Chapter 242 Offshore Platform

November 24, 2038.

Equatorial Pacific, 157 degrees east longitude.

The helicopter flew over the azure ocean for two hours before finally spotting a black dot in the distance.

Chen Xueming sat by the porthole, squinting at the growing black dot. As they drew closer, the dot gradually revealed its silhouette—a growing giant island of steel.

"Director Chen, we're almost there," the pilot's voice came through the headset.

Chen Xueming nodded, his gaze never leaving the window.

Half a month ago, when he left here to return to the base for a meeting, the platform was just a prototype—a few steel piles poking out of the sea, covered with a layer of temporary decking, and workers squeezed into dormitories converted from shipping containers.

Now, it looked like a real island.

Viewed from the air, the platform was hexagonal, with sides nearly three hundred meters long. At the six corners, six tower cranes stood tall, their jibs reaching toward the sky like six giant hands. In the center of the platform, a four-story integrated building had already been topped out, its exterior wall painted with the striking "sky ladder project" logo. On the surrounding trestles, engineering vehicles moved back and forth, as busy as ants.

Further away, over a dozen engineering ships were moored around the platform, some unloading cargo and others operating. A ten-thousand-ton pile-driving ship was slowly driving a new steel pile into the seabed; the thud, thud, thud of the hammer was faintly audible even from high in the air.

"This is our base now," Chen Xueming muttered to himself.

The helicopter descended slowly, finally landing steadily on the helipad on the east side of the platform.

The cabin door opened, and a blast of hot, humid sea breeze hit him. Chen Xueming jumped off the helicopter, his feet landing on the solid steel plate floor, a strange sense of groundedness rising in his heart.

"Director Chen!" A young man wearing a hard hat ran over; it was Xiao Zhou, a technician on the platform. "Welcome back!"

Chen Xueming patted his shoulder. "You've all worked hard these past two weeks."

Xiao Zhou grinned. "It's not hard. Watching the platform grow day by day, we're full of energy!"

The two walked toward the integrated building. Along the way, workers constantly stopped their work to greet Chen Xueming. Chen Xueming nodded in response to each one, occasionally stopping to ask about their progress.

As they reached the entrance of the integrated building, a middle-aged man came out to meet them. He was Liu Jianguo, the Factory Director of Southwest Aerospace Precision Machinery Factory, currently serving concurrently as the Chief Construction Commander of the platform.

"Director Chen, you're back?" Liu Jianguo's voice was booming. "Just in time. We're driving pile number 108 this afternoon. Do you want to go take a look?"

Chen Xueming smiled. "Factory Director Liu, can't you let me have a drink of water first?"

Liu Jianguo laughed heartily. "Let's go, let's go. Water first, then we'll watch the pile driving."

At two in the afternoon, Chen Xueming stood at the edge of the platform, looking at the massive pile-driving ship.

It was called the "Tiangong-1," the largest specialized pile-driving ship in the country, with a displacement of twenty thousand tons and equipped with the world's most advanced positioning system. At the moment, it was operating about fifty meters from the platform.

A sixty-five-meter-long steel pile was slowly lifted by the jib, tracing an arc in the air before hanging vertically on the pile-driving frame. In the sunlight, the steel pile shimmered with a dull grey luster, its top painted with a striking red ring.

"This pile is number 108," Liu Jianguo explained beside him. "Once it's driven, all the foundation piles for the eastern anchoring zone will be complete."

Chen Xueming stared at the steel pile and suddenly asked, "What's the depth?"

"The design depth is forty-five meters. But in practice, we have to reach the rock layer, which is about fifty meters deep."

"How hard is the rock layer?"

Liu Jianguo thought for a moment. "The exploration report says it's basalt underneath, very high hardness. One pile takes over twenty thousand hammer strikes."

Chen Xueming watched in silence.

The pile-driving frame began its work.

Thud—

The first sound of the hammer was dull and powerful, like the heartbeat of a giant.

Thud—thud—thud—

The hammer strikes rang out rhythmically, each one making the platform beneath their feet vibrate slightly. Chen Xueming watched as the steel pile sank inch by inch into the sea, an indescribable feeling rising in his heart.

A few months ago, this was still just a vast, empty ocean.

