Chapter 91 After the Game Disappeared 2
"The vending machine is empty again! Someone come quick!" Nearby, customers started to stir again.
Helpless, Song Qiao had no choice but to take Yun Xin and Huang Xinfang back to the warehouse.
The three of them did nothing but move drinks all afternoon.
Huang Xinfang suspected that the long lines in front of the vending machines meant that customers were not there to swim, but to buy drinks.
This directly led to Huang Xinfang chugging sports drinks whenever she finally had some free time.
After gulping down a large amount of water, she finally recovered and stared blankly at the ceiling. "I applied for a job as a paramedic, not a stock clerk or a porter..."
The job description given before joining the company was completely unrelated to the actual work performed after joining; it was practically fraud.
Song Qiao comforted them, "It's been hot these past few days, and with the electricity restrictions, we can't run the air conditioning all day. Everyone's bound to be tired and thirsty. Once the power grid is repaired in a few days, everything will return to normal."
Huang Xinfang was not comforted at all; instead, she was reminded, "By the way, when you get home tonight, there will still be electricity all night."
Thinking of this, she grabbed her hair in anguish. "I've been through a lot of accidents, and I've seen my share of big events, but this is the first time I've ever experienced a power outage in the middle of summer. How are we going to survive until the power grid is restored?"
Song Qiao remained silent.
As far back as she can remember, she has always been able to have unlimited access to electricity as long as she was willing to pay the bill. She has never experienced having money but no electricity, and she doesn't know how to deal with it.
Yun Xin came over with a few popsicles and handed them out. "Have a popsicle to calm down?"
Huang Xinfang smiled sheepishly and said softly, "I'm sorry... I tend to talk too much when I'm nervous."
"When faced with a problem you've never encountered before, who wouldn't be completely clueless and panicked?" Song Qiao didn't care. She took the popsicle, tore open the wrapper, and took a bite.
"You guys have worries too?" Huang Xinfang asked in surprise. She knew perfectly well that out of the three of them, she was the only one who kept nagging. She didn't want to, but she couldn't help it.
“I’m thinking of a solution,” Song Qiao said.
Yun Xin said, "I was buying popsicles when I overheard a conversation between customers on the way, and it seems like it could be helpful. Some people are planning to buy wooden tubs to soak in cold water at home to cool down. Others are planning to store ice in a cellar to get through the summer first."
Huang Xinfang was slightly taken aback. "Ice stored in a cellar?"
“In ancient times, there was no electricity, and ice from winter could be stored for use in summer. With modern technology so advanced, there’s no reason why it can’t be done,” Yun Xin said.
At that moment, Huang Xinfang seemed to have received some inspiration and started thinking quickly.
At the same time, Song Qiao frowned and said, "When you mentioned storing ice, it reminded me of a refrigerator. If the electricity is only at a fixed time each day, wouldn't the refrigerator's preservation function be..."
When I first received the notification, I was so focused on not being able to turn on the air conditioner that I didn't even think about the refrigerator. It wasn't until just now that I started to worry about the food stored in the freezer.
Yun Xin nodded. "Some people are already saying that the food in the refrigerator has gone sour and smelly and can't be eaten."
Song Qiao's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly realized that the situation was more serious than she had imagined.
In the evening, Song Qiao dragged her tired body home after a busy day. As soon as she opened the door, a sour, rotten smell hit her nose.
Song Qiao held her breath and subconsciously fumbled for the light switch in the dark, but nothing happened after pressing it for a long time.
She then remembered that the area where she lived only had electricity from 10 p.m. to midnight.
I took out my phone, switched it to "flashlight" mode, opened the refrigerator, and quickly disposed of the smelly food. The refrigerator, which was about 70% full, was instantly empty.
Song Qiao went downstairs that night and threw the tidied-up items into the trash can.
When I got home, it was almost nine o'clock.
My phone has 43% battery and I can't charge it.
The water heater needs to be plugged in to work, so I can't take a hot shower.
Even the kettle we use regularly is electric!
Without electricity, nothing can be done.
Song Qiao took a deep breath, calmed herself down, and rummaged through drawers and cabinets to find a stainless steel gas kettle. She washed it inside and out three times, filled it halfway with water, placed it on the stove, and then started boiling the water.
Once the water boils, pour it into a clear kettle and let it cool naturally.
Next, Song Qiao turned on the cold water and challenged herself to take a cold shower.
Before long, Song Qiao discovered that hot water was indeed more effective at removing dirt. Taking a cold shower was not only uncomfortable, but it also didn't feel as clean!
