Chapter 1814: Diverting to Norilsk
Xiao Peng had originally wanted to go to Dudinka, but now his destination had become Norilsk, a city located east of Dudinka, approximately 400 kilometers away. People in the Taimyr Autonomous Region generally live in either Dudinka or Norilsk. These are the only two cities in such a large autonomous region. The rest, if inhabited, are small towns.
Xiao Peng originally didn't want to come to Norilsk.
This city... ahem, it's a bit bullshit.
First, the climate here is incredibly harsh, with an average annual temperature of -10°C (-11°F), and winter lows reaching around -50°C (-19°F). Furthermore, there are polar storms, and residents here essentially live with blizzards. Annual snowfall elsewhere is measured in centimeters, but here it's measured in meters. It's common to wake up to find your house buried in snow. In winter, those living on a low floor can barely see the outside.
As for the wind there, there is no need to mention it. There are strong winds all year round. There are more than 130 days of snowstorms every winter. In 2016, the scene of a Boeing 737 weighing hundreds of tons being blown around by the wind at the local airport shocked all non-locals who saw the news - they, the locals, are used to it.
I swear to God, although Xiao Peng has not been to Dudinka, Norilsk is the most city-like city Xiao Peng has ever seen in Siberia.
What does this mean? It's that there are so many tall buildings here, and they're so close together, it feels like every inch of land is valuable in the city. This isn't really because of land shortages, but rather to reduce the distance between buildings and prevent strong winds from blowing through residential areas.
The name that Terekin and his friends called Xiao Peng was very interesting, which was "outsider" - because this place was so remote that people here called outsiders "outsider".
Why do so many people still live in such a terrible place?
Because this is the home of Norilsk Nickel, Russia's nickel mining giant, producing 80% of Russia's nickel and palladium. It's also arguably the world's largest copper, nickel, and palladium deposits, and nearly half of the planet's palladium reserves. This one place contributes 2% of Russia's GDP!
This is basically a city that belongs to this company. 60% of the people in this city work for this company. How many people are there? There are 180,000 permanent residents here!
Xiao Peng just came from the Yamalonets Autonomous Okrug. A city there with a population of 50,000 is considered a big city.
Norilsk Nickel is fully qualified to employ so many workers: 17% of the world's nickel and 41% of palladium are produced here.
Compared to other places in Russian Siberia, there are relatively high salaries and stable job contracts here, 90 days of statutory holidays in 365 days a year, and workers can retire and receive pensions when they reach 45. This is why enough workers are attracted to live here.
But don't think this is a good thing.
Norilsk is one of the most polluted cities in the world.
Norilsk has three industrial complexes, each of which releases over two million tons of gases into the atmosphere annually, including sulfur dioxide. Acid rain and black snow are commonplace here. The over 100,000 hectares of tundra surrounding the city are essentially a dead zone, their soil rich in harmful heavy metals. By law, picking and eating mushrooms and berries is prohibited within a 30-kilometer radius of Norilsk! Want to see some greenery in the summer? Drive 30 kilometers from the city!
Moreover, these three factory areas are opposite to each other, and no matter which direction the wind blows, smoke will be sent into the urban area. Basically, there is smog here every day.
This is why Xiao Peng doesn't want to come here.
"Damn it!" When Xiao Peng flew here, it had already started snowing. According to the weather conditions here, the snow would definitely get heavier!
"Telekin, where should I land the plane? We need to find a place to land!" Xiao Peng tilted his head to look for a place where the plane could land, but he... really couldn't find it!
The Terekins lived in a residential area in the southwest of the city, and Xiao Peng couldn't find a place to land in the sky: the entire ground was covered with snow—a heavy snowfall had just occurred a few days ago, a two-month's worth of snow falling in five days. Four hundred thousand tons of snow had been cleared from the city, but to no avail.
He contacted the airport, but it was out of use and covered with snow, making it impossible to land there. Although it was only a little after two in the afternoon, the sky was already getting dark. In about an hour, it would be pitch dark here. Landing would become even more difficult if he didn't: Although vision was not a problem for Xiao Peng, there was a high possibility of bad weather at night, which would be even more troublesome.
After seeing this, Terekhin thought for a moment, pointed, and said, "Xiao, if that doesn't work, land the plane on a tributary of the Bezimini River. It's about three kilometers from our home, and we'll go back from there! There shouldn't be much snow in the woods over there. But we need to find a way to light it, otherwise it will be too difficult to land!"
Xiao Peng followed the direction he pointed and asked, "Are you talking about that red road?"
"That's not a road! That's a river!" Terekin said. "It's polluted, that's why it's like this! In the summer when it thaws, the entire river turns blood red. Even though it's frozen with snow in the winter, as you can see, it still retains its red color!"
Xiao Peng whistled: What kind of pollution is this going to cause!
Terekin said, "The Norilsk municipal government is dominated by top business executives, so pollution leaks are never news, and no substantial penalties have ever been imposed. Last year, 20,000 tons of diesel fuel leaked here, the largest in Arctic history. And what happened? The local governor and the thermal power plant deliberately concealed the incident, and the Emperor only learned of the emergency two days afterward through social media. This infuriated the Emperor. Although national forces were mobilized to deal with the incident, we'll probably all be drinking diesel-smelling water within ten years. Xiao, for those of you from the outer continent, I still suggest that you avoid drinking the water here. Drink bottled water if you want to."
Xiao Peng coughed dryly after hearing this and said, "You've scared me. I've decided to leave here and head to Dudinka as soon as I get you off the plane."
"That won't do!" Terekin said. "You saved our lives and you don't give us a chance to repay you? And do you have enough gas to fly to Dudinka again? There's a gas station right next to my house!"
Xiao Peng looked at the fuel gauge and was silent for a moment. He really wanted to do as he said. Okay, let's go to this ghost town and take a look.
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