93: Chapter 93 Central Asian Gold Mines (Part 1)

Shenzhen Bay No. 1, 1:00 AM.

Li Xin sat in his study, with three large screens glowing in front of him.

One screen displayed a global distribution map of gold mines, another showed real-time gold price trends, and the third was the system panel—that Little Yellow Man icon was huddled in the corner, motionless.

The system was still undergoing repairs.

He took a sip of coffee, his gaze landing on the first screen.

The map of Central Asia was zoomed in, with five red dots marking the targets—two in Uzbekistan, one in Kazakhstan, one in Kyrgyzstan, and another on the border of Tajikistan.

"Muruntau." He read aloud.

His fingers tapped on the keyboard a few times, and the screen switched to a satellite map.

It was a vast, grayish-yellow desert, with a massive mining pit in the center, over three kilometers in diameter and over five hundred meters deep.

The area around the mine pit was densely packed with buildings—ore processing plants, office areas, and worker dormitories.

Further out were three layers of barbed wire, with a guard post every few hundred meters.

He zoomed in on the image and saw military trucks parked next to the guard posts.

"Military guards."

Li Xin frowned.

The mining areas in Indonesia at most had security companies, the kind armed with live ammunition.

But Muruntau was different—it was a national gold mine of Uzbekistan, guarded directly by the military.

He opened an encrypted folder containing the information he had asked Chen Hu to collect.

Muruntau Gold Mine, Navoi Region, Uzbekistan.

Proven reserves of 1,700 tons, with an annual output of about 50 tons.

The mining area covers about 100 square kilometers, with over 30,000 employees.

Security level—national level, directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense.

"1,700 tons." He repeated the number again.

The system showed that 60% could be extracted, which meant 1,020 tons.

At current gold prices, it was worth over 280 billion RMB.

Adding the 400 tons from Almalyk, with a 60% Extraction rate that was 240 tons, worth 67.2 billion.

Just from these two mines in Uzbekistan, he could obtain 1,260 tons of gold, worth over 350 billion.

But the prerequisite was—he had to be able to extract it smoothly.

Li Xin zoomed in on the satellite map of Muruntau and began calculating the distance.

The core area of the mine was about ten kilometers in diameter, and the outermost security boundary was about fifteen kilometers.

His detection range was 28 kilometers.

"Barely enough." He breathed a sigh of relief. "There's no need to get close to the core of the mining area; being fifteen kilometers outside the perimeter will be enough to cover the entire ore body."

The problem was how to get in.

Uzbekistan had strict controls on foreigners, especially around mining areas.

Foreigners needed special permission to enter the Navoi Region, otherwise, they would be treated as spies.

Li Xin pulled up the visa policy for Uzbekistan.

A business visa allowed a stay of three months, but one could not go to sensitive areas.

If caught near a mining area, the consequences would range from deportation to imprisonment.

"I need to find a legitimate identity."

He opened another folder containing tourism information for Uzbekistan.

Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva—these ancient cities were World Heritage sites, attracting a large number of tourists every year.

"I can disguise myself as a tourist." Li Xin thought for a moment. "Start from Tashkent, take the Samarkand-Bukhara-Khiva route. Navoi happens to be on this route."

Navoi is a city in Uzbekistan, about 80 kilometers away from the Muruntau mining area.

It is not illegal for tourists to go to Navoi, as long as they don't approach the mining area.

"Once I reach Navoi, I'll find an excuse to leave the main road." He calculated in his mind. "With a 28-kilometer detection range, I don't need to get too close."

But he needed the specific location.

The satellite map could only show the general range of the mining pit, but the strike, depth, and distribution of the ore body could only be scanned by the system.

He had to find a safe point in some direction of the mining area that could cover the entire ore body without arousing suspicion.

Li Xin pulled up the topographic map and began filtering for possible locations.

To the north of the Muruntau mining area was the Kyzylkum Desert, an endless expanse of sand with no cover whatsoever.

A person appearing in the desert could be seen from ten kilometers away. That wouldn't work.

To the east was the residential area of the mine, with roads, villages, and checkpoints.

Tourists occasionally passed by, but stopping would be suspicious. That wouldn't work.

To the south were mountains, with undulating terrain, valleys, and gullies.

On the satellite map, he could see some dried-up riverbeds and low hills. That place was desolate, but it was only a dozen kilometers away from the core of the mining area.

"This is the place." Li Xin marked a point on the map.

About 70 kilometers south of Navoi, near the Zarafshan Mountains.

There was a hilly area with complex terrain where he could find a concealed spot.

Driving from Tashkent, he would take the A-380 highway, exit at Navoi, and then turn south onto a rural dirt road.

He noted the route in his notebook.

Next was Almalyk. This mining area was about 70 kilometers east of Tashkent, near the border with Kyrgyzstan.

