The Sun Storm
Oh... so you're saying that in six hours, a massive power outage is going to hit?
That's right. A massive solar storm hit the United States about twelve hours ago, and it's expected to affect the entire Earth.
This was the conversation between a female news anchor and an expert-looking person.
Power outage. Because of a solar storm, the internet's gone... I've seen something like that somewhere before.
Then how long will it take for everything to be restored? And what responsibility will you take on the departments that weren't prepared in advance...
The female news anchor's words were met with another expert snapping in anger.
No, that's not it! This is a really serious issue! It's going to affect the entire Earth! All electric civilization could be destroyed!
Hey, lower your voice. That's an extreme situation. Our stance is different. Historically, nothing like this has ever happened...
I think the political circles that were watching this unfold have the biggest responsibility...
No!! We already have the data on the solar storm! It has already happened and is heading toward Earth. In six hours, it will reach us right here.
I know. So, aren't we in the middle of drawing up countermeasures right now? We need to calculate the cost and plan for restoration.
The feeling is strong. What is this...
All power plants and transformers will be destroyed. What I'm saying is, civilization could collapse. Tens of billions of people could die.
The debate atmosphere heated up after one expert's words.
Is that even possible? A solar storm is different from an EMP, right? It only affects large electronic devices and communications. If there's any damage, we can just restore it...
Restore with what? Cities will paralyze the instant electricity and communications stop. People with no food left will have no choice but to starve, and huge chaos is inevitable. Phones might be okay, but the ECU of a car-sized machine will likely be destroyed.
That's over-exaggeration. Don't throw around words that spread fear. Historically, this has never happened. At best, it was regional power outages.
The experts started fighting each other. The anchor stood in the middle looking flustered, trying to calm them down. Wow... even her flustered expression was beautiful.
But why do phones work while cars stop? I know EMP disables all electronic devices. In games too...
It's not an EMP, it's a solar storm. It generates induced currents that destroy electronic devices. Small devices like phones or laptops, if they're off and isolated, should be fine. But machines like cars with long wiring will be hit by induced currents and the ECU will be destroyed.
Hmm... so turning off the ignition should be okay?
That's right. If the solar storm ends quickly, that method works. But if it continues... it's a big problem. Instead, old military trucks made only of mechanical parts will likely still run.
This is political agitation using fear! According to the data I brought, a solar storm is at most radio interference or localized outages.
No, that's not true this time...
Then if it doesn't happen, will you take responsibility? How will you answer for the huge economic losses?
Is the world really collapsing?
I dug through the community and it was in chaos.
People who like talking about the world ending. People who say just wait for the outage to be restored. The expert's post said the end-of-the-world scenario was too exaggerated because cutting off power and restoring it later would suffice.
It was chaotic, but the vibe wasn't that the world was ending. Still, many opinions said there would be serious damage.
Damn... now that I'm rich, I don't have to worry about finding a job!!
Did that oval guy do this on purpose to mess with me? No, he wouldn't make the world collapse just for me. If this was a real simulation, there would be a good chance of that.
But to mess with me like that, with so many other people out there...
Hey! This isn't real, right? Come out and talk!
Of course, no response.
I lay back on the bed and closed my eyes.
Keeping the feeling from last time, I dived deep into the abyss again, broke through the world, and closed my eyes... when I opened them, I was really in the real world.
Can't. Fuck...
It's just my room.
I waited anxiously. There were only five hours left. I hoped it wouldn't be humanity's end...
Opinions were everywhere that we should stockpile supplies in preparation for the outage.
I rushed to the supermarket right away. It was a small one-story store within walking distance.
The street was quiet and the supermarket wasn't overly noisy either. Just a bit more people than usual.
Just like the media hype and community guys, they were far from reality. Those assholes always stirred up trouble with extreme stories.
Yeah, the world wasn't ending.
I grabbed a full cart with preservation foods anyway since I was already out. If nothing happened, I'd just eat them.
I occasionally saw people like me stocking up on cans. It didn't look like the world was about to end.
Back home, my stomach was starving. I opened a can and mixed it with rice.
One can, two cans, three cans... normally one can would fill me up, but even after eating that much I was still hungry. Maybe it was because my appetite had increased due to the Super Regeneration ability. Well, I had money, so even if my appetite grew it didn't matter. I ate more delicious things instead.
Waiting anxiously, the scheduled time finally came. Even the regular broadcast that had been talking about the world ending switched to a romance program.
The community was flooded with end-of-the-world posts.
Five, four, three... two... one.
The community even had a countdown. The time was up. But nothing changed. No outage.
One minute... two minutes... five minutes passed.
The community was still raging about how it was just media hype.
Huh huh. Just as I thought, nothing like that would happen...
Shung...
At that moment, the electricity went out.
The refrigerator stopped, the TV went blank.
The house fell silent, and the street became quiet.
Phones stayed on, but communication didn't. I couldn't check the internet or community even if I wanted to.
Is this real... wait. But why am I so hungry.
I stuffed myself with more cans since my stomach was too empty.
After an hour, evening came and still no electricity or communication.
The outage was frustrating enough, but not being able to use the internet was driving me crazy. The only thing I could do was offline games. No, even that, if the battery ran out I couldn't turn it on, so I had to conserve it.
A few people were out on the street talking to each other. They were probably wondering what happened and when the electricity would come back.
With no phone or internet, everyone was going insane with frustration.
The city without electricity was dark and quiet. Everyone endured the time inside, killing time.
At night, I saw an aurora that had turned the sky green and red. An aurora... I'd never seen anything like this before. Beautiful, but it felt like a blood-red veil.
People came out into the streets to watch the aurora. Kids were excited, looking up at the sky, chattering and running around playing.
A whole day passed like that.
In the morning, I heard voices chatting outside.
I went to the district station and came back. They don't know anything. The police say they don't know either. They say they can't do anything because the above isn't working.
Yeah... with everything communication-wise gone... the police must be running back and forth between stations or something.
Even if the station gets instructions from above, they can't do much without communication. Since everything's down, it will take a long time anyway.
Quiet and boredom. Nothing to do.
My stomach kept growling, so I kept opening cans. Eating and eating.
My appetite seemed to have increased four to five times normal. Had my digestion power increased that much? How could I eat so much when my belly didn't swell much after eating.
I went out because I was bored staying home.
Almost no one was on the street. Of course, with no work possible now. No subways since no electricity, no cars on the road.
I occasionally saw abandoned cars on the road. Cars don't work either? I didn't have one so I didn't know.
In the distance, I saw a supermarket. A small neighborhood store about one story high. It was packed with people shouting loudly.
I watched from far away, looking suspicious.
The supermarket wasn't operating normally. People were grabbing whatever they could and rushing out.
Two middle-aged men at the entrance were arguing loudly.
Eventually, fists flew. One guy fell backward, blood dripping from his head.
Screams erupted, and the attacker, panicked, grabbed the victim's bag and ran off quickly.
There were shouts to call 119, but with no phones, there was nothing I could do.
Whether the fallen guy was there or not, the supermarket looting continued. Without electricity, I couldn't pay anyway, so there must have been another reason.
Back home, I opened another can of food.
Is this really the end... my trillion...
If I had at least enjoyed my money for a few months, it wouldn't be so unfair.
This was done to me. I was tricked. Of course the guy who forced me to choose the Red Pill had a reason.
I just waited for the electricity to come back and survived the day at home.
At night, the aurora was too beautiful. The world had become truly beautiful.
City lights had all died, but somewhere in the sky an eerie light was seeping through like blood.
I woke up from a late sleep because of noises outside.