Chapter 382

——【I reckon the people surveying for oil never expected this place to connect to the large lake nearby, nor did they expect a subway line to be built here. It just so happened that a poor soul like Fang Yang dug it up; it really is a case of truth being stranger than fiction. If even one link in the chain were missing, this wouldn't have happened.】

——【No, wait, how are you supposed to fill this hole? In my experience, don't you have to drill boreholes really deep? Even salt mines are located at great depths, at least a thousand meters underground, right? How do you fill a borehole like this? Filling a thousand meters through such a small opening feels unrealistic.】

——【You're so dense. Do you really have to fill it with mud? Just use casing and pour cement or slurry into it. Of course, the most important thing is to block the undercurrent so the water from the other side of the lake doesn't keep seeping in.】

Just then, the Cameraman took a breath of air and sniffed hard with his nose.

"Brother! Smell this, why does the water smell so strange? Why is there a salty taste inside the hole?"

Once he said that, everyone curiously took a sniff.

Someone on the spot felt something was wrong.

"I definitely smell it too. Why is there a salty taste? Could this not be lake water, but seawater?"

"That's impossible, right? Although this lake connects to the canal, and the canal connects to the sea, we are still quite a distance from the ocean."

"Logically speaking, the water definitely didn't come from the sea. If it were from the sea, we wouldn't be at a freshwater lake; we'd be at a saltwater lake."

Everyone nodded one after another.

Yet, they couldn't figure out where this salty taste was coming from.

Yang Tou specifically walked up, caught some water in his hand, and tasted it.

As soon as he tasted it, he spat it right out.

Ptooey~~

"So salty! What kind of water is this?"

Fang Yang looked at the hole and immediately realized something was wrong.

He walked over, cupped some water in his hands, and tasted it.

This taste!!

It was pure saltwater.

If someone told him this was seawater, he wouldn't believe it even if he died.

Seawater isn't this salty.

But the problem is, why is the water here so salty!

When he curiously leaned his head next to the outlet, the system panel suddenly popped up.

A few seconds later, Fang Yang exclaimed in shock: "I know now! This salty taste isn't from the sea, but from the salt mine below. I suspect the people doing the oil exploration accidentally drilled into a salt layer."

"Salt dissolves when it meets water. The water down here is already saturated with salt; it's all brine."

231. Salt mine collapse, lake water backflow!

"Brine?" Everyone let out gasps of surprise.

Yang Tou asked skeptically: "That's impossible. They always avoid salt mines when drilling holes!"

Fang Yang shook his head: "Boreholes have to go thousands of meters underground. A miss by a hair is a miss by a thousand miles. It might be straight at the top, but it's long since gone crooked at the bottom. It's like walking blindfolded; you think you're walking in a straight line, but in reality, you've long since veered off course."

"That's why I strongly suspect they accidentally drilled into the salt layer when they were drilling the hole, which is why this saltwater appeared."

Everyone lowered their heads in silence, pondering the possibility Fang Yang had raised.

Although this analysis was hard to believe, the taste of the water suggested it was nine times out of ten the case.

However, just at this moment, Fang Yang's expression suddenly changed, and he shouted in alarm: "Not good! Something bad is going to happen!"

Li Dui, living up to his reputation as a veteran officer, asked immediately: "What is it? What happened?"

The others cast questioning glances.

After listening to their rainbow farts, he had to smile and wave his hands.

"What thing?" Li Dui asked curiously.

"A massive amount of salt has already been dissolved. That's not the main point; don't forget, we have a large-scale salt mine right beneath our feet! A salt mine that has been excavated for decades."

"In other words, if this water melts the top of the salt mine, what will happen!"

Boom~~

This sentence hit everyone's ears like a bomb.

What happens if the top of a salt mine melts? You don't even need to think to know the result.

It's over 2,000 meters from the surface down there. If the roof of the salt mine collapses, all the water in the lake will pour inside.

As for the salt mine workers down there, not a single one of them will be able to escape!

Everyone present felt more terrified the more they thought about it.

A tiny little borehole could actually trigger such a horrific consequence.

It's a good thing they dug it up today; otherwise, the consequences would be unthinkable!

Just imagine, if Fang Yang hadn't come today, this hole would have eventually been melted through.