After dawdling for a while, Song Qiao got dressed, her hair still wet, and sat down in a chair, devastated, waiting for the call to come back.
After an unknown amount of time, the ceiling light suddenly turned on. It was like a signal, abruptly transitioning from a primitive era to a civilized one.
Song Qiao quickly got up to take a hot shower.
Half an hour later.
After washing away the grime and fatigue, Song Qiao felt as if she had finally come back to life.
There's one downside—it's already past my usual bedtime, but after taking a shower I'm wide awake and have no sleepiness at all.
Song Qiao didn't care about trivial matters like maintaining a normal routine and going to bed on time. She turned on the air conditioner, enjoying the cool breeze, while charging her phone.
Around 11 p.m., Song Qiao put down her phone and forced herself to fall asleep—if she couldn't fall asleep before midnight, it would be even harder to fall asleep in the stuffy and hot weather afterwards.
She was exhausted after a long day. She had barely closed her eyes when she drifted off to sleep.
Before falling asleep, the last thought in my mind was—thankfully, her family's electricity usage time is from 10 pm to 12 am!
My third day at the company.
Huang Xinfang appeared in front of Song Qiao and Yun Xin with panda eyes.
Song Qiao could tell at a glance, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
Huang Xinfang looked at Song Qiao, then at Yun Xin, and asked in shock, "It was so hot and stuffy at night, with not a breath of wind, how could you two sleep??"
Song Qiao remained silent. "I was just lucky. I fell asleep with the air conditioning on and before the power went out. Because I slept so soundly, I didn't wake up during the night and slept until dawn."
Huang Xinfang was extremely envious, "Who can understand the pain of getting a call between six and eight o'clock in the evening?"
The phone rang before I even got home.
After tidying up a bit, it was time for the power outage.
Whether you can fall asleep or not depends entirely on your own efforts.
Yun Xin said, "When the power came on, I put a basin full of water in the freezer. After the power went out, I put the basin in the bedroom, where it was a little cool."
Upon hearing this, Huang Xinfang's eyes lit up, and she pressed for details, "How effective is it? Is it useful?"
Yunxin: "It's somewhat useful, better than doing nothing at all."
In fact, she has a strong physique and many superpowers, and is now unafraid of severe cold and scorching heat.
In addition to water freezing in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator, there was also ice stored in the cellar at home.
In addition, they also stockpiled a large amount of saltpeter, which could be used to make ice at any time.
Huang Xinfang looked thoughtful. "I'll try it when I get home."
In the afternoon, the swimming pool was packed with customers, almost to the point that the pool was about to overflow.
"Why are there so many people?" The experienced male paramedic was sweating profusely.
On the one hand, it was incredibly hot, and with no air conditioning indoors, sweat was pouring down his face. On the other hand, with so many people around, what if someone was accidentally drowning and he didn't see them...? The thought terrified him!
Lost in thought, someone walked past him. Suddenly, he closed his eyes and collapsed to the ground.
Male senior paramedic: ? ? ?
"Oh no! Someone has heatstroke!"
A senior male paramedic rushed forward to rescue the injured.
The person in front of us hasn't been revived yet, and someone nearby said that someone fainted and collapsed so quickly it looked like they were faking an accident.
Yunxin reacted quickly and caught the person, preventing their head from hitting the floor.
"What do we do now?" Huang Xinfang began to panic.
"Perform CPR on her, give her some saline solution, then call and wait for the ambulance to arrive," Song Qiao instructed.
Huang Xinfang immediately did as instructed.
While the paramedics were busy, customers stood around watching and whispering, "So many people have fainted from heatstroke today, this is the fifth one I've seen! Is something wrong?"
"Last year, even at 42 degrees Celsius, I didn't feel this bad. This year, the weather forecast says 40 degrees Celsius, but I feel chest tightness and shortness of breath. I feel like I can't breathe properly and I wish I could carry an oxygen tank with me! After more than half a year of training, my physical condition has obviously improved, so it's definitely not that my physical condition has deteriorated... Could there be a problem with the temperature forecast? For example, if the actual temperature is 50 degrees Celsius, but the public is told it's 40 degrees Celsius?"
"I think it's probably because we could use the air conditioner last year, but this year there's no electricity, so we can't. Being in a state of heat and dehydration for 20 hours a day, how can a normal person stand it?"
"Why is it that even though the evolution game is over, I don't feel any sense of rebirth? The situation is clearly more serious than before."
"In the past, one accident after another was like being slowly cut by a dull knife. Now, we are all facing the challenge of high temperatures together, and whoever can't hold on will be eliminated on the spot! This is much more brutal than the evolution game."
