Bab 17: Panic, disputes and crises emerge simultaneously
Time quietly slipped to four o'clock in the afternoon. Huahai City seemed to be dragged into the abyss of an ice cellar by an invisible giant hand. The temperature dropped sharply like a free fall to minus 40 °C. The fierce wind was raging through the city like a runaway prehistoric beast, emitting a terrifying roar. Many shop signs were torn off by the strong wind like fragile pieces of paper and were whirled up into the air, flying wantonly in the gloomy sky. Above the sky, large snowflakes were falling in a deluge, interweaving with all kinds of debris blown apart by the strong wind, forming a chaotic and terrifying picture, circling and colliding back and forth in the air.
The whole Huahai City was plunged into a deathly silence. The once bustling and lively streets were now deserted. Looking around, the world was covered by a monotonous and icy white. Ruby.Lee stood by the window. Everywhere his eyes could reach was a vast expanse of white. The endless snowfield was like a surging white wave, mercilessly submerging all the streets. Even the vehicles that usually sped on the roads were deeply buried, with only a few outlines showing, like the remains of behemoths forgotten by time. The power transmission lines were quickly wrapped in a thick layer of ice in this extreme cold and couldn't bear the heavy load. They began to break down frequently, and some areas had already fallen into darkness. The shadow of a power outage was approaching like the footsteps of death. In such harsh weather, a power outage was equivalent to a death sentence. The cold would follow closely and gradually devour the heat of life.
At the same time, the energy supply also began to falter and encountered serious problems under the impact of this extreme cold. This kind of extreme cold made everyone tremble with fear, especially the residents in the south. They usually didn't have many clothes that could withstand such severe cold. At this moment, people could only rummage through their homes in a panic to find the thickest and warmest clothes and put them on layer by layer, as if one more layer of clothing could mean one more chance of survival. However, even so, the cold still pierced like needles, and people were still shivering in the cold. Helplessly, they could only curl up in bed like frightened snails and tightly wrap themselves in several layers of heavy quilts, trying to find a glimmer of comfort from that meager warmth.
Overnight, all the air conditioners that were originally used for cooling were switched to heating mode urgently and were running at full power, emitting a buzzing sound, as if they were in a desperate struggle against this cold world. Fortunately, Huahai City, as the largest city in the country, had relatively complete infrastructure. The power supply system was still barely functioning at this moment. Relying on the faint warmth released by the air conditioners, everyone could temporarily survive in this ice and snow world. But this was only a brief calm before the storm. This situation could only last for one day at most. Because most of Huahai City's electricity was transmitted from the northwest, and at this moment, the situation in the northwest was even more tragic. The lowest temperature had already dropped sharply to around minus 70 °C. The entire power transmission system in the northwest had already broken down. Like dominoes, a power outage in Huahai City was only a matter of time.
As the temperature continued to drop mercilessly, people all over the world finally woke up from their initial surprise and confusion. Panic spread like a tidal wave. Ruby.Lee's phone was like a disturbed beehive. The message notification sounds rang continuously. They were messages from various groups he had joined before, such as the community owners' group, the food delivery group, the classmates' group. Since Ruby.Lee used to work as a security guard in Huahai Yudi, the owners often asked the security team to help with various trifles. The property management simply pulled all the members of the security team into the owners' group. Now, this owners' group was in a complete mess.
"Guys, when will this snow stop? We're all trapped at home and can't get out. We still have to go to work tomorrow..."
"Alas, like the one upstairs, I was already deducted three days' salary for not going to work today. If I don't go tomorrow, this month will be completely ruined. Looking at this situation, I don't know when it will return to normal."
"I can't go to work and can't pay the mortgage in a few days. Why am I so unlucky..."
Under this apocalyptic disaster, office workers and mortgage slaves were still worried about their livelihoods tomorrow. They seemed to be tightly bound by the ropes of fate, afraid of losing their sources of income due to absenteeism. In Huahai Yudi Community, many owners bought their houses through loans. The mortgage for one month almost squeezed the salaries of both husband and wife dry. The pressure of life was like a heavy boulder, weighing them down.
"In this kind of weather, cows will instinctively go back to the cowshed to take shelter, and horses will run back to the stable to seek protection. Only you so-called 'office workers and mortgage slaves' will be desperate to go to work regardless of the fierce storm and heavy snow..."
"Haha, fortunately, I don't have to go to work, and I bought my house in full. There is no loan pressure. It's just that there is not much food reserve at home, and now I don't dare to go out to buy something."
