Chapter Seventeen: Spirit

The defibrillator is capable of delivering a powerful electric shock, with instantaneous voltages reaching into the thousands of volts. Based on this, Researcher Xiao speculated that the changes previously observed in the angel’s heart rate were likely due to her dormant consciousness being stimulated by the electrical current—though the intensity hadn’t been sufficient. He suggested we increase the power.

We accepted his advice at the time and administered several rounds of defibrillation to the angel’s heart. Eventually, under a high voltage of two hundred thousand volts, we succeeded in awakening her...

...

The dragon was at a loss for words, unconsciously conjuring up an image in his mind—a holy angel lying stark naked and rigid on an operating table, surrounded by a group of humans wielding defibrillators like irons, zapping her over and over with a loud crackling...

It seemed utterly un-magical and un-theological—no TV show would dare depict such a scene. No matter how he looked at it, it felt deeply out of place.

At least the angel had woken up in the end. Otherwise, if these folks at the Academy kept ramping up the voltage, they might have fried her to a crisp. That would’ve been even more awkward.

“So, what happened to the angel afterward?” Huang Ze asked curiously.

“Oh, her? She’s doing quite well. After regaining consciousness, we kept her hooked up to power lines for two days, and she immediately became lively and energetic. She even jumped straight out the eighth-floor window. It took us over ten kilometers of chasing to catch her again. Now she’s under special care in the underground lab, and her physical condition has remained excellent.”

“Hooked up to power lines for two days? Did I hear that right? Don’t you mean she had an IV drip for two days?” the dragon asked in confusion.

“No, Mr. Huang, you heard correctly,” Ding Xuewen replied with a smile. “It was indeed two days on power lines—220V direct current.”

“We’d already suspected that the angel’s body could absorb electrical energy. After all, we’d used high-voltage shocks on her so many times; under normal circumstances, her body should have been burned to a crisp. But the reality was quite the opposite: the more she was shocked, the more vibrant she became.”

“So, after she woke up, we tried directly channeling electricity into her body. Just as we expected, she found it pleasant and seemed to enjoy it. Even the halo atop her head, which had long since dimmed, began to shine again!”

“Emmmm…” Huang Ze was at a loss for words. This was an angel—a creature of myth, a servant and messenger of the gods—yet she could recover her vitality simply by being plugged in. That was a bit too down-to-earth, far from the mystique one would expect...

Yet, on closer thought, it wasn’t entirely illogical.

After all, as a powerful supernatural being, an angel’s level of existence would be at least tier six, capable of causing destruction equivalent to a hundred tons of TNT single-handedly.

---

A being of that magnitude certainly couldn’t be judged by ordinary standards. Both the form of life and the energy system of their bodies would be fundamentally different from those of common creatures.

The stronger a being is, the more energy it consumes daily. Ordinary food and biological energy simply couldn’t meet its needs.

Moreover, angels, unlike dragons, weren’t massive beings—their height was just about two meters. Such a small body, yet possessing power rivaling a dragon’s, implied there must be a far more advanced and efficient energy system at work within.

Electricity is a perfect secondary energy source—its strength is easy to control, its conversion efficiency is high, and compared to this world’s magical energies, it is more straightforward and reliable. For the angel’s remarkable internal energy system to absorb and utilize electricity is only natural.

Thinking this through, the dragon nodded and said, “I understand... This is a fantasy world. Many things truly can’t be viewed through the lens of our previous experiences.”

“Angels are servants of the gods—the most perfect creations in existence. Forget absorbing electricity; even if they could absorb nuclear energy directly... it wouldn’t be impossible.”

“Haha... Mr. Huang, you must be joking. Directly absorbing nuclear energy? That’s absurd. How could such a creature exist?” Ding Xuewen’s gaze flickered.

“You’ve tried it, haven’t you?” Huang Ze asked, his curiosity piqued.

“...Yes.” Ding Xuewen hesitated for a moment before admitting, “We once tried having the angel come into close contact with radioactive material. She didn’t show any pleasure; in fact, she was extremely averse and afraid.”

“Hmm... So it’s not quite as impressive after all...” The dragon couldn’t help shaking his head. “If she can’t even digest radioactive material, then her internal energy system isn’t truly perfect.”

Ding Xuewen: “……”

“I think I understand your approach,” the dragon mused. “If angels can absorb electricity, then as a supernatural being myself, I, too, should be able to absorb at least some electrical energy.”

“Academician Ding, I think your approach is fine—it’s just that your methods are a bit conservative.”

“What do you mean by that? Please explain.”

---

“It’s just... isn’t it a bit too cautious?” the dragon said. “If your guess is right and it’s electricity that my body craves, then why look for batteries? Why not just hook me up to a power line directly?”

“Well...” Ding Xuewen hesitated. “Our main concern is for your safety, Mr. Huang. Different voltages can have drastically different effects, and using power lines directly might harm your body.”

“Come on now, Academician Ding, aren’t you underestimating me?” Huang Ze protested. “That angel withstood two hundred thousand volts, and I’m much bigger—could a mere few hundred volts really do me any harm?”

“I know you mean well and are looking out for my safety, but you don’t have to be so cautious. I’m a dragon—it’s not that easy to hurt me. I strongly suggest that in future experiments, you can be much bolder with your ideas. If you have any wild notions, feel free to try them out on me—I can take it!”

“Mr. Huang...” All the staff were deeply moved. Who ever heard of a test subject making such a request? Rather than resisting, he was actively asking the researchers to be harsher with him.

Such selfless, fearless dedication to science—if Huang Ze wasn’t honored as the country’s most inspiring figure of the year, they would feel it was unjust.

“So... don’t hesitate any longer. Just hook up the power lines,” the dragon urged. “After all, household current is only 220 volts. It’s not enough to kill a human in a short time—let alone a dragon.”

“All right.” Ding Xuewen nodded. “Since Mr. Huang insists... Xiao Ma, get someone to bring over two power cords and set them up for Mr. Huang. Be careful and pay attention to safety.”

“Understood.” The staff immediately moved to comply. Soon, they brought over two wires, and after a careful check, plugged them straight into the dragon’s mouth.