As the conversation progressed, the winds shifted, and the onlookers began to berate the government, saying, "Are these people just sitting around doing nothing?! How long has the power supply been restricted? Why hasn't the power grid been repaired and normal power restored yet?"
"Here's a joke: in a modern city, electricity is only allowed for 4 hours a day... I suspect even a pig would perform better than them."
"An elderly person in our community has already suffered heatstroke while taking a nap and passed away in their sleep. If the government doesn't fix the power grid soon, I might be next!"
Yunxin helped the unconscious customer up and listened to the discussions among the customers around her. She thought to herself, "The public is starting to question things. I wonder how long the government can hold out this time."
Because of the outcry, the official Weibo account was almost overwhelmed. That evening, experts came out to refute the rumors, saying, "Summer is unbearable not only because of the high temperature, but also because of the air humidity."
Then he went on to give a long and detailed introduction.
Netizens commented: "...Are you taking advantage of the fact that I don't understand and deliberately trying to fool me?"
Expert: "?? This is all based on scientific evidence!"
A passerby stepped forward and explained in plain language, "Simply put, air humidity affects the rate at which sweat evaporates. If sweat evaporates quickly, a person is prone to dehydration. If sweat cannot evaporate quickly, a person cannot feel cool and may experience symptoms such as dizziness, cramps, nausea, and rapid heartbeat."
The explanation was very clear, but the public didn't want to listen. All they cared about was, "When will the power system be fixed?"
"Once the air conditioner is turned on, everything is fine. I don't understand the principles of heatstroke, but I know how to solve it."
"Restricting electricity use in the middle of summer, isn't that just asking for trouble?"
"No need for further explanation, our demand is simple: liberalize the power supply."
When the topic of restoring normal power supply comes up, the experts fall silent, as if dead.
Then people kept jumping in and saying, "Even if you can't use electricity all day, it won't really affect your life. Here's a tip for preserving ice."
"Making ice with saltpeter! A simple and easy-to-use ice-making technique!"
Five steps to help you sleep soundly through the night!
The public was stunned. "Are they crazy?! Power outages aren't normal! Wake up, don't let your brain get the better of you."
"Just urge the government to rush the repairs! Once the repairs are successful, everything will be fine. Why force yourself to learn to adapt?"
"It's good to be good at self-reflection, but don't rush to correct your own mistakes. Learn to find the reasons in others."
Yunxin could tell that the government was trying very hard to guide public opinion and teach people how to save themselves, but people simply weren't buying it.
The notice stated "power system failure," so the public waited patiently for the government to fix it and even took the initiative to supervise the work.
For some reason, the government does not intend to disclose the real reason for the power rationing.
The situation remained at a stalemate.
One day, two days, three days... By the seventh day, the power system was still not repaired, and the people could no longer bear it and began to protest.
"If it's not fixed soon, do you know that the hospital won't have enough patients?!"
"I just want to spend a little money to have air conditioning! Is that so hard?"
"A whole week! I held my tongue for a whole week! Just because I trusted the government! And what have you done? What results have you achieved? In that long, let alone fixing the problem, you could have built a new one in time!"
"You have betrayed the trust of the people."
"Please provide a reasonable explanation, or don't blame me for putting on an 'online madness' performance right here and now."
The government remained silent and offered no response.
In the silence, rumors spread.
"Could it be that the public is being restricted from using electricity, while public officials are sitting in their offices with air conditioning as usual?"
"I don't understand why the government isn't worried at all? So many people have suffered from heatstroke in so many days! So many people have just fallen asleep and never woke up again! The situation is so serious, are they just turning a blind eye and pretending not to see it?!"
"I suspect the government isn't telling the truth at all. The outdoor temperature isn't 44 degrees Celsius, and the power outages aren't due to a system malfunction."
"Without a single explanation, what exactly is the government stalling for?"
As the situation gradually escalated into a crisis of trust, another conspiracy theory emerged: "Collusion between officials and businessmen! It must be collusion between officials and businessmen! The electricity saved by the public is secretly supplied to the rich!"
The insidious nature of conspiracy theories lies in two aspects: first, they are presented with absolute certainty and exaggeration, making them inherently manipulative; second, in order to dispel the rumors, the party being slandered is forced to speak out, publicly clarify, and explain the truth.
In an instant, the government was thrust into the eye of the storm. The outside world would not allow it to remain silent, using words to pressure it and facts to attack it, forcing it to make a statement.
(End of this chapter)
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