Call Me Daddy

Lin Yi was an ordinary office worker in the city, engaged in a typical 9-to-5 job.

Before the major power outage occurred, he had rented a small studio in a serviced apartment building near his company. His room was on the twenty-seventh floor, and from the balcony, he could overlook the bustling street below. Although the rent was a bit high, the living environment and location made it tolerable.

Like most young people, Lin Yi didn’t cook for himself. His apartment stocked only some cookies, instant noodles, and snacks. Because he liked carbonated drinks, he had accumulated a lot of Coke and Sprite, but drinking water was scarce. Lin Yi’s meals were irregular; he usually relied on takeout, and when he didn’t feel like eating, he just snacked on cookies and chips.

When the power outage first happened, Lin Yi didn’t think much of it. He was just a bit frustrated that, along with the power outage, his phone signal had also disappeared. As a homebody who immersed himself in the online world during his free time, the days without power and signal felt like years.

The blackout occurred at night. The next morning, the first thing Lin Yi did upon waking was to check his phone for a signal. Unfortunately, there was still no signal, and the phone’s battery was at only 21%, with power not having been restored either.

He complained about the slow progress of the repair work and speculated that the outage and signal loss were due to issues at the nearby power station and signal tower, which were probably still being fixed.

After tidying up briefly, Lin Yi went to work as usual.

Since the apartment building’s elevator had an emergency backup diesel generator, Lin Yi was able to take the elevator to the first floor smoothly that morning.

During his commute and conversations with colleagues at the company, Lin Yi learned that the blackout had affected the entire city. His colleagues’ home addresses were spread across the city’s four corners.

A citywide power outage was one thing, but a citywide signal loss was unprecedented. Could so many signal towers all have malfunctioned?

At that point, Lin Yi began to sense that something was wrong, though he didn’t yet take it seriously.

In this era, most jobs rely on electricity and the internet. For office workers like Lin Yi, the boss appeared briefly, announced paid leave until power was restored, and then disappeared. Lin Yi sat idly at his desk for over an hour, packed up his things, and left the office.

On his way out, he inexplicably stuffed some snacks from his desk into his briefcase and filled his thermos at the office water cooler.

Due to the high frequency of elevator use in the office building, the backup generator’s diesel had been exhausted by the time Lin Yi and his colleagues finished work. They were forced to take the stairs down. Fortunately, the building wasn’t too tall, and since it was downstairs, it wasn’t too tiring.

Everyone thought the power outage was temporary. After a few complaints, they said their goodbyes at the company entrance and went their separate ways.

When Lin Yi returned to his rented serviced apartment, he saw a crowd gathered in the lobby, confronting the building’s manager and demanding answers.

“Are we supposed to climb all the way up without an elevator in such a high building?”

“Exactly. I don’t care. We pay so much in property fees every month. You have to fix the elevator issue.”

“If you don’t resolve the elevator problem, I won’t pay the property fee this year. What a joke. Don’t you see there are elderly and children here? Making them climb all those floors—won’t they be exhausted?”

Most of the voices were filled with complaints.

It turned out that the building’s backup power supply had also been exhausted.

The manager kept apologizing, explaining that the property management had been unprepared and hadn’t stored enough diesel. He said they had sent someone to purchase more, but it would take some time.

Lin Yi’s rented room was on the 27th floor. Seeing the elevator that had stopped working and the increasing number of residents in the lobby, he hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to climb the stairs.

After pushing himself to the seventh floor, Lin Yi began to struggle. As a long-time office worker with no fitness habits and declining physical fitness due to age, he was already out of breath after just a few flights of stairs.

At that moment, he regretted choosing to climb the stairs, but having already started, he forced himself to continue.

He took one flight at a time, rested briefly, and then continued. After about 20 minutes, Lin Yi finally reached the 27th floor. By then, his legs felt as weak as noodles, his muscles were trembling uncontrollably, and he was gasping for air. As soon as he opened his door, he collapsed onto his bed, not caring about the sweat and grime on him.

A thought briefly crossed his mind.

If the power stayed off and he had to climb these high floors every time he came and went, he wouldn’t be able to handle it.

This same scenario was happening in every corner of the world.

Compared to those living in rural areas or lower floors, people living in high-rise buildings faced the challenge of non-functional elevators first.

Young people like Lin Yi fared somewhat better. Although they lacked exercise, their bodies were still relatively fit and energetic. The real victims were the elderly and young children, who, after descending, faced the daunting task of climbing dozens of flights of stairs, and many were deterred by the challenge.

These people anxiously awaited the activation of backup power equipment but soon became desperate.

