After saying that, the officers got into the car and prepared to leave.

A villager stepped forward and stopped the police officer with a smile, asking, "Officer, I'd like to ask when the power will be restored here?"

The officer smiled and said, "Comrade, that's a question you should ask the power company! Our public security department isn't responsible for electricity!"

After saying that, the police car sped away with its siren blaring.

At this point, some of the villagers started asking questions.

"By the way, who's in charge of our area? We need to get the power company to fix it right away! I just called them and they're always busy. This won't do!"

“I know, it seems that Chen Guan from the neighborhood committee is in charge of our electricity! I have Chen Guan’s phone number!”

"Don't just stand there, call him right now! My child is about to get heatstroke!"

So everyone quickly called Chen Guan.

A short while later, a car drove up.

"Oh! It's Officer Chen! That's great! It seems he's already brought people from the power company over!"

Some sharp-eyed people spotted Chen Guan immediately and quickly surrounded him.

Chen Guan also lived nearby. He went to the city's power center to report the situation as soon as the power went out. This time, he returned with people from the power bureau.

Chen Guan raised his hand to calm everyone down and then said to the crowd, "Don't panic, everyone. The comrades from the power bureau have arrived, and I believe we will restore power soon! Don't panic."

Then the car door opened, and several people dressed in power company uniforms got out.

The group of people reeked of alcohol, clearly having just arrived after drinking.

Without saying anything, the crowd quickly led the power company personnel toward the transformer where the explosion had occurred, as if they were asking for a divine intervention.

Several people frowned upon seeing the transformer.

"Your transformer is severely burned out and cannot be repaired. We can only report it to our superiors for replacement!"

"How much will that cost?" Chen Guan asked, frowning. As an experienced electrician, he knew the price, but he had already treated everyone to dinner when he arrived and didn't want to spend any more money.

The electrician looked up at the blackened transformer without saying a word, then turned back to the car and retrieved his foot clamp.

Although he had drunk some alcohol, it did not affect his work efficiency at all. In the blink of an eye, the other party had already climbed up to the transformer.

I put on insulated gloves and gently wiped the nameplate on the transformer, then wrote it down in my notebook.

Chen Gong wanted to ask more, but the other person raised his hand to stop him, then took out his phone and made a call.

"Hello! It's me. The transformer at No. 3 in the new urban area has burned out. Do you have any 1000V transformers in stock? Oh, I see. What's the price? What? So expensive? Okay, okay! I understand!"

After saying that, the other end of the phone hung up.

"So? How much will it cost?" Officer Chen asked.

"The fires are very serious all over the country right now, and the transformers produced by the manufacturers are almost out of production. We can only order them now, but you'll have to pay for them yourself! It will cost about a million yuan!"

"What? More than a million? That's so expensive?" Chen Guan was somewhat taken aback.

"Yes, before the disaster, the price was only a few hundred thousand. You should know that as an electrician. But the situation is different now. Electricity consumption has increased, and the power output can't keep up. So it's fortunate that the manufacturers haven't reduced production! If you order now, it will take about a week to ship! Oh, by the way, the installation fee is fifty thousand!" The electrician said while putting away his tools.

This immediately caused an uproar among the villagers.

"This should be considered a civilian facility under the government! The higher-ups should be paying for it! How can we have to foot the bill ourselves?"

"That's right! They pay so much in taxes every year, so they shouldn't be making us pay out of pocket!"

A commotion broke out in the crowd. The electrician frowned and said, "Don't you all watch the news? The government has already used all the taxes collected to help with disaster relief and ensure people's livelihoods. Besides, the damage to your transformer is your responsibility, not something you should blame the higher-ups for. I hope you understand! You can discuss whether you want to replace it or not!"

After saying that, the electrician closed the car door and drove away.

People started arguing, and eventually someone pointed the finger at the owner of the yarn factory.

"It's him! If he hadn't been illegally using electricity at his factory, our transformer wouldn't have broken down! We should find him and make him pay for the damages!"

"That's right! It's all because these unscrupulous factory owners misused electricity! Why should we pay for it? We absolutely refuse!"

"Go find him! He's been running a textile factory for so many years, he must have money!"

The enraged crowd began searching for the bald boss, but he was nowhere to be found; he had obviously heard about the incident and fled long ago.

But people weren't going to let it go like that. After all, everyone still had to live. Without electricity, they couldn't even use their cell phones. So someone said they knew where he lived, and then people rushed to the yarn factory owner's house.

Looking at the chaotic crowd, Lu Yuan sighed.

"Sigh! It's finally starting!"

People rushed to the door of the yarn factory owner and began knocking desperately, but it was as if no one was inside; no matter how much they knocked, no one answered.

"Pry open the door! Gu Changshui is definitely home!"

Once someone started, others followed suit, and so the crowd found all sorts of crowbars and began to pry open the door. Before long, the iron gate was pried open, and the angry crowd surged inside.

When they saw Gu Changshui, who had packed his luggage and was trembling as he hid in the toilet, they started beating him.

Lu Yuan frowned as he watched the whole thing unfold, feeling a lingering fear at the villagers' violent methods.

This situation has already occurred just over a month after the apocalypse began; who knows what terrible things might happen next.

Finally, Gu Changshui collapsed in the bathroom with a broken leg. It's unclear who was fighting and whether they used a brick, but by sheer coincidence, the brick hit the other person on the back of the head, killing Gu Changshui instantly.

This seems to be a relief for him as well.

Everyone knew something bad had happened, but no one dared to step forward and admit it. Then a chubby man stepped forward and said, "Ahem! Everyone here saw it. Gu Changshui tried to escape the fine but was caught red-handed. While he was resisting, he accidentally knocked over a washbasin. Everyone here witnessed it. Let's call the police!"

Everyone nodded in agreement, offering their opinions.

Finally, the police arrived and frowned when they saw the messy footprints on the ground while collecting evidence. However, the scene had been completely destroyed, and there was no evidence at all. Therefore, the case could only be postponed for further investigation.