Chapter 19: Touching the Electrical Outlet
“Brother Gang, I'll make up the six hundred thousand Uncle Jing lost later.”
After leaving Jingxin Hall, Su Xiaofan said to Zheng Dagang somewhat embarrassedly.
He had said the same thing inside Jingxin Hall just now, but Jing Shizhen had rejected it outright, saying that the agreed price was the agreed price, and he wouldn't take a single extra cent.
“It's fine. Uncle Jing isn't short of money. If he's willing to sell it to you, it means you two were meant to cross paths.”
Zheng Dagang laughed. Jing Shizhen was a very peculiar person. If he didn't like someone, he wouldn't even bother saying a word to them. But if he did like someone, he could be incredibly generous. Sometimes Zheng Dagang felt he didn't seem like a businessman at all.
“Brother Gang, I'm going back to Bronze Ware Village tomorrow, then I'll take Xiaoxiao to Yanjing. I won't be coming to the market these next few days.”
“Xiaofan, how about I come with you for a few days? I can also drive you there...”
After thinking for a moment, Zheng Dagang said, “Uncle Jing told me not to deal in magical artifacts anymore. I'll have to change what I sell at my stall, but I haven't figured out what to do yet. I'll go have some fun with you first.”
“Haha, Brother Gang, you make a street stall sound like a multinational corporation. It even needs restructuring?”
Su Xiaofan burst out laughing.
“Sure. Then I'll borrow your car while we're at it. Come pick up Xiaoxiao and me tomorrow.”
After agreeing on a time, Su Xiaofan caught a ride home with Zheng Dagang. Su Xiaoxiao had probably gone out to hang out with her classmates, so no one was home.
“Having money really is nice.”
Taking a bottle of mineral water from the refrigerator, Su Xiaofan sat on the large sofa in the living room. Listening to the singing from the television and looking at the scenery outside the window, he felt completely relaxed and refreshed.
But the moment he thought about money, his mood wasn't quite so good anymore. Out of the more than 1.7 million yuan he had, only a little over 500,000 remained. If he prudently set aside Xiaoxiao's tuition and living expenses for the next three years, then even that 500,000 wouldn't really be his anymore.
Still, Su Xiaofan wasn't the type to dwell on things. Since the money had already been spent, there was no point thinking about it. As long as it was worth it.
“These magical artifacts really are expensive...”
He picked up the Divining Wind Chime from the table. This bronze bell, only about the size of a baby's fist, had cost him a full 1.2 million yuan, and he still had no idea what it actually did.
【Repair Points: 8】
【Divining Wind Chime, low-grade damaged magical artifact. Repairable. Requires 5 Repair Points. Repair?】
The information about the Divining Wind Chime appeared in Su Xiaofan's mind. Without hesitation, he chose to repair it. That was exactly why he had bought it.
Ever since waking up in the hospital, Su Xiaofan had only had thirty Repair Points in total. Twenty-two had been used to repair his body, leaving eight. He wanted to conduct some experiments with them.
In his opinion, Repair Points were extremely precious, so naturally they should be used on valuable items. Since the dragon-shaped jade pendant couldn't be repaired, he would try the Divining Wind Chime, another magical artifact.
【Repairing Divining Wind Chime. Deducting 5 Repair Points. Remaining Repair Points: 3】
After confirming the repair, nothing seemed to change. Only the number representing his Repair Points in his mind changed from eight to three, indicating that the five points had indeed been deducted.
【Divining Wind Chime, low-grade magical artifact. Cannot be repaired.】
When he focused on the bronze bell again, its information had changed as well. The words “low-grade damaged magical artifact” had become simply “low-grade magical artifact.”
“Huh? It does seem a little different.”
Whether it was just his imagination or not, Su Xiaofan carefully examined the bronze bell and indeed noticed some changes.
When the bell was still, it looked no different than before. But when he shook it, a gentle, lustrous glow suddenly appeared on its surface.
And when the bell rang, Su Xiaofan felt as though the air before him had become like the surface of a still lake struck by a pebble, sending ripples spreading in every direction along with the pleasant sound.
“It really is different from ordinary antiques.”
Having spent the past two years in the antique market, although he sold bronze handicrafts himself, he knew all the antique stall owners on the first floor well and had handled quite a few genuine antiques.
Whenever he had handled those antiques before, they had always felt like lifeless objects. But this Divining Wind Chime was different. It actually gave him a sense of spirituality that made him reluctant to put it down.
“Too bad it's a bit too big. Otherwise it'd be nice to carry around.”
Only after playing with it for quite a while did Su Xiaofan finally put the bell back.
Although he had spent 1.2 million yuan on a magical artifact whose purpose he didn't know, he didn't regret it. It had originally been worth 1.8 million. If he didn't want it, he could easily resell it to Zhao Hengjian.
Of course, he wouldn't actually do that. It would be taking advantage of Jing Shizhen, and he'd have no face to see the old man again afterward.
Besides, Su Xiaofan felt these so-called magical artifacts were anything but ordinary. Even a wealthy and successful man like Zhao Hengjian specifically sought them out, which showed they certainly weren't useless.
