Courtyard Houses: Longevity Since the War of Resistance

The water stains hadn't completely dried yet.

Those people lying on the ground had just been pulled back by the god of time. They were soaked, not with water, but with cold sweat from fright. Everyone was trembling, their eyes unfocused.

I stood among these people and looked around. In the next room, there were their experimental equipment: wires, transformers, electrode pads, and several machines for measuring physiological indicators.

electricity.

They must have used it, applying electric shocks to living people to test their nerve responses and limits of tolerance.

It was mentioned in the materials, but not in detail. Today, let them try it themselves.

I walked to the corner and dragged over a hand-cranked generator. It was quite old-fashioned, with two cranks connected to coils and magnets. The faster you cranked it, the higher the voltage. The slower you cranked it, the lower the voltage. Next to it was a bundle of wires and several electrode plates with metal sheets attached.

I placed the generator in the middle of the hall, connected the wires, and soaked the electrode plates in salt water to improve conductivity.

The first one is still Shiro Ishii.

He was lying not far away, curled up in a ball. I went over and kicked him. He didn't react, but his body trembled even more violently. I grabbed his collar and dragged him to the generator.

He seemed to realize something and began to struggle, making whimpering sounds in his throat. But it was no use.

I pressed him to the ground, making him lie face down. Then I picked up two electrode pads. I placed one on the center of his lower back, close to his spine. For the other, I tore open his trouser leg and placed it on his calf. I secured the electrode pads tightly with a damp cloth strip to ensure good contact.

Shiro Ishii began to cry, not in a loud wail, but in a suppressed sob, a whimper squeezed from deep in his throat. Tears and snot streamed down his face.

I ignored it. I walked behind the generator and grabbed the two crank handles.

"Ishii," I said, "do you remember, among the people you captured, were any of them electrocuted?"

Of course he didn't remember; his mind was only on the data.

I started cranking, slowly at first. The generator emitted a low hum. The power lines vibrated slightly.

Shiro Ishii's body stiffened abruptly.

Then he began to convulse, not violently, but in a subtle, spasmodic way, starting from the area where the electrodes were attached, with his muscles twitching intermittently. His breathing became rapid, and a hoarse sound came from his throat.

I increased the speed of shaking.

The buzzing sound became higher-pitched. The current increased.

"what!"

Shiro Ishii's scream suddenly erupted. He arched his back like a shrimp, his limbs convulsing violently. Beneath the skin where the electrodes were attached, muscles could be seen twitching and contorting wildly. His face was flushed red, his eyes bulged, and his mouth was wide open, but he couldn't utter a complete sound, only intermittent, hoarse howls.

An electric current passed through his nerves, stimulating every muscle. He couldn't control his body.

He lost control of his bladder; the smell of urine mingled with the stench of blood. I didn't stop; I kept shaking him. The rhythm was steady, neither too fast nor too slow, allowing the electric current to continuously flow through his body.

He rolled and writhed on the ground like a fish thrown ashore. Saliva dribbled from the corner of his mouth, mixed with white foam. His consciousness began to blur, his eyes rolled back, and his body convulsed less violently but more frequently.

I shook it for a minute, then gradually slowed down, and finally stopped.

The generator stopped working; the power was cut off.

Shiro Ishii lay sprawled on the ground, like a lump of mud. He was still convulsing unconsciously, incontinent, his crotch soaked. His eyes were half-open, pupils dilated and unfocused.

I walked over and ripped off the electrode plates. Two distinct, reddish marks with slightly charred edges were left on his lower back and calves.

I waited until he caught his breath and regained some consciousness. Then I grabbed his hair, lifted him up, and made him face me.

"This is just the beginning," I said.

His eyes were unfocused, and he showed little reaction. I tossed him aside and walked towards the second person, Kitano Masajiro.

This time, we'll try a different approach.

I had him sit in an iron chair, which had been brought from the lab and was probably originally used to restrain laboratory animals. The chair had iron rings on the armrests and legs. I used leather straps to tightly bind his wrists and ankles to these rings.

Then I took two alligator clips, the kind electricians use, serrated metal clips. The clips were connected to wires, which were then connected to the generator.

I placed a clip between his thumb and forefinger on the web of his left hand. The flesh there is thin, and nerves are densely packed.

I clipped another clip to his right earlobe. The earlobe is also a sensitive area.

Kitano Masaji watched me clip the clip on, his whole body trembling like a leaf. He tried to speak, but his teeth chattered, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence.

I ignored him and went back behind the generator. This time I cranked it a little faster.

The moment the current was switched on, Kitano Masaji was jolted upwards. If he hadn't been strapped in, he would have jumped off the chair.

"Ugh!"

His screams were shrill and piercing, his left hand convulsed uncontrollably, his fingers twisted into a claw-like shape. His right cheek twitched as the electric current passed through his ear nerves, his mouth twisted to one side, and his eyelids twitched wildly.

