Professor Stevenson took a sip of water and continued: "We have asked many geological experts, and they all have different opinions as to why this city appeared in such an incredible place. However, most experts still believe that , the real ancient city of Qiemo was built on the old course of the Chelchen River. Although the surface river has changed its course due to terrain reasons, the underground water system has not been disturbed by the surface and still follows the original underground river. Moving forward, years of erosion caused cavities to appear in the rocks under the desert. Adding the weight of a city, the surface was overwhelmed, and the ancient city of Qiemo sank into the ground and was buried by the yellow sand. Of course, the cavity was not so big at first. Therefore, the ancient city prevented the yellow sand from flowing down, and gradually formed a hard sand shell over the long years. Then the rock formations under the city collapsed again, and the ancient city fell into its current deep position. Later, the groundwater level rose, and in the cavity A lake was formed and the ancient city of Qiemo was submerged. Under a series of coincidences, this strange situation finally formed. What do you think, do you want to see it for yourself? It is only twenty kilometers away from here, and all the large equipment has passed. We originally planned to move the camp there tomorrow, but you came at the right time."
Ling Hao generally understood it and couldn't help but marvel at the uncanny craftsmanship of nature and the magic of heaven and earth. There was no talk all night, and early the next morning, the entire camp began to move out of camp. Ling Hao sent Yuan Bing to send Li Liang to Qiemo Town, and left Zuo Pengfei in charge of the team's relocation, and then brought Zhu Xin, Shi Si, Xueting, Tian Yong and Jiang Mingyu found a 6-seater "Lincoln Aviator" and sped away directly on the old road of "Cheerchen River".
The car drove for nearly half an hour, and in the distance we saw a high-speed rail frame erected on the river bank outside the old road. When the car drove over, we discovered that there was a huge sunken area on the river bank, covering an area of dozens of square kilometers. It felt like It's like a meteor crater. Since this crater is not very deep, the deepest part is only three or four meters lower than other places. In addition, the shape is irregular, so if you don't know in advance that it is empty, you still can't. It's really hard to find anything special here.
A brand-new color steel plate house camp has been basically completed. Of course, now that we know that the pit is empty, no matter whether it is a camp or large mechanical equipment, we dare not put it in the pit, in case it is too heavy and causes damage. Collapse, that’s no joke. The grounding point of the tall iron frame is also outside the pit, but it is supported diagonally on the edge of the pit, sharing most of the weight of the drilling rig.
It is very wise to drill the downward hole on the edge of the pit. Of course, the difficulty of digging a hole in the desert is even more conceivable. Obviously there are professionals in earthworks on site participating in the excavation work. Use a large drill bit to expand and use special technology to reinforce the cave wall. The process is a bit more complicated, but it ensures that there will be no irreversible result such as overall collapse.
At 10 o'clock in the morning, Professor Stevenson, Professor Yu and Natasha all arrived. The four of them stood at the edge of the pit, looking at the huge drilling rig that was constantly drilling holes. It was not much smaller than the tunnel boring machine, and they began to discuss the next step. plan of.
"You guys are really willing to spend money on transporting so much large equipment to the desert. Is it worth it just to find a lost ancient city? Or is there something remarkable buried in that city?" Ling Hao estimated. For such a large stall, tens of millions of funds should have been spent, not including the 3 million commission for their own team. With such a large cost, the three archaeological teams are really just looking for Qi Mo. An ancient city?
"Don't look at this matter from the perspective of a businessman. There is a mysterious ancient civilization buried under our feet. Its history is also sealed under the yellow sand and among the waves. It is a shining pearl in the long river of human history. If Losing it means eternal dust. In comparison, gaining wealth is much simpler." Professor Stevenson's words were quite polite, but it was also obvious that his disdain for Ling Hao's statement could be felt.
The latter didn't take it seriously and continued to ask: "When will the hole be expanded? Is there any way for us to conduct a preliminary inspection of the lake below?"
Professor Yu said: "According to the current progress, it will be completed tomorrow afternoon or the morning of the day after tomorrow at the latest. If you want to do some exploration work on the underground lake, there is a parallel 'balanced pressure well' next to the big hole. However, It’s only 60 centimeters in diameter, it’s actually just a steel pipe that’s driven down, is it enough for you?”
"That's enough, I just put the equipment down." Ling Hao winked at Shi Si. After years of cooperation, the little girl naturally knew what he meant and trotted all the way to get the equipment.
