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0.41% 48 Hours a Day / Chapter 6: The Games Begins

Chapter 6: The Games Begins

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"You're going out now?" Dorm Leader Wei Jiangyang had just returned from a movie date, reeking of love. It was 9:45 when he pushed the door open to see Zhang Heng in sportswear, bending down to tie his shoelaces. "

"Yeah, there's an activity tonight."  

"Activity? Is it a date?" Wei Jiangyang shot his roommate a knowing smile.

Chen Huadong who was enjoying a bottle of coke with his movie gasped. "What? Young Master Zhang, am I not the person you like?"

Ma Wei, the oldest among the roommates, put down the English book he was reading. "Zhang Heng, you have such good qualities, it should be really easy for you to get a girlfriend, yet you've remained single. If we're not roommates, I would've thought that you're actually gay."

Ma Wei's lament was not unjustified. Among the four roommates, his family's circumstance was the least favorable—with his parents being only simple-minded farmers.

There was a girl back in high school whom he secretly liked. He never told anyone about until the one time this group of roommates took him out to celebrate his birthday and he drank too much. That was when his roommates found out that that girl Ma Wei liked was studying in a university in the same city. They urged him to confess his feelings for her, and he was rejected. 

They all knew of Ma Wei's family's circumstances, and that he had to rely on the China National Scholarship to pay for his tuition fee and to lighten his family's financial burden. He buried himself in his studies, spending all his free hours either in the library or giving private tuition to earn money. He had no time for dating.

These were things that other people could not help him with. Ma Wei had very strong self-esteem. He would always refuse his dormmates' offer to pay for him whenever they went out.

Zhang Heng patted Ma Wei on the shoulder and said, "Stop teasing me. There's no date tonight, and I'm not gay. I just haven't met a girl that I like yet."

Chen Huadong raised the bottle of coke as if he was giving a toast. "When you finally meet her, you must bring her to meet us. We want to see what kind of succubus can capture our Young Master Zhang's heart."

...

It took Zhang Heng quite a while to wrestle his nosy friends off his back. By the time he walked out of the school gate, it was already 10:05.

If he had not found the string of numbers on his right arm while he was in the shower, Zhang Heng might have suspected that incident at the maid café to be a delusion.

The cute little maid with the cat ears had confirmed that from the moment he walked into the store up until the moment he left, he had been alone, and the handsome lady in charge of making the drinks revealed that she had only made a cup of Forbidden Love during that short period of time.

"Never ever doubt a bartender because every cup is filled with the thing called love. People never forget the things they love," the latter had said.

"..."

To everyone in the café, his conversation with the old man had never happened.

That Tang suit and homburg wearing guy did mention that their meeting was forbidden and that he could take care of the problem.

Zhang Heng postulated that this could very well be the solution he was talking about.

Zhang Heng was growing more and more curious by this guy. All his abilities seemed to be related to time. But this was not the time to think about this; right now, what he needed to was to get through that game that was about to begin. 

Once he was outside of school, he followed the navigation on Baidu and took the subway to an industrial area outside 5th Ring Road, then jogged the rest of the way to warm up.

He arrived at the bar called 'Sex and the City' at 10:45.

It was in a remote area, and on the way there, Zhang Heng walked past a couple of people who looked like trouble with their cigarettes hanging on the corner of their mouth and their eyes seizing him up. There were even a few scantily-clad, drunk girls throwing up on the side of the road.

Zhang Heng wanted no trouble so he pulled his hood up over hid head, and kept a steady but swift pace as he jogged past them.

The bar was even more crowded than he imagined it to be. It was converted from an abandoned factory, so it was huge. The rusty façade was painted with all kinds and styles of strange graffiti, and the front of the building was parked full of luxury cars and racecars.

This was the peak business hour for the bar—the young people from all over the city had gathered here.

Before he even stepped into the building, Zhang Heng could hear deafening music booming from inside, as if it could rip his soul apart. Zhang Heng frowned. Even though his companion at the café had stressed that he could not reveal anything to Zhang Heng and that he would find out everything once he was deep into the game, there was a vague message in between the lines.

Whatever it was, the organization that old man was involved in must be ancient and very well hidden. This was not their first time coordinating a game like this yet the world did not even know that they existed.

