26: Chapter 26: Can water be squeezed out of a stone?

Once Chief Engineer Wang Heshan gave the order, the lifeless main camp finally stirred back into action.

Everyone felt this was absurd, but Chief Engineer Wang Heshan was the law here; no one dared to disobey his words.

A small tracked drilling rig was driven out of the warehouse. As the engineers checked the equipment, they all hung their heads, looking like they were just humoring the leadership's foolish antics.

"Old Zhang, what do you think is wrong with Chief Engineer Wang? Why did he believe that young girl's nonsense?" a young worker whispered to the veteran master beside him.

"Who knows? He must be desperate after losing," the veteran sighed. "Just consider it accompanying the old leader for one last crazy stunt. Thirty meters—humph, that's not even enough to warm up the drill bit."

"Exactly. Drilling thirty meters into granite is like scratching an itch; all you'll get is stone dust."

People around them were whispering, but Chief Engineer Wang Heshan didn't stop them. Didn't he think the same thing himself?

He had agreed partly because he was blinded by his loss and ready to throw caution to the wind, and partly because he wanted to see with his own eyes how this young girl would end up when her bluff was called.

The convoy set off, heading to Consultant Jiang's camp thirty kilometers away.

When Chief Engineer Wang Heshan and his men arrived, he was stunned by the massive grid in front of him.

He didn't know what material that thing was cast from, but it was covered in strange patterns, just lying there in the desert, looking ominous.

"What... on earth is that?" Chief Engineer Sun Hai and the others were dumbfounded; this object completely defied their understanding.

Consultant Jiang didn't explain. She pointed to an empty space in front of the array base and said to the drilling team leader, "Right here. Drill down."

The drilling team leader was an old hand. He measured it with an instrument, tapped the ground with a hammer, grabbed a handful of sand to inspect, and knitted his brows.

"Consultant Jiang," he said hesitantly, "there is granite less than five meters beneath the sand here; we've surveyed it before. Do you really want to drill here?"

"I'm sure," Consultant Jiang said calmly.

"Fine then." The drilling team leader had no choice and looked back at Chief Engineer Wang Heshan.

Chief Engineer Wang Heshan nodded expressionlessly: "Do as she says!"

The drilling rig moved over, and the drill pipe was aligned with the spot Consultant Jiang had pointed out.

Everyone gathered around—Chief Engineer Wang Heshan's people, Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo's people, even the logistics staff ran over to watch. Everyone stared at the drill pipe; the atmosphere was strange.

Dr. Li was also squeezed into the crowd, extremely nervous. He hoped for Consultant Jiang's failure more than anyone. As long as no water came out, he could pin all the responsibility on her.

"Start," Consultant Jiang said.

The drilling team leader gritted his teeth and pressed the start button.

The motor roared to life, and the drill pipe spun as it plunged into the sand.

The few meters of sand were quickly penetrated, but when the drill bit hit the hard stone below, the sound became piercing, and sparks flew.

On the operating screen, the geological hardness data shot straight up.

"It's granite! Hardness 9.2! Just like the data!" a technician shouted.

All the engineers felt their hearts sink. Drilling into this kind of stone was agonizingly slow; let alone thirty meters, it would take half a day just to get through ten. Wanting to find water? Dream on.

Chief Engineer Wang Heshan curled his lip, thinking, 'Just as I expected.'

But just when everyone thought it would continue grinding on like this, something went wrong!

Ten meters, fifteen meters, twenty meters... The drill pipe's speed not only didn't slow down, it got faster and faster!

The hardness data on the screen, after hitting the peak, actually started to drop!

"What's going on?!" the drilling team leader shouted. "The hardness is dropping! 8.5... 7.0... 5.4... Good heavens! It's soft underneath!"

"Impossible!" Chief Engineer Sun Hai pushed forward to stare at the screen, his eyes red. "How could granite get softer the deeper you go? The instrument must be broken!"

But no matter how he looked at it, the instrument was fine. The drill pipe, however, was plunging down as if it were piercing tofu!

Twenty-five meters... twenty-eight meters...

Just as the depth reached nearly thirty meters, a loud boom came from underground! The entire ground shook!

Then, everyone was stunned. That spinning drill pipe was violently ejected from the hole by a massive force!

"Back up!" the drilling team leader roared until his voice cracked, but it was too late.

A torrent of muddy water erupted from the borehole, shooting straight into the sky! The water sprayed harder and harder, turning into a massive column of water over half a meter thick, roaring as it shot nearly a hundred meters into the air!

The water column burst in the sky, turning into mist, and when the sun shone on it, a rainbow appeared. The "rain," smelling of wet earth, drenched everyone from head to toe.

The surroundings fell silent, leaving only the roar of the water column.

Everyone was soaked to the bone, but no one wiped the water from their faces. They all looked up with their mouths agape, staring blankly at the scene before them, their minds completely blank.

"Water... it's really water..." a young engineer muttered, then suddenly fell to his knees and began to cry.

Once he started crying, the others couldn't hold back either; the entire camp erupted into tears. It was the wild joy of seeing hope suddenly appear after hitting rock bottom!

Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo was trembling with excitement. He wanted to say something, but couldn't utter a single word; tears mixed with the rain streaming down his wrinkled face.

Dr. Li froze in place, his face turning pale instantly.

How could this be... how did this happen?

There really is water thirty meters beneath the granite? And with such high pressure?

This is fucking unscientific! Everything he had learned had been overturned!

And Chief Engineer Wang Heshan, the old man who had just lost his life's work, stood under the mist, letting the icy water pour over him.

He reached out with a trembling hand to catch the falling droplets, looking at the water column that seemed as if it would pierce a hole in the sky.

Then, he slowly turned his head and looked at the young girl who had been calm from start to finish, with a gaze like he was looking at a monster. In that look, there was awe, shock, and an indescribable sense of shame.

The wind blew her hair. The mist filling the sky and the rainbow became her backdrop.

Chief Engineer Wang Heshan felt that everything he had believed in his entire life had shattered at this very moment.