by <unknown>
Only four to five B.S.S. members were required to drive and patrol around the area to prevent any prying eyes.
Thus, Chen Chen did not have to be concerned about their activities being spied on.
At the moment, Chen Chen was standing on the deck of a luxurious yacht. He watched as several able-bodied B.S.S. members put on their diving suit and dove into the water with the hydraulic saw and similar underwater cutting equipment in tow.
Shortly after, a dull buzzing sound could be heard.
"Boss, seven meters down from this bulge of rock leads to the entrance of the cave."
Qian Wenhuan stood beside Chen Chen and began explaining carefully, "This reef coast may not appear to be particularly wide, measuring at several hundred meters, but the complexity of the operation was greatly increased due to it being underwater. If it wasn't for Hanamal, we might not be able to find the entrance even after a month or two."
"That's true."
Chen Chen nodded profoundly. "I wonder what the first person who discovered this cavern had to go through to find it."
"I asked around. Even though Hanamal was not the first one who discovered it, his playmate during childhood happened to stumble into it while looking for oysters on the beach."
"Did you enquire in Gorob Village recently?" Chen Chen asked.
"I did."
Qian Wenhuan nodded. "I found two people in the village who knew who Hanamal was, both of them are women though. That playmate of Hanamal died a long time ago, all of his siblings are deceased as well."
"Which means that Hanamal is the only person who knows about this cavern?"
"Should be. But I'll keep on the lookout." Qian Wenhuan quickly assured.
Chen Chen nodded again. "Better to be safe than sorry, make sure the information stays here."
"How about Hanamal?" Qian Wenhuan lowered his voice to a whisper. "Now that we found the cavern, what do we do with him?"
"Isn't he an electrical engineer? Let him work here then."
Chen Chen did not display much concern regarding the matter. "Erase his memory from the last few days and string together some excuses. Just keep him around."
"Understood."
As their conversation went on, the noises underwater gradually grew louder. After a while, several B.S.S. members emerged from the water, clamoring as they were pulled onto the deck.
"Boss, it looks like the cavern was opened up," Qian Wenhuan expressed excitedly.
"Send the next batch down there, bring the cameras as well."
"Got it!"
The next batch of members put on their diving suits following Chen Chen's orders. In addition, they had head-mounted waterproof cameras strapped to their heads which were connected to the monitor on the yacht via a data cable.
When Chen Chen stepped into the cabin, a group of B.S.S. members were sorting out their diving suits.
"Sir!"
"Chen Sir!"
They were caught by surprise when they saw Chen Chen entering and quickly stood to attention and saluted accordingly. It would appear that Cheng Cao's training yielded impressive results.
"Sir, please take a seat here." Brando, who was put in charge, immediately got up and gave his seat to Chen Chen.
"Thank you." Chen Chen thanked him and sat down, accepting the kind gesture.
At this time, the second batch had begun its operations. Everyone looked at the monitor and watched as two members dove into the water and began searching for the cavern under the light emitted from their equipment.
The cavern's entrance took on a hollow form and was well hidden among the shadows. Unless one was searching for it intentionally, it would be difficult to chance upon it.
As the view of the camera entered the cave, everything turned narrower. The widest part of the cavern was only about fifty centimeters. The sense of claustrophobia was conveyed merely by looking at it through the monitor feed.
Taking a glance at the data graph reflecting the physical condition of the two divers, their heart rate and blood pressure reading could be seen soaring up as well.
This was with the mental condition of experienced mercenaries who had been through intense combat to boot. If it was an ordinary person or someone who suffered from claustrophobia, they might instantly spiral out of control in such conditions.
Fortunately, it was not a long trip into the cavern as they arrived at the end of the passage after swimming a little over ten meters where the space immediately opened up at this point. The two of them swam upward.
After a while, the two of them broke through the surface of the water and found themselves in a space within the mountain.
"All conditions normal, we've arrived at the point of destination."
Brando, who was in charge of the operation, took a glance at Chen Chen. When he noted that Chen Chen was not planning to intervene, he provided further instructions through the headset. "Set up the signal antenna and check the equipment condition. Get ready for the connection."
"Roger that."
Following Brando's orders, they began setting up the video signal terminal devices. After the signal cable they brought was connected to the endpoint of the terminal, they would be able to wirelessly connect the cameras to the terminal. This way, the people outside would be able to see the live footage coming from the head-mounted cameras.
After they had completed the setup process, they ran further inspection on the firearms and various survival devices. Even though Hanamal claimed that there were no signs of danger inside the cavern, they were not going to gamble their lives based on one person's statement. They made sure to prepare an automatic rifle for each person entering the cavern.
After they had concluded the necessary preparations, they made a thumbs-up gesture in front of the camera.
"Team three good to go." Brando continued issuing orders.
After the initial group's setup procedures, things were much easier for the third batch. It only took them roughly a minute to enter the inner section of the cavern.
