This is indeed a problem, and everyone looked at each other with furrowed brows.
"Old San, why don't you come up first and we'll figure out a solution."
"Alright, Boss, I was just relieving myself. I'll be up in a moment."
While Chen Duoyu was speaking, there was a gushing sound of water coming from the intercom.
Just as we were all racked with anxiety, racking our brains for a solution, there was a sudden sound. Chen Duoyu suddenly exclaimed, "The urine, it's seeping down."
Water seeping into the soil was a normal occurrence, but Chen Duoyu's urgent tone indicated a new situation below.
Chen Lao Er, having experience in this area, understood immediately and hurriedly asked, "Have you reached the waterline?"
"I reckon so. It's precarious. The ground beneath my feet is as soft as a woman's, and could probably collapse with just a fart."
Chen Lao Da and Chen Lao Er wasted no time and immediately started pulling the rope to haul Chen Duoyu up.
Zhang Wenjie stopped them, saying, "Hold on. If we've really reached the waterline, although there's no collapse yet, the water will keep seeping up. In a few hours, the ground below will collapse, and our efforts will be in vain."
Chen Lao Da raised his voice urgently, saying, "My own blood brother is down there. I can't just leave him."
Chen Lao Er also expressed his stance firmly, saying, "At a time like this, saving a life is paramount."
Both sides were at a stalemate, so I pressed the button on the intercom. "Old San, how long can you hold on?"
"I should be okay for about fifteen minutes, but within half an hour, the groundwater will definitely seep up."
"Can you control the depth data by controlling your spade?"
"That's child's play for me. I'll handle it with no problem. Any ideas?"
"In that case, don't rush to come up. Maintain constant contact with the surface and listen to my commands. We'll dig towards the bottom of the burial chamber."
Lao Da and Lao Er were still somewhat concerned, saying, "It's too dangerous."
Chen Duoyu, bold and daring, replied, "Big Brother, Second Brother, I know what I'm doing. I've decided to take the risk."
Under my command, Chen Duoyu adjusted his position, facing northwest, and started digging from the waist, ensuring solid footing before proceeding.
After about ten minutes, Chen Duoyu's voice came through.
"It's safe now. Everything's fine. Guangting, what's the next step?"
"Dig diagonally upward from your current position at a forty-five-degree angle."
Chen Duoyu dug a few times and then shouted again, "We can't control the angle down here at all."
"Keep facing northwest and try to raise your toes as much as possible. The direction pointed by your toes is the forty-five-degree angle."
During this time, both Lao Da and Lao Er took turns going down once, totaling about three hours. Lao Da reported over the intercom that they had hit the compacted soil layer.
Zhang Wenjie suppressed his excitement and shouted, "Lao Da, confirm it, don't make mistakes."
"Correct, blue-gray mud, the compacted soil layer is confirmed without doubt. It's probably the burial chamber above."
Everyone cheered with excitement.
Ding Laotou patted my shoulder. "Guangting, you're really something."
Following this, Chen Lao Da excavated around that area and unearthed a platform capable of accommodating three or four people.
We pulled Chen Lao Da up, his labor intensity within had caused him to break out in a sweat, and as he ascended, he emitted white smoke from head to toe when met with the chilly wind.
Glancing at the time, it was already three in the morning, with two hours remaining until five o'clock, making it worthwhile to descend once more.
Our main task this time was, if possible, to puncture the floor, allowing for air exchange between the interior of the tomb and the outside world, a step crucial to the life and death of all involved.
In the minds of many, it is believed that ancient tombs contain miasma, which, once inhaled by the living, can lead to various issues, ranging from dizziness and nausea to instant death, or even transformation into zombies and the like.
Let me responsibly state that this is utter nonsense. While dizziness, nausea, and even death are possible outcomes, the idea of turning into zombies is absurd.
In fact, the gases inside tomb chambers are not miasma but a mixture, with the primary components being hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide.
Carbon monoxide is familiar to most, primarily binding with hemoglobin, causing oxygen deprivation in the body, a topic I won't delve into further here.
Hydrogen sulfide gas is colorless but possesses a strong smell akin to rotten eggs, and as its concentration increases, so does its odor.
This gas is mainly produced by animal carcasses, plant roots, and stems.
Put simply, many have likely encountered the foul odor emitted by animal corpses after death, which is the release of hydrogen sulfide gas.
The safe threshold value for this gas in air is 10ppm, with a concentration of 2000ppm resulting in immediate death. Its toxicity is five to six times higher than that of cyanide.
Throughout history, countless tomb robbers have inhaled large amounts of hydrogen sulfide gas and died in the moment of opening tombs. It's a pity that they never knew how they died.
The three of us, Chen Lao Er, Chen Duoyu, and I, each armed with demolition tools, entered the tunnel one after another.
This was my first time entering a tomb, and naturally, I was a bit nervous.
Chen Duoyu said, "It's always like this the first time. Take deep breaths; you'll be fine in a bit."
I nodded, assuring him I was fine and not to worry.
Once inside, Chen Duoyu began clearing the compacted soil layer along the furrow made by Chen Lao Da.
An hour later, bluestone slabs were revealed, approximately two meters long and about a meter wide, with marks of knives, axes, and chisels, arranged in an orderly fashion.
Chen Lao Er propped up the bottom of the stone slab with demolition tools, lowered his head, and Chen Duoyu and I quickly backed away.
With a resounding crash, the tools released immense pressure, the sound reverberating repeatedly in the confined space, causing pain in our eardrums.
The bluestone slab shattered into many pieces, scattering around, luckily without injuring anyone.
I saw the two brothers opening and closing their mouths, their ears hissing, unable to hear what they were saying.
Chen Lao Er shook his head, shaking off the debris falling on him, then made a few more attempts at demolition, but the effect was not very noticeable, with only a shallow dent of about five to six centimeters on the bluestone slab.
Chen Lao Er spat out a mouthful of mud and said, "It's too damn hard, harder than my wife's mouth. What should we do?"
Chen Duoyu said to me, "Guangting, quickly come up with a solution, or we'll have to resort to the spirit of the Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains."
"Rough methods won't work; let's find a seam."
They nodded, gritting their teeth and squinting, after a series of operations, they took out a special steel knife for prying seams and kept stabbing at the gap.
Perhaps the previous demolition had also played a role; in no time, there was a creak, and a piece of bluestone loosened.