If this had been before he was electrocuted, Su Xiaofan would probably have dismissed all that talk about warding off misfortune and attracting good fortune.
But ever since the Repair Points had appeared in his mind and he had personally experienced their effects, he no longer rejected such mysterious claims so readily.
After all, he had practically been half dead back then, yet the Repair Points had healed him. That seemed even more incredible than the power of ghosts or gods.
“Did Dad really buy this jade pendant?”
Su Xiaofan touched the jade pendant hanging around his neck, unable to figure it out. Jingxin Hall, despite its size, had fewer than ten magical artifacts in total, yet his father had somehow managed to acquire one—and it was even a mid-grade magical artifact. That didn't seem so simple.
“Forget it. No point overthinking it. After I send my little sister off to school, I'll travel around looking for hidden treasures.”
Thinking about his ability, Su Xiaofan couldn't help feeling excited.
After spending several years in the antique market, all he ever heard were stories about someone discovering an incredible bargain. But as for himself, aside from the copper coins that were sold in bulk and mostly genuine, everything else had turned out exactly as the receipts described: “handicrafts.”
But the Repair Points' ability to determine an item's age meant Su Xiaofan could sift through the market and uncover overlooked antiques. Just imagining it made him grin with anticipation.
“Oh right, Xiaoxiao isn't back yet. Should I try getting electrocuted and see if I can gain Repair Points?”
With nothing else to do, the thought suddenly popped into his head.
After spending five Repair Points repairing the Divining Wind Chime, he only had three left. If he couldn't find a way to increase them, there was no way he'd dare use those remaining three.
Having grown up in the countryside in Bronze Ware Village beside Mang Mountain, Su Xiaofan had always been exceptionally bold. He had wanted to try this several times already, and now he could no longer suppress the urge.
“Hm? These outlets are all shockproof?”
He discovered that the apartment in this upscale residential complex really was different. The electrical outlets were all fitted with safety shutters. Even sticking his fingers in wouldn't work.
But that wasn't enough to stop him. He found a screwdriver and quickly removed the outlet cover.
“Damn it. If it works, great. If it doesn't... well, I probably won't die, right?”
Gritting his teeth, Su Xiaofan grabbed the exposed live wire and neutral wire with his hand.
“It really works.”
The moment both wires touched his fingers, his whole body suddenly tingled. A numb, prickling sensation spread throughout him, but it wasn't painful like the previous electrocution.
“Does this make me some kind of electric baby?”
“Huh? What's going on?”
Just as Su Xiaofan was feeling delighted, the tingling sensation in his fingers suddenly disappeared.
“The power tripped?”
Seeing the television go dark, he shook his head and let go of the wires.
【Repair Points: 3】
Checking the Repair Points in his mind, they were still at three. Walking over to the apartment's electrical panel, he opened it and discovered that the one thousand yuan worth of electricity he had topped up just yesterday had somehow been completely used up.
“It didn't trip... the electricity was... used up?”
Su Xiaofan froze.
Electricity in this neighborhood cost sixty cents per kilowatt-hour. One thousand yuan bought over sixteen hundred kilowatt-hours. Yet in just a few seconds, all sixteen hundred-plus kilowatt-hours had been consumed. Had he become some kind of super battery?
What he found even harder to accept was that after absorbing so much electricity, the Repair Points in his mind hadn't increased at all.
“Does electrical energy not increase Repair Points? Or did I not absorb enough? Do I have to touch high-voltage electricity?”
Thinking back to the night he had been electrocuted, Su Xiaofan couldn't help shivering. Just because 220-volt household electricity hadn't harmed him didn't mean high voltage would be safe too.
“Forget it. If I try that, I might really end up dead.”
After thinking it over, Su Xiaofan left the apartment and went to the property management office to top up ten thousand yuan worth of electricity. He also scanned a QR code to download an app so he could recharge directly through it next time.
After returning home and checking the meter reading, Su Xiaofan reached for the wires again. Strangely enough, touching electricity was actually addictive. That tingling sensation had become something he almost missed.
Again, in only a few seconds, more than sixteen thousand kilowatt-hours of electricity vanished completely. Su Xiaofan had no idea why such an enormous surge hadn't tripped the breaker, but the meter clearly showed there was no electricity left.
【Repair Points: 3】
“Damn, I can't keep this up.”
Su Xiaofan was dumbfounded. Ten thousand yuan had disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Although he was certain the consumed electricity had been devoured or absorbed by whatever was inside his mind, his Repair Points hadn't increased at all. It was like a bottomless pit, and he had no idea whether continuing would accomplish anything.
“I'd better stop.”
Using the app, he recharged another thousand yuan worth of electricity for the apartment and didn't continue.
Using ten or twenty thousand kilowatt-hours in a single day—even Bitcoin mining rigs didn't consume that much power. Although he was paying for it himself, if the authorities noticed, he would have no way to explain it. His idea of charging Repair Points with electricity had officially failed.
(Friendly reminder: 220V electricity can kill. Anything above 36V is already very dangerous. Readers, please do not imitate this under any circumstances. Remember this!)
(End of Chapter)
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