The operation proceeded with teams of twos entering the cavern at a time. In the end, a total of four teams had entered. The lighting equipment strapped to their head illuminated the inside of the cavern.
"Alright, everyone form a line now, each one at least three meters apart, and begin exploring the passages in front."
Brando further instructed, "One more thing, nobody is allowed to open fire without my permission, in case there's flammable gas down there.
"I repeat, nobody is to open fire under any circumstances unless given explicit instruction from the command center. Is that clear?"
"Understood!"
The responses came one after the other from the video feed.
"Alright, Thomson will be leading, Wei En follows after and Cabol up third. Enter the cavern one by one. Go, hurry up!"
Brando used to be a field commander back when he was in the army. This was a task he was more than familiar with. "Thomson, boot up your gas and temperature detection device and pay close attention to any changes in the gas level. Everyone else, get ready to put on the gas mask if there are any abnormalities!"
Upon receiving Brando's instructions, they began shuffling into the gap.
In times like these, one had to admire the amazing craftsmanship of mother nature. Nobody knew when this gap in the earth erupted. It was an extremely deep and narrow tunnel. At times it was just a naturally flat terrain, now and then, there would be an extremely sharp incline. They had to continuously climb their way through to get to the next destination.
Along the way there, they saw a vast amount of stalactite. These natural structures were accumulated after the ages of buildup in an area infested with carbonate rock. This suggested that the terrain in this region had not undergone any changes for at least hundreds of thousands of years.
This was a good sign for Chen Chen and his group.
Unlike Hanamal and the band of younglings who came here decades ago, the physical fitness of the mercenarie
s far surpassed ordinary people. It only took them half an hour of traveling to get to the end.
Chapter 117: News of Professor Wang Xi |
The feed they saw in the monitor was almost a complete pitch-black darkness. The spots illuminated by the tactical flashlight revealed rows of stone pillars formed by stalactites.
Nobody knew how many tens of thousands of years it had been since the formation of these stalactites. They were joined together from the top of the cave down to the surface, their entire body clad in a marbly white, bearing a close resemblance to jade pillars in a palace.
"All conditions are normal."
"According to the detector, the altitude is at -723 meters. The temperature is 24 degrees, the humidity is 70. Current atmospheric pressure stands at 105.7kPa. There's no carbon dioxide accumulation detected. There should be a passage somewhere around here."
The team regularly provided status reports from the other end of the radio.
700 meters underground?
Chen Chen faintly nodded. An altitude of -700 meters exceeded the maximum range of most conventional detection methods, which meant that if they were to construct a secret base in this cavern, it would be extremely difficult for it to be detected using regular technology. Large-scale incorporation of combined technologies such as gravity, magnetism, and electricity would have to be used to find this place.
Then again, why would Chen Chen allow anyone to conduct such activities in his territory?
"Detected membranous stearin… It's a sign of life!"
One of the team members suddenly lowered his head, the flashlight directly projected on a long insect which was crawling.
This long worm had hundreds of pairs of legs and its body took on a striped black and white form. As it moved, its hundreds of legs moved about in a wave-like motion.
Before the team member had time to reach for it, a dark figure that seemed to resemble a lizard flashed past and immediately snatched away the millipede!
"Wah!"
The team member yelped in horror.
"What happened?" one of the team members asked.
"Nothing, false alarm. It was just a salamander." The member shot the flashlight in the direction the figure went and saw a palm-sized salamander holding the millipede as it quickly vanished into the darkness.
"I hear water, there's an underground river here."
"I see it, there's a pool in front, it's deep groundwater!"
"I see Astyanax in there!"
Following the various reports from the group, Brando suddenly raised the questions. "Can you determine the size and shape of the cavern?"
"According to the laser reading, the underground space measures at around 500 meters in length and 300 meters in width. The terrain here is completely flat. The rock structure should be composed of sedimentary rock and volcanic rock. The sedimentary rocks are accumulated from clastic rocks and carbonate deposits."
Thomson, who was in charge of geology, explained from the other end of the radio, "On top of that, there's a geyser pool in the middle of the cavern. There's the sound of flowing water, I'd say there's an underground river here. Judging by the fact that there's aquatic life, it can be determined that it's freshwater. This should be an isolated underground rock layer so there's no seawater intrusion."
"How about the height of the cave?" Brando asked again.
"The lowest points are around twenty meters with the highest points extending up to fifty meters. It's a perfect hemispherical area."
All of the members on the yacht began clapping in celebration upon receiving this report.
This meant that this place was perfect for constructing a secret base.
"In that case, come back up after collecting rock and water samples."
Chen Chen reminded. "Just to be on the safe side since we haven't examined the microbial environment."
"Yes." Brando nodded in response. "Listen up everyone. Prepare to leave after exploring the cavern and collecting the appropriate rock and soil samples."
…
On the afternoon of the same day, Chen Chen received a completed material report.
