Chapter 51: The Ambitious Endeavor of Breaking Ground and Splitting Rocks
Adventure, although requiring courage and bravery from adventurers themselves, also demands various specialized knowledge. Otherwise, you're not embarking on an adventure but heading towards certain death.
For instance, imagine seeing a group of people sailing around the entire Pacific Ocean on a sailboat, and you want to do the same. However, if you lack the ability to operate and repair various boat machinery, what will you do if the boat encounters problems?
Moreover, you must stay updated on weather and meteorological information at all times. In essence, if you wish to pursue adventurous endeavors, you must develop yourself into a versatile and capable individual.
You need to acquire a range of skills in different areas; otherwise, surviving in remote or perilous locations will be impossible.
However, for Wu Hao, all these conditions and factors present no difficulty. After all, he possesses telekinesis and mental perception, two extraordinary abilities!
Regardless of his destination, he can ensure his personal safety remains unthreatened.
After spending approximately half a day, Wu Hao used his meticulous mental perception to carefully explore and analyze. Fortunately, he discovered a location in the Qinling Mountains that was highly suitable for constructing a secret base.
This spot is merely 10 kilometers away from his cabin and is nestled among a cluster of mountains with heights of around 1500 meters. The chosen location for his base is on a semi-mountainous slope in one of these peaks.
The slope of this mountainous area is about 50 meters deep and 20 meters wide, enveloped by dense vegetation. Only a section of the slope's cliff face is bare, while the remaining areas are sparsely covered in vegetation.
Unless one approaches the mountain from close proximity, it is challenging to notice this particular slope due to the surrounding mountain range obstructing the view.
Approximately 1 kilometer away lies a small lake with a modest surface area but considerable depth. A small stream flows from beneath the slope, converging into this lake.
Wu Hao opted to construct his base on this mountain because his careful investigation revealed its exceptional solidity. The entire mountain consists of a hard rock formation.
Treating this mountain as a quarry would yield copious amounts of crushed stone for construction purposes, as approximately 80% of the mountain—excluding the surface layer—is composed of this resilient stone material.
The adjacent mountains share a similar structure, allowing Wu Hao to use this mountain as a foundation. By excavating a substantial internal space, there is no need to concern himself with reinforcing the mountain's inner area.
As long as the mountain's complete excavation is avoided, the risk of collapse is mitigated.
This approach solves numerous logistical challenges. For instance, there is no requirement for reinforcing the mountain's interior with steel and cement. Concerns regarding water flow within the mountain are also alleviated. By implementing proper ventilation and moisture control measures, the entire mountain space becomes readily usable.
"Yes! This is the spot. Establishing the base in the Qinling Mountains ensures both secrecy and proximity to my hometown—only 150 kilometers away." Although certain secret military bases are also located within mountains across the country, they are exceptions and are typically situated near major transportation routes.
Constructing a large-scale military research base deep within the mountains without access to roads is clearly unfeasible.
While Wu Hao possesses telekinesis as a reliable support, his base will not be excessively large. Nevertheless, considerable time and effort will be necessary for its construction.
"Now that the base location is chosen, the next step is to procure the necessary tools for excavating the mountain's interior space." Although the mountain does not require reinforcement following excavation, another challenge arises: excavating a sufficiently large internal space from such solid rock is no simple task.
The tools Wu Hao needs to purchase are not numerous, but they are hefty iron objects.
First and foremost, he must acquire a generator and an ample supply of fuel. Additionally, he requires welding machines, argon arc welding machines, various sizes of drill bits, large saw blades for cutting stone, and a welding machine specifically designed for attaching teeth to the saw blades. He also needs other small tools.
After all, with such a large amount of work, if the teeth of the saw blade used for excavating the mountain become worn out, it will become unusable. Moreover, the saw blade itself is quite heavy, so it is crucial to buy extra teeth and welding equipment.
With these diamond teeth and welding equipment, he can directly weld a more efficient drill bit and cutting saw blade.
These items can be purchased in Chang'an City, which is 100 kilometers away. However, the weight of the purchased items is considerable, so Wu Hao needs to make several trips to bring all these things into the vast mountains.
In this way, Wu Hao spent the entire day in Chang'an City to complete the procurement of these tools. In order to facilitate transportation, he also bought a warehouse and a used truck on the outskirts.
By the time it was evening, Wu Hao made a total of five round trips to bring all these items to a place beneath the cliff, where they could be protected from rainwater.
The most significant purchase this time was undoubtedly the fuel for the generator. Until his nuclear power facility is built, this diesel generator will be his only source of electricity for work.
Although the generator generates a lot of noise when it operates, who would be able to hear it deep in the remote mountains?
"Alright, now that the tools are ready, it's time to start working officially." Wu Hao knew that he would have to repeat the same work for the next few days.
Soon, Wu Hao arrived at the mountain hollow with the corresponding tools, ready to begin his monumental task of excavating and splitting the mountain.
Once inside the hollow, after confirming the location, Wu Hao used his telekinesis to manipulate a saw blade with a diameter of over one meter, embedded with densely arranged diamond "teeth" on the edges.
Then, with a sudden burst of telekinetic force, the saw blade started spinning rapidly as it made contact with the rocky walls of the mountain. At the same time, a small stream of water flowed from an outlet of a water bag placed nearby, directly towards the point where the saw blade and the rocks met.
Immediately, a large amount of dust started to fill the area around the saw blade, but after drifting to a certain range, it stopped spreading further.
That's because Wu Hao used his telekinesis to contain the dispersed dust within a designated area, and the water was poured to not only reduce the amount of dust but also cool down the saw blade.
After all, during the process of cutting the rocks, not only would a significant amount of dust be generated, but the temperature of the saw blade's teeth would also rise rapidly.
If not continuously cooled with water, the saw blade would become completely unusable in no time. Additionally, cutting with water added would also increase the cutting speed.