At this moment, Wolf and the Daniel brothers were the first to feel that they could not hold on any longer. Their hearts raced, and they quickly stopped their stealth movements, saying, "Mr. Ann, we can't go any deeper!"
An Guoqing hesitated for a moment. He could still manage, while Zhang Ya Ge and Luo Jie could clearly dive deeper. Zhou Xuan, Wei Xiaoyu, and Fu Ying remained calm, but they could definitely dive even deeper. If he were to turn back now, it would be the same as his efforts over the past ten years, all in vain. He was unwilling to give up.
An Guoqing paused, then sought the opinions of the others, asking, "Does anyone else have any opinions?"
Before coming, An Guoqing signed a contract with these people. If they returned before achieving their goal, each person would only be paid 300,000 RMB. If they achieved their goal, they would be paid 1 million RMB. If the mission was successful, there would also be an unspecified bonus. It was also guaranteed that the bonus would never be less than the reward. In other words, if An Guoqing achieved his goal, the reward plus the bonus would be at least 2 million RMB!
Volume 1, Chapter 393: The Limits of Diving Depth
Although An Guoqing said he was seeking everyone's opinions, Zhou Xuan knew he definitely wouldn't come back. Among this group, only he, Wei Xiaoyu, and Fu Ying knew An Guoqing's true purpose. The others had only signed contracts with him and received a fee, and they were not clear about what he was supposed to achieve.
As expected, Roger and Zhang Ya were the first to disagree with An Guoqing's statement.
"I think we should dive a little deeper; the pressure is still manageable for now!"
"continue!"
If they went back now, they would only get a reward of 300,000. Zhang Ya Ge and Roger were naturally unwilling to do so, and their tolerance had not yet reached its limit, so they disagreed.
As for Zhou Xuan and his two companions, there was no need to ask; as long as An Guoqing continued, they would continue as well.
Tiff and Daniel immediately pondered. They knew what Roger and Zhang Ya were thinking, and they themselves had the same idea. But the key was that they had reached the limit of what they could endure while diving. At such a depth, it was very dangerous to keep going. The thought of whether to use 300,000 to save their lives or to continue risking their lives kept lingering in their minds.
Unconsciously, the Wolf brothers realized that they had fallen behind in the diving ability competition. Even the rookie Zhou Xuan and the two pretty girls he brought were better than the Ran brothers. This made them feel a little embarrassed. They had always thought that Wei Xiaoyu and Fu Ying, those two pretty girls, should also get 300,000 yuan, and they were resentful. Only now did they realize that the other party was far better than them!
Moreover, they were unaware that Zhou Xuan, Wei Xiaoyu, and Fu Ying had not taken a single penny from An Guoqing!
Hearing Roger and Zhang Ya's answers, An Guoqing was delighted, and then asked Zhou Xuan, "Xiao Zhou, what about the three of you? What do you mean by this?"
Zhou Xuan said calmly, "What you mean is what we mean. If everyone retreats, we will retreat too. If everyone continues to move forward, we will move forward!"
After Zhou Xuan spoke, neither Wei Xiaoyu nor Fu Ying responded, but their meaning was clearly the same as Zhou Xuan's, because their bodies showed no signs of discomfort, as if they were swimming or diving in shallow water, and the pressure at the bottom of the water was practically nonexistent.
Of course, neither of them knew that Zhou Xuan had secretly helped them. They thought it was thanks to the diving suits. In addition, both of them had practiced martial arts and had extremely strong physical foundations, so their endurance was much stronger than that of ordinary people.
An Guoqing immediately said, "Alright, then let's continue!" Then he said to the Wolf brothers, "Wolf brothers, you have two choices now. One is to turn back now. If you didn't come with me, my secretary has already made arrangements for her to pay each of you 300,000 yuan. The second option is to continue with us!"
Tiff and Daniel immediately pondered. It would be extremely embarrassing for everyone except the two of them to go back, and it would also ruin their reputation. If everyone failed and went back, it wouldn't matter, and they could still get business in the future. But if they were invited by the employer and then failed prematurely, it would be difficult to get business in the future.
After thinking for a moment, Wolf exchanged a glance with Daniel, then gritted his teeth and said, "Mr. Ann, alright, let's continue!"
The Taifu brothers figured that these people's diving skills probably weren't much better than theirs, so they decided to endure it and wait until everyone was too exhausted to dive before returning together. They figured that saving face and making money would be the same, so it would be fine!
Zhou Xuan was thinking to himself that he had a good relationship with the brothers Wolf and Daniel when they were in the United States, so it wouldn't hurt to help them secretly at this time. After all, it was just a small favor for him.
Thinking of this, Zhou Xuan used his special ability to improve the Wolf brothers' bodies. Although it wasn't as good as it was for Wei Xiaoyu and Fu Ying, it would be no problem for the brothers to dive another fifty meters. Zhou Xuan had just measured the water depth below, which was only a little over ten meters.
Of course, everything has its limits. Just like the long jump and high jump, you can jump one meter, but if you add one centimeter, you can't jump over it. This is especially true for diving, because you are already under tremendous pressure. The current depth is about 260 meters. If you add another 15 meters, it will be 280 meters. Whether An Guoqing and his team can get through it is an unknown.
