Chapter 71

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Xiaoming stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly held the secret letter his mother had given him.

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Jifeng stood by the door of the exploration ship, took a deep breath, and firmly held the secret letter his mother had given him. He called Jintonghao, asking him to send people over to pick up the cargo and sent him the coordinates of his location. At the time, he hadn't realized the importance of notifying Jintonghao in advance, so Jifeng had been sitting on the exploration ship, fishing idly for half a day, only managing to catch two small yellow croakers by noon.

Seeing a small, fast boat full of people approaching, with Jintonghao clearly visible on the deck, Jifeng finally put away his fishing rod.

Jintonghao was the first to climb up the ladder, his mouth agape in shock, his eyes almost popping out. "Boss, is this the exploration ship and the oil platform you brought back?"

It's no wonder Jintonghao was so shocked. These ten massive structures crowded the sea, making it look as if a cloud had settled on the water. The deep-sea exploration ship was 438 meters long and over 80 meters wide, while the deep-sea oil platform was only slightly smaller. The eight large crabs were each over 200 meters long and wide, taking up more than two kilometers of space. Anyone who saw this would be as stunned as Jintonghao.

Jifeng sneered. "You guys took your time. Alright, you can study them later. This is the deep-sea exploration ship, and the one next to it is the deep-sea oil platform. Its maximum drilling depth is 23,500 meters, and the exploration depth is the same. Just tell others it's less than 10,000 meters. Keep this a secret. We only have this one set, and there won't be any more. Use it well. The other eight are shallow-water oil platforms. By the way, only people we trust are allowed to use these. No one else is permitted."

Jintonghao felt his head buzz, his mouth hanging open in disbelief. What had he just heard? My God, they could explore and drill for oil at a depth of 23,500 meters. This was no joke.

After a long pause, Jifeng turned to look at Jintonghao, who was still in shock. He couldn't help but kick him lightly. "Hey, Jintonghao, did you hear me?" It was a gentle kick; Jifeng was even worried he might kick him off the ship.

"Ouch!" Jintonghao, in pain, almost cried, but he was inwardly elated. He was probably the first subordinate to be kicked by the boss, which was a great honor. If the boss could bring in more good things in the future, he wouldn't mind being kicked a few more times. "I heard you, boss. Don't worry, these things will be safe."

Jifeng nodded slightly. Seeing more people climbing up, he said to Jintonghao, "Alright, arrange everything quickly. We're leaving now. I've already chosen the exploration site. You can start drilling immediately. Hurry up; I need to go back to my wife tonight. I don't know if Xiaoxian is pregnant yet." He had waited for half a day, and it was frustrating that his subordinate still hadn't realized the urgency. He could be shocked later, but now he needed to focus.

Jifeng didn't realize that when he called, he had mentioned needing over a hundred drivers. The energy company had just been established and didn't have that many ships, so he had borrowed some from the port.

However, even if Jifeng was in a hurry, they still needed to familiarize themselves with the equipment. Although Thomas's technology was advanced, it still required human operation, and these were not ordinary ships.

Fortunately, Thomas had been considerate and filled the fuel tanks, so they didn't need to return for more fuel.

At around 2:30 PM, the ten massive structures set sail northward. Despite their size, they moved quickly, thanks to Thomas's advanced technology. A 438-meter-long ship could reach 30 knots, which was considered slow in their industry.

By 5:30 PM, Jifeng, holding his phone with GPS, saw they were approaching the site and ordered the exploration ship to slow down. After moving a few more nautical miles northwest, he stopped.

Pointing to the sea below, Jifeng said, "Start drilling here. Set the depth to 12,400 meters. Keep the data confidential and use three drills."

After speaking, Jifeng called Xiaoxian, telling her he would be back late and to eat and rest without waiting for him. He wanted to witness the first offshore oil well being drilled, as the equipment was his own, and he had learned a lot from Thomas, even though he didn't fully understand it.

The exploration ship had dozens of people, while the other nine platforms only had drivers. They were brought along for the ride, as they weren't needed yet. The deep-sea platform was also brought, as it was too large to fit in the port and would take up too much space.

