Through the lens, everyone could only see darkness. Only where the tactical flashlight shone could they see the stalactites that formed the stone pillars.
These stalactites had been growing for tens of thousands of years. They were connected from the top all the way to the bottom of the cave. They were pure white, like the jade pillars on a palace.
"Everything is normal."
"According to the detector, the altitude of this place is -723 meters. The temperature is 24 degrees, the humidity is 70%, and the atmospheric pressure is 105.7 kpa. There's no sign of carbon dioxide deposition. There should be an air vent here."
On the other end of the radio, the team's status reports kept coming in.
More than 700 meters underground?
Chen Chen nodded to himself. A depth of more than 700 meters had exceeded the maximum range of some simple exploration methods. This meant that if a secret base was built in this cave, it would be difficult to detect with general exploration technology unless large-scale joint exploration technologies such as gravity, magnetism, and electricity were used.
Still, how could Chen Chen allow others to do that in his own territory?
"Discovered a membranopod centipede... There are signs of life!"
Suddenly, a team member lowered his head and shone his flashlight on a long crawling worm.
This long worm had hundreds of pairs of legs. Its body was segmented in alternating black and white. As it moved forward, the hundreds of pairs of legs wriggled like waves.
However, before the team member could reach out to catch it, a lizard-like shadow suddenly flashed by and quickly snatched the millipede away!
"Whoa!"
The team member was startled.
"What happened?" Another team member asked.
"It's nothing, just a false alarm. It's just a salamander." The team member shone the flashlight over and saw a palm-sized salamander holding a millipede in its mouth, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
"I heard the sound of water. There's an underground river here."
"I see it, there's a pool ahead. It's deep underground water!"
"There are traces of blindfish in the water!"
After hearing the reports from the team, Brando suddenly asked, "Can you estimate the shape and size of this cave?"
"According to laser ranging, the underground space is about 500 meters long and 300 meters wide. It's a completely flat space. Judging from the rock structure, it should be composed of sedimentary rocks and volcanic rocks. The sedimentary rocks belong to marine clastic rocks and carbonate sediments."
On the other end of the radio, Thomson, who was in charge of geological issues, explained, "In addition, there is a pool in the center of the cave, and there is the sound of flowing water. It should be an underground river. There are fish living in the water, so it can be confirmed that it is freshwater. It should be isolated by the underground rock layer, so there is no seawater flowing in."
"What about the height of the cave?" Brando asked again.
"The lowest point is about 20 meters, and the highest point is about 50 meters. It's a perfect hemispherical space."
Hearing this, all the members on the yacht high-fived each other in celebration.
In this way, this place could become a perfect secret base.
"Come out after the rock and water samples are taken."
Chen Chen reminded, "After all, the microbial environment inside hasn't been tested yet, just in case."
"Yes." Brando nodded. "Everyone, listen up. Once we're done exploring the entire cavern and collecting rock and soil samples, you may leave."
...
In the afternoon of the same day, Chen Chen received a complete report.
"This latitude and longitude..."
Chen Chen looked at the report on the paper and rubbed his chin slightly. "Can you confirm this is the location?"
"Yes, the location has been determined."
Qian Wenhuan stood in front of Chen Chen's desk. "It's southwest of the research center. It happens to be a flat area, only about 2 kilometers from the coastline."
"Very good." Chen Chen tossed the map on the table. "Designate that area as a residential area. Contact the construction team in China in Namibia. I want to build a high-rise community here."
"A community?" Qian Wenhuan was startled, almost thinking that he had heard wrong.
"That's right, it's a community similar to the high-rise residential areas in China."
Chen Chen nodded. "Not only that, I want to build corresponding commercial streets, parks, hospitals, and even transportation facilities in the surrounding area."
"Are you planning to build a city?" Qian Wenhuan was dumbfounded.
"Why else would it be called 'Eco Science City'?"
Chen Chen explained, "Although our research center's welfare system is decent, if we want the researchers to have a sense of belonging, it's important to allocate housing."
After thinking for a while, Chen Chen added, "The community is only one of them. I'll also designate a large number of villa areas by the sea for the senior researchers to live in. When the employees have a home, they'll naturally need entertainment and living facilities. Otherwise, no matter how big the house is, it's still just an employee's dormitory.
"Moreover, after a large number of sanatoriums are built, clients from all over the world will also need to spend their money here."
"You mean..." Qian Wenhuan wiped the sweat off his forehead.
"Wenhuan, you're the leader here. After I leave, I'll be relying on you to manage it."
Chen Chen pointed to his head. "You'll have to move faster in the future."
"Boss, you, you're leaving?" Qian Wenhuan panicked. "How can I manage all of this by myself..."
"Don't worry, it's only temporary." Chen Chen leaned behind him. "I'll make a trip back to China soon. By the way, Wenhuan, you haven't been home for half a year, right? Go back when you're free."
"Our company is still in its development phase. If I want to go back, I'll definitely let you know."
Qian Wenhuan scratched his head sheepishly. "By the way, I think if we want to develop the underground space, we can do it together with the Eco Science City. It'll be easier to keep things under wraps."
"That's for sure."
Chen Chen nodded. "But the passage at the bottom of the sea is too troublesome. We'll have to open another passage. When the construction team arrives, we'll first lay the foundation of the community, then open up the underground space under the guise of drilling a well."
Upon hearing Chen Chen's order, Qian Wenhuan quickly took out the notebook in his pocket and jotted down these instructions.
After thinking for a while, Chen Chen reminded again, "But we'll have to be prepared. After all, a well of more than seven hundred meters deep is a bit deep. We'll also have to drill through the rock layer. Regular drilling rigs won't work, we'll have to use a large drilling rig."
"But if we use a large drilling rig, won't it attract too much attention?" Qian Wenhuan's movements paused, a little hesitant.
"It won't, well drilling in Africa has always been like this."
Chen Chen waved his hand. "With the location of the underground space as the center, first, plan out a small town of two to three square kilometers, then drill four or five wells. When the underground space is penetrated, first bribe the workers who are drilling the wells. At the same time, restrict their movements and communication. When they're done with the underground construction, then erase their memories.
"With the construction of the Eco Science City as a cover, we can easily transport the materials needed for the secret base. Even the Namibian officials will have a hard time noticing anything amiss."
Only then did Qian Wenhuan nod.
Chen Chen was responsible for setting the general direction. The specific implementation was still his job.
After Qian Wenhuan left, Chen Chen looked at a missed call and a text message on his phone and fell into deep thought.
The call and text were both from Wang Wei. In the text, Wang Wei told him that Professor Wang Xi had taken a long leave of absence. Based on Wang Xi's performance in class, Wang Xi should be suffering from mild Alzheimer's disease …
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