The electric current continued, and he sat in the chair, his body trembling violently. The chair creaked as he moved. His eyes were wide open, fixed on his left hand, which was trapped, watching the skin there quickly turn red, then blister and turn black.

The clips on his earlobes were even more severe, the electric current directly stimulating his facial nerves. The right side of his face was completely distorted, saliva uncontrollably dribbled from the crooked corner of his mouth, and his right eye kept tearing up, blinking at an alarming speed.

I shook it for two minutes, then stopped.

As the clamps were loosened, charred wounds were visible on Kitano Masaji's left hand and right earlobe, the flesh turned outwards and steaming. He slumped in the chair, only his chest still heaving violently, his eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

The third one is Tsuneshige Ikari.

This guy was half-frozen, and he's only just recovered a little. I dragged him over and threw him on the ground.

This time I want to try something different.

I found a small transformer in their lab; it could adjust the voltage very high, but the current was low. I connected a wire, and the other end had two thin metal probes.

I pressed Tsunei Ikari to the ground, making him lie on his back. Then I tore open his shirt, exposing his skin.

I used one probe to gently press on his left chest, slightly above his heart. I used another probe on his abdomen, next to his navel.

Then I turned on the transformer switch.

There were no violent convulsions; Tsuneshige Ikari's body simply stiffened abruptly, then began to tremble slightly and frequently. His face turned deathly pale instantly, his mouth opened, but no sound came out, only a gurgling sound came from his throat.

High-voltage, low-current electric shocks do not cause severe muscle spasms, but they can cause extremely strong stimulation to the nerves, making the pain more acute and concentrated.

I saw two small, charred spots quickly appear on the skin of his chest and abdomen where the probe had touched. The muscles around the spots were twitching slightly and continuously.

His eyes were wide open, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints. Sweat instantly poured out, soaking his hair and clothes.

This electric shock wouldn't kill quickly, but it was extremely painful. Tsuneshige Ikari lay on the ground, his body trembling as if he were being electrocuted, the gurgling sounds in his throat growing weaker and weaker until only faint gasps remained.

I turned off the switch and removed the probe. Two deep black spots remained on his chest and abdomen, like they had been pricked by a red-hot needle.

He lay there, motionless, only his eyelids twitching occasionally.

The fourth and fifth ones, Masuda Tomosada and Yoshimura Hisato, I dragged them together.

This time I used the instrument in their lab that is used to measure neural responses. This thing can output currents of different frequencies and waveforms.

I strapped two people to two chairs facing each other, and then I attached eight electrode pads to their bodies: two to their temples, two to the sides of their necks, two to their chests, and two to their lower abdomens.

After connecting the wires, I adjusted the instrument's parameters. I set it to intermittent discharge. Every five seconds, it outputs a strong current for one second, then stops for four seconds.

I pressed the start button.

The first wave of current arrived.

Masuda Tomosada and Yoshimura Hisato both screamed in agony, their bodies slamming violently backward against the back of their chairs before bouncing back. Their faces were contorted in pain, their eyes rolled back, and saliva spurted from their mouths.

The power went out, and they had barely caught their breath when the second wave came.

More violent convulsions and screams followed.

These intermittent electric shocks are even more torturous; just as things begin to ease, the next wave hits. The pain is endless, the rhythm is fixed, and it's utterly unbearable.

I watched them. Masuda Tomosada's neck involuntarily tilted back due to the electrode stimulation, and her head kept hitting the back of the chair. Yoshimura Hisato, on the other hand, bent forward with each electric shock, his head almost touching his knees.

Their screams gradually changed tone, from high-pitched screams to hoarse wail, and finally to unconscious, intermittent groans.

Their clothes were soaked with sweat, they lost control of their bladders, and they vomited. Both of them were filthy.

I let the instrument run for five minutes, then turned it off.

The two people slumped in their chairs, like two piles of boneless flesh. Their eyes were half-open, their gazes unfocused, and only their chests were rising and falling slightly.

almost.

I walked to the center of the hall and looked at the group of people. Shiro Ishii was still convulsing unconsciously. Masatsugu Kitano was slumped in his chair, motionless. Tsuneshige Ikari lay on the floor, two black spots on his chest emitting smoke. Tomosada Masuda and Hisato Yoshimura were tied to chairs, their heads hanging low.

There were others too—the officers, the technicians, the assistants. I electrocuted them all. Some were poked with stun guns, some were plugged into metal beds, and some were thrown into electrified pools of water.

The hall was filled with a strange, burnt smell, mixed with the stench of feces, urine, and vomit. Everyone had undergone at least one round of electric shocks.

I wiped my hands, God of Time.

The familiar surge of power brought back to life all those who had been half-dead from the electric shocks—on the ground, on the chairs. Their charred skin healed, their twitching muscles relaxed, and their unfocused eyes refocused.

I stood among them, watching them break down.

The chapter on electricity has come to an end.

But what about the next round? What should we use?

I pushed open the door and went inside.