Can't Die

Not long after, Zhang Shuai arrived at Building Nine of the residential complex. He took the stairs to the second floor, found Room 202, and rang the doorbell.

Very soon, a middle-aged woman in her forties opened the door. Seeing Zhang Shuai in his work uniform, she welcomed him inside with a smile. After talking things over with him, she explained that the wiring had burned out while they were using an induction cooker and asked roughly how long it would take to repair.

Zhang Shuai casually replied that he would need to inspect the wiring first. As for how long the repair would take, he could not say yet.

Zhang Shuai then used a multimeter to inspect the wiring inside the apartment, but there did not seem to be any problems with it.

So, he went to inspect the electrical breaker box in the stairwell. He found the woman's meter breaker and saw that the circuit breaker had failed. Zhang Shuai casually replaced it, and the lights in the woman's apartment immediately came back on.

A moment later, the woman came out with a bottle of mineral water and handed it to Zhang Shuai, thanking him politely. "Master, you've worked hard."

Zhang Shuai took the water and said, "It's nothing, ma'am. Go ahead and cook. The switch on your breaker is a little old—I'll replace it with a new one for you."

The woman beamed with joy and thanked him again and again. "Then I'll have to trouble you, Master."

Once the woman had gone back inside, Zhang Shuai hesitated. It was not that he was afraid of dying or regretted it, but he wondered whether getting electrocuted to death would drag this family down with him.

The woman living in this complex was clearly not from a wealthy family. If he were electrocuted to death, her family would not be able to escape responsibility and would have to pay some compensation. Would that not be harming them?

Even if he wanted to die, he could not harm innocent people!

Forget it. Better not drag anyone else into it.

Zhang Shuai left the woman's home and headed to the distribution room beside the residential complex. There was no one around, though it would not have mattered even if there had been. He was wearing an electrician's uniform, so no one would pay him any attention.

If something happened to him in the complex's distribution room, no one else would get implicated, and he would not harm that woman.

Slipping into the distribution room, Zhang Shuai began arranging an electrocution suicide. First, he unscrewed the mineral water and took a sip, then poured some onto his right hand, wetting it.

Then Zhang Shuai used his dripping-wet right hand to move the copper strip on one of the breakers.

Suddenly, sparks flashed across the breaker. A powerful current surged from Zhang Shuai's right hand into his body, racing wildly through him.

What did electrocution feel like? Zhang Shuai had looked it up online before. He had read that it caused severe electric shock burns, damaged cells, muscles, and organs, and could even rupture the eardrums, causing hearing loss. It could also lead to myocardial damage, acute kidney failure, and ultimately death.

Yet at that moment, Zhang Shuai felt incomparably wonderful. That was right—it felt amazing!

The intensely stimulating current entered his body, making Zhang Shuai feel refreshed. He felt numb and tingly, warm and comfortable, like drinking a bowl of hot soup amid ice and snow, the bitter cold freezing the world—a comfort that flowed from head to toe.

What felt most incredible to Zhang Shuai was that the severe hunger he had felt earlier gradually vanished. As the current slowly entered his body, he felt strength filling every inch of him. His stomach was no longer hungry, his mental state was better than ever before, and he was wildly exhilarated.

This was far too bizarre. Could it be that he had felt hungry, that no amount of food could fill his stomach, because he had not charged up and his battery was running low?

That was too absurd. He was a human, not a robot—why would he need charging to replenish his energy?

At that moment, stormy waves rose in Zhang Shuai's heart. He realized that his body had undergone some bizarre mutation. Perhaps he was no longer a pure human being.

At that moment, Zhang Shuai suddenly thought of the strange incident that had happened to him when he was twelve. Could those two aliens he had seen really have been behind it? There had been something wrong with the medicine they made him take!

Zhang Shuai was utterly terrified. He had been bent on dying, only to accidentally discover the secret of his own body.

Before long, Zhang Shuai suddenly felt his stomach swell slightly. Had he charged himself full? Was he full?

Would he no longer have to worry about starving to death in the future?

If he could live, Zhang Shuai naturally did not want to die. He had grown up without ever tasting the flavor of a woman—how could he bear to die?

Since he was full, Zhang Shuai stopped absorbing the current and carried his toolbox home.

After returning home, Zhang Shuai began examining his body. Other than being able to charge himself, he was no different from an ordinary human.

Zhang Shuai even specifically tested whether he had any superpowers. Unfortunately, aside from seeming a little stronger than before, he had no other extraordinary abilities.

Wang Qiang came home from work, where his wife, Jing Fengqin, had already cooked dinner and was waiting for him.

Jing Fengqin was ordinary-looking, but she was diligent and virtuous. Wang Qiang was very satisfied with his wife. She had not worked for the past two years and had stayed home to care for their child, who was only two years old and had not yet learned to speak.

During dinner, Wang Qiang took out four thousand yuan in cash and handed it to Jing Fengqin. "Fengqin, put this money away."

Jing Fengqin found it strange. "It's not payday yet. Where did this money come from?"

Wang Qiang said, "Zhang Shuai paid it back. Didn't he owe me ten thousand yuan? You've nagged about it for so long, always saying it was unreliable to lend him money. Well, he paid back four thousand, didn't he? He'll repay the rest when he has the money."

Jing Fengqin was somewhat surprised. "He actually took the initiative to pay you back? Now that's a rare sight."

Wang Qiang said unhappily, "I just don't understand why you have such a huge prejudice against my childhood friend. How is he unreliable? Let me tell you, we grew up together. No one in this world knows him better than I do. He is actually an extremely loyal person. It's just that he really is having a hard time right now. As his only friend, if I don't help him, then no one in this world will."

Jing Fengqin said, "Do you know why I don't like him? The first time he came to our home, I did not slight him in the least. I even specially cooked a whole table of dishes to entertain him. And when he said at the table that he wanted me to introduce him to a girlfriend, I went out of my way to help. I introduced one of my distant cousins from my maternal family to him..."

Wang Qiang cut her off. "Your cousin didn't like him. She thought he was fat and poor."

Jing Fengqin said, "He isn't even especially fat. He's one meter seventy-five and weighs one hundred eighty jin. The reason my cousin did not like him was not because he was fat, nor was it only because he was poor. It was because there was something wrong with his head."

Wang Qiang froze, then said unhappily, "Don't talk nonsense. He's perfectly normal. What's wrong with his head?"

Jing Fengqin said, "It wasn't me who said it—it was my cousin. When he treated my cousin to dinner, she asked him what education he had. He actually spouted nonsense, telling her that he had seen aliens before and had even been abducted by them. He even bragged that if the aliens had not abducted him back then, he definitely could have gotten into Longhua University. Tell me, does that sound reliable? His mouth runs like an out-of-control train. With his intelligence, could he get into Longhua University? Having a low level of education is not a problem, but boasting like that is a bit too ridiculous, isn't it?"

Wang Qiang fell silent for a moment before saying, "Actually, he wasn't lying. If he hadn't been abducted by aliens, he really would have had a chance of getting into Longhua University!"

Jing Fengqin stared at Wang Qiang suspiciously. "You believe that kind of deceptive ghost story he tells?"

Wang Qiang said, "I believe it. Many people may scoff at tales of aliens, but I believe them without the slightest doubt. Because when Zhang Shuai was abducted by aliens, I happened to be with him!"