Power Outage
"Achoo—!!"
Wang Jincheng, sitting in front of his desk, sneezed violently.
He rubbed his nose with a weird expression. For some reason, he had an ominous premonition in his heart...
At the same time, the office door was opened.
"Bureau Chief, the report you asked for is here."
"How is the situation?"
"In the past two days, a total of eighteen large-scale power outages and two accidental suffocation deaths have occurred... We have already investigated the suffocation deaths clearly. It was because the gas pipes were aging, causing a gas leak that filled the enclosed spaces, causing the people to suffocate to death in their sleep. There is no possibility of homicide...
But these power outages are indeed very troublesome. The frequent power outages have already affected the daily lives of some residents. The Power Bureau has received thousands of complaints in the past two days. They really had no other way, so they came to us."
"They suspect that someone is intentionally destroying the circuits, otherwise the power system wouldn't malfunction so frequently, so they called the police."
Wang Jincheng pondered for a moment. "So, did you send someone to investigate?"
"We did, but absolutely no one went to destroy the wires, nor did anyone secretly steal electricity. Those circuits just inexplicably became unusable... I guess it should be due to years of disrepair." The Police Officer said nonchalantly.
"Inexplicably became unusable..."
Wang Jincheng muttered this sentence. As if he had thought of something, his expression suddenly became somewhat ugly.
"Damn it... It can't be, right..."
"What's wrong, Bureau Chief?"
"..."
Wang Jincheng didn't answer. He paced back and forth behind his desk with a grave expression. His face grew increasingly grave. After being silent for a full half-minute, he finally spoke in a deep voice:
"Go, call the director of the Power Bureau over for me... I want a location map of all the failed wires during this period. Also mark those two aging gas pipes on the map for me."
"Also... tell the Police Officers below to perk up. Any abnormalities in the Main City recently, no matter how detailed, must be listed and reported to me, especially regarding damage to objects and aging and malfunction."
Although the Police Officer didn't understand, he still quickly nodded:
"Alright, I'll go do it right away!"
After speaking, he turned and rushed out of the office.
Wang Jincheng stood alone behind his desk. After standing like a sculpture for a long time, he slowly walked to the window.
He looked at the city outside stretching to the end of the horizon, muttering to himself:
"I hope I'm just overthinking."
"The Red Dust Domain can't be this unlucky, right..."
...
Jinghong Theater.
Zzt— Zzt, zzt—
Along with a slight sound of electric current, the light bulb above Chen Ling's head flickered and finally fell into darkness.
Chen Ling, who was staring at the huge map of the Main City on the table deep in thought, raised his head. Looking at the extinguished light bulb, a hint of confusion flashed in his eyes...
"Power outage?" Jian Changsheng, who was napping on the map, also looked up at the light bulb.
"...Seems like it."
"Perfect, I can sleep even more soundly."
After speaking, Jian Changsheng lay back down on the table, rubbed and shifted around for a bit, and closed his eyes comfortably.
Chen Ling couldn't help but say, "Didn't we say we were going to find the Red Dust Base? Why are you sleeping again?"
"Aren't you here? What do brain-using tasks like this have to do with me?" Jian Changsheng answered toughly. "You guys asked me to go scout locations, and I went. I've almost run through the entire Red Dust Main City these past two days. What's wrong with sleeping a little more now? Are you expecting my pig brain to be able to help you?"
"...Never mind, you go back to sleep."
Jian Changsheng raised his chin, like a victorious general, and proudly lay back down on the table.
Chen Ling: "You can sleep, but don't press on my map."
Jian Changsheng silently raised his elbow, letting Chen Ling pull the map out, and then buried his head and started sleeping on the table.
Chen Ling looked at this map in his hands that was twice as large as the tabletop, sighing inwardly. Holding a red pen in his hand, he hesitated for a long time, not knowing where to drop it.
These past few days, the few of them had been searching for the blood-colored petals in that painting.
Chen Ling had asked Huang Suyue and also utilized the Huang Consortium's connections, but they had never found this variety of flower, nor had they found any place in the Red Dust Main City that had this kind of flower.
What was certain now was that the Red Dust Base was not in the conventionally conceptualized "Red Dust Main City," nor did it have an actual location on the surface. They guessed that this base was highly likely buried underground, or hidden in another way.
Although 10 of Diamonds had a way to survey underground, his speed alone was simply too slow. Searching inch by inch like this, it would take at least a year to comb through the Red Dust Main City. Chen Ling and the others couldn't afford to wait.
"I don't know what Wang Jincheng has been busy with these past few days. He hasn't come to the Theater House at all. Going to him rashly would easily arouse suspicion. No matter what, I still have to find a suitable excuse..."
"Or, I can think again if there are any other methods..."
Light snoring sounded in the quiet room. Chen Ling glanced at Jian Changsheng, who had already fallen asleep on the table, couldn't help but roll his eyes, and got up to push the door out.
Swish— Swish—
Looking down from the second floor of the Theater House, Kong Baosheng was sweeping the floor at the door, while Li Qingshan held an Opera Script, pacing while practicing his voice. The soft sound of the twig broom sweeping across the floor mixed with the melodious singing, causing Chen Ling's tense nerves to subconsciously relax.
He took a deep breath and slowly walked down the stairs.
"Brother Lin, you've finally come downstairs." Seeing Chen Ling come down, Li Qingshan put down the Opera Script and smiled. "Is our performance repertoire for tonight set?"
"Not yet... Is there anything you want to want to sing?"
"There are too many things I want to sing. The Legend of the White Snake, Empty City Stratagem, The Drunken Beauty, Silang Visits His Mother..."
Li Qingshan eloquently listed over thirty classic repertoires, barely even thinking about it. Looking at Li Qingshan seriously counting on his fingers, Chen Ling couldn't help but smile:
"You want to sing so many? When will you be able to finish singing them?"
"Very quickly. Even if it's one song a day, I'll be able to sing them all in over a month." Li Qingshan said matter-of-factly. Then, as if he realized something, he scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.
"Sorry Brother Lin, I almost forgot that you're the boss here... Before, when I sang opera in Willow Town, absolutely no one listened. Now, not only are there more and more Audience members, but the things we sing are also beginning to return to the mainstream vision... I seem to have gotten a little too carried away."
"That's not true. Everything you have now is what you deserve." Chen Ling shook his head.
"However... we'll probably have a hard time singing opera today."
"Ah? Why?" Li Qingshan glanced outside. "It didn't rain today either?"
"The Theater House has a power outage. There are no lights at night, so we can't perform..."
"Power outage?!"
Before Li Qingshan could answer, Kong Baosheng's ears perked up outside the door. He immediately carried his broom and ran back into the house with a clatter, flicking the switch a few times with his hand.