This indicated that they were doing a good job covering their tracks.

However, there were at least seven to eight hundred people here. There were thighs and buttocks everywhere he turned. Cool laser lights were blinking and pulsing along with the deejay's mix. If that supposedly dangerous game commenced here, Zhang Heng was willing to bet that it would all over TikTok and YouTube.

Could the address he was given be wrong?

This was a common mistake, especially considering that old man's age. It really would not be surprising.

Just then, Zhang Heng's attention was suddenly drawn to a dark shadow above him on the right.

Technically speaking, that was not considered a second floor. It was just a giant container fastened with steel structures to the west wall. At the bottom of the ladder that led up to it stood two brawny men in suits and black sunglasses.

A couple of gin-soaked boys and girls made an attempt to climb the ladder but was turned away by the two men.

One of them, probably a fuerdai from a wealthy family, threw a handful of banknotes at the face of one of the guards. When the other around him realized that they were hundred-dollar American bills, they began snatching at the scattered papers.

But neither of the buff men reacted.

The fuerdai appeared to be provoked by this and threw contents of the glass in his hands at both men. He was probably so used to getting his way that he bolted for the ladders. Whatever happened next was a blur. He was suddenly sent flying across the room, knocking over a few people and some tables. He landed on the ground with his face covered in blood and dirt, barely alive.

His drunk companions were shocked into sobriety. Some of the guys wanted to throw in a few hostile words but when they saw one of the guards methodically cleaning his sunglasses, their balls shrank and they fled to the parking lot carrying their unconscious fuerdai friend. 

As the commotion subsided, the people in the bar cast wary glances at the two strapping men, keeping a good distance from them.

Zhang Heng waited for another five minutes, and when he was sure that no one was paying attention, he took in a deep breath and walked towards the ladder.

The two men in suits watched him with from behind their glasses. Their stony faces gave off a glacial vibe. Zhang Heng felt as if he was the victim of two lions on the prowl. He rolled up his sleeves, and revealed the numbers on his arm.

He was a little worried remembering what happened to that fuerdai. Even though he had an inkling that the numbers on his arm was the entrance ticket to the game, he could not rule out other possibilities.

Luckily, nothing bad happened. He did not end up like that fuerdai as a human bowling ball.

The two towering giants stepped aside and revealed the path behind.


next chapter

Chapter 7: Desert Island Survival

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Zhang Heng climbed up the stairs and pushed the blue steel door open.

Considering everything he had seen on his way to the bar and the group of young men and women swaying their bodies downstairs, he thought that while the style might be different, it was not going to be that much different in the dance room either.

However, in reality, this place was more like VIP lounges at international airports.

When he pushed the door open, Zhang Heng felt as if he had stepped into another world. Soft lights, red Persian rug, leather sofa, silverwares on the side table, light refreshments and fruits laid out on the buffet table, and a small bar counter on the right. When the door closed behind him, a gentle and soothing piano music entered his ears.

The pounding music downstairs had probably exceeded 100 decibels. Even though he was not a professional, Zhang Heng knew that material of a container had next to none soundproofing property.

But the truth was right in front of him—when the door shut behind him, the noise outside was completely cut off.

Perhaps it was because Zhang Heng had recently experienced something even more inconceivable than this, he seemed to have developed a certain immunity to similar events. He quickly regained his composure and continued forwards after only a brief moment of doubt.

 "Welcome," the woman in a red evening gown standing behind the bar greeted.

Zhang Heng looked around the room, and saw that other than himself, there were about another dozen of people in the lounge. Some were seated in banquettes not far from where he was standing, chatting away while others sat alone. But what puzzled him was that even though the person nearest to him was only about a few meters away, he could not see their faces clearly. 

It was a very strange experience. He could sense that there was nothing wrong with his eyesight, and his retinas were able to form a clear image but there was something that was preventing the signal from reaching his brain.

Zhang Heng refused to believe in this nonsense, and tried very hard to concentrate. He was feeling like he was about to break through the invisible barrier when a nauseous feeling suddenly surged from his stomach. He had to hold onto the bar to keep himself from falling.

Right on cue, a glass of lemon water was placed in front of him.

 "Relax. This is something all the new players who had just arrived here experiences. Unless the other party allows it, the faces of the players are, by default, in incognito mode. As a matter of fact, your voices have also undergone a special process. What you hear is not the actual voice. This is to protect you to the greatest extent."

