Crossing the Western Tianshan Mountains

"Isn't it a bit early? What if they..."

"Don't let anything go wrong. If anything goes wrong, you guys just pull them out. Get them all out. Nothing can happen. As long as they get out today, it's a victory and we should celebrate."

Ye Minglang nodded, "I understand."

As for Yan Zhuoyu, after they entered the cavity, they found that the cavity was very large. The debris that poured out was like a tumor that was dug out, and the pit where the tumor had been was still there.

There was indeed a layer of debris around the cave, and the situation inside the cave was very complicated. There was also a faint gurgling sound of water. They went forward to check and found that there was indeed an aquifer there, but the water content was not large. However, it was a place with living water, and there was always living water flowing, forming this gurgling sound.

The air detector sounded a very loud alarm, indicating that there was indeed something wrong with the air inside the tunnel. And the source of the workers' coughing while working in the tunnel was originally in this air cavity.

Relying on their protective suits and gas masks, Yan Zhuoyu and his team simply went in the direction of the most severe alarm, and then they found a kind of yellow slag, took some and put it in a bottle.

At the same time, they took photos of various parts of the cave and carefully carried out several other monitorings. At this time, they suddenly discovered that the aquifer on the right was gushing water again. Although the water that gushed out was not much, it had already covered some places in the cave with a thin layer of water, and water was also dripping into the ground from the cave entrance.

After Yan Zhuoyu carefully observed the slag layer on the left and the water layer on the right, he waved his hand and everyone quickly exited the cave.

It sounds fast, but the whole process actually took about an hour. They came out of the cave, climbed down the steel frame, and rushed out of the tunnel entrance. The five people didn't even have time to take off their clothes before lying on the ground. Everyone hurriedly stripped off their protective suits. Fang Ya immediately let them all breathe oxygen and checked their basic vital signs.

Finally, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "They're fine. They're just suffering from mild hypoxia and fatigue. They're also a little exhausted from sweating too much. They need to rest for two days."

This is already the best result.

The technicians did not dare to rest and worked overtime that night. At midnight, they sent a message to Ling Fengxi. It turned out that there was a stratum containing sulfur in the cave, but it was not a sulfur ore layer, but just a slag layer containing relatively more sulfur. Such a soil layer usually has no problems, but under the disturbance of construction, when it reacts with water and acidic substances, it will produce hydrogen sulfide. When it encounters geothermal energy and hot springs, it will also react with each other, causing sulfate-reducing bacteria to decompose in an oxygen-deficient environment.

And hydrogen sulfide is poisonous.

This is in turn related to the aquifer on the left. Water samples from the aquifer were also retrieved, which contained a large amount of acidic and corrosive substances and had a relatively high water temperature.

The reason why the water temperature is high is precisely because it encounters a layer of slag containing sulfur, which causes the water temperature to rise due to the interaction.

After understanding these reasons, the engineering team held a meeting overnight to study countermeasures.

The method proposed by Yan Zhuoyu is to completely seal the aquifer first, and to open a hole in the slag layer above the cave body, that is, to leave oxygen piles so that the slag layer is no longer short of oxygen and to prevent oxidation and decomposition to produce hydrogen sulfide.

After completing these tasks, start strong sealing and filling, and be sure to isolate the contact between the left and right water vapor and sulfur element slag layers, and ensure that there is no contact permanently.

Ling Fengxi only had one question: "Can all these processes be completed while ensuring safety and quality?"

Yan Zhuoyu said, "It can guarantee safety and quality."

Ling Fengxi nodded, "Then let's continue according to the plan."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that the Fourteenth Lot didn't have to be abandoned and they could continue moving forward. That evening, the kitchen wasn't busy. Large slices of meat and lamb shanks were prepared as a main course for the workers. With some Shanghai specialties provided by Ye Minglang, seven or eight side dishes were also prepared and sent to the technical department.

Ling Fengxi, Wu Yongjie, Fang Ya, Yan Zhuoyu, Lin Jinghui, and Ye Minglang sat at the same table. There were five or six side dishes in front of them, and they ate and chatted.

Wu Yongjie said, "I told you, there are no cowards in my Wu Lao Hu team. If this had happened to any other engineering team, they would have given up and stopped. No one would be as stupid as Yan Zhuoyu and his team to risk their lives to deal with this. It was really dangerous today. If everyone entered the cavity and gravity caused it to collapse further, no matter how long the ropes were, it would be useless and we would all be buried."

Ling Fengxi broke out in a cold sweat for no apparent reason. "You didn't say that before you went in."

"I told you, are you still going to let them in?" Wu Yongjie said, "You're not bold when you should be, and you're very aggressive when you should be cautious. What were you thinking about this project? How did you become the person in charge? You were actually willing to give up the 14th site to protect the workers' lives. You're so timid. How can you carry out this project?"

In fact, Fang Ya knew Ling Fengxi's problems best. After being in the system for a long time, he would first feel that human life was the most important.

Second, money is the most important.

Third, engineering is the most important.

The ranking is here. Ling Fengxi raised the ranking of the project a bit this time. It is very likely that "human life is the most important, and the project is the second most important."

It could also be because of Ayala. So Fang Ya didn't bother to explain for Ling Fengxi. Instead, she said, "I think Captain Wu is right. If we don't take the risk today, not only will the project progress be delayed and we'll have to start all over again, but the losses will also be huge. So Captain Wu's leadership is truly incredible."

Wu Yongjie was flattered by the praise of his beloved woman. He looked at Ling Fengxi proudly and said, "But you are also very good. You put human life first. We are all very touched. It is because of this that we are willing to fight for it."

Ling Fengxi felt that it was unnecessary to say anything at this moment, so he raised his glass and offered to drink with everyone. Everyone was very considerate and finished the wine in one gulp.

Wu Yongjie sighed, "Oh, this should be smooth sailing, right? Ever since we arrived in Western Tianshan, we've been fighting every day. I just want a few days of smooth sailing."

Ling Fengxi also wanted to do this, but what he said was, "Doctor Fang, because of this sulfur issue, the workers' health needs constant attention, especially those technicians. Nothing must happen to them again. Thank you for your hard work."

He gave the order at the table, and Fang Ya smiled and accepted it.

Wu Lao Hu was dissatisfied and snorted, then said, "Ling Fengxi, when will you let go of your official airs?"

This caused everyone at the table to laugh along. Ling Fengxi seemed to realize the problem and glanced at Fang Ya awkwardly, "Doctor Fang, this is not an order, it's a request."

Wu Lao Hu pointed out the truth, "You're just forcing people to work for you."