HLM – Chapter 781 Rapid Construction Begins

This project had to move fast. Wang Bo had already promised the townspeople that he would establish a public transportation network — everyone was waiting. He needed to persuade Holden Motor Company as soon as possible to provide vehicles for the town.

Porter understood his temperament well. His construction team even suspended work on the villa district and shifted entirely to begin construction at the lakeside.

The villa district project had been progressing smoothly. In New Zealand, villa development mainly depended on two aspects: the environment and the service. The lakeside area was already stunning — preserving its natural beauty was enough. As for services, they could be improved later through supporting facilities. The construction itself wasn’t difficult either — the land there was naturally firm, hardly needing any foundation work.

Porter had wanted to continue with the villa project, but Wang Bo ordered him to redirect all manpower to building a lakeside runway.

Because of this, Porter specifically went to question him.

“You know,” Porter said, “building a lakeside runway will cost a fortune. Just the spare change from that could buy Holden’s luxury buses for the transportation network. Why insist on the runway?”

Wang Bo smiled and replied, “You’re looking at it the wrong way. Sure, the runway serves the transportation network, but that’s not its only purpose.”

“Think long-term, my friend. A scenic runway will attract more tourists. And once Holden invests in Sunset Town, other companies will soon follow.”

That was exactly why securing a partnership with Holden was Wang Bo’s top priority for Sunset Town in the fourth quarter — it would influence many things to come.

The construction convoy soon rolled into the lakeside area. The land around the lake was now fenced with steel panels, and the roar of heavy machinery filled the air as the groundwork began. Truckloads of building materials kept arriving.

After talking with Wang Bo, Porter understood his vision. He wanted to help too — after all, thanks to Sunset Town, his construction company had flourished over the past few years. Even as New Zealand’s construction industry entered a slump, Porter’s company was still thriving.

So, he left his wife in charge of the company and personally went to the construction site.

With the boss on-site, the chief engineer naturally followed. The white engineer put on a red safety helmet and reported, “Boss, we’re mainly expanding northwest from the beach area right now, focusing our manpower there.”

Porter nodded. “Good. Concentrate your forces on one section for a quick breakthrough. Meanwhile, run geological tests toward the northeast — that’ll boost efficiency.”

The chief engineer sighed. “Yes, but building a runway in the southeast isn’t easy. During preliminary surveys, we found signs of an underground karst cave system.”

“Underground caves?” Porter was surprised. “You’re sure about that?”

New Zealand’s North and South Islands were formed during the Ice Age, carved by glacial movement. Karst caves were common in some parts of the North Island — but much rarer in the South Island, and never before seen around Sunset Town.

The engineer nodded. “We detected a lot of carbonate rocks — limestone, dolomite, gypsum, and rock salt. The ground-penetrating radar confirmed there’s indeed a cave below.”

Porter frowned. That meant the northeastern area wasn’t suitable for a runway. If the ground collapsed later, it would be a disaster — both his company and Wang Bo’s town would bear the blame.

To be safe, he straightened his helmet and said, “Tell the crew to stay alert. Let’s go take a look ourselves.”

By noon, confirmation came in — the lakeside region did have karst caves, and they had even found a hidden entrance among the grass and bushes.

A truck carefully drove over the uneven field, while Porter and the others followed in an all-terrain vehicle. The truck, loaded with detection equipment, acted as a pathfinder — its sensors would detect vibrations and warn them if the ground was unstable.

The truck stopped safely near the cave entrance. The engineers signaled that the terrain was stable.

“Better than expected — not as bad as we thought,” Porter exhaled in relief.

The chief engineer shook his head. “Even so, boss, we’d better not build a runway here. At most, we could do basic groundwork — foundation and pavement only. No decorations, no scenic setups. It wouldn’t be worth it.”

As they chatted, the group reached the cave mouth. Someone was operating a small all-terrain robotic vehicle — it looked like a toy car, but it was an expensive exploration device equipped with cameras.

A burly worker laughed heartily. “No need to fuss so much! Let’s just go down and have a look. I bet it’s just a hollow space — nothing dangerous!”

“Be careful,” Porter cautioned. “Let the machine go first. Once it’s clear, we’ll send men down.”

He worried there might be hidden dangers — snakes, toxic gas, bacteria, who knew? It was probably unnecessary concern, but better safe than sorry.

New Zealand was often called a paradise for humans — not just for its scenery, but because it lacked most dangerous creatures: no large predators, no venomous snakes or insects, maybe a few scorpions at most.

The small camera vehicle wobbled as it descended, tethered to a nylon rope to prevent damage if it fell into a hollow spot. A man held the rope tightly, controlling its descent.

Mist rose gently from the lake surface. A light breeze rippled across the mirror-like water, making faint waves sparkle.

Two or three large white fish leaped out of the lake, adding life to the tranquil scene. A black crane was drawn by the movement — it glided gracefully above, hesitating between catching a fish and avoiding the nearby construction, then finally flew away.

Soon after, a flock of cormorants appeared boldly. They didn’t care about the workers — some waddled ashore to preen their feathers, completely unbothered by human presence.

Porter lit a cigarette and took a slow drag. The peaceful beauty around him made him sigh deeply. “This place is like a paradise,” he said — words he had repeated countless times before.

The chief engineer nodded. “It really is. If we could build a tourist runway here, it would be incredible.”

“Exactly. With scenery like this, I doubt there’s any danger—”

He never got to finish his sentence.

A sudden, horrified shout broke out: “Oh my God! Oh my God! Unbelievable! What is that?!”