Chapter 99: The Benefits of the Power Plant

Chen Xiyi casually threw on his coat and left the inn. The other members of the merchant caravan did not say anything. After all, this was a big city—what was wrong with him going out for a stroll?

Besides, Chen Xiyi was not one of their caravan’s employees. They had no right to stop him, much less cause him any trouble.

Chen Xiyi had a very good relationship with their young master. They were eager to win his favor, so no one would step forward to nitpick or make things difficult for him.

They were not foolish. Without any relevant benefits, it was better to be kind to others.

Chen Xiyi came out partly to retrieve the Eye of Qi Observation, and partly to walk around the area and get a deeper sense of the grand formation’s situation.

Since he could not find the mastermind behind the scenes, Chen Xiyi decided to start with the grand formation. If small problems kept occurring one after another in the formation, the person who set it up would surely come to investigate. Once he found out who was behind it, everything would become much easier to handle.

Then, he could secretly throw a black sack over their head and take them away. After that, whether to fry, boil, or roast them would be entirely up to Chen Xiyi.

“It’s snowing?” Chen Xiyi had not walked far from the inn when heavy snow began to fall like goose feathers.

There was no curfew tonight, apparently arranged specifically for the Bai Family Caravan. From this, one could infer that the Bai Family Caravan’s background was even more extraordinary.

The fact that a warlord could do this much for a merchant caravan was enough to prove that this was no small caravan.

However, the streets were almost empty. After all, it was freezing cold, and most people stayed indoors.

Moreover, while these warlords lacked other skills, they excelled at exploiting and oppressing. Although Dongtai City was large, its common people had been stripped of their wealth. Whether they could survive the winter was uncertain, so who had spare money to go out shopping?

Since it was not a holiday, the streets were very quiet.

Of course, the quietness was only on the street where Chen Xiyi’s inn was located. As soon as he turned onto another street, it immediately became lively.

Neon lights and passing cars made the two streets seem like two different worlds.

“Tsk, a city that never sleeps,” Chen Xiyi could not help but remark.

He did not know the name of this street, but one thing was certain: for the warlords, officers, second-generation heirs, and wealthy merchants of Dongtai City, the night had just begun.

“Cars, dance halls, taverns, and… extravagance.” Chen Xiyi walked in, feeling somewhat out of place.

This extravagance had nothing to do with the lower classes. It was a world exclusively for the rich and powerful. The lower-class people were only fit to run errands on these streets to make a living.

Chen Xiyi felt nothing about this. He could not correct this world, nor could he change it.

The entire street exuded an aura of decadence and luxury. This aura was also one of the foods for the Immortal Being who spanned half the world above, or rather, it was a type of aura he particularly favored.

Chen Xiyi wondered what it tasted like. This made him curious.

‘Perhaps the true oppressors of this world are not the warlords or noble families, but the few Qi Refiners.’

The existence of Qi Refiners was the most unscientific thing in this seemingly scientific world.

He walked under the lights, completely out of place among the well-dressed upper-class people, and he had no connection with the commoners struggling to make a living.

It was as if he were a third type of person, appearing particularly peculiar.

But no one paid him any attention.

Those trying to make a living thought Chen Xiyi had no money, so they did not bother approaching him.

The upper-class people, seeing his Scholar Costume, had little interest in him. They merely regarded him as an outsider who had wandered in and did not care to converse with him.

There were also patrolling soldiers who came in, their eyes filled with longing for the vibrant nightlife.

They could not afford it. A month’s military pay would disappear without a trace if spent here.

Chen Xiyi left the lively street feeling rather bored. After all, what was the point…

‘Wait, there might actually be benefits.’

Chen Xiyi, who had just stepped out, suddenly remembered something, especially when he saw the rows of cars coming and going.

‘Wow, although it’s far from a modern city, at least it has the electric lights and cars I need.’

‘I’ll follow the wires to find the power plant, then take the entire set of facilities.’

Chen Xiyi suddenly realized this. The vibrant nightlife was a good thing.

‘If I hadn’t reacted quickly, I would have missed this opportunity.’ Chen Xiyi felt a surge of excitement. Luckily, he had come out for a walk; otherwise, the loss would have been great.

After looking around, Chen Xiyi finally found the wooden power poles.

They appeared messy, possibly because no professionals had designed them.

‘First, locate the power plant, then take the entire power plant, and follow the wires to take everything from that street…’

‘No, no. I should first scout the power plant and not take it immediately. If I take everything, the power will go out, and if someone comes to investigate, it will be disastrous. Things would escalate quickly.’

‘So, I should take that street first. They would never expect my ultimate target to be the power plant.’

The power plant was the core, but Chen Xiyi’s Homestead System could not produce electric lights or modern items. He had flashlights, mining lamps, and other things, but no electric lights or televisions.

He did not even have power-generating equipment. But then again, he did not seem to need it. His flashlights and torches were more exaggerated than nuclear power—they would keep shining as long as their durability did not run out.