After the diesel was poured into the generator, it failed to produce the expected power. If only one generator had malfunctioned, it might have been a simple issue with that unit. However, when all the generators exhibited the same problem, it caused widespread panic.

It seemed as if, aside from the energy stored at the moment of the massive power outage itself, there was no longer any existence of electrical energy.

Whether it was diesel generators, steam power generators, or solar energy… all means of generating electricity had failed, and no scientist could explain the reason for it.

What on earth was going on!

At this moment, those who had initially thought the power would be restored quickly began to panic. Especially when rumors started circulating within the government that nearby cities, neighboring provinces, and possibly even the entire country or the world were experiencing this strange phenomenon of disappearing electrical energy and satellites, the panic spread thoroughly.

******

Yu Guo’s rented house was an old, dilapidated building. The more she had disliked the living conditions before, the more grateful she felt now for still living in this old place. She had once worked hard to earn money with the aim of buying her own small home in the city, but now she was relieved to be in this old house.

Because of the massive power outage, many modern high-tech appliances had become almost entirely unusable. At the same time, water, coal, and natural gas pipelines also began to fail due to the power outage.

However, Yu Guo’s house was different. The kitchen was still equipped with an old-fashioned gas canister. While many households could no longer cook due to the lack of electricity and gas, Yu Guo’s kitchen could still function normally.

To save money, Yu Guo had developed a habit of cooking her own meals. With about 10 pounds of rice in her storage bin and a week’s worth of groceries in her refrigerator, she had managed to prepare enough food to last for at least half a month.

But due to the power outage, even if she didn’t open the refrigerator, the ice in the freezer would eventually melt. Some perishable items needed to be cooked quickly. Fortunately, the weather wasn’t very hot at the moment, so once these items were cooked into easily stored dishes, they could be preserved at room temperature for several days.

However, the lack of foresight led to immediate concerns. With electricity and signal still not restored, she needed to stock up on more water and food.

The biggest problem now was the lack of cash.

In today’s society, everyone had become accustomed to electronic transfers and online banking. Very few people kept cash at home or on their person. Because of the massive power outage, the banking system was entirely paralyzed and unusable. Even with a bankbook in hand, without the means to verify its authenticity with instruments, withdrawing cash was impossible.

Due to this special situation, many people began to opt for bartering. Luxury items such as gold, diamonds, and designer bags could all be used for trade, depending on whether the other party was willing to accept them.

Yu Guo rummaged through her entire rental apartment, nearly even checking for hidden mouse holes, and found just over 130 yuan in cash, two bracelets with gold beads, and a Coach bag she had bought for over 2,000 yuan. These were the most valuable items she had available for exchange.

As she stepped out of her bedroom, Yu Guo saw the landlord’s family sitting in the living room.

The landlord and his wife, their two children, and each child’s partner and child; nine people in total, didn’t originally live in this old, dilapidated house. However, after the power outage, their previously more upscale apartments had become less convenient. Plus, the old house had gas, so the entire family had moved back in.

Strictly speaking, the gas in the old house was purchased by Yu Guo, and the pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils also belonged to her. When the rental agreement was signed, the landlord had mentioned that they wouldn’t be staying long-term but would leave their bedrooms empty for Yu Guo to manage.

However, given the current situation, Yu Guo couldn’t really stop them from moving back into their own house with their entire family.

When the landlord’s family used the gas, Yu Guo didn’t speak up to stop them. They had three children, after all, and she couldn’t just let them go hungry without hot food.

Fortunately, the landlord’s family wasn’t completely unreasonable. The landlord’s wife apologetically took Yu Guo’s hand and kindly offered that, once the power was restored, Yu Guo would be exempt from 3 months’ rent. Additionally, she gave Yu Guo a small box of chocolates, tacitly acknowledging the shared use of the kitchen.

In that situation, Yu Guo had no way to refuse. With nine people on one side and her alone on the other, how could she argue?

Her main concern now was her parents, who were far away.

With communication cut off and public transportation largely paralyzed, Yu Guo couldn’t return home. She could only comfort herself by thinking that her parents, living in the countryside and farming, had enough to eat. In that situation, farmers with food and land were likely in the best position.

She needed to stay safe and hope for a day when they could reunite.

Although she shared the gas and kitchen utensils, Yu Guo kept her food and seasonings in her room, hidden in various concealed spots.

The situation was chaotic but not completely disastrous. The landlord’s family had some food stored, so Yu Guo wasn’t too worried they would rummage through her room.

Most people were educated, and except for a few extreme cases, as long as moral order hadn’t completely collapsed and humanity hadn’t been pushed to the brink, only a minority would resort to extreme actions.