Now, a giant island of steel was rising.

"Factory Director Liu," he asked suddenly, "how many piles have you driven?"

Liu Jianguo was taken aback, then thought about it. "I've been in engineering my whole life; at least several thousand, I'd say."

"Then do you think there's anything different about this pile?"

Liu Jianguo watched the sinking steel pile, remained silent for a moment, and then said, "In the past, we drove piles to build bridges, docks, and houses. This time, it's to build a bridge to space."

He turned his head and looked at Chen Xueming. "Director Chen, my life's work hasn't been in vain."

Chen Xueming smiled.

In the evening, Chen Xueming held a short meeting in the conference room of the integrated building.

The attendees were the heads of the various subsystems on the platform—construction, equipment, logistics, safety, technology... over a dozen people squeezed around the makeshift conference table.

"I have three main things to say today," Chen Xueming got straight to the point. "First, the first batch of Carbon Nanotube Cables arrives next week; everyone get ready to receive them. Second, the concrete pouring for the anchoring foundations must be completed by the end of this month; there can be no delays. Third, the issue of safety."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over those present. "The intelligence department reported two days ago that someone is watching our material transport lines. Although nothing has happened yet, we must heighten our vigilance. Starting today, all materials and personnel entering or leaving the platform must be strictly verified. Is that understood?"

"Understood!"

"Good. Now, each system report your progress."

The head of construction was the first to speak: "107 foundation piles in the anchoring zone have been completed, with 28 remaining. If the weather stays normal, they will all be driven by the 15th of next month."

Head of equipment: "Four tower cranes have been installed; the remaining two will be in place by the end of the month. The gantry crane is being assembled and is expected to be in use in a week."

Head of logistics: "Fresh water supply is no problem, and food reserves are enough for a month. But we need to replenish the diesel; a supply ship is coming next Tuesday."

Head of technology: "The cable-laying plan has been detailed down to each day; we can start work at any time..."

Chen Xueming listened while taking notes in his notebook.

Outside the window, night had already fallen. The lights on the platform flickered on one by one, brightly illuminating the entire giant steel island. The pile-driving ship in the distance was still operating, the thud, thud, thud of the hammer carrying through the night like the heartbeat of this island.

By the time the meeting ended, it was already eight o'clock at night.

Chen Xueming walked out of the conference room and stood by the window at the end of the hallway, looking at the night view outside.

The lights on the platform merged into a single expanse, like a city that never sleeps floating on the sea. Further away, the searchlights of several engineering ships swept across the sea surface, carving out pillars of light. The sky overhead was dotted with stars, the Milky Way spanning from north to south, so clear it seemed as if one could touch it by reaching out.

He took out his phone and sent a message to Lin Mo:

"The platform is doing well. How are things on your end?"

A few seconds later, Lin Mo replied:

"Just finished an international cooperation meeting. Smith sent another message asking if we need technical support."

Chen Xueming looked at the message and smiled.

"Why is he suddenly so enthusiastic?"

Lin Mo replied:

"Maybe he's come around. Or maybe he wants to see if we can actually build it."

Chen Xueming thought for a moment and typed:

"Regardless of his purpose, as long as he's sincerely helping, we'll take it."

Lin Mo replied with a thumbs-up emoji.

Chen Xueming put away his phone and continued looking at the night view outside.

The phone rang again, this time it was from Li Xiao:

"Senior Brother Chen, I heard you're back on the platform? How is it there? Is there anything you want to eat? I'll have Master Liu make it and find someone to bring it over!"

Chen Xueming smiled and replied:

"I want hotpot. But conditions are limited here; we can't do it."

Li Xiao replied instantly:

"Then I'll have Master Liu make Spicy Incense Pot, vacuum-packed, you can eat it just by heating it up!"

Chen Xueming:

"Alright. Put in plenty of meat."

Li Xiao sent an OK emoji.

Chen Xueming looked at the message, a surge of warmth in his heart.

These people were truly wonderful.

At five o'clock the next morning, Chen Xueming was woken up by the sound of the hammer.

Thud—thud—thud—

The sound pierced through the dormitory walls, through his earplugs, and directly into his brain. He lay in bed for a few seconds before resignedly climbing up.

