mijobooks Chapter 83: The Entrepreneurship Collapsed Before It Was Halfway Through
Chapter 83: The Entrepreneurship Collapsed Before It Was Halfway Through
Old Cat said he decided to challenge the 300-meter depth because he was inspired by Xu An, but it was just a joke.
He had been preparing for this for a year.
To date, no one has broken the record for the deepest dive in the cave, reaching 300 meters.
The world record for cave diving is only 280 meters.
Old Cat often jokes with Xu An that he's getting old and that the future belongs to young people like Xu An.
But the real old cat is just as Xu An described, still vigorous despite its age.
At around forty years old, in the prime of his life, he didn't feel old at all.
Deep down, he always harbored a ambition...
Before Lao Mao, a genius in the cave diving world, emerged, there was no leading figure in the field of cave diving in China, and the country was often ridiculed by foreigners from various countries.
Domestic diving meccas like Jiudun Sky Window and Peach Blossom Jellyfish Sky Window have had their records consistently held by foreigners.
The world's second most populous country can't even find one thing that it can boast about.
Later, Lao Mao, a genius in the cave diving world, emerged and set an Asian record of over 270 meters with nine skylights, the second highest in the world. He was known as "Cat God" in the circle and won the title of the number one cave diver in China.
The appearance of the old cat made foreigners from various countries no longer dare to underestimate it, and the ridicule and mockery disappeared.
This time, he was not only challenging his own limits, but also showcasing my country's national prestige.
There was one thing that Lao Mao had never mentioned to Xu An: his beloved disciple and close friend had died at Jiudun Skylight.
He personally went down to retrieve the body.
The body was found at a depth of about 110 meters in a hidden passage that had not been discovered before.
He chose to take on the challenge at this time because he felt the timing was right, and also because his beloved student's birthday was approaching.
According to his plan, the entire process, from entering the water to exiting it, would take nearly twenty hours.
The day he went into the water and came out the next day happened to be his beloved student's birthday.
He wanted to dedicate the world record for 300-meter cave diving to his deceased beloved student.
As planned, the day before the challenge, Lao Mao was to go into the water to clear the tangled guide ropes to facilitate the subsequent dives, and then lay a 100-meter-long communication cable to livestream the entire challenge...
After several hours of driving, Xu An entered the territory of Du'an.
Instead of heading straight for Jiudun Tianchuang, the two found a random hole-in-the-wall restaurant by the roadside, ate lunch there, and then headed towards Jiudun Tianchuang.
In the car, Jiang Xiyan asked, "Xu An, at this time, Brother Cat should already be in the water, right?"
Xu An nodded, "Yes, he'll be underwater for at least twenty hours to challenge the 300-meter world record."
Jiang Xiyan looked surprised and exclaimed, "Brother Cat is really amazing!"
The two chatted as they moved closer to the Nine-Bun Skylight.
However, when they arrived at Jiudun Skylight, Xu An suddenly felt uneasy.
Surprisingly, there were police cars parked around, and he also saw members of the diving rescue team.
Realizing something was wrong, Xu An got out of the car with a sullen face.
Jiang Xiyan noticed Xu An's expression, and at the same time, she saw the diving rescue team. Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly reassured herself, "No, no, Brother Cat is the number one cave diver in the country. How could something happen to someone so amazing?"
"Captain Tang, what's going on?"
Tang Feng, who was trying to organize a rescue operation at the scene, suddenly heard a familiar voice and turned around to look.
"It's you, Xu An."
Xu An asked with a grim face, "Captain Tang, what happened?"
Tang Feng's expression was also grim. He said in a deep voice, "Old Cat is in trouble."
"boom!"
These words were as powerful as an atomic bomb explosion, leaving Xu An's mind buzzing and unable to react for a moment.
Jiang Xiyan, standing next to her, widened her eyes and covered her mouth with one hand.
