Chapter 242: We’ve Dug Up a Spaceship! (Part 1)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Two robots had arrived near the drilling platform of the Korean’s house and had seen the four anchor chains fixing the drilling platform.
The Korean drilling platform was a semi-submersible drilling platform.
What was a semi-submersible drilling platform?
It was one that relied on anchor chains for stability, with the platform half-submerged in seawater, autonomously balancing buoyancy and gravity.
Then, using casing drilling technology, seabed drilling was performed.
It sounded simple.
But in reality, it was quite troublesome, especially in terms of balancing and vertical positioning, which were the main challenges.
Moreover, casing drilling had a significant downside: as the depth of the drill hole increased, the pipeline became thinner.
By that time, the Koreans had developed a new technology that increased the casing’s diameter while maintaining pressure balance and had invented a multi-aperture drill bit.
They had tested by lowering a casing and attempting to drill.
The seabed’s geological conditions were satisfactory.
Drilling was not difficult.
The pressure sensor data from the casing also presented no issues.
At that time, the gravity tower of this system was undergoing final adjustments, and it was expected to be ready for drilling in three days.
Tang Rui was unaware of these details.
He had sent robots to assist in checking whether the subsea load-bearing columns of the Koreans were safe.
However, he discovered that their drilling platform did not utilize load-bearing columns.
This was quite distressing.
Regarding the anchor chains, they lacked technical complexity.
Even if one broke, the Koreans could always replace it with ease; it was merely a matter of expense and did not cause significant trouble.
How could he assist the Koreans?
Tang Rui, looking at the holographic projection in front of him, suddenly had an idea.
“Red Lotus, enlarge the geological structure around the casing drilling hole,” he said.
“Okay, master,” Red Lotus replied.
The image on the holographic projection screen changed, revealing the geological structure data and simulated model around the casing drilling hole.
Tang Rui examined it for a while, constantly adjusting the model’s scale, and then drew a crooked line on it.
This line was not arbitrary.
It followed the weaker geological layers, the easiest for drilling, namely the muddy layers.
“Red Lotus, have the underground drilling robot follow the line I drew, creating a tunnel from the seabed to right below the casing drill hole of the opponent, and place the most durable tungsten alloy plates inside,” Tang Rui instructed.
“Okay, master, Red Lotus knows what to do,” Red Lotus affirmed and immediately directed the underground drilling robot.
After delegating the task to Red Lotus, Tang Rui turned off the holographic projection.
By the next morning, the underground drilling robot had already created a tunnel.
It then placed three layers of 100 mm thick, highly wear-resistant tungsten alloy directly beneath the casing drill hole, securing them in place.
After completing these tasks, Red Lotus controlled the robot to return.
In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.
Tang Rui had become busy, as various construction units had sent in their projected results.
He needed to adjust the project plans and construction timelines based on these projections.
It wasn’t overly difficult.
After Red Lotus had assisted him in organizing the data, he could make minor adjustments based on the overall situation.
“Red Lotus, send the organized project schedule to the construction units and have them follow it,” Tang Rui requested.
“Okay, master,” Red Lotus responded.
“Are there any unprocessed emails or documents?” Tang Rui asked.
“None, but there is a special reminder,” Red Lotus replied.
“What’s the special reminder?”
“The reminder is about the drilling depth of the Koreans; they are nearly at the tungsten steel plate.”
Upon hearing this, Tang Rui immediately perked up.
“Show the holographic projection of the drilling,” he ordered.
“Okay, master,” Red Lotus replied.
On the other side, at the Korean drilling platform, the project’s consortium head had come to inspect the progress.
“Director Kim, our drilling is proceeding smoothly, and with the group’s strong support, our staff’s performance has been outstanding,” said the platform head.
“The president is highly invested in this project. Success will mean significant bonuses and promotions this year,” Director Kim stated.
“We understand and will exert our maximum effort to ensure smooth project progression,” the platform head assured.
“Excellent. To reward everyone, two girl groups will perform on the drilling platform in three days,” Director Kim announced.
“Thank you for arranging this, Director Kim,” the platform head expressed gratitude.
As Director Kim and the platform head were conversing, the drilling department’s technical head suddenly noticed an issue with the screen’s parameters.
The drilling depth of the drill bit wasn’t changing.
The rotation speed was fine.
There was no issue with the drill bit itself.
The pressure sensor detected no problems either.
What could be the issue?
Logically, if they had hit hard rock or a special geological layer, the drill bit would have shown a reaction, like overheating or slowing down.
But the rotation speed was normal, suggesting the drill bit wasn’t stuck.
The temperature of the drill bit hadn’t risen significantly, indicating it wasn’t encountering a special geological layer or suffering severe wear.
The question then arose: why couldn’t the drill bit drill any further?
“Increase the rotation speed,” the head of the department decided.
The speed of the drill bit was increased.
Yet, the depth remained unchanged.
Frustrated, the head ordered, “Retrieve the drill bit.”
“Retrieve it? Okay, team leader,” the staff acknowledged.
As the drill bit was retracted….