Volume 9: Molten Mine Chapter 441 Lava Tube
"Please describe in detail the process of how the earthquake occurred," Ke Lan asked.
"It all started two months ago," Park Sang-woo said. "After spending a lot of manpower and resources, we finally determined the location of 'Aguna Kotor' - it sank to the bottom of 'Magma Lake No. 1' in the center of the Molten Mine Area."
"It seems that the monitoring data is still very accurate. As expected, the epicenter is in the 'No. 1 Magma Lake'..." Ke Lan whispered to himself, "One sixth of the volume of the Ark, plus the density of Nino alloy, this magnitude and intensity is already a conservative estimate."
"After determining the location of 'Aguna Kator', we began to look for a way to enter the magma lake. At first, we planned to build a vehicle equipped with a large energy shield... uh, my lifeboat was originally intended to be used on this vehicle." Park Sangyou continued, "But after calculations by the expert team, even if the interior of the vehicle was filled with top-quality energy crystals, it would not be enough to meet the consumption of the energy shield. Even if we don't consider the return trip, it is still not enough."
"Then can't you enlarge the cargo hold of the vehicle? Wouldn't that solve the problem directly?" The Hound said assumingly.
"It's not that simple. The expert group has naturally considered the option of increasing the size of the cargo hold. However, the thermal insulation and pressure-resistant layers of the vehicle itself need to be at least two meters thick. For every cubic meter of space expansion in the cargo hold, the overall volume will increase. In this way, not only will more shield generators need to be loaded, but the excessive volume will further slow down the speed of the vehicle in the lava... The result of the calculation is that the gain does not outweigh the loss." Park Sangyou said.
"Indeed." Layton, who was wearing armor, said thoughtfully, "When moving in magma, the most troublesome problem is not the high temperature, but the terrifying pressure at depths. This pressure is much more terrifying than the water pressure... Do you remember the operation of the underwater city? Ke Lan, you should have a deep understanding of the water pressure in the deep sea, right?"
Ke Lan nodded and said to Park Sangyou, "Go on."
"After the homemade vehicle plan failed, we turned our attention to the ruins left by the Alpha civilization. The expert team believes that since the Alpha civilization was able to obtain the Nino alloy from 'Aguna Kotor', they must have mastered the technology to go deep into the magma lake. As long as we can find the equipment they used to 'mine' the Nino alloy, the problem can naturally be solved."
Park Sang-woo sighed, "This second plan ultimately failed... In half a year, we investigated a total of 87 Alpha Civilization ruins in the Molten Mine Area, but did not find any clues. These ruins were either factories used to process Nino alloy ingots or laboratories for studying Nino alloy formulas. They had nothing to do with mining operations."
"Until half a month ago, the special agent team stationed at the No. 1 magma lake sent a message - a passage appeared at the edge of the magma lake."
"A passage? What passage?" asked the Hound.
"A lava tube," Park Sang-woo replied.
"Are you kidding? You mean... a passage that can be passed through appeared inside the magma?" The Hound pulled the corner of his mouth, "To be honest, I can't even imagine this scene..."
"It's true. The magma there seems to be stretched open by a force field invisible to the naked eye. An elliptical channel with a diameter of about six meters appears... It's like a magic weapon 'Water-Repellent Pearl' from Chinese mythology was thrown into the magma." Park Sang-woo said confidently.
"But even if there is a passage, people who jump in will still be evaporated, right?" The hound muttered, "Besides, the water-repellent beads can't block the magma. I guess it must be the fire-repellent beads, right?"
"The insulation problem was solved when we implemented the first plan. The real technical difficulty is traveling through the high-density and ultra-high-pressure magma. But now we have a ready-made passage in front of us, which means we don't have to consider the pressure resistance of the vehicle..." Park Sangyou said, "We will immediately submit the report submitted by the Ark, hoping to get more material and technical support."
"Based on the current situation, I'm afraid the report you submitted has been intercepted by the heretical sect." Ke Lan said, "Otherwise, they wouldn't rush into the mining area like flies smelling rotten meat."
"I'm not very clear about this... but at that time, Ark gave us a reply..." Park Sangyou murmured.
"Since you said that the heretical sects are excavating ruins, it is not surprising that they would find some equipment that can intercept radio signals and camouflage in the ruins of the Alpha civilization. Compared with the Alpha civilization, human technology is completely crushed." Ke Lan glanced at the time in the corner of the heads-up display. It has been more than 24 hours since they entered the mining area, and the supplies they carried with them are only enough to support 72 hours at most.
After 72 hours, regardless of whether the mission is accomplished or not, they must evacuate the mining area and return to the support base for resupply.
Ke Lan said to Park Sangyou: "I have read the records. During this period, Ark did not send any support to the Molten Mine District, whether in terms of personnel, materials or technology. The only two logistics records were that the Molten Mine District transported the roughly processed Nino alloy back to Ark, and then brought back a batch of daily supplies as usual. This shows that Ark did not receive your report at all."
"We were intercepted by the heretical sect." Hound shrugged. "It seems that we have to be more careful in this regard in the future."
"These bastards..." Park Sangyou gritted his teeth and cursed in Korean, "Shit, old bastards!"
"So what happened next?" Ke Lan asked, "Without receiving support from the Ark, you should have stayed where you are, so how could an earthquake have occurred? Did someone act on their own?"
"Yes, we originally planned to wait until the support from the Ark arrived before formulating a detailed exploration plan." Park Sangyou said, "But... plans cannot keep up with changes. Just when we were about to use the modified drone to conduct a short-range survey of the lava channel, the team left behind at the entrance of the channel suddenly sent back a message-"
"They found that the entrance of the channel was slowly shrinking, and the magma wall that was originally separated began to show signs of instability. The entire expert team was anxious all of a sudden. We were worried that this channel would suddenly disappear from our sight just as it appeared... Moreover, we had no way of knowing whether it would appear again."
