Tian'er basically chatted to death at this point. The two parties exchanged some unhelpful pleasantries before looking for other chat partners.
For Ling Hao, it's not that the depth of 1,500 meters is too difficult for him and his team members, but that he really doesn't feel comfortable about making money from dead people.
People who don’t know much about deep-water operations may think that the deeper you dive, the greater the danger and the more terrible harm to the human body. This is not wrong, but there is a depth limit issue. The ultimate depth of free diving has reached more than 200 meters, while the diving record with oxygen bottles is more than 300 meters, and the depth record of saturation diving can reach 700 meters. , but if an ordinary submarine is used, the depth can exceed a thousand meters and reach 1,250 meters. And those bathyscaphes designed for deep diving are currently able to dive to the deepest point of the ocean, the bottom of the Mariana Trench, with a depth of 11,000 rice. In other words, how deep you can dive depends on the method you use, which of course means spending money somersaults.
This is information on the surface, but are there some unknown ways? The answer is of course yes. Leaving aside supernatural situations like Ling Hao's Zhenhai Longhu or some mermaids, there are also endless technological breakthroughs. More than 20 years ago, there was a Hollywood blockbuster called "Deep Sea", which revealed that the U.S. military has a technology that uses a fluorocarbon liquid with a strong affinity for oxygen and carbon dioxide to enter people's lungs. , instead of oxygen for human breathing, thereby largely solving the limitation of water pressure on human diving. Of course, in reality, it cannot be as simple as in a science fiction movie. First, how to spit out the liquid after getting out of the water is a big problem. Skin flakes, clothing fibers, and even some debris that is too small to be found are brought into the lungs. , will inevitably cause the user's lung infection, and the human lungs are "designed" for breathing gas. Breathing liquid may not be powerful enough, and it is easy to cause fatigue damage. Although this research has achieved certain results, after all, it is still because it cannot fully guarantee the safety of the human body, so it is only maintained at the high-end medical level and has not been applied to the field of deep-sea exploration.
It was not until the emergence of nanorobot technology that scientists from the navies of various countries rekindled hope. Not only the United States, but also major countries such as China, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia have successively developed "nanorobot deep-sea assisted breathing systems." In fact, Ling Hao has used it in the army, but this kind of equipment has a high level of confidentiality and is not available on the market. But Ling Hao was different. He knew many people with extraordinary backgrounds, such as Miss Adeline, the daughter of the Huxley family. His father is an alternative member of the Huxley family. Although he is also engaged in scientific research and business, he deals in military equipment products. Among them, the "PNNCT Single Person Deep Diving System" happens to be a top product in this area. . When Shi Si asked Adeline for help in purchasing the water-jet engine for the "Stone Crab", Adeline recommended this product. A master control system plus three single-person subsystems, the price was as high as an insane 4.5 million euros. , but Shi Si was really tempted and pestered Adeline to bargain, but the latter was just teasing her. The sales restrictions on this kind of equipment are very strict, and even if you have money, you won't sell it. Because she and Ling Hao's team had shared life and death together, and Ling Hao once gave her a pair of priceless ancient Greek gold bracelets, she accepted Shi Si's 2 million euros half-sale and half-free. , the equipment and accessories of the Stone Crab were sent over on a special plane. In fact, the procedure was quite troublesome and required a lot of Li Liang's connections. After all, there were many things on the special plane that would probably scare the customs people to death.
After several twists and turns, all the equipment, along with the "Stone Crab" and "Pippi Shrimp", were sent to the scientific research plant of "Jiangcheng Shipbuilding Industry Group". If the cradle of China's submarine force is the "Bohai Shipyard", then the "parental home" of China's submarine exports must be the "Jiangcheng Shipyard".
Ling Hao and Shi Si took the high-speed train to Jiangcheng in a very low-key manner, and then took the "Sanbengzi" to a gate on the side of the shipyard area. There were soldiers standing guard here, and there were barbed wire on the wall, and there were cameras everywhere. It felt like Prison-like. Ling Hao took out a metal card from his underwear pocket and scanned it on a card reader inside the gate. Then the door opened and Shi Si walked in with his eyes wide open and a confused look on his face.