When would the durability run out?

Chen Xiyi did not know. The flashlights and torches he had made before still had not lost any durability.

He was unsure whether it was because he rarely used them or because durability only decreased when attacked. He guessed it was the latter.

Following the wires through the cold night, Chen Xiyi walked for over an hour. Even the Eye of Qi Observation had returned by the time he found the power plant.

The place was quite active. From a distance, he could see many soldiers patrolling with guns.

There were no residential buildings nearby—they had probably all been cleared out. Otherwise, why would such a prime piece of land be used for a power plant?

The location was very remote, far from the noise of the upper class.

Of course, the more important reason was that the noise from the power generation would not disturb the upper-class people’s enjoyment.

‘It seems not only that street is connected to the power lines, but also the homes of various nobles and wealthy merchants.’

This made things much more interesting. The power plant was no longer just a simple power plant. If he followed each wire, he would find the homes of officers, wealthy merchants, or noble families.

Could ordinary families afford to be connected to the power lines and use electric lights?

Chen Xiyi kept thinking about the strategic importance of this place. If someone controlled it, wouldn’t they have the entire upper class of Dongtai City in their grasp?

‘No wonder there are soldiers guarding it. So that’s what it means.’ Chen Xiyi could see it, and others surely could as well.

Even those with power lines in their homes knew, but they had no choice.

Why?

Because they needed electricity—not just for the convenience and their reputation, but also for communication.

Not only electricity, but telephones had likely been invented as well.

With telephones, information from afar was no longer outdated but a tool for strategic planning.

So, no one would give up such a convenient thing.

And this was just one of the many benefits electricity brought.

Chen Xiyi did not understand this period of history, even if it seemed similar. But he knew the importance of electricity.

‘So, not only do I have to find the person who holds the inheritance within ten days, but I also have to empty a street, most of the nobles’ and wealthy merchants’ homes, and this power plant.’

In the previous world, he had wanted to take an entire city. But when he saw how the Great Li Kingdom had been plunged into chaos and rebellion because of his actions, he felt too embarrassed to do so. In the end, he reluctantly settled for taking the Yongning Hall where he had stayed.

Unfortunately, the Yongning Hall was larger than his Homestead and was still sitting in the Wooden Storage Chest upstairs in his Wooden Hut, unable to be installed.

‘This time, I might be able to take quite a few Western-style houses and courtyard homes. Then I could find one about the same size as my Wooden Hut and build it. That would finally free me from my square-shaped house.’

He was not worried about finding such nice houses; he was worried they might be too large and exceed the planned area.

His Homestead was only ten thousand square meters, about the size of a football field. After all the planning, the area for building houses was actually not very large.

He estimated that there might not be Western-style houses or courtyard homes that small. He would have to modify them later.

The Wooden Hut was only fifty square meters—not very big at all.

So, he would have to reduce the footprint and add more floors.

‘I wonder if the power plant has a directory of all the households. If it does, things would be much more convenient.’ Chen Xiyi narrowed his eyes as he pondered this.

If there was a directory, he would have the addresses. Otherwise, following each wire one by one would take too much time.

Chen Xiyi used his Primordial Spirit to manipulate the Qi Mechanism and cast an Illusion Art around himself. Then he swaggered into the power plant.

‘The Illusion Art is really useful, especially when applied to the environment. It works almost like an invisibility spell.’ Chen Xiyi entered the power plant but did not head toward the power generation area. Instead, he went to the dark office areas.

There was no doubt that such directories would be kept by the clerks, definitely not in the power generation area. Although both were part of the power plant, their roles were clearly divided.

The clerks undoubtedly had much easier jobs compared to the workers in the power generation area.

The clerks had already clocked out, but the workers had to work in two shifts.

The generators in the power plant seemed to be steam-powered, the kind that burned coal.

They were probably imported from the Holy Purple Iris Empire, not built by Dongtai City itself. Dongtai City did not have the technological capability.

‘This should be the place. I have the whole night to find what I need.’

Chen Xiyi took out a piece of wire and, with the help of his Primordial Spirit and Qi Mechanism, easily opened the door. Where did the wire come from? He snapped it off the wire fence when he entered the power plant, right in front of the patrolling soldiers.

With a click, the lock opened.

He pushed the door open and went inside, using a flashlight to rummage through the cabinets.

Looking at the numerous documents in the cabinets, Chen Xiyi felt a headache coming on.

These were all kinds of documents and data related to the power plant. After looking around, Chen Xiyi fixed his gaze on a safe in the corner of the room.

He reasoned that such confidential documents would not be stored in glass cabinets.

So, they must be in the safe.

Using his lock-picking skills, he opened the safe. Inside, apart from some Silver Dollars, there were various booklets.

Most of them were account books, but one was the directory Chen Xiyi needed.

‘Well, that was a lucky shot. Alright, I’ll borrow this for a few days. In a few days, the power plant will be gone, so you won’t need it anymore. That means I won’t return it.’