After a while, she walked over carrying a large green equipment box, and opened the box in front of everyone. A black robot fish with an antenna appeared in front of everyone, which immediately aroused three people's attention. an archaeologist's interest.
Professor Yu stretched out his "sinful hand" and touched the robotic fish, and asked with a smile: "Girl, what kind of toy is this? Robot carp?"
Shi Si rolled his eyes at him and said: "You look down on me, don't you? Those of you who are engaged in the business of 'digging up graves and digging them upside down' naturally cannot understand the value created by us science and engineering professionals. The name of this mechanical fish is 'Steamed Grouper'. It is one of the most advanced diving robots we have built in the world. It not only has a camera function, but also integrates water quality analysis, water temperature, salinity, depth and other detection functions. Its high-definition camera not only has a low-light camera function, It can also capture high-speed moving objects like some professional photography equipment. What is the concept of 2.6 billion pixels and 220,000 frames per second? After all, you are also scientists, so you shouldn’t have no concept at all, right? Also, in order to To solve the problem of real-time transmission of information in a complex environment, we have specially developed a system with complete software and hardware. The 'Steamed Grouper' can independently judge the terrain during the process of advancement, and can levitate or leave information in necessary places. Fixed miniature powerful wireless signal repeater. This repeater can carry 20 repeaters. It can ensure real-time unobstructed image signals even in underwater cave exploration with extremely complex terrain, avoiding the need to drag cables very far in the past. Embarrassing. In addition, its AI intelligent system was completely independently developed by this girl, surpassing all small AI intelligent devices on the market. It can make independent judgments and avoid risks during the expedition, and has extremely strong survivability. The most awesome What's more, if it speeds up, its speed will scare you to death, and even the sharks can't catch it. The cost of developing it alone cost me nearly 400,000 US dollars. "Brother, you still have the nerve to talk about me now" Is Steamed Grouper a toy?"
Professor Yu's old face turned red with embarrassment, and he said with a sneer: "Yu Qian! Didn't you say that you are not allowed to call me 'Qian Qian' in the future?"
Ling Hao also played Shi Si from behind and said, "What's the word 'digging up the grave'? It's so unpleasant. Don't talk nonsense. Professor Yu is highly respected and we must respect him. Of course, others will also respect your professional knowledge." of."
"Yes, yes, we are good at digging soil, but underwater is your domain. Then we will all rely on your diving team." Professor Yu chuckled, his face turned into trumpet flowers. .
Shi Si pouted and took her "Steamed Grouper" to find the "equal pressure well". Ling Hao also turned around and returned to his dormitory in the color steel room. Before leaving, he gave Professor Yu a meaningful look. , which made the little old man feel excited all over.
Not long after returning to the room, Professor Yu followed him secretly. After entering the door, he even looked outside a few times, as if he was a thief. "Xiao Ling, do you have something to say to me?"
Ling Hao laughed and said: "Professor Yu, maybe you are an expert when it comes to learning, but when it comes to playing tricks, you are so bad. You were so strong in front of me before, but this time, you, little girl Lian Shi Si, If you can tolerate it, you must be asking for something. Don't be as cunning as a spy, come here and talk." Professor Yu blushed, walked to Ling Hao and sat down, his eyes flickered, and he didn't dare to look at Ling Hao.
"Tell me. What's in this ancient underwater city? What's the purpose of the Russians and British coming here? What do you want us to do for you?" Ling Hao got straight to the point.
Professor Yu sighed softly: "You are too shrewd, I know I can't hide it from you. I also deduced it after reading a lot of historical materials after receiving this task. I think their goal should be the Loulan people's gold."
Ling Hao's eyes widened and he immediately got angry: "Shit! This is Qiemo, far away from Loulan. Where did the Loulan people's gold come from? Moreover, this is the land of China. Any treasures found here, especially gold, can carry Even if they get inconvenient things, they can't take them out of the country, let alone gold, or any antiques. Besides, how can the country rashly allow these foreigners with evil intentions to dig for treasures in our land? Completely It’s unreasonable!”
Professor Yu almost jumped up, stretched out a finger and made a "whisper" gesture on his mouth, and then lowered his voice and said: "It was originally a normal joint scientific examination and a clean cultural exchange activity. Regarding the high-end contacts with other countries, how could the country know the personal goals of these foreigners who shoulder national missions? The golden thing is just a guess after my personal review of the information, and I cannot be 100% sure, so I rashly reported it to the superiors. , I can’t find happiness myself, can I?”
"Then you just watch the national treasures being taken away by foreigners?"
