Most middle-class communities had excellent service companies providing everything from cleaning and security to community hospitals and doctors. They could offer residents comprehensive care and services.
To pay for these services, people living in these communities had to spend a considerable amount every quarter to maintain these privileges. However, their expenditure was worthwhile, because the money bought them a certain kind of "dignity" and "respectability" far above those of the lower classes.
Lin Qi had just ridden his bike off the main road and turned into the community entrance when the security guard on duty at the gatehouse stopped him. "This is a private area. You can't go in..."
It was already getting dark. The security guard had not noticed Lin Qi's outfit at first, but after he came closer, he realized that Lin Qi was dressed like a typical electrician.
Generally speaking, many middle-class communities had their own electrician. The electrician's wages were not paid by the service company, but by all the community's homeowners. They also paid the service company an additional sum as a management fee.
The advantage of this arrangement was that whenever a household's electrical system developed a problem, the electrician would quickly appear where he was needed and solve it. However, it also gave rise to other problems, such as the Power Supply Company's dissatisfaction.
Business that should have belonged to the Power Supply Company had been taken away by the service company. They certainly would not pretend that nothing had happened, so they found a way to recover their losses: aging and inspections of the electrical lines.
The service company refused to acknowledge the Power Supply Company's demands. The Power Supply Company then used various methods, mainly threatening phone calls, to tell homeowners with community electricians that their electrical lines were deteriorating. They would say that the homeowners of some community had refused to have their lines inspected, resulting in a fire in which several people had gone to meet God, and so on.
In the end, most homeowners would ask the Power Supply Company to carry out the inspection and agree to pay another fee for it. In fact, some people did not know that before the billing period ended, the service company would deliver the bill to their mailboxes.
Some people read what every charge was for. These were middle-class families that had already begun to struggle financially. Most ordinary households did not care about such small amounts of money.
That was also why all kinds of lines and equipment in middle-class and some top-tier communities were wrapped in lead strips marked "Do Not Remove." Only Power Supply Company employees could remove them. If part of the equipment was opened for inspection, all the homeowners in the community would have to foot the bill.
This did not apply to every community. Some communities' service companies did not provide electricians, which was perfectly normal.
Lin Qi stopped his bicycle and raised the clipboard in his hand. The repair order on its first page made him look somewhat more official. "I'm here to inspect the lines. Someone said they saw some lines showing signs of aging and cracking..."
The security guard frowned. He knew very well that this was one of the Power Supply Company's tricks, but it had nothing to do with him. There was no need for him to offend anyone over the company's affairs.
He waved his hand and gave Lin Qi a few instructions. After telling him not to disturb the residents, he returned to the gatehouse and continued diligently guarding his post.
Lin Qi easily found Michael's house. Beside the yard stood a utility pole, with a platform jutting out from it like the lookout tower of a medieval sailing ship, providing enough room for a person to stand. That was the main inspection point.
There was a box there containing electrical equipment. Its opening was sealed with lead strips, and special pliers were needed to cut through the strips before it could be opened.
The number on the lead strip served as the basis for billing the service company. Under normal circumstances, the electrician would show the numbered strip to the service company, record it, and then take it back to the Power Supply Company.
Lin Qi climbed up easily, following the protrusions on the utility pole. From that angle, he had a clear view of Michael's entire house.
He had to admit that the bastard had chosen a great location. The three-story detached house looked to have around two hundred square meters of floor space. With yards in front and behind, it had no swimming pool, but it did have some small landscaped gardens.
People occasionally passed by here. From time to time, they would look up at Lin Qi, who appeared to be "busy," but they soon looked away without lingering.
The weather was getting hotter, and it was indeed the season when electrical lines required frequent inspections. Every summer, fires caused by aging lines broke out almost every week across the entire Federation.
In some higher-end communities, monthly inspections were perfectly normal. Especially on the hottest days, when electricity consumption peaked, problems could easily arise, and someone would inspect the lines practically every day.
By around ten that night, Newspaper Boss still had not shown up, and Lin Qi was preparing to leave. Just then, a furtive black figure crept over from the back of the community.
Newspaper Boss had wanted to come over much earlier, but he had been stopped outside the gate. Someone dressed in cheap clothes and reeking of alcohol obviously could not be a resident of the community, and the responsible security guard had barred him from entering.
Since security guards occasionally patrolled inside, and he had drunk some alcohol that night to work up his courage, Newspaper Boss had dozed off in the grass by the roadside while waiting for an opportunity.
If the temperature and mosquitoes had not woken him, he might have slept until the next morning.
There was no chance of getting in through the main entrance, so he went around to the back.
There was also a gatehouse at the back entrance, as well as a path leading directly to the main road. However, the path was farther back, and people were accustomed to entering and leaving through the front entrance, so this gate had been closed.
Cars could not pass through normally, and neither could pedestrians. However, such lax measures could not stop a person with functioning hands and feet. Newspaper Boss climbed over easily. After waiting for two patrols to pass and figuring out the interval between their rounds, he crept toward Michael's house.
At that moment, the streetlamps, constrained by their shades, could not cast their light onto Lin Qi, who stood level with them at the top of the utility pole. In the darkness, unless someone came particularly close, no one would imagine that a person was hiding in the shadows.
Lin Qi watched Newspaper Boss sneak over, climb across a vegetation-covered yard wall barely 1.2 meters high, and jump into the yard. He watched as Newspaper Boss furtively circled the house and tried to push open every window he could reach.
Perhaps the place was simply too safe. Perhaps it was due to the innate carelessness of women. On the west-facing side of the house, Newspaper Boss was delighted to push open a window.
The window rose slowly and silently under his push. He braced himself and thrust forward, sliding his upper body through the window. Lin Qi saw everything, but he did not move. He was waiting.
Time passed bit by bit. The tranquil night sky radiated starlight and serenity. In the darkness, Lin Qi's gaze remained fixed on the house.
It had been nearly ten minutes since Newspaper Boss went inside. Could the idiot really not handle even such a simple task? After another minute or two, the light on the second floor suddenly came on. A shadow appeared behind the curtains, which did not block out much light. The curvaceous silhouette seemed to belong to a woman. It paused by the window for a moment, then disappeared.
A few seconds later, Lin Qi heard a scream!