In a clean factory building, the "Stone Crab" and "Pippi Shrimp" were placed on a huge metal inspection platform. Many people in white coats and blue overalls were using various tools and equipment. They were inspecting or repairing, and many of them could see the military uniform collar badges inside them from the collars of their coats, even school-level officers.
An old gentleman with gray hair and glasses walked over with a slightly sullen expression on his face and said: "Ling Hao, I haven't seen you for a while. You're too cruel. Did you drive them somewhere? I'm two You are a pretty girl, but you will give me scars every time! It’s not my fault, right?”
Ling Hao quickly apologized: "Looking at what you said, Mr. Zhou, I treat them as my own, but the situation at that time was too dangerous. Otherwise, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to get out of the water."
Zhou Laobai glanced at Ling Hao and said: "I have replaced the engine. I am still debugging the British 'nano deep submersible system'. It is still a bit troublesome to integrate it into the main system. It will take two days. The decompression system and I have replaced the air supply system with a new one, and the 'pressure-resistant modules' of all the shells can be replaced this afternoon. This is a major upgrade, and there will be no problem at all when diving to 8,000 meters."
"Don't worry about merging the systems. The little girl I brought here is a master among masters. I guarantee that she can complete it this afternoon." Ling Hao smiled and pulled Shi Si, who was still confused, behind him and asked Mr. Zhou introduced.
So that afternoon, Ling Hao and Shi Si completed their work and quietly set foot on the high-speed train back to Hong Kong City.
Seeing that the seats around him were relatively empty, Shi Si finally couldn't help but asked in a low voice: "How many things are you hiding from me? Didn't you say before that the 'Stone Crab' and 'Pippi Shrimp' were bought from Germany? ? Why does it sound like it was designed and manufactured by Lao Zhou, and the ownership does not seem to be yours. Also, what is your relationship with the military? Those people all have military backgrounds. Are you Zhan from China? James Bond?"
"Pfft!" Ling Hao just took a sip of the ice tea and spit it out. "Girl, what are you thinking about? It's like James Bond. I don't deny that I have some relationship with the military. I didn't tell you before, not because I didn't believe you, but because I didn't want you to think What kind of backing is there? If you act outside, you will be able to get into trouble easily. Furthermore, the country is not consuming so many resources without purpose. Although I can’t tell you now, sooner or later you will know that we This professional team, in addition to making money, will also complete a great task that benefits the country, the people, and even the whole world."
Shi Si stuck out her tongue. Ling Hao didn't tell her the key information, so she didn't bother to ask. For her, as a former Asian American, she lacked a sense of national belonging, whether in the United States or China. , she seems to be an outsider. However, she attaches great importance to relationships. The lack of emotions caused by her life path from childhood to adulthood makes her hungry for family warmth and family affection. Especially Ling Hao, who is like a brother, is the most important thing in her life. The presence. No matter what he does, even if he is the enemy of the whole world, she will follow him without hesitation and do everything she can to help him and achieve his success. This is the meaning of Shi Si's life.
Annie's chuckle brought Ling Hao's thoughts back to reality. Although the professional level and equipment level of the team are much better than before, and it is not arrogant to say that they are the best in the world, he has too many responsibilities. I am unwilling to take everyone to take risks that are not absolutely necessary.
"Ling Hao, why are you still standing there? Let's go. The exhibition has started. We will accompany the guests to the exhibition hall on the second floor. We must control the time. The exhibition lasts only one hour. The highlight is the auction at the end." Annie was like a Like a mother who urges her children to go home for dinner.
This auction was very successful. The auction, which was originally expected to end at 10 o'clock in the evening, was forced to be extended to 11 o'clock. 42 pieces of pearl jewelry were auctioned, 15 pieces of diamond jewelry, and 11 pieces of other jewelry. pieces, with a total transaction volume of US$130 million. One of the finale pieces of jewelry is a necklace designed and processed with 32 round "Kongke beads" with a diameter of 0.5 cm and broken diamonds. Especially the huge 1.5 cm "Kongke bead" used as the pendant in the middle of the necklace is rare in many years. The sight attracted Middle Eastern oil tycoons, Wall Street financial tycoons, and European royal nobles to compete for the auction. In the end, it sold for a sky-high price of US$23.5 million, breaking the record for jewelry auctions at Christie's auction house.
