Only ten people remained on duty at the Lu'an City weather station's operations center.
Zhang Wuke filled two cups at the coffee machine to one side, carried them to the computer desk, and sat down. Beside him, Yuan Yujian adjusted the page, casually picked up a cup of coffee, and took a sip. He fished a cigarette out of his pocket and offered it to Zhang Wuke, who hurriedly declined.
"Smoking isn't allowed in the weather station."
"Who gives a damn? The higher-ups don't come down to inspect twice in a whole year. The ten of us adjust and revise the weather reports every day. Even if we haven't earned any credit, we've at least put in the hard work. Don't shortchange yourself," Yuan Yujian grumbled.
Just as the two were leisurely warming themselves with coffee, a red dot suddenly appeared on the large screen displaying the urban area's temperature. Then a shrill alarm rang through the meteorological bureau.
Yuan Yujian and Zhang Wuke sprang to their feet and asked the other staff members rushing over, "What's going on? What happened?"
"Reporting! We've suddenly detected a sharp drop in temperature in a localized area. It may also be accompanied by a blizzard," a staff member said.
"How could the temperature suddenly drop? Pinpoint the source of the cold!" Zhang Wuke shouted.
"Reporting!" the staff member cried in terror. "We can't pinpoint the source!"
Zhang Wuke grabbed him by the collar and shouted angrily, "What the hell is your technical team doing?! How can you not even detect the source of the cold?!"
"Enough, Zhang." Yuan Yujian's expression was grave as he pointed at the red dot on the map. "It's not his fault. Something's wrong with this source. In just this short time, it's already moved almost a kilometer northeast."