I Can't Afford to Live Anymore

Ordinary people ate when they were hungry, but Zhang Shuai was no longer ordinary. When he got hungry, he had to recharge.

He had no choice—he couldn't just go hungry. Zhang Shuai connected a wire to the outlet in his room, cut it open, and gripped the wire to begin charging himself.

Less than five minutes later, Zhang Shuai felt full and hurriedly stopped. This charging speed was practically super-fast charging.

Once fully charged, Zhang Shuai felt strength brimming through his entire body again. So, he began practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist once more. This time, after less than forty minutes of practice, Zhang Shuai was hungry again.

Zhang Shuai was speechless. Practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist drained power far too quickly!

Still, Zhang Shuai was in the heat of it now. Practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist was strangely addictive—the more he practiced, the more excited his body became. He simply couldn't stop.

He started charging again. This time, it took eight whole minutes to fully charge. He had no idea whether the charging speed had slowed or his battery capacity had increased.

Feeling refreshed and invigorated, Zhang Shuai began practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist again. This time, he practiced for over an hour before once again feeling a fierce hunger.

Clearly, his battery capacity had indeed increased. His body was now able to store more energy.

So Zhang Shuai began charging again. This time, it took twelve minutes before he felt full, and only then did he stop.

It was already eleven at night, yet Zhang Shuai felt completely refreshed without the slightest trace of sleepiness. He continued practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist, charging whenever he was hungry and resuming his punches whenever he was full. Zhang Shuai threw himself wholly into cultivation, and before he knew it, a full day and night had passed.

The difference was that each charge took longer than the last. His final charging session even lasted a whole hour.

At some point, while Zhang Shuai was fully immersed in cultivation, his phone suddenly began beeping. Several messages came in one after another. Zhang Shuai picked up his phone and saw that his landlord had sent him several WeChat messages.

"7:08. Dear owner of Yulong Residential Complex XX: You are currently thirty yuan in arrears. To prevent a power outage, please visit your local power supply service office to pay your electricity bill as soon as possible, or pay online..."

"15:02. Dear owner of Yulong Residential Complex XX: You are currently ninety yuan in arrears. To prevent a power outage..."

"22:48. Dear owner of Yulong Residential Complex XX: You are currently one hundred and sixty yuan in arrears. To prevent a power outage..."

These three messages were screenshots of arrears notices forwarded by the landlord. Since the landlord was the registered owner of the apartment, every electricity arrears notice was sent to the landlord's phone.

There was also an angry voice message from the landlord: "Zhang Shuai, what have you been doing? You used over a hundred yuan worth of electricity in one day? I'm telling you, don't do anything illegal in my apartment, or I'll call the police!"

Zhang Shuai was dumbfounded. Just a few days ago, he had topped up one hundred yuan on the electricity bill. After cultivating for only a day and night, he was somehow already one hundred and sixty yuan in arrears?

This... he really couldn't afford to live anymore!

He had thought that he would no longer need to eat in the future and could save a considerable sum, but not only had his expenses not decreased, they had actually grown.

Even if he put all his salary toward electricity, it still wouldn't be enough! How was he supposed to save up for a car? Where would he get money to find a girlfriend?

At that moment, Zhang Shuai no longer dared practice the Big Dipper Long Fist. This fitness boxing routine promoted by the government for the whole population truly was an excellent exercise routine, but for Zhang Shuai, it was simply too expensive. A poor man like him couldn't afford to practice it at all.

Besides, he couldn't conveniently charge at home anymore. The electricity consumption was too fast and would arouse suspicion. No normal household could possibly use over a hundred yuan of electricity in a single day. The power company might even come knocking to investigate such an abnormal situation.

Seeing that the landlord was furious, Zhang Shuai quickly sent a message pretending to be utterly innocent. He said that he was also baffled by the electricity bill and that perhaps the power company's system had malfunctioned. Tomorrow, he would go ask the power company staff to see what exactly was going on.

Seeing Zhang Shuai deny any knowledge and say that he would ask the power company about it, the landlord said nothing more.

Zhang Shuai felt miserable, his body damp and greasy. He hurried to the bathroom for a hot shower. While bathing, Zhang Shuai discovered that his body was covered not only in sweat, but also in a great deal of black, unbearably foul-smelling oily grime. It was as though he had crawled out of a swamp, covered head to toe in stinking mud. Zhang Shuai found it very strange. Why had his body expelled so many foul impurities?

This phenomenon was rather like the descriptions in wuxia novels of cleansing the marrow and severing the veins, shedding one's mortal frame and remolding one's bones!

Zhang Shuai's eyes lit up. Could this Big Dipper Long Fist truly have originated from an unparalleled martial art of ancient Dragon Kingdom? He had only practiced for half a day and already seen such effects. If he kept at it for the long term, could he become the kind of peerless master found in wuxia novels?

After thoroughly enjoying his shower, Zhang Shuai changed into fresh clothes. At that moment, he felt lighter than ever before, and his state of vitality, energy, and spirit had never been better.

He dug out a scale from beneath his bed. Zhang Shuai had bought it online for 9.9 yuan.

He stepped onto the scale and looked at the number displayed: 87.2 kilograms.

Zhang Shuai was beside himself with joy. He had really lost weight! The last time he weighed himself, he had been 90 kilograms. One session of Big Dipper Long Fist had successfully helped him lose five jin. The effect was better than any weight-loss drug.

It seemed that he still had to continue practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist. He wouldn't be satisfied until he had dropped to 70 kilograms.

Still, the power consumption was a problem. He definitely couldn't charge at home anymore. So, should he steal electricity from someone else's house? That seemed rather immoral. After all, his charging consumed a huge amount of power, and his charging sessions would only grow longer. It wouldn't be convenient to steal from someone else's home either, so Zhang Shuai immediately dismissed the idea.

After turning it over and over in his mind, there was only one solution: steal the country's electricity. He had no choice. For weight loss, for becoming a peerless master, for a bright future, he could only take a little advantage of the country. After all, the Dragon Kingdom was a country where the people were masters, and what belonged to the country belonged to every citizen. Taking a little advantage of the country shouldn't be too much, right? At worst, once he made something of himself, he would repay the motherland.

Lying in bed, Zhang Shuai first paid three hundred yuan toward his electricity bill on his phone before going to sleep. The payment made his heart ache.

Nothing happened that night, and Zhang Shuai slept wonderfully.

At nine the next morning, Zhang Shuai woke up. After waking, he began making preparations.

Stealing electricity in the city was definitely impossible. Cameras were everywhere, and he would easily be found out. At best, stealing electricity would result in a fine; at worst, he could be convicted of theft and sent to prison.

Zhang Shuai had no desire to go to prison, so he could only steal electricity somewhere out in the desolate countryside, where there were no cameras.

Zhang Shuai brought a camping tent, toiletries, a change of clothes, and some electrical tools that might come in handy. He also did not forget his electronic scale. Then he rode off on the secondhand electric scooter he had bought for five hundred yuan when he first arrived in Qingshui City.