Chapter 33

No wonder the water quality in Longxi Beach has been getting worse in recent years; it turns out that a factory has been secretly discharging polluted water into the sea.

This dark green wastewater looks very much like the production wastewater from the chemical industry.

Moreover, from the severe rust and the thick buildup on the pipe, it’s clear that this sewage pipe has been in use for at least a few years.

Discharging wastewater is a technical skill.

The less sophisticated method involves secretly burying a pipe into rivers or lakes, and before long, the entire river can be dyed into a colorful flower pond or become unbearably stinky.

This method is easily penalized by the industry and commerce bureau and the environmental protection bureau. Most bosses who dare to do this are tough guys; they pay the fines, dismantle the pipes, and soon find another location to continue discharging.

A more advanced method involves drilling a well to reach deep underground water and using a high-pressure pump to discharge pollutants into the deep underground.

The chances of this method being discovered are extremely low, as modern residents use tap water, and even if they were bored enough to drill a well, it would only be a shallow one.

However, the downside of this method is obvious: the capacity of deep underground water is limited, making it suitable only for small-scale enterprises. A pipe like the one next to the Lord’s Chariot would likely fill the underground water layer near the factory to the brim in about half a month.

Discharging wastewater into the deep sea is undoubtedly the most covert method. The sea water rises and falls daily, and there are various ocean currents.

As soon as the wastewater emerges from the pipe, it is quickly diluted. Given that the color of the wastewater is very close to the sea background, it is even harder to detect.

Similarly, building a deep-sea discharge pipe is extremely expensive, and most companies simply cannot afford it.

But once the huge investment is made, it can be a one-time solution, saving a massive amount of wastewater treatment costs.

Longxi Beach is developed by Ye Qing alone, and the vast beach is polluted by wastewater. Now that he has accidentally discovered the discharge outlet, he must do something about it.

Ye Qing’s first thought was to weld the outlet shut, which would temporarily blind the factory that was secretly discharging wastewater, forcing them to cut open the outlet again to resume operations.

Underwater work is always a challenge. Even finding the discharge outlet again would require a lot of effort from the factory.

Similarly, using welding to block the outlet would raise suspicions among the factory owners, as only two companies in Zhongyun City have the underwater welding technology.

So, Ye Qing retracted the Lord’s Chariot into the Monster Factory and had the laborer find a piece of broken wood from the warehouse, which he then shaped into a large bullet-shaped plug.

Ye Qing carved a logo on the wood using a small knife, featuring a whale and a circle of English letters.

—The logo of the Ocean Guardians Association!

This is a highly combat-effective international organization that often appears in the news, using water cannons and stink bombs to confront whaling ships...

Ye Qing doesn’t have strong feelings about these energetic foreigners, neither good nor bad, so he has no qualms about letting them take the blame!

After more than ten minutes, the Lord’s Chariot, using its mechanical arm, carried the wooden plug and followed the underwater cave passage back to the discharge pipe.

The discharge rate of this pipe was not fast, and the mechanical arm of the Lord’s Chariot could easily lift several hundred pounds. Plugging the outlet with a wooden plug was a piece of cake.

Moreover, wood swells when soaked in water, making it perfect for blocking the pipe.

At this moment, at the end of the pipe laid straight on the seabed.

In a large chemical factory located on the west side of the Ring Sea Avenue, about ten miles away from Longxi Beach, which specializes in producing various plastic raw materials, a highly automated pumping system with a large pressure tower was running at full capacity, pumping industrial wastewater from the wastewater pool into the underwater pipe.

This pressure-boosting equipment is called a "Negative Pressure Pipeline Boosting System." It is usually installed only by water plants for long-distance water transportation.

The pressure-boosting system was running smoothly, but suddenly, the control box emitted a sharp alarm, and the motor immediately stopped working.

A duty officer who was leisurely watching TV was startled and quickly ran over to check the cause.

The interruption of pressure supply indicated that the pipe was unable to discharge water. The duty officer immediately increased the pressure setting, hoping to use greater pressure to clear the blockage in the pipe.

After the settings were adjusted, the pressure-boosting system resumed operation, but it stopped again a few minutes later.

The inability to discharge wastewater would affect the entire production line. The duty officer frantically called the boss’s office on the internal line.

About ten minutes later, a pot-bellied man with a gold watch burst in.

"The pipe... the pipe is blocked by something," the duty officer explained cautiously.

"Quickly increase the pressure to clear it. If the pipe is blocked, the wastewater pool will overflow in less than half an hour," the boss fumed. "Do you want me to shut down the entire production line?"

"It’s no use, boss. I’ve already set the pressure to the maximum limit."

"Keep it at the maximum. You can’t even watch a machine properly," the factory boss raged. "I don’t believe the pipe can’t be cleared with maximum pressure."

The duty officer nodded and ran to the control panel, adjusting the parameters to bypass the automatic power-off device.

Half a minute later, the pressure-boosting system resumed operation.

Without any restrictions, the high-pressure air rushed into the pressure tower.

As the pressure gauge numbers rose, the factory boss’s face turned increasingly pale.

Usually, pipe blockages occur during the non-discharge period when ocean currents can carry large amounts of algae and debris, occasionally blocking the pipe. However, these blockages are usually cleared easily without increasing the pressure.

Now, a blockage occurred during the discharge period, and it was severe enough that the pressure couldn’t clear it.

"Bang!"

A loud noise interrupted his thoughts. The spring safety valve on the pipe suddenly popped up, and a torrent of wastewater gushed out like a fire hose.

The duty officer and the factory boss screamed and were knocked to the ground by the surging wastewater.

The wastewater was dark green and stank terribly. Even a whiff of it could make someone fall over, and now they were both soaked in it.

"Help... ugh..." The boss couldn’t even finish his cry for help before he was overwhelmed by the stench and began to vomit violently.

...

At this moment, Ye Qing was putting away his tools and standing on the Ring Sea Avenue, waiting for Rong Wei, the boss of Gangjie Chemical, to pick him up.

Yesterday, he insisted on treating Ye Qing to a meal as a thank you, and after the meal, he wanted to take Ye Qing to the most expensive place in Zhongyun City for some fun.

Well...

Ye Qing admitted he was tempted. He had looked up the most expensive venue in Zhongyun City last night, which was the Silver Palace Entertainment Club.

Online, it was vaguely mentioned that the club is a members-only establishment, and ordinary people have no chance of entering.

A rose-red Bentley Mulsanne pulled up in front of Ye Qing, and the rear window lowered to reveal Rong Wei’s smug face.

"Boss Ye, get in the car quickly."