Chapter 64: Extreme Heat 5
Sizzle, crackle, pop—
The electrical box blew, spewing sparks everywhere.
At the same time, the entire area around it lost power, including the shop Chu Yian had come to for the air conditioning.
“Oh my god, this is too scary!”
Chu Yian, seeing this for the first time, stood up, the beef on her chopsticks falling to the ground. She was ready to run at any moment, worried that the electrical box might suddenly explode and cause collateral damage.
Compared to her panic, the Shop Owner remained calm and composed, showing great fortitude. He muttered, “Why is the transformer broken again!” as he held a generator.
Chu Yian hadn’t used the generator she bought yet, and seeing that the Shop Owner’s generator was similar, she quickly went over to watch. She silently memorized the Shop Owner’s actions while generating power.
“Go inside and eat, don’t worry, the shop won’t lose power.”
The Shop Owner said enthusiastically.
Chu Yian nodded at his words. As she sat back down, her gaze swept over the transformer across the street, which was still sparking. “Shop Owner, does this break easily?”
“It never used to, only this year. This month alone, including today, it’s broken three times. When the transformer breaks, the power is out for a whole morning.
It’s too hot this year; people can’t bear it, and neither can the electrical box.”
“Not just that, I heard yesterday two people from the South District were taken away by ambulance. They say they were literally roasted to death. Their internal organs were like they’d been boiled in hot water.”
“Yes, yes, I heard there are a lot of people with heatstroke in the Hospital now.”
Another diner chimed in, “Isn’t the city still promoting heatstroke prevention? I heard that even if people with severe heatstroke recover, their bodies will never be as good as before. They say the body is like an egg; it can go from raw to cooked, but not from cooked to raw.”
How terrifying.
Chu Yian listened to their discussion about the recent heatstroke cases, and when she saw her food, she had no appetite left.
Almost 10 AM.
The temperature outside was getting hotter and hotter, but the power still hadn’t been restored. Although Chu Yian wanted to stay inside a little longer, her vehicle was now baking under the sun due to the sun’s movement.
“Shop Owner, do you have any frozen water?”
“No frozen, only iced.”
The Shop Owner looked at her, “How many bottles do you need?”
Chu Yian glanced at the few remaining bottles in his cooler, “I’ll take them all.”
The Shop Owner’s face immediately lit up with joy, and he quickly put the water into a bag.
Chu Yian hugged the water and jogged out.
The moment she opened the door of her tricycle, she felt like she had gone from a steamer into an oven. The iced cold water, meant for cooling, immediately had dense beads of water permeating its surface.
Compared to such temperatures, these cold waters were merely a drop in the bucket. Chu Yian dared not park her vehicle here any longer, so she rode it around looking for a shaded spot, finally following the crowd to… under a bridge.
By then, many people had already come here to escape the heat.
Chu Yian barely managed to drive her vehicle into the shaded area and gulped down two mouthfuls of water inside.
It’s really super hot!
She usually walked across the bridge and never paid attention. Only after coming down did she see that the great river had dried up. Some parts had already exposed the riverbed, and slightly deeper areas still held some river water.
Such extreme heat, it won’t turn into a great drought, will it?
Chu Yian had just thought of this when she unexpectedly found herself temporarily unable to leave after hiding under the bridge.