Jifeng wasn't worried about the equipment being stolen, as it was in the middle of the sea. However, to be safe, he instructed Jintonghao to prevent outsiders from sneaking onto the platforms. If they were discovered, it would be a hassle.

Seeing Jifeng's concern, Jintonghao also became anxious, especially after hearing that there would be no more such equipment. He called the energy company and sent a security team to guard the platforms.

They had come in a hurry, but seeing Jifeng's insistence on starting the drilling, the employees, who had experience working at sea, spent the afternoon studying the manuals. Although they hadn't fully understood everything, they could perform the basic operations. The ships were highly automated, and only a dozen people were needed to operate the drilling.

After waiting for over two hours, it was completely dark. They had a quick dinner delivered by a fast boat and prepared to start work. Drilling at night wasn't ideal, but Jifeng insisted, and Jintonghao couldn't persuade him otherwise.

They didn't need to worry about accommodation, as the exploration ship and the platforms could easily house hundreds of people. The automatic air conditioning kept the temperature at a constant 26 degrees, and it was already warming up to about 15 degrees in April. The only issue was the increasing wind at night, but it didn't affect their work.

Following Jintonghao's order, the operators in the control room pressed a few buttons, and the exploration ship extended dozens of claws that firmly grabbed the seabed within minutes, securing the ship.

When the ship was stabilized, dozens of workers ran to the drilling area and pressed the start button. A tall crane lifted the first drill pipe, over 100 meters long and 550 millimeters in diameter, into the drilling rig. This was far too heavy for human strength and required mechanical assistance.

After the drill pipe was in place, another worker pressed the start button, and a mechanical arm placed the drill bit, also 550 millimeters in diameter, below the drill. The drill rig easily connected the drill bit to the drill pipe.

Once secured, the mechanical arm retracted, and the drill rig continued to rotate, extending into the sea. Within two minutes, the 100-meter drill pipe reached the end, and the mechanical arm lifted another pipe into position. Two more mechanical arms extended, precisely aligning the new pipe with the previous one, and the inner sides of the arms rotated at high speed, securely connecting the pipes.

The entire process was smooth and consistent, with no delays. Jintonghao, who was observing, was almost speechless. This was fully automated exploration, and no country in the world had such advanced platforms.

At this point, he understood why Jifeng insisted on keeping it a secret. If this platform were leaked, the world would go mad, and Jeju Island would never be peaceful again. Fortunately, the employees on the platform were trusted, but Jintonghao still emphasized the importance of confidentiality.

As he spoke, the seawater below the drill rig became murky under the strong lights, but the drill rig continued to rotate at a speed of 5 meters per minute, unaffected by the water.

By the seventh drill pipe, the speed slightly decreased to 4 meters per minute, but this was still astonishing. Each pipe represented 100 meters of depth, and except for the initial murkiness when the drill reached the seabed, the water quickly returned to normal. The only sign of activity was the occasional murky water on the underwater monitor.

Jifeng was also pleased. Despite Jintonghao's insistence on using only the central drill rig, the efficiency was impressive. At 5 meters per minute, they could reach 10,000 meters in a few hours. Even if the speed slowed due to rock layers, maintaining 4 meters per minute was satisfactory. For Jintonghao and the others, this was nothing short of a miracle.

At around 10:30 PM, nine drill pipes had been inserted. Jifeng, seeing nothing new, was about to leave when his phone rang. It was Xiaoxian. "Wife, I'll be back soon. Go to sleep."

"OPPA, it's fine. I just wanted to let you know that we won't be going back to Seoul tomorrow. Mom and Auntie are coming over in the morning, and the sisters have an event in Jeju the day after tomorrow. They said they would come to see me." Xiaoxian's voice was a bit wistful, as she was away from her family and friends for the first time, but she knew, having received a traditional Korean education, that a married woman shouldn't always visit her parents' home. Jifeng was her world now.

Jifeng, who had been worried about Xiaoxian's plans, was relieved. "Alright, rest well. Don't watch TV too late. You'll see your parents and aunt tomorrow. I'm on the exploration ship, so I'll wait until we find oil and then come back to tell you the good news."