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Chapter 117: 117

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…