"Didn't I beg you for help? I know that you people are not ordinary divers. You are all people who can hunt tigers in the mountains and capture dragons in the water. You must help me this time and protect me. The inheritance left to us by our ancestors!" Professor Yu grabbed Ling Hao's hand excitedly.
"Don't get excited yet. It's not certain whether there is this 'legacy'. How could Loulan's treasure come to Qiemo?"
Professor Yu's eyes widened: "That's because you are ignorant, why is it impossible? Loulan's demise did not happen overnight, but a relatively long process. This mysterious ancient country is also unlucky, as if it has been cursed , natural and man-made disasters came one after another, abruptly burying this pearl of the Western Regions with a splendid civilization. Around the 4th century AD, the "Zhubin River" in the middle reaches of the Tarim River changed its course, resulting in a serious water shortage in Loulan. Although the Loulan people tried every means , however, as Lop Nur moves north, Loulan, which has lost its source of life, is destined to be buried by the yellow sand. It is said that good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes alone. Loulan, which has suffered from lack of water, has another plague, a plague called "hot nest disease" , what people now call "typhoid fever" began to spread rampantly, killing entire villages and killing entire families. The population of small Loulan dropped sharply, and the national power weakened rapidly. Think about it, it was during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China, and there was war. With constant killings and killings, can Loulan survive? Under the leadership of the royal family, the remaining Loulan people took all the wealth of Loulan, which was once extremely wealthy, and embarked on a wandering and migrating road. The road was windy and sandy, and each Loulan people Becoming the bones on this road of blood and tears, the last few hundred people finally came to Qiemo with Loulan's wealth, and used the money in exchange for the shelter of King Qiemo. That's the end of the document, as for what's next It is unknown whether King Mo took in these Loulan survivors or took the money and killed them. Anyway, it is very likely that this huge wealth fell into the hands of King Qiemo. People in the Western Regions love gold more than jewelry and silver. , I estimate that these wealth are most likely to be piles of gold jewelry and gold bricks. I conservatively estimate that it is at least about two tons." Professor Yu's eyes were shining, and he became more and more excited as he spoke.
But Ling Hao didn't care. Anyway, even if the gold was really there, it would belong to the country if it was found. Why was he so excited?
"Professor Yu, I don't care whether you choose to report the gold matter, but I don't think the Russians and British are here for the gold. You'd better keep an eye on them. Don't accidentally become a national sinner. ." Ling Hao said this and walked out the door.
In the camp headquarters, Shi Si has already arranged her "work surface". Different tables or pictures are displayed on the six LCD screens. The small lights of various instruments are flashing, which looks very sci-fi. She is sitting at the table. She was operating her laptop computer in front of her, still holding her lychee-flavored lollipop in her mouth. Everyone, including Professor Stevenson and Dr. Natasha, were staring at the screens as if they were afraid of missing something.
As soon as Ling Hao entered, Shi Si reported to him: "The 'Steamed Grouper' has been launched. The water quality of the lake below is very good, almost reaching the standard for direct drinking. However, the water temperature is very low, only about 8 degrees. After Underwater radar detection shows that the water depth ranges from 95 meters to 192 meters. The bottom of the lake has a disk-shaped structure. The ancient city occupies 35% of the lake bottom area and is at the deepest point. The bottom of the lake is 5 to 15 meters thick sand with rocks below. Many have been discovered so far. The aquatic life in caves is mostly fish and arthropods, and no aggressive creatures have been found.”
Ling Hao said "hmm" and then fixed his gaze on the camera view of the "Steamed Grouper". The low-light lens makes everything underwater look very clear. After all, there is a light source on the machine, which attracts many small fish and shrimps to swim back and forth in front of the lens. The bodies of these small animals are all white, and their eyes are basically The degradation is clean.
Gradually, in the low-light camera, a huge black shadow appeared in the distance. There was no doubt that it was the "Qiemo Ancient City".
"Lean over and take a closer look." Ling Hao had just given the order, but unexpectedly the camera suddenly shook violently.
"It's under attack! The 'Steamed Grouper' is over one meter long. It's not a small fish. What is attacking it?" Zuo Pengfei exclaimed.
"I have considered this problem, Sisi, take action quickly!" Yuan Bing was so anxious that he slapped Shi Si on the head.
"Get out of here, don't slap this girl on the head!" Shi Si roared angrily, his hands still typing on the keyboard. The camera suddenly shook again, and a stream of blood filled the air. The "Steamed Grouper" accelerated and fled quickly, making everyone feel terrified. Are there any dangerous beasts in this underground lake?
