HLM -Chapter 834 Wave After Wave

After taking a shower, Wang Bo asked Eva why she hadn’t started the generator—was something wrong with it?

Eva pressed her lips together in a smile and pointed toward the residential area below the mountain. “Look, everyone else has no electricity. If the lights on the hill suddenly turn on at a time like this… wouldn’t that be inappropriate? I don’t want them to think the town mayor belongs to some privileged class.”

Wang Bo hadn’t thought of that, but Eva was right. They had just gone through a violent storm; the residents were emotionally sensitive. Especially since he had gone door to door delivering candles earlier—it had earned him a lot of goodwill. If the castle suddenly lit up, that act would no longer seem kind but more like a malicious show of superiority.

From that angle, Eva was undoubtedly a wise wife—her political awareness was even higher than his.

Since they couldn’t use electric lights, Wang Bo lit candles instead.

Firework candles were the prettiest. These candles were usually short and thick, about ten centimeters tall and as thick as his wrist. When lit, colorful sparks “snap-crackled” out along with the flame.

“It’s beautiful,” Eva said with delight. “It matches the castle perfectly. I think we can have a regular candle night in the future—turn off the lights and use candles instead.”

A thought stirred in Wang Bo’s heart; he thought of something even bigger. “Maybe I can establish a Candle Day? Sunset Town only has Arbor Day and Warehouse Trading Day. Adding a Candle Day sounds good, right?”

“That’s a great idea,” Eva said happily.

The magical candles were even more mysterious. When lit, they seemed like normal flames at first. But as the wax burned lower, something wonderful happened.

The flame stayed floating at the same height. As the wax diminished, the flame appeared to hover in midair.

Wang Bo leaned in to check. It turned out there was a thin, transparent glass cylinder around the candle. Unless you touched it, it was nearly invisible.

The “floating” effect came from light refraction. The glass thickness varied uniformly, so as the real flame lowered, from outside it looked like a flame suspended in the air at a fixed height.

Some magical candles even made the flame jump up and down—also a trick of refraction.

The strangest was a type of “concentrating candle”—its refraction made the flame appear above the glass cover.

Seeing it for the first time was fascinating. Eva lay on the table studying it. Wang Bo placed the chubby cat brothers beside it, and the two were instantly captivated by the floating flame.

Da Pang inched closer, then suddenly swiped at it with his paw.

Naturally, he couldn’t touch it—the flame danced on, his paw passing right through.

Er Pang’s fat face twisted into a mocking expression. It let out two “woo woo” sounds, flicked its fluffy tail, then pounced in an attempt to snatch the flame from midair.

Of course, it leaped straight through—with nothing gained.

The two little guys, whose brains consisted only of fighting and bird-chasing, couldn’t comprehend this supernatural phenomenon. After a few tries, they became dumbfounded, lying there staring blankly at the floating flame.

Eva laughed so hard she nearly collapsed. Wang Bo then removed the glass cover, and the flame returned to its normal position.

Er Pang blinked in confusion, then boldly reached out a paw to touch the real flame.

It was actual fire. The moment its paw touched it, the flame whooshed and scorched its fur. It let out a miserable scream as the smell of burnt fur spread instantly.

Da Pang, who had been itching to act, was frightened by his brother’s scream. But after flicking its tail, it bravely dashed forward, “woo woo” barking at the flame twice—avenging its brother—before bolting away.

Eva stared in shock. “Did it just… threaten the candle?”

Wang Bo burst out laughing. “Maybe the candle’s terrified. Look—it’s crying.”

The tropical cyclone’s effects were long-lasting. It rained nonstop for the next two days, but fortunately, the town’s electricity was restored—the power company employees had clearly risked a lot to fix it.

During these two days, Sunset Town was almost cut off from the outside world. Several road sections were destroyed by the storm, and even Highway 8 saw almost no vehicles. No news could get in.

So Sunset Town began to feel a bit like a secluded paradise. People worked at sunrise and rested at sunset. During the day, they helped each other repair houses; at night, they relaxed at the bar.

Wang Bo actually liked this simple lifestyle. With the environment washed clean by the rain, he sometimes felt like he had returned to a medieval village.

After the electricity came back, he finally learned online how terrifying the tropical cyclone Lorinna had been across New Zealand.

From Christchurch all the way south to Queenstown, half the South Island looked like it had suffered a terrorist attack. Many towns were shattered.

Even the modular houses in Sunset Town had suffered—over ten homes had their roofs torn off or their structures cracked—which he had thought was serious. But compared to other towns, it was nothing.

Led by the heroic Guanghui, Wanderers Town once again became a target for government relief. Māori houses were mostly made of natural materials, offering no resistance to hurricanes.

The entire town had been flattened. The roofs, the walls—everything was blown away.

But unlike during the earthquake, this time few people were injured. The houses were blown away, and most Māori were so heavy that the wind couldn’t move them…

“Looks like being fat has its advantages,” Wang Bo sighed.

Christchurch suffered the greatest damage, as expected. The whole of New Zealand had been supporting that city in recent days, and Australia, being New Zealand’s brother nation, had also sent rescue teams.

According to the news, Christchurch looked like a wasteland—trees uprooted, buildings leaning crookedly, and countless cars destroyed. In some areas, water levels on the streets had remained over a meter deep for four to five hours.

Looking at the images, Wang Bo couldn’t help but exclaim, “This is terrifying!”

Na Qingyang muttered, “This is f***ed.”

Wang Bo asked, “What do you mean?”

“Government disaster relief funds aren’t unlimited. If Christchurch is wrecked like this, do you think our little town still stands a chance of getting funding?”

Wang Bo thought about it—and realized he was right.

He was already scrambling for ways to find money to repair Sunset Town’s damaged buildings and facilities. At that moment, Atulu rushed in, panicking. “Boss! Bad news! There’s been a landslide at the gold mine!”

Wang Bo waved for him to calm down. “It’s fine, let it slide. We’re not mining gold anyway.”

“But the person who reported it said… someone’s out there collecting gold!”

At those words, Wang Bo exploded. “What the hell? Someone’s collecting gold at the mine? In this weather? Are they choosing money over their life?”

Truly, one wave had barely settled before another came crashing in. Wang Bo’s headache returned.