It was also a state-owned mine, and the security was equally tight.

Li Xin pulled up the satellite map of Almalyk.

The mining area was smaller than Muruntau, but the terrain was more complex.

The surroundings consisted of low hills and gullies, with many natural hiding spots.

"I can handle it on the same day." He thought for a moment. "Muruntau is to the south, and Almalyk is to the east, about 300 kilometers apart. Running two spots in one day is enough time."

But the risk was also high. The two mining areas were not far apart; if he aroused suspicion in one place, the other place would also be watched.

"One by one." Li Xin made a decision. "Handle Muruntau first, then go to Almalyk if it succeeds. If something goes wrong, just retreat."

He opened the information on Kazakhstan again.

The Kazzinc joint mine was in eastern Kazakhstan, near the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk.

This mine was not a pure gold mine; it was a lead-zinc polymetallic associated mine, with gold as a byproduct. But the reserves were not small—350 tons.

"Polymetallic mine." Li Xin frowned.

The system was currently unstable, and he didn't know if extracting gold mixed with other metals in an associated mine would cause any problems.

He pulled up the system instructions and read them carefully.

[After the upgrade of Gold Search and Refining System 2.0, the collection rules have been optimized. Once the host touches the medium (soil, rock, water) in the area where the gold is located, the system can automatically collect the gold within the range. Non-gold parts will not be collected.]

"Automatic identification." Li Xin breathed a sigh of relief. "The system will only extract the gold and won't affect other minerals."

This feature of the system was truly impeccable; it only extracted gold, leaving no voids in the strata, and would not cause collapses that could be discovered by others.

He couldn't help but nod. "Zero risk."

He continued to study the Kumtor Gold Mine in Kyrgyzstan.

Li Xin pulled up the information and couldn't help but frown.

The Kumtor Gold Mine was located in eastern Kyrgyzstan, at an altitude of over 4,000 meters, making it one of the highest-altitude gold mines in the world.

The mining area was in a remote mountainous region, with extremely inconvenient transportation; there was only one gravel road leading to the outside world.

In winter, heavy snow blocked the mountains, making it almost completely isolated from the world.

"4,000 meters altitude." Li Xin felt a bit of a headache.

Although he had the system's constant temperature regulation, altitude sickness was unavoidable.

At 4,000 meters, the oxygen was extremely thin. Ordinary people would experience headaches, nausea, and difficulty breathing when going up there.

Although his physique had been modified by the system, he had never tried staying on a high plateau for too long.

"It seems... I have to go early to adapt, otherwise if I get altitude sickness once I'm up there, it'll be a disaster."

He immediately noted in his notebook, "Arrive in Bishkek two days in advance to adapt to the altitude. Then find a local guide to drive into the mountains."

The security at Kumtor was looser than at Muruntau; it wasn't guarded by the military, but by private security companies.

However, the mining area was in a remote location, and it was easy for outsiders to be discovered if they entered.

"28-kilometer detection range." Li Xin looked at the satellite map. "No need to enter the core area of the mine. Finding a spot in the valley, twenty kilometers away from the mining area, will be enough to cover the entire ore body."

He marked a point on the map—a valley about twenty kilometers southeast of the Kumtor mining area.

There was a dried-up riverbed there, with steep slopes on both sides, where he could find a concealed spot.

Li Xin leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes.

Four mining areas, with a total reserve of 2,610 tons. Taking 60% meant 1,566 tons, worth over 438.5 billion RMB.

Adding his existing assets, his total assets would exceed 800 billion.

"It's still not enough; I want more." He nodded with a determined look in his eyes.

"The system is still repairing. I wonder how much longer it will take." Li Xin sighed.

It would be great if it could be fixed before going to Central Asia; by then, a 38-kilometer detection range would be safer and more efficient.

Although the current 28 kilometers were enough, the margin for error was still a bit small.

He opened the system panel and glanced at that "transfer experience card".

[transfer experience card × 1 (Triggered in special circumstances)]

"Special circumstances." Li Xin pondered this term. "What counts as special circumstances?"

He tried calling AI System in his mind.

"AI System?"

He waited for over ten seconds, but there was no response.

"AI System, are you there?"

After another ten seconds or so, the Little Yellow Man icon flashed, and then a line of text slowly popped up.

[I... am... here. Co... lumn.]

"How exactly do I use this Transfer Card?"

[Tri... ggered... in... spe... cial... circum... stances.]

"What counts as special circumstances?"

[Don't... know... . It's... a... sys... tem... set... ting... I... can... not... see... the... trig... ger... con... ditions.]

Li Xin's mouth twitched.

"Then what is it for?"

[You'll... know... once... you... use... it.]

He took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to curse.

"Fine. You continue repairing."

[O... kay. Co... lumn.]

The Little Yellow Man icon flashed and then stopped moving again.