And when that happened, there would be no precautions in place!!

It's too terrifying.

Li Dui immediately realized the severity of the problem.

This was no longer a question of whether the tunnel could continue to be built, but a matter involving the lives of several hundred people in the salt mine!

Although he didn't know when the borehole below would break through the bottom of the salt mine, from the current situation, absolutely no one could continue working down there.

After thinking it through, he immediately took out his phone and called the Municipal Bureau.

"Hello! Bureau Chief, something big has happened!"

"Old Li, what's wrong? Why are you so flustered?"

"I can't explain it in a sentence or two. You know about our city's salt mine, right? This mine tunnel is highly likely to leak water. When that happens, the entire lake will backflow into it. I'm calling to tell you to contact the person in charge over there immediately and have them evacuate as quickly as possible!"

"What? There's such a thing? Fine! I'll contact them immediately. Wait for me; I'll come over in person in a while."

After the call ended, everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do for a moment.

Unknowingly, everyone turned their gaze toward Fang Yang.

Li Dui asked hurriedly: "I've already arranged for them to contact the salt mine for evacuation. Besides that, is there anything else I need to do?"

Fang Yang thought for a moment: "We can't do anything. We can't plug this hole. Even if we plug it here, it's leaking below. Groundwater isn't just here; at a depth of over 2,000 meters, water could be seeping in everywhere."

"In other words, it's already impossible to plug the bottom. Water leakage is only a matter of time. The most terrifying thing is that once an opening is made below, it will lead to a large-scale collapse of the salt mine's top layer. A salt mine that's been worked for decades—it's probably riddled with tunnels."

"If the lake water drops, it's highly likely to fill the entire underground mine. By that time, the lake nearby might very well cease to exist."

"But... that's not even the most terrifying part! I observed the environment here when I arrived; this large lake connects to the canal nearby."

"Once the lake water is drained rapidly, a massive amount of water from the canal will rush in. So much water will cause the entire underground salt mine to be completely dissolved. After the saltwater soaks in the rock and soil for a long time, it will eventually form easily corroded karst."

"That is the so-called karst topography. This means the area nearby will no longer be habitable. Once it rains or something, sinkholes and caves will easily appear, which is very dangerous."

After hearing Fang Yang's analysis, everyone gasped.

The harm caused by this tiny little hole was so great that it kept breaking their understanding.

Although these things hadn't happened yet, the most headache-inducing part was that there was no way to stop it!

The key was that they didn't even know where this hole led; there wasn't even a chance for remediation.

Yang Tou was no longer depressed; compared to the salt mine below, his problem was just a minor issue.

Now was not the time to solve this problem; everything had to prioritize the big picture.

After all, the lives of hundreds of people in Yanjiang City and the survival of hundreds of families were at stake below.

【Popularity】+1+1+1+1

——【If something happens here, it'll be a disaster. The direct economic loss will be terrifying, and the most frightening thing is that this is a done deal; it's just a matter of time. It's too late to stop it! I don't know if Fang Yang is a harbinger of disaster or here to save them.】

——【Nonsense, if Fang Yang didn't come, would this hole not exist? If Fang Yang hadn't come today, it wouldn't be long before we saw a major mining disaster here on the internet. In my opinion, his arrival is to save these people!】

——【Shouldn't they hang that oil explorer up? The oil exploration company is going to lose a fortune. They never expected that the hole they dug would have such huge aftereffects. They can only blame themselves for not finding the right location and drilling into the salt mine layer.】

——【You never know whether disaster or tomorrow will arrive first. Such things are completely unpredictable. Who would have thought that a hole drilled back then would become the source of a future disaster? Fortunately, everything is still in time; as long as the people are rescued, that's all that matters.】

As time passed, the salty smell in the tunnel grew stronger.

The surrounding soil had been completely soaked through.

Watching the water flow continuously gather, everyone's shoes were almost soaked through.

Fang Yang said helplessly: "Let's go, let's get out first. It's not safe here anymore, and staying here won't solve the problem."

"Okay!" Li Dui nodded in agreement without hesitation.

Everyone walked toward the outside.

When Fang Yang reached the entrance and saw the dense crowd of people, he was stunned. ===== CHAPTER 383 =====