Real Man

Chapter 674

Beep beep beep beep beep!

A red warning sign popped up on the screen along with a loud buzzer.

Craig Corbett quickly spoke into the microphone.

“Pressure anomaly! It’s 20 percent lower than the optimal level. Boss, what should we do?”

John Henley, who was below, shouted into the megaphone.

“Raise the pressure!”

“Yes! Got it!”

Craig Corbett pulled the lever up.

Kukukukukukuku!

The ground shook as the water pressure increased, but the buzzer did not stop.

John Henley waved his hand.

“Stop for now! Stop!”

“Stopping! Stopping possible time 10 minutes. Countdown starts!”

As Craig Corbett pressed the button, the equipment that was pumping water stopped working.

Jeong Da-hye quickly scanned the screen and the buttons and muttered.

“Why is the pressure…”

The situation looked very urgent.

There was a good reason for that.

-If we fail the last stage of hydraulic fracturing, it’s like wasting a month. We can’t drill oil, so we can’t make any profit, and we lose all the labor costs we spent during that period.

As Jeong Da-hye’s theoretical lecture said, the damage would amount to millions of dollars.

It meant that they couldn’t stop easily.

Yoo-hyun quickly looked around for any changes that might help improve the situation.

Before he knew it, the employees who were preparing for the next stage had gathered below the booth.

Whisper whisper.

Among the noise, Thomas Popper, the manager of EnerTex, rushed over.

He took off his sunglasses and yelled at John Henley.

“What are you doing right now! Move on to the next stage!”

“We can’t move on! How can we move on when the pressure is low?”

John Henley gestured with his hand, and Thomas Popper, the manager, argued.

“The water went in all the way even though the pressure was low. There’s no problem with the drilling if we just add the solvent. Hurry up!”

“What are you talking about! If we do that, we can drill oil, but we can’t get rid of the toxic substances. Then the whole land below will rot.”

“That’s why you can’t meet the productivity. I don’t care if the land rots or not, just proceed with the drilling. Right now!”

Thomas Popper, with a black face, flashed his eyes and snapped.

At that moment, John Henley, who was furious, grabbed his collar.

Snap!

“Do you think you can take responsibility if the land below rots by mistake?”

Whack!

Thomas Popper, who pushed his hand away, glared at him.

“Can the president take responsibility if we don’t make money because we can’t meet the productivity?”

It was a critical situation.

Jeong Da-hye, who ran down quickly, got in between the two.

“This is not the time for this. We have to fix the problem first.”

Thomas Popper immediately dismissed Jeong Da-hye.

“Alice, if you have time to stop me, just proceed to the next stage. If we can’t drill this time, I can’t guarantee your project will end.”

“Is that what’s important right now? If we make a mistake, the damage to this area will be huge. That will ruin the productivity in the long run.”

Yoo-hyun realized something he didn’t know through the argument in front of him.

‘I see why the productivity was low recently.’

The productivity was low because of John Henley’s tendency to value principles and logic.

It was not only his tendency, but also the fact that he was a native of this area.

To him, this land was not a land to use and throw away like other outsiders, but a place where he had lived for a long time.

That was why he could be steady without any trouble while doing the same job for 10 years.

He understood the situation, but there was one thing that puzzled him.

Why did this happen so often recently?

According to the data, the current productivity was not better than the past.

Yoo-hyun walked over to Jeong Da-hye and looked around.

He noticed that there were fewer employees than other oil wells.

Suddenly, John Henley’s words from a while ago flashed through his mind.

-EnerTex bastards are squeezing us with money, so half of the employees are still resting.

‘They’re operating with a shortage of staff.’

No matter how well they set up the system, it was a job done by people.

There had to be some leaks as the manpower was reduced.

Yoo-hyun understood the whole situation.

He heard a sharp sound in his ear.

“Alice! You’re our consultant. Whose side are you on?”

“Whose side? That’s not the issue right now.”

“Can’t you do as I say right now?”

Yoo-hyun clenched his fist at Thomas Popper’s scolding.

Squeeze.

He could tolerate anything else, but he couldn’t stand him saying anything to his woman.

He stood in front of the big man and reached out with a sharp look.

“Thomas, that’s enough.”

“Steve, I’m sorry to show you this. I’ll proceed to the next stage as soon as possible and show you the normal drilling.”

Yoo-hyun lowered his hand to Thomas Popper, who bowed his head.

“Just do as John says.”

“Steve, that’s not possible. If we start to tolerate this, we won’t be able to meet the productivity of the companies. That will have a negative impact on your investment.”

“Do I have to say it twice?”

Yoo-hyun exuded charisma, and Thomas Popper froze for a moment.

“…”

“Report to Jack right away. Tell him I approved it.”

“Ugh. Okay.”

There was nothing a mere officer of EnerTex could do in this situation.

In the end, Thomas Popper bowed his head to Yoo-hyun again and backed away.

Whooosh.

The wind swept away the awkward atmosphere.

John Henley touched his helmet awkwardly and said.

“Steve, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize to me, just think about fixing it. You don’t have much time to respond.”

“That’s right. Craig! Check the internal values! Sam! Check the pipes! Kyle! Check the water tank! Hurry!”

