Novel Full Chapter 192: Provocation
It was clear that Vikram’s previous guess was an overthinking.
After learning his thoughts, the Plant System explicitly denied that the one-time repair tool could repair the territory.
Although the description was simple, the repair scope was limited to tools and could not be applied to building and specially the treehouse.
Despite some disappointment, the item’s ability was still incredibly powerful.
However, that would only be worth it for large objects; small appliances like these were not worth it at all.
Now it seemed these supplies could only be put aside for the time being, to be used only when he found other ways to repair them.
Returning to the living room, the two, upon learning there was no good way to fix the non-functional appliances, couldn’t help but show some disappointment.
After all, being told that a day’s hard work was all for naught would be hard for anyone to accept.
However, the good news was that new resources appeared today, which was a good sign overall.
At least, with so many resources appearing out of nowhere, there was nothing to complain about.
The appliances not working was only temporary; he just needed to find a way to fix them later.
After a simple dinner, the four sat together on the sofa, observing the messages in the small group chat.
Tomorrow would be the last period of peace before the natural disaster began.
Currently, Vikram also wanted to see what his group members had harvested from their outings these past few days, as well as their views on the natural disaster’s black fog.
The chat in the group was as lively as ever.
Even with the disaster approaching, the atmosphere in the group remained cheerful.
Scrolling up through the messages, the topics of conversation all revolved around Sunny Dalal, who had been fawning over Divya.
[Sunny Dalal: Image]
Vikram habitually clicked on the image, initially expecting to see something astonishing.
However, what met his eyes was just Sunny Dalal’s slightly lewd big face, and an ordinary Shelter.
He glanced at it, then prepared to close the image, thinking to himself what was so surprising about this.
It wasn’t until many envious comments from other group members flooded in below that he realized the noteworthy aspect of the photo.
[Radhika: Oh my, Sunny Dalal, is this your Shelter?]
[Sunny Dalal: Of course, how is it? Not bad, right?]
[Radhika: I didn’t realize, you’re so capable, your Shelter even has lights installed.]
[Geetanjali: Damn, he really pulled it off this time. I haven’t been able to install a light bulb even after all this time.]
It turned out that in the previous photo, Sunny Dalal had ’accidentally’ revealed the light in his Shelter behind him.
This was what sparked the discussion among the group members.
After all, in this world, having a bright light in one’s Shelter was indeed enough to make most Survivors envious.
However, Vikram’s heart remained completely unmoved by this.
“I thought it was something, but this?” Accustomed to days filled with light in his Shelter, Vikram had not reacted immediately.
Now knowing the truth, he stroked his chin and scrolled down with interest.
[Sunny Dalal: It’s alright, it’s just a light bulb, nothing special.]
He feigned a relaxed demeanor, but in reality, Sunny Dalal on the other end was grinning from ear to ear.
“Hehe, you little rascals, I finally got this light bulb, aren’t you all dying of envy?”
Looking at some slightly envious discussions in the small group, Sunny Dalal unconsciously puffed out his chest.
Even if the light bulb he deliberately didn’t show was just a desk lamp, and it ran on batteries, it still didn’t stop him from feeling like he was ahead of most of the group members.
At the same time, he was also constantly observing other group members’ messages, especially Divya, whom he had been thinking about.
He really wanted to see if Divya would regret choosing to be with Vikram after knowing how capable he was.
[Bobby: Sunny Dalal, how did you solve the power problem in your Shelter?]
[Bobby: I’m just one step away from getting light in my Shelter, give me some advice.]
[Radhika: Yeah, the light bulb is easy enough, the trouble is the power source.]
This power problem seemed to be a common issue for most capable Survivors; after someone spoke up, a bunch of group members also emerged to ask him.
Sunny Dalal was a bit anxious, not getting the reaction he wanted, but instead receiving a pile of questions.
“Where am I supposed to find solutions for you all? I’m using batteries myself, damn it,” Sunny Dalal said, scratching his messy hair, speechless.
Of course, he only said this to himself in the Shelter; after all, he had just shown off, and saying this now would make him lose all his swagger.
Finally, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and speak.
[Sunny Dalal: Well, regarding electricity, I solved it with the diesel generator in my Shelter.]
[Sunny Dalal: I just got lucky and found this generator at a new resource point. I can’t solve your problems, sorry.]
Sure enough, as soon as he said this, the inquiries in the group immediately stopped.
Because for them, a generator was indeed an unattainable item at this point.
“Anyway, you can’t know what I’m using for power, so I’ll just show off first.”
“Now, my persona as a successful person in the group is established.” Sunny Dalal smiled proudly, giving himself a thumbs-up for his quick thinking.
However, seeing his beloved goddess completely unresponsive, he rolled his eyes.
Immediately after, another photo popped up in the group, showing him sitting at a dining table enjoying dinner.
The food on the plate included both meat and vegetables, looking quite decent.
Originally, seeing this, Vikram didn’t show any reaction; at most, he just thought the guy had gotten rich.
Since the other party hadn’t provoked him, he didn’t plan to embarrass him.
It was only when he saw the caption accompanying the image that Vikram curled his lips in exasperation.
