Back on the "Pippi Shrimp", two white men, one old and one young, took off their diving masks. Their faces were full of excitement, and there was no trace of the palpitations and panic of the rest of their lives. The old man smiled and greeted Ling Hao and the others. : "Hello, thank you for coming to the rescue. It must be Adeline who came to find you, right?"
Ling Hao's face was not so pretty. He hung his mask on the bulkhead and said, "Miss Adeline hired us. Are you Professor Levins? My name is Ling Hao, from Nautilus Diving Service Company." boss."
Levins raised his eyebrows: "Oh, I've heard of you. After all, there are only a few top teams in this field. It's great that you can join. The discovery this time is far beyond expectations. I'm worried about manpower and... We don’t have enough equipment.”
Ling Hao frowned and said bluntly: "Professor, I think you must have some misunderstanding. Miss Adeline hired us to rescue the three of you. If I read correctly, with the strength of your submarine and diving equipment, The situation is like this. I’m afraid I won’t be able to return to the sea without rescue, right? The content of our agreement with Miss Adeline is limited to this. I wonder where this ‘joining you’ begins?”
"Oh, that's it. Please forgive my presumption. I was so excited that I forgot all about life and death." Professor Levins patted his forehead with a sincere expression. He said: "Mr. Ling, our result this time is probably one of the greatest biological discoveries of this century. Not only the biological world, but also the whole world will be shocked by this. Anyway, you are all here, I will come out Do you think it’s okay to hire you again to participate in this scientific expedition at a very generous price?”
Ling Hao curled his lips and said: "Isn't it shocking to the world? The sharks have come out, I'm afraid the dinosaurs are not far away from us. They filmed "Jurassic Park", you discovered the 'Cretaceous' in reality Aquarium'. I'm a little curious, what conditions do you plan to use to urge us to do such a dangerous job for you even if we risk our lives? "
Professor Levins scratched his head in embarrassment, as if he wanted to say something else, but Ling Hao had no intention of chatting with him anymore. He turned to Yang Xueting and said, "Let's go back to the Stone Crab."
There was no words all the way. The news that the professor and the others had been rescued had now spread back to the sea. Adeline and the others were so excited that they went directly into the decompression chamber to pressurize. They took a diving bell and started to dive. Waiting for Ling Hao and the others. When they returned to the Stone Crab, Adeline and the others were almost there.
The "Stone Crab" became lively all of a sudden. Jiang Mingyu and Shi Si looked at the fish that the professor had put in a water tank and asked in surprise: "Professor Levins, did you catch one?" Sword shoots fish'?"
The professor said with a smile: "It's just a fry. An adult 'Swordfish' can grow up to 5 meters and weighs nearly half a ton. It is definitely the top hunter in the ocean."
Ten minutes later, Adeline came down with three classmates. They also brought submarine parts, apparently intending to repair their mini-submarine underwater. The three students acted resolutely and borrowed the welding guns and tools from the "Stone Crab" and went out to repair it.
Ling Hao, the professor and Adeline gathered in a small cabin. Adeline and the professor looked at Ling Hao, who had a sinking face. There was silence in the cabin, and the atmosphere was about to solidify.
"Um...Mr. Ling, listen to me. The inside of the cave is indeed a world abandoned by time like a time capsule. I guess this is related to the complex geological structure of this cave area. Maybe it was during the Cretaceous period. The cave has begun to take shape, and it happens to be by the sea. Many marine creatures will swim into the cave to feed and live. It happens that geological movements occur, and the cave and the entire earth's crust sink and are buried deep under the seabed. This magical place The waters were completely isolated from the outside world. 80 million years later, although the creatures inside stopped evolving due to the unchanged environment, they were also spared the impact of the mass extinction of species and have been completely preserved until now. This will be a great success for us. It is a treasure given to us by the earth, and it is of great significance to everything we study about the Cretaceous."
Ling Hao said calmly: "I am not a paleontologist. This discovery has no other meaning except danger to me and my team. Now that the rescue mission has been completed, I have fulfilled my agreement with Miss Adeline." , after sending you up, we will go back."
