A Life of Electricity

Qi Yong'an's fingers trembled slightly inside his insulated gloves.

It wasn't fear, at least, he refused to admit that it was. The July sun had baked the steel tower until it was scorching. Even through his thick work clothes, he could feel the heat traveling through the metal into his palm. Sweat ran down the strap of his hard hat and hung for a moment at the tip of his nose before finally dripping onto the 100,000-volt power line with a faint hiss.

"Master Qi, the temperature on phase B is still rising. It's already at 82 degrees!" Lin Xiaoman's tense voice came through the walkie-talkie.