Crisis Management Game

After Gu Ji made a long detour and arrived at the western suburbs of London, it was already nine o'clock in the morning.

But instead of the sun being seen, the fog became thicker and thicker, as heavy as thick lead, as if plunging the entire city into chaos and haziness.

He gripped the steering wheel tightly, the engine made a silent "thump thump" sound, and he struggled forward in the thick gray fog.

"arrive!"

At this time, Paul in the back seat pointed to the small town on the roadside outside the window.

It turned out that the company they were talking about was just a detached house rented in a small town in the western suburbs of London.

That's right.

In a place like London where every inch of land is valuable, the rent for a decent factory is not cheap.

Gu Ji drove the car into the yard.

The first thing I saw was the company nameplate hanging on the big iron gate: Volut!

"Bakken, this is your company?"

"That's right."

"Volut... Why did you choose this name? What's the meaning?"

Gu Ji narrowed his eyes slightly and asked one of the most curious questions he had ever asked.

Baken pursed his lips and the muscles on his face twitched slightly.

“The name comes from a Latin word that means spiral, evolution and development. I hope my company can keep improving just like the meaning of this root word!”

"So that's how it is..."

Gu Ji pretended to be thoughtful, but in fact he had been carefully observing Baken's expression.

Somehow, he always felt that when this guy explained the meaning of the word "Volut", there seemed to be a hint of complexity in his eyes.

In the yard, several workers wearing dirty gray overalls were carrying mechanical equipment and cables to the warehouse next door.

When he saw Bakken, he immediately greeted him.

"This is a friend I met this morning. Can you help him fix the front of the car?"

Baken enthusiastically introduced Gu Ji to the company's employees.

Gu Ji was also secretly looking at the prototype of this future medical giant company.

In order to save costs as much as possible.

Buchan chose to convert the house into a mixed use of business and residence.

As you enter the foyer, you will see a shabby wooden reception desk piled with dusty documents and several old phone books. The living room next to it is the office area.

The walls are covered with schematic diagrams of the medical equipment they developed and produced.

Gu Ji took off his gas mask and took a quick look.

There are modified electrocardiographs, anesthesia machines, and even brain wave scanners.

It has to be said that it is truly amazing that Bakken and his team were able to develop these high-tech medical devices under such simple conditions.

"These are all our company's products. Unfortunately, except for the anesthesia machine, we haven't sold even one electrocardiogram machine or brain wave scanner..."

Bakken looked at the introductory picture hanging on the wall.

Just like looking at his own children, his eyes are filled with relief, yet also with worry about their future.

"Don't worry, as the medical industry's technology develops, the equipment you develop will sell better and better!"

"I hope so!"

Baken smiled and put his arm around Gu Ji's shoulder. "Come on, I'll take you to see my factory!"

Gu Ji was worried that he couldn't find an excuse to observe closely.

So he followed Bakken to the production workshop.

It is called a factory, but it is actually just a large warehouse.

The workshop was dim and simple, filled with a pungent smell of engine oil and metallic odor mixed with the damp smell of fog. Some old production equipment could be seen placed on both sides. Most of those machines were huge in size, with metal parts covered with oil and rust, making a low "buzzing" sound.

Gu Ji took a quick look and found no system prompts.

Although he did not understand the development of medical technology, in the 1950s, science and technology were in a period of explosive growth. Even looking around the world, brain wave instruments were extremely new things.

"Oh? What research institute?"

The two walked around the warehouse.

Unexpectedly, Paul, who was busy at work, suddenly turned back and reported the good news to Baken with excitement on his face.

"It's the one in the south of the city. You said it looked spooky..."

"Is that it?"

Bakken raised an eyebrow and pondered for a moment: "We must seize this opportunity! So, you take the equipment manual and contract immediately, and we will pay another visit and try to win this order!"

"Okay, boss!"

Wait for Paul to turn and leave.

Baken began to arrange for Gu Ji again: "I have arranged for workers to repair your boss's car. I have an important work to discuss here, so I will not entertain you for now!"

"It's okay, work is important."

Gu Ji looked at the enthusiastic and kind Baken in front of him, his eyelids twitched slightly, and he added: "The smog outside is very serious now. I suggest you wear a mask or a dust mask!"

"Got it, thank you!"

Wait until the person leaves.

Gu Ji began to walk around the company again. Except for some sensitive and private places that he could not go to, he looked at almost all the rest and found nothing unusual.

"Volut became famous when Bakken went to the United States in 1955 and invented a portable pacemaker. He was only 31 years old at that time. Could it be that... now is not the right time?"

But anyway.

Gu Ji never expected that he would come into contact with the founder of Volut in such an unexpected and simple way.

As long as he was within the checkpoint, he would have no shortage of opportunities to extract information from Bakken.

Mention "levels".

Gu Jicai remembered that in addition to Volut, he also had to consider how to solve the fog crisis.

Don’t think that it’s easy for the system to let him survive for these 8 hours.

But Gu Ji now has to make early plans for the next mission target.

So he temporarily put the vehicle in the warehouse.

He carried his equipment backpack and a huge sum of 10 pounds and headed to the town's train station.

In 1952, public transportation in London was already very developed, with not only buses and taxis, but also subways and trains.

It only costs 8 pence for Gu Ji to travel from a small town in the suburbs to the city center of London train station.

The train station was crowded with people and he was pushed into the train by the crowd.

Inside the carriage, the smell of old leather and wood mixed with cheap cigarettes hit me. The train seats of this era still had dark wooden frames covered with badly worn leather cushions.

There was a thick layer of mist on the car windows, and I could only vaguely see the blurry scene outside.

Maybe it was because of the heavy fog.