He pushed open the window, and the sea breeze hit him, carrying a salty tang. On the eastern horizon, a streak of orange-red was spreading; the sun was about to come out.

He put on his work clothes and walked out of the dormitory.

The platform was already bustling. Workers were walking to their respective posts in groups of two or three, engineering vehicles were starting to shuttle about, and tower cranes were beginning to rotate. The pile-driving ship was still at work; pile number 108 was already halfway driven, and the remaining half was continuing to sink.

Chen Xueming walked to the edge of the platform and looked at the pile-driving ship.

Liu Jianguo was already there, walkie-talkie in hand, his voice loud enough to drown out the sound of the waves: "Steady, steady! Fine-tune to the right—good! Continue!"

He saw Chen Xueming and waved. "Director Chen, so early?"

Chen Xueming walked over. "Couldn't sleep. Woken up by the hammer strikes."

Liu Jianguo laughed. "You'll get used to it. I couldn't sleep when I first got here, but now if I don't hear this hammer, I actually can't sleep."

Chen Xueming looked at the sinking steel pile. "How much longer until it's finished?"

"Soon. I expect it'll be done this afternoon."

Chen Xueming nodded and suddenly asked, "Factory Director Liu, how many years do you think this pile can last?"

Liu Jianguo was taken aback, then thought about it. "The design life is fifty years. But by our standards, a hundred years is no problem."

"A hundred years," Chen Xueming repeated. "A hundred years from now, none of us will be around, but this pile will still be here."

Liu Jianguo was silent for a moment, then said, "So we have to drive it well. If we do it right, future generations will say that group of people back then were really something."

Chen Xueming looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"Factory Director Liu, I'll remember those words."

At noon, Chen Xueming ate in the Canteen.

The Canteen was a temporary prefab building, but the food was good. Today's main dish was braised fish, said to have been caught fresh from the sea this morning. Chen Xueming took his tray and found a corner to sit down. He had only taken two bites when he was surrounded.

"Director Chen, I heard the cables arrive next week?"

"Director Chen, when will the anchoring foundations be poured?"

"Director Chen, when do we start laying the cables?"

Chen Xueming put down his chopsticks and looked at this group—young and old, technicians and workers, each with expectation in their eyes.

"The cables arrive next week," he said. "The anchoring foundations will be poured at the end of the month. Next month, we start laying them."

A cheer went up from the crowd.

A young worker squeezed to the front. "Director Chen, can I go take a look when the time comes?"

Chen Xueming looked at him. "What do you want to see?"

The young worker scratched his head. "I want to see how the cables are laid. I've never seen something so amazing in my life."

Chen Xueming smiled. "When the time comes, you'll be right there on site. Because you'll be the one laying the cables."

The young worker was stunned, then grinned broadly, a brilliant smile on his face.

Chen Xueming looked at them, a strange feeling rising in his heart.

These people came from all over the country, spoke different dialects, and performed different jobs. But they all had one thing in common—they all wanted to see this sky ladder built with their own eyes.

It wasn't for money, it wasn't for fame.

They just wanted to see what they could actually achieve in their lifetime.

At five in the afternoon, pile number 108 was finished.

Chen Xueming stood at the edge of the platform, looking at the top of the steel pile—now it poked out less than a meter above the sea, with a massive anchoring foundation interface welded onto it. Once the concrete pouring was complete, it would merge with the platform and become part of this giant steel island.

Liu Jianguo walked over and handed him a bottle of water. "Director Chen, have some water."

Chen Xueming took the water, unscrewed the cap, and took a large gulp.

"Factory Director Liu," he said, "do you think our pile will still be here in a hundred years?"

Liu Jianguo thought for a moment. "As long as the sea doesn't run dry, it'll be here."

Chen Xueming looked at the pile and remained silent for a long time.

Then he said, "That's good enough."

The setting sun dyed the entire platform golden.

The pile-driving ship in the distance began to pack up, the rumbling of machinery slowly subsiding. Workers walked toward the living area in small groups; someone was humming a song, some were laughing and joking, and some looked back at the newly driven pile as they walked.

Chen Xueming stood where he was, watching it all.

A giant island of steel was rising on this vast, empty ocean.

It wasn't built in a day.

But it was being built.