Chapter Twenty: Yearning

As more and more of his body was nourished by the flow of electricity, the dragon grew increasingly unsatisfied. Unable to hold back, he spoke up, “Dr. Ding, could you increase the voltage a bit more? I feel like this 220 volts just isn’t doing the trick—it’s nowhere near my upper limit. Honestly, you’d be better off giving me high-voltage electricity… several thousand, or even tens of thousands of volts. I can definitely handle it.”

Dr. Ding Xuewen hesitated, not refusing outright. “Well, Mr. Huang, please wait a moment. We need to discuss this among ourselves.”

“How much current is running through the circuit right now?” Dr. Ding asked.

“Dr. Ding, it’s approaching 50 amps and still climbing,” He Guangming replied, checking the readings. “Even if Mr. Huang hadn’t said anything, we were going to suggest raising the voltage. It’s obvious his body’s power consumption is far more than just ten or twenty kilowatts.”

A current of 50 amps at 220 volts meant the dragon was already consuming 11,000 watts, and that still wasn’t his limit! Such an enormous load being driven by only 220 volts was clearly unreasonable. In fact, the two cables clamped in the dragon’s jaws were already quite hot—on the verge of short-circuiting or tripping the breakers.

Dr. Ding nodded, deep in thought. From their previous experience with the angel, they’d learned that extraordinary beings consumed vast amounts of energy—often several thousand or even tens of thousands of kilowatts. A single full charge could require hundreds of thousands, even millions of kilowatt-hours.

However, the angel was a foreign spy, or even a captive, and had always shown hostility and unwillingness to cooperate with the Academy. For safety, they never dared feed her too much power—she was kept on a 220V circuit at a maximum of 40 amps, just enough to keep her conscious.

But for Huang Ze, their own nation’s black dragon, things were different. Not only could they be less cautious, they should actively help him recover as quickly as possible—his restored strength would be a tremendous asset to the country.

Dr. Ding was well aware that the southern border had been unsettled lately—they might truly need the black dragon to make an appearance.

With the decision made, he consulted with the other academicians, who all agreed. He issued the order decisively: “Contact the power team at once. Have them lay a 10,000-volt line here as quickly as possible. And… make sure everything remains confidential.”

The reputation of Xia’s infrastructure prowess was well deserved. In less than two hours, the 10kV circuit was in place. Of course, it helped that this was a border trade hub, with high-voltage lines nearby. Still, the speed and efficiency amazed and delighted the dragon—this was the power of unity, the superiority of their system. His decision to return home was clearly the right one! Alone, no matter how powerful, he would always be just one isolated dragon; there was only so much he could achieve single-handedly.

The 10kV voltage was far more invigorating than 220V. With two thick alloy cables between his teeth, the dragon felt an intense surge of energy flooding through him. After a while, seeing everything was stable, Dr. Ding asked, “What’s the current now?”

“Dr. Ding, it’s holding steady at about 100 amps,” the power team replied. “But we think that’s just Mr. Huang’s preferred intake—it may not be limited by the voltage. In other words, we still don’t know his maximum charging capacity.”

“Should we try bringing over a 35kV or even higher-voltage line to find out?” someone suggested.

Dr. Ding was silent for a moment, then shook his head with a wry smile. “No need… 10kV and a megawatt is already extreme; anything more might be dangerous.” Of course, he knew he was being cautious—perhaps even underestimating Huang Ze. Ten thousand volts was surely not the dragon’s limit; after all, the angel had withstood two hundred thousand volts.

A megawatt sounded outrageous—one thousand kilowatt-hours per hour, more than most households used in a month—but considering the dragon’s monstrous appetite, it wasn’t so unbelievable. He could eat four tons of beef in a sitting—at about 1,500 kilocalories per kilogram, that was equivalent to 7,000 kilowatt-hours. Seven hours of charging would only match a single meal, so the efficiency wasn’t actually that high. Granted, electricity was a far more efficient energy source than food…

“We’ll keep it as is for now.” After another half hour, Dr. Ding said, “Mr. Huang’s body has been weak for a long time; he needs the energy. Since it’s nearly dark, let’s not disturb him—let him charge in peace for a while.”

With that, he dismissed the team for the day.

Huang Ze actually wanted to assure them they weren’t disturbing him at all. He felt more energized than ever, despite the world’s laws weighing heavily on him within the country. The effect of electricity on his dragon body was nothing short of miraculous; it also showed just how depleted he’d been before.

But while the dragon felt neither tired nor sleepy, the same could not be said for the staff who’d worked tirelessly all day. They deserved their rest. So, cables still clamped in his jaws, Huang Ze waved them off in a friendly manner.

Left alone, he began to wonder: just how much electricity could his body take in a single charge? He was currently absorbing a thousand kilowatt-hours per hour, but had no idea how long it would take to reach full capacity.

“It’s got to be at least thirty or fifty thousand kilowatt-hours,” he mused optimistically. Then he realized, even at the cheapest residential rates, that would cost twenty or thirty thousand yuan; his annual electric bill could easily reach several million. Not to mention his annual food expenses, which ran into hundreds of millions…

“Being a dragon is far from easy,” Huang Ze sighed. If it weren’t for the fact that his dragon’s blood could be sold for money, no amount of hard work could possibly support him.

“Wait, that’s not right…” he suddenly realized. Now that he could draw energy from electricity, a higher-grade source, he wouldn’t need nearly as much food. The savings on groceries alone would more than cover his electric bill—he might even have a surplus.

“As expected, the more advanced a lifeform, the higher its energy conversion efficiency—and the more economical it becomes,” the dragon reflected. But more than that, he was filled with anticipation: “I wonder if I’ll ever grow further… If I could evolve to directly absorb nuclear energy, now that would be truly remarkable and cost-effective. Just a few pounds of uranium-235 would keep me vigorous for years…”