Annie's face was flushed with excitement all night, but Ling Hao didn't feel too much and politely sent each satisfied guest away from the auction site. Tomorrow Li Liang will take Shi Si and Jiang Mingyu back to Hong Kong City, while Annie will return to Shanghai to handle the proceeds from the auction. Ling Hao would stay in the hotel for one night and then go to Cheng Zhuxin's house to report to his future father-in-law and mother-in-law the next day. It was originally a very happy thing, but Cheng Lin Feng took the young master of the Greek ship with him seemingly casually and professionally. Finding things to say to himself has always been like a thorn in his side, making him a little depressed and absent-minded, sitting alone in the restaurant in front of a pile of barely touched top-notch delicacies in a daze.
With a "click", a king crab's legs were torn off. "Yeah! It's delicious! It's such a waste to stay here. Let's have a big meal here and pack everything we can't eat, okay?" Shi Si's cheeks bulged up after eating. Jiang Mingyu on the side also unceremoniously picked up a plate of French oysters, taking one bite at a time, just like drinking a small drink, and the frequency was so fast.
The gloom in Ling Hao's heart was instantly swept away. He smiled bitterly and scolded: "A little girl's family, can you eat more elegantly? And Mingyu, those are oysters, the effect is very powerful, you are a bachelor." , can you control it? Don’t let your nose bleed all of a sudden!"
"There are no outsiders here, so what are you pretending to be? Hurry up and start making as much as you can eat. If you pack it back, it won't be as fresh as it is now." This girl Shi Si was really speechless. She held a can of black caviar and took it. Holding the spoon, it was like eating ice cream. Ling Hao's eyelids jumped when he saw it, and he had the urge to go up and grab it from her.
After a while, Annie and Jiang Min, who had finished their work, came here with two soft girls from the group's public relations department. In an instant, the packaging of the international celebrity was shattered on the ground. Annie threw off her high heels and walked barefoot on the soft carpet. He pulled up a chair and sat next to Ling Hao. He took a plate and filled it with all kinds of delicious food. Then he put his two jade legs on Ling Hao's legs without batting an eyelid. He raised his head and started eating.
Ling Hao's head was pounding: "What are you doing?"
"I'm starving to death. This dress is so awkward. My stomach bulges out even after I eat a little bit. I haven't eaten breakfast or lunch. Now I'm so hungry that my chest touches my back." Stuffing food, he spoke vaguely. Jiang Min and the two soft girls were also wearing slim evening dresses, and they were probably in a similar situation. At this moment, they lost their reserve in front of the boss. They also took off their high heels, picked up the plates and started picking food.
Ling Hao couldn't help but glance down, his face immediately turned red like a tomato: "I mean your legs."
"You men just can't understand how difficult it is for women. You can try wearing this kind of 'hateful height' that is over 10 centimeters. I wore it for most of the day. Not to mention the pain in my feet, my calves started to cramp. Seeing as I have helped you make so much money today, please give me a squeeze when you are full." As she said that, Annie moved her legs more unscrupulously towards Ling Hao, which was a big slit. The dress, Ling Hao's eyes didn't even know where to put it.
He whispered in a trembling voice: "It's not about the legs. Don't you know that you're wearing a skirt and you're naked? You, too, don't even wear any bottoming clothes!"
Anne then took her eyes away from the food and glanced down. Her cheeks turned slightly red, but she didn't put her legs down. She just pulled a handful of the skirt of her dress, revealing her slender legs and her inadvertently exposed breasts. The spring light covered it. "Fortunately, only you can see it. You don't understand. A tight-fitting evening dress exposes more places. Any bottoming you wear can easily have the opposite effect. Moreover, the straps or marks on the clothes are even more unsightly. Believe it or not, as long as it is Anyone who wears a high-slit dress like this is definitely like me. You saw that you took advantage, so don’t act like I molested you. Seriously, I just saw you stunned here. , it seems that you have been distracted since you talked to that Julian, what did he do to you? "
There is really nothing that can be hidden from this person. Ling Hao told Annie the story, and Annie smiled: "If it were you Chinese women, you would definitely cry and shout not to let me go. What should I do if something happens to you?" That's right. But I think if you want to go, you have to ask yourself first, whether you have the ability to go, and secondly, whether you are interested. I know you relatively well. If you really dislike shipwrecks, or even hate them deeply That way, you won't be worried. Or maybe you didn't want to go, but Zhuxin's father wanted you to go. Is this relationship making it difficult for you? "
Ling Hao wanted to defend himself, but after holding it in for a long time, he sighed and said, "You're right, a little bit."
