beautiful night scene.

[AI System: Money laundering program initiating... Expected to complete in 72 hours.]

[Special Note: When selling large batches of gold and treasures, the memories of relevant personnel will be automatically modified, rationalized as "the mysterious chairman of a large gold mining group in Southeast Asia." Transaction funds will undergo multiple operations through the system's virtual accounts, eventually becoming legal and compliant funds, and transferred to the host's account.]

Li Xin breathed a sigh of relief after reading this; it was fortunate that the money was laundered by the system before hitting his account. Otherwise, he would be really worried about being investigated.

He opened the system panel.

[Gold Search and Refining System 2.0 (Emergency repair in progress)]

[Host: Li Xin]

[Level: 14 (Upgrading)]

[Detection range: 27,990 meters]

[Current accumulated refined gold: 577.5057 tons]

[Intelligent Avatar: AI System (Online, slow response)]

[transfer experience card × 1 (Triggered for special occasions)]

There were still 577 tons of gold in the space, plus the $3.96 billion in cash he had just realized, and the money previously realized in Europe; his total assets had exceeded 175 billion RMB. Now, he felt incredibly secure.

His phone vibrated again.

He picked it up and saw a message from Chen Hu.

"Boss, news from Europe. The people from the Medici Club are very interested in the artifacts from Indonesia and are asking when you are free to meet."

Li Xin stared at this message for a few seconds.

Medici Club. The most mysterious private art collection organization in Europe. How did they know?

He replied: "Make them wait."

Then he threw the phone on the bed.

Standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, he looked at the Dubai night view outside. This city in the desert was the starting point of his road to wealth. When he first came, he had nothing. Now, he had over 175 billion in cash.

But this was just the beginning.

After the system was repaired, there would be a 38-kilometer detection range. Global gold mines and treasures would have nowhere to hide.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, and he slowly drifted into a dream.