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…