John Henley nodded and took the lead.

Meanwhile, Jeong Da-hye had a serious expression.

Was it because of the clash with Thomas Popper?

It was a problem related to EnerTex, so it could be awkward.

Yoo-hyun was about to approach her with a worried expression.

She clapped her hands and exclaimed.

“John! The hydraulic valve! There could be a problem with the pump equipment that causes the pressure to drop!”

“Alice, what are you talking about? Didn’t you see the water overflowing? And the digital values are normal.”

“Just check it out. I’ll go ahead!”

Jeong Da-hye took the initiative as if she was the boss of this place.

‘Is she really a consultant?’

He was dumbfounded for a moment, but Yoo-hyun followed her anyway.

It was a dangerous situation.

Jeong Da-hye approached the cylinder connected to the pump equipment.

Then she looked at the round analog hydraulic gauge and said urgently.

“John! The pump pressure shown on the digital display and the analog value are different!”

“What? Wait a minute!”

When John Henley, who followed her, checked the hydraulic gauge, it happened.

Kugugugugu.

The pump equipment shook and the pipe connected to the cylinder tried to pop out.

At that moment, Jeong Da-hye grabbed the pipe with the diameter of a child’s body and shouted.

“The joint was loose and the pressure inside the cylinder and the pipe was different. Tighten it up before it gets worse!”

“Da-hye, it’s dangerous!”

When Yoo-hyun tried to stop her, she shook her head.

“It’s not going to explode. It might leak, but it’s water, so it’s not a problem. John, hurry up and tighten the joint.”

“Okay. Kevin, Michael, clean it up quickly! And everyone, hold the pipe!”

“Yes!”

With a loud shout, two men tightened the valve.

The rest of the people also came down and held the pipe firmly.

Yoo-hyun joined them.

He couldn’t leave Jeong Da-hye alone who was working hard.

Dududududu.

With a strong vibration, muddy water spewed out of the joint like a shower.

Chiiiik.

Yoo-hyun quickly turned his body to block it, but he couldn’t completely cover Jeong Da-hye’s face.

Like Yoo-hyun, she was covered with mud from head to face.

The others were the same, but they didn’t back off.

Was it about 20 seconds?

Squeeze.

The joint was completely tightened and the water leaking out decreased.

At that moment, everyone’s eyes turned to the booth.

They heard the voice of Craig, who they had been waiting for, through the speaker.

“The pipe pressure is back to normal! The next stage is possible!”

“Wow!”

The people exclaimed loudly.

They had saved millions of dollars in front of their eyes, so they were happy.

John Henley, who smiled broadly, held out his palm to Jeong Da-hye.

“Alice, it’s thanks to you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Clap.

With his high-five as the start, the employees flocked to Jeong Da-hye.

Whisper whisper.

“Alice! You’re the best.”

“I told you, Alice is the field doctor.”

“Come here, Alice. I’ll hug you.”

Jeong Da-hye appreciated their care, but she declined the excessive touch.

Yoo-hyun spread his arms and turned the fat man who was approaching.

Spin.

Then he pushed his back and shouted loudly.

“Do you all have time for this? We have to clean up quickly!”

“Of course we do. Come on, let’s move.”

At John Henley’s order, the people dispersed like a tide.

Only Yoo-hyun and Jeong Da-hye were left.

“Sigh…”

Jeong Da-hye sighed and sat down on the floor as if she had lost all her strength.

Clang.

She looked very refreshed after overcoming the difficult situation.

Yoo-hyun bowed his head and sat down in front of her.

He had a lot to say to her.

He wanted to ask her why she stepped in when she was not a company employee, why she took such a risk.

Then, she smiled innocently like a child.

Squeak.

Yoo-hyun’s heart melted away at that moment.

He remembered what she had said a while ago.

-If I stop here, the efforts of the people who sacrificed for me will be wasted. How can I give up first?

Her honesty was very cool, but he also thought she was too naive.

But he still wanted to help her unconditionally.

He was confident that he could handle whatever the outcome was.

But that was Yoo-hyun’s mistake.

He realized that he was not helping her.

She was helping him to go the right way, using everything she had accumulated.

Jingle jingle.

Yoo-hyun looked at Jeong Da-hye and said.

“I lost to you, Da-hye.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just that. We’re hungry, do you want to go eat?”

“Sure, but let’s wash up first. Your face is a mess, Yoo-hyun.”

Jeong Da-hye giggled.

Yoo-hyun was speechless.

“Do you think you’re any different, Da-hye?”

Swipe.

Yoo-hyun held out his phone and turned on the front camera.

When she saw her face, she was shocked.

“What… Eek! What is this! How long have I been like this?”

She was covered with mud from head to face.

Yoo-hyun sneaked up to her and put his face into the phone screen.

“Let’s take a picture. This is a memory too.”

“What kind of memory is this? I don’t want to keep this look.”

“We look good together like this.”

Yoo-hyun stuck his face to hers, and Jeong Da-hye pouted.

“You both look like beggars, what.”

“Beggar couple sounds good. Come on, V.”

“V.”

She followed Yoo-hyun and smiled, holding up two fingers.

Snap.

The camera captured an unforgettable memory.