48 Hours a Day

“Have you heard of his story?”

“Whose story?” asked the aristocrat with a silver wig to the man sitting across him. The nobleman seemed increasingly nervous as he talked.

“The story of the Caribbean King.”

“This part of the ocean belongs to Scotland, and there’s only one king in England. King George is his name.”

The aristocrat valiantly defended his country, but the bearded man opposite him knew that he wasn’t too confident. Ignoring the aristocrat, and like a graceful whale cruising the oceans, he said,

“He goes by many names. The slaves from the New World call him the Freedom Fighter. That’s because he attacks slave ships, and sets the slaves free. When he plunders merchant ships, he would only take their possessions but not hurt a single soul. Some merchants even complimented his ways. The Royal Navy deems him their worst nightmare. In these ten years alone, he’s sunken at least a dozen navy battleships, and he’s even managed to evade a coordinated attack between the navy and pirate-hunters. Oh, before I forget, the pirate hunters call him the Pirate-Hunter Killer. Whenever they see his black flag, even the bravest pirate-hunter goes into hiding.”

The man then paused for a while.

“Do we have any liquor here?”

The aristocrat was ungratified that the bearded man had dominated the conversation. Even though four muscular bodyguards were behind him, he still felt as if he was trapped in a cage with a ferocious beast. After a while, the aristocrat loosened his collar, his face looking pale and nervous. He wanted to remind the bearded man that he was merely a criminal here. However, he quickly changed his mind.

“Get him a glass of tawny port.”

“Seven years ago, he led his men in an attack against Nassau’s Roger Wood. During that battle, he managed to destroy Roger Wood’s ship and turn Nassau into a land of the free.”

“Land of the free? We reclaimed the place three years ago.”

The aristocrat smirked, finally finding something to gain the upper hand in the conversation.

“You are right. The navy provided immunity to all the pirates of Nassau except for him. You guys even tried to convince a mighty black-market merchant, which was also his most trusted ally to betray him. I must say, the real reason why the navy won the battle was because the man gave up in the end.”

The aristocrat was speechless. Roger Wood was a good friend of the royalty, and even though he was rescued from a battle seven years ago, his life had turned for the worse since then. Whenever the name of the person was mentioned in front of him, he would start shivering in fear. Three years ago, Roger Wood was asked to become the navy’s consultant for a reconquest of Nassau. However, he had a grim outlook about the future. He once told the royalty that even if the navy managed to reclaim Nassau, they would have pay a hefty price for it.

However, Jackdaw left Nassau the night before the battle broke out. With Carina’s help, the navy managed to reclaim Nassau without shedding a single drop of blood. Roger Wood was appointed the new governor-general of Nassau, and Carina became his special consultant.

“I heard his achievements have spread as far as London, Paris, and even all the way to Lisbon. he has become the talk of town. King George even hired someone to learn more about this legendary figure. What about you? What kind of person do you think he is?”

The bearded man lifted his head and looked at the aristocrat seriously, who quickly looked away, trying not to make any eye-contact. In that split second, the aristocrat realized that his actions only indicated that he was the weaker one here. To protect the royalty’s honor, he quickly looked back into the bearded man’s eyes.

“Only fools and plebeians will address him at the Caribbean King. Some are even dumb enough to believe that he’s under the protection of Thetis herself, the Goddess of the Ocean! They also say he has the ability to control storms, and that he’s actually immortal. To me, he’s just another rotten pirate. When he’s sent to the gallows, I will watch him struggle for dear life. By that time, I will know if he is truly immortal or not.”

After the aristocrat was done talking, his face turned grave all of a sudden.

“Captain Zhang Heng! I now officially arrest you for crimes not limited to piracy, murder, plunder, assaulting the navy, and contempt of the King of Scotland. You will be tried in London. You will not be represented in any way whatsoever.”

After that, the aristocrat stood up and waved his men over to apprehend Zhang Heng.

“I don’t think I can wait that long.”

Zhang Heng calmly glanced at his watch. The hour hand had completed 102 cycles, which meant he had been in this world for 3,900 days. After all these years in the game, he could no longer differentiate between the real world and the constructed one.

“I have asked many people about you. Everyone said that you’re from the most powerful family in the New World. Good. I’ll need you to tell everyone what you’re about to witness. My request is very simple. I would like you to drop all charges against Anne and Jackdaw’s pirates. You’ll also have to promise me that the navy will no longer deem Jackdaw as a target. Otherwise, I might just enter your bedroom at night without you realizing it.”

“Do you the slightest idea of what you are talking about? How dare you threaten me when I’m about to arrest you?! I was only so polite because of my good upbringing, but it doesn’t mean I can’t play the bad guy too.”

Once the royalty was finished, he signaled his two guards with the eye. Like mindless androids, they put their guns away at the same time and walked towards Zhang Heng with curled fists. On the other hand, Zhang Heng was still sitting calmly on their chair. However, right before the guards could land their punches on him, he disappeared into thin air.

Zhang Heng’s vision blackened, and he heard an echo. It was the sound of a familiar voice.

(Your time to return has come. The mission is complete…]

(You have completed Black Sail, your fourth round of the game. You will now be sent back to the real world…]

….

“Hehe! You look like shit. Just like the other player.”

The bartender poured a glass of whiskey with her masterful hands and pushed the drink over to Zhang Heng.

“I like what you are right now. It looks like you have lots of stories to tell me. I must say that it’s hard for a woman to resist a man like you.”

Zhang Heng grabbed the glass, gulped down its contents, and asked, “What time is it now?”

His current voice and younger body took him by surprise, and he wasn’t used to it.

“Welcome back to 21st of January, the year 2018. You can check your phone if you don’t believe me. Or, tomorrow morning’s news will tell you anyway.”