Chapter 245 - Chapter 245: Tunnel Splicing, the Koreans Begin to Drill
Chapter 245: Tunnel Splicing, the Koreans Begin to Drill
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Red Lotus, catch that fish and hang it on my hook.”
Tang Rui, looking at the holographic projection screen, said to Red Lotus in frustration as he watched the big fish that ate his bait and then ran away without biting the hook.
“Okay, master.”
After receiving the order, Red Lotus quickly controlled the underwater robot to come over, then shot out a capture net and caught the fish.
Then, using a mechanical arm, Red Lotus opened the fish’s mouth and hung it on Tang Rui’s hook. After finishing, Red Lotus immediately left and continued to work underwater.
It was apparent that this routine was very well-practiced.
Meanwhile, Tang Rui, holding his fishing rod, began to walk the fish on the deck.
Wasn’t it boring?
There wasn’t any choice.
Tang Rui had a lot to deal with. The project was just starting, and he couldn’t leave yet.
So, day and night, he was either fishing in the Bohai Bay or returning to Dalian, wearing smart glasses to play games in the square.
However, compared to his gaming skills, his fishing was not as good. Often, he caught fish using this method.
Fishing, well…
It wasn’t embarrassing to buy a fish at the market, not to mention having a robot catch one.
“Red Lotus, stew this fish for tonight’s fish soup,” Tang Rui said to Red Lotus after pulling up the fish, handing it over to a domestic robot beside him.
“Master, do you need tofu?”
“Use firm tofu. I don’t eat the fish meat, just drink the soup.”
“Okay, Red Lotus understands.”
Catching a fish meant today’s task was completed.
Tang Rui leisurely returned to the hall, opened a bottle of soda, and began to process documents.
Actually, Red Lotus had already dealt with most of the documents.
Tang Rui only dealt with those that Red Lotus couldn’t, like various inquiry emails.
Like the one from three hours ago.
The modular pipeline for the undersea tunnel was ready, and all tests were up to standards. The construction company asked him when to start underwater construction.
Such documents could only be replied to by Tang Rui himself.
“Start construction tomorrow morning, beginning from the seabed ore vein,” Tang Rui replied.
He chose not to start from the shore because both entrances were not yet completed and couldn’t be connected directly.
Therefore, it was better to start from the seabed ore vein location.
By the time it reached the shore, the entrances would have been completed, ready for direct connection.
Connecting the undersea tunnel was actually simple.
When the two tunnel sections were joined, the water pressure would tightly seal the middle, ensuring no water leaked through the connection.
Not to mention, Tang Rui had added an extra layer of waterproof and corrosion-resistant material to the outer layer of the tunnel.
As long as the tunnel didn’t suffer massive fractures, even with a crack of several centimeters, Tang Rui could guarantee no water would enter.
He aimed for this tunnel to be a century-long project.
At least for the next hundred years, there shouldn’t be any issues with this undersea tunnel.
The next day, two ships, carrying a section of the undersea tunnel, arrived for construction.
“President Tang, the underwater tunnels we built before were not this deep. Is it okay to just drop it down?”
The construction company was a bit worried.
After all, Tang Rui’s method seemed a bit rough to them; just dropping the tunnel down.
This was not simply underwater; it was the seabed.
With ocean currents, if it didn’t land in the right place, it would be a disaster.
“No problem, I have arranged underwater construction robots below. You just need to focus on manufacturing the tunnel,” Tang Rui said nonchalantly.
With Red Lotus controlling the underwater construction robots, as long as the tunnel quality was fine, other issues were not a problem.
Hearing Tang Rui’s words, the construction company had no choice but to cooperate.
As the two ships simultaneously retracted the interlocking pins, the sealed tunnel sections directly fell into the sea.
Tang Rui didn’t concern himself with them.
Through his smart glasses, he monitored the underwater situation.
After the tunnel sections entered the water, the construction robots immediately moved to the side, using mechanical arms to secure the tunnel.
Then, under Red Lotus’s coordination, all robots simultaneously activated their propellers, adjusting the tunnel’s descent angle and direction.
Since the tunnel was sealed and filled with air, it didn’t sink quickly.
It took over five minutes.
Finally, under the robots’ control, the tunnel slowly settled into the seabed groove, fitting perfectly.
This was only the first step.
After positioning the tunnel, a robot with a long hose came to the sides of the tunnel, beginning to spray special cement.
With the cement filling any gaps and bubbles, leaving no potential issues.
During the cement filling, several robots inserted long steel columns through pre-drilled holes in the tunnel into the surrounding seabed rock walls.
Lastly, the corrosion-resistant and tensile alloy specially made by Tang Rui for the oil pipeline was inserted by the robots into the reserved channels at the bottom of the tunnel.
In Tang Rui’s design, the undersea tunnel needed a “backbone” to prevent segment misalignment and tunnel breakage during earthquakes.
This oil pipeline was the tunnel’s “backbone.”
After the first tunnel section was placed, the construction company quickly brought the second section.
The process was the same as before.
Only this time, the undersea tunnel had an additional connecting step, but this connection was straightforward.
The construction robots perfectly coordinated, completing the tunnel connection in one go, then began securing it.
“There are no problems with the undersea tunnel. While ensuring performance, accelerate the manufacturing pace,” Tang Rui instructed after a neutrino scan.
Seeing no issues in the holographic projection, he told the construction company to speed up the tunnel manufacturing.
“Okay, Tang, we’ll increase the drying field and speed up construction after we return,” the construction company’s representative immediately responded.
Over the next month, Tang Rui stayed in Bohai Bay and Dalian, not doing much else or causing trouble.
Every day, he either dealt with engineering matters or watched events unfold.
The Koreans, fully believing in the existence of an underwater spaceship, abandoned their plans to exploit the oil field.
They announced they would start undersea mining.
Bringing in many personnel and equipment, they intended to mine underwater.
Their goal was simple: they wanted to drill a one-meter diameter hole directly to the spaceship’s bridge, then use cutting equipment to open a hole in the spaceship’s deck.
Then they could send people into the spaceship to collect data and study alien technology.
Tang Rui watched their live broadcast every day.
It was really interesting.
To let them drill in peace, he specially had Red Lotus prepare a 1.3-meter diameter tungsten alloy steel plate and place it below.
When they found the bridge deck and drilled a hole, only to discover rock beneath, he hoped they wouldn’t be too disappointed..