48 Hours a Day

Zhang Heng stumbled across the road after escaping from the glass factory. A large truck almost hit him. Luckily, the driver managed to stop in time. He poked his head out and started cursing, but when he saw the submachine gun, his attitude changed as quickly as he started mocking.

Bystanders gawked in terror at Zhang Heng’s submachine gun and the fact that he was covered in blood. Right now, he looked more like a monster than those things in the glass factory. Some had even taken out their phones and called the police in secret.

Zhang Heng couldn’t be bothered anymore. Not long after he escaped from the glass factory, he heard the sound of something hitting the wall from behind. That should be the aliens that were going after him. He assumed that they must have jumped down with him but failed to control their strength as they leaped over the wall.

The sound they made, however, gave Zhang Heng another boost of adrenaline. Although he was physically exhausted, it was not time to rest. He looked around, and it took him half a second to remember where he parked the van.

While he ran there, the aliens had already rushed out of the glass factory. He instantly ignited the van’s engine, switched to reverse, and rammed the two aliens who had caught up to him. Amid the frantic screams of bystanders, he slammed his foot on the gas and fled the scene.

With his driving skills, it would be difficult for the aliens to catch up with him, at least for now. When Zhang Heng saw in the rearview mirror that he was getting further away, he took out his mobile phone to call Bai Qing.

…

Bai Qing answered the call almost instantaneously. She sounded a little nervous. “What happened? Why do they look angry now?”

“I might have just wiped them out,” said Zhang Heng without mincing words, from the other end of the phone.

“…”

Bai Qing was silent for a moment as if attempting to process what she just heard. “How long will it take you to come to me?” she asked after a pause.

“Forty-five minutes.” Zhang Heng glanced at the map.

“I don’t think they’ll be waiting that long. I saw them packing up, and it appears they are planning to evacuate from the stronghold. I have no idea what they’d do to their prisoners before they leave too. What do I do? I have a bad feeling.”

“I will hurry up. Just stay where you are and wait for me,” Zhang Heng said.

This time, Bai Qing did not answer immediately. There was only silence.

Zhang Heng could hear Bai Qing’s breathing becoming more rapid. She answered after a while. “You said that their bodies are very fragile, and you accidentally broke one of their legs while putting them in the bottle.”

“Yes. I know what you are thinking now. Please don’t do it. It’s too dangerous. The jar I gave you is only to be used in the direst of situations. You are not supposed to do something risky with it.”

“But you can’t get here right away. Only I can delay them from evacuating,” Bai Qing said. “When you were in the car, you threatened one of them using his kind trapped in the jar, and it worked.”

“Yes, yes, but at that time, I hadn’t destroyed their nest yet. They are not the same now. I’ve never seen them so furious before. In the state that they are in, we have no way of predicting their behavior. They might do something that surprises us.”

“But my mother inside the facility. I can’t just sit here like this!”

“I promise you I am coming as quickly as I can…”

“Did you know?” she suddenly interrupted him.

“Hmm?”

“When I asked the alien that question, for a moment, I was actually pleased by its answer. I think that might have been the only time I could listen to you say that.”

Upon saying that, Bai Qing abruptly hung up.

When Zhang Heng attempted to call her again, her phone had already been turned off.

No longer bound by traffic rules, he had no choice but to drive as fast as he could. After all, he had already run in the streets with a submachine gun and reversed his van into two “people.”

Time was quickly running out. The police should be locating him soon, and he had to help Bai Qing save her mother before getting arrested.

However, his biggest problem now was not the police or the aliens. Zhang Heng still could not explain what happened earlier on warehouse No. 3’s rooftop. He had no idea why he did what he did at that time and why those aliens collapsed one after another.

What was worse was that the fatigue did not seem to go away with time. He noticed how this had severely affected him physically and mentally. To be more precise, it came from the deepest part of his soul.

All he wanted was to look for a place to close his eyes and have a good night’s sleep. Unfortunately, the current circumstance had forced him to stay awake. In an attempt to suppress his increasing drowsiness, Zhang Heng emptied a handful of chewing gum into his mouth.

Forty minutes later, he arrived at where Bai Qing was, a half-completed construction site in the new district. It was just as Bai Qing had described—even the guards were gone.

Zhang Heng opened the door, and almost lost his balance when he got out of the van.

He leaned on the door and shook his head, trying to fight the fatigue. Grabbing the Pestilence Bone Bow and Paris Arrow from the passenger seat, he walked into the construction site. In this state, his archery skills would be affected to a certain extent. It was the best time for the Paris Arrow to showcase its ability.

His greatest fear was that the aliens had killed Bai Qing and the prisoners before they left. If that were the case, he would be one step too late. It would be almost impossible to go through another round of hot-pursuit with aliens with his physical and mental condition. Although he did change cars halfway, the police should still be able to locate him soon.

Zhang Heng drew his bow, carefully circumventing the small dirt hill in the center of the construction site, and walked towards the concrete building in front of him. Only 66% completed, its top was not sealed off, and the scaffolds hadn’t been removed as well. When Zhang Heng walked to the elevator, a warning sign suddenly rose in his heart.

He saw a shadow getting bigger and bigger beside his feet. Before he had time to think, he immediately rolled sideways and avoided the ash cart barrelling down from the sky. The cart fell from the 11th floor and landed where he stood earlier. If he had not dodged it in time, Zhang Heng would have been squashed into a pile of minced meat.

Before he had time to stand up, two shadowy figures sprang out from the back of the building and attempted to stab him with the iron pipes in their hand.