Chen Chen read the report on the paper and rubbed his chin slightly. "You sure it's this location?"
"Yes, we made sure to calibrate it."
Qian Wenhuan reported at the end of Chen Chen's desk, "It's located to the southwest of the research center, which happens to be the plains. It's only about 2 kilometers from the coastline."
"Good." Chen Chen tossed the map on the desk. "Section that plot as a residential area and contact the Mainland construction team in Namibia. I plan to build a high-income district here."
"A district?" Qian Wenhuan was shocked. He almost doubted what he was hearing.
"That's right, it's going to be a district similar to the high-rise residential area back in the Mainland."
Chen Chen nodded. "That's not all, I also plan to build commercial streets, parks, hospitals, and even transportation facilities around to serve as an addition to the residence area."
"Are you planning to build a city?" Qian Wenhuan was dumbfounded.
"Why else would it be called 'Eco Science City'?"
Chen Chen explained, "Even though we already offer decent welfare for the employees in the research center, we'll need a specially designated residential area for them to feel a true sense of belonging."
Chen Chen thought for a moment before adding. "The district is just a part of it. We'll also be designating a large area by the sea to serve as villas for the senior researchers to live in. When the employees have homes of their own, they'll eventually want recreational and living facilities. If we don't do it this way, the buildings will only remain as a staff dormitory no matter how large we expand it.
"Besides, after the completion of the health centers, the clients who come from places near and afar will need facilities for their leisure."
"You mean to say…" Qian Wenhuan wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Wenhuan, you're the primary person in charge here. I'll leave things in your care after I leave."
Chen Chen pointed at his head. "You're gonna have to move faster here from here on."
"Boss, you, you're leaving?" Qian Wenhuan began to panic. "How am I supposed to handle all this by myself…"
"Don't worry, just temporarily." Chen Chen leaned backward. "I'll be heading back to the Mainland for a bit. Oh, that's right Wenhuan, you haven't been home for half a year too. Better head back if you have time to."
"Isn't our company in the expansion stage now? I'll be sure to let you know if I'm heading back."
Qian Wenhuan scratched his head embarrassedly. "Oh yeah. I think if we're going to excavate the underground space, we can do it during the construction of the Eco Science City. That way, it's easier to mask the noises."
"That's a given."
Chen Chen nodded. "But that underground passage is too troublesome, we're going to have to pave another tunnel. When the construction team gets here, we'll finish with the foundation of the district first. After that, we can carve the underground space by using well drilling as a front."
Upon receiving these instructions from Chen Chen, Qian Wenhuan promptly took out the notebook in his pocket to jot these details down.
Chen Chen contemplated for a moment and reminded again. "Make sure to be prepared since a seven hundred meters deep well is considerably deep. We'll also be needing to drill through the rock layer so conventional drilling rigs won't cut it. Large drilling rigs will be needed."
"Won't using large drilling rigs draw too much attention?" Qian Wenhuan motioned with his hands and halted momentarily with hesitation.
"It won't. Well digging has worked like this in Africa."
Chen Chen made a gesture. "Take the underground space as the center and chart out a small town around two to three square kilometers around it. After that, drill four to five wells. By the time we penetrate the underground space, we can bribe the workers. Make sure to restrict their movement and
communications until the underground construction is complete, then we can erase their memory.
"With the construction of the Eco Science City as a front, we can easily transport the necessary materials for the secret base. Even the officials of Namibia will have a hard time noticing it."
Qian Wenhuan began nodding.
Chen Chen was in charge of charting the general plan. As for the particulars of the operation, it was his responsibilities as usual.
After Qian Wenhuan took his leave, Chen Chen looked at a missed call and a message on his phone. He fell into deep thought after that.
The missed call and message were both from Wang Wei. In the message, Wang Wei informed that Professor Wang Xi recently took a prolonged vacation. Based on the professor's recent conduct in the class, he seemed to be displaying early signs of Alzheimer's…
Chapter 118: Decision |
"Alzheimer's?"
Upon reading Wang Wei's message, Chen Chen immediately recalled the kindly old man who always hung a smile on his face, the one who always carried a beaker filled with tea and was always at his best when in a classroom.
Professor Wang Xi was the Senior Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. His name was extremely reputable in the academic world. Due to age restrictions, he had to be withdrawn from the frontlines at 65 years old.
Even the humorous man who was also a world-class top scientist capable of leading the industry was not immune to such common disease…
Chen Chen sighed faintly before raising his head and ordered, "Little X, help me look up information on Professor Wang Xi of Shangdu Jiao Tong University in Mainland China. I want to know the latest updates."
"Got it!"
Little X's response quickly resounded from the speakers. After that, Chen Chen's computer booted up on its own, the display quickly flared up like a blossoming flower.
Countless windows were opened and subsequently closed. Within half a minute, Little X had broken through a certain firewall and had extracted an extremely confidential medical report.
