48 Hours a Day

Ever since Zhang Heng received the analog watch, his 24 hours had increased to 28. When its hands reached midnight, he would enter a world where time halted no matter where he was. Having tested his theory multiple times throughout the entire month, his extra 24 hours would still apply when he entered the game, thus, accumulated into his total playtime.

Before the NASA quest, Zhang Heng had always played the game himself. From the desolated island to the 18th century Caribbean, all four games were completed by Zhang Heng alone. It wasn’t until this game that six other players were paired with him. This situation was a first for him, and he had no idea what would happen at twelve. This was excatly why he chose single-player mode all the while, hoping to avoid unnecessary complications like this.

Usually, Zhang Heng would enter the game at 11.55 p.m. from the real world. There were five minutes until midnight, and according to the game’s time flow, five minutes was equivalent to twenty hours.

It had been almost twenty hours since Zhang Heng entered this world. Immediately, he told his trainer that he needed to head to the toilet. However, his trainer gently reminded him that he could pee within the provided urinary bag in the spacesuit, considering it as a training exercise for the times he really needed to relieve himself in space.

Zhang Heng was desperate. He thanked his trainer and insisted that he had to go the toilet by hook or crook. No matter what would happen after this, walking around inside a seventy-pound spacesuit wasn’t part of his plan. In the end, his trainer relented, having to spend fifteen minutes to help him get out of it. The moment Zhang Heng freed his right leg, he retook a look at his watch. Only half a minute was left before the clock’s hands landed on twelve. It was at that time that Zhang Heng spotted Yin Xiong and tubby looking at him suspiciously. Whether he liked it or not, Zhang Heng having no time to interrogate them, anyway.

The moment the clock’s hands hit twelve, everyone in the training room literally stopped in their tracks, their faces frozen in time as well. The world had completely turned into a giant wax museum.

Zhang Heng had expected this outcome all along. Earlier, he tested this theory with his computer. In the still world, it was possible to enter a single-player game. The only caveat was that he would be unable to play any games that required an internet connection. Although he was unable to scientifically explain the phenomenon, the mysterious quest that he just joined was still considered a game. Every game that he previously joined was still running when it was midnight in the real world. The only thing that changed was that his gameplay had become longer. Since there were other players present in this quest, it had proved that the world would still come to a stop come midnight.

However, before Zhang Heng could move a muscle, he heard a notification from the game’s system.

(Warning!!! Warning!!! Game-time critical error detected.”

(Submitting critical error…] (Second level clearance has been initiated. Initial analysis: failure to continue. One player suspected of foul play. Contingency plan activated…]

(Parallel quest activated: Apollo Training Camp’s transitional quest. Number of players: 1. Goals: none; so far. Time: 240 days. Player, please pay attention!)

Zhang Heng frowned and suddenly heard The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’ echoing in his ears. At the same time, his surroundings turned pitch black. It wasn’t the same darkness as when the lights were turned off, but rather, a blackout situation where all light was utterly non-existent. Zhang Heng usually experienced this at the beginning of every new quest, where the complete lack of external stimuli helped him pay full attention to the announcement. This, however, was the very first time it occurred in the middle of the game. It felt as if the game’s online server was being rebooted.

Luckily, the darkness did not last too long. When Zhang Heng opened his eyes again, Paul McCartney was already at, “Oh, yesterday came suddenly…” He found out that he was no longer in NASA’s training room. The players around him had disappeared as well. Right now, he was standing on a vast runway. He could hear the deafening roar of jet engines, and suddenly a fighter jet flew over his head with a gust of wind almost knocking him over. From afar, Zhang Heng saw a pretty blond girl waving at him, looking extremely anxious. “Jim doesn’t like the newcomers wandering around the place. Let’s leave immediately when you are done with him. The people from the lab are still waiting for us.”

“Lab?”

“Yes. Your school’s students are there now, and you’re the only one left behind. Oh… can you please get off the runway? We’ll be in big trouble if the tower spots us.”

Immediately, Zhang Heng moved away from the runway. He had no intention of risking his life as well. Getting hit by a speeding aircraft rumbling down the runway at over 200 miles per hour wasn’t his idea of a good death.

Nonetheless, this wasn’t his first time hearing a warning from the game’s system. When the second level clearance kicked in, the error wasn’t submitted to the system, subsequently removing it permanently from the game’s sequential decision-making algorithm. Zhang Heng suspected that this all might somehow be connected to the mysterious old man. Since the old man had chosen him to play the game, he must have known that such issues would eventually occur. It was evident that the second level clearance was used to deal with the problem, but apparently, it did not work properly in multiplayer mode. Hence, the system determined that he was technically cheating.

In the still world, he was the only one who could move, and it was safe to say that he was invincible. Just like the Zavilcha case, Shen Xixi and her team failed to defeat it even after several attempts. In the still world, however, Zhang Heng used only a rudimentary utility knife to defeat the monster. In other words, he could easily eliminate the other six players in the paused world if he wanted to, as well.

It seemed the system had noticed this anomaly, and to protect the other players, it created a transitional quest for Zhang Heng and placed him in there. Due to the rushed decision, no goal had been set up for the quest at the moment. Zhang Heng was wondering if this quest was as dangerous as the Winter War. “What is the time now?”

“Time? Erm… 10.35.”

“What’s today’s date?”

“12th February.”

“Which year?”

“Is this supposed to be a joke? It’s 1955! Hmm. Do all MIT students use weird antics like this to get attention? I should remind you that if you are late again, your internship at Louis Flight Dynamics Lab will be canceled!”