 "But I can see your face." Zhang Heng picked up the water and thanked the bartender. Because of the dim lights and the fact that he was distracted by the others, he only just realized that the bartender looked very familiar. She was wearing lipstick and a different outfit. She looked as different as night and day but Zhang Heng recognized her. "You are… the bartender from the maid café?"

"Not bad. Your observation skills are sharper than I expected." The bartender was wiping a glass cup. She was still as frosty as she was earlier today. "No one stipulated that one person can only work one job, right? By the way, I'm just a receptionist here. I don't need to conceal my face like players do."

 "I'm sorry. Since I walked in, you kept mentioning words like 'players 'and 'receptionist'. Forgive me for being forthright but I have no clue what game it is that I'm joining. Blackjack? Texas Hold'em? Legends of the Three Kingdoms? E-sports?" Zhang Heng asked as he settled down on the stool in front of the bar.

"I normally don't like to brag about my employer in front of the customers, actually, I don't like bragging about that at any time, but this time, I have to say—congratulations, Mr. Zhang Heng. You're very lucky to be a part of the greatest game in the history of mankind. I can promise you that all the other games that you've ever played before this are weak and pathetic. This game will completely change your life."

"That is a rather high evaluation."

"Oh, quite the contrary. No compliment can compare to the game itself. Now, it's your turn to answer one of my questions. What do you think makes a person truly himself?"

 The bartender put down the now sparkling glass. Her expression was solemn.

Zhang Heng took a sip of the lemon water and then answered, "DNA?"

"That's not wrong. Each of us has a unique set of DNA, and some parts of our bodies have been coded since birth. Your looks, family, family history of illness… But fortunately, even then we still have a lot of choices—you can go to university, work, build a career, become a primary school teacher or astronaut or something."

There was a strange flash of light in the bartender's eyes, and she was speaking faster. "Put aside all those things that had already been determined… Let me phrase my question more accurately—What do you think makes a person who he is today? For example, how is it that astronauts could walk in space? How could a boxer knock his opponent down on stage? What is it that makes a teacher pick up teaching aids?"

 "Experience? You're talking about experience and learning that makes us who we are today?" Zhang Heng quickly understood what the bartender was trying to convey. Cocking his brows, Zhang Heng commented, "But I still don't get what this has to do with me joining the game."

This time, however, he did not get any answers.

"No amount of words can describe what you can witness yourself. Mr. Zhang Heng, your first round has begun. Please cherish this hard-to-come-by experience. I look forward to meeting you again." The bartender winked knowingly at him.

The hour hand on the clock on the wall was pointed at eleven. 

The next thing he knew was a strong dizzy feeling rushed to his head and caused his vision to blur again.

Had he fallen into a trap?!

Zhang Heng's first reaction was to suspect that the lemon water. That was the only thing he had tasted. From the moment he set foot into the bar, he had been on high alert. He never expected to see a familiar face—and that caused him to let his guard down a little. He did not know when it happened, or what powerful anesthetics was added that one little sip could have such a powerful effect. He could feel his head getting heavier and heavier until he could not resist anymore, and allowed himself to collapse onto the bar until he was completely unconscious.

He did not know how much time had passed in between, was it days, hours or seconds?

A stranger's voice rang in his ear.

[Verifying player's identity…]

[Identity confirmed. Random extraction of newcomer's quest for player number 07958…]

[Extraction complete—Current quest is Desert Island Survival]

You were on a cruise and encountered a terrible storm as you were traveling near the equator. The ship deviated from its course and the radar and sonar on the ship, the GPS and satellite phones on the ship were, oddly, not working. Without direction, you've traveled aimlessly on the seas for a month. Unfortunately, you encountered another even bigger storm. At the time of the incident you were standing on the deck and a giant wave swept you into the ocean. When you finally opened your eyes again, you found yourself lying on an unfamiliar beach.

[Mission target: Survive for 40 days on this island]

[Mode: Single player]

[Time flow rate: 480] (One hour in the real world is equivalent to 20 days in this game. After 40 days, the player will be forcefully returned to the real world)

A friendly reminder, the game will begin in 5 seconds. Players, please get ready.


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