Many citizens who originally chose to pull horse-drawn carriages or ride bicycles now choose to travel by train, apparently thinking it is safer, so the trains are packed with people.

Little did they know.

In such foggy weather, trains are even more dangerous than private cars.

Without light signals and vision, if the train dispatcher makes a coordination error, two adjacent trains may easily collide when stopping at the station, and more than one or two people may die!

The reason why Gu Ji chose to take the risk and take the train.

This is mainly due to the fact that later generations did not see any train collision accidents in the records of this fog incident.

The train started slowly, and the friction between the wheels and the rails made a "clang clang" sound, which was particularly clear in the silent fog.

It takes about 30 minutes to get from this small town in the western suburbs to central London.

Throughout the journey, the passengers in the train kept coughing.

Especially the elderly and children.

Their respiratory systems are inherently more fragile than those of young and middle-aged people, so they are naturally more damaged in this smog filled with harmful substances.

Gu Jitou's appearance wearing an S10 gas mask has also been criticized by many people.

"The key issue now is to shut down all factories as much as possible to reduce polluting gas emissions..."

He had already started planning a solution in his mind.

But we found that it is very difficult to implement it.

Because it is December and it is winter in London.

Every household needs to use coal stoves for heating, and the waste gas emitted here accounts for a considerable proportion.

But Gu Ji can’t force citizens not to burn stoves, right?

The power of freezing weather to kill people is no less than that of smog to suffocate people!

"Forget it, let's contact the government first!"

If Gu Ji went to 10 Downing Street to see the British Prime Minister as "Henk", an ordinary London driver, he would probably be held down by bodyguards and sent to the police station.

So, this was the only solution he could think of.

Just go to Parliament Square in London.

Parliament Square is the seat of British legislation, where citizens often gather to strike, protest and petition to put pressure on the British Parliament and force it to make changes to its proposals.

He didn't believe that with such heavy smog, there would be no Londoner who was unaware of the harm.

As long as you can find like-minded people there, everything will be easy to solve.

It's nothing more than making a big deal out of it and attracting the government's attention.

So, after leaving London Railway Station, Gu Ji went straight to Parliament Square.

It is located on the north bank of the Thames. As a landmark square in London, it is surrounded by various British historical buildings, including Big Ben, Westminster Palace, the Houses of Parliament and the Cathedral.

Gu Ji came nearby.

The usually solemn and dignified Capitol Square has been transformed into a gloomy maze under the cover of smog. The thick smog is like an airtight grey blanket, pressing tightly over the square and blocking out the sky without a single ray of light.

The Big Ben, which originally towered into the sky, only showed a vague outline in the haze.

Gu Ji walked through the Sculpture Square and arrived at the entrance of the Capitol.

The guards holding rifles in front of the door are still holding their posts, while many London citizens are kneeling near the door of the building, holding high signs with various slogans in their hands.

Things like "Reject the toxic smog surrounding the city, defend the right to breathe", "Don't let smog become a daily routine in London", "Pollution control is urgent" and so on...

See them.

Gu Ji knew that he had come to the right place.

“Who among you is the organizer here?”

"I am. What's wrong?"

In the crowd, a woman with brown bun and a white mask put down the sign and looked at the gas mask on Gu Ji's face suspiciously.

"My name is Henk, and I want to join you in solving this smog crisis!"

"Henk? I'm Beth, welcome to join us!"

This kind of spontaneous protest group does not have so many rules at all. The more people come, the better it is for them.

So Beth agreed without any hesitation.

Looking at the protest sign she handed over, Gu Ji raised his hand to refuse:

"Ms. Beth, we can't solve the problem at all like this. Before the smog gets worse, we need to find someone to order the factory to stop production and prohibit the continued emission of exhaust gas!"

"Of course I know what you're saying, but the city hall is not listening to our advice at all."

Beth lowered her head, looking frustrated.

She is a geography teacher at a London middle school and has a lovely daughter, but her daughter was hospitalized because of the smog.

That's why she began to pay attention to the air environment.

Relying on her knowledge of geography, Beth noticed that the weather in London in recent days was a little unusual, so she found her friends who worked at the City Hall to remind them to prepare as soon as possible.

It’s a pity that the London City Government does not take this seriously at all.

She had no choice but to come to the Parliament Square to protest with some like-minded people, hoping to attract the attention of members of Parliament or the Prime Minister.

"You mean you know someone at City Hall?"

Gu Ji immediately grasped the key point.

Beth nodded.

"Yes, but she is just an ordinary secretary and has no influence at all..."

"Just one person is enough. I'll give you some information. As long as you can find a way to get your friend to hand it over to the head of the public health department, you'll succeed!"

Before Beth could finish her words, Gu Ji took out a notebook from his arms.

This was one of Henk's belongings.

The above is a detailed record of the entire process of the London smog incident in 1952 written by Gu Ji while he was on the train.

certainly.

In the eyes of today's Londoners, it should be regarded as an inference and analysis of the future environment.

"A hot air cyclone, pressing down on cold air, zero wind speed, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide..."

The more Beth looked, the more surprised she became.

As a geography teacher, she certainly knew what the report's description of the climate meant.

It is now equivalent to having a hot bowl placed over the sky above the city of London, causing cold air to gather underneath. All the exhaust gases emitted by factories and residents' combustion will sink with the cold air and accumulate on the ground, layer by layer, eventually burying everyone.

Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide can make the air acidic and even form acid rain. Once inhaled into the lungs, they can cause irreversible and serious damage to the human respiratory tract.

"If what you said is true, then this smog will..."

"That's right! This will be a natural disaster crisis of smog unprecedented in human history. Hundreds of thousands of citizens in London will be harmed or even die as a result!!" (End of this chapter)