The August midday sun blazed like an open furnace.
Waves of heat shimmered above the ground, and the air reeked of asphalt baking in the sun.
Lin Xiao stood at an intersection in Tianhai City's technology park. The white T-shirt on his back was soaked through and clung tightly to his spine. He clutched a battered Redmi phone, its screen showing a countdown: 08:12.
This was an iced Americano delivery to the twenty-third floor of Dingsheng Tower. If he was late, the System would deduct fifteen yuan from his delivery fee and give him a bad review he had no chance of appealing.
And at the worst possible moment, his no-name electric scooter, parked by the curb, had stopped working.
Lin Xiao twisted the throttle twice. The dashboard flickered, then went completely dark. He crouched to feel the battery compartment beneath the footboard. It was scorching hot, and the smell of burning plastic shot straight to his head.
The battery was fried.
