Chapter 76: The Eiffel Power Plant
Dlamini left in the end.
Chen Chen released Dlamini, along with the remaining bodyguards who were clueless.
From the balcony, Chen Chen watched as Dlamini walked out of the cheap hotel. Currently, Dlamini had lost his overbearing att.i.tude and he appeared to be much older.
“Are we letting him go just like this?”
Qian Wenhuan walked out from the shadows and wondered aloud. “Not only did you trample on his dignity but you also killed two of his most trusted a.s.sistants. Won’t that cause him to bear a grudge?”
“When you learn that the people you trusted most had betrayed you and I killed them for you, would you bear a grudge?” Chen Chen replied with his question.
“Uh... Maybe I wouldn’t quite know how to feel.” Qian Wenhuan suddenly understood.
“That’s right.” Chen Chen nodded. “I first led them to betray him, so I wouldn’t have killed the people he trusted most.”
“...”
“In fact, both of them didn’t have to die.”
Chen Chen thought about it. “I ordered the G.o.d chip to shoot because they had the intention of shooting me. And not just the intention — they even put it into action. So, they died.”
“But, you were the one who gave them the gun...” Qian Wenhuan’s mouth twitched.
“I gave them the gun to show Dlamini the truth — that I can control anyone completely once they had the operation on the back of their neck.”
Chen Chen explained, “If I just told him verbally, ‘I implanted a chip in you, so your life is in our hands from now on’, besides fear, he’d only feel anger at being threatened.
“However, when you present this evidence as a form of truth and demonstrate this in an unforgettable manner, the effect is far different.
“It really gets to you...”
Qian Wenhuan nodded in agreement and sighed. “First, you let two of his juniors kill themselves before him, then you made him put the gun to his own head. I’m guessing that each night, for the rest of the year, he’ll be plagued by nightmares.”
...
Eskom, the national power company of the Rainbow Nation, published an implementation plan called the Basic Energy Plan in 2006.
The main policy of this executive plan was to allow private companies to build private, profitable coal-fired stations in the form of compet.i.tive bidding.
Back during that bidding, dozens of companies made their bids, but ultimately, Dlamini bought the right to build a coal power plant in Cape Town for one billion rands.
The final manifestation of all this was the Eiffel Thermal Power Plant, now located in the northern suburbs of Cape Town.
Cape Town had a resident population of 4 million and the electricity consumption per capita was only thirty percent of the international average. The Eiffel Power Plant was a huge thermal power plant with a capacity of one million kilowatts. Its energy output was mainly used to supply power to several commercial streets in the hub and three hundred thousand residents.
In the suburbs at the other end of Cape Town, there were several thermal power stations similar to the Eiffel Power Plant, but those were small to medium-sized.
The Eiffel Power Plant was responsible for generating forty percent of the electricity in the entire urban area. If an issue cropped up, it was not an exaggeration to say that the entire city would be incapacitated.
What about those slums?
Well, sorry, but they could barely afford to eat. What would they need electricity for?
This was what Bokamoso, the head of the Eiffel Power Plant, said to Chen Chen in the car.
Bokamoso was an archetypal Zulu man. He spoke in English peppered with Zulu slang. It was often unclear if he was complaining about the public security problems in Cape Town or if he was about to spit out the window.
At the moment, Chen Chen was sitting in a Rolls-Royce. Next to him was Bokamoso. They were both on their way to the Eiffel Power Plant.
As they gradually left the urban area of Cape Town, the sky started to darken. A slum stretched out for several kilometers on both sides of the main road.
Most of these slums consisted of low houses built with iron sheets and wooden boards. Even though they were far away, the scope of their area was still shocking.
There were even signs in English and some local African languages, on both sides of the highway indicating “Dangerous Section Ahead”.
Places marked out with signs like these usually meant an area where crimes such as robbery and murder frequently occurred.
Poverty, economic depression, political instability — various factors had led the Rainbow Nation to become one of the countries with the highest crime rate in the world, accompanied by a proliferation of firearms. The country did not even have deterrent penalties such as capital punishment.
However, Chen Chen did not notice this as he was in the car. He only noticed the surrounding trees and buildings seemed to be covered in a thin blanket of ash as they approached the suburbs.
Bokamoso explained that the Eiffel Power Plant consumed 1.8 million tons of coal every year. The resulting smoke from the incineration would need to go somewhere. Therefore, it was a very natural outcome that the ground ten kilometers around the power plant would be coated in black ash.
Bokamoso seemed optimistic regarding this pollution. He said that due to geographical factors, fresh strong winds would often blow in from the southeast from Cape Town’s direction. The locals called this wind “Doctor Cape” because it would bring them fresh air and blow the pollutants into the sea...
Chen Chen responded absentmindedly and did not say much. He only displayed a serious look when the convoy stopped at the gate of the Eiffel Power Plant.
“Mr. Bokamoso, I thank you in advance for your help.”
“No worries. Since this was what Mr. Dlamini wanted, of course, I’ll do it.”
Bokamoso hurriedly nodded.
Chen Chen led Cheng Cao and the rest out of the car. Cheng Cao and his group each carried a suitcase, which looked rather conspicuous.
Speaking in scattered English, Bokamoso invited Chen Chen’s group into the power plant in a deferential manner. He personally brought them around and finally stopped before the power plant’s substation.
“This is the output end of the power plant. The electricity from the turbines and generators is boosted here and finally imported into the grid,” Bokamoso explained.
Chen Chen nodded. The purpose of high-voltage power transmission was to reduce the loss of electrical energy during the transmission process. At the same level of power output, the higher the voltage, the lower the current, thereby reducing heat loss in the transmission cable.
This substation located in the power plant boosted the generated electricity to 110kV, then sent it into the high-voltage grid, before it finally entered the thousands of households in the urban area of Cape Town.
“Alight, Mr. Bokamoso.” Chen Chen nodded. “You can go on ahead. I’ll be fine here alone.”
“But...” Bokamoso’s smile seemed a little stiff.
“Hmm?” Chen Chen frowned at this. “This is what Mr. Dlamini wanted. Do you have any doubts about the order he’s given?”
As Chen Chen spoke, a few of Cheng Cao’s bodyguards reached into their pockets.
“No, of course not...” Bokamoso’s face turned pale and he retreated with an awkward grin.
“Cheng Cao, you and your team stand guard outside. Whoever comes in without my permission, kill them without mercy,” Chen Chen commanded.
“Yes.”
Cheng Cao and the others opened their suitcases which were filled with machine guns and fully loaded magazines. After they had equipped themselves, they filed out and stood guard outside the substation’s door.
After everyone had left, Chen Chen brought out a cable as thick as his wrist along with a copper ingot from the remaining suitcase.
“Little X, tell Dlamini that he may begin...”
At last, Chen Chen took out his phone and gave this command.