ZZZT... ZZZZT...
Arcs of unstable electricity danced across the screen of the Yin-Yang iPad, looking like it was about to short-circuit at any second. The 50.000 Merit credit line was like a block of coal tossed into a furnace—instantly devoured by the system.
[Establishing Cross-Realm Connection...]
[Target: Science Side · Lightning Attribute Heroic Spirit.]
[Detecting lack of high-precision conductive materials in current environment...]
[Warning: Massive Matter Reconfiguration Required. Energy Consumption: EXTREME.]
"Damn it, I knew it wouldn't be simple!" John watched the energy consumption bar skyrocket, his heart bleeding. "Is 50k even enough? Don't suck me dry!"
"It has to be enough!"
A voice magnetic and thick with a Serbian accent burst from the speakers, accompanied by the crackle of electric sparks.
"Young man, science costs money! If that miser Morgan had been half as generous as you, my Wardenclyffe Tower would have lit up the world long ago!"
BOOM—!
A beam of blinding blue light split the ceiling of John's clinic (thankfully reinforced by Lu Ban, or it would have collapsed).
From the light stepped a man in a sharp, old-fashioned suit with a meticulously groomed mustache. His eyes, however, burned with the manic intensity of a madman.
Nikola Tesla.
The father of Alternating Current, the pioneer of radio, and the "Scientific Freak" abandoned by his era.
He held two ordinary-looking copper wires, but between his hands, a visible high-voltage arc sizzled and danced.
"Is this the place?"
Tesla looked around the pitch-black slum, devoid of any decent generator. He frowned slightly, but a flash of excitement sparked in his eyes.
"No grid? No transformers? Not even a single guide wire?"
He laughed, a sound filled with disdain for so-called "infrastructure."
"Perfect! This is the ultimate testing ground!"
"Those damned power companies, those disciples of Edison who only care about collecting fees... they leash humanity like dogs with wires and charge toll fees by the meter!"
"Today, I will show them what true... Free Energy looks like!"
Tesla spun around, facing John.
"Kid, materials? I need to build a tower!"
"No... no materials..." John spread his hands awkwardly. "Just this room full of junk."
"Junk?"
Tesla casually grabbed a pile of empty soda cans Bone had hidden in the corner, a half-rotten rebar, and a broken microwave.
He held up the microwave like he was admiring a piece of art.
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"Magnetron... crude craftsmanship, but passable as a core oscillator. These cans... aluminum alloy, decent conductivity, can be recast into coils."
"In the eyes of a genius, everything is a conductor!"
"Since there are no materials, we'll just... print them!"
Tesla slammed his hands together.
"Mass-Energy Conversion! Rise!"
This was why he was so expensive.
He wasn't here to wire circuits; he was here to create.
The 50.000 Merit Points transformed into a massive stream of energy, injecting into Tesla's hands. The trash he held began to melt, levitate, and reassemble.
Soda cans turned into countless precision silver coils, winding themselves in the air.
Rebar stretched and twisted, forming a towering skeletal base.
The microwave's core components were dismantled and reassembled into a sphere glowing with ghostly blue light.
A miniature, wasteland-punk style Wardenclyffe Tower rose from the floor of the dilapidated living room, piercing through the roof and pointing straight at the sky.
The scene was absurd yet breathtaking. A flower of technology blooming in a pile of garbage.
"Ready?"
Tesla stood beneath the tower, hand gripping the core switch (which was literally the microwave's timer knob). His eyes burned with the fire of vengeance.
"Edison said DC is safe; I say screw safety!"
"Edison said electricity must be charged; I say electricity is a gift from God, and no one has the right to charge for it!"
"Today, I'm smashing their meters and burning their bills!"
"Power ON!"
He violently twisted the knob.
ZZZ—VMMM!!!
A beam of blue light, too bright to look at directly, shot from the tower's tip, piercing the dark clouds over the 13th Street.
Immediately after, countless tiny blue lightning bolts separated from the beam like living tendrils. They accurately found the receiving end of every building, every lamp, and every appliance.
No wires needed.
No sockets needed.
This was Tesla's ultimate dream—[Global Wireless Transmission].
SNAP!
The lights in John's clinic flickered on.
The refrigerator began to hum.
Margaret's life support system restarted, emitting a steady beep-beep.
It wasn't just John's house.
Next door, the lights on Uncle George's hot dog stand lit up.
Across the street, Aunt Mary's sewing machine started spinning.
The entire 13th Street, this dark corner cut off from power for a whole day, was instantly lit as bright as day.
"We have power! We have power!"
"The meter isn't moving! It's free!"
Neighbors rushed out of their homes, cheering as they looked up at the sparkling tower in the night sky.
And at the source of that power—the [Lightning Induction Talisman]—was frantically absorbing static electricity from the atmosphere, continuously converting it into pure electrical energy.
"See that?"
Tesla stood in the light. Although his figure was beginning to fade (energy depletion), he smiled like a child.
"That is the beauty of science."
He turned to John and pointed at the humming tower.
"This thing can last about 24 hours. Should be enough for you."
"And..."
Tesla leaned in close to John, lowering his voice as if sharing a cheat code.
"I just tweaked the frequency of this tower to match the main transformer of that... whatever 'Power Company' you have."
"Do you know what that means?"
John shook his head.
"It means..." Tesla grinned wickedly, making an explosion gesture with his hands. "Resonance."
"If they dare to try cutting your power again, or try to surge the load on you..."
POOF!
"Their transformers will 'digest' the excess energy for you."
"We call this... 'Remote Borrowing Fire.'"
With that, the scientific madman turned into a streak of current and vanished into the air.
Leaving John alone with the humming tower.
John looked at the fully operational clinic, watching the color return to his mother's face.
Then he looked into the distance, at the brightly lit Upper Sector, which was about to face a massive problem.
"Borrowing fire?"
John rubbed his chin.
"This fire... might be a bit too big."
[At the same moment. Hell, Cross-Realm Communication Base.]
Ding-dong.
An auto-reply message arrived on John's iPad.
[System Notice: Session Ended. Bill Generated.]
After sending this message, Daoist Singularity didn't log off immediately as usual.
He was standing, dazed, in the ruins of the base.
It was a mess. Due to the instantaneous burst of ultra-high frequency electromagnetic pulses, several massive signal towers had been burnt to charcoal. The air was filled with the acrid smell of burnt ozone.
Several maintenance ghosts were crying as they sprayed fire extinguishers everywhere.
Singularity held half a teacup that had been shattered by the shockwave. His face was covered in soot, with only his sunglasses stubbornly hanging onto the bridge of his nose.
"What a sin..."
Singularity looked at the chaotic scene, the corner of his mouth twitching.
"I knew it... I knew I shouldn't let that maniac who plays with AC touch Hell's DC grid..."
He sighed, silently pulled an abacus from his robe, and began to calculate.
"Repair costs... if that kid can't pay this back, I'm going to have to catch his crocodile and stew it for soup to cover the debt."
[Message from Singularity]
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