Pain Bank

The first time Gao Sheng sold his pain, it was because a steel nail had gone through his left hand.
The nail gun jammed. He slapped the magazine.
A nail shot out sideways.
Through his palm.
The blood came first.
A few seconds later, the pain arrived.
The site supervisor ran over and took a look.
“Ambulance?”
Gao Sheng could not speak for the pain.
The supervisor pointed downstairs.
“The Pain Bank van happens to be here today.”
“Strip it out first?”
Gao Sheng looked up.
“Does it cost money?”
“I hear they pay you.”

The mobile service van was more ordinary than he had imagined.
White seats.
A sterilisation lamp.
Two young nurses.
A notice on the wall:
Pain extraction is not a substitute for injury treatment.
A nurse attached a probe to his wrist.
The results appeared on the screen:
[ACUTE PUNCTURE WOUND]
Pain level: 7.1
Integrity: 96%
Drug contamination: 0
Valuation: 4,800 yuan.
Gao Sheng stared at the last number.
“Will it still hurt afterwards?”
“Practically not at all for seventy-two hours.”
“What about the wound?”
“Still there.”
The nurse glanced at his palm.
“We'll stop the bleeding. After that, you'd better have the wound cleaned at a hospital. When you can't feel pain, it's especially important not to carry on working.”
Gao Sheng pressed Confirm.
4,800 yuan arrived in his account.
The pain vanished almost instantly.
The nail was still there.
He could even see blood seep from his palm with each heartbeat.
But the hand seemed to be behind a sheet of glass.
The nurse pulled the nail out.
Disinfected the wound.
Bandaged it.
“Rest today.”
Gao Sheng nodded.
Ten minutes later, he climbed back onto the scaffolding.