"I've always said, you outsiders, why did you come to Huahai so desperately? You drove up the housing prices in Huahai so high and took away so many job opportunities from us. Now you're getting your comeuppance. Who forced you to buy a house in Huahai City!"
There were also some discordant voices in the group. Some people's pent-up grievances found an outlet in this chaotic moment. When they saw those vulnerable groups, they couldn't wait to jump out and taunt them with sarcastic words, pouring out all their grievances on the outsiders. However, such remarks were like throwing a huge rock into a calm lake, instantly causing a thousand waves and arousing public anger. Because 80% of the owners in Huahai Yudi Community were from other places, and only a very few were local residents of Huahai. In an instant, the group was like a powder keg that had been lit. All kinds of 60-second-long voice messages came like a rainstorm. The swear words that were usually hard to utter were now used casually like punctuation marks, such as "fucking horse", "Geneva", "your father and mother are so cute". Ruby.Lee's phone was also on the verge of crashing under this torrential flow of information.
Gradually, those discordant voices became weak and feeble under the condemnation of the crowd. Obviously, they couldn't resist this wave of anger. Slowly, the group was once again shrouded in concerns about the future. Although a few people tried to stand up and boost everyone's morale, they were quickly drowned out by the endless pessimism, like a few twinkling stars disappearing into the pitch-black night sky.
Of course, in this chaos, some people also keenly captured business opportunities
"Property Manager An Tao: Dear owners, please don't panic and don't create rumors. If anyone spreads rumors, once verified, we will report it immediately. As your property manager, we have the responsibility and obligation to help you get through this difficult time."
"I have asked a friend to bring a batch of fruits and vegetables from Huahai Cai Lanzi Base. Since these things belong to others and we are just providing a channel, the price may be a little higher. But thanks to our strong efforts, the other party has made concessions."
"Now we have packed the supplies. A vegetable package costs 1,000 yuan, and a fruit package costs 1,500 yuan. If you need them, you can sign up in the group. The property management will arrange delivery uniformly. Thank you."
This property manager, An Tao, used to be a notorious gang leader. Later, he was imprisoned for committing a crime. After being released from prison, because of his tough style and quick mind, he was recruited by a property management company and hired as the property manager of Huahai Yudi Community. Since An Tao came to the community, the owners here rarely made trouble again. Moreover, as a local resident of Huahai City, An Tao knew many local gangsters, which made the local residents in the community dare not easily oppose him. In just one year, An Tao managed Huahai Yudi Community in an orderly manner. The property fees were usually paid off by the owners before the due date. An Tao's management strategy was actually very simple. He first curried favor with a small number of the most troublesome owners in the community, giving them various conveniences and benefits. Then he mercilessly dealt with a few troublemakers. The remaining majority of owners were just a loose sand. Under his combination of kindness and severity, they could only behave obediently.
Ruby.Lee looked at the message from the property manager on his phone and curled the corners of his mouth slightly, showing a sneer. He knew very well that this An Tao didn't know anyone from the Cai Lanzi Base at all and couldn't possibly bring fruits and vegetables from there. The so-called fruit and vegetable packages he mentioned were just the supplies that the property management usually purchased for its employees, and they were not of high quality either. They were all the cheapest things picked from the vegetable market. Now, the employees of the property management had already been given a holiday and sent home at noon. Only some people living in the property dormitory and a few of An Tao's loyal lackeys, such as his brother-in-law, Security Captain Wang Jian, were left. Then An Tao instructed Wang Jian to pack all the food in the warehouse in batches, preparing to make a fortune. In his previous life, Ruby.Lee had been dragged by Wang Jian to do the hard work of packing and delivering. He knew how deceptive those so-called high-priced vegetable and fruit packages were. In a 1,000-yuan vegetable package, there were only two withered and sprouting potatoes, a cabbage that looked lifeless after having many layers of leaves removed, and three soft tomatoes that would burst with juice when squeezed. The 1,500-yuan fruit package was not much better. There were only four shriveled oranges, four apples with scars, and four black-skinned, soft and droopy bananas.
However, all of this had nothing to do with Ruby.Lee now. He was wearing a very light and warm cold-proof suit and could move freely as if he was not affected by the severe cold at all. He casually took out a fragrant lamb chop from his space and ate it with great relish, enjoying this moment of peace and satisfaction. Little Black was snuggling up to Ruby.Lee's arms, sleeping soundly. Its breathing was even and steady. It seemed that in this cold world, as long as Ruby.Lee was by its side, there was nothing to worry about.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone