Chapter 23: Power and Water Outage
Zhang Yi knew exactly what would happen today, so he stayed up all night, eagerly waiting to watch the show unfold.
The event was quite simple.
The entire Yue Lu community suddenly lost power!
Shortly after, the water supply company couldn't function properly due to the cascading effects of the power outage.
The water supply system malfunctioned, cutting off water to every household.
All of this was within Zhang Yi’s expectations.
At the start of the apocalypse, no one could predict how long this extreme cold disaster would last.
The authorities were still struggling to address the snow disaster.However, as days passed, by the third day, they realized this wasn't something that could be resolved by human effort.
The extreme cold had caused major hydroelectric power plants to shut down, and thermal power plants also stopped functioning because staff couldn’t get to work.
Once the stored power in cities across the country ran out, power outages became inevitable.
At this point, only a few nuclear power plants were still operating.
However, the electricity they generated was reserved entirely for government use.
The power and water outage plunged the lives of ordinary people into darkness!
Zhang Yi had anticipated this. He had already started two silent generators to power his home.
After setting everything up, Zhang Yi checked his phone and saw that the chat groups were flooded with messages.
"Do you have power at home?"
"We lost power! And the water's out too. What is going on!?"
"We’re out of power and water too! It's freezing cold, the heaters are useless, and we can't use electric heaters. How are we supposed to live like this?"
"Why isn’t the government doing anything about this? If this continues, people will freeze to death."
Zhang Yi shook his head silently.
At this point, the government couldn’t take care of everyone.
To survive, people would have to rely on themselves.
He knew that the true apocalypse started today.
Without modern society’s electricity and food, humanity would face mass deaths.
Thinking about this, Zhang Yi glanced around his home with lingering fear.
Seeing his house, warm as spring and as secure as a fortress, and his interdimensional space filled with endless supplies, he felt a surge of warmth and security.
The chat group was filled with anxious complaints.
If it weren’t for advanced technology keeping phone batteries operational in the cold, they wouldn’t even be able to use their phones.
But without power, even phones would eventually become useless.
"How long will this snow last? The heaters don’t work, and it’s minus thirty degrees inside."
"If this continues, we’ll freeze to death!"
"The water's out too. Are we supposed to drink snow?"
"We don’t have much food left either. The snow has blocked the doors, and we can’t go to the supermarket. What are we supposed to do?"
People started tagging Aunt Lin.
"Aunt Lin, didn’t you say everything would be fine?"
"Yeah, I believed you and didn’t go out to buy supplies. What do we do now?"
"When will the government come to rescue us? Say something!"
Facing her neighbors' questions, Aunt Lin was filled with anxiety and fear.
She was even more terrified than her neighbors.
The owners didn’t know how the government would rescue them.
However, Aunt Lin, through the community committee, had already received some insider information.
"Right now, the entire world is experiencing heavy snow. They say it’s a once-in-a-hundred-thousand-year snowstorm. We might be facing another mass extinction, another apocalypse!"
"The authorities are trying their best, but with a population of over a billion, it’s impossible to take care of everyone."
"Major cities in the country have already fallen!"
"To survive, we must rely on ourselves. Stock up on supplies, especially food and heating fuel."
"I’ve already started collecting supplies from households under the guise of the community committee."
"But isn’t that harming others?"
"Harming others? If I don’t, we’ll freeze or starve to death within three days! I can’t worry about others right now!"
"This snow disaster will kill many. I must ensure my family and I survive first."
"Yes, while we still have some influence, let’s gather as many supplies as possible. Surviving is the most important thing right now!"
Aunt Lin stared intently at the messages in the community committee group, her whole body trembling violently.
Despite the indoor temperature being minus thirty degrees, cold sweat dripped from her forehead.
Lying in bed, wrapped in three thick blankets that nearly suffocated her, she didn’t dare uncover herself.
The room was like an ice cellar.
Her grandson, Hu, nestled under the blankets, asked, "Grandma, why is it so cold outside? When will Dad and Mom come back?"
Aunt Lin's heart sank as she looked at her grandson.
She had just spoken with her son and daughter-in-law today.
They were stuck in their rented apartment in another city, and their situation wasn’t much better.
"I must protect us both. We have to survive!"
Aunt Lin bit her lip hard, her eyes flashing with determination.
"Hu, don’t worry. Dad and Mom will be back soon."
After comforting her grandson, Aunt Lin picked up her phone and started speaking in the chat group.
"Everyone, this snowstorm is temporary. The weather is too cold, so power and water outages are not surprising."
"Rest assured, workers are already repairing the issues."
"The government has issued a notice that in these extraordinary times, our community committee will manage the neighborhood."
"We hope everyone will cooperate with us. If anyone doesn’t cooperate and causes serious consequences, we’ll ask the police to arrest and interrogate them later!"
Aunt Lin’s severe words sparked intense dissatisfaction among the owners.
They hadn’t expected the community committee to intimidate them instead of addressing their concerns.
But they were also scared and didn’t dare to oppose her openly.
Zhang Yi leisurely watched Aunt Lin’s messages on his phone, chuckling.
He knew Aunt Lin was lying. In his previous life, she had used such despicable tactics to swindle many supplies from others.
But he had no intention of exposing her lies.
After all, the fate of the other neighbors was irrelevant to him.
Zhang Yi turned on the TV and resumed his game.
Power and water outages?
That was no problem. His warehouse was stocked with a massive amount of backup batteries, generators, fuel, and solid alcohol.
As for water, he had stored 500 tons of tap water, not to mention tens of thousands of tons of bottled water and drinks in his warehouse.
And if necessary, he could melt snow for water.
In short, he lacked neither fresh water nor energy.