Annie patted Ling Hao on the shoulder and said: "Don't worry about the people in your team. They are all adults. Whatever you want to do, they will go with you if they are willing to go. If you don't want to, they will naturally not force it. Everyone They will all bear the consequences of their choices. Just explain the matter to them. You are their boss. At most, you can add comrades and brothers, but you are not their parents or guardians. You have no obligation or qualification to always tie them up. Trapped under your wings."
The next day, Ling Hao came to Zhu Xin's house alone with large and small bags of New Year's goods. The old couple were there and warmly welcomed him in. Zhu Xin had called them and they knew that Ling Hao would come to spend the New Year with them. , I was extremely happy. I had prepared a lot of various rich new year goods. As soon as Ling Hao arrived, he was greeted by a banquet on the table.
Cheng Linfeng has long lost his previous aloofness, and the smile lines on his face are all piled up. He keeps pushing cups and cups with Ling Hao, and keeps picking up food for him. Ling Hao had something on his mind. After drinking for three times and enjoying the food, he asked: "Uncle, what did Young Master Julian from Greece say last night? Was it a casual chat or was it serious?"
Cheng Linfeng's smile faltered and he said: "Of course he is serious. Buying jewelry is not his main purpose when he comes back to China. His real intention is to find you."
"How deeply involved are you in this matter?" Ling Hao hit the nail on the head.
"Uh..." Cheng Linfeng was a little embarrassed. "You also know that although the company escaped the fate of bankruptcy with your capital injection, this disaster also dealt a big blow to the company's credibility. Many orders have been lost. If you want to get new business, you can only negotiate with others. It is really difficult for me to compete at a low price, with a sharp drop in revenue, and the loan for the ship still needs to be repaid, and I cannot get a huge compensation for layoffs. Julian learned about our relationship from somewhere, and he He invited me to participate in his activities of exploring the 'Shipwreck Cemetery', and said that as long as I can get you to join, I will share 3% of the profit, so..."
Ling Hao sighed in his heart. As he feared, his future father-in-law had been taken advantage of by others. As for the details of this project, I believe that Master Julian will not really explain it to Cheng Linfeng.
"I rejected him yesterday. Did he tell you what he plans to do next?" Ling Hao was already extremely vigilant. Since the other party tried so hard to get him to join, Cheng Linfeng, who was the bait, would inevitably I'll be very careful about it, and I'm afraid I won't give up so easily.
"He said he had an alternative plan. In fact, he has already reached an agreement with Odyssey Ocean Exploration Company. Since you rejected him, they must have signed a contract. Julian has already flown to South Africa overnight."
"Is it so simple? Young Master Julian can afford it and let it go. It won't cause any trouble for your company in the future, right?" Ling Hao always felt that there was something evil in this matter.
"No, his group has just injected 5 million euros into our company. It is already the second largest shareholder of our company. How can it cause trouble?"
"What?!" Ling Hao's expression immediately changed. If there really was such a "shipwreck cemetery", maybe Cheng Linfeng had no idea, but how could Ling Hao not know that just based on the silver coins in Spanish and Portuguese merchant ships in the 16th century? , is a wealth that can make people crazy. In order to obtain it, most businessmen in the world will choose to do anything. Now that the other party has become the second largest shareholder of Cheng Linfeng's company, Cheng Linfeng's money has become a fixed asset. It is dead money, and what he has in his hands is a real 5 million euros. It is too easy to deal with Cheng Linfeng. Either they divest their capital at the critical moment and ensure that Cheng Linfeng's group is disintegrated in the air, or they simply use some tricks on the board of directors. Before Cheng Linfeng knew what was going on, the company became someone else's.
Ling Hao picked up the phone and called Annie: "Sure enough, something happened. Arrange a transport plane. I have to go to South Africa as soon as possible... Yes, that damn Cape Storm!"
