The people above Well No. 3 stared down in terror. No one knew what had happened just now; they only knew that an incredibly powerful shock wave had surged up from the bottom of the well.
All kinds of materials being lowered down had been overturned, and the workers changing shifts in the suspended basket had all been thrown out as well! A huge cloud of black smoke billowed up from the bottom of the well. Then all the people could see was a red dot that kept growing larger! The geological supervisor immediately got through to this site by phone. He shouted, utterly devoid of decorum, demanding that the people at the other wellheads send down the prepared explosives! Clearly, he had underestimated the pressure inside the Lava Passage under these conditions with an artificial opening. They had to lower the explosives and continue opening the passage in order to stabilize the magma's rate of ascent!
Make it stop—even force it back down!
Once the magma rose up, all the work they had done these past few days would be for nothing!
The workers at the other wellheads began loading explosives into the baskets, while people at the bottom of the wells frantically rang the bells, demanding that the baskets be lowered.
After an extremely brief discussion, the people in charge gave a very friendly order—
Send some guards down with weapons to ensure that all the explosives were properly installed and detonated.
The baskets were arranged in short order: one carrying workers and explosives, and another carrying guards.
There was some risk, but not much.
Baskets carrying explosives were lowered down every wellhead. The black smoke from Well No. 3 continued to thicken, while the magma surged upward at an increasing speed.
The only encouraging thing was that