[Sunny Dalal: Enjoying delicious food and fine wine alone tonight, but without a beautiful woman by my side, what a pity. I wonder if my goddess would do me the honor of sharing a drink with me? @Divya]
Immediately following was another sentence with a hint of sarcasm, and anyone with eyes could tell who it was directed at.
[Sunny Dalal: The resources someone can’t provide, I, Sunny Dalal, can provide.]
Vikram usually didn’t like to cause trouble and kept a low profile, but that didn’t mean he had a good temper.
Since he was being provoked directly, he certainly had to retaliate.
Anjali beside him, however, spoke first, “You’re killing me, ’I wonder if my goddess would do me the honor’~” she said with a teasing tone, her eyes blinking at Divya.
This earned her a fierce glare from Divya, who then looked at Vikram, “Don’t mind him, just treat him like air, and he’ll shut up soon enough.”
Apparently, she had been harassed quite a bit before and was experienced in dealing with such matters.
However, Vikram didn’t think that way. No matter what, Divya was now his wife, now that both he and Divya were being disgusted by the other party, he certainly couldn’t let it go.
Looking at the photo Sunny Dalal sent in the group chat, Vikram realized that at this stage, having electricity in a Survivor’s Shelter, while still enviable, didn’t seem to surprise anyone too much.
It seemed he no longer needed to hide anything?
Thinking of this, and looking at the previously arrogant Sunny Dalal, a good idea formed in his mind.
Previously, when Sunny Dalal came out to show off and flaunt his wealth, Vikram couldn’t even be bothered to investigate the truth.
Now, after carefully observing the information in his words, Vikram quickly realized something was off.
First, there was the light source in the first photo. Although he couldn’t see what the light bulb looked like.
But having had light in Vikram’s territory for so long, he could be 100% certain that the direction of the light was not from a normal ceiling light.
“A desk lamp? Or a flashlight?” He couldn’t confirm the type of lamp, but this was enough to prove that its light source didn’t require actual electricity.
After all, both types of lamps only need batteries to provide light.
And combining this with how Sunny Dalal stammered when group members previously asked him how he obtained a power source.
He felt that what the other party had said about a generator was probably all nonsense.
Vikram didn’t deny the possibility of finding a generator in the Wasteland World now.
All sorts of electrical appliances he had just collected from the new resource point were still on the ground; nothing was impossible.
But the electronic components inside these materials were all damaged, almost without exception.
He didn’t believe that Sunny Dalal could be so special, not only finding a generator but also one that was perfectly intact.
Thinking of this, he quickly considered it internally and soon found a way to punish the other party.
[Vikram: Brother, your Shelter even has a diesel generator?]
[Sunny Dalal: So what, are you jealous?]
[Sunny Dalal: Weren’t you quite tough before? Now you want to borrow some electricity from me, don’t you?]
The other party paused, then continued.
[Sunny Dalal: I’d like to lend it, but your Shelter probably doesn’t even have a light bulb, right?]
Seeing his old rival Vikram respond sourly, Sunny Dalal, in his Shelter, couldn’t be more smug.
He had been greatly annoyed by Vikram before, and now, seizing this opportunity, he vowed to make the other party feel utterly humiliated.
“Hmph, isn’t he just lucky to have snatched Goddess Divya? What’s there to be so proud of?”
“As long as my Shelter’s environment is better than his, it’ll be easy to find an opportunity to rescue my Goddess Divya then.”
As Divya’s one-sided devoted admirer, Sunny Dalal still believed that his goddess was being coerced all along.
He still held onto the idea of taking Divya back to his Shelter if he got the chance.
However, Vikram couldn’t be bothered with how the other party was fantasizing and immediately continued to reply in the group.
[Vikram: Oh, you’ve misunderstood, haven’t you? I just find the power generation speed of the generator in my Shelter too slow, and I wanted to see what the power of the generator in your Shelter is like.]
[Radhika: My goodness, Big Boss Vikram, your place has electricity too?]
[Bobby: No way, I was gloating over getting a ceiling light these past two days, but it turns out so many people’s Shelters already have generators?]
[Geetanjali: You’re not alone, I had the same thought before.]
As soon as Vikram’s message was sent, many group members again expressed their envy.
Vikram himself didn’t care, but his arch-rival Sunny Dalal was not pleased.
“Generator? And comparing power? You’re really good at showing off.”
Sunny Dalal, who had fabricated having a generator in the group to show off earlier, naturally didn’t believe it was true.
[Sunny Dalal: You believe him just because he says so? Vikram, you should at least provide some evidence to back it up.]
Sunny Dalal, who had previously taken photos of his Shelter having light, wasn’t flustered at all and instead demanded Vikram provide evidence.
However, what happened next left him stunned.
In the group, Vikram sent another message, and it was indeed a picture.
Inside was a generator with a slightly futuristic design, and the 30KW marked on its body indicated its power.
[Vikram: Sigh, my generator only has a power of thirty kilowatts. It can only generate thirty kilowatt-hours of electricity at most per hour, which is quite average indeed.]
[Vikram: It makes me reluctant to turn on the lights. I only turn them on for a dozen hours a day, which is nowhere near enough.]