"Captain Tang, what exactly happened? Wasn't Lao Mao preparing to challenge a depth of 300 meters? At this time, he should still be underwater. How did he determine that something had happened?" Xu An snapped out of his daze and hurriedly asked.
Tang Feng's face was grim. He sighed and said, "Yesterday, Old Cat went into the water to clean the underwater guide rope and lay a communication fiber optic cable, but he never came back up."
"Our people have gone down to search, but they haven't found Old Cat within an 80-meter radius. Our people are not capable of going any deeper, and the underwater robot has also searched within a 100-meter radius, but there is still no news."
"We have already sent out a request for help to the cave diving community, and more than forty experts have responded and are on their way. More advanced underwater robots are also being brought in..."
When Xu An heard Tang Feng say that Lao Mao had gone down yesterday and hadn't come back up yet, his mind was buzzing and in complete chaos, so much so that he didn't hear a word of what Tang Feng said afterward.
He was a little dazed, and the scene that flashed through his mind was the night before last. He was still video chatting with Lao Mao, saying that he would come back to witness him break the world record and become the world's number one cave diver.
After rushing all the way, upon arriving at Jiudun Tianchuang, they were met with devastating news.
Seeing Xu An standing there in a daze, Tang Feng sighed, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "We will definitely retrieve Old Cat's body."
After saying that, he turned and left, giving Xu An enough time to process the bad news.
Old Cat is not Xu An; he doesn't have the physical constitution of a fish, nor the ability to breathe underwater.
They went into the water yesterday and haven't come up yet; the outcome is self-evident.
Xu An found it hard to accept. Lao Mao, the top cave diver in China, often trained at Jiudun Tianchuang and was about to challenge the world record for the 300-meter depth. How could he possibly perish in this underwater cave where he often trained?
But no matter how hard he finds it to accept, the established facts cannot be changed.
Jiang Xiyan also found it hard to believe. In her opinion, Old Cat was so powerful that, in theory, as long as he didn't go deep into the 300-meter-deep underwater cave, Jiudun Tianchuang should be like his backyard.
Even the world record for a depth of 300 meters should have been broken by him without a doubt.
Seeing Xu An's dazed expression, Jiang Xiyan felt sad for the old cat's death, but her eyes were also filled with worry as she looked at Xu An.
She pursed her lips and whispered, "Xu An, I'm also very saddened by what happened to Brother Cat, but the deceased is gone. Our top priority should be to find a way to retrieve Brother Cat's body so that he can rest in peace."
Correct!
Recover the body!
Xu An snapped out of his daze and quickly ran to retrieve the diving equipment from the trunk.
Xu An, carrying diving equipment, ran up to Tang Feng. "Captain Tang, I'm going down to find Old Cat."
Upon hearing this, Tang Feng frowned. "Nonsense!"
"We couldn't find Lao Mao's body within a 100-meter radius, which means Lao Mao's body is below 100 meters. Although you broke the world record for freediving, the complex environment of Jiudun Tianchuang is completely different from that abroad and is not suitable for freediving. It is only suitable for scuba diving."
"You're a newbie cave diver, heading straight for depths below 100 meters? You're practically committing suicide!"
"I absolutely disagree!"
Tang Feng's words were unusually serious.
"You have to believe me, Captain Tang. Back then, all of you sentenced Jiang Xiyan and me to death, but I still managed to save her," Xu An said hurriedly.
"Trust me, I have experience. I've been traveling all over the world and visiting countless underwater caves. I'm very experienced."
Tang Feng frowned. "Do you have the appropriate license?"
Xu An shook his head. Apart from obtaining a cave diving entry certificate from Lao Mao, he did not undergo any other certificate or license examinations.
Tang Feng resolutely refused, "You can't go into the water. I can't just stand by and watch you cause another fatal accident."
"Trust me, Captain Tang. Although I don't have a license, I really have experience. I've been to quite a few underwater caves recently, and how could I possibly risk my life?"
"If I really can't do it, I will definitely surface. I won't risk my life."