But Zhou Xuan knew that he, Wei Xiaoyu, and Fu Ying could definitely make it through. At this depth, not to mention the new diving suits, he could dive through it even barehanded. And now, Wolf and the Daniel brothers could definitely make it through as well.
With An Guoqing's powerful aura, Zhou Xuan estimated that he could dive to a depth of 130 to 140 meters if he were bare-handed. With this new type of diving suit, Zhou Xuan estimated that he could reach a depth of 300 meters, which would definitely be much stronger than Roger and Zhang Ya Ge.
Zhou Xuan also probed Roger and Zhang Ya's aura. If these two reached 280 meters, that would definitely be their limit. To cross that depth below, he didn't know what the other side was like, and it would certainly be difficult. Since they had come together and didn't have any particularly powerful relationship, Zhou Xuan was still thinking of lending a helping hand at the most difficult juncture. He couldn't bear to let them lose their lives in this dark river. At least these two had never offended him. Helping strangers wouldn't harm himself, so Zhou Xuan would still lend a hand.
As they dived deeper, Wolf and Daniel were surprised to find that their hearts had miraculously returned to normal. They could no longer feel the pressure of the deep water, and their bodies felt almost the same as they would on land. This was very strange. Could it be that the water was only a few meters deep now?
When Wolf and the Daniel brothers glanced at the depth gauge, which showed 266 meters, they were both shocked!
How could they be so normal at this depth? It's too strange. Could it be that it's only a few dozen meters deep, and the deep-water gauge has lost its effectiveness?
Wolf and Daniel looked at the others with surprise. An Guoqing's movements were normal, while Zhou Xuan and the two girls moved freely without any pressure. As for the two brothers themselves, they could almost be described as graceful and unrestrained. They were quite surprised. Such movements could only be done in ordinary water at a depth of several tens of meters.
This convinced the two brothers that the pressure gauge was broken and that the depth couldn't possibly be 266 meters.
However, when Wolf and Daniel saw Zhang Ya Ge and Roger again, they felt something was wrong. The two men's movements and expressions showed extreme discomfort, just like the feeling they had just experienced—heart pounding and breathlessness.
Wolf and Daniel already knew that Roger and Zhang Yage were better divers than them, but now they were doing it with ease, while the two seemed to be reaching their limit.
This left the Wolf brothers bewildered again. Was the water deep or shallow? Everything was beyond their comprehension.
When they reached the bottom of the underground river, the water depth reached a terrifying 298 meters. Even An Guoqing felt a little restricted in his movements. But when he saw the brothers Taifu and Daniel still pushing themselves to the limit above, An Guoqing was suddenly surprised. The two of them followed him around like fish, seemingly oblivious to the astonishing pressure.
Roger and Zhang Yage, on the other hand, lagged behind, struggling to swim about four or five meters from the bottom. They had been better than the Wolf Brothers before, but now they were the worst.
Zhou Xuan and the two girls seemed just as relaxed as the Wolf Brothers, which truly surprised An Guoqing. At Black Dragon Pool, he was surprised that Zhou Xuan and the others were hiding their true strength, but he never thought that the three of them could be more powerful than him. But now it seems that the three of them are definitely stronger than him!
An Guoqing could almost estimate that if it were another ten meters, he definitely wouldn't have made it across. And now, looking at Zhou Xuan and the others, their movements were no different from those in shallow water. Although it was clear that their diving movements were still somewhat clumsy, it wasn't a matter of pressure, but rather that their swimming skills were inferior to theirs.
Zhou Xuan's special ability allowed him to sense that Zhang Ya Ge and Roger could not reach the bottom. Their maximum depth was 295 meters, and they couldn't go any deeper than that. In fact, their depth was already quite astonishing. In deep water, even an extra meter makes a huge difference. This is where the difficulty of taking another step forward from the top of a hundred-foot pole lies.
Now that we've reached this point, we're facing the most difficult hurdle. It would be too boring if we let them return empty-handed here.
Zhou Xuan immediately used his icy energy to pass over Zhang Ya Ge and Roger's bodies. In an instant, the two men felt their bodies relax, as if they had been relieved of a heavy burden. Somewhat inexplicably, they swam down and easily reached the bottom.
At this moment, it was An Guoqing who appeared the most clumsy and slow.
An Guoqing began to be surprised. What was going on today? Everyone was acting strangely. They were clearly about to collapse, but in the blink of an eye, they were full of energy again. And everyone was like this. Could it be the power of this new type of diving suit?
Doesn't he himself understand what secrets this diving suit might hold?
An Guoqing quickly circulated his internal energy throughout his body to clear his mind. At this moment, everyone had reached the bottom of the deepest part of the water. It was at this moment that everyone discovered that the guide line had reached its end, and the line of one of the wheels had been pulled out.
The distance from here to the bottom of the skylight is already 500 meters, and about three hours have passed. With their capabilities, they can last for another three hours. In other words, this is almost a dividing line. If they don't go back now, the gas they have left in their cylinders may only last until they return.
Should we continue forward or turn back?
An Guoqing's expression turned cold. He first checked the remaining gas in the gas cylinder. As expected, there was only half left. However, he was unwilling to go back like this. This time, he had indeed overcome an obstacle that he could not overcome before. In any case, this was a great progress. Perhaps the light would come after passing through it?