The professor suddenly became anxious and said quickly: "Are you worried about the risk? Pete and I have entered that body of water and wandered around for nearly an hour. It is not as dangerous as you think. We have detected it with sonar. First of all, that body of water It's not big, it's just an underground space with a radius of more than ten square kilometers and a depth of less than 400 meters. This small space cannot support large predators. We only need to conduct some sampling research in the marginal areas. Sincerely I hope you can stay and help us. Of course, your help will not be in vain, and Mr. Ling can ask for any conditions."
Adeline explained: "Yes, Ling Hao, the cave is all water and there is no air. Therefore, all Cretaceous reptiles and amphibians that need to breathe air cannot survive there. In addition, the place is small. It cannot provide enough food for large predatory fish, so it will produce a 'desert island effect' in the animal kingdom. That is, in a food-scarce environment, the size of all species will evolve smaller and smaller. What you see could have grown longer. The 'Swordfish' that reaches 5 meters in length may only grow up to two meters long here. It can be said that the danger is still within the controllable range. Professor Levins comes from one of the ten most prestigious families in the UK. One of the absolute wealthy aristocrats of the 'Cavendish Family', if you and your team are willing to stay and help us, I think we are willing to pay you another 2 million euros."
Ling Hao started to spend money on people again. Ling Hao was a little helpless. God knows how these ancient wealthy families would appear in front of him. He had just met the young lady from the Huxley family, and immediately met the lady who was named "Devonshire" by the English royal family. Duke" of the Cavendish family. "Don't rush to spend money. No matter how much money you have, you have to spend it with your life. As for the situation in the cave, most of it is just your guess. It's not that I don't understand the marine animals of the Cretaceous period. At that time, the time shark There are five or six species, and the bow shark is not the most ferocious species among them. As for the swordfish, its swimming speed is comparable to that of the swordfish today. Even with a body length of two meters, it can bite off a person's head in one bite. Effortlessly, with its speed, divers may not even have a chance to evade. I understand your desire to be at the forefront of the subject, but please calm down and think about it. You can really put everything aside. , Dedicate yourself to science in the most tragic way? This matter is a matter of life and death. I can't make the decision for my team members. I will convey your suggestions to them, and I will listen to them whatever the outcome is." After that, Ling Hao left the cabin and went to discuss with his team members.
Everyone was silent. Yuan Bing and Jiang Mingyu were not capable of performing this kind of diving mission at this depth. They also knew that the only people who could do this job were Ling Hao, Tian Yong and Yang Xueting. They were at most engaged in driving, logistics, and information. Class auxiliary work, no say. After a long while, Yang Xueting finally spoke: "This is an underwater security job. Although it is dangerous, the three of us use horn tactics to protect ourselves. Since ancient times, wealth has been gained through danger, and what they did is not illegal. Regarding the indiscipline matter, I think we can take this job.”
Tian Yong said expressionlessly: "Two million is less. This time I am not just a bodyguard. The submarines, living quarters and other large equipment are all ours. It is not too much to ask him for 3 million."
Jiang Mingyu wiped his glasses and said: "I know about the desert island effect of biological evolution. There are indeed such examples. However, how long the 'evolutionary tree' will grow, at least we must have enough understanding of the environment to be able to say. And it’s not just large creatures that are dangerous, swarms of small ferocious fish are even more terrifying. Even if you want to go, I strongly recommend just sitting in a mini-submarine and never leaving the cabin.”
Shi Si said quietly: "Brother, there is endless money in the world. Isn't your safety more important than money? What should we do if something happens to you?"
Ling Hao smiled bitterly and said: "Diving is not a good meal. Which old diver is not full of injuries? The state stipulates that the retirement age for heavy divers is 45 years old. Don't I have to find a way to prepare pensions for my brothers early?" "
Everyone fell into silence again, and Ling Hao got up to find the professor and Adeline.
