48 Hours a Day

Someone knocked on Zhang Heng’s window at dawn. When he opened it, the person had already left, and there was only a black package under the window sill.

Zhang Heng put on his clothes, walked to the door, and retrieved the package. When he unpacked it, he found the game items he passed to the bartender lady a while ago. It seemed the identification process for them had been completed.

It was Zhang Heng’s first time encountering other players in his last game. Not only did he have to find a way to complete the main storyline, but he also had to compete with opponents, where only one out of the seven-person-group was allowed to complete the quest. However, Zhang Heng gained a total of five game items after completing it. He first took a look at the fork and teeth which he found on Bruno.

[Name: Water-Soluble Metal]

(Grade: F]

[Effect: Melts when it comes in contact with water. Metal returns to its original form after 120 minutes. User is allowed to control the number of uses. Water-Soluble Metal cannot be reused.”

After seeing this game item, Zhang Heng finally understood why the ejection devices of the previous training aircraft and fighter jets encountered the same problem.

Bruno messed with them before they were put in use. First, he melted a small section of the fork with water and poured it into the ejection device. After 120 minutes, the metal would return to its original form and weld the machinery together. He killed Anthony with this method and worked with Zhen Xiong, manipulating animals to eliminate Zhang Heng.

Bruno didn’t expect Zhang Heng to overcome the dangerous situation, though. Left with no other choice, he concocted a plan, turning everyone’s attention to him by using LSD.

Zhang Heng then picked up the card next to the tooth.

[Name: Portable Mighty River Crab]

(Grade: E]

(Effect: Don’t be fooled by its appearance. The way it looks ensures that you can carry it in any situation. Even the most experienced police dog will be unable to discover it. Transforms into your favorite river crab. Just eat it to trigger its effect.

It was an item perfect for Bruno and was probably the dream item of all drug addicts. Combined with his inexplicable ability, he could get high anytime, anywhere with no ramifications whatsoever. On the other hand, an item like this would be useless to Zhang Heng. After checking out Bruno’s game items, Zhang Heng turned his attention to the three items Jia Lai once possessed. Jia Lai had already completed eleven games, and it came as no surprise that he was the most experienced player among the seven. If not for Zhang Heng, there was a high probability he would be the one to complete the Apollo Training Camp quest.

As compared to Bruno, his game items were of way better quality, it’s lowest being D-grade. Among them, there were two C-grades, but unfortunately, one had reached its maximum number of uses. The wooden whistle that allowed its user to communicate with animals had reached its maximum uses. This item had been snatched from Zhen Xiong and was Jia Lai’s trump card in his final duel with Zhang Heng amid the sandstorm. That was the last time this game item was used, and now, its status was similar to Shadow Moment. Both items were technically useless right now.

Nonetheless, another grade C-game item was still usable. Zhang Heng, however, was more interested in that grade D-game item.

[Name: Filter Lens]

(Grade: D]

[Effect: Field of vision within 300 meters will remain unaffected by light and environmental factors.)

In other words, the item granted its user a completely unobstructed view. Not only would the player see clearly in extreme environments, but it doubled as night vision goggles. In fact, it had a more potent effect, allowing the user to see in color instead of the monochrome green. Although it had a range of only 300 meters, it was more than enough to handle most situations. Most importantly, it would pair well with Zhang Heng’s shooting and archery, especially when using his Paris Arrow. In other words, he would almost never miss any target within a range of 300 meters.

As for the last grade-C item, it was similar to what Zhang Heng previously expected. An item used to predict the weather, it gave its user an accurate weather report for the next seven days. But the best part about it was that it allowed its holder to choose two out of seven days and exchanged their weather. This one had three more uses in it.

Those were all the game items Zhang Heng acquired from his previous quest, and if they were sold for game points, he could at least gain a thousand points. It was by far his most profitable yield.

Not planning to wait until the auction at the end year, he contacted Ding Si right away, asking Fulou to help sell the Portable Mighty River Crab he would never use. The rest of the game items were temporarily placed in a cardboard box under his bed.

After dealing with the package, Zhang Heng changed into sportswear. He was about to go out for a morning run when he ran into Tian Tian’s father in the aisle. He had just returned home, looking weary and exhausted. Seeming as if he had spent the entire night awake, he forced out half a smile when he saw Zhang Heng.

Zhang Heng stopped and asked, “Uncle Chen, you just came back?”

“Auntie Han’s finger was accidentally cut off by a meat grinder last night. I took her to the hospital, and the surgery has just finished.”

Tian Tian’s father sighed. Chinese New Year’s Eve was tomorrow, and everyone a happy family reunion was happening everywhere. Their family, on the other hand, had only encountered one accident after another. Before his daughter’s sudden depression was cured, his father hurt his leg, and now his wife’s finger was broken. Although the doctor managed to reattach the finger, full recovery wasn’t certain, certainly not in the near future, at least.

He took a leave of absence from his workplace to take care of his wife, and having just returned from the hospital after an entire day, he now had to prepare breakfast for his daughter. He was in no mood to elaborate more. As the man sighed, he unlocked the door and entered his house silently.

Zhang Heng frowned. The cursed object responsible for the misfortunate accidents in Tian Tian’s family had been removed. Logically, all accidents should have stopped happening altogether. Now it seemed like it wasn’t the case. Last night happened to be the time for a new round of accidents, and judging by their pattern, they were becoming ever bloodier as well.

The first accident involved slicing through the skin while cutting vegetables. After that, their puppy fell into the water, before Tian Tian’s grandpa broke his leg. Now her mother severed her finger. If this problem failed to be resolved in time, the situation might simply become uncontrollable. Zhang Heng realized that there might be a problem with how he approached the matter, taking out the business card given by the uncle with beach pants. He called the phone number on it and told him he was willing to pay double the fee to speed up the identification process. That same afternoon, the uncle informed him that he would pick up the game item.

Two days later, Zhang Heng returned to the Private Room 2306 of the KTV.

The uncle with beach pants held the eye accessory in one hand and scratched his inner thigh with the other.

“Well, let me put it in this way. This thing might have once been useful, but it can now no longer be considered a game item. I detected some energy residue inside it, but it’s very weak. In fact, it should have lost its effectiveness for quite some time.”

“I know this thing. This is a guardian talisman of the Yasimba tribe in Namibia,” said Jia Jia who was smoking at the side. “It was made by tribe elders and given to children. Its psychic abilities can warn the children of impending danger. However, it would be useless to anyone over eight years old.”