Chapter 14 Chapter 14 Preliminary Exploration of Copper Ball

It is nothing new for archaeological teams to use "laser underground detectors" in field excavations.This instrument has enabled many archaeologists to succeed, helping them find many unknown and complete ancient tombs, and unearthed a large number of precious cultural relics called national treasures.However, this is the first time that a laser underground detector has been used to find traces left by aliens. On the construction site at the northern end of the Three Gorges Dam, next to the foundation pit of the transmission tower, a three-wheeled trolley is parked.Such a laser underground detector is installed on the car, which consists of two parts: a laser probe and a display.Its laser probe is placed high on a special bracket on the car, and it looks like a long-legged spider-like monster from a distance.Ren Sihong of the archaeological team stood beside the detector and was busy with the final adjustments. Guo Yiping seized the time to read the detector manual again, and Xu Zhenyu sorted out the recording paper.

From time to time, the rumble of motors and the screech of electric horns from diesel locomotives can be heard in the distance, occasionally accompanied by the sound of one or two explosions of cannons being fired from the mountains.Trucks loaded with equipment and cement drove towards the dam from a road behind the construction site, and the entire Three Gorges Project was still underway. The date for the trial operation of the hydroelectric power system is approaching, and the workers of the electric power sub-bureau on the construction site are extremely busy.The General Headquarters of the Three Gorges Project Bureau has issued a dispatch order:

In order to ensure the smooth progress of the archaeological work, the construction near the original No. 7 Han Tomb site in Xilingxia was suspended.The order also dispatched two bulldozers to the archaeological site on standby.In this way, this small archaeological site becomes a peaceful island in a boiling ocean. However, the mood of the archaeologists was not peaceful, especially Xu Zhenyu who was standing next to the laser underground detector.It seemed to him that the sole purpose of this archaeological operation was to find the copper ball.He firmly believed that there were copper balls in the ground, so he hardly thought about what would happen if there were no copper balls in the ground.What he was worried about were two other issues: one was that Ren Sihong had reminded him about the will of the tomb site, whether his family would follow through on it after Lu Qian's death, and whether he would be buried in a foreign land for other reasons ?Another problem is that more than 2,000 years have passed since Lu Qian discovered the copper ball. In the past 2,000 years, our great motherland has undergone earth-shaking changes, not to mention the earth-shaking changes in society, even the famous mountains and rivers in nature. There was a noticeable improvement.In such a long time, how can we guarantee that the mysterious copper ball will still stay there safely?Thinking of this, a faint layer of melancholy could not help appearing on his handsome face.

Xu Zhenyu looked at Guo Yiping who was standing beside him, he was still concentrating on reading the instruction manual.Xu Zhenyu had only met this historian at an academic seminar at Yangtze University before, and had never dealt with him directly.When they met in Xiling Gorge this time, they didn't know each other very well.Xu Zhenyu felt that he must be a stubborn and self-willed person.It was only because of his two thick lips that Xu Zhenyu had the idea that he might be a simple and honest scholar.But in any case, in this debate, Associate Professor Guo will not give in easily.He didn't know what other problems the historian would raise, so he had to be fully prepared for the challenge.

Guo Yiping has read this instruction manual more than once, and he wants to make himself able to use this laser underground detector proficiently.Today's detection is very important regardless of whether it is for falsehoods or for new entities.He had done an analysis beforehand, and it was almost impossible to find any copper balls in this detection.He neither believed in the statement on the ancient bamboo slips, nor did he believe in Xu Zhenyu's fantasy.Shortly after Xu Zhenyu published that paper, when Bai Lizhen, a special reporter from the editorial department of "Academic Academic Research", went to Yangtze University for an interview, he said that he could not believe that there were alien information rockets underground.Because in his opinion, the possibility of a civilized society in the universe is extremely small, and it is very likely that only the solar system has humans in the galaxy.Therefore, people on earth are very lonely in the universe, so people always hope to find traces of aliens to eliminate this feeling of loneliness.He felt that this kind of mood of human beings was described in an ancient poem:

"The ancients have never been seen before, "He who is never seen, "Remember the long life of heaven and earth, "I'm crying alone." Nevertheless, Guo Yiping still agreed to resume the excavation work. He said to Bai Lizhen with full confidence, let the practice test whose argument is correct!That being said, he was a calm scholar after all, and he had already estimated that when nothing was found after the detection, the new entity said that it would never give up.They will definitely come up with some excuse, for example, it may be that Lu Qian's children were not buried according to the will, and so on.Obviously, although no copper balls can be detected, this academic debate is difficult to end.