"First, we can provide the 'Stone Crab' living cabin and the 'Pippi Shrimp' submarine, as well as corresponding diving equipment and self-defense weapons, but we can only provide three divers. Second, our three divers can only provide Corresponding security work, when one person is in danger, we can only protect the personal safety of two of you, so please carefully consider the number of students who want to dive out of the cabin. Third, once we discover danger, you must listen Evacuate or hide under our orders. We are not responsible for seeking death in order to protect precious samples regardless of life. In the end, 2 million is less. The cost of rescuing the three of you is already 3 million euros. The risk factor this time Soaring, it can’t be done without 4 million euros. If one of the four conditions is missing, there will be no negotiation.” Ling Hao’s words were decisive and very straightforward.
"OK! Deal!" Professor Levins smiled like a morning glory, stood up and extended his hand to Ling Hao.
Ling Hao's heart twitched and he cursed secretly: "Damn, poverty really limits imagination. If I had known he would agree so readily, I would have asked for more."
Now that everyone had reached a cooperation, they got together to study the action plan. A more complete sonar picture of the blue hole appeared on the computer screen, and Professor Levins explained it to everyone.
According to his prediction, the entire underwater cave space is a "U"-shaped structure. The blue hole is one side of this "U" shape, and the other side is the cave space with Cretaceous creatures. The two spaces are connected to each other, and there is at least one cave connecting them to the opposite side. However, the salinity of modern seawater is higher than that of ancient seawater, so the seawater on both sides cannot flow, and the animals on both sides basically cannot run to the opposite side, so this The "Cretaceous Aquarium" has never been discovered. However, this independent prehistoric ecosystem is very fragile. Judging from the sonar map, it is very similar in size and shape to the blue hole here, except that the seabed at the top has not collapsed. If one day the seabed collapses due to an earthquake or human factors, countless high-salinity seawater will pour in, and all Cretaceous organisms will die because they cannot adapt to this sudden salinity change.
Although salt cannot flow between these two magical ecosystems that span 80 million years, oxygen, microorganisms, many algae, bacteria, and even some animals that can ignore the difference in salt can continue to communicate on both sides. In this way, this A small piece of the Cretaceous ocean was enough to maintain the health of its ecosystem without becoming a stagnant water. Although it sounds like an incredible state formed by countless accidents, it has been maintained like this for a long time of 80 million years. I have to say that this world is wonderful, even if human beings use all their fantastic ideas. It is impossible to cope with the eventuality.
Professor Levins rubbed his hands and said: "Although there is an entrance to the cave, it is too small and can only accommodate divers to drill in and out. It is indeed not safe. I think we should dive to the bottom of the blue hole and pass through." Drive a mini-submarine through the pipe under the U' shape. According to the sonar, the bottom channel is flat and wide, even the Stone Crab can fit through it."
Jiang Mingyu suddenly said: "The 'Stone Crab' should stay here in the Blue Cave for the time being. Since the professor plans to go from the bottom to the opposite side, I think it is good to study the sediments at the bottom of the opposite hole, the bones of dead animals, excrement, etc. Important traces can be found in the sediments at the bottom of the cave. I think the research value should be very high, right? If you can't find even a skeleton or teeth of a large creature at the bottom of the cave opposite, the 'Stone Crab' will be relatively bulky. The living cabin is suitable for the past.”
Adeline said: "The entire laboratory equipment is being pressurized and will be delivered soon. Otherwise, I'd better ask the superiors to deliver a few more sets of anti-shark suits. It will make me feel more at ease when I wear them."
Ling Hao shook his head and said, "That thing is like chainmail. It's extremely heavy to wear. If anything happens, it won't be able to run away. It's better to send some electronic shark repellent devices and shark repellent medicine."
Yuan Bing suddenly said: "I am well prepared in terms of safety. The 'portable underwater safe house' I researched, designed, and produced myself is in cabinet No. 2. You can use it, but it is enough for five or six people to work in it." Yes, my patented product will definitely work." As he spoke, he was beaming, as if he wanted to sell the patent to Adeline right now.
