Invasion of the United States

"Sign it, or not?"

Fauci held a few thin copies of the "Pandemic Emergency Response Plan" in his hand, his brow furrowed deeply.

On the cover of the first plan were the words "Shortage of Medical Supplies and Equipment," a "welcome gift" from the Office of Emergency Management, like cold nails stabbing into his eyes.

The virus raged like an invisible specter, not only pushing countless healthcare workers to the brink of exhaustion but also devouring medical supplies and equipment at unprecedented speed.

Masks and protective suits, these ordinary consumables, now had demand tens or even hundreds of times the usual.

Meanwhile, ventilators, "artificial lungs," dialysis machines, and other expensive equipment were in urgent need.

The most critical shortage right now was "artificial lungs." When patients lost their ability to breathe, it could replace the failing heart and lungs, buying the immune system precious time to recover.

However, the "artificial lung" was not only expensive but also had a long production cycle, and during peacetime, few hospitals would stockpile them in large quantities.

Once faced with a large-scale respiratory infectious disease, its demand would explode like a breached dam.

At this moment, the number of "artificial lungs" in Washington D.C. was already stretched thin, with hospitals like ants on a hot pan, searching everywhere for spare equipment.

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Fauci glanced at Oliver Harden, who was lounging nearby, with irrepressible anger growing in his heart, his teeth gritting in hatred.

Today was the routine meeting of the "Ministry of Health," also the first meeting since Fauci took office.

The heads of various departments and major hospitals were either present in person or waiting online.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the newly appointed chairman, hoping he could solve the problem.

But the first dilemma put Fauci on the hot seat—how to alleviate the extreme shortage of medical supplies and equipment in a short period?

The report presented three seemingly feasible plans.

The first was to use the supplies reserved by the "Ministry of Health" for emergencies—Fauci immediately dismissed it in his mind.

Since the outbreak has been half a month, if the reserves were sufficient, they would have been deployed. The issue now was the shortage!

Fauci came to the "Ministry of Health" supposedly to 'cover up' for the old bureaucrats. But as an old bureaucrat himself, he could smell the oddity behind the shortage. Please read this chapter on its original platform—M|V|L1EMPYR.

The inventory in the "Ministry of Health" was likely secretly swapped or simply empty.

Take the most ordinary masks, for example; they have a shelf life and must be discarded once expired.

Without a large-scale epidemic, the "Ministry of Health's" inventory was usually just routine checks, rarely truly utilized.

The outbreak of an epidemic is a rare event, with a probability lower than winning the lottery—someone can win the lottery periodically, but an epidemic might not occur for decades.

This cognitive bias inevitably breeds various unexpected problems.

On the report, Oliver Harden proposed a thorough investigation of the "Ministry of Health's" hundreds of warehouses nationwide, to inventory all supplies, and then centrally allocate them for use.

Seeing this line, Fauci's temples throbbed, wishing his eyes could shoot two beams of cold light to pierce "Harden" across the way—Check the inventory? What if problems are found?

One could even say that problems would definitely be found.

As for "central allocation," it was unthinkable to Fauci—With the virus spreading across the United States, each federal state would rather watch others die than send out their own stock.

Those selfish guys would be lucky not to go out looting.

"Damn Harden, how can he suggest such a lousy idea?" Fauci felt that "Oliver Harden" was not professional at all and wished he could kick this guy out of the "Ministry of Health" as soon as possible.

So, checking inventory was impossible, only the second strategy remained—borrow from the military?!

Upon seeing this, Fauci was so angry he could almost see steam rising from his head—Is this a suggestion a normal person would make?

Drag the Pentagon into this, believe it or not, the military generals would directly refuse under the pretext of "national security"!

The report also suggested—hope to pressure the Pentagon through the "White House"? If the "White House" had that ability, the Department of Defense wouldn't have failed financial audits for seven consecutive years.

The military was even more secretive than the "Ministry of Health"; the more of a "one voice" it is, the more likely it's shrouded in mysteries. The Pentagon probably doesn't even know what's in its own warehouses?

This was not a topic to be touched.

With both the best and medium plans unusable, only the last resort was left—to spend money on procurements, spend a lot of money for quick procurement, spend an exorbitant amount to purchase from "Dongda" and airlift them here quickly.

People exchanges between China and the United States had stopped, but trade shipments were still busy. With the pandemic emergency, obviously, no one could wait for a month of sea transport, only air freight was viable.

Sigh... Fauci sighed deeply, looking at the hospital representatives desperately in need of supplies, and signed his name on the procurement report.

This signature was for contracts worth several billion to tens of billions of US Dollars. Just when everyone sighed in relief, "Harden" beside him sarcastically remarked, "We should be thankful.

That the industrial system of 'Dongda' wasn't crippled by the virus, with sufficient production capacity and willingness to sell things to us, otherwise we'd be in big trouble."

Both online and offline, everyone's faces turned extremely unsightly in an instant.

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Zhou Qingfeng felt quite satisfied as he spoke sarcastically.

The annual budget of the "Ministry of Health" in the United States was enormous, one of the highest expenditures in the Federal Government, roughly around 1.8 trillion US Dollars.