After Ren Sihong finished debugging, the detection began.According to the prior arrangement, the laser underground detector trolley was operated by Guo Yiping and Xu Zhenyu, and the measured data and results had to be confirmed by the two.The detector car is very light, and Xu Zhenyu can push it by himself. He pushed the cart to the original site of the ancient tomb—the northeast corner of the foundation pit of the power transmission tower.Guo Yiping turned on the power switch.A laser beam is shot at the ground, penetrates the soil layer, and penetrates deep into the ground.A regular horizontal line appeared on the detector's fluorescent screen, indicating that there was no buried object in the ground.According to the predetermined range, they pushed the car round and round from the inside to the outside, exploring the secrets of the underground.When they encounter a structure on the construction site or a foundation pit of an iron tower, they temporarily pass by and try to detect it later.

Guo Yiping didn't believe that the fact that there were copper balls was well known, and Xu Zhenyu was worried that he would not carefully observe the subtle changes shown on the screen from the beginning, so he looked at the screen uncomfortably while pushing the cart.However, every time he saw Guo Yiping observing carefully and carefully.Gradually, he felt relieved, and focused his main attention on choosing the path of the cart so that the detection surface of the instrument would neither repeat nor blank. "Attention!" Guo Yiping said loudly. Xu Zhenyu stopped the cart, and saw a horizontal bright line on the fluorescent screen of the monitor, and a U-shaped depression at one end of the bright line.On the nixie tube next to the fluorescent screen, many bright red numbers jumped around.According to the instruction manual, this means that there are buried objects underground.Xu Zhenyu hurriedly moved the cart, so that the U-shaped depression of the horizontal bright line on the screen was right in the center.At this time, "000.80" was flipped out on the tube, and Guo Yiping immediately read it aloud.Seeing the carts parked on a row of concrete slabs, Xu Zhenyu said:

"Associate Professor Guo, there is probably a 0.8-meter-deep trench under this cover!" The historian stepped on the cover with his foot, and the cover made a thumping sound.He said slowly: "Perhaps so." Ren Sihong and several archaeologists surrounded them. They tried to lift the concrete cover, but they didn't.It happened that an electrician came over, he had worked here.He glanced at the trench cover and told them it was a 0.8-meter-deep cable trench.He also introduced to them the direction and depth of some buried objects here. They resumed their probing.Xu Zhenyu pushed the cart around several times, but found nothing.Now, Xu Zhenyu and Guo Yiping's emotions are just the opposite, one is getting more and more disappointed, and the other is getting more and more confident.

"Attention, there is a signal!" Guo Yiping saw a convex bright line appear on the fluorescent screen, and the red numbers in the digital tube kept jumping again. Xu Zhenyu skillfully positioned the cart so that the convex bright line on the screen was right in the center.Yang Guangyao, Ren Sihong and other team members rushed over. "Reading!" Ren Sihong said loudly. The numbers on the nixie tube are no longer bouncing around, it displays a set of numbers without moving.Guo Yiping glanced at it and said: "013.32." Ren Sihong carefully observed the fluorescent screen again, and said excitedly:

"Judging from the situation reflected on the curve, there is a round or oval metal object buried here, with a depth of 13 meters 32 ." Ren Sihong and Xu Zhenyu measured it with a tape measure. The distance from the detector to the edge of the ancient tomb pit was 4.66 meters, and the detector was just south of the original site of the ancient tomb.This is an open space between the foundation pit of the iron tower and the structure, and there is no pipeline underground. Xu Zhenyu felt great joy, and subconsciously brushed back his thick black hair, trying his best not to be too emotional.Even so, he speaks with passion: "I see the copper ball is under here, dig it!" "I don't agree with this statement. Although the detector shows it, it is not necessarily a copper ball." Guo Yiping said very flatly. The opinions of other archaeological team members are even more diverse, and there is no consensus. After discussing with Yang Guangyao, Ren Sihong and Yang Guangyao announced that they would try to excavate here. The laser underground detector vehicle was pushed away, and Zhang Jie and another bulldozer driver came over with the bulldozer, and they took turns pushing up the soil here. Soon, a large soil ditch about one meter deep appeared in front of the archaeologists.Ren Sihong greeted "retest", and Xu Zhenyu pushed the detector car into the ditch again.Guo Yiping helped him find the location and connected the power supply.The number displayed by the nixie tube stunned the people present: 013.32. "This is how the same thing?" "Is the instrument malfunctioning?" "This is the copper ball falling automatically!" "Try pushing away another layer of soil." The bulldozer stepped up the gas pedal and aimed hard at the yellow-black soil, making a low and muddy sound. The trench was deepened by half a meter. The detector car found its position at the bottom of the ditch again. When the power is turned on, the bright red numbers in the nixie tube dance dazzlingly, and finally stop at these numbers: 013.32. "This time you should believe that there are copper balls in the ground!" Xu Zhenyu said proudly. Guo Yiping narrowed his eyes into a slit, and said stubbornly: "What grounds do you have! Perhaps there is something wrong with the apparatus." In the evening, the archaeological team was studying countermeasures in a large inflatable tent, and Deputy Commander Zhao of the Three Gorges Project Bureau came to visit them.His eyes were resolute and weather-beaten.After exchanging pleasantries, everyone talked about the day's affairs again. "If there are two detectors, we can judge whether there is something wrong with the instrument!" Xu Zhenyu said. "We still have one in our institute, just fetch it." A team member from the Institute of Archeology said. "It took two days to send someone to deliver it, and it will affect the construction of the transmission tower again." Ren Sihong said. "The Engineering Bureau has a special plane, which is currently at Chujiang Airport, and will return early tomorrow morning. You can ask the pilot Jin Xiang to bring it." Deputy Commander Zhao is also an enthusiastic person. Everyone agrees with this method. Ren Sihong immediately hung up the phone to the office. .They talked for a while, and then dispersed. Early the next morning, Xu Zhenyu and Guo Yiping went to the temporary airport at the construction site, found Jin Xiang, and retrieved another laser underground detector. Ren Sihong completed the assembly of this newly delivered detector car in less than half an hour with his skillful skills. This time, Xu Zhenyu and Guo Yiping each pushed a detector vehicle and stopped in the ditch successively to measure the buried depth of the controversial "copper ball". "013.32 meters." Xu Zhenyu said looking at the detector used yesterday. "013.32 meters." Guo Yiping said looking at the detector that was newly delivered today. People gathered around. "It seems that there is nothing wrong with the instrument." Xu Zhenyu looked very happy. "The conclusion is very clear. Not only is the copper ball underground, but it can still operate now, and it will always automatically maintain a depth of 13.32 meters from the ground." The historian was unimpressed, saying: "According to what you say, we will never see your brass ball!" Ren Sihong smiled and said, "What do you think?" "If the copper ball is still underground, then the traces of the original drilling can be found on the ground, why didn't we see it?" Guo Yiping asked rhetorically. Ren Sihong felt that the historian's question made sense.He pushed the detector car away, squatted on the ground, and watched carefully.Except for the tracks and footprints of bulldozers, there are no other traces on the ground.He picked it a few more times with his hands, but still couldn't see it.He thought to himself that maybe the original appearance was destroyed by bulldozers, so he found a shovel and dug carefully.He first dug out the top soil that had been disturbed by the bulldozer, and then dug it down little by little. "Look!" Ren Sihong almost shouted, "Isn't this the trace of drilling!" Everyone huddled forward, some squatted, some stood bent over, all looking towards where he pointed.This is a circular piece of soil, which at first glance looks like any other soil.It is only when we observe carefully that we can see that it is denser and harder than the surrounding soil, and it seems to have been sintered. Ren Sihong took out a tape measure and measured it. The diameter of this mark was about one meter.Guo Yiping also took out a magnifying glass from his pocket, squatted on the ground and looked at it carefully. Ren Sihong and some team members believed that this was the trace of the copper ball drilling into the soil, which indirectly proved that the copper ball was detected by the laser underground detector.One by one, they extended their hands to Xu Zhenyu to congratulate him warmly. "What do you think?" Ren Sihong asked Guo Yiping. "This does not prove that it is an alien rocket, nor does it prove that it existed in ancient times. Only when the copper ball is really dug out can we draw a final conclusion." Guo Yiping calmly.